The video starts with the opening of a door marked with the number 1111, a number related to be a sign of change. As of August 2021, the video has received over 1.1 billion views. Jewell said that others compared the video to the Wizard of Oz and a local legend of the demon El Tío and that both legends influenced the concept of the video. Ian Pons Jewell was commissioned by Virgin EMI to create the concept for the video, which focuses on a child's magical journey. The video is directed by Ian Pons Jewell (who studied at the University College for the Creative Arts, now the University for the Creative Arts) and shot in four days in La Paz, Salar de Uyuni and Potosí (Cerro Rico), Bolivia. Music video Ī music video to accompany the release of "La La La" was first released on YouTube on 18 April 2013 at a total length of four minutes and three seconds. The track's producer and co-writer Komi also released a remix ("La La La" – Komi and JL remix) which received considerable airplay. Smith and Naughty Boy performed "La La La" at the 2013 Jingle Bell Ball held by Global Radio. "La La La" premiered on BBC Radio 1Xtra in May 2013. The track has tones of liquid drum and bass and old-school garage, and a hook layered with a Hindi and Bollywood vocal sample, taken from the sample collection "The Sounds of India". The song performs in common time at a tempo of 126 beats per minute. The piece is performed in F ♯ minor, with the chord progression of F ♯m-C ♯m-Bm followed for most of the song, and Sam Smith's vocals range two octaves, from C ♯ 3 to C ♯ 5. "La La La" plays for three minutes and 42 seconds. The song was finished in three hours, and was the last done for Hotel Cabana. It was recorded and mixed at Cabana Studios ( Ealing Studios) in Ealing, West London, and mastered by Stuart Hawkes at Metropolis Mastering Studios in London, UK. The song was produced using Logic Pro, FL Studio 11 and Reason. Naughty Boy said "It just had to be Sam because where it went from there is perfect." Naughty Boy and Komi produced the track, with co-production handled by Mojam. Although Naughty Boy originally intended to write the song with Emeli Sandé, she was on tour at the time, and he wrote it with Sam Smith instead. "La La La" was written by Khan, Jonny Coffer, Al-Hakam El Kaubaisy, Frobisher Mbabazi, James Murray, Jimmy Napes, Mustafa Omer, and Sam Smith. Covering my ears like a kid and saying, 'La. When I found me, she found it best to neglect me. He states that, "It was just before everything popped up and she was somebody I neglected while I was trying to find me. According to Naughty Boy, "La La La" was conceived from experiences similar to the song " Don't Speak" by No Doubt, which "came from something felt".