Who has the best new video: Xtina, Mariah, or Hilary?
Oct 29, 2008, 02:56 PM | by Michael Slezak
Categories: Christina Aguilera, Fa-fa-fa-fa-fashion, Mariah Carey, Music
Three new videos from three popular divas. Ch-ch-check 'em out, then click through past the jump to our poll questions about which clip (and which song) you like best.
Christina Aguilera, "Keeps Getting Better"
Concept: Blonde, hoodie-wearing Xtina directs her bewigged alter-egos as they strut through a series of low-budget green-screen landscapes.
Plusses: Dancing "plasma blobs" should be required in every video forever; floral minidress sequence reminiscent of Estée Lauder ad featuring Madonna's "Love Profusion"; kinda digging the funky mini robot, too.
Minuses: Dime-store hairpieces hardly appropriate for A-list recording artist; catwoman ensemble looks like rejected uniform for underground wrestling competitor; how many more motorcycle/convertible video montages must a nation of music lovers endure before fresh concepts are embraced by major-label artists?
Accompanying song: Hellaciously hot dance track has been in constant rotation on my iPod for several weeks now.
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Mariah Carey, "I Stay in Love"
Concept: Vegas showgirl's longing for and jealousy over her fit, fabulous ex-beau reaches boiling point, results in vehicular explosion.
Plusses: Gorgeous cinematography, hot boots, and let's be honest, Mariah's bod looks totally smokin', even if her entire wardrobe should be donated to a charity benefiting teenage strumpets and/or truck-stop hookers. Also: That Wentworth Miller 2.0 ain't hard on the eyes, either.
Minuses: Murky plotting and many burning questions: How come Mariah's showgirl moves are so lethargic? Why does Mariah drive to the middle of the desert to explode the car, then leave herself stranded? How come the one-time happy couple's bed is also located in the middle of the desert? Plus, there's that played-out "diva driving with the top down" device again!
Accompanying song: A slower, less addictive variation on "We Belong Together"
Hilary Duff, "Reach Out"
Concept: One-time Disney star attempts to reinvent self as adult sex-symbol by cavorting in seedy mansion setting with scantily clad, disembodied man-meat.
Plusses: Can't think of anything good to say about the video, but at least the track features an insanely catchy sample of "Personal Jesus."
Minuses: Sadly, that Depeche Mode sample is brutalized and left lifeless by the side of the road by the end of "Reach Out." As for the video clip, where to start? The gray, fetid-looking grapes and other assorted foodstuffs that serve as the backdrop to Duff's bacchanal? The way the fingerprinty mirror makes my heart and soul cry out for a big bottle of Windex and a roll of paper towels? The attempts to pay fashion tributes to Madonna's "Like a Virgin" wedding dress and any of ex-boyfriend Joel Madden's unfortunate hats? Or, as my colleague Shirley Halperin disgustedly points out, the general American apparel-ness of the whole sordid video?
Accompanying song: Gah!
Hilary Duff - Reach Out - Official Music Video Premiere
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