Criminal is in the iTunes top 100 in the following countries!
#15 - Sweden
#18 - France
#49 - Switzerland
#64 - Finland
#65 - Norway
#72 - Denmark
#73 - Germany
#90 - Irland
#99 - New Zealand
Oh, and the reviews are in. Someone at Exhale compiled these...
REVIEWS
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OMG! It’s OUT!! Britney Spears, who teased the release of her new music video yesterday with a set of amazing animated gifs, has FINALLY released the music video for her new single Criminal … and it is FANTASTIC! The clip is nothing short of a mini-movie, complete with production credits and everything. Previously, we saw photos of Britney and loverman Jason Trawick filming scenes for the video but that particular scene makes up a tiny portion of the whole video. I’m not even kidding, y’all … this video is one of Britney‘s best … of all time.
What a great clip! This video is so good not only because of its high production value but because the story told here is actually entertaining and compelling. The opening scene is … surprising … but not as surprising as the way the story turns out. My two favorite scenes take place in the shower (wow, hot!) and in the rain of bullets. Britney and Jason make a great couple in real life but they also make a pretty great couple on screen as well. Love. This. Video. SO. Effing. MUCH! It’s the best, ain’t it?
-Pink is the new blog
http://www.pinkisthenewblog.com/2011...britney-spears...
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While pop princess Britney Spears has been overseas conquering Europe with her Femme Fatale tour. American Britney fans have been anxiously awaiting her new video for her hit song “Criminal”.
The video, was shot in September around London, and is not your typical "Britney" style video. For one, there is no dancing. Two, Britney shows of her great acting chops. And three..... again there is NO DANCING. Personally, I think this is her BEST video yet!
-Lashonda, Chicago Now
http://www.chicagonow.com/pop-buzz/2...-music-video-b...
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The videos from Britney Spears's Femme Fatale album have been an entertaining bunch, and the latest, for "Criminal," may be the most entertaining. Britney gets to flex her acting muscle in the short film-style music video, with an intro that features the singer at a posh London party, fighting with a slappy British boyfriend, until a hot stranger (her real-life boyfriend Jason Trawick) comes to her rescue. They take off to the flute-laden tune of "Criminal," and that appears to be exactly what Britney's new squeeze is. They become a Bonnie and Clyde-esque pair, robbing stores and being chased by police. But they have lots of sexy downtime — their gun-toting shenanigans are interspersed with lots of nude, arty love scenes (in the shower, up against the wall . . . you get the point).
-Shannon Vestal, Buzz Sugar
http://www.buzzsugar.com/Britney-Spe...al-Music-Video...
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Britney Spears has been a lot of things in her music videos: a schoolgirl, an air hostess and even a circus ringmaster, but her latest venture sees her exploring a side of her we've never seen, until now... that of a criminal.
Yes, Britney’s new video sees her taking to a life of crime with her real-life boyfriend Jason Trawick. After watching the finished thing, we have to say it’s certainly not for Britney’s younger fans! It’s pretty jam-packed with violence, raunchy scenes and crime, so much so that for a second you'd be forgiven for thinking you were accidentally watching a Guy Ritchie gangster flick!
Steamy scenes aside though, the video is actually rather compelling and feels more like a short film rather than a pop starlet’s music video.
-Tom Townshed, MSN Music UK
http://music.uk.msn.com/blog/editor-...spx?post=34699...
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...And cutely, she enlisted her real-life manager turned boyfriend, Jason Trawick, as her co-star and partner in crime. They spend half the video naked (but it's not weird, because they love each other? Or maybe that makes it weirder? Discuss); the other half is devoted to Britney's arm-dancing and life of crime. The best moment, though, is in the beginning when Britney kicks a dude in the crotch and then proclaims, "Now I'm okay. [Smirk.]" Britney is having fun again!
-NY Mag
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Britney Spears‘ controversial video for her flute-laden new single ‘Criminal’ is more of a sexed up mini-movie than anything else. Brit and her real-life boyfriend Jason Trawick are fashioned as a modern-day Bonnie and Clyde in this five-minute piece of pop music cinema.
-Pop Crush
http://popcrush.com/britney-spears-criminal-video/
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…The video is being called her most provocative yet. It is set up as a mini-movie that tells the story of a woman (played by Brit) in an abusive relatioship. She then starts dating a bad boy (played by Trawick) and gets herself and him in to trouble with the cops when she robs a convenience store. Although Britney does "sing" the song in the video, it is far different from anything that she has done in the past…
Criminal is getting great reviews, and fans are really diggin' it despite it lacking dancers and other flashy effects. It certainly isn't your typical pop song and Britney has outdone herself yet again.
-Effie Orfanides, New Music Examiner
http://www.examiner.com/new-music-in...britney-spears...
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Britney Spears’ controversial “Criminal” music video, which features the singer robbing a store with boyfriend Jason Trawick, has just been released!
We particularly enjoyed the shots of Brit in the shower. Yowza.
“Criminal” was shot in London and directed by Chris Marrs Piliero, who also did Britney's “I Wanna Go” video.
-celebrity gossip at:
http://www.thehollywoodgossip.com/st...y-spears.html#...
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Access Hollywood Live: Jason Trawick Dishes On His Rock Hard Abs For Britney Spears’ ‘Criminal’ Music Video
Britney Spears’ boyfriend, Jason Trawick, calls in to Access Hollywood Live to discuss his appearance in Britney’s racy new music video for her single,“Criminal.” So, how did Jason get those impressive abs he sports in the video?
-Access Hollywood
http://www.accesshollywood.com/acces...d-live/access-...
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Who needs a reality series when you can just make a music video?
Britney Spears and her boyfriend Jason Trawick have given her fans a steamy look at what goes on in their bedroom in the X-rated music video for her single Criminal.
The couple play a modern Bonnie and Clyde-style duo who play out their passions with little inhibition.
Daily Mail UK
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz...050440/Britney...
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For "Criminal," Britney Spears' fourth single off Femme Fatale, the Weaved One jetted off to London to shoot the bullett-addled music video, which co-stars her real-life boyfriend Jason Trawick. It's a real Natural Born Killers affair, which finds the pair going on a crime spree, doing all kinds of The Sexy (in bed, in a shower, etc.) and, eventually, being hunted down by the police.
"Criminal" is entertaining on a certain level, but not nearly as much as Brit's previous visual, for "I Wanna Go". Still, while many artists in the midst of their world tour who are this deep into an album at this point would be serving up a video with concert footage, thankfully Lady Spears is still giving it 100% on the video front.
And, musically, this flute jam is definitely one of the most interesting and unusual Britney singles to come along in years.
-Chart Rigger
http://chartrigger.blogspot.com/2011...itney-spears-c...
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Speaking of which: black lace, shower sex, and coffee in bed! Britney seems happy in this video. Unlike some other times, the happiness here seems genuine, not defensively forced (cough cough Beyoncé). Sure, she's still acting, but the best Britney has always been goofy Britney. Making out in a hail of bullets and vogue-ing for the camera to the low-key grower of a pop-rock bopper. The perennially flawless princess has been integrated with the off-screen corn muffin.
-Molly Lambert, Grantland
http://www.grantland.com/blog/hollyw...ctus/post/_/id...
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It’s crime time for Britney, bitch.
In her new video for “Criminal,” her fourth single from Femme Fatale, Spears acts out a romantic heist/robbery/forbidden love with real-life love Jason Trawick– complete with multiple naked sex scenes.
The good stuff: Spears looks great — the weave is working for her and the video plotline has a fun story that isn’t just Britney slithering against a wall.
I kind of really like it. Sure, she’s not dancing, but honestly, after seeing some of her recent attempts, I think it’s best her team decided to just forgo dancing altogether and give her something else to do: Sexytimes with her boyfriend!
-Erin Strecker
http://music-mix.ew.com/2011/10/18/b...ars-criminal-v...
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By the looks of the video, it's clear the couple have a solid chemistry in the sack and bods that look like they haven't skipped the gym in, well...ever.
-Mariane Garvey
http://www.eonline.com/news/britney_...troversial_cri...
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We can't honestly remember the last time Britney Spears looked so gorgeous in a music video. Perhaps she was glowing because her real-life boyfriend Jason Trawick played her onscreen bad boy beau? Whatever it was, she needs to keep this momentum going because "Criminal" might just be Britney's best video in the "Femme Fatale" era.
The Huffington Post (US)
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/1...ey-spears-prem...
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Art imitates life for Britney Spears as she enjoys a steamy shower sex scene with her real-life boyfriend in her latest jaw-dropping music video.
The popstar cast Jason Trawick as her leading man in the controversial film for her new single, Criminal, which sees Britney strip naked and physically attacked.
The pair give fans a sneek peek behind closed doors as they act out x-rated scenes in the Bonnie and Clyde-eqsue plot.
-Mirror UK
http://www.mirror.co.uk/celebs/news/.../britney-spear...
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"Criminal," the fourth video from Britney Spears' latest album, Femme Fatale, starts off as a tribute to old Hollywood, with the singer dolled up like an icy leading lady in a Hitchcock movie. The first minute of music-free plot features some stiff acting and a surprising bit of violence, but from there on out, we're in the usual comfort zone of a Britney video – sexy dancing, sexy vamping – with the added bonus of gratuitous PDA between the pop star and her real-life boyfriend, Jason Trawick.
-Rolling Stone
http://www.rollingstone.com/videos/n.../britney-spear...
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Is there anything Britney Spears can't do? Once again, the Queen of Pop has proved she's a force to be reckoned with as her new video for "Criminal" has already reached #2 on iTunes within minutes of its release. (Update: It's now #1!)
The action-packed video was shot in the UK and also stars Spears' real life boyfriend Jason Trawick. She was so excited to share the video at midnight that she tweeted, "Ladies & gents, I'm excited to present to you the video for one of my favorite songs off of Femme Fatale."
-Lisa Hiser, CamBio/ AOL
http://www.cambio.com/2011/10/17/bri...s-criminal-mus...
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“…Like, Lindsay Lohan made off with a necklace and all she got was a stern wag of the finger in the States, but Brit Brit swipes some cheap candles and the consequence is getting mowed down by fifty million bullets? Um…I don’t quite understand your legal system, England.
But that’s not the real reason: If you were really paying attention, you’d know that all those SWAT teams weren’t coming in to take down Spears and Trawick for stealing a candle or two from the local convenience store. They were coming because the Holy Spearit JUST ****ING SLAYED EVERY SINGLE POP BITCH IN THE BUILDING’S ENTIRE LIIIIIIFE.
In all seriousness, the video for “Ciminal” not only encapsulates the mystery and intrigue of the Femme Fatale era oh-so-perfectly, but truly stands as a shining example of why I’ll always remain a fan of–nay, an rabidly unapologetic stan of the Living Legend herself, Miss Britney Spears. It’s absolutely perfect in every single way. A candidate for the video of the year? Why yes..yes, indeed…”
-Muumuse
http://www.muumuse.com/2011/10/daily...-spears-crimin...
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Besides the atrociously over-hyped “Hold It Against Me” visual, Britney Spears has churned out some great videos from her Femme Fatale album. The steamy apocalyptic “Till The World Ends” had her looking the hottest that she has in years, and the wacky “I Wanna Go” was nothing but non-stop hilarity.
Now Britney has released her ‘best’ Femme Fatale video yet: “Criminal”…
-The Prophet Blog
http://www.theprophetblog.net/britne...l-music-video-...
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For the video for her fourth Femme Fatale single, Britney Spears delivered an epic mini-movie, full of romance, intrigue, and a whole lot of makeout sessions with her real-life boyfriend, Jason Trawick… All in all, this was a pretty entertaining video, with a whole lot of unnecessary PDA between Brit and her beau.
-Becky Bain, Idolator
http://idolator.com/6047852/britney-...minal-video-pr...
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Watch Britney Spears‘ brand new music video for Criminal, the fourth single from Femme Fatale! I love this song, she looks completely amazing but if I were her, I would have picked a model/actor other than her real-life boyfriend Jason Trawick, he’s totally the weakest part of the video!
-Michael Knudsen, PopBytes
http://popbytes.com/archive/2011/10/...ney_spears_cri...
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“In essence, Britney's Criminal video seems more like an opportunity for her to live out her sexual fantasies than anything beneficial to music fans. It starts off with her real-life boyfriend Trawick rescuing her from the arms of an abusive date and then taking her on an adrenaline-packed ride.
We later watch them making out. Sure, pop stars make out with muscly, tattooed guys in their videos all the time, but the fact that this is her real-life beau somehow makes it feel like we're watching some sort of legitimate, well-shot sex tape.
Britney's great, but this video isn't. Next time, stick to dancing.”
- The Huffington Post
http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2011...tney-spears-cr...
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Say what you want about Britney’s ‘Tin-man choreographed’ stage-shows, but there is no denying that Ms. Spears has brought it time and time again this era with her videos as ‘Criminal’ was no exception – certainly a homerun. Engaging storyline, the absence of lacking choreography, yes!
Who knows? Maybe its’ editing that brings her to life because, given the immediacy of live performance, there are no chance for redos. And, since she’s been “acting” like she’s been dancing for the last 3-4 years, might as well take those newly earned acting skills to somewhere they matter most – videos!
Life, presence, movement! All there (for once)! There may be hope for Brit yet. ‘Gimme, gimme more’!
-The Grape Juice
http://thatgrapejuice.net/2011/10/vi...y-spears-crimi...
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Ok, I must admit I wasn’t exactly thrilled about “Criminal” being a single but at this moment everything has changed. I can’t explain how much more I like the song now after watching the video only three times! It does the job and it does it oh so well!
The opening clip with the Radiance plug (totally expected) shows Britney appearing as stunning as ever, not since her Onyx Hotel days (remember the promos) have we seen such a glammed up BritBrit on video! A little scuffle and a smack in the face only to be rescued by real life boyfriend Jason and the credits start rolling for the bad ass 5:22 second video.
The Femme Fatale era began a bit shaky but as Britney stans we have loved every moment of it. With each video and every live performance that followed we began to see the fire inside of her burn brighter and brighter. “Criminal” is a clear sign that the little spark that was dimly lit months ago is burning it’s brightest (ouch, I can feel it) and I can only hope that the flame continues to grow. Congratulations Britney Spears, the best video this era by far!
-David, Pop On and On
http://poponandon.com/video-premiere...pears-stars-in...
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Britney Spears’ career has been marred by lackluster live performances and public indignation with her lip-syncing but her new ‘Criminal’ video has proven that she is still one of the best visual entertainers of her generation. Filmed on the streets of London last month, the cinematic clip was directed by Chris Marrs Piliero.
This video was certainly a captivating piece! Spears was bold and brazen in her role, and provided more excitement than she has done in any of her live showings during the last 4 years.
It is amazing how many people today claim that originality is impossible in the current era of Pop music yet some visual artists like Spears continue to experiment with new treatments. Indeed, this interesting twist on the otherwise banal Bonnie & Clyde theme confirmed that acts do not have to copy every move from previous productions.
Instead, they can find create ways to mix old concepts with fresh ideas. Beyonce could learn a lot from Spears.
- Trent, The Lava Lizard
http://thelavalizard.com/2011/10/new...tney-spears-cr...
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An unforbidden love resulting in an armed robbery provide the concept for Britney Spears‘ new music video ‘Criminal’. After a bunch of backward politicians tried to place blame on the singer for glamourising the London riots, the video has now become one of the most anticipated visuals of the year. The clip features a cameo appearance by real life beau Jason Trawick.
The question is, does the Chris Marrs Piliero directed music video live up to the hype???
Yes it does! The London-located music video was sexy, dramatic, cinematic and very exciting to watch. Britney may have lost those complex dance moves but what she now lacks in stage presence, she makes up for in her high budgeted, blockbuster inspired videos. I wasn’t even that bothered by the product placement (when she goes to the ladies room, she sprays herself with her own Radiance perfume). Britney’s boyfriend looks soooo much like Sam Merlotte from ‘True Blood’!
- Toya
http://toyazworld.com/2011/10/18/wat...-spears-premie...
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WOW. LOVE THIS. Not what I expected! The slap! The robbery!!! The shower scene!!!! Britney totally brought it. She looks INCREDIBLE.
- Matt Stopera, BuzzFeed
http://www.buzzfeed.com/mjs538/britn...new-music-vide...
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With "Criminal," Britney Spears has finally made a grimy sequel to her super-spy "Toxic" video, but with grocery store stick-ups instead of espionage. Once you make it past the awkward abusive relationship in the 90-second prologue -- if it feels like a perfume ad, it's because Spears is really showcasing her fragrance in the ladies room -- the video really takes off into the gray streets of London's Stoke Newington neighborhood. "Criminal" is a potent cocktail with equal parts "urban Badlands" and 9 1/2 Weeks.
The video could have been titled "'11 Bonnie & Clyde," but with Spears grabbing the criminal reins in the Clyde role. Spears' fun "I Wanna Go" gave hints that Spears was ready to break out after a series of dull music videos where it seemed like she was just being propped up against a green screen. (Our Amp colleague compared "Hold It Against Me" to Weekend at Bernie's.) Here, she's actually physically and verbally interacting with other people, and it seems natural. On the close-ups, her eyes are locked in and engaged with the viewer. Best of all, Spears is once again behaving like the provocative pop star that was a controversial trailblazer before Lady Gaga, Katy Perry, and Rihanna came along.
If Spears is completely comfortable making out in bed and getting naked in the shower with cameras rolling, it's probably because her real-life boyfriend Jason Tratwick -- with some awful and hopefully fake tattoos -- plays the role of her partner-in-crime. "Criminal" isn't perfect: There is still way too much product placement for cars and watches and perfumes, the "rain of bullets" ending was completely stolen shot-for-shot from Green Day's "21 Guns" video, and this short film -- it has opening and closing credits -- pretends to be more epic than it actually is. However, for almost six minutes, Spears finally lives up to her album title, Femme Fatale.
-Daniel Kreps, Amplifier (Yahoo)
http://new.music.yahoo.com/blogs/amp...63/britney-spe...
Those were posted before (not many pages ago, btw), no need to post again, especially like that, if you know what I mean.
