purplesweat said:

SEANMAN said:

They were bigging up this video something fierce. I read that she was supposed to be doing gravity-defying dance moves that required a double and everything. Kind of put me in the mid of Janet's "Make Me", but with more color.

You read wrong. There was a double for the FIGHT scene, not the dance scenes.

I like the vid enough, the part with her shooting paint everywhere, all over her old videos was great, very different. I like the weirdness of it, the two eyes in one eyelid, the lips, the dancers with no eyes, generally creepy stuff. My guess is she's playing an alien. Which means the dead look behind the eyes could be intentional.

Or it could be Zoloft. My bet's on the latter.

why does this sound like any other early 90s german 'techno' song?

those kind of songs used to be in their top 40 all the time. this one

is just a little updated for the new century but underneath all those

new beats, it's the same basic song.

someone call U96 and tell them they have a good case here

The fact that every.single.poster here has commented on her eyes/emotion proves it's intentional.

Look at her other post breakdown videos:

Circus:

Womanizer:

Amy:

But she didn't smile/show much emotion in Radar because the part she was playing didn't require it. Same with HIAM in my opinion, she's supposed to be moody/sad looking because the whole video is about her rise and fall.

alphastreet said:

Britney NEVER set trends...get that idea out of your head NOW! She took what others did and entertained and did a nice job, that's it.

Like I said, her makeup is awful in some of the shots, but the video was well done.

She and Pink definitely kick started the low rise jeans trend/navel baring shirts trend. As a pre-teen of the 90s, trust me, jeans were past your navel one minute, then exposing everyone's butt crack by 2000

go2theMax said:

midiscover said:

She looks much older and her dancing is tired. Retire, Britney.

4 that matter Janet should be retired 4 a while now.

the video is lame!

Let's not go there...

@purplesweat

You can't be serious

purplesweat said:

The fact that every.single.poster here has commented on her eyes/emotion proves it's intentional.

But she didn't smile/show much emotion in Radar because the part she was playing didn't require it. Same with HIAM in my opinion, she's supposed to be moody/sad looking because the whole video is about her rise and fall.

I don't get it...she is singing about finding someone attractive, where did you get she is supposed to be moody/ sad? It's a pretty uplifting song too, i don't see the connection.

I tried to watch this video out of curiosity more than anything.

I don't know about her mood. She looked..ok I guess. And I think the song is ok if you like that type of music.

But I couldn't finish the video because ultimately I'm just not that interested! It was a pretty slick production from what I saw of it.

One thing I did notice, her dancers are dancing their butts off. And when she's supposed to be dancing with them... she's just moving her arms. Her feet are just shuffling along. I think she used to actually dance more in her older videos. I really like her Slave4You video. To me that one was classic. She's really dancing in that one,too.

I think she's still interested in performing... but you know maybe she's just changed to where she doesn't know exactly what else to do?? What else is Britney Spears going to do? So...I don't think it's like she doesn't have any passion, but perhaps maybe just it's hard for her to get motivated like she used to. Doesn't she have a couple of kids now?

I don't think she looks dead in the eyes but more...this is old hat to her, perhaps--just like the rest of us sometimes where it's not like we don't like our jobs.. it's more...been there done that...

Then again she may be having a blast! Who really knows for sure?

SEANMAN said:

go2theMax said:

4 that matter Janet should be retired 4 a while now.

the video is lame!

Let's not go there...

I was watching some recent Janet Jackson stuff because I might go see her when she performs in Austin. I haven't really been keeping up with what Janet Jackson has been doing, but I'd like to see her... particularly since Michael passed. I really want to support Janet and make her feel welcomed in Austin. I hope she likes it here. I'm sure she'll get a large turn-out. MY MISTAKE: she's performing on ACL which is even better for her because it's more pretigious, I think. I'm still going to try to go... Cool.

But getting back to the video comparing her to Britney, I think Janet actually dances a lot more in her more recent videos... and perhaps also in concert from the clips I've seen.

I actually think Janet Jackson does a nice job... and is pretty darn good shape for a woman of..what over 40? Janet seems to work really hard, I think. I admire her.

Britney probably works hard, too, it's just maybe she's wearing the wrong shoes for dancing? I think this video of Britney's is ok if you're a fan of hers. The song has already done real well, hasn't it? So definitely, Britney has still got it for some people.

[Edited 2/19/11 6:54am]

I don't think those eyes are the result of her simply aging. Looks more like the result of alcoholism / pill abuse to me. It's possible that she suffers from insomnia or something similar as well.

novabrkr said:

I don't think those eyes are the result of her simply aging. Looks more like the result of alcoholism / pill abuse to me. It's possible that she suffers from insomnia or something similar as well.

I thought it was supposed to be an anime type of thing? Maybe it's the eyelashes??

It could be be she smokes? Does she smoke?

To me, it's difficult to speculate, but I guess considering her history since her problems were everywhere all. the. time., it's hard not to speculate.

I just think overall... I'd like to see her dance more. I always thought she was a pretty good dancer.

Well, a lot of things can cause fluid buildup around the eyes. I can't claim to be an expert on the issue, but I've seen plenty of alcoholics with that type of eyes. Then again, I recall cases when women have simply cried a lot during certain periods of their lives and their eyes have ended up looking like that for a while due to swelling. It's just that there's shitloads of make up on her face in that video, but it still fails to hide that "angled" appearance her eyes obviously have.

robertlove said:

purplesweat said:

The fact that every.single.poster here has commented on her eyes/emotion proves it's intentional.

But she didn't smile/show much emotion in Radar because the part she was playing didn't require it. Same with HIAM in my opinion, she's supposed to be moody/sad looking because the whole video is about her rise and fall.

I don't get it...she is singing about finding someone attractive, where did you get she is supposed to be moody/ sad? It's a pretty uplifting song too, i don't see the connection.

Well, the video has nothing to do with the song so The video is clearly about her career/downfall so it makes sense she'd look upset around the middle part, just before she fights herself.

Ugly song........

Ugly Video......

I like how she is starting to show age....I like it alot. Should be 30 now right?

Oh shit I just saw all you guys acomments..

Wow ..its not that serious....she has been in our faces since she was a teenager..now she is 30..of course she is going to age..its a beautiful thing..EMBRACE it

[Edited 2/19/11 11:54am]

Only thing missing in her eyes is the FIRE and DRIVE she once had...

So where's this much hyped about dance routine?

Britney has looked like she is just going through the motions and is not into it for years, she mite be getting number ones but everything she does just seems kinda empty. I think she needs to do a Prince and break away from her label, i find it kinda strange that she is where she is now at 30 cuz i always believed that most artist by that age have gained at least some control over their careers and decide for themselves what direction they want to go in/who they want to work with/what songs they record and put on their albums. I think thats why Britney seems to have no real motivation, after like 15 yrs with Jive, she is very still much a puppet.

I was never a big Britney fan- except when I was age 12. But this stuff is just lame.

To me it just come across as her record company using her voice to sell garbage music.

She hardly looks as if she's in control of her own product.

She doesn't have that fire anymore, she hasn't been the same since 2005. It's a shame when someone seems so past their prime and they aren't even 30 yet.

Eveytime she dances now or attempts to dance it's just like someone else trying to impersonate her..and doing a really wack job. It's quite sad to see. Shame on them tryna hype up the choreography and giving us this shit..doesn't hold a candle to the Britney of yester year.

She looks pretty but..dont care for the vid at all.

midiscover said:

go2theMax said:

4 that matter Janet should be retired 4 a while now.

the video is lame!

What does she have to do with this?

sorry..only stans are allowed 2 bring her name up in other artists' threads now? U have have 2 keep me update on those janet's stans rules....will ya??

purplesweat said:

The fact that every.single.poster here has commented on her eyes/emotion proves it's intentional.

Look at her other post breakdown videos:

Circus:

Womanizer:

Amy:

But she didn't smile/show much emotion in Radar because the part she was playing didn't require it. Same with HIAM in my opinion, she's supposed to be moody/sad looking because the whole video is about her rise and fall.

alphastreet said:

Britney NEVER set trends...get that idea out of your head NOW! She took what others did and entertained and did a nice job, that's it.

Like I said, her makeup is awful in some of the shots, but the video was well done.

She and Pink definitely kick started the low rise jeans trend/navel baring shirts trend. As a pre-teen of the 90s, trust me, jeans were past your navel one minute, then exposing everyone's butt crack by 2000

That kind of stuff was in in the early half of the 90's too

go2theMax said:

midiscover said:

What does she have to do with this?

sorry..only stans are allowed 2 bring her name up in other artists' threads now? U have have 2 keep me update on those janet's stans rules....will ya??

You sound miserable.

I checked out parts of her dream without a dream tour online after reading all this, and it looks really awesome! She is such a janet wannabe though, but I felt so sad watching all those old performances cause she seemed so happy and excited, but she has been through hell since and seems out of it now and I almost wanted to cry for her I really think getting married and having kids was her downfall, she let social pressure get to her...she should have just focused on her career like janet did.

CarnicheFille said:

Pretty boring. She looked like she wasn't getting into it or having fun. Also, the intro reminded me of Oops I Did It Again. The colors were nice though...

I thought of oops too and liked the colours

Great review, suits my interpretation of the video, too:

little after 9:55 p.m. EST Thursday, my Twitter news-feed flash-flooded into a sea of foreign (to those living in Medieval Times…) hash-tags like #HIAM, #HIAMVideoPremiere, #FemmeFatale. Which could only mean, the one and only Britney Spears (Oops!) did it again. After fourteen tepid, smoke-and-fog teasers, the highly-hyped Jonas Åkerlund-directed music video for her hard-thumping club banger of a single “Hold It Against Me” finally premiered.

I’ve so far refused to read full-length reviews, because the general consensus via Twitter caused me perpetual eye-rolling. Example: Mr. Perez Hilton/gaga-for-Gaga fan tweeted to “Britney” his disappointment regarding her lack of dancing. As per usual, fans remain trapped in a pre-Britney buzz-cut, “Best of…” music video collection replete with red catsuits, school-girl garb collection and frenetic pelvic thrusting dance routines — a time wherein the pop princess was seemingly on top of the world. Um, let’s not forget that she was also eighteen and giggling while claiming she’d be a virgin until marriage in Pepsi-sponsored press conferences. Times have changed.

What I’m trying to say is, at 29, “Hold It Against Me” very well may be Britney’s most personal, mature and greatest work of art yet. Yes, you read it right. A-R-T (sans the ludicrous product placement). The video kicks off with a meteor racing towards earth. The explosion is Britney, showing off her midriff to a slew of flashing cameras and dancing on a lit sound-stage surrounded by half-naked, writhing male dancers. Typical Britney. But then the chorus starts and Britney, in a flowing wedding dress, is hauntingly elevated into the air with surrounding futuristic screens basically playing, yep, a “Best of…” Britney video collection. With her golden locks and caked-on makeup, this is a return to the old, squeaky-clean Britney. This is how fans wish to remember her pre-babies/divorce/rehab: our beautiful and perfect pop princess, celestial, flying free and on top of the world and looking down on little ol’ us. But I can’t help but notice Britney’s sad, soulful eyes, her subtext screaming to the cameras, “I’m not a Slave 4 U, I won’t gimme you more, I’m no longer a girl, but I’m a woman with real life issues who sometimes tours the world and breaks records. You want a piece of me? Take your best shot. Here I am.” Other up-to-interpretation scenes reveal a Britney surrounded by a wreath of microphones (she’s always gotta be “on!”, the microphones are her shadow), and Britney battling (in fancy stilettos) a look-a-like. But there’s no winner (she’s her only competition, the only one standing in her way is herself a la Black Swan). She eventually comes “back to life” on stage for the confetti-exploding, choreographed closing scene celebration, which presents a return to old school Britney (Look, she’s dancing in a cute Britney outfit! She fell and got back up! Another “comeback”!)But the most moving part of the entire five-minutes comes during the dub-step breakdown, in which neon paint shoots from Brit Brit’s finger tips, covering the screens projecting her immaculate, former self and drenching her pristine white wedding dress. Uh oh! Britney is going “crazy” again and her kingdom of followers (in this case, the probably Terence Koh-inspired identical figures without eyes who struggle aimlessly under her billowing dress) have lost, and are lost, without their Queen.So, this is why I have no problem with the lack of hard-hitting choreography in this music video. The video, to me, quite complexly represents something quite simple. Although uber-fans (okay, or just me) playfully refer to her as Godney, she’s oh-so-human. The once picture-perfect pop star has returned and is offering fans the new, worn-and-torn and yes, stronger than yesterday Britney.

A recap. She lands on earth, it explodes. She flies in the air like an angel with her mega-fans dancing blindingly underneath her. She can’t always handle the pressure of living up to her greatest hits constantly following her and the world wanting a piece of her. She battles herself, falls down, gets back up, and we all watch in anticipation and obsession while switching on the record button. But everything’s gonna be okay. Because she’s Britney, bitch, a Southern gal with big dreams who stole and broke the world’s heart. She needn’t give an elaborate explanation for this video. It is what it is: Britney at her most authentic, the sometimes frappuccino guzzling (and a bit hay-zay) pop icon. Take it or leave it. But don’t hold it against her.

I can't find a review/comment that doesn't mention her eyes. 100% intentional.

V10LETBLUES said:

I always want to root for the underdog, even a millionaire sad sack underdog.

But she comes off like a real-life Lilly Von Schtup. She is much too young to be Lilly Von Schtup.

She looks tired, just going through the motions, just like whoever directed that clip.

Very uninspired.

Britney should take notes from Lilly Von Schtup. Even Lilly had a spark of life in her performance.

Madd respect for the Maddy Kahn reference. That is all...

midiscover said:

go2theMax said:

sorry..only stans are allowed 2 bring her name up in other artists' threads now? U have have 2 keep me update on those janet's stans rules....will ya??

You sound miserable.

[Flame snip - luv4u]

wow..and that was not the worst thing i could say about U...anyway