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After several delays, Lady GaGa finally released her “Telephone” music video that features Beyonce. Directed by Jonas Åkerlund it appears the video is inspired by everything… from Thelma & Louise to everything else Tarantino starting with the Kill Bill films.

It’s certainly entertaining (pussy boat, Beyonce's motherfucker, etc) and yet very underwhelming, quite over produced. GaGa and Beyonce are both wonderfully talented artists however this video is about 5 minutes too long, too busy, over the top, lacks any plot, and has little connection or cohesiveness with the actual lyrics of the song.

In Gaga's effort to make it an “event” you're left feeling as though its snippets of different videos spliced together to make this one with strong lesbian undertones made just for the “controversy/water cooler chats” effect. Both ladies acting, even if it was supposed to be intentionally bad is actually beyond bad, Beyonce's speech leaves very little to be desired.

“Telephone” is certainly better than Beyonce's “Video Phone” that featured Gaga; however it’s outdone by Gaga's "Bad Romance”.

“Telephone” was hyped as something “EPIC”. The difference between this, and Michael Jackson‘s epic videos … is the simplicity, uniqueness, cohesiveness of/with the song, the truly incredible dancing that worked together to make Michael Jackson’s videos enjoyable and memorable. An epic is something that people will know and remember for generations. Michael Jackson's Thriller, Ghost, Bad, Billie Jean etc  videos will be studied and enjoyed for decades to come, Telephone will be forgotten in 2 years.

So did it live up to your expectations?

Here's the music video for We Are The World 25. 

Lionel Richie & Quincy Jones decided to remake this classic to raise money for Haiti. Their efforts were for a good cause and their hearts were in the right place commendable effort for sure, however in my opinion they have ruined a classic.

Butchered; complete with auto-tune, rap, Jamie Fox's laughing on such a serious occasion (his impersonation was quite spot on though) commentary, Justin Beiber opening the song? Lionel Ritchie to Justin Beiber? You have Gladis Knight in the crowd yet Nicole from Pussy Cats does the “uhh ohhs”? I could go on and on.. If they did this purely to be “relevant” to the new generation, I hope it really works, because Haiti does need the help, sad though is this generation will never get to know true talent, that was in the 80s.

The video editing, is even more of a disappointment, chopped up, all over the place, unorganized. Choices of voices to highlight, confusing and uninspired, Janet sings 2 or 3 words and even then you can hardly hear her, the way the split screen is done, seems to do both her and Michael Jackson no favors. Of everyone in the group, in this video Michael Jackson's voice pierces through and towers over all of them . Says something no?

I wonder, would Michael Jackson have approved of this were he alive? Michael Jackson was famously known for his perfectionism, when the original WRTW was made he didn't sleep or eat because he wanted every part of it to be perfect. And it was, he helped create that magic that turned into a classic that can never be matched, going on to raise more than $60 Million for Africa.

Wouldn't Lionel, Quincy and Haiti been served better had the group just written a brand new song for the cause, one that could have stood on it's own merits, inspired many to give, instead of being compared to a perfect and highly acclaimed classic?

Haiti still needs all the help and money they can get, I have and will contribute, please do if you can.

Here's how you can help the people in Haiti:

Download “We Are The World 25” For Haiti from World25.org or iTunes.

The following organizations are accepting SMS donations in the US only:

• SMS text “HAITI” to 90999 to donate $10 to Red Cross relief efforts
• SMS text “YELE” to 501501 to Donate $5 to Yele Haiti’s Earthquake Relief efforts
• SMS text “GIVE10” to 20222 to donate $10 to Direct Relief

Canadians can also donate by going to the UNICEF website, the Canadian government will match every donation made. Please give if you can.

The original We Are The World video.

Here's Michael Jackson in the studio recording the guide and his solo parts for the original WRTW

Check out Rihanna's latest music video for her single “Rude Boy” from her latest album Rated R.

RiRi is an island girl, Barbados to be exact, she couldn't have done this video better, she's fun, she's dancing (as opposed to the sexualized, walking fashion show/billboard she's been doing in her few music videos with little dancing, no inspiration or uniqueness), the island vibrant colors and 90s effects of the video work perfectly with the gist of, and, sound of the song yet stays sexy and inviting.

Someone I know twitted this about Rihanna's new video

LeeZett K.Haring + Grace Jones as a stripper vampire doing performance art. Yep, it all inspired RudeBoy

Will this video help Rated R's sales figures?

Mrs Mariah Carey Cannon covers this months Observer magazine and gives an interesting interview. Highlights;

On her role in Precious:
“I spent as much time as I could getting into it,” Carey says. “She is supposed to be exhausted, so it didn’t matter that I stayed up… I really did the best I could to morph into this woman who goes into this office every day and deals with people needing something from her, trying to get things from her, maybe being disingenuous.”

On her insecurity:
“I am very insecure about my looks, and I always have been because of being mixed race [Carey's mother is Irish-American and her father was an African-American of Venezuelan descent]. It’s not so weird now, and everyone’s accepting it in a big way, but as a child I felt very, um, out of place and didn’t feel pretty. So taking on that character and having Lee make me older in the way he did, I guess it was freeing because I didn’t have to try in any way to look pretty, and you know, when you grow up with that type of insecurity you don’t always feel pretty.”

On her family:
“I don’t want to go into my family stuff, but there were very difficult things that took place. I think certain people like to torture me because they think I’ve had it easier than I actually have and they think: ‘Oh, she’s got this, she’s got that, she’s always had everything perfect’ and it’s sooo not true. You know, I really relate to this movie in a lot of ways.”

On her racial identity:
“Usually the black community knew that I was black, but white people didn’t always – they hadn’t always experienced being around people who were half-black, half-white and who looked more white. My mum’s very, very Irish and my father was light-skinned, so I turned out the way I turned out.”

On whether she still experiences racism:
“Yes. It’ll be a mild thing that I’ll get over, but a friend said to me the other day: ‘Oh yeah, you’ll like her –she’s like you, she’s got a black husband’ [Carey married the 28-year-old actor Nick Cannon last year]. And I’m like: ‘How many times do I have to tell you – my father was black. My mother’s white. In this country that makes you black, do you understand? I know I’m very light-skinned, but stop doing that!’ It’s one of those things that the world doesn’t quite understand. When I first came to Europe, everybody was asking me: ‘Why do you always have black people in your music videos?’ And I was like, errm, how do I answer this one?”

......reason #234888 to lover Mariah… she gives great interviews…

Today two music video's from her remix album “Angles Cry” were released or perhaps leaked?.
 

Mariah Carey – Angels Cry (feat. Ne-Yo)

Very basic, very “one sweet day” and very Mariah…  can't go wrong with that.

Mariah Carey – Up Out My Face (feat. Nicki Minaj) 

silly concept, silly outfits yet they actually work out for the video… not a bad feat. 

So do we love it?

Rihanna is the Glamour Woman of the Year. Along with that award, she was interviewed for an article and she opened up for the first time about the Chris Brown abuse incident. She looks hot on the cover, love that she has curves… 

On the Chris Brown incident:[quote]Glamour: Let's talk about this past year-you've obviously been through some difficult things. How did the people around you help you cope?

  Rihanna: My friends and family have been extremely supportive, and everyone has been there for me. But at some point you are there alone. It's a lonely place to be-no one can understand. That's when you get close to God.

    Glamour: Are you referring to the [Chris Brown] incident?

    Rihanna: I am talking about starting with the night [before] the Grammys and then on. That was not the only thing that occurred this year. The picture leaking…it was one thing after another.

    Glamour: You're talking about the photo [reportedly of Rihanna's injured face taken by police after Brown assaulted her] that was allegedly leaked by cops. You handled that so well; you kept silent in the press.

    Rihanna: It was humiliating; that is not a photo you would show to anybody. I felt completely taken advantage of. I felt like people were making it into a fun topic on the Internet, and it's my life. I was disappointed, especially when I found out the photo was [supposedly leaked by] two women.

    Glamour: Do you feel that this experience has laid the groundwork for coping with anything so public again?

    Rihanna: It has taught me so much. I felt like I went to sleep as Rihanna and woke up as Britney Spears. That was the level of media chaos that happened the next day. It was like, What, there are helicopters circling my house? There are 100 people in my cul-de-sac? What do you mean, I can't go back home?

    Glamour: If you could offer a message to the millions of young women who look up to you, what would you tell someone who found herself in a similar situation?

    Rihanna: Domestic violence is a big secret. No kid goes around and lets people know their parents fight. Teenage girls can't tell their parents that their boyfriend beat them up. You don't dare let your neighbor know that you fight. It's one of the things we [women] will hide, because it's embarrassing. My story was broadcast all over the world for people to see, and they have followed every step of my recovery. The positive thing that has come out of my situation is that people can learn from that. I want to give as much insight as I can to young women, because I feel like I represent a voice that really isn't heard. Now I can help speak for those women.[/quote]

On her being a fashion icon:[quote]    Glamour: Now let's talk about your success in the world of fashion: You have become a fashion icon practically overnight. What does it mean to you as a performer, as a creative person, as a way to celebrate who you are?

    Rihanna: Fashion for me is another way I get to express myself creatively. It is one of the fun things I get to do: to play dress-up, and create outfits and looks that aren't typical. I am an artist, so I like creating things. Shoes are my favorite thing.

    Glamour: Your look has evolved from the beginning of your career.

    Rihanna: In the first two years of my career, there were a lot of restraints on what I could do. I couldn't wear certain colors of lipstick, like bright pink, dark pink or red; [my lips] had to be natural. Eventually, I stopped communicating with certain people at the label, and did exactly what I wanted to do. And that was to cut my hair, dye it black, change my clothes, change my sound. Really to just express myself.

     Glamour: Let's talk about that famous hair of yours. Your cut now is even called “The Rihanna” in salons!

    Rihanna: Yeah, we cut it into a bob for the [Good Girl Gone Bad album] cover shoot, but then I went even shorter for the NRJ Music Awards [in January 2008]. My hairdresser just said, “I don't feel like doing your hair anymore-I want to cut it.” I was like, Finally![/quote] ummm pause it for a moment.. I know RiRi means well but her “image” was crafted carefully by her label, I be willing to bet on that…it was done specifically for Good Girl Gone Bad promotion (given the title and the music). Didn't her stylist the one who cut her hair talk about that change? RiRi may have suggested or pointed out outfits she liked and yes she is probably right she was so contrainted at the beggining but I am less inclined to believe the “I made the change” claim however it works in continueing to promote the “Good to Bad girl” rebel image that she's been going for these last 2 years.

[quote]   Glamour: Is it too early for you to think, I want to be in love, I want to have a family? Is that too far down the road?

    Rihanna: I hope I find love in the next 10 years-that will be pretty annoying if I am 31 and still have never been in love! But yeah, I'd like to be in a great place in both my personal life and my career. I still want to be doing what I love. Whatever that is in 10 years, I don't know. I've put everything I've wanted to say for the past eight months into my music. [My new album] is super fearless-which is exactly how I feel right now. I am in a really good place." [/quote]never been in love? I'm sure in the Diane Sawyer interview on ABC she did say Chris was her first big love… for more of the Glamour interview click here its a good read.

Rihanna will be on ABC GMA Thursday and Friday and then on 2020 Friday night. And, according to the network, RiRi apparently goes into detail about the beating she received at the hands of Chris Brown whom she calls “my first big love”.

In further RIRI news… here's her video for Wait your Turn/Wait is Over. 

This video reminds me of the Jay-Z/Kanye/RiRi Run this Town video, nice cinematography, the black and white is cool… however seems to be a pointless, storyless video.. Just RiRi walking around, modeling different looks in black and white… she does look HOT though.

50 Cent featuring Ne-Yo – Baby By Me.

Nicely done. Kelly Rowland looks fabulous in the video. I actually like the song after seeing the video.....

Here's Shakira's – Did it Again new music video.

Bed gymnastics indeed, impressive choreography for the bed gymnastics howeve could someone explain to me the purpose of the steam/sauna-women in white scenes in the vid? makes no sense to me at all. Is it just me or is Shakira becoming formulaic in her videos?