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Tag: Paula Abdul Cold Hearted

  • Barcelona Baby: Dua Lipa Channels Numerous Pop Girls in Video for “Illusion”

    Barcelona Baby: Dua Lipa Channels Numerous Pop Girls in Video for “Illusion”

    As Dua Lipa continues to build the anticipation for her long-awaited third album, Radical Optimism, she’s already brought us a third single in the wake of “Houdini” and “Training Season.” The theme of “Illusion,” as it’s called (and in keeping with a title like “Houdini”), is more closely aligned to the one in “Training Season,” with Lipa telling off any man trying to spin some false yarn. In order to help convey that message in visual form is the always impressive Tanu Muino, who has increasingly branched out into collaborating with American musicians in lieu of the Ukrainian ones she started out working for. In fact, it was, of all things, a Katy Perry video (2019’s “Small Talk”) that signaled her transition to working with some of the biggest names in American pop and hip hop/R&B music (including Cardi B [“Up”], Normani [“Wild Side”], Lil Nas X [“Montero”] and Doja Cat [“Attention”]). 

    Dua Lipa only adds to that growing list and, together, her and Muino bring one of their most elaborate music video concepts yet—one that relies on the sumptuous, intoxicating backdrop of Barcelona. Indeed, it’s as though Lipa is beckoning us to join her in “summer mode” despite many locations still being hopelessly trapped in winter mode (spring season or not). And yes, it’s apparent that Radical Optimism is vying for “album of the summer” status, not just with its release date (May 3rd), but its water-filled album cover (featuring Lipa casually swimming near/toward a shark, presented in the Jaws manner of protruding fin only). “Illusion,” too, is water-filled, thanks to being filmed at the Piscina Municipal de Montjuïc. Known for hosting major sporting events, including the 1992 Olympics, the pool’s location on the Montjuïc hill is what affords it such a glorious panoramic view of the city, complete with Gaudí’s Sagrada Família in the background. A feature that Kylie Minogue opted to exclude from her 2003 “Slow” video, during which she also relished the cinematic potential of the location, albeit solely with overhead shots of her writhing seductively around in an orgiastic heap with all the other poolside loungers on towels. Lipa, in this way, makes her first homage to a pop girl—except that she chooses to maximize the location much more than Minogue did. 

    This commences with Muino’s establishing shot of Lipa perched on the network of uniquely structured diving boards amid a sea of muscular men in matching attire (short blue shorts and white tank tops). As the men do various exercise-y poses, Lipa ascends one of the ladders while informing us, “I’ve been known to miss a red flag/I’ve been known to put my lover on a pedestal/In the end, those things just don’t last/And it’s time I take my rose-colored glasses off.” And yet, even if she’s taken them off with regard to her perception of her lover, the city of Barcelona can still be seen through rose-colored glasses even without any on. Drenched in that indelible Spanish sunlight, the cityscape steals the show almost as much as Lipa’s seemingly “Express Yourself”-inspired backup dancers. That’s right, it appears Lipa gives a stylistic nod to Madonna yet again (as she did in the “Houdini” video) with a setup that very much reminds of what M did in her David Fincher-directed masterpiece from 1989. Not to mention the scaffolding-style backdrop of Paula Abdul’s “Cold Hearted,” itself a recent inspiration for Ariana Grande’s “yes, and?” video. The aesthetic relationship between “Express Yourself” (which came out a month before Abdul’s single) isn’t a coincidence, what with Fincher having directed both. 

    Accordingly, each of those videos has plenty of mounting of/gyrating on industrial-looking “rigs” to help highlight the choreo. Of a nature that channels the exuberance Lipa is going for with the record as a whole, stating that she wanted to “capture the essence of youth and freedom and having fun.” The video does achieve that, even if the lyrics are indicative of someone who has been jaded by enough experience with relationships past. In fact, there is even an aura of the “Express Yourself” mantra in Lipa’s coming-of-age tone as she sings the defiant chorus, “Ooh, what you doin’?/Don’t know who you think that you’re confusin’/I be like, ooh, it’s amusin’/You think I’m gonna fall for an illusion.” This leads into her talking about how, at this juncture, she knows exactly what she wants, declaring, “Was a time when that shit might’ve worked/Was a time when I just threw a match and let it burn/Now I’m grown, I know what I deserve/I still like dancin’ with the lessons I already learned.” In other words, “Don’t go for second best, baby/Put your love to the test/You know, you know you’ve got to…” 

    But M isn’t the only pop girl Lipa conjures in “Illusion.” There’s also a clear-cut Britney Spears moment when Muino gives us an overhead shot of Lipa in the pool while lying on a floating circular object as she moves her arms up and down—in clear “Oops!…I Did It Again” fashion. For never was there a more iconic overhead shot of a pop princess lying on a circular ditty and moving her arms around than that. Spears might not have had a slew of synchronized swimmers around her while doing it, but the connection is still there. Plus, Muino is no stranger to orbiting Spears’ world, for she directed 2022’s “Hold Me Closer” (which shares many qualities with “Illusion” in that it wields a city’s—Mexico City’s—backdrop as a key character). Maybe that’s why there’s also echoes of the pool scenes from “Work Bitch,” wherein Britney stands on a circular platform in the center of the water as hammerhead sharks swim around her (this, too, perhaps some unwitting inspo for the Radical Optimism cover). 

    Talking of connections, there’s even one to Miley Cyrus when Lipa is lifted out of the water by the very “O” ring that previously encircled her, giving an immediate flash to the cover of Cyrus’ Endless Summer Vacation album. As the video starts to wrap up, a choreography breakdown in the 00s spirit of what someone like Lindsay Lohan did on the rooftop in the “Rumors” video occurs, with Lipa repeating, “I’d rather dance with the illusion”—than actually invest time in a full-blown, off-the-dancefloor relationship with the real, unvarnished version. Which always turns out to be so disappointing. 

    For one of her big finishes, Lipa mounts a “tower of men” (with some women peppered in between), making her way to the top for another overhead shot where she’s “chillin’ on a circle.” Obviously, it’s a metaphor for how she’s overcome all the necessary emotional obstacles to become secure and confident in knowing exactly what she wants—and what she doesn’t. As for the former, it definitely includes taking dips in Barcelona and repeating the mantra, “Dance all night, dance all night” (not so different from what she said in “Dance the Night”).

    Genna Rivieccio

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  • “Yes, And?” Video Pays Unexpected Tribute to Paula Abdul’s “Cold Hearted”

    “Yes, And?” Video Pays Unexpected Tribute to Paula Abdul’s “Cold Hearted”

    “I miss the old Ari. You know, the singer.” So says one of the many invitees (all critics) to Ariana Grande’s performance art piece in Montauk (the location of which is given via the latitude and longitude coordinates on the business card shown at the beginning of the video). This milieu being significant because Grande’s seventh album is titled Eternal Sunshine—an obvious nod to Michel Gondry’s beloved 2004 film of the (almost) same name. Considering Grande’s dating history, the premise of Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind is rather on point. As is her choreo (courtesy of Will Loftis) throughout the heavily-inspired-by-Paula Abdul video. Indeed, one might as well call “yes, and?” a “modern update” to Abul’s 1989 video for “Cold Hearted,” the fifth single from her debut album, Forever Your Girl. 

    Directed by none other than David Fincher, “Cold Hearted” continued the trend (established by Madonna, as usual) of pop stars dancing in front of elaborate industrial set pieces (see: the “Express Yourself” video, also directed by David Fincher, and the “Rhythm Nation” video). “yes, and?” builds on that by centering the premise around a “living art exhibition,” of sorts. So it is that, just as is the case in “Cold Hearted,” “yes, and?” offers a caption at the beginning. But instead of reading, “Tuesday 9:45 a.m. The Rehearsal Hall. The Record Company Executives Arrive,” it reads, “11:55 AM. The Critics Arrive.” All of them with something snarky to say (in the spirit of the intro to Missy Elliott’s “Gossip Folks”). Including two critics who have the exchange, “Did she really do that?” “Well I read it on the internet so it must be true.” This replacing the once more relevant go-to line of sarcasm: “I saw it on TV so it must be true.” 

    They then enter the warehouse-y space where a series of “stone sculptures” stand in highly deliberate poses as the critics take their seats. The “Ari sculpture” is at the center of them all, posed with her hands over her eyes to indicate the classic “see no evil” philosophy. Or, in this case, “see no haters.” As the critics start to get impatient with what they’re supposed to be getting out of this little “exhibit,” the sculptures break apart and fall to the ground as the actual people they’re modeled after appear on the scene. Directed by Christian Breslauer (marking his first collaboration with Grande), the camera then focuses in on Grande’s feet before panning up the length of her legs to then reveal an aesthetic that is entirely reminiscent of Keira Knightley’s in Love Actually. Because what is Ari if not adept in the art of pastiche (though perhaps not as much as her one-time collaborator, Lana Del Rey)? As any post-post-post-post-post-post-modern pop star tends to be. 

    Continuing to emulate Abdul and co.’s fierce, defiant choreography, Grande offers occasional moments of “Renaissance painting poses” to keep reiterating the notion of being living art. Or, as Del Rey said, “I had a vision of making my life a work of art.” As such, that technically means she can be critiqued herself as much as the art she actually puts out. Hence, the presence of the critics subbing out Paula Abdul’s record executives. 

    Critics who can’t help “gagging” when Grande urges, “And if you find yourself in a dark situation/Just turn on your light and be like/Yes, and?” The musical breakdown just before she urges people to “turn their light on” sounds a lot like the one in Right Said Fred’s “I’m Too Sexy.” But considering Grande is giving a massive homage to dance and house music of the 90s in general (including, of course, Madonna’s “Vogue”), it’s not out of the question that the “nod” is deliberate. At the moment she talks about people turning their (inner) lights on, a heating lamp lights up above the critics’ head, as though to envelop them in the same warm glow she’s chosen to bask in no matter what gets said about her. Some critics don’t exactly “like” it, with one starting to sweat profusely as he wipes his forehead with a napkin in a manner that could also indicate Grande’s body (“too thin” or not) is getting him hot and bothered (the same way Paula Abdul gets the record executives in her video).

    As all the art critics proceed to start removing articles of clothing under the heat of the lamp, Grande approaches with, let’s call it an “aura tuning fork,” as she calmly recites the bridge of the song: “My tongue is sacred, I speak upon what I like/Protected, sexy, discerning with my time/Your energy is yours and mine is mine/What’s mine is mine/My face is sitting, I don’t need no disguise/Don’t comment on my body, do not reply.”

    Of course, that demand likely won’t stop the usual barrage of body commentary that rakes in the millions for the beauty and fashion industries. In the final line of the bridge, Grande then wields her coup de ​​grâce, “Why do you care so much whose dick I ride/Why?” Probably because the dick is Ethan Slater’s and it’s kind of weird/non sequitur (Wicked co-star or not). Even more than choosing “Cold Hearted” as a piece of pop culture to emulate. 

    But anyway, the “yes, and?” then concludes with another shot re-creation from the “Cold Hearted” video, with the curtain dropping off the window while Ariana and co. return to their same positions as statues made of stone to then await the next batch of critics they’ll perform for. The first batch, meanwhile, has turned from the stone statues they were before walking into the warehouse and into warm hearted lovers of Ariana as one of them shouts with delight to the others going in, “You’ll just love it! You’ll love it.”

    The same “conversion” from hater to lover goes for the record executives in “Cold Hearted,” who enter the building with the cynical exchange, “So have you even seen this dance?” “Uh, I haven’t but, uh, it’s a Bob Fosse kind of thing. It’s gonna be really really hot.” “Yeah but tastefully. It’s tastefully hot. And hey, if there’s any problem, we can always make changes.” The director of the video nervously reminds, “Uh, we’re shootin’ tonight.” But of course, there’s no need to change a thing because, by the end (just as it is the case in “yes, and?”), the execs are left with their jaws dropped. Though, of course, all they can say is it was “nice.” So it is that Abdul’s video concludes with the caption, “The dancers laugh.” Probably at the fact that it’s so hard for critics to admit when something is good (though, in their defense, that’s quite possibly because things rarely are). Especially when the artist in question’s personal life has a tendency to cloud the focus on the work itself. 

    In this sense, pulling from Paul Abdul’s video arsenal does make some sense when tying this message back into the concept of the “Cold Hearted” premise.

    Genna Rivieccio

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