RollingStone
www.rollingstone.com
The video for Britney Spears' new single "Til the World Ends" is basically a dance party set in a bombed-out city on the eve of some kind of apocalypse, which makes perfect sense. It makes a little less sense why only hot, model-looking people in high-end Mad Max gear have made it to see the end of world. Maybe this is a Darwinian thing -- only the foxy are strong enough to survive! Either way, this is a good, memorable video.
MTV
www.mtv.com
With Wednesday's release of Britney Spears' new video for "Till the World Ends," the pop diva showed she can dance her way through anything — even an apocalypse.
Now, although "Till the World Ends" takes place in the future, it's hard to watch it without feeling transported to the past. The edgy look, steamy scenes and pulsating dance moves take us back to Spears' 2001 hit "Slave 4 U." Some of the key elements of "Till the World Ends" mirror "Slave," from the videos' sweaty dance scenes to the sexy wardrobe changes to an almost identical scene in which Britney sits among a group of sultry dancers.
And this isn't the first time the princess of pop has paid homage to herself. Spears' over-the-top videos have typically featured some distinct elements: memorable story lines ("Toxic"), standout choreography ("Oops! ... I Did It Again") and midriff-bearing outfits ("I'm Not A Girl, Not Yet A Woman"). So we can't say we blame her for looking back.
In 2008, Spears released her video for "Womanizer," which gave us a case of déjà vu, reminding us of her iconic "Toxic" clip. Borrowing a similar concept, Britney took on multiple personalities and sought revenge on a man who had done her wrong. However, the most jarring similarity was the wardrobe, or lack thereof. Spears played off the most memorable "Toxic" look — a nude bedazzled bodysuit — but took it one step further when she decided to bare all for "Womanizer."
Another recurring theme of Spears' videos happens to be a recurring theme in her real life: the constant media scrutiny. Spears has never hidden the fact that she's not a fan of all that paparazzi attention, and she playfully illustrated her battle with the photographers in "Piece of Me." But Spears' video résumé also finds her playing a variety of roles, from a young schoolgirl in "...Baby One More Time" to a bubble-gum-popping waitress in "(You Drive Me) Crazy," even a sexy flight attendant in "Toxic."
Earlier this year, the pop star reminded the world of just how memorable her music video catalog really is, when she surrounded herself with several of her classic video looks in "Hold It Against Me." The clip may have given viewers a glimpse of her past, but at the rate that Spears is going, it seems the best is yet to come.
Time Magazine
www.time.com
Britney Spears' new music video, "Till the World Ends," premiered online today. This time, the pop empress sets the stage in a bleak, dystopian future (December 21, 2012, to be exact; things changed that much?). In this setting, humanity's will to survive the End of Time manifests itself the only logical way it can: In dance.
The smash single, off her latest Billboard-topping album, Femme Fatale, is a thumping, Euro-trance inspired dance number heavy on the Auto-Tune, with a triumphant call-and-response chorus that's not so dissimilar from a number of today's top 40 tracks.
The difference here? Clearly, it's Britney herself. Her wardrobe shifts a few times — most notably at 2:40, where she first dons a Pariah-like red, studded bodysuit (a nod to "Runaway"-era Kanye?) — while everyone else contrasts her in pitch-black Rick Owens inspired throwaways (while still dancing like there's no tomorrow). The video's sweaty, at times blinding, yet undeniably enjoyable, adopting many of its key elements from Britney's coming-of-age "I'm a Slave 4 U." This time, though, there's buildings crumbling.
Watch till the end for a sort-of surprise ending that NewsFeed won't give away. But let's just say that there'll be dancing for another day.
Entertainment Weekly
www.ew.com
The latest video from Britney Spears, for pulsing single “Till the World Ends,” has hit the web, and it’s pretty much just what you’d expect if you’ve listened to the lyrics (or, you know, read the title of the song): a bunch of people dancing, umm, until the world ends. Or, actually, while the world ends?
The clip opens with a date flashing across the screen: December 21, 2012. Sound familiar? It’s the date that has been bandied around forever as the one which some sort of transformative, apocalypitic event will occur and basically blow the world to smithereens. (Remember the Roland Emmerich disaster flick?)
But in Britney world, while December 21, 2012, might be the day the world is ending, it’s also the day that she sends it out with an underground dance party. Need access? Just find the nearest manhole in the street and slither down to the rave she’s cooking in the sewers. Because, children, she’s going to be dancing “Till the World Ends” for a long time.
The latest video from Britney Spears, for pulsing single “Till the World Ends,” has hit the web, and it’s pretty much just what you’d expect if you’ve listened to the lyrics (or, you know, read the title of the song): a bunch of people dancing, umm, until the world ends. Or, actually, while the world ends?
The clip opens with a date flashing across the screen: December 21, 2012. Sound familiar? It’s the date that has been bandied around forever as the one which some sort of transformative, apocalypitic event will occur and basically blow the world to smithereens. (Remember the Roland Emmerich disaster flick?)
But in Britney world, while December 21, 2012, might be the day the world is ending, it’s also the day that she sends it out with an underground dance party. Need access? Just find the nearest manhole in the street and slither down to the rave she’s cooking in the sewers. Because, children, she’s going to be dancing “Till the World Ends” for a long time.
Before we go any further, take a gander at the video here:
Yesterday, I mocked Britney a bit when the teaser for this video came out, commenting that our beloved star was “bounce-dancing.” And sure, she does bounce-dance. A lot. But she does do a fair amount of what one might call actual dancing in this video. (Just to clarify, the reason that there is issue with her dancing these days is that it’s not as good as it once was. Period.)
And you know what, what she does here isn’t half bad! Those moments in that red catsuit-ish get-up near the end of the video are positively bouyant. And I think I even spotted a smile here and there from Spears, who looks rather dead behind the eyes most of the time. So that really warmed my heart.
And the clip has other high points: I love what’s happening at about 1:50 when Britney is sitting amongst a posse of sewer dwellers, simply pulsing her shoulders, then flipping her hair. Then comes the best part: that tiny clap-clap-clap she owns, while standing amid the group of urchins. How hot is that? Totally in: tiny claps.
As I said above, this video is exactly what you’d expect for this song, and from Britney at this point in her career. She’s producing solid work that feels good, gets you moving for a second, but that you don’t linger over. It’s got stripes of Ke$ha’s trashtacular video for “We R Who We R,” which makes sense, since Ke$ha co-wrote this song. And did anyone else see a little bit of “Dirrty” in this vid, too? Thank goodness, though, that she’d done with that whole product placement thing she ratcheted up with “Hold it Against Me.” At least, for now.
