A BUNCH OF SUPERMODELS AND NO GEORGE?! First Time Hearing George Michael - Freedom! '90 Reaction!

[@California8-ms2wk]

George Michael is arguably the greatest male vocalist, lyricist, composer, producer, and overall gifted & talented musician of the modern music era. There’s no other musician who compares to his talents or to his music catalog. He’s simply amazing.

[@Weyland_Yutani_Corp]

Absolutely killer video directed by David Fincher. Cindy, Naomi, Linda, Tatjana, and the exquisite Christy. The supermodels of the 90s were just built different and set the standard.

[@brandonmartin4495]

Exactly! Models in the 90’s stood out because of how unique each of them looked. Plus they were grown women with personalities!

[@alecbrimacombe4830]

Brilliant guys - thank you.

[@soundbreak7]

George was a musical genius , wrote and produced all these great songs , if you grew up in the 80s and 90s , George was is it

[@DeAnne1233]

The answer is Yes, some of us did dance around the house in our underwear to George Michael songs. 😉 Unashamedly still dancing to his music. 💃

[@jeanniedebartolo5965]

My favorite George Michael song ❤❤❤

[@jenniferfoster1692]

It can't be understated how big this video was. It was on MTV 24/7, everyone knew it.

[@johnathanstruble1064]

" I don't belong to you, you don't belong to me! " ...cue burning of the infamous Leather Jacket from " Faith".. George wanted to take his music a different direction.. He did.

[@ritchiec6317]

An Absolute legend. He is AMAZING!! Had the privilege of seeing him perform live, and I will never forget it. My absolute favorite artist ever

[@toriboy25]

My favorite song by GM and my 2nd favorite music video of all time. I love the supermodels of the late 80's/90's.

[@davidboivin7996]

Rumor has it that all the supermodels who were asked to be in the video were like hell yes!!

[@yvette9181]

And they donated their time, for George ❤

[@K31011]

@@yvette9181 No could have afforded that hourly payroll, everyone loved George famous or not.

[@donny1960]

This song means so many things. Fighting for your own image. Taking on the giant Record industry. Declaring that he will not be someone he is not. And done with such artistry and a vibe that still is there today. How a man can convince the top fashion models of the day to sing a song with the line..... "Sometimes the clothes do not make the man" is Genius..... ha ha They were mocking the industry that made them all famous.

[@traherne6726]

These models were HUGE at the time, famous & very successful.

[@mannysense3703]

George I can honestly say, is the most autobiographical writing artist, its like hes singing pages from his diary.. very personal feelings put on wax.

[@dreambrother82]

His middle finger to the persona thrust on him. All time fave video! ⭐️ These were all Supermodels of the time. 🤩

[@MichaelB769]

The persona was a lot better than what it turned out he actually was

[@thomasdempsey721]

@@MichaelB769 Do you mean 'cause he was gay?

[@MichaelB769]

@@thomasdempsey721 is that the worst thing you could think of?

[@DeAnne1233]

If I remember right, at the time Cindy Crawford was also doing superbowl Pepsi commercials and dating Richard Gere. And Naomi Campbell had gotten some press for throwing something (phone, vase, glass or datebook?) at her assistant in a Diva rage. Spying on the beautiful people singing his song was a pretty good idea for a video. It definitely kept us engaged.

[@DeAnne1233]

@@MichaelB769Nope, involving a child is worse. 😏

[@Bekka_Noyb]

my fave George Michael song! ♥

[@scottvanhille5688]

Classic song! George wrote "Careless Whisper" when he was 17. Quite crazy. Love that he decided not to be in this video. There's a story behind this one, check it out sometime. These were the top models of the time. I do suggest the show Whose Line Is It Anyway? the one with Robin Williams and another with Richard Simmons are both hilarious.

[@danrumble74]

When he was with Wham.. They did a song called "Freedom" in 1984. Thus, the distinction 👍 It's a good one too 😉

[@sassypatty2666]

Love this song. And so much better live! ❤❤ RIP George.

[@TamiThePinkHairedGirl]

All these years later, still one of my favorite songs of all time.

[@linzirainbow6577]

George Michael an absolute genius and a legend of his generation, his talent was immense, his appeal timeless and his creativity sadly missed by all who could appreciate his music. Such a loss not only for his music but for his humanity and generosity of spirit. It seems unbelievable that it will be 8 years this year on christmas day that the world learned of his death. RIP George.

[@stefankauderer4734]

George Michael one of the best singer and songwriter of all time. Great Voice!

[@Mrmapleleaffan13]

After this music video came out the five supermodels career blew up and was put on the map doing not only modeling but other things and very successful

[@vaughnnewman8903]

This is a great album. He left us much too soon.

[@txheadshots]

Wham also had a song in 1984 titled Freedom - so the 90 was added to distinguish it from that song

[@pulithasand]

This song was written and produced by george michael.such a genius

[@stevenmoules4955]

Another good George Michael track to check out...fast love!

[@Jane-d4w]

We loved our supermodels!!!❤❤❤

[@roger1296]

These were the top female and male supermodels of the time…the reason he didn’t want to be in the video was because he didn’t want to use his image anymore to sell records…you’re absolutely correct.

[@philunderwood8553]

This is like Heart's "Barracuda", basically giving the middle finger to the recording industry.

[@jasonglaser7890]

Such a great song. Great choice for a reaction.

[@costap.4812]

Che uomo, che artista, che voce..che genio!! 😊

[@sassypatty2666]

Watch him live in the 1993 Concert of Hope singing this. Awesome!

[@Andy-Capp]

George was in dispute with his record company Sony. He refused to play apart in the video and got 5 top glamour models to be in the video. It’s what the song is about. He wanted freedom to take his career in the direction he wanted and not what the record company wanted which was to carry on in the Wham mode. Listen to some of his albums after he finally broke away. The guy was a genius.

[@stevierq]

The song is about George being gay. Omg!

[@keymaker-k7h]

no this was 1990, he was in dispute with sony in 1992...

[@HaZadeur1]

@@keymaker-k7h you are right... biggest sign is the burning BSA revenge jacket as sign to burn his past as he wore this jacket during his "Faith" time...

[@brianwiebe4121]

I agree This was an attempt similar to Prince’s change from “Prince “ to the symbol and the “Artist formerly known as Prince “

[@videovoryer]

@@stevierq He was Bi

[@chrislaustin]

As a kid and teen of the 70's & 80's, MTV was everything at a time, and this song and video is one of the best ever made for the medium.

[@ssvr3dl1n38]

This brings back memories of the supermodel heyday. There are four of the most famous at that time in this, including Cindy Crawford, Christie Turlington, Linda Evangelista and Naomi Campbell. All the young fellas of my generation used to drool over them and Elle MacPherson.

[@mondospieler]

The video for this song was released as pushback from his status as "The Face of MTV" that George Michael had become after the monster success of his previous album "Faith", wanting to put that image to rest. There's a lot of imagery that also hints at that in this video. If you watch the video for his song "Faith" you will see that better.

[@owenbb505]

I heard a rumor that George actually made a very brief appearance in the vid, so to speak. During the lyric where he sings, "...when you shake your ass, they notice fast...", supposedly the shot of the guy scratching his rear is actually George. That would be very interesting and funny if that turned out to be true.

[@mondospieler]

@@owenbb505 I hadn't heard that before, but it would be something if that was the case.

[@ArchDukeBeetle]

@@owenbb505 I suppose some want that to be true, but I highly doubt it. It would completely negate 100% what the song is supposed to be about. And why would he waste any time at all to show up in the video. I'm sure he was far, far away and spent no time with it.

[@MichaelB769]

@@ArchDukeBeetleIt was a video for his song; I’m sure he was on set the whole time.

[@artdogg50]

My take is that it was more about him trying to gain freedom from his record company Sony, who he eventually took to court over it. He ended up losing the case and it set his career back quite a bit.

[@Blondemom2855]

This is a great song. He was pissed off with his record company, actually sued them to leave, and eventually, he won. This was the premise of the entire album.

[@markcollins385]

One of my favorite songs from him. The bass line reminds me of Wham’s first album Fantastic. George used five of the top supermodels of the day - Linda Evangelista, Naomi Campbell, Tatjana Patitz, Cindy Crawford and Christy Turlington - to create a glossy and stylish clip to promote the single. The male models were John Pearson, Peter Formby, Rafael Edholm, and fashion photographer Mario Sorrenti. The video was even directed by David Fincher, who would go on to direct films such as Seven and Fight Club, but back then was best known for his work on stylish music videos such as Madonn’s Express Yourself and Sting’s Englishman in New York.

[@roger1296]

By far, my most favorite song from George.

[@leannlaplante3643]

All my favorite models from the 90s!!! Cindy Crawford!! Always love this video.

[@yvette9181]

It's a stance. This song is to Sony Music and him basically saying he no longer is under their control of making him into someone he's not happy with. He refused to be in videos because he wanted people to appreciate his music and voice... and not his image. He took Sony to court and sued them... he lost, but he had the guts enough to take a stance and battle Tommy Mattola for his right to share his music with the world, the way he wanted to!! He was awesome ❤

[@ls1959]

I loved the album this song came from- Listen Without Prejudice Vol. 1. Great album and this is a great song. Probably my favorite George Michael song. George Michael was such a great talent, but my impression is that he lived a tough life and definitely passed way too young.

[@Bill-c8k]

This a great song to come on when you and your cuddle buddy having snuggle time

[@AW11-e4h]

George was on top of the world in the 80s 🤘🤘

[@jorellana2007]

freedom fue la última canción de su primer sello, y cuando regreso como solista se escucha de fondo el coro de la canción mientras se mostraba un tocadiscos

[@BooSpencer]

I’m more of a hard rock person but a great song is a great song. Especially when it’s giving the middle finger to “The Man”.

[@sassypatty2666]

George was pure genius ❤

[@joelscottarnold3262]

What an iconic moment. 1990 was the year that ushered in the “Supermodels”. All the ladies here were featured on a legendary Vogue cover by photographer Peter Lindbergh to capture the 90’s woman. Lindbergh couldn’t pick a single face- so he used the greatest models of the new era: Linda Evangelista, Naomi Campbell , Christy Turlington, Cindy Crawford and Tatiana Patitz. This was replicated on the runway of Versace in another iconic fashion moment. The guys were legendary too- the biggest being John Pearson and Scott Benoit- but were paid pennies compared to their female counterparts. ( They were asked to do a day of reshoots for free! ) This was where fashion and music were married for the 90’s generation. One of the most influential videos made in that decade- and still a favorite of mine!!!

[@penelopehornswaggle102]

Hi Sam and Phil!!! Love your reactions. George Michael was so talented and was such a sweet person.RIP George.❤ You should check out the song Cook with Fire by Heart.

[@gigi-ij1hk]

This song is called "Freedom 90" because George had earlier written and recorded a song with Wham! called "Freedom." Totally different vibe, subject matter, etc. so it's an amusing contrast.

[@rmacdougallaliasdogviticus]

Inspired the January 1990 cover of British Vogue George asked Naomi Campbell, Linda Evangelista, Tatjana Patitz, Christy Turlington, and Cindy Crawford to be in the video.

[@kenharness1417]

If you watch the video for "Faith", some things in this song and video will make more sense. When he says "shaking your ass", he was famous for doing that in the Faith video. And the jacket that is on fire is the one he wore in the Faith cideo

[@EightPieceBox]

And the jukebox from the Faith video getting blown up.

[@kenharness1417]

@@EightPieceBox Yes thank you. I forgot about that.

[@AlexSadof]

Man, I was 17 years old when this video came out and Linda Evangelista woke me right the hell up to life...lol

[@goldenageofdinosaurs7192]

Lol, Christy Turlington did the same for me. I remember thinking, OMG, who is that!!!🤣

[@John_Locke_108]

This song and video were absolutely huge. I remember people were afraid to say they liked his music because there were rumors he was gay. And if liked his music than you were also gay. Jr High School was a strange time.

[@ArchDukeBeetle]

Jr high can be a strange time, but not everyone liked Wham. I didn't like their music at all, but this song wasn't bad. The people that didn't like Wham music was all about the music, not because he was gay. I do get tired of people playing up this angle as factually it is weak. Everyone knew that Elton John was gay and he was incredibly successful. No one said you were gay for liking his music. Same with Freddie Mercury and Queen's music.

[@Kaddywompous]

c1990 was a strange time all around, as far as that goes. Youngsters don’t appreciate how different attitudes towards homosexuals were until very recently.

[@tomski120]

I think 90% of pop stars were gay lol 😂

[@tlucas9798]

He’s saying if you want a pretty face, here you go.

[@gregholz1117]

We lost a brilliant voice when he died 😢❤... his songs after his dispute are crazy good "Outside", "Fastlove", "Too Funky ", "As" duet with Mary J Blige

[@figueiredra]

George´s "Freedom! '90" was a powerful statement of independence, featuring iconic supermodels as a visual representation of his desire to escape the manufactured pop star image. The album was a form of artistic rebellion against Sony and a declaration of his desire for creative control.

[@DANNYtheBOY11]

Supermodels GOAT

[@jathygamer8746]

Great song about breaking up with his old label. Try his "Father Figure" and "Kissing a Fool" 🎧 💓 🎶

[@katy5467]

Favorite Concert ♥️

[@gordonthorburn5501]

Written,arranged,sung,produced and played most of the instruments on it

[@kmckngbrd]

Those were THE supermodels of the 90s

[@agentsculder2451]

The five women were THE biggest models of the era. Having them in a video together was huge, as was George Michael's decision to not appear in the video. You guys should check out Faith. Some of the imagery in the Freedom 90 video comes from Faith.

[@barrylavender7938]

George's stance against how he was presented by the music industry. You should check out his previous hit "Faith" to see the link of the burning jacket and the jukebox.

[@Davelakful]

Great review! Love this tune/video. Funny I never noticed that was Cindy Crawford (famous supermodel) in this video until I saw a clip of a "Freedom Supermodel reunion talk" with all models in this video.

[@PishProductions1]

Iconic video

[@barbarino2000]

This was when George made a big image and career change, at risk of losing popularity and $. And the response of the people was a greater respect and love for him. He was able to stop hiding being gay, and seemed to really shine.

[@76Bigsmile]

If you noticed, the jukebox from the video for the song Faith and the jacket worn by GM in the same video get burnt/blown up. Which symbolises him being done with the sort of music he used to make.

[@direlyon]

This song is so good...I want to dance....what a musician!!!

[@Onz70]

Those lyrics are just incredible. I read his autobiography with Andrew Ridley, great read but sad in places

[@enoch6450]

Im utterly SHOCKED when people say they haven't seen an iconic song & video like this before. They didn't even recognise Linda Evangelista !!! Shocking tbh

[@videovoryer]

George Michael & Elton John Don`t let the sun go down on me

[@johnathanstruble1064]

This was George's fulfilling his last album obligation, and he was tired of execs, Wham Image, so this is his middle finger to the execs! Also kick A$$ song!

[@TheNotedHero]

This was a pretty popular music video with teenage me in 1990! 😅

[@alejandrobojorquez6181]

ROD STEWART - " Passion (Official Video) " [HD Remaster] 80s Jammin' Classics w/ AMAZING BASS GROOVE! and Vocals Highly Recommend it. 1982 the year of the super Radio hits 🔥

[@Roy-mw5js]

He wanted Freedom from the personna, image, band, and record label.😊

[@fantomas9240]

This video was insane because all the top top top over model of the 90's were in. And the song was a very high hit.

[@davescat2118]

I had such a crush on Tatjana Patitz, the one girl who’s smoking in the video. She dies in January of 2023 from breast cancer at age 56. R.I.P. Tananarive & George.

[@xephrenata]

Oh the supermodels.

[@Lovejazz01]

At the time , Christy Turlington, Linda Evangelista, Naomi Campbell and Cindy Crawford were probably the biggest celebrity models , everyone was talking about them , they were everywhere in pop culture.

[@johnthegreek5836]

Definitely recommend Praying for Time

[@brianwiebe4121]

Also just FYI The song was covered in the movie Pitch Perfect 3 Sung by Anna Kendrick

[@betagombar9022]

You should give the live version a look from George's MTV unplugged session 1996...fantastic 💜

[@Smileybeeblevrox]

It was against his fake persona and against his album label. This was a contractual obligation so he did an FU to them by making sure he was not in the video

[@tkmoore6057]

The ladies in this video were all hugely popular 90’s supermodels…Cindy Crawford, Linda Evangelista, Naomi Campbell. Plus a couple more whose names escape me…

[@ryan23791]

Christy Turlington & Tatjana Patitz

[@tkmoore6057]

@@ryan23791 yes!

[@notarobot1532]

And male model Mário Sorrenti (currently a fashion photographer) plus two less known.

[@JadeK297]

⁠@@notarobot1532John Pearson. He was the most sought after male model in the 90s.

[@shack8110]

George ruled 80s pop with Prince, Madonna and Genesis and MJ. Father Figure, and Kissing A Fool are awesome and this is fire.

[@Dave-no6tv]

I love this song! Great job... I used to dj back in the day.. we loved this (there was a dance-mix).

[@general-cromwell6639]

Well...that should tell you...when the artist isn't in the video...obviously, something is going on. All the best. Cheers.

[@Cosmo-Kramer]

2nd best music video of all-time, trailing only, *"Take On Me".*

[@briancanada1974]

The first model featured in the video is Linda Evangelista. One of the original SuperModels and CANADIAN 🇨🇦🇨🇦🇨🇦🇨🇦🇨🇦... LEGEND ICON . Naomi Campbell , Christy Turlington , Cyndi Crawford were the other SUPERMODELS

[@historyguy5942]

At the time right before the release of this album Michael was being criticized by some in the black community for "Coopting" a "Black sound" in his vocals/music. In the evolving PC movement of the time, this "criticism" was also adopted by others who were not among the black community as well. Michaels response was that he didn't see "color" in music he just wrote and performed the type of music he liked. The album "Listen Without Prejudice" was in response to the critics of his music.

[@cosmocassidy420]

OMG this song got played sooooo many times on VH1

[@raymondjohnson2616]

"Freedom! '90" is 6:30 long, but a shorter version was made available for radio consumption. The radio edit was made by removing the upbeat in several portions of the song and cutting straight to the downbeat. The addition of the year to the title was to distinguish the song from "Freedom", a number one hit in the UK for Wham! in 1984 (number 3 in the US in 1985). It was the second US single from the album Listen Without Prejudice Vol. 1, and had contrasting fortunes on each side of the Atlantic-it peaked at number 28 on the UK Singles Chart, but was a major success on the US Billboard Hot 100, reaching number 8 and selling over 500,000 copies to earn a Gold certification from the RIAA. It remained in the Billboard top 40 for 12 weeks in late 1990 and early 1991. In Canada, Michael achieved another chart-topper. As of October 2017, the single sold 83,000 copies in UK. By 1990, Michael had become weary of the pressures of fame, telling the Los Angeles Times, "At some point in your career, the situation between yourself and the camera reverses. For a certain number of years, you court it and you need it, but ultimately, it needs you more and it's a bit like a relationship. The minute that happens, it turns you off ... and it does feel like it is taking something from you." Accordingly, he decided not to appear in photo shoots and music videos, saying, "I would like to never step in front of a camera again." Although he later relented and decided to film a video for his new song, he still refused to appear in it. Instead, inspired by Peter Lindbergh's now-iconic portrait of Naomi Campbell, Linda Evangelista, Tatjana Patitz, Christy Turlington, and Cindy Crawford for the January 1990 cover of the British edition of Vogue, Michael asked the five models to appear in the video. While models appearing in music videos was then commonplace, they usually played the singer's love interest, as with Christie Brinkley's appearance Billy Joel's "Uptown Girl" video, or Turlington's appearance in Duran Duran's "Notorious" video. For "Freedom! '90", the five models, rather than portraying his on-screen girlfriends, would lip sync the song in Michael's place. The video also included male models John Pearson,] Peter Formby, Rafael Edholm, and fashion photographer Mario Sorrenti.

[@karinabeck6329]

George said goodbye to his sexy poster boy image and wanted to be recognized ONLY for his qualities as a songwriter, composer and singer - ONE WORD: magnificent artist - and not be reduced to his fantastic looks

[@OscarAntonio-t4z]

We dont own the artist, and the artist doesnt own us

[@stevenorthwick2480]

Thanks for the reaction! This song is great and very powerful lyrically but I personally don't think it's one of his best songs, there are plenty more to listen to 🙂

[@elizabethfranco1284]

The title of the album Listen with out Prejudice says it all. After his super exposure with Wham and his solo career,GM felt the fame and image was over taking the music.

[@avanoosterhout8397]

I wasn't particularly interested in WHAM! back in the day. And when George Michael went solo, the songs just felt like an extention of his WHAM! days. Then this album was released: "Listen without prejudice, vol. 1". And I was like, well... yeah why not do that. This was the first song on the album and one listen was enough to change my notion of George Michael as an artist, as a singer, as a performer. Not just because of the sound, but most certainly the lyrics as well. The rest of the album is well worthwhile. And still an album I return to every now and then.

[@BoothTheGrey]

1989/90 - two of the greatest pop albums of all time were made: '89: Tears For Fears - The Seeds of Love '90 - George Michael - Listen without prejudice You can almost take any song from both albums - they are all great. Thanks for the reaction - like always.