Britney Spears and will.i.am 'Scream & Shout' about nothing
By Kurt Schlosser, NBC News
Quote:
No one will ever accuse Britney Spears or will.i.am of being lyrical geniuses, but as their new single went to No. 1 on iTunes this week and the video for "Scream & Shout" goes viral, we had to ask: Is this really all fans want from their pop stars?
The nearly 5-minute dance track plays like a forgotten sample from a Black Eyed Peas song, with Britney doing the Fergie talkie parts in what some are hearing as a pseudo-British accent. That's British, as in England. Not Britnish, as in Louisiana.
The whole thing comes off so visually lazy. More than 3 million people have watched Britney stand still, lie down and half-heartedly vogue. For his part, will.i.am puts his hands to his mouth. Oh! He's shouting. The 853 million people who have made "Gangnam Style" the most watched YouTube video ever are shouting, too. Because it's fun to watch!
It's 2012, so we gave up the why-does-everything-have-to-be-AutoTuned fight years ago. And we're still young enough to know about da club and the music played there, even if we can't stay awake long enough to go dance. But [B]Britney and will are saying NOTHING, and this "Get off my lawn!" rant is for all those who still prefer a song that says SOMETHING.
Granted, it's a will.i.am song and Britney is apparently along for a lyrical ride that only includes telling you to turn this [expletive] up because it's her, [expletive]. But we're such a long way from choreography that brought us the pigtailed schoolgirl here, or the Martian in red leather over here. Why does Britney make dance music if she doesn't even dance anymore?
In a time when 13-year-old Rebecca Black gets a major Internet beat-down for singing about a day of the week, international superstars will.i.am and Britney Spears are screaming and shouting about much less.
No one will ever accuse Britney Spears or will.i.am of being lyrical geniuses, but as their new single went to No. 1 on iTunes this week and the video for "Scream & Shout" goes viral, we had to ask: Is this really all fans want from their pop stars?
In a time when 13-year-old Rebecca Black gets a major Internet beat-down for singing about a day of the week, international superstars will.i.am and Britney Spears are screaming and shouting about much less.
The whole thing comes off so visually lazy. More than 3 million people have watched Britney stand still, lie down and half-heartedly vogue. For his part, will.i.am puts his hands to his mouth. Oh! He's shouting. The 853 million people who have made "Gangnam Style" the most watched YouTube video ever are shouting, too. Because it's fun to watch!
The funny thing is that if Britney wasn't in the song, none of these reviews would even be happening.
Britney her impact
Yep. Her part pretty much popularised the song (like any relevant pop girl could
do to a will song) and made the song an easy target for critics. Some reports don't lie, though.
Yep. Her part pretty much popularised the song (like any relevant pop girl could do to a will song) and made the song an easy target for critics. Some reports don't lie, though.
Brit saves it from being a complete disaster. 
