Lady Gaga's video for "Alejandro" debuted today, and it seems as though we've been transported back to "Like a Prayer" era Madonna.
I remember the days when music video premieres were a HUGE deal. Back when TRL monopolized my (and my middle school peers') afternoons. Back when Carson Daly was on air at 3:30 in the afternoon... those were simpler days. Days when Backstreet, Britney or whoever was the pop flavor-of-the-week would shut down Times Square for the Wade Robinson choreographed video to their latest single. But things have changed.
When music shifted to the digital sphere, it seemed like the mp3 killed the music video star. TRL counted its last vote over a year ago and MTV and VH1 play approximately 45 seconds of music each day (combined). But thanks to YouTube, the music video lives! And Lady Gaga uses it as a tool to build her hype machine.
"Alejandro" is your typical summer Top 40 fare. It's catchy. It tells a tale of unrequited love. It's perfect for any nightclub. As an avid follower of the club scene, Gaga knows how to craft a pop single. The song is reminiscent of the dance floor sensations of yesteryear, like Ace of Base or Abba (Is it coincidence that Gaga "[doesn't] want to kiss, [doesn't] want to touch Fernando?").
The video for the single, however, is a different story.
I love Gaga as much as the next pop music fan, but this video didn't live up to the hype. After pushing back the release multiple times, it sounded like the second coming of "Thriller." Instead, the video depicts Gaga's attempt to transform into a man that will please the titular Alejandro (Fernando or Roberto). This is all thrown together against some haphazard Christian symbols. Yes, "Alejandro" will raise a few eyebrows from the holy rollers, but visual blasphemy is so 1989. Lady Gaga is at her best playing a homicidal fashionista on parole, with Beyonce as her partner-in-crime (à la "Telephone").
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