The video for Christina Aguilera’s new single, “Not Myself Tonight,” hit the internets in the wee hours of the morning and immediately had the blogosphere—well, Read the full post.
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I wish Aguilera had simply gone all out and truly made a parody/homage to Madonna’s Express Yourself (which already was an acknowledged tribute to Fritz Lang’s Metropolis) as opposed to just blatantly taking imagery from it and pretending that it’s new.
This is so embarrassing to watch… oh dear lord.
She would be so much better off if she’d leave the dance pop to Gaga/Britney and instead be a full-on power balladeer. That’s what she’s good at, and that’s what actually sets her apart.
THE SECONDHAND EMBARRASSMENT LINGERS.
I was ready to defend the fact that this vid isn’t a rip of Gaga. Then I see her dancing with the crystal outfit from Bad Romance. I mean…come on. Everything in this article is exactly right. It wasn’t her being influenced by Madonna. It was her reproducing Madonna in almost every frame. Very trite video.
That video was Madonna “Express Yourself” is WAAAAY too many parts! The crawling on floor like a cat, later pouring it on herself; the dancing on the stairs with even the monocle; the airial (sp?) shot of the shirtless men dancing in the rain; the white silk sheets sex romp. Then we have to add the Madonna “Human Nature” dominatrix complete with the SAME EXACT HAIR-DO except in a different color and using that switch/whipping stick.
Then there’s the obvious Lady Gaga rip-offs with even a little old school Gwen Stefani.
For me this has NEVER been the artist Aguilera truly is. She’s painfully out of her element in these over the top non-sexy “sexy” videos that made you think “Dirty” was the pinnacle of her mistakes. She’s not an edgy avant garde performer, she never has been because she doesn’t need to be!
She’s a powerhouse vocalist with an amazing voice who we tune into HEAR not see what she’s going to do. Aguilera is getting crushed my the commercialism machine in music trying get people to SEE her when they just need to HEAR her.
Take note of Susan Boyle Christina…she ain’t much to look at, she doesn’t dress in wacky outfits, she just sings and she SELLS!
How appropriate the song is called ‘Not Myself Tonight” because she truly is not being herself.
Yes, that “nod” to “Express Yourself” is 100% rip off…plus the “nods” to “Human Nature. The part that was most-Gaga like to me was the black unitard w/ gold on it and when her head was in the black thing. I used to love Christina and maybe she should realize that she’s 30 and teenage “Dirrty” angst had its place 10 years ago. Come on, let’s get back to Christina back in the old days when she was “Beautiful”. (i do like the song though)
I can understand why bad singers have to go this route to get attention, but someone with Christina’s voice? Sad. I hate that the pop landscape these days has become all about “performance art” rather than about vocal talent.
I completely agree.
In spite of what many people think, Madonna did not invent female sexuality or the dominatrix. She wasn’t even the first to fuse them into pop culture. Madonna always ‘borrowed’ from other artists, and has never been a complete original.
Yes, but compared to today’s pop stars… she wipes the floor with all of them.
Yes, this absolutely is a rip off “Bad Romance” video meets a rip off of “Human Nature” and “Express Yourself”, but what’s the most troubling is that she seems like she’s rebelling again (like back in “Dirrty”). She’s flipping off the camera, making out w/ chicks and trying to show how sexy she is. She has backtracked since Back To Basics and “Beautiful”. Come on, embrace your age and being a Mommy and grow up. You can still be a bankable artist and act your age!
So, um.. being a mom means she can no longer be sexy? She’s 30, hot, talented… let her do what she wants to do. As if being a mother and ‘growing up’ means you have to stop looking good and feeling sexy.
The thing is, there’s a difference between being sexy and this. She is naturally sexy. She doesn’t need to be tied or covered in black vinyl suits to be sexy at all. About being a mum, I think she meant someday her baby will grow and well, I wouldnt’ like my son to see this video of mine. Really. It’s quite personal though, so I’d stick to the `Christina can sing much better than most others, but focus in looking like a … instead`. I’ve followed her career for ages. She has this whole reinventing herself thing, which may be great for obsessed fans, but, for the main public sucks. Why? Because you like her for her music, not for her as an icon. Which means, if she goes to a whole new sound, you may not like. Personally B2B wasn’t my style. I like this song more. I just wish it had a proper video with a storyline, instead of being `hey I can wear vinyl and that’s cool`. That’s not even the sexual thing from Britney or Gaga or 200 others. This is like that real weird porn fetish you don’t even feel great watching.
ok… you make some valid points, kati but I have to ask.. what if this is what she wants to present herself as? What if this is where she is at this point in life?
I also would like to know, why are so many people worried or afraid of what their kids are going to think about them when they grow up? Kids are going to be grown up themselves and I think that if you do your job as parent, any child will be able to know that “mommy dresses some ways for music videos, work, etc but mommy dresses differently at home, etc.” — Never understimate a child’s ability to understand things if explained properly. Children are going to be grown up men and women and they will be able to process information and know that this video mommy made was just dress up for a music video, not that mommy dresses like this every day (if she did, that’s her prerogative too).
Yes, Christina is very attractive and doesn’t need all these things to present her talent (her voice) but if this is what makes her happy, then I’m OK with it. What I worry is that she may be going down this route because she wants to be like others.. that I would have a problem with, but the overt sexuality.. more power to her!
Still, she’ll be embarassed by this when her kid is old enough to see it.
Xtina did this with those videos where she was showing her butt cheeks..she’s a mom now, i would have liked to see her more classy.
The song is already tanking on the charts (debuted at 23, dropped to 49 in its second week), and I don’t see this video doing it any favors. It’s a shame because her voice (when she doesn’t oversing) is one of the best. The “art” she comes up with is so painfully average, and this video reeks of desperation.
Oh Christina, Christina, Christina…when are you going to stop trying so hard? A great voice, but a self-indulgent artist. Pop stars have to be edgy and vulnerable, but Christina’s edginess is off-putting and her vulnerability comes off as insecure desperation. She also lacks honesty in her singing. I see an artist who wants to be relevant and innovative and provocative and desirable, but Christina doesn’t own this kind of persona like Madonna, or even Rihanna. She needs to keep it simple…just be girlish and pretty and flirtatious and sing her heart out…isn’t that enough?
Christina dropped Keeps Getting Better and previewed her new “Futuristic” sound and image before GaGa was making an impact. Therefore, I feel the comparisons are a little unwarranted. THe blatant sexuality in this video is allllll Christina. I see this as a futuristic version of her Dirrty video. There is definitely an homage to Madonna but I think Xtina was doing this kind of music and sexual in your face-ness on her Stripped album. GaGa is not the be all and end all.
Actually, Gaga was starting to emerge when Christina previewed her “new” sound and look, and when she was asked about how similar she looked to Gaga, she denied knowing who she was. The look is irrelevant, though – this song isn’t half as good as the electropop that Britney, Gaga, or Rihanna have released recently. It’s tired and by-the-numbers, with an equally by-the-numbers “shocking” and “provocative” video.
I was about to say the same thing. I also remember that Christina had still photos that looked similar to ones of Gaga’s Just Dance video. She also kind of insulted Gaga at the time, saying she doesn’t know if she is a man or a woman.
I don’t think she was “insulting” Gaga if she didn’t know who she was. I mean, “Lady Gaga” sounds like the name of a drag queen, so can you blame Christina for the confusion?
She came on a week after that Simpson girl got caught lip-synching on SNL, and did “Beautiful” a cappela. She got the voice, she’s got the background. Why not just put on clean clothes and go the classy, jazzy, Anita Baker route for once?
For the record…iTunes as of 4/30 8am Pacific…the singles chart has 6 Lady Gaga tunes with the highest “Alejandro” at #9 while Aguilera’s song isn’t even in the top 100. I’m not trying to “Lady Gaga is better!” I’m just showing the difference between two artists where one knows who she is and makes music that reflects that and the other TRIES TOO HARD and isn’t connecting with listners.
Back to Basics II should be her next album.
I think part of Gaga’s popularity in the charts is that people think she’s ‘new’ and ‘edgy’. It’s highly likely that her ‘edgyness’ will fade, when she’s been around as long a Christina Aguilera has. Let’s face it, people can be fickle. And yeah, maybe this Christina song/video is a miss in the opinions of some people; but she’s been doing the ‘provocative’ thing for years, even on her back to basics album (Still Dirty, Mercy on Me). Doesn’t necessarily mean she doesn’t know who she this might be who she wants to be. Even if people don’t like it, at least she’d be creating music she believed in, instead of pandering to what people think mothers should be doing in their music. I’m just speaking opinion here, not fact. But it’s something to think about.
Agree with Leah.
The fascination with Lady Gaga goes far, far beyond how fresh, or edgy she may be perceived. Her fashion and look may be temporal, but her ability to write endlessly listenable pop-hooks is less likely to go away. If she were a flash in the pan, and only popular because of her trendiness, she couldn’t have produced SEVEN high performing singles in 18 months. That trendiness would have worn off by now. She’s overexposed, there’s mountains of backlash, and yet she’s still there. Why? Those hooks.
In the end, it’s still about the music, and that’s what has propelled her to super-stardom.
So far this record is following the same trajectory as Stripped. First single misfires. Video for that single garners terrible, terrible press. Stripped is my favorite album of hers– I would love if this new album equaled or surpassed it.