Oh lord it's about time we saw this video. The song has been out for what seems like FOREVER and she's usually pretty good about following through quickly. I guess perfecting the album (which is due out soon, so we are teased) was top priority. Thankfully this did surface now, and we can enjoy it in it's full HD glory. Let's take a look at the official video for "Problem" by Natalia Kills.
What can I say about this track? I've already said most of my piece on the song itself when it first released. This song has been a constant on my playlist and has ushered in a new era of Kills. She no longer will be called a Lady Gaga rip off. She's blossomed far beyond the critics and given us a peek at just how dark and raw her new album "Trouble" is going to be.
The video is a whole different story. I'm not saying it doesn't "fit" the track, it's just certainly not what I had in mind. I was figuring it would be something a bit more outlandish like her previous works (even "Controversy" was pretty crazy looking) but what we got was less crazy and more sexy. It comes as a mixed bag because it wasn't bad by any means, but it wasn't what I had expected.
Instead of crazy costumes and beheadings, we get her and another guy being overly sexy. No really. She spends much of the video trying to get away from the cops, but it never really goes far enough to say why they are after her. There are scenes of them in the hotel, in a park, and a convenience store. Visually, it is dark and grainy, which feels more at home given her history of releases, and the whole thing plays out like a classic grindhouse picture. In the end, we are treated to a dramatic scene of her standing over her coat that she set ablaze herself. Perhaps she was burning the evidence away. Perhaps she just wanted a really dramatic shot to end on.
The whole thing plays out very well. I have been a fan of Natalia for a long time, and I'm glad to see her develop into this new sound. My only real complaint is the ridiculous amount of product placement in this short video. They start off with the new Beats Pill, a portable radio by Monster. Then we are treated to an awkwardly long scene of her love interest smoking a Blu electronic cigarette. She also grabs a bottle of Cherry Tree Cola out of the store and starts sipping it. The annoying part is that it's not seamlessly played into it. It's like Britney Spears "Hold It Against Me" bad. Instead of the Pill being part of the background they have an obvious closeup of her handling it. And there is a closeup of the guy pulling a cig out of the Blu pack, which lights up by the way for extra obviousness.
At least the Cola was downplayed a lot. I nearly missed it, but it added to my mini-rant.
If you wanna jam to "Problem" in your car, you can pick it up on iTunes.
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