Lady Gaga wants her E!

This article was originally on a blog post platform and may be missing photos, graphics or links. See About archive blog posts.

Remember when Viacom’s MTV Network was the place to see all hot new music videos? No? Apparently Lady Gaga doesn’t either.

That must be why she opted to premiere her latest music video, an almost 10-minute extravaganza featuring Beyonce, on Comcast’s E! cable network on Thursday night. The video, which is for her song ‘Telephone,’ was directed by Jonas Åkerlund but seems inspired by Quentin Tarentino with a healthy dose of Michael Jackson’s ‘Bad’ thrown in as well. There are lots of shots of leggy women in high heels and plenty of prison fights. In between the blood, sexual innuendo and even a joke about recent rumors that Lady Gaga is packing a little something extra, there are plugs for Virgin Mobile and the online dating site Plenty of Fish.

For E!, landing the premiere of Lady Gaga’s video is a big coup. The network, known primarily as home for reality shows featuring the Kardashian family and for its award show fashion coverage, is on a push to become even more ingrained in more mainstream pop culture and not just be known for tawdry reality fare. That said, its next big project is ‘Pretty Wild,’ a reality show about three Southern California sisters, one of whom has been accused of being part of the ‘bling ring,’ a teen gang that was robbing the homes of Hollywood celebrities.

E!’s premiere of Lady Gaga’s ‘Telephone’ video averaged 833,000 viewers, up 32% from what the cable network usually averages in that time slot. Among adults 18-49, the audience grew by 37%. If you missed the video, E! also has it on its website. It might not be safe for work though.

By the way, you can still find videos on MTV. They usually run them between 3 and 9 a.m.

-- Joe Flint