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Once We Get Up There

Once We Get Up There is supposed to be THE villain song of season 2. Is it really, though? Let's see.

ONCE WE GET UP THERE VS HELL IS FOREVER

Once We Get Up There is the second song of 2X1, so it shares the same spot as Hell Is Forever in 1x1. The two pieces are villain songs that fulfill a similar role, as they have to establish who the villains are, what they want and why they are dangerous. At the same time, Once We Get Up There presents itself as the opposite of Hell Is Forever for two reasons.

1- Big Bad Villain VS Villain Trio

Hell Is Forever is a solo song, a shortened rock-concert, where Adam gets to shine as an idol. Once We Get Up There is instead a group song. The title itself says it all. It is Once WE Get Up There, which shows the Vees are a team, a villain unit. This is conveyed by both the lyrics and the visuals.

Lyrics

Vox uses the "we" throughout almost the whole song and calls ALL the Vees gods with the expression "unholy trinity".

Vox: Once we get up there And snag that angelic throne Our unholy trinity could make their realm our own

The beginning and the end of the song mirror each other. Vox opens up the musical number inviting Velvette and Val to join him (like you and you and me). Velvette and Val close it by singing the final chorus together with Vox (Once I... And I!... And I!).

Vox: With new management in charge Like you, and you, and me

Vox: Once I... Valentino: And I! Velvette: And I! The Vees: Get up there! (laughs)

The Vees all harmonize with each other. Sure, Velvette and Val sing together the most, but they also have solo parts and Vox and Val sing together here:

Vox and Valentino: And what's best is... Velvette: That dumb princess showed us the way Valentino: To make those haloed cabrónas pay!

Visuals

Vox opens up the song with a giant electric "V" aka the symbol of the group (and yes of Vox himself :P).

The visuals play with the Vees' colors. In the central part of the song they all appear with their defining color in the background (red for Val, pink for Velvette and blue for Vox).

Later on, Velvette and Val step on three platforms each: one red, one blue and one pink.

This shows that the Vees plan to social climb together by combining their abilities.

Their individual ascending platforms come together so they can dance arm in arm in the finale.

This may not be wanted, but considering the meaning of "platform" when it comes to technology, it's fun to imagine each one of the Vees on its own "platform" uniting into a bigger one as a metaphor of them creating their technological empire. Each one has their own "platform" and expertise that become intertwined with the others' to make the V-brand.

2- Angels VS Demons

Hell Is Forever is about an angel that uses his supposedly "moral high ground" to hurt weaker people:

Adam: Fair is fair, an eye for an eye! And when all's said and done (Said and done) There's the question of fun (Ah-ah) And for those of us with Divine Ordainment Extermination is entertainment!

Throughout his song, Adam constantly looks down on Charlie and puts himself on an elevated position.

Once We Get Up There is about a group of amoral demons that plan to take over Heaven. Once again both lyrics and visuals convey the Vees' nature and goal.

Lyrics - The Vees' Nature

The song is full of words and expressions that refer to the Vees' plan as an enterprise. Vox mentions a "new management in charge" and says "it's time for growth".

Vox: It's time for growth Let's rule 'em both! Take total control

This is not how a religious zealot speaks, but how a CEO does. In this way the Vees immediately set themselves up as very different villains from the Exorcists. The latters are brainwashed soldiers that are dangerous because of their numbers and their strength. The formers are a trio of successful business-partners that draw their powers from their influence and technology.

They are the "new money" of Hell, who strive to go higher:

The Vees: What's an overlord to a deity? They ain't got a prayer!

In this way the religious symbolism of the series is tied with the concepts of "modernity", "abundance" and "progress". For example, consider the idea of "the promised land":

Vox: Once we get up there Up to the promised land A hundred billion souls await our every command

This expression comes from religion, as it indicates a piece of land God promises to Abraham's descendants. At the same time, the myth of a "promised land" is often associated to the "American Dream" as the new continent was supposed to be a new Eden. Here, Vox uses the saying to mix together a religious rhetoric with some kind of "heavenly dream" propaganda. In this way Vox empties "religion" of any moral meaning. To be "religious" and "good" means to simply be "successful".

Visuals - The Vees' Goal

The song makes use of ascending platforms and stairs to symbolize the Vees' "climb" towards Heaven:

In particular, whenever the words "Once We Get Up There" are sung one or more characters ascend.

The first time, Vox goes higher while playing the piano on an ascending platform

The second time, Vox symbolically reaches "Heaven", as the "Golden Kingdom of God" appears behind him

The third time combines the first two "ascensions", as the Vees all go higher on moving platforms and dance in front of a background picture of "the golden promenade"

The fourth and final time has the Vees go even higher, as they exit the tower to look at their future Kingdom (Heaven)

THE VILLAIN SONG = DANGER + CHARACTER + THEME

Once We Get Up There does a great job establishing the Vees as different from Adam. Still, does the song fulfill what a good villain song should? To be specific, what does it tell us about:

The danger the villain represents?

Who the villain is?

Which themes the villain embodies in juxtaposition with the hero?

Let's see and let's focus on the season's true villain: Vox.

1- DANGER - VOX THE COMMUNICATOR

Vox displays here for the first time his strongest power: communication. He puts up a show to enthrall Valentino and Velvette, so that they will back his plan up. This is made clear since the song's opening:

Vox starts the song by playing the piano, as a flash of light is on him. In short, he sets it up as a theater performance. He is delivering a big show for his squad.

How does Vox's show work?

He makes use of:

Two rhetorical techniques

His main medium (TV)

1- Vox's Rhetoric

Vox's performance is built on two tricks:

Vox promises Velvette and Val what they want the most (a new market and new resources for their businesses)

Vox: Think of all your dreams that could come true Valentino: Even the wet ones? Vox: Yeah, those too! Imagine what it could enable! Velvette: For my label! Vox: Yes! A heavenly host that bows to none but us! Valentino: I can have hot new angel sluts! Velvette: Tear off their wings and make 'em dresses!

Vox progressively involves Velvette and Val, until they stop being spectators and start performing too. Specifically, Vox starts by singing "a slogan", interacts with the other two Vees in the middle part of the song and finally has them join in the final part, where they all sing the slogan together.

This modus operandi is not unique to Once We Get Up There, but Vox replicates it in other propaganda songs:

In Bad With With Us, Vox wins the Overlords over by promising to fulfill their desires, even if he has no proof Heaven is going to be this famous "Promised Land"

In VOX POPULI, Vox progressively involves the crowd, up until they all sing his slogan, just like Velvette and Valentino repeat Vox's refrain in Once We Get Up There

2- Vox's Medium

Vox uses TV aka his artistic medium in three different ways.

Background Screens

Vox uses the screens in his office as props in his show. He projects background images to embellish his narration. For example, Heaven's pearly gates and its holy cities are not just some imaginary setting. Vox truly projects them on the screens, so that they can serve as sets.

Multimedia Experience

Vox is the Media Overlord, so he is "multimedia" :P As a result, he freely goes from a theatre setting where he dances in front of a screen to inside the TV, where he can experiment with more daring angles. All in all, he bombards Velvette and Valentino with multiple stimuli, so that he can generate more engagement. Hence why he interacts with them and even harmonizes with them from the screens.

Holograms

Vox uses holograms as extras in his TV program. First he has a bunch of faceless winners carry him. Secondly, he materializes "bowing exorcists" to bait Valentino and Velvette to "climb the stairs" towards Heaven. In the next frame Val and Velvette interact with the exorcists to have "new hot angels slut" and to "tear off their wings and make them dresses". In short, Valentino and Velvette get to use Vox's holograms to imagine their happy futures and this brings them onboard. Isn't this one of the greatest powers of fiction? To make you feel as if you are experiencing your fantasies?

2- CHARACTER - VOX, THE FAKE GOD/KING

Who is Vox? Once We Get Up There does not answer the question directly, but it gives some hints, like his piano number at the beginning of the song:

Vox opens the musical number playing a piano, which ties into his foiling with Alastor, since the Radio Demon has a preference for this instrument. At the same time, Alastor uses a traditional piano, while I think Vox prefers an electric one (I can't tell for sure, 'cause I know very little about music).

Vox reveals that the piano actually played itself, which fits both Vox's technological attitude and his tendency to "fake" things. His very first musical performance in the season (the piano intro) is after all a fake.

Vox chooses the piano to imitate Alastor and he symbolically "steals" Alastor's art to appear better himself. This small moment sets up Vox's pattern to copy others and it shows Vox's obsession for Alastor. In a sense, Vox sees the Radio Demon as an ideal self he aspires to become.

So, Vox's first moments in the song hint at who he is: a fake, who takes from others to look better. This tendency to always perform and wear a mask comes up throughout the entirety of the song. After all, Once We Get Up There is very upbeat and does not feel threatening. It is a villain song masked as a Broadway razzle dazzle number. There is only one moment where the mask drops and both music and character show their "true colors":

Vox: And once we're gods, I can't wait to say... To everyone who doubted me Your doubting days are done! You'll be cornered, trapped, and tortured Then I'll end you, just for fun!

Here, both lyrics and music become more sinister (and electronic probably :P). It is a small window into Vox's real self. What does it say about him? Two things:

Vox is a fake King, just like Scar

Vox is a fake God, just like Adam

Vox and Scar - Fake Kings

Once We Get Up There references The Lion King's Be Prepared. The stanza above makes the allusion obvious visually:

In general, though, the entire song is strongly inspired by "Be Prepared".

Both Scar and Vox are planning to change the world order. Scar wants to be King and goes against the Circle of Life, whereas Vox wants to conquer both Hell and Heaven and goes against Heaven's Order. They use the song to convince others to support them. Both songs use:

Imagery linked to "climbing up" - The hyenas and Scar go higher as the earth brings them higher + The Vees climb stairs and ascend

Imagery linked to propaganda - Scar says hyenas will "never be hungry again"+ the hyenas march like an army in a dictorial state / Vox promises Velvette and Valentino whatever they want + Vox bombards Velvette and Valentino from multiple screens to better get through them

A final frame of the villains at the top of a tower with a moon-like object in the background. Interestingly, Scar and Vox are above the people they are singing to. They say they are doing this for the hyenas and the Vees, but they are actually acting only for themselves:

Vox and Adam - Fake Gods

The stanza sets Vox and Adam up as foils:

Adam: And for those of us with Divine Ordainment Extermination is entertainment!

Vox: You'll be cornered, trapped, and tortured Then I'll end you, just for fun!

After all, both speak of tormenting and killing others to get a kick out of it. They exercise violence for "entertainment" and "fun". Even more importantly both Adam and Vox are satanic archetypes, since they both want to become Gods (which is the Devil's Sin).

Adam makes it clear with his last words, where he compares himself to a God:

Adam: No... you don't get to end this! I'm fucking Adam! I'm the fucking man, and you're just some fucking clown or something! I started everything on Earth! All of mankind came from these fucking nuts! You all should be worshipping me, you ungrateful, disgusting, fucking losers-!

Vox's whole song is about him wanting to become God. At the same time, Vox's "evil stanza" makes Vox's satanic motif very clear both visually and musically:

Visually

1-Vox goes down the stairs:

Vox is juxtaposed to Valentino and Velvette, who are ascending. The difference is also in the music. Val and Velvette are singing low-to-high notes, while Vox sings high-to-low-to-high

Vox goes down in a song, which is about him and the others "going up". This visual choice emphasizes how Vox is tricking himself and others. He talks of becoming God, but he is truly acting as the Devil.

2- Vox torments "Sinners" with fire in his imagination, just like the "Devil" would:

Musically

The following lyrics call back the idea of "never doubting God" and of "God punishing people who doubted him":

To everyone who doubted me Your doubting days are done!

In other words, Vox and Adam are two satanic archetypes who act as fake Gods. This similarity is highlighted by Once We Get Up There with small parallels:

Both villains look down at the people of Hell from a position of power:

Both villains conjures "fake" exorcists to serve them during their musical numbers

Both are linked to the idea of "fake" during their villain songs in episode 1. As seen above, Vox fakes his piano playing, while Adam himself is a hologram hence he is a fake :P

In conclusion, Adam and Vox may superficially appear opposites, but they are very similar thematically. They are two satanic archetypes who want power for fun and are linked to the idea of "fake". Why these similarities? In a sense, Adam and Vox call out their respective Kingdoms' hypocrisy by being alike.

On the one hand Hell is going to cheer for Vox and to give him power without realizing he is just like the leader of the Exorcists that tormented them. They have escaped a violent abuser just to choose another one.

On the other hand Heaven acts as if Vox is a monster and calls his ideology blasphemous (which it is). Still, they are not as quick to call out Adam for the exact same behavior. In the end, even Vox's idea that if he wins he becomes God is really not that different from Heaven's own beliefs. I mean... it is not Vox, who came with the term "Winners" for people who are in Heaven. The angels are the ones who strongly links the idea of "goodness" with the idea of "success", "power" and "strength". All Vox does is to take their ideology and turn it against them.

Political Power + Religious Power

Once We Get Up There sets Vox up as a fake King (political power) and a fake God (religious power). This positions the Media Overlord as a foil to both Lucifer and Sera that he faces in episode 5 (VOX POPULI and VOX DEI). Here Vox successfully snatches for a little while both the political and the religious power:

Vox combines both Lucifer and Sera's poses in his. On the one hand he is in front of the Vee Tower (a symbol of political power) with his signature animal flying next to him, like Lucifer. On the other hand he is in front of Heaven (a symbol of religious power) with six wings and an eye in the middle, like Sera.

3- THEME - OUTSIDE VS INSIDE

What theme does Once We Get Up There convey? Why is it in juxtaposition with Charlie's ideals?

Vox and the Vees plan to reach Heaven physically, while Charlie wants the Sinners to do so spiritually. Both villains and hero want to "climb the ladder". However, for the Vees it is about "social climbing", while for Charlie it is about "redemption". This is something made clear in Hazbin Guarantee/Trust Us:

Charlie: We can live in harmony! Valentino and Velvette: Why be nice when you can be famous? Charlie: That's the Hazbin The Vees: Sign and cash in! Charlie: Guarantee!

Charlie wants people to change inside, while the Vees pursue an outside change. Charlie wants people to transform so they can fit better into the world. The Vees want the world to change, so it can better fit them.

TWO VILLAIN SONGS: ONCE WE GET UP THERE VS BRIGHTER

Once We Get Up There is definitely a well done villain song. Still, is it THE villain song of the season? Not really. The song that conveys who Vox truly is, his themes and why he is dangerous is without a doubt Brighter. In a sense, Vox has two big villain songs:

Once We Get Up There is Vox's facade. It is the villain song he performs for others.

Brighter is Vox's truth. It is the villain song he performs for himself.

As a result, the two songs have similar motifs, which are used in opposite ways.

Stairs: Friends VS Stepping Stones

In Once We Get Up There, the Vees climb a colorful stair that represents their team-work (red + blue + pink)

In Brighter Vox climbs a stair where each step is one of the people he used as stepping stones to go higher:

Screens: Outside VS Inside

In Once We Get Up There Vox's screens are part of his performance. He uses them to build an outside narrative

In Brighter Vox's screens mirror his inside world and tell us his past:

The Tower and the Flood

Season 2 has two main motifs that comment its major themes:

The Babel Tower/voice motif that comments the theme of Power

The Flood/meteorological motif that comments the theme of Identity

Once We Get Up There sets these motifs up, while Brighter has them fully bloom.

1- Vee Tower VS Vox's Tower

In Once We Get Up There the focus is on Vee Tower, which is a metaphor for the three Vees' media empire. The Vees' different platforms come together in one because the three Overlords combine. Similarly, Vee-Tower is decorated with three Vs whose colors (red + blue + pink) reference each Vee

In Brighter the focus is on Vox's tower of television, which is a metaphor for Vox's own media empire. It is a Kingdom Vox built by stealing from others and hypnotizing the crowd. Symbolically, his tower is a pile of TVs with Vox's hypnotic frequency inside:

2- Small Fish/Splash vs Shark/Storm

Once We Get Up There mentions the "flood" motif twice:

Vox: We'rе the biggest fish in Hell How 'bout wе upgrade the bowl?

Valentino: With a splash of vice They'll pay the price!

Brighter takes the "small fish" and the "splash of vice" and turns them into a shark:

Vox: Fish like to swim next to sharks Yeah, you eat or you get eaten And you're feasting on their hearts

And a full out storm:

CONCLUSION: FROM "WE" TO "I"

Once We Get Up There gets two reprises:

1-Don't You Forget Reprise

Vox: Now I'm the master And you're my bottomest bitch No more Al, the high and mighty Now that I flipped the switch

Here, Once We Get Up There plays as Vox sings these lyrics. Symbolically Vox is getting "on top of Alastor" (and yes the sexual joke is clearly wanted and present in the song). He is now in control of his enemy and so he is "higher" than him. This moment is Vox reaching his most personal objective, which is to defeat the Radio Demon and to control him.

2- When I Think About The Future

Vox: Soon I'll be up there The one and only true God No more playin' house, once they're devout, I won't need a squad Climb the stairway up to Heaven, live on every TV Always knew the guy they're prayin' to was gonna be me Once I get up there

This stanza is the opposite of Vox's first refrain in the original song:

Vox: Once we get up there And snag that angelic throne Our unholy trinity could make their realm our own We'll pack up all their piety, and redecorate Bet our tower would look powerful with pearlier gates

In Once We Get Up There Vox speaks of "we" and "unholy trinity". In When I think About The Future he says "I" and "one and only true God". He even mentions he won't "need a squad" and that he is "the guy they're prayin' to". In other words, When I Think About The Future cements Vox's villain journey. He starts as a member of a group, but he progressively drops his act and reveals himself as overly selfish and individualistic.

Deep down, Vox's arc in season 2 is one that goes from "we" to "I" and Once We Get Up There perfectly sets it up in all its layers and complexity.