Is guest singer Amy Winehouse's absence from this video a purposeful creative decision or the result of her unavailability due to rehab or worse (yes, yes, yes)? Who cares. The point is she's not in the video and — even though I find the notorious Ms. Winehouse truly compelling — I don't necessarily think that's a bad thing. Mark Ronson is one of those behind the scenes dudes who certainly deserves the spotlight and let's face it: There's no way to compete with Amy Winehouse and her gravity-defying beehive hairdo and overwhelming cult of personality. Ronson appears comfortable and cool on stage at what appears to be a posh, yet off-the-cuff performance when he realizes that his guest singer is not there to take the mic. So, he remains calm and pulls some girls — who all looks like pedestrian versions of Winehouse — from the audience to sing "Valerie" en masse. Whether any of these ladies will have a career path like the one that Courtney Cox enjoyed after her dark dancing with The Boss remains to be seen, but I think Mark Ronson will certainly continue to do just fine. --> watch "Veronica"
Mark Ronson "Valerie" (Allido/RCA)
Robert Hales, director | HSI, production co
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