Greyson Chance Inspired By Paramore For 'Waiting Outside the Lines' Video

Greyson Chance made a name for himself by covering Lady Gaga's "Paparazzi" and was then signed to Ellen DeGeneres' record label. Now, he's ready to release his first music video, for "Waiting Outside the Lines," the first single from his debut album, which should be released early next year.

"The video ... starts off in a road and then it transforms into a rooftop and then onto a sidewalk and then into the middle of the rain. ... I like to call it a mini-film. The whole concept is saying that ... everything in the world can come down on you, but you're still gonna break through," he explained to MTV News from the video's set. "Especially when the rain comes down, I'm letting it pour on me [and] I don't care, but in the end, I'm bone-dry and I'm getting through my problem."

The video also features a piano with words scribbled all over it, and Chance said he was inspired by a certain punk band with a flame-haired lead singer for the design.

"I was inspired by the Riot album cover by Paramore, with the different words and then the red word that said 'Riot,' " he explained. "And I said, 'That's so cool. I wonder if I can make a piano like that?' So now we actually have the piano with all the different words, and then I've always dreamed of having an inverted piano with black keys and white sharps and flats, so we have that too. It's been really cool. I'm so glad it's there."

The video was directed by Sanaa Hamri (Lenny Kravitz, Prince, Sting, Jay-Z, Christina Aguilera), who explained what he wanted the video to mean. "With 'Waiting Outside the Lines,' I heard and saw Greyson and the piano in different environments," he said. " The metaphor of this video is how we're all transported when we hear music."