Lead Doll Nicole Scherzinger borrows a few pages from the Justin Timberlake post-N'Sync playbook in launching her solo career with "Whatever U Like." The sound is a touch more complex and challenging than the saccharine pop proferred by Nicole and her fellow Pussycat Dolls. The video's look is dark and, while I don't know if classy is quite the right word, it's certainly more austere, striking and downright artistic than you might expect. After all, one of the possible inspirations I noted after first viewing was Richard Serra — whereas the only other sculptor I ever associated with previous clips is Sal Calabro. So, as you can see, Ms. Scherzinger is an easy target which makes this video all the more impressive. It's pretty striking, to say the least, and does a perfect job in setting a tone that's distinct from the PCD personae. She's still sexy, but it's different. She actually looks turned on, as opposed to vamping to make you think she's turned on. Maybe it's the newfound freedom — though the lyrics make it clear she's perfectly happy in a submissive mode to her man — maybe it's guest stars Sean Garrett and T.I., or maybe it's director Paul Hunter. Whatever it is, it seems to be working. --> watch "Whatever U Want" in Quicktime or via YouTube
Nicole Scherzinger f/ T.I. & Sean Garrett "Whatever U Like" (Interscope)
Paul Hunter, director | Ron Mohrhoff, producer | HSI, production co | Jim Fealy, DP | Derrick Janier, editor
