It's time for me to wrap up my Hunter Hayes' Pictures three-part music video film. "This Girl" is the third part of this series of music videos, which has allowed Hunter Hayes to plunge us deep into a 60's narrative; this one concludes this Pictures collective, which all spanned from the "Rescue" music video as inspiration was drawn from the canvas paintings created in that visual. This wraps up the videos but leaves quite the open ending that has got us all intrigued. Watch Hunter Hayes perform this song in front of a house with his guitar, as we watch the character Sophie get married in this music video for "This Girl".
Hunter Hayes, as you should know by now due to all my recent Hunter Hayes blog posts, is an American country singer who went viral with the release of the heart-melting song "Wanted". He's destined for success since he is beyond talented. He can play a multitude of instruments, which he has showcased throughout the years, but mainly in debut music video "Storm Warning". I adore his songs, most of which are ones that I can never get out of my head. These latest tracks don't quite hit the mark for me, although they are heartfelt, for sure. I am hoping his next album has one international hit, as he deserves to go global. This track was written by Andy Albert, Hunter Hayes, Jessie Jo Dillon, and Jordan M. Schmidt.
Directed by John Edde & Matt Edde, this music video is the final part of the Pictures trilogy. It wraps up the character storylines that were previously in "You Should Be Loved" and "More". There is also a cast list, and within these music videos, you will see Olivia Evans, Sam Brooks, Wynn Reichart, Silva Riganelli, Jay Putnam, Allison Shrum, Michael Leidel, Percy Bell, Lacy Hartselle, and Sasha Asadourian.
This last visual in the trilogy follows Sophie (played by Lacy Hartselle) as she gets ready for her wedding and thinks about the past, where her fiancé hurt her and where she fell in love with another guy, who she kissed at a party in the first music video, "You Should Be Loved".
She battles with her emotions and her father comes to have a few words with her which are beyond adorable. Then, the guy, who she's fallen in love with, disrupts the wedding ceremony and she runs off with him. This is the perfect message - you should always follow your heart.
As for the performance side of things, Hunter Hayes looks like he's hiding behind his guitar. He doesn't unleash his full potential that we've seen in other music videos. It makes us question whether his heart was in this song, and takes us back to "You Should Be Loved" where he's hiding behind the piano. It's a good performance, it's just missing the spark that he added in the "More" music video. The ending is confusing as we return to present day and we find out that Hunter Hayes is wrapped up in this storyline - maybe one of the characters is an ancestor of his? Could this allow him to continue these connecting music videos?
Overall, this isn't as amazing as "More", it just has the same feel as "You Should Be Loved". It's still good, nonetheless, and we are interested in what Sophie is going to do as time goes on; but, you just have a feeling you know what's going to happen, and what we expected ends up playing out.
I can't believe I'm posting a Facebook music video within my blog, but the official YouTube music video has embedding disabled, hence why I've used the Facebook video. Both versions are the same, so I'm all good to go with using this. There was a hell of a lot of new releases on this backdated Friday however, most didn't have music videos, a couple released music videos after the release of the single, and one or two happened to release their song mid-week for Valentine's Day; therefore making this quite the difficult choice for me. I chose this one, because I initially wrote it up for CelebMix, and I can't help but adore this song. I truly believe Triana Park was one of the most underrated acts at Eurovision 2017. Watch the frontwoman of Triana Park, Agnese Rakovska, find life lonely as she wishes she had a home to go to in this music video for "Home".
Triana Park are a four-piece electronic pop-rock band from Latvia. They consist of Agnese Rakovska, Artūrs Strautiņš, Edgars Viļums, and Kristaps Ērglis. They are quite the name in their home country, having competed in Latvia's national selection for Eurovision a total of five times. Upon their sixth attempt (after a five-year break) in 2017, they managed to win and finally got to represent Latvia at the Eurovision Song Contest 2017 with the song "Line". Unfortunately, they only managed to get 21 points in their Semi-Final placing them 18th; failing to qualify for the Grand Final. This new song is the follow-up track to the Eurovision song, proving that Triana Park are a strong act who will consistently give us addicting tracks. The song is apparently the second single from their upcoming album, which is set to be released on 18 April 2018.
Directed by Ivars Burtnieks, this music video is a narrative piece that has a slight performance throughout. Agnese Rakovska displays her lonely life that also touches upon mental health issues as she sings this song with all the heartfelt emotions that give us chills every time we hear this song.
The opening scene sees her in a convenience store, where she grabs a bunch of items and walks slowly away - is this how you buy stuff in Latvia? Because the shopkeeper barely bats an eyelid. She then steals the park ranger's car and drives off. That is until her mental health illusions appear where a double of herself can be seen laughing in the back of the truck. She ditches the car and starts to walk; she attempts to hitchhike, but no such luck. and the lights in every house she walks pass turn off.
The last part of the music video sees her looking through a window, watching a family show love to one another as they gather in the living room. Agnese Rakovska is clearly craving that in this song and the music video, so much so she bangs against the window, desperately wanting to be a part of that, before disappearing.
This music video has it all and really works with the song. It's missing the energy of Triana Park, maybe because there aren't any scenes of them performing collectively as a group; however, everything else fits perfectly well and really manages to show off the song perfectly.
Can you tell that I'm on a Hunter Hayes obsession? This is my backdated Thursday Revisit and I can't believe I haven't watched this before now. I'm also surprised to find out that this song was his debut single. He has to be one of the most underrated male musicians in the world, and have you seen how many instruments he plays in this music video - what a way to represent himself. Hunter Hayes is a star-in-the-making and one song, just one song, will eventually go viral and chart worldwide; it just has to. Watch Hunter Hayes show off his musical abilities whilst performing this powerful and heart-hitting song in this music video for "Storm Warning".
Hunter Hayes is a country music star from America. He's had a few hits, with "Wanted" being his most known and most popular track. He's recently been heading down a country-pop music style in the past couple of years and I'm beyond excited for new music from him - we need another album. He's destined for global success, just listen to his voice, just watch how he can confidently play a variety of musical instruments. "Wanted" should've been his global sensation, and it got pretty close, but I'm sure that he'll have one soon. This song was his debut single and didn't bring chart success all that much. "Storm Warning" was written by Hunter Hayes, Gordie Sampson, and busbee.
Directed by Brian Lazzaro, this music video is a pure performance piece and almost feels like a showcase video. Throughout, Hunter Hayes presents to the world what his capabilities are as an artist, all the while delivering an infectious song that I just simply adore - how was this not a hit?
Throughout there are filters used, emphasising colours and shadows whilst also bringing in segmented video so that more than one piece of footage could be shown at the same time. It certainly brings an interesting aspect to the viewers and gives us more than double the stage presence that Hunter Hayes unleashes. There's also a brilliant snippet where six different versions of Hunter Hayes' are playing different instruments in one frame - so clever.
What we know from this music video is that Hunter Hayes can sing, play the acoustic guitar, play the electric guitar, play the bass guitar, play the piano, play the drums, and play the bouzouki. Now, that is what I like to call a proper artist. He's developed in music completely and this is what truly allows him to shine. This music video is just a pure brilliant performance piece, it's just missing relatability to the song, a slight bit of narrative would've stolen the show - maybe even a woman walking around the set would've worked perfectly. It's just missing that slight thing.
I am so mad at myself for being so far behind on my blog, but I am determined to catch myself up. To do so, covering music videos I have previously reviewed for CelebMix will certainly help. This is the case with this amazingly addictive track, "Strangers", by Kiri T. She sure knows how to perform and she put her heart into this one and it has really paid off. The song is perfection and the music video accompanies the song well. I also interviewed this amazing singer-songwriter for CelebMix, so I highly suggest you check that out too. Watch Kiri T perform her song to the camera as smoke, butterflies, slow-motion effects switch up the scenes in this music video for "Strangers".
Kiri T, real name Kiri Tse, is a singer-songwriter from Hong Kong who had a hit with a Lucian Remix of her song "Twenty-Something". She's been focusing on her career ever since, but not just singing and songwriting, she goes further, doing production and video directing. This woman does it all and I'm so in awe of her hard-work and effort. She's someone who is so devoted to what she's doing that she wants to be a part of it all, and how can we not support someone as amazing as that? I also wrote up about the release of this track for CelebMix. She's certainly someone to watch. The song was written by Kiri T. The production comes from Kiri T and Matthew Sim.
Directed by Endy Chow Jau Gwok Yin and Kiri T, this music video is a performance piece with a few narrative scenes that doesn't create a story but links in well with the song as a whole. Kiri T has thought of every minute detail for this and it works.
In my exclusive interview with her for CelebMix, she mentioned that the song is about her "perspective of inebriation, meeting/interacting with someone when you are under the influence." This whole music video screams exactly that. From the smoke to the literal translation of the lyrics of someone rolling a cigarette; from the slow-motion effects, which we'll come to in a bit, to the graphics used. They really have transported us into this new world that works with the song perfectly.
As for Kiri T's performance, she's just amazing. She clearly wanted to get the message of the song across to the viewers at home, and that's exactly what she does in the visual. She's got a stunning energy about her that we all can relate to. As for the slow-motion stuff, she exudes detail and has clearly thought this through completely. This music video deserves nothing less than this rating.
Another backdated day closer to the Galantis gig, which I went to and reviewed for CelebMix, so here's another Galantis review. This one looks like a really low budget music video which is surprising since it followed up "Peanut Butter Jelly" - like how does that even make sense? Regardless, I feel like it has an Eric Prydz "Call On Me" feel to it and it does seem quite a throwback to those music workout DVDs - although this choreography is pretty intricate at times. Watch a dance troupe nail workout choreography which could be considered sexual at times in this music video for Galantis' single "In My Head".
Galantis are a Swedish duo who have certainly made a name for themselves. They consist of Christian "Bloodshy" Karlsson and Linus "Style Of Eye" Eklöw. Before Galantis, they had made their names known in the songwriting world, separately. It's amazing to see how far they've pushed for their career and how much they plan to keep going to become the big stars they clearly deserve to be. This song may have been the follow-up to "Peanut Butter Jelly" but it didn't ride on the previous single's success, only managing to chart on the US Billboard Dance Chart and on the Flanders Ultratip Chart. "In My Head" was written by Christian Karlsson, Henrik Jonback, Jennifer Decilveo, Jimmy Koitzsch, and Linus Eklöw.
Directed by Dano Cerny, this music video is a pure performance visual from a dance group of Sea Foxes- the animal that's identified with Galantis and features on many of their cover artwork. It does have an Eric Prydz "Call On Me" feel to it but a lot less sexy and a much lower quality.
We can't deny the quality of the choreography. It relates and is intricate at times; even sexual but in a comedic way. The team proved that they're high-quality dancers and more than showcase their abilities. The sequences are, on occasion, easy to follow allowing viewers at home to copy the routine, giving us a throwback to those workout DVDs where you copy the dance moves or even the video games such as Just Dance.
Overall, it would've been stronger if it was filmed in high-quality, the low-budget style just makes it very unappealing. The dance is engaging throughout and the neon colours definitely liven the whole thing up.
I have to admit, I have been disliking Jason Derulo's recent music videos because of the sexual exploiting of women, and just when I was going to forgive him since I actually enjoyed the first scenes in this music video, he has to flip it and use that golden glitter scene - just no! I'm fed up of seeing these sorts of music videos from him, the same thing could be presented differently and it would still work. At the time of this backdated blog post, Drake was still number one with "God's Plan"; the music video, of which, isn't out until 16th February, and it's only the 12th. So, it opens up the UK top 10, on this date, to my Chart Mondays review, hence why I chose this one. Watch Jason Derulo dance and sing with four backup women dancers, and the occasional backup male dancers whilst French Montana sits in a golden room with almost naked women in this music video for "Tip Toe".
Jason Derulo, real name Jason Desrouleaux, is definitely one of the biggest male artists in the world right now. His constant releases and collaborations gain him incredible chart numbers in a variety of countries. His first few were honest and real with incredible heart-felt lyrics; lately, the content has been very sexualised, and it's no surprise that those new tracks, such as "Swalla" and "Get Ugly" hasn't fared well on the US Billboard charts. Regardless, he's done well in the UK and gained some average chart numbers in other countries too. He's always on form. For this track, he collaborated with French Montana, real name Karim Kharbouche, who made his name internationally famous by releasing worldwide smash "Unforgettable" which features Swae Lee. He continues to establish a name for himself and is definitely someone we're all watching at this very moment. This song was written by Philip Kembo, Jason Desrouleaux, Soaky Siren, Karim Kharbouche, Tinashe Sibanda, and Johnny Mitchell. Uncredited vocals come from Soaky Siren.
Directed by Jason Derulo, himself, this music video starts off with an interesting dialogue, which then transforms into some killer choreography for all involved. This initially looks like a great thought-out performance-based music video.
The jungle theme may not relate to the song, but we could ignore that as Jason Derulo shows off with brilliant dancing. He's always managed to bring us exciting dance moves throughout most of his music videos giving us great energy and a perfect performance. The dancing is just, wow!
Then we switch to a snowy Japanese scene, which also doesn't relate and is quite a contrast, but could also be forgiven since killer choreography is here too. Everything is brilliant until the gold glitter scene comes in - this is not something I want to see or watch. Since when was it acceptable to put naked women in music videos, most of them are half-naked, but come on! There's no need whatsoever, and since there are no guys even topless in this, they're clearly downgrading women and it's just not right, especially after the #MeToo movement. Not only that, but French Montana just looks uncomfortable in his scene, whereas Jason Derulo pulls facial expressions that make him look like a pubescent teenager who has stumbled across naked women.
Overall, this music video goes down in my estimation the more I watch it and review it. Seriously, women act as animals in this visual and this is despicable to see. Luckily, Jason Derulo gets kudos for his dancing, and the women bring fire when it comes to dancing too. The choreography is just simply amazing and saves this music video.
I've found it, I've found it, I've found it. I've been hoping that one day I'll come across a music video that just contains dancers that is an amazing music video; and, here it is. This is flat-out amazing, We have choreography that is artistic, relates to the song, and is executed brilliantly; and, then we have the editing which is beyond anything I've come across before. This is a music video we've needed in our lives for some time - how on earth have I only just come across this? Time to rectify that, this is my new favourite music video at this very moment. This is a backdated blog, however, at the time of this date, I had been looking up Galantis' music since I went to see them perform at the London Roundhouse on their The Aviary Tour in February, and I also wrote up a review of the gig for CelebMix. Watch a bunch of dancers move and nail choreography to this song whilst shapes, lines and other amazing editing techniques are used to create an immersive music video to Galantis & Throttle's song "Tell Me You Love Me".
Galantis are a Swedish house duo consisting of Christian Karlsson (Bloodshy) and Linus Eklöw (Style Of Eye). They have been building their name around the world and have had several hits. That's not it though, their other songs that aren't successful chart hits are also well-known by many and this really shows that this duo can make it in the music industry. I'm excited to see what the future will bring for these two as they keep growing bigger and bigger as they release more and more music. This song is a collaboration with Throttle, real name Robbie Bergin. He's been raising the game in music for a few years. He's from Australia and is just 20 years old, having started his dip in music at 15. He's one of the most talked about rising stars at the moment as he continues to switch up music as we know it. I really do see him hitting it internationally with a global hit in the next year or so. This song was written by Christian "Bloodshy" Karlsson, Jimmy "Svidden" Koitsch, Linus Eklöw, Sarah Aarons, Throttle, Eddie Jenkins, and Henrik Jonback. There are uncredited vocals from Sarah Aarons, on this track.
Directed by MOSSS, this music video is a pure dance music video. These sort of music videos doesn't gain much interest to me unless it has killer choreography, has something great going on, and it's been edited right... Well, that is exactly what this music video is in every single way.
It's an upbeat number that contains three incredible dancers who are Sorah Yang, Noah Henderson, and Eric Whitehurst. They bat out choreography naturally as if it's freelance - it could well be, although I doubt it since it exactly relates to the music at times. It's a crafted skill and looks beyond brilliant.
What makes this music video so good is the use of the art visuals and the editing. It's not easy to fully pull this off, but the creative team behind this music video has done just that. It makes this music video a lot more engaging and really brings the audience into the visual.
I can't help but love this music video. It may not have a narrative or a performance piece, but Galantis & Throttle prove that you don't need all that to make an epic and brilliant music video. This has got everything we all have been looking for.
I told you I was going to complete Hunter Hayes' three-part music video film, titled "Pictures"; so, here we are with part two, and I seriously cannot wait to watch. We finally get to continue the story on this backdated blog post of mine, although I wish I had caught up by now, but you know how difficult I find it to catch up on my blog - but I will do it; I made this bed of mine and now I need to correct it by catching up, although that's certainly not something I can do overnight. So, here's another one of his music videos as I complete the "Pictures" series. Watch Hunter Hayes convey emotion in his performance piece as we watch a female photographer go about her dream as she misses her husband in this music video for "More".
Hunter Hayes truly has it all, a perfect voice, a brilliant way with words, and incredible music videos. He hit it big with his early songs but now he's had the time to really craft his songwriting and his music, and this really shows in his latest singles which just has this caring spin to them. Just like most of his songs, these manage to bring the raw essence of what he wants to present to the world, whilst also being true to himself. His early singles really hit home such as "Wanted" - which is his biggest hit; but if you delve deep enough and really listen to his latest songs, you'll realise he is changing current country music and people really need to realise this and give him the attention he so clearly deserves. This song was written by Hunter Hayes, Paul DiGiovanni, and Richard McGill.
The music video was directed by John Edde & Matt Edde, and focuses mainly on the photographer that we first saw in the part one of this music video film series, titled "You Should Be Loved". The series comes from the paintings that were created in the "Rescue" music video, and therefore slightly connecting that visual to this three-parter, although it is not officially a part of the series.
I had initially thought the photographer's partner had passed away, you will know that if you had read my "You Should Be Loved" music video review. This really proves that I hadn't watched this music video before then as I would've known he hadn't passed away, but instead had been sent to war. Also, this music video reveals that the photographer has a daughter, this isn't exactly made clear in the first part, as I stated.
The daughter reveals that she is missing her father, just as much as her mother is missing him as well. It's sweet to know that they are missing them the same amount, and it's heart-warming to see flashback scenes of the past. I especially love the scene where he calls her brave, yet she reveals that she's only taking photos and that what he is going to do is truly brave.
This loving family is amazing to watch, and she continues to take photos of couples. Towards the end, she goes to a job interview and the interviewer is not happy with the photographs she has taken; she gives it her last shot by showing a photo of an old couple she had taken recently, where the old woman was in a wheelchair. This impresses the interviewer and gives her a job.
We finally see that the father has returned, much to the delight of our main character and her daughter. It's amazing to see the love that family shares, but what's more surprising is the twist of an ending. We end up in the interviewer's home who's partner is also in a wheelchair, much like the old couple that the photographer took a picture of. In comes their daughter, who is Sophie from the first part. Her father asks her where she's been and she professes that she's been out with Bruce - which isn't strictly true. We also find out that she's getting married soon - well that's put a spanner in the works.
The narrative is full, and yet they've managed to give us a Hunter Hayes performance piece throughout too. He's expressive and passionate, although it seems he is stuck beside that car. He must've time-travelled since he still doesn't fit in that time era, yet he's standing next to a classic car. He also fails to move around, at all. Regardless, he still manages to give us performance energy in every way. This is the Hunter Hayes we love.
Overall, this music video is amazing. It really ups the game from the previous one and by just focusing on the one character, we have more of a backstory that really envelopes us as viewers. Hunter Hayes shines, even though there are a few small faults; regardless, I can so overlook them since the storyline is beyond perfect. I can't wait to watch part three.
Who doesn't love a bit of Felix Jaehn? He's one of the rising DJs that we have all become addicted to. This one track is one of our favourites because it is spreading the message of how we all need to be ourselves in this world. This was released officially on 9 February 2018, the date I have backdated this blog post to, making this a new release. I am so far behind on my blog that I am not happy about it, but I plan to put in the work and catch myself up. It will happen, even though it does feel like an impossible task. This music video isn't as great as the song itself, though. Watch Marc E. Bassy perform this track to the camera as various shots show off people being themselves in this music video for Felix Jaehn's song "Cool" that also features Gucci Mane.
Felix Jaehn, real name Feliz Jähn, launched onto the music scene with a cover and has since managed to build up his profile within the DJ world as well as the music world. This is his first release of 2018 and was followed up with his album - which was released the following week. It's a great promotional lead single, but it didn't help to promote his album more than any of his previous single releases. It just lacked promotion that this song really needed since the content is exactly what we need out in the world. The song features Marc E. Bassy, real name Marc Griffin, who has been building up his career in the past couple of years. He has collaborated with G-Eazy a few times and has had one hit international single. He's definitely got this potential around him which suggests that a few bigger hit singles will be released by him, no doubt. There's also a feature from Gucci Mane, real name Radric Davis, who is definitely the American rapper we're all keeping our eyes on. He launched internationally as the feature on Rae Sremmurd's "Black Beatles" and has ever since made his name known globally. He continues to be a prominent force in music, so this team-up should've been a worldwide hit, it just wasn't. "Cool" was written by Felix Jaehn, Scott Harris, Rick Markowitz, Micah Premnath, Radric Davis, and Jonas Jeberg.
Directed by Drew Kirsch, this music video doesn't go anywhere. It's a pure performance piece that attempts to showcase Marc E. Bassy, but it's so disappointing as a complete whole. There are scenes of Felix Jaehn in the background, but the focus is on Marc E. Bassy.
Now, this wouldn't normally get on my nerves, I'm all for artists promoting themselves, but they really need to be comfortable in front of a camera and be able to send their performance vibes to the audience at home. No matter if it's a dance song, a country song, a rap song, a jazz song, a classical song, a metal song, an instrumental song, or a pop ballad. Marc E. Bassy is lacking performance. There's nothing that interests me into watching him sing the song.
The music video starts off with Felix Jaehn talking in his own language, with English subtitles at the bottom, which says: "It is so important to be authentic and just to be true to yourself. It does not matter who you are how you look or what clothes you wear as long as you are authentic. The moment you are acting and trying to be someone else is when you really aren't cool." What a way to open a video, especially one that has a brilliant song with a deep meaning, like this one; well, until the video fails to do or go anywhere.
There are various characters in this, which suggests that maybe there's a bigger music video behind this and it has been stripped back or the narrative has been edited out; as these stories aren't something that we are capable of following in this visual. Marc E. Bassy takes up the majority of the scenes and his presence isn't addicting or engaging. He loses most of the audience.
Overall, this music video could've been a hell of a lot better, if it had been done right. Instead, it just fails overall. Felix Jaehn may have stated that this is his favourite music video yet, and we stand by his opinion as the song and visual does suggest that people should be authentic to themselves and be who they really are, yet at the same time it's completely lacking and just isn't something we want to watch again and again.
Wow, what a music video for me to choose for my Thursday Revisit. I remember adoring this song when I first bought the album - because, yes, I was a Justin Timberlake fan at the time. Now, I'm not, and this music video practically explains why - well it doesn't really, I just lost interest in Justin Timberlake as an artist overall. This music video shows how little interest I had in him at this point since this visual is just that, a visual. It's something I could've gotten out of Visualisations from Windows Media Player (remember those days?) only with Justin Timberlake thrown into the midst. Watch Justin Timberlake sort of perform to this song as we see blue visualisations and then see him literally in a trance in a futuristic white room in this music video for "LoveStoned / I Think She Knows (Interlude)".
Justin Timberlake is one of the top male artists in the music industry. He was originally a member of *NSYNC and he's the only one who has had a successful career since the group has split. It does seem like his former bandmates are never going to succeed. He continues to show off his prominence in the industry and it's amazing to see how he can keep getting chart hits. The one thing I can't fault him on is his promotion, he sure knows how to work for those chart positions. This one did pretty well, average at the time of the release, all things considered. The song was written by Justin Timberlake, Tim Mosley, and Nate "Danja" Hills.
The music video was directed by Robert Hales and was filmed in Salford, England, UK. It is beyond basic, and certainly one of these music videos that no one will remember after watching it on the music channels, mixed with plenty of other videos.
This one does have a Windows Media Player Visualisations theme to it, as we watch waves of music get sculpted into Justin Timberlake - who performs with his dance ability and stage presence. However, we don't feel any of his energy as it gets lost in the constant changing of the musical waves.
And don't get me started on that ending. What was that? After building up our anticipated energy, hoping that Justin Timberlake gives us something to receive, we see him in a trance-like state - or should I say LoveStoned-state? - where he just stands there looking at the camera with no emotion or anything.
Overall, this music video just fails on every aspect, level, and wave. What Justin Timberlake is known for, is stripped away as we are continually distracted by these musical waves visuals. It just doesn't work at all.
