Crossfade remembers exactly where we were when we first saw the video for Beyoncé's mammoth nu-Girl Power single, "Single Ladies." We were at home, on the internet.
Similarly, we were at home and on the internet (this is what we do, you see) when we first saw Beyoncé's latest video for "Countdown," the third single from her most recent album, 4.
And while we'll always have a special place (right next to the video for OutKast's "Hey Ya!") in our hearts for "Single Ladies" -- chic black-and-white photography, dynamite choreography, endless pelvic thrusts -- we know for sure that Queen B's latest clip is not only her best video to date, it's the video of the year.
As you can see, Ms. Knowles (AKA Mrs. Jay-Z) or at least her management, has been spending some time on the internet themselves. When Beyoncé isn't spastically multiplying or popping up, down, or to the side in frenetic split-screens, she's bathed in blinking colors like the last decade of web-obsessed indie videography.
Sometimes she looks like Rosie the Riveter crossed with Betty Page. When she's in the dance studio with the marching band, she recalls Janelle Monae if she were a librarian in a Mad Men-style porno.
But no matter what identity or aesthetic is on deck, Beyoncé is almost never wearing pants.
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