AVATARI has released the official video for his single Hold On, a raw and cinematic portrayal of resilience in the face of grief, addiction, and isolation. Directed and shot by Abigail Welkom, the film follows three interconnected stories across Los Angeles: a grieving father, a mother navigating early sobriety, and a young woman struggling with homelessness and addiction.
The song itself was born out of AVATARI’s own recovery journey, written in Joshua Tree during a time of reflection on fatherhood, marriage, and personal healing. “The words that kept coming back were: just hold on,” he explains. “This song is a prayer and a promise.” That personal message becomes the backbone of the video, where even in moments of despair, a single act of grace is enough to alter the course of a life.
A Story of Human Struggle and Hope
The cast includes Sean Faris (Pretty Little Liars, Supernatural, The Vampire Diaries), Leslie Stevens (Justified, The Young and the Restless), and Caroline Anna-Kaye Green (The Last of Us: Immunity). Phoenix Faris, Sean’s son, also appears in the film, playing the child of Faris’ grieving father. Their performances ground the video in realism, showing how personal battles with grief, sobriety, and survival mirror universal experiences of loss and renewal.
The production was shot across multiple Los Angeles locations, from fog-drenched mountaintops at sunrise to a working horse ranch and a rain room. Natural light, handheld camera work, and restrained editing were used to emphasize authenticity, echoing the tone of films like Manchester by the Sea and The Tree of Life. Edited by Ken Davis, the final cut balances stark reality with visual beauty, placing viewers inside the fragile but resilient lives of its characters.
“Hold On” builds on AVATARI’s recent releases, each of which blends personal storytelling with cinematic visuals. Earlier singles like High Like This and Fighter revealed aspects of his own struggles with addiction and childhood bullying. Together, they form a body of work where music and visual storytelling function as tools for connection, healing, and collective catharsis.
AVATARI’s Expanding Vision
AVATARI has always framed his work as more than music. His identity is rooted in transformation—personally, through recovery and resilience, and artistically, through anthemic songs that invite audiences into his world. His debut single Legacy was licensed by Rolls-Royce for their Ghost campaign, while follow-ups have earned praise from outlets like Melody Maker, who called him a “rising star” in the indie rock scene.
Live, AVATARI delivers with the same intensity. His performances are known for blending charisma, storytelling, and raw emotional honesty, drawing comparisons to frontmen like Bowie, Mercury, and Yungblud. His logo—a phoenix rising—encapsulates the ethos behind his work: the belief that destruction and loss can be followed by resilience and renewal.
With Hold On, AVATARI expands that message into film, reinforcing music’s ability to translate private struggles into shared experience. By centering on universal challenges like grief, recovery, and perseverance, the song and video aim to remind audiences that even in isolation, they are never truly alone.
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