Warning: (NSFW)

It’s your girl WestStyle Chronicles signing in…

Now I couldn’t miss this opportunity to comment on the premiere of Trey Songz’s “I Invented Sex” video. Was it because the video was so different and innovative? Well, no…not really. I mean think about it! You have an R. Kelly inspired song called “I Invented Sex”. What do you think the video’s gonna be about?!? The Care Bears reunion!?! I’m afraid not. What you can expect from this video is pretty much what it says……SEX! If you’ve seen “9 1/2 Weeks” or any other explicit sex scene in a movie, you’ve basically seen this video already.With no argument, this imagery is targeted towards Trey’s female demographic to solidify – if he hadn’t already – himself as the ultimate sex symbol.

On one point, it shows the age-old strategy of “sex sells”. From a psychological standpoint, nothing sells the fantasy more than placing an attractive ”bad boy” in sexual situations with another woman. The ending result is legions of drooling, female fans wanting more “of you” as an artist and countless fantasies “about you” in the mind. And when you’ve entered the corridors of the mind, you’ve opened the doorways of the wallet in record sales. Is it the most brilliant strategy? Not in my opinion, but with dying record sales overall in the industry and the tried and true sex appeal of the “bad boy” image, it’s a strategy that sells itself with little effort but maximum results. Let me break it down for you:

Video production whatever was negotiated
Apartment rental $2,000 -$7,500 ( could be lower)
Furniture rental $50.00 -$100.00 a day from Rent-A-Center
The girl $450.00 a day – on up
Glam Squad whatever was negotiated
Food (gotta eat) whatever was nearby
Ice 2 bags for $1.99 at Wal-Mart
A horde of female fans salivating over you like the last side order of fries at McDonald’s…………….PRICELESS!!!

However, the reason for my comment isn’t in Trey’s video per se. I’m not a Trey fan but I’m not necessarily a Trey hater either. I think the brilliance of his video was the execution of the premiere. Was its biggest premiere on BET, MTV or any other video channel? Strangely, no. But if you were one of the 4 million Twitter users, you probably were one of the many who retweeted and added Trey Songz to your follow list in order to see the video. Not that you did this on purpose but from the genius of Atlantic Records, they executed a Twitter application that would automatically do this for you with two mouse clicks. Within 5 -10 minutes, Songz’s video became the top trend on Twitter. It was an excellent case study in the power of social media that could be used in a number of ways.

Overall, my opinion of the video was ok. Personally, I like to see sensuality in subtle shadows. It can simmer the anticipation, intrigue, and mystery to a boil in the mind of the audience. You can take the storyline further and longer in this case. This video really wasn’t anything I hadn’t seen before. Yet coming from a music industry background, I can understand the puppet strings of politics in the scenario. It’s really simple. Why make an artist exert originality and creativity when they don’t have to. I have a male vocalist in the following climate:

1) Bold, Urban, Bad Boy, Sexuality as his artist brand

2) Sex sells. Creativity is risky but sex is a guaranteed money-maker

3) A target female audience that wants to be romanced a little but sexed a lot.

This doesn’t constitute a climate of creativity. In this case, you can’t overstep the boundaries of the brand if you want to make easy money. Plain and simple. But regardless of my opinion of the video, the marketing was excellent. You can’t deny the creativity and power used in this Twitter premiere.

Just my opinion!
WestStyle Chronicles

Video courtesy of Songbook/Atlantic Records