Friday, February 22, 2008

Forever My Girl

Some of the chum got consumed on last night's Idol. No really big surprises on who went. But the show did have an outlandish highlight as they debuted the new video for Paula Abdul's comeback song, "Dance Like There's No Tomorrow."

YAY!! Pauler! I haven't been this excited since Keanu rush rushed into that James Dean jacket for one of her vids. You probably saw her "live" performance of the song for the Super Bowl, but here's the video.


All in all, not too terribly embarrassing. And as trainwrecks come and go, dear sweet Pauler's already had her share. Remember the egg suit? I don't really think this comeback song is going to be on par with Cher's "Believe," and the song is a throwaway piece of shit, but it's a piece of shit I can easily see myself getting trashed and dancing to while hanging out at some grossly overpriced and trendy club like Tryst.

But she does have all the earmarks for a mild comeback here. The flagrantly synthesized voice, the wind, and great lighting to make her look, well, good. Please note how Randy insists on inserting himself into the video to pluck on an irrelevant bass when there's no bass to be heard. Also please note that for the Liza-esque pantsless tuxedo costume, she went so far as to stick a napkin in her hair to pay homage to the madcap '80s style that spawned her. (It makes me yearn for her to reconcile with Emilio, you know?) To bring things up to date, she actually has a wallet chain on another costume. (no, not the red gown one, keep looking.)

I was starting to get concerned about her this year. There haven't been any excuses tossed out for her behavior, and, worse, her behavior has slipped. Much like a drunk winding down to pass out. For a few years she'd been the bubbly, exuberant and sillytipsy girl. Then, the slurring got more pronounced and her moves more erratic. This year, it seemed as though she was in the final stages before blackout, with the heavy-lidded eyes and listless demeanor, only sparking to life to pick fights with Simon before unleashing an incoherent mess of babble about colors. I feared she'd be sleeping it off for the entire top six. But I think this video may just inject some more life into her, like drinking your next vodka with Red Bull, you know?

Dance, Paula darling, dance like there's no tomorrow! Because for drunks like us, susceptible to two-day long blackouts and week-long hangovers, sometimes there is no tomorrow.

4 comments:

Jordan E. Rosenfeld said...

Well, the video is actually cool in a kind of mesmerizing way. I'm impressed that she's even THAT coordinated, and honestly, I could definitely exercise to that song--and that's one of my definitions of "good."

Do you think she and Randy are getting it on? And what's with the shot of the foursome at the end--Ryan and Simon included?

(oh, Simon seems like a royally bigger bitch this season. I think he's tired of making all those gazillions. What meaning is left in Simon's life?)


J

Anonymous said...

It probably took more takes to make Paula seem sober in that video then it took Wilder to get Monroe to coherently utter "Where's the bourbon?".

Ellen said...

Have you noticed that the one thing she doesn't do in that video is ... er ... dance? I watched the whole thing waiting for it to start, to see Paula at least start doing some of the moves she taught Janet Jackson, but no. The only part of her that dances like there's no tomorrow is her hair.

And where did her wrinkles go? Her face was an asounding special effect. Kudos to the team of CG pros who pulled that off.

So I guess American Idol owns a percentage of this song? That's an awfully big machine. The song WILL be a hit.

SusanD said...

Hey Jordan! I think they had to include everyone at the end to insure that AI would air the video for promotion and to make it abundantly clear to everyone that it's stamped with approval.

trudi -- bwah!

Ellen-- I did notice that she didn't dance! But I've heard some people mention that she can still move, so I thought I missed it.