When Rihanna's music video for "Hard" hit the Internet last week, I couldn't help but see some stark similarities between it and Beyoncé's "Video Phone." The gun slinging, the military garb, the single woman leading a group of men.

As I watched "Hard," I had a hard (no pun intended) time not comparing it to "Video Phone." In the past, I have not been the biggest fan of Rihanna, and although I realize she is a beautiful girl, and I very much like the song "Hard" by itself, the thing that's always annoyed me about Riri fully manifested itself in this new video.

Rihanna's main problem is that she has been in the game for quite a few years, yet her performance is on the same level as a rejected American Idol rookie. I say this for many reasons. Just like in "Video Phone," Rihanna is the leader of a group of men willing to satisfy her every whim.

"Hard" opens with her shouting in their faces as a commander in the army would; yet I don't buy it. She doesn't look like she is in charge. She is not intimidating; she does not assert any amount of power as a commander would. It is as if they taped her while she was marking for the actual take. The military premise of the video is performed through her outfits, extras, and props. She never becomes hard-she is just a very bored girl in the midst of hardness, snarling feebly so she can say she at least tried. Even when she shoots a gun, she just stands there like nothing is happening. Rihanna seems to disappear under all her costumes-the long metal trains, the exaggerated shoulders. Where is the bravado? The strength? Why does she seem so afraid to really go hard?



The only time she comes alive is in the scene where she is writhing in the mud, but that is still not enough to satisfy "Hard's" premise. Rihanna seems to think that being sexy is the same as being powerful. However, if you don't appear to have a command over your sexuality, you're stuck being an object covered in mud. Jeezy has more energy than she does, and it's not even his video! It seems to me as if Rihanna is bored with her fame, as if she understands how beautiful she is and thinks that and an edgy haircut and tattoos are going to carry her and keep her audience interested. The only reason I'd watch "Hard" again, is not for her performance, but for those fabulous outfits! I think Rihanna needs a few lessons from Tyra Banks. She needs to emote with her eyes and show a passion and interest in what she's doing. Right now, it looks like she is only a pop star not because she loves to perform, but because she loves attention and wearing cool clothes. Riri, if you're not going to do anything that warrants us giving you attention, you might not get it anymore.

"Video Phone" is a completely different deal. It opens similarly to "Hard." Beyoncé is walking in front of a group of men as their leader. The difference here is that she walks with authority. She is not wearing a commander's outfit, and her cutout jumpsuit is much sexier and more revealing than Rihanna's. But the way she stomps towards us lets us know that she is the leader. She doesn't even need to yell or look at the men following her; her walk lets us know that if they get out of line, there will be hell to pay. There is a silent strength and power in her, and that power continues throughout the video.

Though she plays the object of many faceless and sometimes-headless men's desire, she is not objectified in "Video Phone." She uses her sexuality, and the desire men have for her as a way of asserting power over them. She dances on them, she wears outfits that are just as revealing as Rihanna's, but where Riri looks like a dressed up piece of meat posing as an authoritative figure, Beyoncé looks like a pillar of sexuality that should be desired, respected, and approached with caution. When Beyoncé shoots a gun, you can feel it kick back. It feels as if she is pulling the trigger and something is coming out, unlike in "Hard," where it just seems like special effects.

"Video Phone" is a song about sending naughty pictures and videos from your phone, but somehow, I am more inspired by it than watching a video about a song about female self-determination and strength. It could have something to do with the fact that Beyoncé has more energy when she flicks out her ponytail in a less than one second shot than Rihanna has in the whole video. I really want to like "Hard," I really do. But Rihanna just doesn't commit to her character at any point in the video. Perhaps she needs an alter ego like Beyoncé has. Or, maybe she needs a few lessons from a real diva in how to perform.

Image © Universal Music Group

Story by Jihan Forbes

Starpulse contributing writer