New Release: Antonia Featuring Connect-R - Adio

January 19, 2018 Critic Jonni 0 Comments


Adio (feat. Connect-R) - Antonia |

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.
Buy on iTunes

0 comments: