M.I.A Has Been Arab Drifting and Cheerleading

M.I.A was missing in action for a while (please excuse the beyond terrible pun), but she's back. Giving birth may have had something to do with it. Her video for new single 'Bad Girls' has just been released, as well as Madonna's clip for 'Give Me All Your Luvin' in which she appears, along with Nicki Minaj. Both dropped on the same day, and the two videos are in harsh juxtaposition both musically and visually.

Premiered exclusively on Vice's new music channel Noisey, 'Bad Girls' was filmed in Morocco but is clearly meant to give off the impression of the Middle East. With more swag than you can poke a stick at, M.I.A's clip involves Tokyo Drifting, Saudi style. On February 10, M.I.A will post video responses to some of the YouTube comments on the video, which so far include "What the shit is this???", "M.I.A's badass Arab girls > Gwen Stefani's harajuku girls", "I thought this was the trailer for The fast-n-furious 6", "Needs more gingers" and "Is this video about how women can't drive in Saudi Arabia ?? If so well done awesome video love it." We're interested to hear what M.I.A has to say about the video.

Premiered exclusively on American Idol, M.I.A and Nicki play cheerleaders for Team Madonna in the heinously catchy 'Give Me All Your Luvin'. The track will appear on Madonna's forthcoming album MDNA (get it?) set for release on March 26, and the whole video has been designed to coincide with the triumvirate's Super Bowl performance this Sunday. Insert dollar signs in eyes. The video features football players who carry Madonna around and protect her from a drive-by shooting (?), while Nicki and M.I.A are back-ups with the latter's solo going for a blink-and-you'll-miss-it 12 seconds. To add to this already confusing situation, there's something bizarre happening with Madonna and a toy baby (?) — the clip opens with her pushing a pram, she pretends to breastfeed during the video and then she discards the plastic infant at the end (?). The song itself is all bubblegum pop 80s, making lyrical reference to her 'Lucky Star' single from this era and visually referencing her early days, like the lace outfits which hark back to 'Like A Virgin'.

Madonna is 53-years-old. That is all.

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February 6, 2012: POST-SUPERBOWL UPDATE

'Bad Girl' M.I.A gives over 100 million Americans the finger on live television. Following Janet Jackson's 2004 'Nipplegate' scandal, this year's Super Bowl (held just a few hours ago) has been tarnished by British rapper M.I.A's use of her middle finger. Censors weren't quick enough to blur the gesture, leaving more than 100 million American viewers unable to unsee the horror. Sports fans and music lovers alike are awaiting apologies from the artists and network execs, none of whom have yet commented on the 'Fingergate' controversy.

Ingrid Kesa