Radar video director speaks to MTV

Britney Spears Shows 'Classy Side' In 'Radar' Video, Director Says'Videos are a chance for her to vocalize a sense of herself,' Dave Meyers tells MTV News.
By Jocelyn Vena

For Britney Spears' "Radar" video, the pop star ditched the writhing dance moves to explore what the video's director calls "the romance of high-end society and the guys that circulate around there."

The video, inspired in part by Madonna's 1994 "Take a Bow" video, was directed by Britney's longtime video collaborator Dave Meyers, who worked with Britney on her videos for "Lucky" and "Boys" as well as the commercial for her Curious fragrance. The new video centers on Britney being torn between two love interests: a rich guy and a polo player. (Spoiler alert: She picks the polo player.)

"She was in a really good headspace and open to trying new things, and I wanted to try some new things with her too," Meyers told MTV News. "It kind of was a great celebration of trusting one another. ... Now we're sort of both seasoned in our own rights, so it's like two people coming back together, trying to do something fresh and new ... seeking out an actual different technique and stylistic choices and trying to find a form to celebrate them in."

Meyers said when he met up with Spears in May in Santa Barbara, California, he had a specific vision: to show the world Britney's "classy side," instead of the images of a sexed-up Spears that we're all used to seeing. It's the kind of Britney we saw in her video for "Lucky," except more grown-up.

"I thought, 'It's not the first single [from Circus]. Let's be a little experimental and push to not have her around dancers,' " Meyers said. "I feel, I guess, that the videos are a chance for her to vocalize a sense of herself. The media tends to attack her, so I thought, 'Let's show the classy side of Britney and focus on a classy experience, very European-inspired.' And she's at the point in her career where I think this would be a nice step."

Meyers thinks Britney's career mirrors Madonna's career in some ways. Much like with Madonna, when Britney does something, "Everyone seems to watch."

"She kind of filled [Madonna's] shoes," Meyers said. "[But] everything is done in a Britney way. She's not Madonna, and Madonna is not Britney. It seems like Madonna made the same choices that were right for her at the time, to class her up when she had just done a sexpot video. She was riding that image train too. She was leading that image train, and I think that Britney has done that as well."

At MTV.com