Queen Bey Counts Down the ’60s

Our favorite pregnant lady’s latest music video is a toast to the ’60s. “Countdown” begins with a close up of Beyoncé’s face, her big ingénue eyes coated in cat eyeliner, a Holly Golightly chignon, and black Audrey Hepburn turtleneck… and she’s off! Flash to mod Beyoncé, with a bowl cut and a snarling upper lip; Vogue Marisa Berenson Beyoncé, her black and white chapeau popping off of an array of colored backgrounds; sexy sleepover Beyoncé in a sheer man’s shirt and a “we can do it” Rosie the Riveter scarf in her hair. A slightly random jump to the ’80s brings us flashdance Beyoncé, and then we’re back again to Dreamgirls territory with a Tina Turner Beyoncé, shimmying in silver sequins. Her visible baby bump elevates it all from joyful to positively ecstatic.

“Countdown” transforms a pedestrian warehouse video setting into a study in color contrast. Orange nails and a sequence of pale yellow, lavender and green Louboutins remind us that bold, bright colors look great against dark skin tones—which seems especially cruel now that our summer tan has faded and winter pastiness is setting in.