Tuesday, 05 July 2011
Monday, 04 July 2011
-
Britney Spears Vs. The Paparazzi: Best Music-Video Moments
Brit's 'I Wanna Go' video is hardly the first time she's taken aim at the prying tabloid media.
By Jocelyn Vena
Britney Spears in her "I Wanna Go" video
Photo: JiveBritney Spears is taking a stand against the paparazzi in the music video for her new single "I Wanna Go," which premiered online Wednesday morning (June 22). In the Chris Marrs Piliero-directed clip she slings a microphone their way, knocking them off their perch. But it's hardly the first time Spears has taken a tongue-in-cheek approach to making a statement about the tabloid media.
In fact, since early on in her career, Spears has examined her love-hate affair with the prying lens of the paparazzi. After bursting on the pop scene in the late 1990s with a naughty girl-next-door image that made her a star, Spears learned that fame would come with lots of attention from the press. And, as in "I Wanna Go," she has made it a point to play with that relationship in her videos. Here, we look back on a few of our favorites.
"Lucky"
Britney first gave fans some insight into her celebrity life in this video, dating back to 2000 and released on her second smash album, Oops! ... I Did It Again. In the candy-colored, Dave Meyers-directed video, Spears plays a melancholy movie star who wants nothing more than to have a little fun."Overprotected"
A year after the "Lucky" video, Spears busted loose in this video from her Britney album. After breaking free from her hotel room, which is being watched by then real-life bodyguard Big Rob (that's right, the Jonas Brothers' Big Rob), she dances in the rain and her hotel lobby and then throws one big party for her girls in a large limo."Everytime"
She shows the darker side of fame in the video for "Everytime." By the time 2004 rolled around, Spears was not only In the Zone, she was frequently in the gossip pages. Her personal life was gossip fodder and in the clip, Spears plays a pop star whose public fight with her beau (played by Stephen Dorff) gets the paparazzi worked up, leading to an injury that may or may not bring about her untimely end."Piece of Me"
Spears had more fun in 2007 on the Blackout single "Piece of Me." Released during a transitional time in both her personal and professional life, Spears poked fun at herself, dancing around a nightclub's bathroom as magazine headlines about the pop star flash across the screen."If U Seek Amy"
The video for this 2009 single played up the song's controversial title (say it slowly, really slowly) using faux news briefs. Released on her Circus album, the clip for "If U Seek Amy" played up Spears' many sides: from good-natured mom to sexy party girl."Hold It Against Me"
This was Britney doing the thinking man's take on the media. Directed by Jonas Åkerlund, "Hold It Against Me" tells the story of a super-creature from space that uses song and dance to win the hearts of earthlings. Eventually, the public scrutiny becomes too much for Spears' creature and she breaks down, only to rise again like a pop-music phoenix. Sound familiar?What's your favorite paparazzi-themed Britney video? Tell us in the comments!
Related Videos Related Artists -
Kanye West Lights Up Superdome At Essence Fest
Yeezy performs a bombastic headlining set on Saturday in New Orleans.
By Rebecca Thomas
Kanye West performs at the 2011 Essence Fest on Saturday
Photo: Erika Goldring/Getty ImagesNEW ORLEANS, Louisiana — Early on in Kanye West's headlining set at the 2011 Essence Music Festival on Saturday Night, the Chicago MC stood on a raised platform suspended high above the cheering crowd. As he spit "Dark Fantasy," the hook "Can we get much higher?" seemed a particularly apt way to describe not only his literal skyward stance at the New Orleans Superdome, but also what was to come that night.
Yeezy was already knee-deep into career-defining classics like "Jesus Walks" "Can't Tell Me Nothing" and "Diamonds are Forever," when he told the elated NOLA fest he was "just getting started." Rocking a white blazer, topped by a thick tangle of gold chains, and a pair of jeans and sneakers, the 34-year-old rapper bounded across the stage like a hyperactive teen, but there was no mistaking that West is a megastar, the "college dropout" who has more than made G.O.O.D. on his childhood dreams.
As a small army of classical dancers — dressed in a variation of the phoenix costume worn by Selita Ebanks' bird in West's short film "Runaway" — flanked him, Kanye launched into a bombastic rendition of "Power"; "Devil in a New Dress" and "Hell of a Life" followed as 'Ye tucked into singles and cuts from last year's platinum-plus opus My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy.
Performing to a massive audience that came to its feet (and stayed there all night) to the strains of 'Ye and Jay-Z's "H.A.M.," the Chi-town MC with a Nas flow touched on his recent scandals, explaining that he stopped granting press interviews after taking lashings from media and bloggers. But he wasn't all rebellious rapper: He danced, sang along and laughed his way through an old-school medley of personally influential music, and the playlist jumped from Al Green to '90s soul groups like Jodeci and Shai.
And West also emphasized that he knew who had held him down when, as he laughed, he "had a little too much too drink" before storming the MTV VMA stage back in 2009. Yeezy repeatedly thanked the predominantly African-American crowd for standing by him before going on to a stirring, church-tinged rendition of "Gold Digger."
The songs felt big and anthemic; the stage and stands, for instance, were bathed in lights and lasers for "All of the Lights" and "Stronger," respectively. As he bounced back and forth between hits from his discography, including his College Dropout debut and his introspective, Auto-Tuned 808s & Heartbreak, the weight of West's musical success was apparent. If there is a handbook for how to headline an expansive show, West should write it. Concertgoers appeared awestruck at the sheer spectacle and scale of the show, mouths gaping when they weren't shouting lyrics back at the energetic MC.
For the finale "Act 3" (a title card projected onto oversize screens flashed the show's three-part progression), a billowing white tent was spread across the stage. In cocoon-like fashion, the dancers re-emerged in black tutus; West clad in his signature red suit. As the rapper knocked out the mournful, tinkling opener of "Runaway" on his MPC machine, the ballerinas circled and Pusha T turned up for his verse.
Still, as large and loud as the show felt, Yeezy's closing was as subtle. After rapping a heartfelt "Hey Mama" on his knees, with a nod to his late mother, Donda West, the star and his band, dancers and DJ took a ballet-company-style bow and walked offstage as the stadium lights went up.
Related ArtistsMÃa Maestro Michael Michele Michelle Behennah Michelle Branch
-
Robert Plant And Alison Krauss Win Grammy Album Of The Year
Raising Sand, from Led Zeppelin vet and bluegrass superstar, wins five Grammys on Sunday night.
By James Montgomery with MTV News staff
Alison Krauss and Robert Plant accept the award for Album of the Year at the Grammy Awards on Sunday
Photo: Kevin Winter/ Getty Images"I'm bewildered," Robert Plant said onstage as he accepted the Grammy Album of the Year award with Alison Krauss on Sunday night. "In the old days we would have called this selling out, but it's a good way to spend a Sunday."
He was probably one of the few who were surprised, because Raising Sand, which won five trophies at Sunday night's show, is in many ways the perfect Grammy album. It features two respected veterans, a critically lauded producer, some sandpaper-and-velvet vocals and a baker's dozen of time-tested standards.
You're probably familiar with Robert Plant from his Led Zeppelin days, and you might be aware of producer T-Bone Burnett's work on the "O Brother, Where Art Thou?" soundtrack (it won the Grammy for Album of the Year in 2002). And if you don't know who Alison Krauss is, she possesses a haunting set of pipes and is one of the meanest fiddle players in the world. Oh, and she's won 21 Grammys, more than any other female artist and the seventh-most in history.
Really, she's the key to Sand's success, and not just because of her voice (or her fiddle playing). She and Plant first met in 2004, at a Rock and Roll Hall of Fame tribute to legendary bluesman Leadbelly, and the former Zeppelin man was amazed by her knowledge of American Roots music — so much so that they began kicking around the idea of recording an album together. Three years later, Sand was released.
And while Plant possesses the more famous voice, the album's finest moments radiate from Krauss. Whether she's getting bluesy on Little Milton's "Let Your Loss Be Your Lesson" or entwining with Plant's husky voice on songs like "Please Read the Letter" and Roly Salley's winsome "Killing the Blues," she more than carries her end of the bargain.
And perhaps that's also due to producer Burnett, who handpicked the 13 songs the duo cover on Sand. His arrangements are sparse — giving the two voices ample room to breathe — yet dense, warm and crackling at the same time. It's a testament to his work that he's often given just as much billing as Plant and Krauss on the project ... and it's certainly justified.
To date, Sand has sold more than 1 million copies, heaped tons of acclaim and actually earned a Grammy last year — "Gone Gone Gone (Done Moved On)" took home the award for Best Pop Collaboration With Vocals.
One expert was surprised not by the album's success, but by the fact that it's actually quite a good album.
"At first, the album seemed like a vanity project. ... Two names, clearly a one-off record, didn't have to be any good, you know?" New York Times music critic Jon Caramanica said. "Led Zeppelin fans would buy it because of Robert Plant, Alison Krauss would get a check. But it actually turned out to be a really thoughtful, really good record. So when you combine all that with the fact that the Grammys love to lionize one of their own, I could really see it taking home some awards."
Related Videos Related Artists
