Beyonce’s latest single “Run The World (Girls)” may have stiffed on the charts, but that hasn’t stopped the 4 diva from dropping a boatload of cash into the production of the song’s girl power-infused music video. So was all the $$$ worth it in the end? We surveyed what the Internet at large had to say after viewing the pricey clip, and rounded up some of the best critiques below for you. Have at it!
:: Entertainment Weekly‘s Music Mix noted the following: “Well, it’s not the epic battle of the sexes some expected, but Beyonce‘s new ‘Run the World (Girls)’ video is certainly a contender for best dance video of the year so far.”
:: E! Online gave Bey props: “For anyone still laboring under the illusion that Beyonce does not mean business, well, just watch this video. Described by B herself as ‘futuristic,’ ‘electronic’ and ‘African,’ the 29-year-old fused all that and more into a still remarkably cohesive music video…”
:: CBS News was also smitten: “We got to hand it to Beyonce, she’s asking the right question: Who will run the world? She’s got the right answer too… Girls! … Beyonce still has a smoking hot video that’s blowing up on the web and we can’t blame a girl for putting it out there.”
:: Vulture pondered the video with regards to the single’s sad fate on the charts: “So will this salvage ‘Run the World (Girls)’ from the lower bowels of the Hot 100? Not necessarily: If anything, the video just furthers the feeling that Beyonce released a third single — on which she’d be allowed to get this weird — before a first single.”
:: The Daily Mail focused on the style of dancing in the clip: “…it’s difficult to imagine that Riverdance star Michael Flatley would one day be a source of inspiration for the singer. The Irish dancing phenomenon has seemingly been given a whole new lease of life by Beyonce incorporating some of the rapid leg movements and high scissor kicks into the video…”
:: Pink Is The New Blog was certainly cutting a rug while watching: “As you might expect, ‘Run The World (Girls)’ is an over-the-top extravaganza but Beyonce busts out some of the sickest dance moves we’ve seen in any music video in YEARS! It’s a hot video, y’all.”
:: One person not impressed with the dancing was The Prophet: “The choreography itself is extremely hit-and-miss: there’s a unique, animalistic style to the moves — one minute it’s brilliant, like Beyonce is imitating a proud lion or a gorgeous gazelle, and the next she looks like a parody of a beaver or a bunny rabbit. And this certainly isn’t helped when Bey’s moves descend into the now tired routines of leg spreads and booty shaking that she’s been flogging for years.”
:: Prophet’s fellow Aussie blogger Pop Trash Addicts, however, couldn’t stop raving over the vid: “The cinematography is eerily beautiful and there’s a real sense of foreboding as the soldiers pile in, while warrior B stands on a burned-out car and her model friends, who prudently held on to their curling irons and couture after the apocalypse, writhe around in the desert. And then, at the 30 second mark, the queen of pop appears in that gorgeous red dress with a lion at her feet looking like something from a renaissance painting. By this point I had a semi and was about to faint from the sheer ferocity of my fave but it only got better.”
:: Perhaps the only person more enthusiastic after watching was pop starlet JoJo, who tweeted, “BEYONCE IS THE GREATEST. If you disagree, WE CAN FIGHT ABOUT IT. Lol. Her tireless work ethic + winner’s mentality inspires everything I do.”
What do you think — did the critics get it right? Were you as impressed with Bey’s latest visual as some of the above writers? Let us know below!
This video was one of the biggest disappointments of my life (right up there with Santa Claus)!!!
I just don’t understand why it was so utterly bad: the teaser was AH-MAZING, the fashion was fearless, AND friggin FRANCIS LAWRENCE directed it!!!
It was just a huge letdown on all levels… sub-par choreography, lack of story (or sense), half the good stuff that was on the teaser didn’t “make it” onto the final cut, and Beyoncé looking as white/blonde as humanly possible in an AFRICAN inspired video…
It was beautifully shot, though… a beautifully-shot mess!!! Sorry, Bey, but I am glad your single is dwindling down the charts and I will not be buying your ’4′ album…
you must be kidding me?!? “so utterly bad”? “one of the biggest disappointments” of your life? you must not have much of a life…this video is epic and exceeds expections.
THANK YOU! THIS VIDEO WAS AMAZING! THE SONG IS GREAT TOO! I THINK BEYONCE ISNT AFRAID TO TAKE RISKS THIS SONG IS TOTALLY DIFFERENT THAN WHAT SHES DONE BEFORE! I ADMIT I DIDNT LIKE THE SONG AT FIRST BUT NOW I LOVE THE SONG AND THE VIDEO IS SO AMAZING! THIS VIDEO WAS WELL WORTH THE WAIT! THE COREOGRAPHY WAS GREAT THE TREATMENT WAS AMAZING!!!! GREAT JOB BEYONCE! THATS WHY YOURE QUEEN BEY!!!
If you really think this video is “epic”, then i can only assume you’ve either never seen a music video before this one, or you are easily impressed.
Either way, I pity you.
This video sucks… The instrumental is a copy of another song. Sincearly I was excpetting a lot more from her. The choreography is so easy that makes me mad… She is losing her style and magic.
I’m convinced Beyonce pays review critics. The song is horrible and a bit ridiculous for a 30 year old to sing. This video is recycled and has been done over and over again (see Missy Elliott, Lady Gaga, and others). Beyonce would have done better if she had just released the video without all of the added build-up because it was an epic fail. The music industry is so void of creativity and originality that it has become pathetic and a joke.
Thanks for rounding up the reviews! You should have left the Prophet blog off–they are haters of anything R&B…so they are biased and do not count.
Beyonce exceeded expectations and showed why she is the Queen of Pop in this clip!
That dancing and singing,fashion and beauty were just too much! Best video of the year,hands down! Good job,Beyonce!
I love this song and the video makes me love the song even more. Beyonce has a style no one can touch. I love the way this video makes me feel. Thank you Beyonce.
You must not be very smart. If someone says this video was one of the biggest disappointments in their life it’s cause they had such a great life this vid doesn’t add anything…might even detract. You in turn are the loser with no life that considers this smorgasbord of trash ‘epic’. Beyonce does not get a free pass, I don’t care how high she hitches up her skirt or how low she can bend over. That’s all she’s been doing for years and by this point I’ve seen it all. All in the name of girl power..hehe..
WHEN Rihanna can get away with asking “rude boys” if theyre “BIG enough” and allowing men the pleasure of “entering” any door they want on her body whilst chanting “oh na na” – with nothing more than a video of her dropping milk at a supermarket how could people then spit on this offering from Beyonce?
If Beyonce managed to cultivate the technology to allow her to walk out of the TV and gyrate in our homes before crawling back into the glass box, critics(failed musicians most of them) would still complain that she scratched their precious laminate flooring in the process.
they’ll never be happy -
Is Run The World (Girls) an instant classic like Director Francis Lawrence’s Bad Romance for Gaga and I’m A Slave 4 U for Britney? Tell us at Music Vid Kid:
http://bit.ly/m9MRmY
I hope she’s released this because she’s so sick of how stupid the mainstream market has become, she’d rather make INTERESTING pop music for a smaller market and leave Gaga and Britney to vomit their crap to the hordes.
It escapes me that “SOME” people give this woman so much credit for being original when in fact all she’s done as a solo artist is recyle the use of others video’s and video choreography. At the age of 29 years, so she says, this woman has done nothing musically epic and has copied everyone in music history dead or alive, young and old. As someone put it, I am convinced that beYAWNcy has some of the best promotional teams around, because it’s amazing how out of all the artist who have sold more records, designed better clothes and inspired and put their name to many perfumes/colognes, that she would be the only one who advertised that her cologne went number one (WTF). Seriously. Elizabeth Taylor has Diamonds, White Diamonds and Passion that has been on the market for a decade, and never has any publicist come out and say her perfume was number one. Even Britney, Queen Latifah, Mariah have perfumes out and never have they had their publicist to say they’re perfumes went number one. beYAWNcy is nothing but an attention whore who feels she is above everyone and everything. In hindsight at the end of the day when her star starts to dim, she will fall off the deep end because people like her need the spotlight and when they don’t get it, they become dangerous to themselves. The video, the song both fail, and for a woman her age she should be progressing with her age and not acting and rolling in sand/dirt like a damn teenie bopper trying to prove something. Her relevancy is slowing down and she needs to realize that pretending to be younger than she is will not pay off in the end. So your QUEEN, and this EPIC Diva that you all are raving about might want to redirect your sights on the fact that she will not always be on top, as a matter of fact, she’s slowly diminishing herself.
But I like not these great success of yours; for I know how jealous are the gods. – and yes, Herodotus was indeed right ..
Beyonce knows exactly what she’s doing .. and theres a serious reason for that! A tremendously importunate artist she is … respect for that!
@ Troy…. Amen to your comment.
LOVE THIS!!! Once again, Beyonce has proven to be pushing the envelope. When we’re stuck with bubblegum pop and recycled techno she hit us with African dance NOT riverdance. The Tofo guys are killing it with her and the fashion is ah-mazing! Beyonce has always been the blueprint which is why every artist new and old is compared to her. Everyone is naked and dances seductively but I guess Beyonce does it best that that’s the only thing people can say. At least she has the talent to back it up. STRIP ALL THESE ARTISTS OF THEIR ANTICS AND GIVE THEM A MIC AND A LIGHT AND LET’S SEE WHO’S STANDING IN THE END!
Love to all she’s done and how she’s inspired others to follow suit business wise. Her perfume was rated a top seller by the perfume industry not her peers or fans. It sold $60 mil the 1st day out. If Liz hadn’t died Beyonce would’ve been #2 and Jeter would’ve been #1 (he was #2 and Bey was #3). She’s accomplished all she’s done without tabloid scandals, out of wedlock babies or drugs and without tearing other artists down. People hate that she keeps winning when they have no flaws to place on her when they should be happy that finally it’s an artist that winning on merits. SHE’S BEEN ON TOP FOR 15+ YEARS for a reason. Her publicists and team never come out to dispute the rumors, lies and b.s. that’s said about her because they look at it as frivilous. She does tons of work for charities, visits women’s shelters and hospitals regularly, built housing, donates $$$ for medicine and schools and all the while NEVER asking for a pat on the back (even though the Children’s Hospital publicly acknowledged her work) or that it be made a public statement. Bono and others have attested to this about her. Beyonce will continue to reign until she’s ready to de-throne herself.
I agree with @fks. This is stuff that’s all been done before. I love Beyonce…not as much as JoJo…but the girl power songs are a tad annoying. Beyonce has been singing that tune since Destiny’s Child. I’m still waiting for her to reinvent herself. The shaking and the barely there outfit, couture fashion, is all entertainers do nowadays. Everyone wants to out weird the next one. Where’s the real music? People get big names and forget all about true music. And I disagree with that critic who said that this is the best dancing in music videos today…are you kidding me? Every female artist out there is doing this. Beyonce definitely paid off the critics. She can afford a flop. maybe then she’ll retire and make Jay Z a father. Past the torch please!
I’m loving this and that Beyonce came with a style of dancing not done in videos. I’m also glad that an artist of her stature isn’t afraid to take chances with her sound and put out something not currently on radio. Whatever she does in videos is done with class and taste. It’s great someone is out there still reppin’ the women as every artist has their “gimmick”. She’s given you all types of music from ballads, to pop, to jazz, to r&b, to hip&hop & rock. The reviewers can’t wait to post their opinion on it because they know good or bad she’s going to give them what’s not out there and why interest is always peaked for her next move. She wears her crown well.
EPIC VIDEO , LIVING LEGEND ! All i needed to say bitch*s
And that is what all the HATERS don’t realize. When it comes to the artists’ live performance, just singing alone, majority sound a hot mess, but beyonce sings and dances and sounds the same if not better then the actual record!!!
If this video and Santa Clous are among your life’s biggest disappointments…then what a lame life you must have!!! You must be a definite failure in life to be talking as if your subjective, groundless critics were worth listening. LOL.
I LOVE THE VIDEO AND THE SONG!
That so called “riverdance” is really a south african dance called Phantsula
You go B. They can’t do it like you do it. And they certainly can’t do it better. Damn Haters they make me sick. Go learn how to knit or something…… Instead of messing with B. Move B…h get out of her way. Make room for more money B. Ha hha Haaa ha hee.
The song sucks and so does the lyrics and I was expecting more from the video. Sadly, the theme in the music video is done in the past. Even in a destiny’s child music video of the song “soldier” had similar themes. All beyonce and her girls were doing was dancing in front of men in skimpy clothes. The only thing that was good was the costumes and I don’t get the “african” connection. Africa is a continent with many countries with distinct cultures. The lyrics and music had nothing to do with africa. Beyonce should not confuse herself and put some great lyrics and original music by now. All she did was sample tunes and sang some nonsense. All hype and no substance.
no words to say…i just like this $ht
the people bashing her are the people that have no life, the woman has spent years doing what most R & B stars has never done, hate her for it…its the truth.
The bit about critics being “failed musicians” is classic! People who play music but don’t want to sell out to people with poor taste are failed rather than principled. So how in your infinite wisdom does B square the circle between Survivor or the Charlie’s Angels song and then sing something like thug love or her other songs where she lionizes no account dudes?As one of the other commenters noted, she chases the latest craze ; and that seems more like cheap pandering than producing something meaningfully uplifting or empowering for women (if I were a boy perhaps?).
Well its odd that beyonce happens to sing about girl power almost on all her albums… i have seen some of her videos with Jayz and to me they do not really speak or scream girl power when she’s half naked all sweaty and oversexualized while dancing next to him and he stands there fully clothed, acting like he has no care in the world if she’s present or not it shows a picture of Beyonce being submisive. its a contradicting message, she’s sending when she dances like a stripper next to jayz and then comes out with some stupid sexist song. Isn’t someone out there preaching for equal rights instead of starting a fight amongst the sexes.
i am so glad I am not the only one that thinks that she is such crap> She still making songs for teens at 36 years old yeah I said it. She is 36 and by now she should be making better music not one song she has is iconic or original Her dad pimped her out really well by getting her music played a million times a day to make you like it
I am an African and I have to say DAaaaaamn Beyonce nailed the African dance on this one all of the Gagas and the brittneys have nothing on this video believe that !!! Why would someone who has no idea what African dance is about undertstand this music video ,on the real I think this video has taken beyonce to the next level,and I am glad that she left all the Gagas and the Spearses and Rihannas where they belong and that is the ametureland this opens a whole new world for lady musicians watch out beyonce amplified the booty shaking and all of those wanna be gagas and all copied and watch the space they will all follow ONE MORE TIME.jUST ACCEPT IT bEYONCE ROCKS IT AND HARD AT THAT GOOOOOO BEEEEEE.
This is a disaster. First of all we are WOMEN not girls!! These idiot critics aren’t gonna be honest about there critique of this song cause Beyonce is ratings potential. They want her to keep appearing on there shows etc. This radical feminist rant is a Red Hot Mess!!!!.
Her tracks are so unoriginal, I thought this was a Kesha remix with a Rihanna bent in it or something. She has her hubby pumpin devil worship symbols in her videos now. Yes the Illuminati is real. Look it up. Theyre both members of it now. Beyonce is losing her soul and originality!!
Everybody go to Youtube. Theres a remix of this single produced by this guy name Fyuchur. Its Hot!!! Even her fans love it
I am so disappointed at the jokers that think this video or the song makes any sense at all.
she is trying too hard to produce something that signifies epic, and its rather sad that i do not find anything epical or contemporary about the dance,costume or song. Everything just looked really confused there.i know the music industry is all about creativity but that does not say you should engage people in watching a bunch of rubbish on TV that you call dance.
And by the way am an African and sorry to say she didnt nail no African dance there,just some dance that am not sure has an origin at all :(
And for the the person that says Beyonce is going to reign until she is ready to dethrone herself,yes she has made her mark in music i think she is ready to dethrone herself now she should dethrone herself with pride, and pride is so far from this video.
YESSS!
Easy choreography? try doing all of that- you people who think it easy. It is easy to criticise. If its not very easy to show how to do it right, then you better appreciate it, and give it the praise it deserves.
In this world an time, people have unrealistic expectations. Some people feel staisfaction in marring other’s accomplishments. This is truely pathetic. It doesn’t make you a better person. Actually, makes you worse.
The motive of a video is not to simply come up with impossible dance moves. It is to convey that hidden message between the lines of the lyrics. I think she did it here pretty well. Now, instead of criticising, it would be most useful for anyone to accept all the inspiration she’s giving off and put that to some good use.. like do what you love doing most. Great Job Bey!!
Im sure, that you are an inspiration to all those women who feel like they are not appreciated.
You nailed it!!! Obviously, the mainstream consciousness is so suppressed and juvenile, that anything a bit more sophisticated, such as this, flies completely over their heads. I guarantee you that this one goes down in history as a classic… The one that began to elevate Beyonce to the Michael and Janet level of creative innovation in video. I don’t necessarily like the message of the song, but I love the artistry of the song and video and I love the powerful feeling it inspires.
Beyonce rocks. Full stop. No question.