The “Bitch I’m Madonna” Video: Review Revue
Well, the “Bitch I’m Madonna” video premiered today (June 17) on Tidal — or here — and Madonna‘s hype about a cavalcade of guest stars ended up feeling more like a random chain of half-assed cameos shoehorned into a re-creation of her Fallon performance. It was certainly cool to see Madge partying with Diplo and her random assortment of pals including Chris Rock, Alexander Wang and Rita Ora. But absolutely zero of the top-billed guests actually appeared alongside the Rebel Heart singer.
Instead, we got remote transmissions from Beyoncé, Katy Perry, Miley Cyrus, and Kanye West superimposed onto the screen. Not even “Bitch I’m Madonna” collaborator Nicki Minaj showed up! Instead, she rapped in front of a green screen, her visage propped up on a TV in the middle of the action.
We get it, scheduling and logistics make these endeavors difficult to pull off, but this looks more like last-minute additions meant to give the video an added boost. It’s a shame, because had these cameos not been touted from on high, it would’ve been a nice little set of surprises for Jonas Åkerlund‘s fun and fast-paced visual. But that’s just our take! Here’s what writers from around the web are saying.
:: Spin felt the cameos were handled the right way, writing, “All that stuffing might lead you to believe the ‘Bitch I’m Madonna’ video would be a bit overcrowded, but in honesty, it skews much closer to her legendary ‘Hung Up’ video in its grandeur and ambition than it does her campy ‘Living For Love’ attempt.”
:: Neither EW nor Rap-Up took issue with the piped-in appearances, while the latter praised the “impressive moves” of Madonna’s son David.
:: The cheerleaders over at Billboard called it an “embarrassment of star power” and gave a special mention to the video’s brief sock puppet show.
:: Stereogum notes that “cameos from Chris Rock and nearly every huge name in music are much more entertaining than Diplo’s DJ face,” adding that Madonna’s grill may have been the most distracting part of all.
:: XXL felt it was a power play, saying “Madonna certainly flexed her muscle with the video and showed that she still has major clout in the music world.”
:: 2 Dope Boyz writes that the diva has become “a washed-up bag of sand who has to resort to petty controversies,” but ultimately concludes, “she’s made me dedicate over 200 words to her today. Guess she’s still got it?”
:: Perhaps the Wall Street Journal summed it up best, writing, “In case you had any doubt, Madonna still parties.”
What do you think of the clip? Did it live up to the hype or were the cameos underwhelming? Let us know in the comments.
