Anyone who knows me, knows I'm obsessed with Global Records and their array of artists on the record label. They recently created a division titled Global Records Latin, which Micke Moreno was the first star to release under that division with "El Amor" which featured Antonia. The label has continued to release songs that are beyond addicting, and here is another one on this backdated new release. I previously wrote up about this for CelebMix, and although it wasn't strictly released on this backdated date, it was released a few days earlier, it was still new for that week. Watch Micke Moreno and Kryan battle it out during a car race intercut with performance scenes in this music video set in a car park for "Juego".
Micke Moreno, who is sometimes known as just Micke, is best known for taking part in The X Factor (US) and La Banda. Now, Global Records Latin has picked him up, along with some of his friends for their new record label, and it is proving to do well for everyone involved. His debut, "El Amor" got millions of YouTube views, although we reckon that was with the help of featured star Antonia. This single sees him collaborate with Kryan, again - they first teamed-up for "Eres Tu" along with Fabyan and Yoandri. Kryan is known for being on La Voz Teens where he was a semi-finalist. Now, he's a part of Global Records Latin allowing him to pursue his dream and passion. He manages to twist up this track, adding his stamp and flavour. The song was written by Micke Moreno and Brien Melo with Alexandru Cotoi helping to compose the music.
The music video has both a narrative and a performance piece, so you would expect my rating, at the end of this review, to be high; this is the core of a great music video, however this just doesn't come off quite so well. The performance takes over as the main part, leaving the uninteresting and overdone narrative to become a minor part.
The car race launches this whole music video, but sometimes the cars don't look as if they're competing. They go around the car park as we wait to see who wins. We've seen plenty of car races in music videos. Micke Moreno looks disappointed at the end, suggesting he lost, but maybe he's just unhappy about Kryan's inability to perform in the performance part.
To be fair, it's not just Kryan's fault, the camera operator focuses on the women dancers far more than the two singers, and we can't really blame Kryan for being distracted, now can we? It would be good to see Kryan perform all by himself, to see if he does grab the audience at home. As for Micke Moreno, he is on point and definitely a future star, he controls the energy and slams it right into the viewers at home. He's not distracted and wants to give a good performance, and he manages to save this video in every way.
Another week, another Thursday Revisit, and I have been waiting for a 2018 Thursday where I get to review this track by Antonia. This is totally her top solo song in Romania, and gosh is it catchy. It's one of those songs that stay in your head even a day after you first heard it. It's no surprise it climbed so high on the Romanian charts. Today is the first time I've seen this music video and I am so not impressed. Her latest music videos are on fire in every way, whereas this one just feels low-budget and it's beyond simple. Watch Antonia perform this hit song against a white background, flooding the visual with her modelling skills in this music video for "Marabou".
Antonia, full name Antonia Iacobescu, is one of the top female Romanian singers about at the moment. She's just released a brand new single that I can't get over, titled "Tango". I am hoping she plans on releasing a new album as we totally need a follow-up to her debut, especially since some of her latest tracks have charted well in her home country. All her recent tracks have been amazing, but none have quite reached number one in Romania like this song did. Catchy beyond anything we can imagine, Antonia sounds perfect on this song and is subtly sexy with the lyrics, which makes it even more addicting. "Marabou" was written by Thomas Troelsen and Anna F.
There really isn't much to this music video at all, and considering what she's released recently, this visual doesn't live up to Antonia's true potential. It was directed by Khaled Mokhtar - which really shows how far he has come in directing music videos since this.
Within the clip, Antonia draws on her modelling experience to sell this song. She is wearing a black dress that exposes her chest and the sides of her body. Throughout she's sexy and sultry as she stares into the camera and she tantalises the audience with certain moves.
Overall, this music video is beyond basic. It uses Antonia's strengths from when she was a model and wraps it up in a sexy music video that doesn't go anywhere. There are some synchronicity issues, where her lips don't match up to the lyrics, which draws the whole music video down. Regardless, Antonia stays in character throughout and does what she can to make this visual, good.
Once again, YouTube came through for me with this music video as I found it on the right panel when I was reviewing Forever In Your Mind's "Smooth", and the thumbnail just stood out at me. I recognise his face, although I'm not quite sure where from, as I've only ever seen Grease Live! from what he has been in, and I don't remember him in that show, although he clearly was one of the main characters. I probably recognise him from all the press from the 25th season of Dancing With The Stars, which he won. He's been trying for a music career for some time and he has done all right to date. Watch Jordan Fisher profess his love for a woman while he knocks out some brilliant dance choreography in this music video to his debut song "All About Us".
Jordan Fisher is a name people are quickly getting to know. He's an established actor and musician, and he is certainly getting his name out there. As previously mentioned, he's the winner of the 25th season of Dancing With The Stars, which is bound to push him to future success. He has appeared in 12 episodes of Liv & Maddie; starred in Grease Live!, Teen Beach Movie, Teen Beach Movie 2, and appeared in 9 episodes of The Secret Life Of An American Teenager. He has also appeared in the Broadway production of Hamilton. As for his music career, this song was his debut single back in 2016. He has since released an EP and three follow-up singles. I am certainly interested in seeing what the future brings him, music wise. The song charted on the US Billboard Mainstream Top 40 at number 26. It was written by Nick Bailey, Rick James, Ryan Ogren, and Steve McMorran.
Directed by TK McKamy, this music video is a pure performance visual that really showcases everything about Jordan Fisher. He sings passionately, he dances like he's on fire (no wonder he won Dancing With The Stars), and he can stay in character all the way through a music video.
You would think this visual has it all. The choreography is on point all the way through, and there's even a slight narrative with his love interest. However, he loses connection with the audience. I'm not sure if the song isn't exactly to his liking, or he hasn't quite felt it within him, but whatever it is, he feels slightly out of it.
The audience loses interest as the first scene progresses and we're drawn back in when additional dancers added into the scenes. However, it happens again towards the end of the music video as it doesn't develop or grow. It feels like it's one flat visual.
Regardless, Jordan Fisher gives it his all. His dancing is superb and the choreography is so on-point that we all wish we could dance just like him. The additional dancers, as well as his love interest, add flavour and intrigue to the mix, but it's just lacking connection overall. Jordan Fisher is on fire in this clip and this excites me for what is to come from him in the future.
I wouldn't say I'm a fan of Forever In Your Mind, but I do love their music, and here's another example of a very catchy song; although, I don't approve of what they said about BTS, on the other hand, they did apologise about it, so I guess it can be forgiven. This song may be beyond catchy, but the music video is lacking a smooth quality which we were expecting - there's just way too much smiling going on. Watch Forever In Your Mind attempt to be sexy and sultry and smooth whilst they dance with female love interests in this music video for their song "Smooth".
Forever In Your Mind are a three-piece boyband consisting of Emery Kelly, Ricky Garcia, and Liam Attridge. They made their name when they were formed on the third season of The X Factor (US); however, they only made it to the Bootcamp stage before being eliminated. I guess they proved Simon Cowell wrong though since they have gone on to release two EPs and a bunch of singles. Not only that, but they almost bagged a Disney TV series as the lead stars; unfortunately, the show wasn't picked up - they could've been the next Jonas Brothers. Regardless, they are still going and releasing contagious music that I can't help but love. This song, "Smooth", was written by Dustin Atlas, Emery Kelly, Emily McDonald, Liam Attridge, and Ricky Garcia.
Directed by Nayip Ramos, this music video is a pure performance piece with the guys attempting to nail it with the song. They clearly connect with it but are just having too much fun on set that they can't help but smile, rather than act smooth - this is the major flaw with the music video.
The concept is great, seeing the women in the music video as parts of their imagination; clearly, they are still on the guys' minds. Then, they surprise us with some brilliant dance choreography that they completely nail in every single way.
Throughout, they bring sex-appeal and killer dance moves. They manage to be sultry and smooth all the way through the scenes; however, it isn't consistent. The worse is Liam Attridge who may have perfected his smooth look during his verse, but throughout he's always smiling for the camera before he realises he's not supposed to smile and tries to look sultry again. He's not the only one, Emery Kelly and Ricky Garcia have their moments too. They're just living the life and having fun on set; it just sidetracks the viewers. If they can't stay in character for an almost four-minute visual, then it's no surprise their TV show wasn't picked up by Disney Channel.
A new week means a new Chart Mondays, and I'm still weeks and weeks behind - I will catch up! I swear! On this backdated date, Eminem reached the top of the UK chart with "River" featuring Ed Sheeran; knocking off Ed Sheeran's "Perfect". At the time of this date, there was no music video to the UK number one song - it was released weeks later and I'll probably end up covering it in a future Chart Mondays review - so today's backdated Chart Mondays was open to the UK Top 10, and this song seems to be falling on the UK Chart, so I thought it was about time I covered this. Watch Rita Ora perform in various places in New York in what looks like a spontaneous recording in this music video for "Anywhere".
Rita Ora is currently one of the biggest female singers in the UK at the moment. She's managed to get all of her latest singles into the UK Top 10, which is certainly not easy to do nowadays. Her songs have been instant hits, and this all happened after she had a few legal troubles with her previous record label that could've turned into a #FreeKesha / #FreeJoJo movement if it hadn't all worked out in the end. She now has 12 UK top ten hits, which equals the record for the most UK top ten hits by a British female artist, equalling with Shirley Bassey and Petula Clark - it'll only take one more and she'll have the record all to herself. This song peaked at number two on the UK Chart and was written by Nolan Lambroza, Alexandra Tamposi, Alessandro Lindblad, Nicholas Gale, Andrew Wotman, Brian Lee, and Rita Ora.
Directed by Declan Whitebloom, the music video took 14 hours to shoot in various places in New York. The video is a pure performance piece with some iconic looks from Rita Ora throughout whilst she nails the energy for the song in every way.
Let's start this review about the fashion. Rita Ora manages to style every single bit of clothing in every way. Most of the jewellery was designed by Alexis Bittar, whilst most of the footwear was designed by Sophia Webster. As for the restaurant scene, the diners are real diners and the restaurant remained open during filming, allowing the diners to accidentally appear in the shots.
The whole clip embodies running away and escapism. What it is lacking is a love-interest, however, I'm going to imagine that her love-interest is actually behind the camera, shooting her being free. There's so much on-point fashion from different designers and in different styles that this blog will be way too long to list them all. Regardless, Rita Ora shines throughout, pulling off any sort of look possible.
Overall, this music video is good; however, it feels like it's a fashion-forward music video. This would be fine if the song itself was focused on fashion at all; instead, the song is about running away with a lover. Minus the lover, Rita Ora certainly isn't in LA, and she does act free as if she's been released from the binds of LA - we're going to ignore the fact that New York is on the other side of the US so it was totally a planned getaway. I also believe the viewers at home are the people she's running away with.
I absolutely adore this song and its music video. 4th Impact continues to bring their firehouse vocals, and this is definitely a track I could listen to over and over again. Their harmonies are always on point, and that's why I'm so happy I'm finally reviewing this track. Unfortunately, I am so far behind on my blog that I'm trying to go on a catch-up spree, which isn't really working all that well, and I seem to be getting more and more behind each day, but I will catch up, I swear I will! Watch 4th Impact perform their song on some stairs, in a recording booth, and in front of a metal gate as we watch clips from the film "Ang Dalawang Mrs Reyes" in this music video for their song "It's Not The Same Anymore".
4th Impact are a Filipino girl group consisting of Almira Cercado, Irene Cercado, Mylene Cercado, and Celina Cercado. They are known for owning it on talent shows under various names. They came eighth on Superstar K6 and then came fifth on the twelfth series of The X Factor. They have since gone on to release their debut single "Unleash The Diva" and signed to US management. This is their follow-up single and is the soundtrack to Star Cinema movie "Ang Dalawang Mrs Reyes". I previously wrote about this for CelebMix. It was written by Edgar Van Passel and Daniel Van Passel.
The music video is a typical soundtrack visual that is completely on-point in every single way. It has clips of the artist singing the song and clips of the film in extra promotion - which is exactly what we need.
To be fair, the best thing about this music video is that we understand the plot of the film just from the clips shown. This is exactly what we expect to find in a soundtrack music video. If you understand what is going on, without any major twists being exposed, then the editors have done a brilliant job of creating a music video, and that's exactly what has happened here.
Then there's 4th Impact's performance, and gosh do they bring it - nothing new there. They bring it, especially from the clips in the studio and in front of the metal gate. The clips on the stairs are fire in every way; however, we certainly miss their dancing, regardless of the passion they flood this song with.
Overall, this music video is almost perfection. Unfortunately, there are some editing problems, mainly with the film clips having the audio on. I understand that in some of the clips, they wanted to get the humour across; however, without subtitles, people other than Filipinos will understand these jokes. I truly believe that this would've worked so much better without the audio from the film clips.
I actually thought I had already written about this music video for my blog, so I was surprised to find out that I hadn't; hence why I'm making up for it right now by reviewing it. I literally cheered on Adore Delano during her RuPaul's Drag Race Season, although Bianca Del Rio certainly deserved that crown; regardless, I am happy she got into the top three. Then she returned for All Stars season two and she decided it wasn't for her. I hope one day she does decide to give it another shot and take that crown. For now, we can just marvel at her in her music videos. Watch Adore Delano be a baseball player whilst performing in the locker room and the showers in this music video for "Negative Nancy".
Adore Delano, real name Daniel Noriega, is a drag queen who appeared on RuPaul's Drag Race season six. Beforehand, Daniel Noriega appeared on the seventh season of American Idol, where he was eliminated during the top 16. Now he's a drag queen who does rock music, and we love Adore Delano for it, that's for sure. She released her debut album in 2014 and followed it up with a second in 2016. Then her third was released in 2017, with this song being the first to be released from the "Whatever" LP.
The music video was directed by Ben Simkins. Adore Delano looks on point throughout the entire clip, looking stunning as a baseball player. The visual also stars Chuck Roy, Henry Bae, Bryan Meza, Yvie Oddly, Sid Darling, Stevie-Ray Vance, Nichole Martinez, Karly Porter, Cameron Sprenger, Mike Temple, Emma Meeks, Jacob Meeks, John Miller, Ajay Davis, and Ethan Hsieh.
Starting it all off is Chuck Roy with the blow of his whistle. He's clearly the baseball coach, although he doesn't seem all that strict and only acts it. To the group, he shouts: "Line up buttercups. This little team of lovable losers are better at handling your johnsons than you are at sporting bat."
The music then kicks in and Adore Delano picks her team. This is then intercut with various performance scenes, some are from the locker rooms, and also from the caged waiting area. She really nails the performance piece, giving it all she has got to the camera and showing off how talented she really is. She has passion in her eyes from the get-go whilst still bringing the relaxed style of her drag.
Then there's the baseball side of things, her team are a killer, bringing out all the stops to win the game, until the very end when Adore Delano gets angry at a not-so-great throw. And I certainly can't end this review without commenting on the shower scene; although, I'm not quite sure what to say about it. She acts sexily towards the camera and gives it all that she has got, and gosh does it pay off.
Overall, this music video is on point all the way through. However, I am missing the relation to the song; I have no idea how this links in with the lyrics at all. Regardless, I could so watch this over and over again; I am hoping that Adore Delano's music gets bigger and bigger in years to come, and soon enough she'll be an international music chart sensation.
Not much choice for today's backdated new release, so I decided to go with one of my favourites even though it wasn't technically released on this date; instead, it was released a few days earlier. I did write up an article about it for CelebMix, which was to be expected. Antonia has been on form lately, especially in Romania, and I'm excited to see what the future brings - hopefully, a new album as we certainly need a new one from her. Watch Antonia and Connect-R perform this collaboration with all the heart and emotion it deserves, while we watch a narrative couple take some time apart from each other, finally ending it in this music video for "Adio".
Antonia, full name Antonia Iacobescu, is one of the biggest female Romanian singers around. She went international in her early career but now she's gone back to her home-country-roots by singing in Romanian and it's been fairing well for her, gaining chart hits in that country and millions of YouTube views. She hasn't released an album since her debut in 2015 so we really need a new Antonia album, that's for sure. This song features Connect-R, real name Ştefan Mihalache, who is a Romanian hip-hop artist. He was originally a part of R.A.C.L.A. before he went after a solo career, becoming a recognised figure in Romanian music. This song was written by Alexandru Cotoi and Ştefan Mihalache.
This music video was directed by Khaled Mokhtar - someone who is certainly making his name known in the Romanian music video industry. This is both a narrative and a performance visual, although there's not much to the former and not much to the latter, either.
Let's start with the story side. We watch a man and a woman finish their argument and decide they need some alone time. This is clear from the get-go and their time apart makes them realise that they need this to become a permanent thing; hence the upsetting ending. It completely relates to the song, and the actors put in a lot of skill to display the character's feelings. However, there's not enough to show us and we don't quite know where the argument came from or what it was about.
As for the performance side, Connect-R is pretty emotionless, which is quite surprising considering he wrote the song. He's not much of an expressive performer, and I was expecting him to deliver. His style is on form though. As a whole, he is a complete opposite to Antonia. She knows how to bring it in a music video, and that's exactly what she does. She's connected with the song and now she wants all the viewers to connect too. Thing is, her style is off-point. I know wet hair is in, but it actually looks greasy making her less appealing; and, her coat may be a nice colour, but it doesn't allow her to release much of her typical energy.
Overall, I'm not sure what to make of this music video. The basis and the concept are brilliant and it should've been an easy top mark from me; however, both sides of this music video has its flaws. If only this was better.
Time for my backdated Thursday Revisit, and how do I only just know this song, especially since it hit number one in the UK? Like, seriously? Most UK number ones I know off the top of my head, especially in the 00's when the chart was practically my life, and yes I do keep up with it now, but I don't care for it as much as I used to (because streaming has messed it up - but let's not go there); but this song only just slightly rings a bell. I know I was never into Ja Rule, R. Kelly, or Ashanti at this time, but this song sure is on fire which completely explains why it hit the top spot. Watch Ja Rule, R. Kelly, and Ashanti team-up and present their performance energy whilst there's inclusion of half-naked women in this music video for the UK number one song "Wonderful".
Ja Rule, real name Jeffrey Atkins, hit the height of his fame back in the 00's. This song is one of his biggest, especially in the UK which is his only number one, to-date. The song did well around the world, but most countries favoured his other hits such as "Always On Time" and "Mesmerize", both of which feature Ashanti - just like this song. R. Kelly has been a prominent force in the music industry for a number of years, his full name is Robert Kelly. He hit it big with "I Believe I Can Fly" and "Ignition (Remix)" which has truly implanted him into the history of music in every way. Then there's Ashanti, full name Ashanti Douglas, who pretty much helped Ja Rule turn his songs into hits. She then went into the film industry, before working on new music which didn't reach many people, unlike her previous efforts. All three of these acts need to make a return to mainstream charts around the world, with the right song, I'm sure they will. This song was written by Robert Kelly, Jeffrey Atkins, Irving Lorenzo, and K. Smith.
The music video was directed by Hype Williams, and I am not that impress. It's just another typical hip-hop and R&B infused music video that we've seen time and again. It does trick us into thinking it's a performance piece visual, but then the half-naked women come in with very little connection to the song.
I actually don't get this at all, like they are singing about wishing they had true love and not quite knowing if the woman they are with (or in the case of this music video - women they are with) actually loves them. They're questioning whether she would still be there if they didn't have all the money, cars and jewels. If they're referring to the women in this music video, with bodies like that, I very much doubt they'd stick around if you had no money. Although, it is possible as true love does come in all sorts of forms.
Overall, Ashanti doesn't add much to the video, although her vocals stun us all on the song. The lyrical content is engaging, real, and rich; it's not a surprise that it became a hit. However, I am disappointed by the music video, they definitely could've added a bit more, and R. Kelly's rap scene sure looks like there was originally a bigger narrative - if only there was.
Definitely one of the most underrated rappers in the world right now, NF has finally launched globally with the awesome track "Let You Down"; however, it seems unlikely that he'll keep getting chart hits even though he completely deserves them. His back catalogue, for example, is flat out amazing and I just can't get enough of him due to the way he floods a song with emotion. It's simply awesome and worthy of international success and awards across the board. NF is my new favourite rapper at the moment, and I could listen to his music all day long. The same goes for his music videos. Watch NF perform his songs within meaningful scenes that show people who are unhappy with their lives and the choices that they have made in his music video for "Wake Up".
NF, real name Nathan Feuerstein, is an American rapper who has charted a lot in the Christian hip-hop charts in his home country. He gained mainstream success with the song "Let You Down" launching on the world with emotion, flare, and style. He's definitely one to watch and I truly believe he is going to become one of the biggest rappers in the world as his music reaches out to more and more people. His music comes from the heart, and that is very clear in every single song that he sings; there's a raw emotional quality to his words that strikes something inside of us all. I'm very excited to see what the future brings him. "Wake Up" was written by Tommee Profitt and NF.
Directed by Jon Jon Augustavo, this music video is an in-depth take on the lyrics that grab the audience in from the very first minute. It's intriguing and interesting throughout.
There are two narratives going on that is slightly linked. We first watch a woman who lives in a mansion, and we soon realise that she's alone and that her husband and child left her. She never got to be a great parent and she's annoyed at herself for the way that things have gone and smashes up the house.
Later she exits out of a garage, where we watch a younger man who is her gardener, possibly. He thinks she's got everything going for her whilst he's got nothing going for himself; we later see him smashing up his own house as he isn't happy the way his life is going.
Throughout NF can be seen in certain scenes like a ghost or an apparition. He brings all his infectious emotional energy with every single word, once again proving he deserves to be known globally. The ending scene sees our two main characters as old-aged people who are still alone. It's a clever music video, one I could watch again and again.
