Rum, pum pum pum…

Princess RiRi took to Twitter earlier this morning to unveil the cover art for “Man Down,” the fifth single off of the Bajan beauty’s 2010 album, LOUD. The song will be released in conjunction with the sixth single from the album, “California King Bed.”

The pop princess shot the video for “Man Down” in Jamaica only one week ago with longtime collaborator Anthony Mandler, responsible for such perfection as “Disturbia,” “Only Girl (In The World),” and the stunningly gorgeous “California King Bed,” which premiered earlier this week.

Rihanna Reign Check: Not letting up.

That Mandler‘s gone and done it again: The director and longtime collaborator for Rihanna (“Unfaithful”; “Disturbia”; “Russian Roulette”) has added yet another solid production to the ever-expanding RiRepetoire.

Although the song’s pumping Euro-beats might have suggested we’d be getting something with a bit more of a crunch, it’s so nice to watch the pop princess get all cutesy with herself. After all, she’s such a fuckin’ lady.

Instead, the video for “Only Girl (In The World)” shines in its simplicity. Thanks to the warm, muted color palette that’s come to define Mandler’s work, RiRi blossoms amongst the flowers and leaves, bringing to mind the nature-inspired album art for Goldfrapp‘s Seventh Tree campaign.

Aside from the video’s stunning photo-finish complete with fireworks and lanterns (a bit of a Kelis nod, yes?), the best moment comes ’round the 2:15 mark, where the singer lets loose on top of a mountain ledge and howls the song’s almighty chorus into the wind. Simple, gorgeous, effective…

Perfection.

Rihanna just tweeted a sneak peek pic from the video for “Only Girl (In The World).”

Doesn’t look too Mandler-esque, does it?

I wonder if this video is my Bajan beauty’s way of coming out as a looner. Guess we’ll find out.

P.S. I think I’m the only boy (in the world) who’s still okay with red-locked RiRi. I just am!

Like the Maggie Griffin to my Kathy, my mother is slowly but surely beginning to leech off of my hard earned e-celebrity status and steal away my beloved Muusers with her MamaMuuse review posts.

Nonetheless, I’ve allowed for another installment of MamaMuuse Presents.

Below is my mother’s actual e-mail response upon watching the Anthony Mandler-directed video for Christina Aguilera‘s latest single, “You Lost Me”:

Christina’s bitch factor went through the roof with the video you sent me the other day ["Not Myself Tonight"], so I have to admit I just plain don’t like her.

Although bitchiness is usually a trait I can relate to and respect, I still think of her as the slutty, dirty girl. And quite frankly, bitchiness without class is just bitterness. So how do I feel about the video? Meh. Or make that meh-a-meh-a-meh-a-meh-a-meh.

As always, her voice is flawless, but the song doesn’t really do it for me. The video itself started out as a Sealy Posturepedic ad and moved to the headless, faceless body of a man with more going on than The Situation. I guess I can see why she pushed him away – she’s got Jordan Bratman, that heaping helping of beefcake, waiting for her at home.

On the plus side – I love her new look (even if someone took advantage of Restylene’s Buy One Get One Free special). Now that, Christina, is the right way to be a bitch!

Now please, stop encouraging her. The fame is clearly getting to her head.

Oh, what? You want my opinion?

It’s nice. I think she looks quite gorgeous. Shame about those brief ‘thermal energy’ moments at the beginning, though.

Today has simply been Rihannoir overload.

Tonight, we’ve got the Anthony Mandler-directed video for “Russian Roulette,” a murderous blend of modern noir, seduction, and a whole lot of gun play.

I am in L-O-V-E with the video. Everything about it–from the concept, to the cinematography, to the execution (literal and otherwise!)–is right on target. Can she do no wrong with this album campaign?

All in favor of letting Mandler direct the rest of RiRi’s videos, say “Ella-ella-ay-ay.”

I’ve decided Amerie‘s new video for “Heard ‘Em All,” directed by Anthony Mandler, borders on sheer brilliance.

If I were merely talking adjectives, I would use such terms as ‘ill,’ ‘fierce,’ ‘raw,’ ‘hot,’ ‘sexy,’ ‘Ciara-esque,’ ‘Matrix-like,’ and ‘really great dancey bits.’

You know why? Because I’m rooting for her. Not as much as I want my icy-electro hip-hop queen Cassie to make a comeback, but hey…I think she deserves another shot.

Keep doin’ whatcha doin’, Amerie.

Purchase “Heard Em’ All on iTunes | MySpace | Official Website

Honestly, I’m quite angry with the entire Utada project at this point.

You’d think: With Anthony Mandler as the producer, an apparent increase in funding for the project (aside from the newly released album cover which I will NOT be addressing in the interest of inexpressible frustration), as well as a general peaked interest in her re-debut as an international artist seeking to branch out…why not go ahead and put a little more artistic effort into it this time around?

Here we have one of Utada Hikaru’s most visually stunning (gorgeous!) cinematographic efforts in her entire collection, and yet it falls flat on the ground. Why? Because aside from a few key dress changes and an assortment of longing, over-the-shoulder soap opera glances, literally nothing happens in this video.

NOTHING. Anything could have been more interesting than this concept. Even “Easy Breezy” was miles ahead of this one in terms of storytelling!

It’s hard to believe that after such a long wait, this is the actual video. Boring, boring, boring…What a complete disappointment!

And yes, this is coming from a massive fan. It’s only out of love, Hikki. You can do better!