Chris Brown released his catchy radio single “Yeah 3x” about a month ago from his album “F.A.M.E.” and it just might be his comeback after TRI (The Rihanna Incident). It’s your generic shake-it-on-the-dance-floor hit, with a pumping electro beat and lyrics that tell you to “put your hands in the air.” It may not be too different from the other club hits on the radio, but maybe fitting in is just what he needs.
The music video is squeaky clean. Not only does the opening include little kids, one actually announces his arrival, “Hey, it’s Chris Brown!” followed by cheers from all the surrounding children; a bit unrealistic. I don’t think many six-year-olds would cheer at the sound of Brown’s name (if they even know who he is.)
On the plus side, the video features 30 seconds of some amazing female dancers. Shockingly, unlike so many videos today, the girls aren’t wearing next to nothing and dancing suggestively. They have on black trousers, white tank tops and suspenders, and their moves are a mix of modern dance and hip hop; the focus is on technique, not on showing skin. Brown unleashes his thrilling, gravity-defying dance moves while keeping the whole video PG. The video is blessedly free of a lot of grinding and gyrating and the scenes are pretty innocent. Brown’s wardrobe is preppy and clean-cut to the max. He’s on his best behavior, no doubt!
This leads me to wonder, is it ok to like Chris Brown again after what conspired on that fateful night with Rihanna? Can you separate the music from the musician? Is it a crime to be a huge Rihanna fan...but also groove along to Brown's tunes? His talent was obvious, in both singing and dancing, from the moment he swept onto the scene in 2005. Do we look at him as a person who has hopefully learned from his mistakes? Or continue to banish his songs from our iPods? It remains to be seen whether fans will forgive and forget or if this very public incident will forever tarnish his name.
YES! I wanted to make a big comment about this because I feel the same way! I feel so terrible because I like that song so I bought it off of iTunes. I felt really beside myself though because I don't agree with what he did and I don't want to support someone like that. (Falu won't even mention his music or him in his house) However, not that I'm defending him, but there are lots of music artists who have done some questionable things in the past that have always been supported for their art and music even though as a person they may not add up (think Michael Jackson). I mean, I don't think that Bill Clinton was the most moral president we could have ever had, but he was a darndity good one at what he did. I do feel though that it is difficult to separate the artist from the person.
ReplyDeleteI think that Chris Brown should receive the consequences he deserves for the crime he committed. I don't agree with him getting any kind of "special treatment" for being famous like so many celebrities do. I hope that he has learned from his mistakes and can find ways to "give back" through different volunteer, or violence awareness causes, etc. I hate to feel guilty about buying music that I enjoy (unless it's the high school musical soundtrack or something. but in that case its more of a guilty pleasure. hehe).