Name: Adam Bernard Home: Fairfield, Connecticut, United States About Me: Entertainment journalist with 15+ years of experience. Supporter of indie music. Lover of day baseball, fringe movies, & chicken shawarma. Part time ninja. Nerdy, but awesome. See my complete profile
Welcome to your weekly dose of pop world musings. Covering all things pop culture, this week, with Pop Shots falling on New Year’s Eve, I decided to do something special. There are a bajillion New Year’s Eve parties going on tonight. From expensive nightclub affairs, to house parties, to one very large gathering in a very cold Times Square. Who wants to go to any of those, though, when the best parties are thrown in music videos. With that in mind, this week I’m taking a look at the top five videos I’d like as the setting for my New Year’s Eve celebration, and since it’s Pop Shots you know everything is seasoned with a little bit of attitude.
Justin Timberlake - Señorita
Normally I’m not one to get all hot and sweaty with Justin Timberlake, but this party at a seemingly un-air-conditioned Latin dive bar, where the majority of the folks in attendance are gorgeous women, is my kind of good time. First of all, the male-female ratio is REALLY in my favor, and with Justin now a married man, he won’t be so keen on romancing every lady in attendance, so as long each member of his band isn’t aiming for a ten-some there’s a good chance of finding someone to have some fun with. Of course, it also doesn’t hurt that the house band is The Neptunes, and Justin Timberlake is singing. Can you imagine having a bad time at this party? I can’t.
Katy Perry - Last Friday Night (T.G.I.F.)
Any house party where Katy Perry knocks on the door, Rebecca Black answers it, and Kenny G is rocking out on the deck, is a party I want to attend... well, as long as it isn’t at my house. The ever growing group of revelers destroyed their place of partying, but man oh man did they have a good time doing it. So while I wouldn’t want to be a part of the cleanup crew that has to deal with a house covered in party streamers, red Solo cups, and passed out party patrons, I certainly wouldn’t mind ringing in the new year at such a gathering. I just hope I wouldn’t go home in shame, having lost a Just Dance competition to Rebecca Black.
Ke$ha - Take It Off
There’s something very underrated about getting a group of friends together and partying at an abandoned motel. Sure, there’s no bar, but Ke$ha has a “water bottle full of whisky” in her handbag, and if you’re partying at an abandoned motel it has to be assumed it’s a BYOB kind of affair. The fun of exploring a place you shouldn’t be in, combined with Ke$ha’s calls for random nudity, make this a party I’d want an invite to. Of course, since this is Ke$ha we’re talking about there’s a very good chance that even her New Year’s Eve party wouldn’t really get started till two in the morning, so if you’re here when the ball drops, you’re probably crazy early.
Justin Bieber - Beauty and a Beat
I rarely turn down invites to pool parties, and a pool party on New Year’s Eve would mean I’m in a warm weather climate, which would be fantastic, as it’s probably going to be freezing where I’ll actually be. This pool party has far more women than men, which is the kind of thing you know I’m a fan of, and even has a team of synchronized swimmers, and you know a party ain’t a party without synchronized swimmers! Would it be slightly annoying having Justin constantly running around filming everything? Sure, but in all honesty, it’s his party, and I probably wouldn’t notice all that much. Plus, I could always challenge him to a game of ping pong (which I think I now want to do in real life). As an added bonus, if Nicki Minaj were to accidentally fall into the pool we’d find out how much of her face comes off in the water.
Britney Spears - (You Drive Me) Crazy
I can’t even begin to tell you how many fantastic nights I’ve had that have ended at diners. With that in mind I think “(You Drive Me) Crazy” is the perfect setting for a New Year’s Eve bash. Forget having to go to a diner afterwards, this party’s in a diner, and an extremely spacious one at that! Not only is the setting perfect, Sabrina The Teenage Witch is one of the waitresses, and Vincent Chase is mixing drinks. It seems like I may have to learn some choreographed dance moves to attend this soirée, especially since a yard stomping dance battle breaks out halfway through, but it seems entirely worth it. Where else can I find a hot girl, hear good music, and get an omelette?
And with that, my time is up for the week, and the year, but I'll be back next week with more shots on all things pop.