Pharrell Williams resurrects his groundbreaking group N.E.R.D. with this collabo with Rihanna, who makes a hair razing (see what I did there?) cameo at the beginning before we follow our newly shorn dancer on a popping routine.
A relationship that has Kendrick and Rihanna living on the edge, sometimes literally, as the precipice of death and destruction comes dangerously close again and again.
Although the first thing you'll notice here is Rihanna's see-through top — hey, it worked for "Work" — you'll next see the gun and the subsequent storyline directed by Spring Breakers auteur Harmony Korine is a descent into an underworld ruled by Queen Ri.
The "explicit" warning is a bit of an overstatement — it's about as explicit as your average lingerie catalog — but this simple video is another revealing (ahem) look at Rihanna.
Ever get torn between two video concepts for one song? Well, if you're Rihanna and Drake you just make both videos and place them back-to-back, like it's a two-for-one special. Part 1 is directed by Director X and takes place at a sultry Jamaican hotspot called The Real Jerk (pun probably intended). Part 2 is the more revealing (pun very much intended) clip, with director Tim Erem capturing the two getting cozy under a pink light.
And you thought owing money to Stitches was a precarious situation? That's nothing compared to what Rihanna is prepared to do when she comes to collect. In this case, an unlucky trophy wife gets subjected to various punishments that range from cruel to unusual, but that's nothing compared to what happens to the deadbeat and decadent accountant who's really the target of RiRi and her girl gang's dirty deeds.
Let's just say there will be blood, and boobs, so consider this one NSFW — unless you work in collections and need a role model.
Whether it's competing with the chandeliers in terms of sparkle, or radiating under the moonlight, Rihanna struts through Marseilles like a #BOSS in director Steven Klein's fashion film for Dior.
Rihanna's "American Oxygen" is probably a bit more political than you might expect, utilizing a mix of news footage that runs the gamut from tragedy to transcendence.
PS: It has nearly 2 million views in less than 24 hours of being on VEVO and YouTube. Wonder how many it got behind the Tidal paywall...
Another track from the Kanye and Paul McCartney collaboration drops, this time as the lead single for Rihanna's upcoming new album. Vertically constrained to just the center third of the screen, the focus of this silvery b/w clip is Rihanna's emotional performance, with Sir Paul and Yeezus in supportive mode. It's simple and effective, making clear that Rihanna can thrive with music as simple and easily stylist as a pair of blue jeans. (In fact, I wouldn't be shocked if a country cover of this becomes a hit.)
If he wins, the video could potentially be removed offline, which probably wouldn't be a huge loss, since I'm sure everyone is tired of the headache and,despite having nearly 50 million views, it's barely been viewed since July 2011:
Shakira may be the pride of Barranquilla, but that doesn't mean she gets a pass from Colombia's unofficial moral police.
Politician Marco Fidel Ramirez is calling on Colombia's National Television Authority to ban the 37-year-old's "Can't Remember To Forget You" clip from being broadcast on any of the nation's channels, saying:
"Our Shakira with her erotic video is promoting tobacco usage and has become the worst example for our youth. Shakira's new video is a shameless case for lesbianism and immorality. It is a danger to children"
Also, because he knows what children like, he made up a hashtag: #PeligroVideoShakira...
Director Joseph Kahn is no stranger to putting two pop starlets on the same screen — see "The Boy Is Mine" which had Brandy and Monica teaming up — and also smart enough to know there's no need for narrative glue when those starlets are more than willing to purr and strut for the camera.
