Please remember this blog has been backdated to 19 February 2018; so imagine how happy I am to finally review this music video because Drake's "God's Plan" has been number one for a few weeks without a music video, but he finally dropped one on 16 February 2018, which subsequently makes me review it the following Monday (the backdated Monday), as it is number one on the UK Chart for this backdated date - gosh I need to catch up on my blog asap so I don't have to try to explain this every single time. This is one of the most inspiring music videos but it isn't unique as it has been done a few times before, most notably by Blink-182 for their song "The Rock Show". Watch Drake take the budget for his music video and spend that money by giving it to people in need so that they can follow their dreams and feel supported in this music video for "God's Plan".
Drake, real name Aubrey Drake Graham, is a Canadian rapper who is most definitely one of the biggest male artists in the whole world at this very moment. Every single track he releases ends up being a hit. He is currently working on his fifth studio album which he is just finishing up. This single is taken from his EP Scary Hours but I reckon it'll be included in his new album since it has been such a hit. The song has charted at number one in various countries all around the world, further allowing Drake to prove that he's one of the most popular rappers around and that he's on top form. "God's Plan" was written by Aubrey Graham, Ronald LaTour, Daveon Jackson, Matthew Samuels, and Noah Shebib.
Directed by Karena Evans, the music video sees Drake give away the music video's budget to various people and businesses. The budget was a total of $996,631.90 and the video was filmed in Miami. It has received a lot of comparisons to Blink-182's "The Rock Show" as they too did a similar thing. I believe this concept has been done a few times over, so it's nothing new.
Unlike Blink-182, Drake decides to actually donate the money rather than have fun and smash things up. We see him pay for strangers' groceries in a supermarket, give away a car to a teenager, present cash bundles for families who are struggling; as well as hand out a tonne of toys to kids and donate money to various institutions including the University of Miami's Frost School of Music, the Lotus Home Women's Shelter and the City of Miami Fire Department.
Releasing a teaser on Instagram, Drake stated that the video was: "The most important thing I have ever done in my career." The ending scene of the music video shows a conversation with a young man, Drake tells him: "We're nothing without our mothers. Gotta make sure you take care of your mom, too, no matter what you do. It's all we got. Trust me. That's my world." That hit me right in the heart and made me tear up a little bit.
Overall, this music video depicts Drake in a very genuine light. He's down to earth and clearly wants to give back to his fans, the community, the people, and the world. There are many celebrities that are just as kind as Drake shows himself to be. On the other hand, the concept isn't anything new, and only partly relates to the lyrics of the song.
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 had planned to review this weeks ago, and then I noticed it would appear in the UK Top 10 in the future - no I did not foresee this with some magical power, I've been so far behind on this blog that I've been backdating every post for the past few months and that's how I saw that I would be reviewing this music video as a Chart Mondays review. Currently, Drake is at number one (and has been for many weeks after) with the song "God's Plan", the music video, of which, dropped a few weeks after this backdated date - so expect that music video review in the future. This opened the UK Top 10 to my review, and at number 10 is this song! I have not seen this music video before today and I believe Sigrid does her best with what she is given. Watch Sigrid move and dance around a set that looks like it's for a movie in this music video for her hit single "Strangers".
Sigrid, full name Sigrid Raabe, is a singer-songwriter from Norway. She's been globalising on her career for a few years, allowing her songs and music videos to go viral. She knows how to build up and it's certainly working for her. This song is her biggest hit to date, although her previous track "Don't Kill My Vibe" also managed to gain traction around the world. The big question is whether she'll be able to keep her popularity and release even more hits. This is something that a lot of rising stars are struggling with, and I'm guessing that Sigrid is going to be another one for us to add to that list. This song is written by Sigrid Raabe and Martin Sjølie.
Directed by Ivana Bobic for Riff Raff Films, the music video is a pure performance visual. We watch Sigrid interpret the song for the camera as she moves around a set.
The song mentions something to do with a film, so it feels like she's appearing on a film set and she's just using the props and the camera work for her own music video. It feels really unrelated to the song as a whole.
As for the performance side of things, Sigrid really works as much as she can. She does her best and that's all we can ask of her. However, I'm not sure if it is all that good as a whole. It just feels like it doesn't connect with the audience at home and it's missing some major things. It's just not all that interesting to watch. Kudos to Sigrid, though, because she works with what she's been given.
Time for Chart Mondays on this backdated date, and we have a brand new number one. It's Drake's song "God's Plan", yet the music video isn't released until late February, whereas this blog is being backdated to the end of January, so we have a few weeks until I finally review Drake's number one song, opening the UK top 10 to my review, and I have adored this song since it dropped - plus the backdated date is my birthday, 29 January - so, of course, I was going to review the music video to this, although I'm not happy about the music video itself. The song features one of my favourite artists, Ina Wroldsen, who's career I have followed for a few years. Watch dancers Shaadow Sefiroth and Shala Sarah Haruko Iwaskow perform in iconic London locations, such as the Natural History Museum, in this music video for Jax Jones' song "Breathe" which features Ina Wroldsen.
Jax Jones, real name Timucin Aluo, is a British DJ who has had a number of hits in his home country, as well as around the whole world. He's had the honour of collaborating with some massive names in the music industry. He continues to prove he is a force to be reckoned with and this song climbed up to the UK top 10 after the release of this music video, so no matter what my thoughts on it are, it does show that the release of the visual helped the song rise. It features the incredible singer-songwriter, Ina Wroldsen. She's known for writing some of the biggest songs in the industry, as well as providing her vocals to some iconic tracks. She continues to get her name out there and keeps giving us hit after hit. I can't wait to see what the future brings for her. I originally wrote up about this music video for CelebMix; I also wrote about the song upon its release, for the magazine. This song was written by Timucin Aluo, Fred Gibson, Uzoechi Emenike (MNEK), Ina Wroldsen, and William Clarke.
Directed by James Slater, this music video showcases these two incredible dancers. Shaadow Sefiroth and Shala Sarah Haruko Iwaskow dance their way through intricate choreography in this visual, keeping the audience entertained throughout.
The problem I have with this music video is that the artists don't appear in the visual, not even slightly; not only that but the choreography isn't anything amazing, there's a lot of body-popping going on with some good translation of the lyrics, yet sometimes there's just nothing that relates to the song.
There are some great locations, such as the Natural History Museum during after-hours, which is filmed inside the entrance, which is usually taken up by Dippy the Dinosaur, however, he's currently on tour around the UK, so we get stunning shots of a Blue Whale skeleton, that's hanging from the ceiling. Other scenes include a derelict shopping centre, a deserted Millennium Bridge, as well as them performing in the middle of Oxford Street - in the middle walkway between the two roads.
Overall, I totally adore this song, but it's music video just isn't enough for me. Kudos go to the dancers, who bring it to the best of their ability; and, to the Jax Jones-head dancer, who appears on the Millennium Bridge with the two dancers and pulls off some simple moves. The ending sees Shala Sarah Haruko Iwaskow alone on Oxford Street looking at a billboard advertising Jax Jones' "Breathe" with the mint sweets.
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 really need to start to watch popular music videos, because I haven't seen this yet. This is literally the first time I have seen this music video, which is quite a surprise considering how popular the song is. I'm not sure what to make of this at all, I'm not really a fan of either artist and so that usually puts a slight judgement on to my review, same goes for the song itself which I'm not so keen on. This backdated review is a Chart Mondays, where Ed Sheeran with "Perfect" remains on the top of the UK chart, hence why I'm reviewing this song since it's in the Top 10 on this backdated date. Watch Julia Michaels sing this song in various places whilst an editing technique allows it to run smoothly, with Clean Bandit appearing throughout, in this music video for "I Miss You".
Clean Bandit are a three-piece instrumental group consisting of Grace Chatto, Jack Patterson, and Luke Patterson. They are the biggest British instrumental band in the country and they collaborate with other artists so that there are vocals on the songs. They've had a number of hits and every single release pushes their stamp further into the music industry. They are seriously unstoppable completely. Their second studio album is planned to be released in the early months of this year, so surely that means very very soon. This is a collaboration with well-known songwriter-turned-popular-singer Julia Michaels. Her song "Issues" became a smash hit around the whole world; since then, she hasn't lived up to that track until this one came along. She's definitely one to watch considering her amazing back-catalogue of songwriting hits. This track was written by Julia Michaels, Jack Patterson, and Grace Chatto.
Directed by Jack Patterson & Grace Chatto, this music video is flat-out iconic, purely because of the amazing editing techniques used. It always surprises me that their visuals are self-directed because they manage to nail it every single time.
We watch Julia Michaels walk along train tracks before switching to a desert scene that continues her path with layer upon layer between the two. It looks like they had complete fun filming this. My problem is that they're all dressed in red, making Julia Michaels look like she's a part of Clean Bandit as if she's the lead singer or lead vocalist or frontwoman of the group - this is not what we usually expect from a featured singer.
Overall, there's not a lot to comment on, I'm not so keen on Grace Chatto's outfit, it looks like it's been teared up. Otherwise, both artists nail the performance, giving it all they've got and allowing the viewers to be captured from the very first few seconds, but it doesn't really relate to the song and it doesn't allow any depth, only layers. I do admit, Julia Michaels looks amazing when she's on top of the piano.
