Cascada - Blink

January 05, 2015 Critic Jonni 0 Comments

Dance powerhouse group Cascada have already made a name for themselves in this genre. Not needing to do a single thing, they still continue, two singles released last year, both failing to chart, will 2015 see the return of Cascada or the end? I'm hoping for the former. They've had a number one in the UK, and they certainly can do it again.

Cascada consists of three members, Natalie Horler, Manian and Yanou. The latter two are DJ's whereas Natalie Horler is the vocalist and fronts Cascada. "Blink" was originally released by U.V.U.K. but it wasn't a success, and eventually given to Cascada. It was written by Eric Sanicola, Damon Sharpe and Shanna Crooks. Cascada's version wasn't a success either, failing to chart anywhere, yet it gained a lot of talk. Cascada also released "Madness" last year, featuring rapper Tris. This song also failed to chart. Fans are speculating that Cascada's downfall is due to their Eurovision Song Contest entry with "Glorious", where they didn't position well.  Hopefully they will impact the chart once again.

This video is a performance piece, nothing new from Cascada, and the sort of videos we have come to expect from this group.

Natalie Horler is stunning as ever and her vocals on the song is pure perfection. If this is the direction Cascada plans to go down, then I am all for it. This is definitely one of my favourite songs of last year. Making me think of uni. I certainly don't want to blink, these three years are already going so quickly. This is my university anthem.

Not an awful lot I can say about this video, and the song could have given us a much better video, yet it is performed well, and does definitely stand out.

Kiesza - Hideaway

January 04, 2015 Critic Jonni 0 Comments

Dance like no ones watching, in one single street, and around the corner. Kiesza shows she is a dancer and pulls it off just as well as the professionals. With the attraction of three guys, yet she leaves them in their neighhbourhood and grabs the same taxi back to where she came from. What could've been straight out of a musical film, falls flat and totally unreal.

Kiesza, real name Kiesa Ellestad, had a big year in 2014, hitting the UK by storm with this song alone and her follow up singles "Giant in my Heart" and "No Enemiesz" impacted the top 40 with the former getting to number 4. Her album didn't chart so well, but she has proved she'll be around for a long time, and I can definitely see 2015 being the perfect year for this Canadian singer and former navy reserves.

"Hideaway" was written by Kiesza and Rami Samir Afuni. It's extremely catchy and definitely one of those songs you not only identify with but you can't help singing along to. As soon as I heard it, I knew it was going to be a hit, and the constant playing on radio and music channels helped it achieve this.

The video is disappointing. As I mentioned above it could belong in a musical film, but it is not real enough to included in such a film.

I like watching the background people, like the three men standing on the left at the start watching, clearly surprised this was happening.

The dancers are in sync and pull the dancing off seamlessly... But Kiesza sticks out like a sore thumb, some of her dancing is not in time and she is sometimes a few seconds out. It looks like she didn't even rehearse enough with these dancers. Clearly more time for choreography was needed. Apparently she had difficulty with the choreography due to breaking a rib before filming... That does explain the timing issues.

Video isn't as unique as some people mention. It may have been shot in one, but this isn't the first time this has happened. Taylor Swift's "We Are Never Getting Back Together" was also done in one shot. I bet there are plenty of others too. As much as I am a fan of Kiesza's music, and this video does stand out, there is plenty of things that could be improved about this video.

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Morandi Featuring Inna - Summer In December

January 03, 2015 Critic Jonni 0 Comments

Bringing the warmness to the cold, this song is a summer anthem made for winter. Defining and compulsive, a song I can't stop playing. Adorable and enchanting, the music video shows Morandi's Randi and Inna as angels, looking over Morandi's Marius Moga. Reminds me a lot of Cupid with his bow and arrow.

Morandi consists of Marius Moga and Andrei Ştefan Ropcea (known as Randi). They have been successful all over eastern Europe. It begs to question... Is their next plan to hit the western world? I'm sure they can do just that considering how popular they are within various countries in the eastern world. The song features my favourite singer in the world: Inna, real name Elena Apostoleanu. She's had some chart hits here in the UK, as well as other countries too. I can't stop hoping she releases a chart topping hit soon. "Summer in December" didn't chart in any country, but that doesn't mean anything, as I will continue to love this song and I definitely won't stop playing it.

The music video is both a performance piece and narrative. I shall start with the performance. As many people have commented on the video, Inna looks cute and it makes a nice change seeing her in something wintry. The scenes depict her as emotional and understanding, a perfect angel watching over Marius Moga. As for Randi, his performance outshines Inna's and keeps me engaged.

Marius Moga's narrative story is interesting and enveloping. I'm caught within the story and I want to know the outcome. I love the flashbacks, a typical resulting symptom after falling off a motorcycle. I also loved the ending, although the hallucination in the middle made me question the ending... Is she really there?

Overall great song with a perfect music video. Angelic and wintry. I can't wait to see where the future will take these two artists.

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Fifth Harmony - Sledgehammer

January 02, 2015 Critic Jonni 0 Comments

This girl group is officially the most successful X Factor (US) artist to come from the show. America's answer to the UK's The Saturdays, and they have made an impact across the world. Their vocals are astonishing. They should be around for some time, hopefully.

Fifth Harmony consists of Ally Brooke, Camila Cabello, Normani Kordei, Dinah Hansen and Lauren Jauregui. They came third in the second series of The X Factor (US). The other contestants who have released music, or plan on doing so soon are: Tate Stevens (winner), Carly Rose Sonenclar (2nd), Emblem 3 (4th), Diamond White (5th), CeCe Frey (6th), Paige Thomas (8th), Bea Miller (9th), Jennel Garcia (11th), Lyric 145 (12th), Sister C (joint 14th) and David Correy (joint 14th).

Sledgehammer was written by Jonas Jeberg, Meghan Trainor and Sean Douglas. An obvious hit considering one of the writers was Meghan Trainor (who already has a number one single in the UK with her own song "All About That Bass"). Yet this was released as a B-Side on the single release of "Bo$$" here. Their first single: "Miss Movin' On" was never released in the UK. However my guess is that they will re-release it since "Bo$$" wasn't so radio-friendly and was rarely played, yet it charted so high due to their X Factor UK performance. This song charted at number 112 by it's own right. I can definitely see this being re-released here to promote the album.

The music video isn't much. A massive performance piece, showing their vocals off beautifully.

That is not all though. It shows how close they are, how they have harmonized. Their dance sequences are in sync when they need to be. And I cannot help but do the sledgehammer move when they do, it feels so satisfying.

I don't get the white horse by Camila. But I guess it fits in it's own little way. As well an appearance of a sledgehammer is extremely unsurprising, yet needed. I can't wait to see where this girl group with go. I'm begging Simon Cowell to release more Fifth Harmony here in the UK!

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Ariana Grande Featuring Zedd - Break Free

January 01, 2015 Critic Jonni 0 Comments

We all know what Ariana Grande wanted to be when she was older, an intergalactic warrior princess. Video set in space on a fictional planet, inspired by Barbarella and Star Wars. Takes me back to the TV series such as Doctor Who, Firefly and Atomic Betty. Childish, yet sexual and provocative. Ariana Grande is no longer the cute, innocent nickelodeon teen idol... Pretty sure we've said similar things about Miley Cyrus, Demi Lovato, Selena Gomez, Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera... The list is endless.

Ariana Grande shot to fame in Nickelodeon show Victorious, playing Cat Valentine. She continued her role into spin off series Sam & Cat. She next went into singing, and although her album hit number 7 in the UK charts, her singles from her first album rarely made the top 100. Her Christmas album didn't help either. She shot to fame in the UK thanks to featured artist Iggy Azalea on song "Problem" which scored her first top 40 single, as well as her first number one. Since then she hasn't stopped impacting the UK chart in a major way. 2014 was definitely her year, and I'm sure she will have continued success.

This song, written by Anton Zaslavski, Max Martin and Savan Kotecha, is definitely my TUNE! When this comes on in the clubs, I just have to dance, I just can't help it. Not really a surprise since it's written by some great song writers. The song features Zedd, DJ and music producer, who has yet had a number one single, but came close when he collaborated with Hayley Williams on "Stay the Night", which charted at number 2 here in the UK. Could 2015 be his year to dominate the UK charts?

The music video surprised me when I first saw it. This was just not what I expected from Ariana Grande. However she is 21 years old (same age as me), and as we all know, children TV stars have so many restrictions that when they become of age they do branch out and show they aren't so innocent. It worked for Miley Cyrus, she scored number ones here in the UK, after trying so hard innocently. And it worked for Britney and Christina, they definitely wouldn't be around if they had kept up their innocent acts. I've said it before and I'll say it again, these things need to happen, regardless of parents views. As much as we all want to, we can't be sweet and innocent for our entire lives.

The video disappointed me as the monsters wasn't quite so thought out. They weren't quite so scary. However she did get captured, and she broke free. Zedd rescues everyone through a spaceship, and there is a cute baby elephant hybrid thing in the spaceship too, I want one of those!

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