Still at number one in the UK is 24kGoldn with "Mood" which features iann dior and so I have decided to review Justin Bieber's most-recent single and music video, titled "Holy" featuring Chance The Rapper as it is sitting at number 10 and has been for two weeks in a row. I'll be surprised if this doesn't climb higher next week, but there's also been a tonne of new releases this week and so the chart could see some interesting changes come Friday. "Holy" is one of Justin Bieber's songs that will go down in history as it's just so honest and he delivers it so personally that it's hard not to like it because his voice is just in tune with the lyrics of the song that you feel every word. Chance The Rapper brings it for his verse, impressing vocally and attuning to the track easily. I'm shocked this has only peaked at number 10 here in the UK, but here's hoping it climbs as it deserves to chart higher.
The music video is so good and relatable to a whole lot of people right now since many have lost their jobs - me included - and many are struggling with paying bills and rent and having difficulty with landlords, and it's so inspiring to see Justin Bieber showing these tough times in his music video, which has been directed by Colin Tilley. It stars both artists with Ryan Destiny (best known for being in Lee Daniel's Star TV series) and Wilmer Valderrama (best known for being in That 70's Show, From Dusk Till Dawn: The Series, and NCIS). We follow Justin Bieber as he works as an oil worker, a story is painted as he has a good home-life and an okay working life, and Ryan Destiny has a good working life too, until the pandemic hits and he loses his job, she loses a patient in her care home that she's grieving for, and then they lose their home and they end up walking the streets until Wilmer Valderrama, who has just returned from being in the armed forces, sees them on the sidewalk and offers to take them back to his home where a meal will be waiting for them. It's such a great music video that showcases that there are good people in the world, that there will be light at the end of the tunnel, and that good things happen even if you are at rock bottom. People need a music video like this, and it certainly helped me too as I feel like I'm at rock bottom right now - but I know so many other people are worse off than me. Chance The Rapper's part in the visual is purely performance-based and doesn't add much to the story but it's great to see him give his part his all.
Since Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion are still sitting at the top of the UK Singles Chart with "WAP", I decided to review this music video by Paul Woolford, Diplo & Kareen Lomax as "Looking For Me" jumped into the top ten this week and is currently at number eight. The song is a great dance track but it doesn't hit me quite the way other songs in the genre does, it's not really my thing even though I am obsessed with dance music; however, it's great to see dance music hitting the charts.
As for the music video, directed by Double Ninja and produced by Left, it has such a bright and detailed aesthetic. The volcano itself looks so real. Three celestial beings representing the three artists, Paul Woolford, Diplo, and Kareen Lomax, appear down from the sky and starts to use their magic to upturn the volcanic rocks and turn it into bright and colourful flowers before erupting the volcano with paper-like animals which end up living on the new flower volcano area. It's a beautiful music video but I have no idea how it relates to the song itself, it's also quite slow at the beginning too. I was hoping for so much more, but regardless, it is well-animated and it does look so good!
Chart Mondays are back and we have a brand new number one! I knew Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion was going to reach the top spot here in the UK at some point. Since "WAP" was released, the song and video have gone viral and so it's no surprise that it's reigning at the top of the official UK singles chart. Rap and hip-hop aren't really my thing, but I can appreciate its lyrics at times and there are a few artists in the genre that I actually like and support. Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion come in hard for this track and I have to applaud them for how they've made their mark in what is considered to be a male-dominated genre. "WAP" samples Frank Ski's 1993 song "Whores In The House" and contains many sexual innuendos about how they wish to be pleased by men - which makes a change since for decades we've heard male rappers and hip-hop stars sing about women pleasing them, and it's great that Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion has flipped the script with this release. To see such a song go viral and chart highly all around the world is a massive feat and has to be applauded.
The accompanying music video, directed by the one and only Colin Tilley, is flat-out incredible. There's so much power in every single scene and it's such a clever concept considering the lyrics. If this was a male song about women pleasing men, you can imagine the visuals - because we've seen it a hundred times before - and so creating a reversal music video would've been the most typical music video and yet it wouldn't have quite the effect (plus we've seen such music videos from other female artists in the past); instead, Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion bring confidence, sass, and self-awareness of their bodies and their needs. They bat out the choreography with no problems and continue to be sexy, sultry, and sensual. There's a scene where Kylie Jenner walks down the corridor, and it's such a moment because there's so much self-empowerment in the way she walks that captures all our attention. Normani, Rosalía, Mulatto, Rubi Rose, and Sukihana, all make appearances, mainly as dance scenes, showing their fierceness and self-empowerment.
Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion make an incredible and unforgettable statement with this music video and those who criticise the music video for its sexually explicit content need to look at themselves and complain about the hundreds of much-worse music videos by male artists that go back decades upon decades. This is on-point from start to finish and sexually-charged in a good way; it makes quite the statement, and we need more female empowerment in this world, for sure!
On Friday, it was announced that Jason Derulo and Jawsh 685 had made it to the top of the UK singles chart with their single "Savage Love (Laxed - Siren Beat)", the song of which had become extremely popular on the video streaming app, TikTok. The app has really taken over when it comes to the chart, with many of the songs being used becoming successful. This track has quite a bit of controversial drama surrounding it as Jawsh 685 originally released the track, titled "Laxed (Siren Beat)", instrumentally, which is the track that became popular on TikTok; and, he later reached out to a variety of well-known stars, to remix the track, one of whom was Jason Derulo - who leaked his version in the hopes of being the one to release the official remix. I guess it worked in his favour and, regardless, the song became a hit.
I always forget how incredible Jason Derulo's voice is until he releases a new song, he's such a diverse artist and extremely versatile and it's great to hear him showcasing his vocal prowess on this track. Instrumentally, it's addicting, and it's no surprise that this blew up on TikTok, but Jason Derulo's vocals certainly make the song.
There's not a whole lot going on in the music video, we're in an era where quarantine videos are the norm, and I'm sure there's been plenty of music videos in the past that are absolutely brilliant and still could be done under the same restrictions as we have right now. I was hoping this would've been a lot better, especially since the song was planned to become a success. We just watch Jason Derulo in the studio, singing the song and grooving to the beat. I don't really have a lot to comment on, in some of the scenes he is shirtless, but throughout you can tell how much he likes this song, and that's what really matters... I just wish there was more to this, it really is quite forgettable.
With the relaunch of my blog, I've decided to keep my Chart Mondays review, although I may have to switch up the rules for these reviews as the top-ten isn't as ever-changing as it used to be. DaBaby is number one this week with the song "Rockstar" featuring Roddy Ricch and since he previously got to number one, I'll probably write up a catch-up review on it and backdate it, so I've decided to choose Tion Wayne who has collaborated with Dutchavelli and Stormzy for this track "I Dunno".
I've been avoiding this for one for some time as it has always ranked highly in the UK Top 10; however, it's dropping down, and since this is a backdated blog, I do know that it will drop out in a couple of weeks. At the time of this backdated blog, Drake is at number one with "God's Plan" and so that opens up the UK Top 10 to my Chart Mondays review, hence why I chose this. The song has done incredibly well, just missing out on the top position for weeks. It is a catchy song, but it's not my sort of thing, which also explains why I've been avoiding it; I am so far behind on my blog, it is now getting ridiculous, but I'm not one to give up, at all. Watch Ramz spend time with his lover around London as he sings his song after visiting a barber's shop to get his hair done in this music video for "Barking".
Ramz, real name Ramone Rochester, is an English rapper from London, who went to the University of Plymouth to study Sports Development before dropping out to focus on his music career. This track is his official debut single, and what a way to launch in the music world. He has released a few other follow-up singles that haven't managed to chart. This song clearly did go viral, it managed to chart at number two in the UK, number four in Germany, and number eight in Ireland. The main question is whether he can gain another hit, or he could just be a one-hit wonder. "Barking" was written by Ramone Rochester.
The music video starts off with a narrative but includes a prominent performance piece throughout. It was filmed predominantly in Barking, London, and features a wide range of co-stars and extras. His love interest isn't named, as far as I can tell, so if you know who the actress is, feel free to comment her name below.
There's not a lot to this music video to be fair, but it is wholly related to the song. Ramz fully brings it to the performance side of things, expressing a relaxed style whilst nailing it with his energy.
The song is titled "Barking", so of course it is set in Barking, London and this is made clear throughout the video. There's complete relation to the lyrics at times, including his teeth. The opening scene seems unrelatable since his friends peer-pressure him into having a line put into his hair.
The narration seems cute as we see him meeting up with his girl and taking her out on a date. There's nothing else to this music video though, and I can't really fault it, apart from him not really explaining the opening scene, and the narration kind of needs to be fleshed out a little bit more. The music video is now the most-watched video on GRM Daily - the YouTube Channel that the music video was released on.
