Synopsis

Set in an elementary school classroom, the video follows a boy who quietly watches a girl while doodles come alive across the notebook page in front of him. The sketches turn into surreal creatures and animated versions of The Fray performing the song. As the boy's infatuation gives way to heartbreak, the drawings leave the paper and spread across the classroom, eventually illustrating a story of emotional damage with a bleeding heart at its center.

Factoids & Trivia

• "Heartless" is The Fray's rock-ballad cover of Kanye West's original song from his 2008 album "808s & Heartbreak."

• The Fray first performed the cover during a BBC Radio 1 Live Lounge appearance on February 16, 2009. The performance attracted enough attention to prompt a studio recording and official release.

• Kanye West publicly drew attention to The Fray's version by sharing it with his audience after hearing the Live Lounge performance.

• The video uses a hybrid production approach: live-action classroom footage is combined with hand-drawn animation. Titmouse handled the animation, while Partizan produced the project.

• The band members appear as simple notebook-style drawings rather than as conventional live-action performers, matching the video's childlike setting and the song's wounded perspective.

• The video was released in August 2009 and accompanied the cover's digital campaign, including an iTunes release.

• The Fray's version reached No. 79 on the Billboard Hot 100 and No. 26 on Billboard's Hot Rock & Alternative Songs chart.