Gaga's 'Born This Way' vs. Britney's 'Hold It Against Me': Which Video Wins?

By Jason Newman Posted Mar 2nd 2011 10:45PM

The gooey egg or the paint-splattered wedding dress? With the recent premieres of Lady Gaga's 'Born This Way' and Britney Spears' 'Hold It Against Me,' the two biggest female vocalists in music set themselves up for a diva-off on par with the Britney/Christina pop-tart battle a decade ago.

But like 'Highlander,' there can only be one (OK, not really, but just go with it). To aid your decision on whose video reigns supreme, we've put together a side-by-side comparison of both videos.

Watch both videos here and learn who wins after jump.

'Born This Way':

'Hold It Against Me':

We should note if this were a lyrical battle, Gaga would win before the contest even began. Using a tired, third-rate pick-up line -- "If I said I want your body now, would you hold it against me?" Britney coos -- as your chorus and title is lazy and embarrassing. Is Ke$ha going to start asking, "Are you from Tennessee, 'cause you're the only ten I see?" Will Pink be inquiring if we are wearing space underwear because "your ass is out of this world"? You'll probably have an equal chance at the bar with Gaga's opening line -- "This is the manifesto of Mother Monster" -- which is saying very little.

But on to the videos. For help, we enlisted MTV Buzzworthy senior editor and pop music expert Tamar Anitai for some additional insight. Let's break it down:

Location
'Hold It Against Me' takes place on "Earth, 2011," which is somehow different from "Present Day." While the thrust of the video takes place on a photo shoot, Spears' biggest points come from the colossal video dome that looks like the fighting ring from 'Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome' as directed by Oscar de la Renta.

'Born This Way' occupies both outer space and the outer recesses of Gaga's sanity. A colorful and cosmic beginning gives way to drab soundstages, though you can't front on the singer placing her head among a sea of disembodied heads.

Winner: Spears

Costumes
Both singers have the requisite gaggle of semi-nude dancers writhing around, so that's a draw. Spears gets points for the bullet belt and Jackson Pollock'd wedding dress, but Gaga is on some Erykah Badu/Janelle Monae sci-fi queen tip when she's not rocking strategically placed zippers that look like landing strips. Bonus points for the tuxedo/skull ensemble straight out of a 'Karate Kid' Cobra Kai garage sale, proving that melodies aren't the only thing Gaga borrowed from the '80s.

The critic's take: "I loved the jewelry in Britney's video, and the satin-y stilettos. Those are things I would actually wear," Anitai tells PopEater. "Whereas I would not actually wear an eyeball on my chin, you know? The zippers on Gaga's no-fly zones made me cringe, but I loved her men's suit. Very Fall 2011!"

Winner: Gaga

Choreography
Like the group of monkeys circling the obelisk in '2001: A Space Odyssey,' both singers have minions dancing around them in adoration and worship. 'Hold It Against Me' boasts the best fight-dance scene since 'Beat It,' with Britney taking on her doppelganger in some weird 'Mortal Kombat'/Las Vegas showgirl hybrid. 'Born This Way' takes its cue from 'Black Swan,' as the singer and her crew combine the balletic with the bombastic.

The critic's take: "The choreography in Gaga's video feels infinitely stronger, but that could be because you see so much of her body, which really emphasizes her dancing," Anitai says. "Teeny-weeny itty-bitty undies, anyone?"

Winner: Gaga

Product placement
This category is like golf: lowest score wins. 'Hold It Against Me' showcases Radiance, Spears' own fragrance, Make Up Forever eye shadow, Sony (Spears' parent company) and dating site Plenty of Fish, the latter making sense in the context of the video because, um, well, for some reason. But when you realize the video's director, Jonas Akerlund, also helmed Gaga's blatant product-boosting video 'Telephone,' things start to make more sense. But Britney is $500,000 richer now, so it all turned out OK.

Gaga's video appears to be free of any product placement, or at least there's nothing as obviously on display as her competitor. Makes sense, though. Not too many unicorn and vaginal gooey egg companies vying for more exposure.

Winner: Gaga

Overall theme

With mock photography, lonely brides and self-scuffling, 'Hold It Against Me' does a good job contrasting opposing scenarios into one continuous video/ad. We're deducting one point, though, for her blatant theft of the iconography of a legend. (Did you really think we forgot about Def Leppard, Brit?)

Gaga, for her part, riffs on the timeless duality between good and evil and, unlike Spears, has created a singular piece of work unrivaled by her peers. You might think all her talk of "eternal mothers" and the "multiverse" is weird, but Gaga comes across as much performance art weirdo as pop starlet. And in an era of interchangeable superstars, that's a good thing.

The critic's take: "My gut reaction to Britney's video was that this woman knows what her fans want, and she's giving it to them, i.e., pretty, sexy close-up shots and hot male dancers. She's pop's consummate businesswoman," Anitai tells us. "Gaga's video felt like this woman knows how to go above almost everyone's heads, and she did! Gaga's video feels like it has a higher production value, but that's because it feels more like a short film."

Winner: Gaga

And the winner is ... 'Born This Way'! Congrats, Mother Monster.

Which Video Do You Think Wins? Sound Off on Facebook!

Tags: Born This Way, Britney Spears, Hold It Against Me, Lady Gaga

Comments

(19)

Wednesday 02 March

By Lassie

Vote down Vote up Report this

Like this is any contest? Seriously?

GAGA! GAGA ALL. THE. WAY!

By JaneDoe

Highest Rank Vote down Vote up Report this

Neither video wins. Charlie Sheen does.

By Susan

JaneDoe.....Correct, unfortunately! However Charlie Sheen really entertains mostly only himSELF. Lady GAGA entertains the world. There's just no topping her. The Queen is dead, long live the new Queen!

By Albuquerque

Lady! you gag me.

By Doobie

Gaga has more male characteristics than Dirty Harry. Somebody is doing an excellent tuck job. She's just gross and is nothing more than a current day Madonna rip-off.

By Mike

Jennifer, learn how to SPELL before you POST! And why click on this story if your'e so "horrified?" Maybe the devil made you do it? Moron!

By Geoffrey

Spears one of the two biggest female vocalists in music? Puleeeese.

By Lynda

Neither video cuts it. What's with the dancing being so similar anymore? It's half posturing, same movements - I loved this stuff when it was new -- now it's just inserted into everything. Both video settings are trying way too hard. Britney is so electronically enhanced you can't even gauge her voice anymore. Ga-Ga kept reminding me of Madonna in this which was disappointing to say the least. I guess it felt done-to-death-already. I won't even mention that corny 'hold it against me' set of lyrics of Britney's. Both of these videos are simply not cutting edge. Not special. Not memorable visually or song-wise. Real disappointments. I don't know where the ladies need to go less but neither are in a good place.

By Shoonie

Did Madonna ever do anything concerning space aliens or even create a story around any of her songs? Did she invent songs involving being proud of who you are? I think not. Gaga is certainly INSPIRED by Madonn, but she certainly isn't a copy cat.

By Ted Bundy

Neither.

By Tex

None of the above. Winner? Pink's "F**kin Perfect"

By Alex

1. She was honest. And she said "weed" not cocaine. AND she stated that she was not promoting using weed.
2. How can someone who is stressing the importance of equal rights be the devil? Just wondering...

Shoonie wrote: Did Madonna ever do anything concerning space aliens or even create a story around any of her songs? Did she invent songs involving being proud of who you are? I think not. Gaga is certainly INSPIRED by Madonn, but she certainly isn't a copy cat.

Are you serious? You must not be very familiar with Madonna's work. I'm not even a fan of hers but she's famous (infamous) for her storylines, posturing, self-focused songs and themes. Videos with space or aliens isn't new anyway -- even Britney's video has that reference. (Michael Jackson probably did it best.)
I personally LIKE Lady Gaga better than Madonna and I've never felt Madonna inspired her more than many other artists -- until lately. This video in particular.

By Ian McDonald

High Rank Vote down Vote up Report this

I don't know why everyone is slamming BritBrit over the product placement- since everyone does it, especially Gaga in 'Telephone', which I think takes the cake- first, for getting practically finger-banged by a rather butch "lady" while holding a cellphone, and second, for placing MIRACLE WHIP in her video. Sandwich spread? That's just plain trashy- which is what GagMe is, really.

By Kieran Bonilla

As if Britney didn't look bad enough, this song/video pretty much confirmed her talent is MINIMAL if there at all. It's the same old thing about throwing your cooch at some hottie in the club. Try something different Brit. GaGa wins by far, it's called creativity, indiviuality, and talent. =]

By dimon

If i had to choose it would be Brittany. Gaga wins in other categories but out of those two videos, Gaga's video was poo and quite ugly + i had fun watching Brittany beat the sh!t out of herself. :P

By Simon

I have to agree with Lynda, Madonna deff had storylines and her music had huge themes about being proud of who you are, example, Express Yourself. The same song that GaGa ripped off. Also Ian's right, everyone is slamming Britney about her product placement, yet in GaGa's telephone, there was so much more in your face product placement.

Also, if you actually watched Britney's vid, the song could be interpreted more than just a "stupid pickup line" Its like Britney vs Britney, old Insane Britney (red dress) and new Britney, its basically her rebirth. Like so many people are just looking at the literal meaning of the lyrics yet its sort of deep.

Also with the costumes...yeah I'd say Britney wins, the sub zero influenced men to the Graea and her various outfits. GaGas pretty much disgusted me.

Choreography: Neither. Gaga was sort of writhing around a lot and you could tell Britney's not as good as a dancer as she used to be. Quick cuts and editing made it seem as if she was good but she looked really stiff and lazy.

Overall Theme: Gaga wins, but only because, like other people said, it is about being proud of who you are. She is catering to the gays.

Which one makes me want to watch it over and over? Britney. The Madonna like fight scene during the dub step influenced breakdown was phenomenal.

Thursday 03 March

By simpsonsimpmike

Scary VS Scary

Friday 04 March

By kramercapriati

At least GaGa is a SINGER and SONGWRITER. That piece of crap video by Spears..I caught on tv the other day. Totally awful...what a train wreck. So overproduced, the song is a mess and such a cliche. How many autotune machines do they go through in a week on this girl....I am not sure she could hold a note or carry a tune. The boys in the studio work extra hard at making this girl sound even halfway decent...I would say she hits the studio..screams a bunch of words they put in front of her and then leaves for the day to shop and get her picture taken, while her producers put the songs together. AWFUL...Thanks technology..this is what autotune gives us...crap like Spears..

Page 1 of 1