Have you guys noticed this YouTube wedding video that seems to have partially rehabilitated Chris Brown’s career? In case you haven’t seen it, this is the clip…
I’ve got to say… I really, really wish I had been part of this wedding party. I would’ve rocked it, you guys.
Apparently, lots of other people feel that way, since this video has been getting lots of media attention. It’s generating so much goodwill, in fact, that Chris Brown’s “Forever,” which is the song those crazy kids are dancing to, has rocketed back into the iTunes top ten.
That’s a remarkable turnaround for Brown, whose career has flatlined since he was charged with assaulting Rihanna. How ironic that a celebration of a couple’s love is what got a girlfriend abuser back on the charts.
But does “Forever’s” surge mean that Chris Brown is viable again, or does it simply mean that this YouTube video is connecting so profoundly with people that they’re willing to forget who’s singing the song in order to celebrate what they’ve seen?
It’s worth noting that “Forever” is Brown’s only resurgent song, despite the fact that he released a video apology for attacking Rihanna. To me, that says it really is the video, and not Brown, that people care about, and once this fad passes, his career will be back in the basement.
What do y’all think?
12 responses so far ↓
1 Trasherati // Jul 27, 2009 at 2:43 pm
Agreed…I saw the video, loved it, and wondered who sang the song. (Forty-something, frumpy suburban mothers of two don’t swell that demographic, I guess.)
But if I want to hear it, I’ll cue up the video – can’t see me mustering the goodwill to actually buy his CD.
2 J-Bird // Jul 27, 2009 at 2:49 pm
I’ll be the first to copping that I’ve always taken a guilty pleasure from this song (though more guilty since Chris Brown’s bust-up). But I have to admit, this is an incredible video. Sheer fun and joy; everything a wedding should be.
3 Laura Mc. // Jul 27, 2009 at 3:26 pm
Yeah, how many times did you receive this video Mark? I bet lots.
I just thought it was nifty. So barely coordinated and lovely. They were so busy enjoying themselves, perfect moves didn’t matter.
Hey. That’s how I shake my thang.. from time to time
4 Rube Goldberg // Jul 27, 2009 at 4:10 pm
I dunno, how did sales of “I Dreamed a Dream” change after the whole Susan Boyle sensation? I can see the benefits for Chris Brown being extremely short term at best.
5 K. // Jul 27, 2009 at 4:16 pm
I’m in a wedding this weekend and I really wish we were doing this. Dammit.
I have “Forever” on my iPod (had it before everything went down; I also have “Just Fine”) and now skip over it whenever it comes on, but I loved watching this. They all look like they’re having fun and are un-self-conscious (and some of them are not good dancers), and the other guests are enjoying it. I’m at the age where I’m going to a lot of weddings and I’ve seen many couples get totally bogged down in bullshit details no one cares about, when at the core, a wedding is supposed to be FUN. It’s a celebration. This clip is pure fun, and that’s cool.
Re: Chris Brown … I think once the buzz around this video dies down, he’ll be dunzo again. It’s the video, not the song.
6 Michael // Jul 27, 2009 at 10:00 pm
I wish I could get Jesus Juice and little boys out of my mind when I hear my favorite Michael Jackson song but at least for a while I have to go back to the Jackson Five. (I know, apologies to the dead.) Chris Brown is a front for good pop production anyway. What matters most to the listener is the context of a song when he or she heard it or danced down the aisle to it. So make lemonade out the bastard’s music if you can.
7 ferretrick // Jul 28, 2009 at 8:25 am
@Rube-I was also thinking of Susan Boyle, and I think this wedding video, while cute, is soon going to hit the same overexposure backlash. I see a rash of imitation videos springing up on youtube until everyone’s sick of them and it actually becomes uncool to do this at your wedding.
To answer the actual question of the article, effect on Chris Brown will be minimal at best. This video is a quick flash in the pan.
8 InfoMofo // Jul 28, 2009 at 10:26 am
The funny thing is a buddy of mine did a dance sequence at his wedding reception just a month ago, and it was to “With You” ALSO by Chris Brown.
Don’t these people read gawker?
9 katy // Jul 28, 2009 at 9:06 pm
“I’ve got to say… I really, really wish I had been part of this wedding party. I would’ve rocked it, you guys.”
Funny, that was exactly my mom’s comment when I showed the video to her. “Mark would have done a great job with that,” she said.
10 Jen // Jul 29, 2009 at 12:44 pm
I think it’s the video. I found it via Yahoo and thought it was completely joyous — but that was in spite of the mediocre music, not because of it. I didn’t know the song when I saw the video, and didn’t know it was Chris Brown, I just thought — “meh, middling contemporary dance music with autotuner.” What I LOVE is the sheer delightfulness of their dance down the aisle.
11 Zach // Jul 29, 2009 at 4:00 pm
I have a hard time divorcing this song from the Doublemint gum commercial in which I first heard it. It’s a catchy song, to be sure, but every time I hear it, I can’t help but wonder whether the lyric, “Double your pleasure, double your fun,” ended up in the song before or after the bubblegum endorsement deal was proposed. For that reason, as well as for its repeated insistence that “we’ve only got one night,” I’d be disinclined to use it at my wedding, even if it makes for a really fun start to the ceremony.
And no, I don’t think it’ll do a thing for Chris Brown’s career in the long term.
12 Maggie // Jul 30, 2009 at 5:05 pm
I think it’s the video 100%…I sincerely doubt that Chris Brown is going to have many long-term benefits from this video. It isn’t making people say “Oh, maybe I’m ready to forgive Chris Brown after all.” It’s making people say “Well, maybe just this once…”
At least that’s what I was thinking when I downloaded it.
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