Jessie J Returns to Her Grade School Roots in ‘Who’s Laughing Now’ Video

In the video for ‘Who’s Laughing Now,’ Jessie J returns to her roots, as the title obviously suggests. Only she travels back in time to her grade school days, as the video unfolds in a middle school where a head-down, shoe-gazing outcast — complete with a shiny black bob and heavy bangs — is walking the halls, exuding a little darkness amidst her pink-clad peers. She’s the dark contrast to their airy light.
The mini Jessie J is the true star of the video, but the adult Jessie also shows up as the busty teacher, sitting behind the desk in a skintight outfit looking over her charges. The adult Jessie also sings and dances in the classroom, with her magenta lips proving to be more than a little distracting. Jessie also dons a blond wig to play the food service worker in the school cafeteria, too. She lets loose and gets down and dirty in multiple roles in the clip.
The young Jessie is a sassy little thang; she gets back at the ‘Mean Girls’ who yank her hair and give her a hard time by shooting them with a fire extinguisher, so they are covered in white foam. Who’s laughing now? Whether she’s issuing a payback via teenage, vigilante justice in school or living her life as a famous pop star into adulthood, Jessie J certainly gets the last laugh.
The video ends when the students start dancing in the hallway, lead by the young Jessie, a la ‘Baby One

More Time’ by Britney Spears. It’s a subtle homage.