What the fuck is this? "Girl On Fire" had me under its spell from the first listen and I've been patiently waiting for an equally flawless visual to accompany the song. Instead we get Alicia Key's doing housework and paying her bills. Come again? I honestly can't remember the last time a video for a major artist missed the mark this badly. A good film clip adds another dimension to a song. This doesn't even reflect the tortured lyrical content. When I think about a girl on fire, I imagine a woman battling her inner demons - not sweeping the floor.
At least Alicia looks good. The styling and cinematography is beautiful and I love all that green light. For the first 15 seconds I was really excited. But then the 31-year-old superstar just stands in front of some pretty wallpaper and does some chores. I get it. She's a mother, a daughter. But the whole damn clip jumps the shark when she starts doing magical housework. And I'm not being rude - but choreographed meal preparation? Is AK angling for a spot on the Food Network? Then there's the whole lame sub-plot with her husband/boyfriend trying to steal her headphones. By that stage I really had zero fucks left to give.
Something went seriously wrong here. "Girl On Fire" is a concerted effort to give Alicia a more commercial sound after slipping into adult contemporary territory on The Elements Of Freedom. Instead of winning back younger fans, this visual will only appeal to housewives wishing they had magical cleaning powers. I get what she was going for - her point is that every female is a superhero but if she wanted her video to reflect a woman's struggle why not make it realistic? This plays like black Mary Poppins on mushrooms. What a bitter disappointment.
3/10
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