Music Video Review: Mariah Carey’s "H.A.T.E. U"

By our guest blogger, Gabrielle Corrado

Mariah Carey’s video for her recently released single "H.A.T.E. U" is by far one of her more tame videos. Unlike her video for ‘Heartbreaker’ or "Shake It Off," the queen of excess appears to have temporarily ditched her flair for the dramatic. The video, directed by the ubiquitous Brett Ratner and shot on the shores of Malibu, features Mariah writhing on the beach, passionately crooning into the camera--and not much else. As far as costuming (or lack thereof) goes, the songstress follows her usual formula--heavy on the makeup and jewelry, light on the clothes.

Carey spends the duration of the video in strappy, over-the-top maillot swimsuits--one black, the other white. At 40 years-old, she manages to pull off the look successfully. While she’s no longer the leggy 20-something songbird with the wild mane of curly brown hair, it’s tough to deny that she still looks fantastic. Though the curls are long gone and her body is noticeably more curvaceous, she radiates confidence and sensuality.

While some might find the video incredibly boring, I honestly didn’t mind it. True, the most we see Mariah do in the video (other than stand around and look pretty) is write "HATE U" in the sand with her bejeweled finger. However, I find that I actually prefer this to some of her far-fetched videos in the past--do her fans really want to see more videos featuring her wearing yet another wedding dress, or dressed up as a (very unforunate-looking) man? I, for one, much prefer Mariah to do what she does best--sing, and leave the acting to the professionals.

View the video for "H.A.T.E. U" below.  Thoughts?