Review Revue: Critics (And Katy Perry) React To Lady Gaga’s “Alejandro” Video

Robbie Daw | June 8, 2010 3:02 pm

Surely by now you’ve peeped Lady Gaga’s music video for “Alejandro.” (If not, do so now!) You’ve read what we had to say, so it’s time to round up comments about the clip from other folks on the Internet. And usual critics aside, it looks like Katy Perry is ready to start a good old-fashioned pop star beef with Gaga. (Hey, Katy—get in line.) Head below to read how the rest of the web reacted to “Alejandro.”

* Katy Perry didn’t seem too pleased, according to her tweet from this morning: “Using blasphemy as entertainment is as cheap as a comedian telling a fart joke.” (Note: this from the woman shooting whipped cream out of her boobs in her upcoming “California Gurls” video…)

* Brad Wete of Entertainment Weekly‘s Music Mix lays things out pretty plain and simple: “I can’t wait to hear Lady Gaga explain her latest video, ‘Alejandro.’ Mostly because after watching it (twice!), I have absolutely no clue what’s going on beyond the obvious.”

* MTV’s Buzzworthy blog counts down the 20 most shocking scenes in the “Alejandro” music vid while noting, “Gaga gave us male soldiers in fishnets, and enough religious imagery to send your super-strict uncle to a total tizzy.”

* MTV News points out the obvious Madge-referencing imagery by stating, “Gaga does pay homage to the song’s Latin vibe in the opening funeral scene, when she wears a black lace veil reminiscent of an Eva Peron outfit—or something Madonna would have worn as Eva Peron in Evita. That is certainly not where the Madonna style references begin or end. At one point, when the video takes a turn for the ‘Vogue,’ Gaga is seen alone dancing around in a black pant suit that could have easily been worn by Madge in 1990…”

* The Los Angeles TimesMinistry Of Gossip blog quips, “The Lady unleashes a video today for her track ‘Alejandro’—and while the ditty is a Spanish-style salute to intense suitors everywhere, the visuals are more on par with a band of methadone patients traveling the Eastern Bloc with a production of Cabaret.”

* The video was intense enough that Celebuzz decided to liveblog it, but it’s all so confusing: “Someone is definitely getting raped here. I just can’t figure out if it’s GaGa, the dancer, or my brain.”

* CNN zeroes in on the dreary quality of the clip with a bit of tongue-in-cheek: “Despite the breezy, laid-back, ‘hot like Mexico’ vibe of the single, the accompanying video is dark and cold throughout its totality. There’s snow, drab undergarments and Gaga carrying an initialed heart on a black satin pillow in front of a coffin. (If that doesn’t say romance, well, we don’t know what does.)”

* At least PopJustice seemed smitten: “This is Lady Gaga’s ‘Alejandro’ video. It is a) amazing and b) amazing. c) Amazing.”

* Says E! Online, “Beautifully shot by Steven Klein (one of Madonna’s favorite photographers), Gaga has said it’s supposed to be a ‘celebration of [her] love and appreciation for the gay community.’ Hence the shirtless men with bowl cuts dancing around in high heels and underwear that concludes with Gaga doing a little Bob Fosse-esque dance and stripping for them in a giant orgy. Oh, and while we’re at it, let’s throw in some Catholic imagery in there for good measure. Controversy!”

* Finally, we’ll end with London’s Guardian: “Bondage, gay erotica, a PVC nun habit: barely a single ‘shocking’ box is left a unticked by the video for ‘Alejandro.’ And all this for a song that sounds like Ace of Base.”

What do you think about Lady Gaga’s “Alejandro” video?