Ava Adore is a song by the Smashing Pumpkins, released on May 18, 1998. It was the first single from their fourth album, Adore, and exhibited a new sound from the band which integrated traditional instruments with loops and electronic music. Ava Adore and the B-sides were written by Billy Corgan.
When released as a single in May 1998, Ava Adore reached number one in Iceland, number two in Greece, number five in New Zealand, and the top 20 in Australia, Canada, Hungary, Ireland, Norway, Sweden, and the United Kingdom. In the United States, it reached number 42 on the Billboard Hot 100, number three on the Modern Rock Tracks chart, and number eight on the Mainstream Rock chart.
Tracklist:
- Ava Adore
- Czarina
- Once in a While
The music video of Ava Adore was released on June 1, 1998, and was directed by Dom and Nic, featuring the band in gothic-inspired clothing and walking through a variety of scenes. The video, filmed in one long take, is notable for its use of slow and fast motion while the speed of the camera is apparently static, and the band continues to lip sync to the song in perfect rhythm. The calculations required to work out the speed changes caused massive delays on set, causing the band to nearly call off the entire plan. The sets seen in the video were arranged in a configuration resembling a hallway, in which a rave sequence functioned as the end of the hall. Instead of continuing to the right, the camera rotates to the left, revealing the artifice of the visuals. The music video won an award for most stylish video at the 1998 VH1 Fashion Awards.
The Smashing Pumpkins
Billy Corgan: vocals, rhythm and lead guitar, piano, keyboards, production, mixing, art direction and design
James Iha: lead and rhythm guitar, vocals
D’arcy Wretzky: bass guitar, rhythm guitar (uncredited)
