The video: This weekend saw the MTV premiere of Kanye West's 34-minute music video for "Runaway" (watch below), the critically acclaimed hit song that he debuted at this year's Video Music Awards. In the conspicuously ambitious production, model Selita Ebanks plays a phoenix who rises from the ashes and falls in love with West, only to burn herself alive when she realizes their relationship is both flawed and doomed. Bonus touches: Over-the-top dance numbers, feathered ballerinas, and snippets from several other songs.
The reaction: This video has "solidified West as unquestionably the greatest pop star of this generation," says Kyle Anderson at MTV. West's "art house" direction "really works," concurs Sam McPherson at TV Overmind. The video "is totally ballsy in the world of hip-hop." Apparently, cracks Adrian Chen at Gawker, West "wrote, directed, and starred in a Kanye West–themed episode of Glee." It's nevertheless worth seeing, if only for Ebanks' implausibly skimpy outfits. Watch the video for "Runaway":
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