Inside Music with Melinda Newman

Listen: Beyonce and Lady GaGa burn up the wires on 'Video Phone' and 'Telephone'

Which song rings off the hook, which is a wrong number?

By Melinda Newman Friday, Nov 13, 2009 4:14 PM

Listen: Beyonce and Lady GaGa burn up the wires on 'Video Phone' and 'Telephone'

Are there two hotter artists right now than Beyonce and Lady GaGa? The two have joined forces on “Video Phone,” a new track on the forthcoming “I Am…Sasha Fierce” deluxe edition and for “Telephone” on LG’s “The Fame Monster.”

“Video Phone” (Remix) opens with haunting guitar strains on a gunslinger walking through a ghost town in a spaghetti western. That’s the most interesting part of the whole song. “Video Phone” is more a collection of insinuating beats and snippets than any hint of a real song with a chorus and verse.

“What, you want me naked? If you like me in this position you can tape it on your video phone,” Beyonce (or should we say Sasha) comes on to the listener. The tune meanders on for five minutes—there are some interesting horn blasts, but it never gains and kind of momentum. If it’s possible to be sexy and sterile at the same time, “Video Phone” achieves it.

The second part of the two-fer is the far superior “Telephone.” It’s a mid-paced dance number about finally hanging up so you can hit the dance floor. The melody recalls “Poker Face” and, call us crazy, Ciara’s “Goodies.” (Plus, of course, any number of Madonna-dance oriented numbers).

Beyonce doesn’t have a lot to do here other provide a fun interlude about leaving her phone at home. “I should have left my phone at home because this is such a disaster,” she sings with great attitude.

Of the pair, “Telephone” is the clear winner. Expect plenty of remixes. It’s infectious and fun, everything that “Video Phone” is not. Plus, it’s the best thing Rodney Jerkins has produced in ages.

We would have liked more interplay between the two pop divas on both songs, but these were interesting first go-rounds.

A video for “Video Phone” was supposed to come out Nov. 5, but we’re still waiting and we can’t find any further info on it, so we’re thinking that idea may have been disconnected.