What was your reaction to the Hold It Against Me music video?

[radar22]

I remember how excited I was for this video. The song was/is amazing and the video teasers were giving me full on comeback vibes (don’t call it a comeback). I love when top billed artists acknowledge their past achievements so the scene with her in the white dress with all the screens displaying her past videos was giving me vibes! The most iconic scene is obviously the one with her in red where she’s surrounded by microphones… AMAZING! In the end, however, when the video finally dropped, I felt like it was one of those movies that look really promising in the trailer but then you watch the film and discover that all the best parts were in the trailer… I hated/hate the dance break and felt like it looked like an onstage performance, as opposed to a fluid dance sequence. And the Britney fighting Britney scene was cheesy IMO. Overall, it’s a standout in her post ITZ videography, but it didn’t live up to the songs potential. 

[JeNny_C]

I love the song but I think there are a lot of references in the video about her being under control.  Don't hate on me but check this old article out that talks about some of that.  Pretty interesting.  I also think they had her on some heavy meds at this time because her eyes looked so vacant and strange and not like her at all.

 

https://vigilantcitizen.com/musicbusiness/britney-spears-mind-control-and-hold-it-against-me/

 

Also, most of the parts of the article pertaining to the video are towards the bottom so scroll down if you don't want to read the top part

[boyinthemirror]

I was too young and there was so much going on in the MV that I could barely focus 

I listened to FF a lot back then and I didn’t dig in celebs’ lives but even I could tell something wasn’t completely right. The music was soulless and she was not living the moment. That being said I love the song and the MV 

[Haha-Hehe-Haha-Ho]

12 minutes ago, JeNny_C said:

I love the song but I think there are a lot of references in the video about her being under control.  Don't hate on me but check this old article out that talks about some of that. 

https://vigilantcitizen.com/musicbusiness/britney-spears-mind-control-and-hold-it-against-me/

 

Omg I totally remember this! I used to be so shook by this website back in the day. There’s a lot of nonsense on there but it’s definitely interesting. 

[JeNny_C]

23 minutes ago, Haha-Hehe-Haha-Ho said:

Omg I totally remember this! I used to be so shook by this website back in the day. There’s a lot of nonsense on there but it’s definitely interesting. 

It's a pretty cool website, especially the pics of the month.  Yeah some of it may be a but farfetched but I do think they have a lot of good points on their articles.  The thing that was most interesting to me on this one was the double eyeballs in the video.  I've seen that in movies and videos before so it totally makes sense.  Also, the whole IV thing is kind of creepy too and we all know how medicated they forced her to be

[Alvee]

I personally loved it no matter what they say, this video means a lot about her, her impact to the world, lip-syncing issues, her inner fights, her rise and fall and rise again, and her catalogue and legacy to pop music.

[Marisss]

When I saw Britney fighting with herself and when I saw all her old videos being reproduced on the screens behind her 

Just shivers (but in a good way)  and a sense of sadness, but at the same time it felt iconic ...it's difficult to explain 

 

[xxxxxxxxxxx]

i absolutely love the song but the video was awful for me, not because of direction nor production cause it was extremely well made, but because britney looked out of place there, dead in the eyes and bloated idk the same happened with TTWE. 

[TheDukeDan]

On 8/27/2021 at 10:49 AM, Phonography423 said:

I thought she looked bored 

I totally agree! Even though I loved the song, I was expecting a lot more dancing in the MV. I didn’t like her looks (that wig and the first outfit!?!) and I was disappointed by the edits. I really was expecting more for a first single in 3 years…

But the song was and still is iconic. She brought dubstep to pop!

[morbidiu5]

On 8/27/2021 at 10:00 AM, BritneyLVR said:

It was such an iconic time to be a Britney fan because of all the hype she was receiving. I thought the music video was very artistic and made her look beautiful. I also love the song!!!

 

What were your thoughts?

Except in this gif you posted, she always looked like some Karen here, but the rest of the video is iconic.

[asitalian12587]

big fan of it then, big fan of it now. i think its terribly underrated. she made a lot of personal statements in that video which was refreshing.

[KatieKat]

To be honest, it was probably my least favorite Britney video. 🤷‍♀️ 

[Greyson]

I had a very mixed response. I thought it had some really cool visuals (the Rocky Horror lips, the giant dress, the wall of TVs, fight interlude, etc.), but I thought she looked bored. I was also really disappointed by the dancing. They REALLY hyped the dancing, they said it would be on the same level as Slave and MATM... and it definitely was not. The product placement was also SO invasive, so distracting. I would love to see a version that edits it out

[A.a.A]

On 8/28/2021 at 9:10 AM, DJBringItBack said:

Well where do I even start, again I never noticed any until everyone in here started posting screenshots. I’m on my phone so can’t post screenshots but the editing was horrible and jumpy, the body doubles face being in view during the fight scene, the weird change in outfit clips for the last dance scene there are a lot and I mean a lot the main thing everyone hated about it was the dance break because they replaced it with the fight, the day of the premiere was a mess 

Where were you at during this time?

I didn't experience any of this and I was on this forum. Personally I saw the video literally everywhere, people were praising the symbolism, the meaning the very modern look at the time. And there's body doubles in literally every popstar's video. I do remember people posting screenshots and dissecting every scene of the video. That was a fun time tbh.

I remember people praising the song as well, straight, gay, whom ever at the time was loving it! But I feel Canada is way more loving and accepting of her in general. Actually I feel like many countries outside of the US are less critical.

But it's all subjective right?

[Ty B. Pine]

I was excited but at the time repressing my *******uality in all areas. Lol when I saw it I really enjoyed it and lived the scene where Brit  was fighting herself. I remember thinking he performance felt forced but was excited that she gave a good performance!! I though I’d probably be the only one noticing how forced it felt and the most people would either not notice or not care. At that point in 2011 I was so far removed from my previously obsessed state of mind when it came to britney. I was honestly shocked she was able to have songs in the radio. Looking back, I very much felt the same way in 2011 thats everyone els felt about 2016 Britney.  That she would probably still be making albums but they would be like Madonna or Janet’s recent albums. Not pop culture staples. But made just for fans. And that really only started to happen after this album was released. I’d say Britney Jean is her first non essential album. But then glory came and was amazing! But at that point I feel like people were like “wait Britney Spears has new music? Wtf? Wow I didn’t know she made music anymore” (and I literally did hear that from a bunch of people in 2016) And tbh even in 2008 when womanizer was in the radio I was like “I’m so happy she’s still relavent and capable!! But wow it’s crazy she’s still actually making music that’s able to get in the radio” idk why but I really thought the public was done with her around that time.  And here we are in 2021 and she’s still the talk of the town. 

[CarTurn]

Omg so I remember when this video came out. I was dating a girl and wasn’t out yet. We went to her parents house 20 miles away because I wanted to watch this video premiere. Her family was heavily religious at that time and they watched it for us!!

I came out shortly afterwards and we broke up!! 
 

Good times!

[BanMeBoop]

3 hours ago, A.a.A said:

Where were you at during this time?

I didn't experience any of this and I was on this forum. Personally I saw the video literally everywhere, people were praising the symbolism, the meaning the very modern look at the time. And there's body doubles in literally every popstar's video. I do remember people posting screenshots and dissecting every scene of the video. That was a fun time tbh.

I remember people praising the song as well, straight, gay, whom ever at the time was loving it! But I feel Canada is way more loving and accepting of her in general. Actually I feel like many countries outside of the US are less critical.

But it's all subjective right?

I was on exhale, honestly it was the beginning of the fans overanalysing everything then ttwe dropped and it was even worse with the copy editing and the body double mess. FF era was not treated nicely here since the start the HIAM video was dragged for filth 

[J45x]

I hated it. 

Britney was not into the concept at all and you can tell. Plus all the occult symbology Jonas was pushing our throat was exhausting . It was disappointing that Britney didnt dance in the dubstep break but now I understand why. I always felt she was not into the Femme Fatale era at all. Her performance were so lackluster. I had the chance to see her in Buenos Aires in 2011, but I didnt because I knew she was not going to give her best and Im glad I didnt spend my money in this human trafficking situation. 

[J45x]

11 hours ago, morbidiu5 said:

Except in this gif you posted, she always looked like some Karen here, but the rest of the video is iconic.

She looks like Juno Lou, she was not into the MV at all, there is no fire in her eyes, she looks bored, tired, over it.

[theholyspearit22]

At the time I was living for it. Over time it became a bit sad to watch.

I remember defending the song/ video to friends at the time. Gaga and Born this way (single) was what was hot at that minute. 

Still I forced hold it against me down everyone’s throats