Britney Spears: Work Bitch
Details
Pros:
The video turns up the naughty on Spears's bad-girl persona while showing off more agility in recent memory (even if the smart videography is just a trick of the eye)Cons:
Music is far from imaginative; reminds you of everything will.i.am has danced with on the Black Eyed PeasIn bitchy video, Spears shows that hard work and no play makes Jill a dull girl
In bitchy video, Spears shows that hard work and no play makes Jill a dull girl
Premiering worldwide during the iHeartRadio Music Festival (CW; Tuesday, 8 p.m./CST), Britney Spears tried once again to prove that she deserves to be on the same stage as Gaga and Rihanna. And in some cases, the “Hit Me Baby One More Time” singer – still a ‘Made in America’ treasure in the eyes of accessible pop music – isn’t really ready to make a dash off the centerstage and to the exits. America got a chance to see a revived Britney after releasing the two delicious Dr. Luke-produced tracks on her 2011 sorta-comeback album (Femme Fatale). Sadly, a supporting tour was bamboozled by all sorts of hijinks, from bad reviews over her stage presence and unnecessary lip-synching to Enrique Iglesias bowing out as her opening act. Her performance on Good Morning America was also a PR nightmare. As time rolls on, we even caught Britney trying to give advice to potential stars on X-Factor, making Honey Boo Boo look more entertaining. Her reign on the hit TV show ended abruptly; so did those rumors about performing in Vegas. So as Spears wrestled to find her big break and to find some kind of way out of her career slump, she managed to find a slot on will.i.am’s late-2012 club banger, “Scream and Shout.” Far from being a runaway hit, it managed to put her back on the dance floor, even if the song’s prominent highlight focused totally on a retro sample of hers where she says, “I’m Britney bitch.” Nevertheless, clubland ate the song up, so did Top 40. So it’s probably sensible for her management to focus intently on that kind of momentum for her next track, the electro-powered, synth-driven “Work Bitch.”
It’s not cut from the same cloth as “Scream and Shout,” but it is the per usual from will.i.am’s sloppy copy-and-paste surgical philosophy. When Spears says “You betta work bitch,” it’s done using the same loopy effects as her one-liners on “Scream and Shout.” In fact it doesn’t take an undercover detective to point out that the chorus uses the same phrasing formula of “The Time (Dirty Bit).” “Bring it on, ring the alarm/Don’t stop now, just be the champion,” Spears sings using Auto enhancements, while echoing Fergie’s “I was born to get wild/That’s my style.” Musically, Spears can do better that these stale leftovers. And there might be better further down the runway.
As for the Ben Mor-directed concept video of “Work Bitch,” Spears may have found a way to calm the qualms that may have fractured her image up to this point. Thanks to the social media success of YouTube, a music video could very well be her token of redemption. Inside it, you can see Spears looking fab in her drag and she’s definitely shinning bright like a diamond (sorry Rihanna). Her dance moves appear to be in better condition, even if the slick camera direction gives off more illusion than reality. Still she’s being outshined by her young and hotter background dancers. The scenes, all shot in Malibu, also alternate through a world of empty deserts, glossy swimming pools with CGI sharks, sneaky perfume placements and lavish sports cars, while Spears changes from dominatrix to Baywatch beauty. All of this is important in saving Spears from the looming perils of pop life. As evidenced in Prince’s 1985 hit, pop life is all about winning, even if you have to get funky to achieve it: “Everybody can’t be on top/But life ain’t real funky unless it’s got that pop.” For Spears, she’s just coasting. The video is definitely funky in places, but the song itself is far from being on top.
If there were two particular groups that earned a sense of satisfaction out of watching Spears’s Moulin Rouge act, it was the folks anxious to see Spears work the stage at Planet Hollywood in Vegas for her upcoming residency…and then it was the gays. There’s a hi-res, vogue-like, J-setting aroma that comes from the cyber beats. Spears’s coy phrasing only adds more queer drama to the soundscape. The song itself will not be one of her triumphant moments, but it’ll definitely find its way into the popular Britney Spears Megamix, adding ninety more seconds to its fifteen-minute routine.
