Remember Katy Perry’s first video for “Ur So Gay”, with its DIY Barbie puppets and Flash-made cartoon backdrop? How far our girl has come since then! Katy’s Kanye West-featuring video for “E.T.” (watch it here!) is a beautifully shot, visually stunning big-budgeted slice of intergalactic sci-fi space glam. But though the clip is undisputably nice to look at, critics are divided on just how out of this world it is. After the jump, read up on reactions to Katy and Kanye’s clip from across all the web.
Consequence of Sound asserts that “there is a lot to like about the remix video: we get to watch Kanye conquer zero gravity, Perry gives her best Gaga impression, and the end of the clip features some absurd product placement. The behind the scenes footage must be amazing.”
Celebuzz found some similarities to other pop star videos: “Is it just us, or is this video like the love child of Lady Gaga‘s “Born this Way” and Ke$ha‘s “Blow”? With each having some level of space imagery, crazy colors and the animal/human transformation, we think this video feels curiously similar to the other two.”
PopDust isn’t too impressed: “The Floria Sigimosndi-directed clip its share of nifty visuals, but most of the imagery is more cheesy (blue alien Katy—isn’t this still a little too soon?) than it is striking or innovative, and the bombast (Supernova explosions! National Geographic stock footage! Naked male ass!) doesn’t lead anywhere interesting.”
MTV Buzzworthy believes the video is a big change for Katy, stylistically: “Gone are the cheeky Latex dresses and tongue-in-cheeky winks. No shaving cream bras or pissed-off, middle-finger-waving Gummi bears. Floria Sigismondi (Marilyn Manson’s ‘The Beautiful People,’ Christina Aguilera’s ‘Hurt,’ Muse’s ‘Supermassive Black Hole’) created what feels far more like a sci-fi, deep space sojourn than a music video.”
Rolling Stone thinks “the clip looks as though it could be the trailer for either a sequel to Avatar or a Katy Perry video game” and notes that the song itself “sounds more like Evanescence’s hard rock balladry than her cheerful radio hits ‘California Gurls’ and ‘Teenage Dream.’”
Vulture takes note of the style over (the lack of) substance: “Whatever makeup artist got to paint her face should still be proud: Perry’s rocking a number of genuinely detailed, outlandish, semi-gorgeous rainbow-kabuki looks.”
MTV takes a look at the larger picture: “['E.T.' is a] video that not only moves Perry to the upper echelon, but looks and sounds great. It’s a widescreen, THX-ian type of thing, meant to be marveled at.”
What do you think of Katy’s trip to space?
It’s understandable that Katy Perry “looks” like she’s copying Born This Way, but let’s be realistic. Her SONG (which came out much before Born This Way) is ACTUALLY ABOUT aliens. In all fairness, she can’t really make a music video for a song about aliens WITHOUT aliens. It sucks that the video came right after Gaga’s, but Katy shouldn’t be penalized for it (after all, who could’ve predicted that Gaga’s Whitney-Houston-Inspired hit was going to end with a video of Alien-Gaga giving birth to mucus-balls). So, LEAVE KATY ALONE.
IT IS AMAZING!
Plus she had this song done and the video before lady gaga shot the video of born this way
I agree with Brimeon! Teenage Dream came out last August. Give the girl a break. I love the song and I love the video. Did I mention I am a big GAGA fan as well? There’s room for everyone.
Now someone please get BRITNEY to dance again! ! ! !
@Brimeon Totally agree
The only similarities between Gaga’s Born This Way video and Katy’s E.T. video is the ‘alien’ aesthetic. Alien is a very broad term, and i think that Gaga and Katy get at it in very different ways. Gaga doing more of a play on a sort of new alien-human race, and Katy is going full out Sci-Fi blue-skin, big eyed alien. So no i dont think that there was any cross-music-video plagiarism going on here.
For the record, I think that Gaga’s video is much better. Katy Perry’s attempt at a more serious quasi-avant garde look comes off as goofy, after all it is KATY PERRY.
1.BORN THIS WAY HAS AN AMAZING MEANING THAT IS IMPORTANT ON THIS YEARS OF WAR AND INSECURITIES YOU CAN’T EVEN COMPARE BORN THIS WAY WITH THAT VIDEO the copy of one dollar that JUST TOOK FANTASY AND SOMETHING THAT IT HAS ALREADY BEEN INVENTED.
2.MY LADY GAGA IS THE INSPIRATION OF all this brainless girls before my LADY GAGA star with this AMAZING MASTERPIECES the stu*p Copy Perry videos were only about bicycles and beds kissing another girls
3.WHEN MY LADY GAGA STARED with the COLOR hair the Copy Perry took the idea again!!! And she put her hair blue TRAING TO GETTING ATTENTION
4.THE SAME WITH GLOVES SUNGLASSES and if all those are not examples of THE POOR CHEAP COPY THAT SHE IS the Grammys of 2010 MY LADY GAGA WEAR ARMANY PRIVATE And the next year the Copy Perry wear the same thing ARMANY PRIVATE.
5.My LADY GAGA wear the incubation this year and the copy perry is going the next year in a big CAKE ohhhh COPY PERRY YOU ARE DISGUSTING AND IF SOMEONE IS NOT AGREE WITH THIS ALL this OBSERVATIONS well you maybe have JUST ONE NEURON LIKE HER
6.HEY COPY PERRY you know how can you call to your 100 fans that you have little COPIES that will be the best idea you ever have
7.THE EFFECTS OF THIS IS THANKS TO THE TECHNOLOGY but there is one thing you CANT and you will never copy AND IS THE TALENT AND THE GREATEST PERFORMANCE LIVE OF THE QUEEN OF MUSIC MY LADY GAGA
READ THIS COPY PERRY AND I THINK IM GONNA MAKE MY DOG A STAR SO HE CAN KICK YOU OUT OF THIS IT WILL BE EASY AND HE CAN’T SING SO DON’T WORRY FOR THAT PART BECAUSE CANT SING EITHER BUT HE CAN DO TRICKS THAT HE INVENTED BY HIS-SELF
And is ok because everyone has the opportunity but NOT ON YOUR WAY COPY Talking bad things of someone that you copy a lot so respect your BIGER INSPIRATION AND REMEMBER THAT MY LADY GAGA support you on the V FESTIVAL SO YOU CAN HAVE AN SPACE TO do your embracing performance
This sucks.
What in the world are you saying? I do not understand anything are YOU the E.T.!!!!
We get it… Gaga fans aren’t happy that someone they had comfortably pigeon-holed as fluffy and ditzy has successfully revealed an edgy, beautifully made movie-style video. After all, strange and unsettling is Gaga’s modus operandi.
But come on… nothing is invented anymore. Everything is re-invented – Gaga herself has been likened to Madonna on more occasions than fans would care to count!
It takes incredible talent from many sources to bring such a film to life, and they all deserve thanks and recognition.
Perry and others keep the world entertained in an age that has us all wondering how much longer until our planet resembles the earth depicted in Extraterrestrial.
I agree that the product placement is beyond stupid. It pretty much ruined the whole ending for me. Other than that I admire Katy’s brave looks and her showcase of ugly-pretty.
Honestly, critics who say Katy Perry’s new video is copying Gaga are disrespectful of director Floria Sigismondi’s entire body of work. I don’t expect large audiences to know Floria Sigismondi’s previous work very well, but critics should know better.
This woman has been directing videos since the 90′s and she’s done the whole unusual, weird, out of this world look way before Gaga, directing videos for David Bowie, Bjork, Marylin Manson, Christina Aguilera, Fiona Apple etc.
Beautiful is better than Born This Way, Firework, Raise Your Glass & We Are Who We Are COMBINED!
so better than born this way. also kate looking much better than lady gaga
I LUV THIS VID IF U DONT LIKE IT THEN LOOK PAST IT DONT HATE BECAUSE YOU CANT BE AN SEXY ALIEN
Please all you GAGA fans need to chill… Gaga has rip off madonna so many times… that she should pay her… this video is way better and more original that Born this way, just deal with it… all that Gaga does is a Madonna wash out…
the song is about aliens.
the video needed weirdness
ITS ALLOWED THE SONG CAME OUT BEFORE GAGAS BORN THIS WAY
each song is completely freakin different
There is a theme in the market. Not only music, but books and films, the fashion of the moment, and it spreads across all media. What is popular right now includes some an element of Sci-Fi, Paranormal, Magical powers – the list goes on.
Nobody is copying anyone, computer games have touched on these fantastical ideas for years, it’s just more in demand and I thank these artist for being so creative. Surly I’m not alone when I yawn and the majority of standard shallow materialistic ideas that have been known to make music videos. This stuff is refreshing, it gets people thinking and talking, even if its not to your taste it still an art in its own right. More, give me more!!
I think the song is great. That is, WITHOUT Kanye West. His parts don’t make ANY sense. It doesn’t flow together with the rest of the song. The music video is good, but it’s really not my kind of thing; the costumes Katy wears just freak me out. No offense.
ITS WONDERFUL BRO ♥ :D
The video is stunning except the part where she was wearing white, her first movement is awkward and the falling down to earth seems like a skill from an early game from ps1 where she is standing still swirling her arms as she falls down
Firstly, I would like to point out that this song isn’t literally about aliens. Just because she says “extraterrestrial” and all that other jazz, doesn’t mean it should be taken literally.
Secondly, just because someone comes out with a *song* before another person makes a *video* (that is strikingly similar) doesn’t give the former artist any less flack for “copying” the latter artist. That’s comparing apples to oranges. So any argument using this support is absolutely null and void.
With that said, I do agree that the two videos are very similar. Different concepts, similar videos. Did Katy Perry copy Lady Gaga? Who knows? Who cares? Am I copying off of everyone commenting on here because I commented after? No. Was she influenced by Gaga? Probably. Gaga broke through the scene with her wild, odd style. Soon after, many female artist started to follow that trend. Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. Before Gaga, it was David Bowie and Madonna. Before them it was XYZ. Before XYZ, it was ABC; and so forth. No one is original. You are as unique and original as the person next to you.
Avatar was the first thing I thought about too, lol. But I still liked it.
I think the artist and director did an outstanding job with this video. Bringing in aspects of evolution, and how we as a people evolve in our range of thoughts. It’s also a step of evolution for Katy herself in her expansion as a more diverse artist. It makes you take a hard look at the subtle means within the song itself. Well done Katy.
Katy didn’t do anything. E.T. couldn’t hit number one so they brought on Kanye. Then a director, stylists, make up artists, and fashion designers came in and made a video around her. You give her too much credit. She didn’t copy Lady Gaga because she didn’t make the video. She is a construct of pop culture, a cog in the wheel of the entertainment business. Regardless it isn’t original but Katy Perry’s beauty is captivating. I have seen far more amazing imagery in the SciFi channel intros and those are seconds long. Lady Gaga’s was far more brave and original, though not as polished. She always seems like she is creating out of the garage in her mind, where she keeps all her most creative and fractured thoughts, emotions that need repair. That is why all her videos feel like her. She has creative input on a very high level. You can’t compare the two videos. They are different beasts born of different creatures.
I thought it was visually stunning… but overall very empty. There’s nothing really all that exciting about it, for a song that wasn’t all that good to begin with. The beauty here, I find anyway, is very hollow. I can’t for the life of me pull out a deeper meaning, and I refuse to believe that Katy Perry is an “Illuminati”, Satanic, trying to raise the issue of immigration or any of the other crack pot ideas out there. If anything, the director is at fault, she essentially just made Katy look ethereally beautiful and added in some shots of animals having sex. No more, no less.
I liked the video except for the animals having sex and the antelope being killed (close up blink) by the leopard. Disturbing.
I absolutely love this video- it is literally a delight to look at. The effects are stunning, the makeup and costumes are all out and brilliantly creative and the song itself had the perfect flow of lyrics with a cool metaphor about Katy dating/marrying a foreigner. I literally keep watching the video over and over again because it’s that beautiful. This is the power of HD.
Also I am SICK of people comparing alternative concepts to Lady Gaga- just because she wears attention getting outfits everyday doesn’t make her music automatically the most edgy.
I like the song and I like the video. It may look similar to Lady Gaga’s but Katy’s looks much better and does not make me sick with motion sickness whenever I watch it.
gagas videos art pieces of art
katys videos are too literal
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Funny that no-one spotted the reference to WALL-E on the junkyard :-) And also funny that the animal sequences was not commented on by many. The lyrics speak of “alien sex” and we see pictures of animal having sex – the lyrics talk about violence and the pictures show us animals hunting and being hunted. Now if I was an alien how would I see the Earth? (It obviously is a burned down place). – Great kudos to the make-upartist for amazing and beautiful job on Katy.