Christina Aguilera's "Not Myself Tonight" video may not have been as highly anticipated as Lady Gaga's "Telephone", but we think it still warrants some discussion. The reactions to the clip have been on opposite sides of the spectrum, with some considering it a desperate plea for attention and others flocking to the Church of Aguilera faster than you can say "And if you don't like it, fuck you."
Is she trying too hard to be like Gaga, or are people too quick to compare anything to Gaga? Do the blatant homages to Madonna's "Express Yourself" and "Human Nature" come off as well-intentioned, or does it just seem like Xtina's team has run out of original ideas? And last but not least, would a more subtle or creative approach been preferential to the over-the-top sexuality in the video, or does it match with the song's general vibe?
These are just a few of the questions the video brought to mind for us, and we're sure you'll catch on to a few things we didn't. Overall, what do you think of the video? Is it a hit or a miss?
– Dewitt
To watch the video for "Not Myself Tonight"
Okay where do I start. First off I love Christina because her singing voice is one of the best in the industry. No other pop starlet in the industry compares to her when it comes to singing. What bothers me with this video is I feel that Christina thinks she has to be Gaga-esque to stay relevant. Product placement check, erotic acts with the same sex check, illuminati like references check, sound familiar? I loved Stripped but I thought she was over that phase with Back to Basics. Now it seems like she does not know who she is anymore. We only need one Gaga and we only need one Christina. I love the song but I think she needs to go back to the studio to find herself.
i myself see references to madonna and george michael all through this thing. i see it as an homage as compared to a rip-off, but it’s still pretty much like everything else ever.
Let’s be honest… Gaga is just a ripoff of other artists. The difference with Gaga is that she has a form of confidence and flow in her videos. With Christina you can tell she looks uncomfortable. Her movements look contrived. And everything in the video is over done. She failed at looking sexy. I think she felt she had to do this to stay relevant and keep up with the competition.
I’m quite pleased with the video. Yes, it is a grab for attention, which I think is only logical since she has been off the scene for 4 years. The video is clearly Xtina from her Stripped days. THe video, while highly sexual, is well designed and a rather beautiful video to watch.
As for comparisons to GaGa, I can see them, but I also believe that everyone is too quick to compare anything to GaGa. Not every artist is trying to copy or be like GaGa. Christina has been sexual her entire career, this video is just a more mature sexuality than her Dirrty video. Furthermore, GaGa is not entirely original. I love GaGa immensely, but she has been influenced heavily by Madonna and others.
Overall, this video is great. It is in line with Madonna and Britney Spears, more than GaGa.
The blogs are going crazy about the Gaga comparisons.
I honestly I think that the references and similarities are way too obvious to be unintentional. I get the feeling that this is the point of the vide. I don’t think Christina or Hype Williams (director) are clueless to have unintentional similarities.
Once again she fails to look sexy without coming off as a total slut, you think she would’ve gotten this after dirrty. But maybe she’s just extremely unlucky as her video usually comes after a video with a similar concept by another artist. For example: Slave 4 U (sexy) vs. Dirrty (skanky). Bad Romance (great concept) vs. Not Myself Tonight (??)
Visually, it’s an awesome video, love the multiple changes of outfits. The vibe I get after seeing this video was , “Hey! Look at Me! Look at what I’m doing!”. As people already pointed out, she really lost her identity in the pop world.
I think she’s just trying to get the flow from her earlier videos back, you guys remember “fighter.”
yeah thought so .
I don’t get gaga at all, I get Madonna’s Human Nature video. Still, I love this and happy to see Christina is back!!!
Two blond, white girls who do pop music and gays love… they have to be in competition with each other!
Um… NO! I am having flashbacks to Mariah v Whitney from the 90s or Tiffany v Debbie Gibson in the 80s. Everyone loves a good scandal, but until I see someone knock a bitch down some stairs like Showgirl I won’t believe the hype.
The general production aesthetics of the two artists are quite different. Christina uses a harder more drum driven/rhythm styled production to the more melodic Gaga tracks. For the less music savvy, that just makes Christina’s more Urban sounding.
The video is as stylized as a gaga track in clothes, but far less story driven. It is definitely closer to it’s TRUE inspirations than a Gaga. Express Yourself and Human Nature are in full display, and if those videos are before your time, take yourself over to YouTube and WATCH THEM! They pre-date Gaga by a good decade. So, it’s logical they would inspire Aguilera and her production team. Heck, even the big frock of hair was very True Blue era Madge.
Now, the wrench thrown in the works was the clothes. Unfortunately, when you update those Madonna looks they go squarely into Gaga’s court. To be fair, Gaga has had a much larger impact on Fashion than Christina Aguilera ever has. This will of course lead to comparison… Well, if you dress in trendy clothes, are blond, successful, white, and packing a uterus & extensions of course you look like Gaga. That’s not your fault.
In summery: The song is more Urban than Gaga’s work. The video is more vintage Madonna than modern Gaga, though the clothes are on a thin line.
This video isn’t anything like what Gaga’s done.
I see it getting a lot of comparisons to Gaga’s Bad Romance video, but that video was about a woman being kidnapped and forced to fulling the sexual fantasies of others. Xtina is CLEARLY in control of herself in this video, from start to video. This is more related to classic Madonna than anything Gaga’s ever done.
And let’s just go there: This video outclasses Gaga just for fitting the concept of the actual song.
Don’t get me wrong, I like Gaga, but it’s getting annoying when every female artist that does something sexually out-of-the-box is suddenly copying Gaga. Hell, this video, thematically, is closer to Xtina’s earlier “Durrty” video than Gaga. And lets not forget “Fighter.”
To me, this video is just continuing in the tradition of earlier Xtina videos. Anyone who thinks this video is “shocking” hasn’t been paying attention to Christina as an artist. She’s been like this since Stripped.
To me, this is one of those videos that makes me like the song more.
WOW! LOVE IT! It is so derivative of GaGa and Madonna, but I love it anyway. Christina looks better than eith of them in that kind of make-up and those kinds of outfits. Loved the hot, shirtless guys in the rain, loved the brief jacking off of her walking stick, loved the blatant ad for her perfume, loved the in-your-face rip-off of current pop video idioms, and as much as anything, love the song and record in the first place, and without that, no one would care.
I LOVE XTINA
now, Christina looking more promiscuous isn’t my favorite thing, but I still love it regardless. The gaga comparisons need to stop because this album isn’t all the same. she said that her son inspired her to play around and just have FUN. so i’m assuming there’s going to be a lot of different types of beat on this album. I can’t wait to hear them all.
I don’t see much of Gaga in here at all. This looks like a mixture of Stripped and Back to Basics.
However, there’s no cohesiveness to this video at all. There’s way to much going on.
As for the person who said she’s copying Lady Gaga because of the lesbian scene, did you forget that she and Madonna shared a kiss at the MTV video awards, or are you a bandwagon gay?
good vid… typical xtina
Obviously she and her production team have accomplished what they aimed for….people talking about her music and videos. I have always loved Christina’s voice and music, the videos are a plus, getting to see what they want us to hear in the lyrics.My favorite album of hers is, Stripped, of course. And I’m beginning to think that if the rest of this upcoming album is anything like the first single Not Myself Tonight…it’s going to be huge and she’ll be taking over the dance floors in the clubs. I love Gaga, but I am getting a little tired of the same music in the clubs. Which, don’t get me wrong, if played in a particular order can make the night a great night, but if played differently, can make it a drab night. I’m ready to hear the newest, latest and greatest music that’s out there.
I think she’s trying too hard. I see look at me I’m edgy and I’m cursing! She reminds me of a big ole drag queen. Her voice sounds great though.
Agree with Leo, trying too hard. Trying hard to stay relevant, selling her vadge/song
well it is called “not myself” so she’s not herself 😛
I got it, didn’t you?
After four years of not being in the spotlight all I can say is ‘meh’.
the fire effects ruined it for me.
if i was her i would have gone more lorelee way than gaga way, since it would have seemed like she had her own identity instead of just ripping off gaga.
you know the doo wop, pop funk thing that is making a comeback and would have suited her mariyln monroe look
It was overdone big time, so much sex in it that it came off mediocre. The only reason it works to rip off older artists’ videos like Madonna’s is that the younger generation has no concept of history, except for all these remakes crowding movie theaters, TV, and youtube…and to the “Millennial” generation, it’s SO original i.e. “OMGZZ I LOVE XTINA!”
This video reminds of when she did the clip for Dirrty and she was trying very hard to shake the goody goody girl image. It backfired a bit in those days. The video is kinky, sexy and fun. Love those hot guys dancing, but somehow I get this vibe she’s copying others and she’s again trying to show another side of her that frankly doesn’t fit her since she’s now married and with a son.
However, the song is great and I hope this video helps it make it to #1 in the chart this week.
Good song, it’s not the usual christina but she’s just trying to keep up with the times.
Her voice is still strong and commanding just like when she first came out over a decade ago
I must say all the girl-girl kissing, flesh peddling and grinding were a bit much. There’s a way to harness ones sexuality and not look like a common hooker…
She’s a mother/wife and this is the image she wants to send to out?
Not to mention the product placements…..
okay, 1st of all. Christina is back! yay! This is her comeback. Nothing like gaga and NO signs of any illuminati in there. the thing with here eye and had is the “C” for Christina. This song was ment to be sexier than the Dirrty video. And she started to do a lot of this stuff before Gaga was even famous. Its sad how some people still try and compare. Even Gaga said that Christina Aguilera was one of her insperations. And does anyone remember the poster that said, “in the dirrty mind of the princess of pop?” that christina aguilera posed naked on with a guitar? Christina is just being her self, and if anyone doesnt remember, she started dance songs on her Keeps Getting Better album. That was released before Gaga was famous. So no need to hate on Christina or Gaga. Just dont compare two opposites.
I havent seen something SOO tacky and SOO sexy at the same time in a while
I don’t see how this is similar to any Lady Gaga videos. This is exactly what i would expect from Christina with a bit of a futuristic touch. If anything i would see more of Lady Gaga videos copying Christina’s reinvention of herself and shock value that is consistenly seen throughout Christina’s career.
Oh come on now, this video is totally RIPPING OFF “Express Yourself”, “Human Nature”, George Michael’s “Freedom 90” and Gaga’s “Bad Romance”. We are talking about recreating the scenes almost exactly, *without* positioning it as a satire or commentary. Are people really not bothered by the utter lack of creativity?
Christina, you have the potential to be a true original, and you are just being a copycat! How disappointing.
I see it as more of a homage to Madonna & George Michael. Plus the Gaga fans need to get over it and realize that Christina was doing the out of this world clothes/hair thing long befor Gaga was a blip on the radar, and Madonna was doing it before Christina. Difference is that Christina has a voice that will blow pretty much any woman in music today out of the water. When is comes to vocals Christina is pretty much unmatched. Plain and simple.
this video has lots of references from lady gaga’s videos, as much as the wardrobe and hair style,
for example, the part where she fire up the cloth set, it’s exactly the part in bad romance when gaga starts fire that bed… also you can see the hair style similarities…. afro blond kinda stuff… ahhh the Carrera sunglasses, GOD, she takes little thing from gaga’s fashion.
And obviously there’s a lot of madonna’s inspiration in the vid.
check this comparison please………
http://www.homorazzi.com/article/christina-aguilera-not-myself-tonight-lady-gaga-bad-romance-comparison-copy-ripoff-perez-hilton-pictures-music-video/
I cannot stand Lady Gaga and I’m going to lose interest in pop music if all artists start to emulate her. I like the song, even though it sounds like a Britney Track from a decade ago. Christina is an extremely talented vocalist, though after seeing the video for dirty, I doubt these are things that she normally don’t do..ooooo.
She wasn’t herself in the vid. I think she made the point. Everything she did in this video was inspired by other artists. So it goes with what she’s doing. I like it. People need to just stop trying to compare artists with other artists.
i think its a rather clever use of iconic pop imagery. the idea of her adapting her persona to reflect other pop sensations, such as madge and gaga and bebe. i think its clever, plus mat hot and amazingly over the top.