Britney Spears' 'Womanizer' Clip Proved She Still Had It

The following italicized article is from www.mtv.com:

By the time 2008 rolled around, Britney Spears had once again taken her rightful place as the pre-eminent princess of pop. There was no question about it: Britney was back and "Womanizer" confirmed it. After all, what better way to show everyone you're back than to appear naked in a sauna?

"It was an actual sauna and we built a big tent around it ... and Britney, naked again. I guess I have one of the best jobs in the world," Joseph Kahn, who also shot Britney in the nude for her "Toxic" clip, told MTV News. "I was like, 'You know, if we do this video, and she went through all this work to get a new paint job, I was gonna show off the paint job — she's gonna be naked in this video.' "

The idea, however, like so many videos before, was all Britney's suggestion. "She pitched to me a very detailed idea of what she wanted to do," Kahn explained. "She wanted to dress up in costume, she wanted to follow her man to work, and she eventually wanted to show at the end that she is all three of those women."

He went on to say that this video was the one where he and Britney would prove that she was still at the top of her game. "It was, like, her first video that no one really knew if she could even come on set, you know? It was just a big question as to you know, like, what would that video look like?" he said. "What shape would she be in? Can she really dance? Can she perform? Who is she at this point?

" 'Womanizer,' for me, was a great experience on a personal level, because it completely verified that she was coming back," he continued. "By the time I worked with her on 'Womanizer,' you know, that was the Britney that I knew and it was a fun experience for me."

Kahn had to basically turn the video around overnight, and it was worth all the hard work — the video quickly became a fan favorite. "By the time it got out — and the beautiful thing about the Internet is that you get instant reaction — the reaction seemed to be very positive. I'm going to sound like such a wuss, but I think I cried," he said. "That sounds super lame, but come on, man — that's five days of some serious stress. And I had to end the video on her smiling, for sure. Like, we just need to tell everybody that she's OK."

Source: MTV

How Britney Spears' 'Stronger' Video Made Her A Diva

The following italicized article is from www.mtv.com:

Up until the release of "Stronger," Britney Spears had not yet truly made the leap from teen pop star to femme fatale. Most — if not all — of her videos were glossy, pastel-colored romps about falling in and out of love. It wasn't until she worked with Joseph Kahn on "Stronger," from her 2000 Oops! ... I Did It Again LP, that Spears began to emerge as a darker, more dangerous version of sexy.

"For 'Stronger,' she said, 'I would like to dance in a chair and drive in a car and break up with [my] boyfriend,' " Kahn told MTV News. " 'Those are your three elements.' And then, as a director, you go, 'OK, well, how do I make that cool?'

"I think this video is interesting because it's got a very sophisticated, adult look to it," Kahn (who has helmed dozens of music videos, including Brit's "Womanizer" and Chris Brown's "Crawl") continued. "It's definitely a departure from the sort of candy-colored videos she was doing before, so I always thought this was the transition between Britney the teenage pop star and Britney the sort of diva she became."

Kahn ended up taking those elements and creating a semi-futuristic world in which Spears walks into a club, breaks up with her cheating boyfriend and triumphantly walks in the rain, knowing her life is better off without him. But it was the pivotal dance sequences with the metal chair that defined the aesthetic for the video.

"She pitched it to me as an original concept by herself, but the first thing that came to my mind when I thought of the chair sequence, in terms of how it applies to music videos, was Janet Jackson's 'Pleasure Principle' — the iconic chair sequence in that." Kahn recalled.

Like Jackson, Spears wasn't afraid to get sexy in the clip, even if her handlers were a bit nervous that she was going too far. "There's a shot here where I'm tracking with her, and her legs are spread, and Larry [Rudolph], the manager, was like, 'Don't do that.' " Kahn said. "And she was like, 'Yes, definitely do that.' "

Oddly enough, one aspect of the video that Kahn was insistent upon was Spears' eye shadow. "One of the big things I wanted to do here, that I was just obsessed with ... I know it sounds really strange, but I wanted her to have gray eye shadow," he said. "And I think it looks really good. I remember when I was looking at the close-ups, Britney goes, 'You're really obsessed with this gray eye shadow!' and I go, 'Yes, absolutely.' But if you look at it, it just makes her eyes pop like crazy."

Source: MTV

Britney Spears' The Singles Collection Hits Stores Today

The following italicized article is from www.mtv.com:

From the tender age of 16, Britney Spears has been one of the biggest pop stars of her generation. She's proven that even when she's down, she can still make a comeback. On the greatest-hits compilation The Singles Collection — out Tuesday (November 9), but a deluxe version will drop November 23 — fans can revisit their favorite hits in Spears' catalog.

The album includes " ... Baby One More Time," "(You Drive Me) Crazy (The Stop Remix!)," "I'm a Slave 4 U," Toxic" and "Oops! ... I Did It Again" to name a few. The album also features her latest single, "3," the video for which premiered on her site last week.

"When I see her on set, she's extremely professional, and it's a job," video director and frequent collaborator Joseph Kahn told MTV News about working with the pop star over the years. "There's really literally no messing around. Whatever accolades she gets, she deserves."

As for her place among some of the greatest pop artists of all time, Dave Meyers, who directed Spears in videos for "Boys," Lucky" and, most recently, "Radar," shared that she's definitely vying for the Queen of Pop title with Madonna. "She kind of filled [Madonna's] shoes," Meyers said. "[But] everything is done in a Britney way. She's not Madonna, and Madonna is not Britney. It seems like Madonna made the same choices that were right for her at the time, to class her up when she had just done a sexpot video. She was riding that image train too. She was leading that image train, and I think that Britney has done that as well."

Source: MTV

Britney Spears Gets Naked (Again) In VMA-Nominated 'Womanizer' Clip

The following italicized article is from www.mtv.com:

Picture it: you, Britney Spears, a sweaty sauna, and nothing else between you. Like the body-hugging sparkly catsuit in "Toxic" that got tongues wagging, veteran video director Joseph Kahn knew the sight of Britney lounging in a sauna in the "Womanizer" clip would set off a buzz bomb.

Mission accomplished. Like his work on Eminem's "We Made You," which is also nominated for Video of the Year at Sunday's 2009 MTV Video Music Awards, "Womanizer" was the first clip from a crucial comeback album for Britney and Kahn was behind the camera to make sure it went smoothly.

As Kahn has said, he approached "Womanizer" not so much as a sequel to "Toxic," but as an answer to that clip. "I had no idea what the song was going to be, so I had no ideas when I met her about what we would do," said Kahn. "She had a basis of an idea to make a 'Toxic 2.' There are things she's really good at, like having a really natural knack for knowing what girls want."

While his previous collaborations with Spears on "Toxic" had a revenge-on-a-boy scenario, and "Stronger" bore an empowerment message, in "Womanizer" Britney was interested in exploring what her man was doing when he was cheating on her by showing up in different tempting outfits. "It's just a great girl fantasy," Kahn said of the concept for the video, in which Spears portrays a handful of forceful, hyperstylized characters. "The problem was we only had two days to shoot it and it involved multiple costume changes, multiple locations and Britney could only work 12 hours a day."

That meant Kahn had to hustle even more than usual, so he said he was, literally, running around the Los Angeles sets like a maniac, plotting out every second of the shoot like an Army lieutenant.

Although the hectic schedule was a white-knuckle grind, Kahn admitted that one aspect of the shoot was no hassle at all. "That was definitely an interesting thing to bring up," he said of his suggestion to Spears that they film a scenario in which she (barely) covers her naked, sweaty body with just her hands while lounging in a sauna. "I knew that the whole world would be watching, so I wanted something in there that stated, 'This is Britney, this is why you should respect her.' "

Despite the idea of seeking respect through nudity seeming counterintuitive, Kahn explained that he was so angry about how Spears had been attacked over the previous years for her yo-yo-ing weight that he wanted to quash all that talk by ... well, in his own words, "If she was a car with a paint job, I was going to show off the paint job. It was a way for her to gain back her body and smash all those shallow jokes."

As with "Toxic," Kahn had to clear everyone off the set when the time came to shoot the scene, leaving just him and Britney alone for two hours. "We worked together on each costume in the video and we went into a costuming session where she played dress-up for a while," he said, explaining the different sexy looks Britney shows off in the video. "She walks out in different outfits and I'm like, 'Let's try the striped shirt.' I'm sitting there thinking, 'I can't believe they pay me for this. I probably have the best job in the world!' Even Obama would want my job."

Source: MTV

Britney Spears' 'Womanizer' Director Joseph Khan Talks 'Toxic' Comparisons

The following italicized article is from www.mtv.com:

Joseph Khan, the director of Britney Spears' steamy "Womanizer" video, is no stranger to working with the pop star. And having directed her in "Stronger" and "Toxic," he decided to make the clip for her new #1 single a nod to the latter.

"I didn't see it as a direct sequel but a 2008 answer to ['Toxic']," he told MTV News. " 'Toxic' was a crystallization of her career at that time, and the tough part was that we knew there were going to be comparisons."

As in "Toxic," "Womanizer" shows Spears playing a handful of strong, hyper-stylized characters seeking revenge against a guy who has done them wrong.

"There are elements and moments of 'Toxic' that I felt could be improved," he added. "This one is a bit more fashion-forward. The only big difference is that she's been through a lot, and the big curiosity for me was how much she can give me on set."

And Khan said Britney was determined to prove to everyone that she still loves being a pop star. "When I see her on set, she's extremely professional, and it's a job," he said. "There's really literally no messing around. ... Whatever accolades she gets, she deserves."

According to Khan, the video was a completely collaborative effort. She came to him with a clear idea and a strong-enough song that made directing a piece of cake. "Any director could come on," he said, "because with that fierceness and determination she has, they would look like they knew what they were doing.

"I think that it's funny she didn't have to say much, and the song spoke volumes about the visual," he added.

The video's male eye candy, Brandon Stoughton, got in on the collaboration as well. "They both took it very seriously. They're inventive. He would come up with ideas."

Khan said he noticed one major change between his last project with Britney and this one: "It's a much more mature sound and much more mature lyrics, and she always has the greatest ideas," he said. "The initial kernel of the idea always came from her. She's hyper-aware of pop culture.

"She's a mom now," Khan added, "and one of the concerns was that she wants to work hard, and she wants to see her kids. I had to know exactly what I wanted."

After everything that Spears has been through in the last couple years, Khan said he wanted to make the best possible video for her. "I love working with her, and I do care about doing the best that I can for her. I don't want to be the guy that failed. I don't want to be the guy. I want to be a help, not a hindrance."

Source: MTV

Jive Releases Statement Regarding Billboard Ranking

Britney Spears is making history withher new single, "Womanizer." This week, "Womanizer" makes an unprecedentedleap from No. 96* to claim the No. 1* spot on Billboard's "Hot 100 Singles"chart. This is the first time a song has ever made a leap of this magnitudeon the singles chart. Further attesting to the multi-platinum singer'sworldwide appeal, "Womanizer" is the No. 1 song on iTunes charts in Canada,France, Spain and Sweden.

The song's astonishing climb up the charts comes despite a major glitchthat occurred yesterday when the "Womanizer" digital track wasinadvertently removed and unavailable for sale at iTunes in the U.S. and inother countries for over a twelve hour period. The track first becameavailable on iTunes on October 7th, and prior to the technical error, thedigital track ranked No.1 there, selling over 275K units within the firstsix days of its release. However, the brief lapse did not slow down themomentum of the super-star's project; currently the digital track is backup on iTunes and digital sales are expected to quickly recover.

Rounding out a record-setting week, Spears debuted her "Womanizer"video on ABC's 20/20 news program this past Friday night; this is the firsttime a music video in its entirety has ever premiered during primetime onABC. Additionally, the news program won the ratings race during its timeslot, coming in No.1 in the coveted 18-35 demographic. The captivatingvideo was directed by Joseph Kahn, who also directed Spears' riveting"Toxic" video.

"Womanizer" is the first single from her forthcoming album, Circus andwas produced by the up-and-coming Atlanta production team The Outsyders.For her latest album, Britney has enlisted a stellar group of establishedproducers/writers that include Dr. Luke (who wrote and produced the album'stitle track, "Circus"), Danja, Max Martin, Bloodshy & Avant and GuySigsworth (Madonna, Alanis Morissette, Bjork). Her sixth studio album,Circus, is set for release December 2nd, which coincides with Spears' 27thbirthday.

Britney Spears is one of the top-selling artists of the last decade andto date; she has sold in excess of 62 million albums worldwide, thatinclude "...Baby One More Time"(1999), "Oops!...I Did It Again" (2000),"Britney" (2001), "In The Zone" (2003), and "Blackout" (2007), nine #1 worldwide singles and four consecutive #1 albums.

Source: Jive Records

"Womanizer" Director Joseph Kahn Blogs Britney

Anyway…Womanizer.

I've been on this side of celebrity for so long that I've got to see some really messed up things. She can't go to a fucking McDonald's without a mean, shitty blog written about her.

And ten years of it, every move.

No doubt you have to be strong to survive this business. But at the end of the day, she's still a girl. Dickheads.

I genuinely like her. She has a good southern laugh. I think she's a good person in a fucked up world. I've worked with bad people. She's not one of them. Not by a long shot.

So I really wanted Womanizer's video to be good.

I literally could not find anytime to sleep this last week. I got six hours in four days. If I had slept more than that, the video would have suffered.

Turned it in for broadcast. Went to work on other projects. Went home, watched the premiere, checked for reactions.

They love Britney again.

I don't know if it was because I was punch drunk tired, but I almost cried.

Source: Joseph Kahn

'Womanizer' Director's Cut

Source: Britney TV

20/20 & Womanizer

As he is currently finishing final touches, the JK directed Womanizer video premieres tonight on ABC's 20/20.

Two versions are being sent. One for network television, and another for the internet.

Source: Joseph Kahn

Britney Spears Says She Plans To Tour In 2009

The following italicized article is from www.mtv.com:

Britney Spears stopped by New York radio station Z100 Monday morning (September 29) to talk about her new single, "Womanizer," which made its debut on the station Friday, and surprised listeners by saying she's planning to tour next year.

"['Womanizer' is] basically saying, 'We know what you're up to.' It's about guys cheating on girls," she said. "It's a girl anthem. That's why I like it. So hopefully the fans will see it that way too!"

She also said she's completed work on her forthcoming LP, Circus (which is slated for release on her 27th birthday, December 2), on which the single appears. "Well, actually ... I cut Circus like two weeks ago. I've been working on this album for, like, six months now."

Spears said was stunned when she won three Moonmen earlier this month at the VMAs, in part because she feels she's done better videos. "It's a cool video, but I think by far I've done videos that are way better, so I was really shocked that it got the award," she said.

"It was just inspiring, though," she continued, "because now, going forward with the videos that I'm doing now, I can really go there and do something crazy and see what happens."

Surprisingly, the singer also said that she plans to tour in 2009. "Oh, definitely next year," she said when asked about touring possibilities. "Probably around the world." Last year, Spears, under the name M+M's, did a small club tour that found her lip-synching and wearing a black wig during a brief set.

Last week, Spears was seen around Los Angeles filming the video for "Womanizer." In the clip, Britney sports a vampy look, clad in a short black wig and red lipstick, and playing a waitress. The clip was directed by Joseph Khan, who previously helmed her clips for "Stronger" and "Toxic." Sources told UsMagazine.com that the video features "erotic" choreography.

Source: MTV

Britney Spears Works as a Waitress – in Her Video

The following italicized article is from www.people.com:

Britney Spears is getting back to work in a big way. On Wednesday, the pop star – incognito in a black wig and red lipstick – filmed the video for her upcoming single, "Womanizer," and will continue shooting Thursday, sources tell PEOPLE.

Filming took place Wednesday at Elevate Lounge, a club located within Takami Sushi & Robata restaurant on the 21st floor of an office building in downtown L.A., says a source. In the video, directed by Joseph Kahn (who worked with Spears on "Toxic" and "Stronger"), she plays a waitress.

Dancers arrived at the shoot Wednesday morning dressed in waiter uniforms of white dress shirts, skinny ties, and black pants or leggings.

"Womanizer," the first single off Spears’ upcoming album Circus will hit radio soon, says a source, and Spears will start practicing live performances next month.

Source: People

"Womanizer" Shoot

Black short wig, sunglasses, red lip stick, leather skirt, black heels, director Joseph Kahn.

Hot.

Source: X17

Britney Is NOT Shooting A Music Video!

There are currently some rumours that Britney will shoot the music video for 'Break The Ice' very soon and that the director is confirmed to be Joseph Kahn.

I can exclusively confirm that these rumours are not true and that as of now there has been no decision on who will be the director. The music video is still in pre-production.

Source: Break The Ice