I used to be a massive fan of Justin Timberlake, but my love of his music certainly fell as time went on, and I'm glad it did since I do not like this song, or it's accompanying music video. He's made quite the comeback this year, but it falls short. He is one of the top male singers in the whole world, and yet his latest music hasn't quite slammed the charts as his past tracks have done. Watch Justin Timberlake present to the world the first dancing robot that copies his moves on stage in this futuristic music video for "Filthy".
Justin Timberlake released this track as the first single from his new album, which is his first in five years. Usually, if an artist has waited so long to release an album, you would expect a brilliant collection of tracks. However, he doesn't meet our expectations when it comes to this album, and it really does make us miss his previous tracks. He came back with the awesome "Can't Stop This Feeling", last year which got us all excited about new music, yet this all just falls short, in my opinion. Since his latest singles haven't hit the charts hard, it just shows I'm not the only one who thinks this. However, there's bound to be a surge soon as he performed at the Super Bowl's LII halftime show. This song was written by Justin Timberlake, Larrance Dopson, James Fauntleroy, Floyd Nathaniel Hills, and Timothy Mosley.
Directed by Mark Romanek, the music video is set in 2028 at the Pan-Asian Deep Learning Conference at Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. He takes inspiration from Steve Jobs and presents his new creation, this robot. He pulls off the geeky-look effortlessly whilst still remaining professional.
This is quite on the freaky side, it reminds me so much of iRobot and all the other robot films where it just doesn't turn out all that great. I keep expecting something to happen every single time I watch this music video, but all we are watching is a dancing robot.
There is a slight twist at the end, but rather than the robot deciding to think for itself and kill everyone, we have Justin Timberlake disappearing from existence. He really is a holographic image! It's an interesting concept of a music video, which becomes slightly relatable to the song as the dancing continues; however, they should've done more with it, there's nothing to keep the audience entertained unless your a robot fanatic and cannot wait to see what this robot does next. Nope, that's not me.
There wasn't much choice for my Thursday Revisit, I had planned to do a donkeyboy music video review, but they're all meaningful which will mean I'd have to go into great detail; and, since I am on a catch-up spree for this blog, I need easy visuals to review. So, taking that on board, I chose "SOS" by Rihanna as it isn't really a memorable music video, and certainly one that allows me to keep detail to a minimum. Watch Rihanna dance through these visuals as she acts sexily in some of the scenes in this music video for her song "SOS".
Rihanna, real name Robyn Fenty, launched on the scene in 2005. This song was her first single from her second studio album in 2006. It charted well globally and continued her success. She's now one of the top female artists in the industry with a whole host of chart hits, notable singles, incredible albums, and amazing awards; she truly is unstoppable. This song is such a jam now, still to this day, which shows that she really can release some incredible tracks. The song contains a sample of "Tainted Love", which was written by Ed Cobb, and was made famous by Soft Cell. It was originally given to Christina Milian, who turned it down, so it was later given to Rihanna. "SOS" was written by J.R. Rotem, E. Kidd Bogart, and Ed Cobb.
Directed by Chris Applebaum, the music video is a pure performance visual, which showcases Rihanna in various scenes and locations. She certainly knows how to give fuel to the song in the visual, giving an infectious energy that was definitely needed for the song.
We start off with her in a low-cut green dress that matches the tropical plants behind her. This scene later becomes iconic from Rihanna's back-catalogue of music videos - everyone remembers what she wore. The other scenes get lost, there's the one where she's wearing a glittered skirt and a ripped white vest as she dances flirtatiously with a man.
Then there's the mirrored room, which was certainly all-the-range back then. In this scene, Rihanna gives legs for days. Mirrored rooms have been used so many times in the past, it's no surprise to see it in one of Rihanna's videos. There are also other dance scenes that show that she can really move and follow choreography perfectly, yet there isn't enough emphasis on those scenes since they're short and sweet. Clearly, they decided to show off her sexy shots more than her dance technical ability.
Overall, the music video isn't all that memorable apart from the green dress scene. It could have been so much better. I can't help but laugh at the Nokia 3250 that she uses - why did I not know about that phone? And, why did I not have one of those when I was younger? I thought I had seen it all, but I was not expecting Rihanna to twist the bottom - I so would've had this as a child if I had known about it. Still, it's an okay music video, but I expected something so much better.
When I'm struggling to choose a music video to review, I always resort to Fergie as she is the first reason I am so behind on my blog. She released a music video for each of her songs on the Double Duchessalbum, which I covered for CelebMix, every single one of them, including this one. If that wasn't bad enough, as I was catching up, INNA decided to drop a new single a day in promotion of her album Nirvana. I have been playing catch-up ever since - and I will catch up. This song has actually had two music videos, the first one was taken down due to, we believe, explicit content; so this version was released instead. Watch skateboarders have a wild time riding the streets; as the ending draws near, Joanne The Scammer helps out the female skater in this music video for Fergie's "Tension".
Fergie, real name Fergie Duhamel and previously Stacy Ferguson, recently came back with an iconic second studio album, titled Double Duchess. It's one of my favourite albums of 2017 and certainly underrated in a whole host of ways. It really shows Fergie off as a brilliant versatile artist. This is one of my favourites from the album; actually, I love all of the tracks on their own - they all are really that good. This one is rhythmically catchy and one I could see DJs picking up and remixing brilliantly. It was written by Fergie Duhamel, Justin Tranter, Diana Gordon (Wynter Gordon), and Alessandro Lindblad (Alesso).
Directed by Fatima Robinson, this music video doesn't have a lot going for it. To be fair, I much prefer this one over the first music video. The first one was following three women as they attended a festival, and although the song is perfect for festival season, this one is more interesting to viewers.
We watch a female skater walk into a skate shop and buy a skateboard. She then launches out on to the road, rolling away. Soon enough, she starts doing foot dance moves while the board is moving; keeping us entertained throughout.
As the video continues, we jump over to a male skater, who is doing the same thing on his skateboard. They meet up and continue to do dance-like moves on the skateboards, together. They reach a hill, and he passes her a helmet, prepared to do some speed skating. She starts to go really fast but hits something and goes flying off - what she hits, we do not know, but if we slow down the video we can see a man dressed in black sitting on the road just slightly back from the skateboard. How did she not see him?
This is where Joanne The Scammer comes out and makes sure she is okay, proclaiming that if it wasn't for her lunch with Fergie she would show her how to 'bomb this hill'. She encourages the skater to get back on the skateboard and drive. The ending watches Joanne The Scammer walk up the hill.
Overall, it's a nice gentle music video, one I find much better than the first music video. However, it also has no substance to it and although I absolutely adore the song, I feel the music video just doesn't relate or work with the track itself. It is entertaining and Joanne The Scammer adds some great comedy towards the end, but it could've been a better visual.
This song came up on my iTunes which I always have on random, and I just had to review it; it was on one of my compilation albums that I own. To my surprise, Kiesza is an uncredited vocalist and even appears in the music video; I certainly was not expecting that. Even though I was aware that she had uncredited vocals on a track, I didn't identify which one it was exactly - and here she is. This was definitely a great collaboration, that deserves so much more attention, although I don't really get this music video. Watch Kiesza walk amongst the streets of London and strike dance poses at the frontman of donkeyboy, Cato Sundberg, in this music video for "Triggerfinger".
donkeyboy is a Norwegian synth-pop band consisting of Cato Sundberg, Karl Sundberg, Peter Michelsen, and Thomas Drabløs. Their debut album "Caught In A Life" charted well in their home country as well as in the Nordic countries. Their singles hit it big in Norway, from their debut "Ambitions", which hit number one, to "City Boy" in 2011 which also hit the top spot. Their following singles haven't done quite so well, but their recent album "Lost" which was released in 2016 managed Top 20 in Norway, so they're still a band who are on form and current, with the potential of huge success - it only takes one song, as we know. Uncredited as a vocalist is Canadian singer-songwriter Kiesza, real name Kiesa Ellestad. She hit it big around the world with debut single "Hideaway" a year later. Her follow-up singles did well in the UK and Belgium, with her debut album charting all around the world. She's recently collaborated with Pitbull, and is apparently working on a new album; I sure hope so as I'm desperate for new music from her. The song was written by Kiesa Rae Ellestad, Kent Sundberg, Carlo Sundberg, Espen Berg, and Simen Eriksrud.
Directed by Bjørn Opsahl, the music video was filmed in London, and it's definitely on the weird side. It is a performance piece set within a narrative. The song opens up with an infectious beat and Cato Sundberg's amazing vocals while he is sitting in a taxi cab.
That's when we spot Kiesza, sometimes she's behind draped curtains, but she's mainly spotted on the London streets. Everything's fine until she strikes a dance pose for no apparent reason. We also see the frontman of donkeyboy on the phone in a telephone box.
Overall, this music video doesn't go anywhere. At the end, we see both of them on the same street, in one shot they are both leaning on the same traffic-light post, but Kiesza soon disappears again, with a final shot on her balcony. Their performance side of things really prevents this visual from getting one star.
Usually, I hate this specific week of the whole entire year and the week after, purely because most artists don't release new music, let alone music videos. Luckily, for me, Loïc Nottet has come through (this blog post is backdated if you haven't already guessed). It is a Christmas-spirited music video and song, with it being a full-out piano ballad. This is certainly one of those songs that will grow on me, I automatically like every single Loïc Nottet song, but this just feels average compared to his previous tracks. Watch Loïc Nottet and Justine Vercleven dance together while the former sings at what looks like a piano in this music video for his song "Go To Sleep".
Loïc Nottet is mainly known internationally for coming fourth in the Eurovision Song Contest 2015, where he represented his home country of Belgium with the song "Rhythm Inside"; he scored 217 points. Previously, he came second in the third season of The Voice Belgique. That's not the only talent shows he has been on, after Eurovision, he went on to win the sixth series of Danse avec les stars (the French version of Dancing With The Stars / Strictly Come Dancing). He released his debut album last year, titled "Selfocracy" and I chose it as my favourite album of 2017 for CelebMix - make sure you check out what other albums made the CelebMix Top 2017 Albums, the article I wrote up. I can only hope that the release of this single suggests he's working on new music for 2018. This song was written by Loïc Nottet and Eric Chevet.
Directed by Sidney Van Wichelen, this music video is displayed almost like a vertical music video, containing the imagery into a box, reminding us of when TVs used to be square.
There is a performance piece and a narrative going on. The performance side of things see Loïc Nottet singing into a camera, we can presume he is sitting at a piano, playing the song, with the camera propped up on the piano so we just see him. It's quite a different performance piece but allows focus on the dance narrative being displayed.
Together, Loïc Nottet and Justine Vercleven work brilliantly as a dance duo. They have been in a romantic relationship for years, and their passion for each other is very clear. They perform on a bench in front of a Christmas tree. The choreography is flat out amazing and totally on point, although eagle-eyed fans did notice that it was a similar dance choreography that they performed previously in a video to Elvis Presley's "Can't Help Falling In Love".
Overall, this music video is completely loving and perfect for Christmas time. I like how the song isn't a typical Christmas song, and instead brings something lovely to the table. The music video is all right, but nothing as epic as what Loïc Nottet has previously released! I don't get why it's a square music video. This is nowhere near as great as "Million Eyes" or "Mud Blood", even "Doctor" is better than this; but this certainly is love-filled.
Here is Thursday Revisit, and since I didn't think I'll ever get the chance to review another Modjo music video, I thought why not choose this one? I previously reviewed "Lady (Hear Me Tonight)" earlier in the week, hence why I'm reviewing this one for my Thursday Revisit. I actually have a slight memory of it, but the song wasn't to my taste so I don't think I ever watched the video all the way through; although, I have a slight recollection of the track, or maybe it's just the similar groovy vibes? Watch a bowling competition take place between two teams, while there is a disco ball head man dancing and Modjo working at the bowling alley in this music video for their song "Chillin'".
Modjo were a French DJ duo consisting of Romain Tranchart and Yann Destagnoi (also known as Yann Destal). They only released an album before parting ways. This song became their second single and had moderate success in some countries, clearly riding the "Lady (Hear Me Tonight)" wave. Unfortunately, it didn't live up to their debut single and was certainly the start of their downfall. The songs certainly have similar vibes, with this one focusing much more on the fun side of things lyrically, whereas the debut single was filled with much more emotion. The song hit number three in Finland, number four in Spain, number ten in Switzerland, and number 12 in the UK; which just goes to show this didn't live up to the first song. The song was written by Romain Tranchart, Yann Destagnoi, Nile Rodgers, and Bernard Edwards. It samples Chic's "Le Freak", hence the songwriters.
Directed by Yannis Mangematin, this music video was set in a bowling alley. It opens up with a dancing man with a mirror disco ball as a head, backed up by two female dancers. This precedes the bowling competition.
This was way back when bowling was all the range and something everyone did. Nowadays, the bowling alleys are pretty empty which brings a much different atmosphere when attending. We watch as each player is knocked out, leaving the top two players; one team is wearing masks. Yet, it's the other team that wins, after being distracted by one of the female dancers.
The ending sees a party going on, and many people have spotted the young woman from the "Lady (Hear Me Tonight)" music video. Not only that, Modjo also make another appearance, this time as staff of the bowling alley. The music video doesn't really go anywhere, although does create some hype and tension around the bowling competition. It feels unrelated to the song though.
I really am looking to YouTube to come up with music videos I can review quickly so I can finally catch up, since I am 25 blogs behind, at the moment - I am determined to catch up, and I will. I was planning on doing Spice Girls' "Spice Up Your Life", but that's already done, then I came across Lady Gaga's "Judas", but I think that music video is going to take up too much of my time, for now - I will review it at a much later date - so then I stumbled across this one, and I'm surprised I haven't reviewed it yet; although to be fair, it's one of Britney Spears' weakest music videos. Watch black-haired Britney Spears pole dance while blonde-haired Britney watches with amusement before checking out a guy in the bar, in this music video to "Gimme More".
Britney Spears needs no introduction, she's one of the top female singers in the entire world who still manages to get chart hits when she needs to. She has recently finished her Vegas residency, which has certainly led the way for many singers to take on Vegas residences after her first set of shows were completely sold out. Reverse back in time, though, and Britney Spears was hitting all the headlines as she went through some personal struggles, and this song and it's subsequent album was released around that time. This was certainly a new side of Britney Spears and the music video really shows that her head wasn't into it - same goes with the other video released from the Blackout album "Piece Of Me" ("Break The Ice" doesn't count since it is an animation visual). The song still climbed high on the charts, regardless of the negative critical reception the video and song got. It managed to peak at number one in Canada; number two in Brazil, Denmark, Ireland, Italy, and Sweden; and number three in Australia, Norway, the UK, and the US. The song was written by Nate Hills, James Washington, Keri Hilson, and Marcella Araica.
Directed by Jake Sarfaty, the music video is beyond basic and certainly isn't on par with what we expect from Britney Spears. Although, this song is certainly the beginning of "It's Britney, Bitch".
There's a slight narrative going on as we see blonde-haired Britney Spears enjoying a drink at a bar, whilst black-haired Britney Spears starts pole-dancing. Britney enjoys watching Britney's show before taking an interest in a guy who is also drinking within the venue.
The dancing isn't anything amazing, and to be fair I do pole dance much better than Britney Spears in this video when I go clubbing - as there is one venue with a pole on the dancefloor. She's quite methodical, clearly thinking about the steps she's taking and what she should do.
The music video was edited and re-edited, with a leak of the previous version being released in 2011. This version omitted the blonde-haired Britney scenes and included the female singer walking down the street and being in a zebra-print bed with a cat. It's clear that no matter what version was released and no matter how this was edited, it clearly couldn't have been saved. However, I much prefer this version, as it gives off a slight narrative that is relatable to the song itself; so, I guess it was a good decision to re-edit the video.
I'm totally on a Carla's Dreams fix at the moment with their addicting songs and interesting music videos. I wasn't sure I would like this as I heard a clip in a Global Records round-up of 2017, but it just stood out to me and as soon as I watched the video and the song in full, I fell in love with it completely. Carla's Dreams sure are making waves in the music industry, around the world. The anonymous group proves that you can have a great successful career as an anonymous group. Watch Carla's Dreams perform while contemporary dancers perform in a group translating the song into an incredible story for the song "Pana La Sange".
Carla's Dreams are a Moldovan anonymous group who have charted well in Romania and has collaborated with some of their best artists. Their music certainly has their stamp all over it and every single song is easily identifiable as Carla's Dreams; they seriously are bringing something new to the music industry in every way. This single was the lead single from their most recent album, titled "Antiexemplu"; and it sure has been popular. The song's title translates into English as "To The Blood". It was written by Carla's Dreams and Alexandru Cotoi.
Directed by Roman Burlaca, the music video has the main focus on the dance narrative, while Carla's Dreams performance is subtle and disinteresting - much like his previous performance pieces, allowing the dancers to fully show off their story.
The choreography is on point from start to finish. Working with water is never an easy task, but these dancers bring it in every way. Easily portraying a love/hate relationship, relating to the song perfectly.
What I don't like about the music video is the trance-like state it puts me in, and I don't mean it in a good way. The constant switching from a black background where the dancers are performing, to a stark-white background where Carla's Dreams is singing the song is off-putting and makes the audience blink too many times, in an attempt to keep up. It just doesn't work. However, putting that aside the awesome choreography makes up for everything.
This is certainly one of my favourite tracks from Amir's new album, titled "Addictions". This track was the lead single from the album, and the music video is quite bright and completely interesting. I haven't seen it until today, which is shocking since he was one of my favourite contestants from Eurovision 2016. It charted well in France, which is no surprise there, and it has over 13 million YouTube views. This video certainly relates to this song and people who don't understand what he is singing - including me - can understand from this visual. Watch Amir move into a house with his partner and then later have an argument, which then ends up with them making up in this loving music video for "États d'amour".
Amir, full name Amir Haddad, is best known for representing France in the Eurovision Song Contest 2016 with "J'ai cherché". He scored 257 points which put him sixth in the Grand Final. He later went on to collaborate with OneRepublic on the French version of their song "No Vacancy". His career is soaring up high in France, and his album did pretty well in France, Belgium, and Switzerland. I truly believe Eurovision helped him to launch his career and he's certainly one to watch. Before the contest, he auditioned for season three of The Voice: la plus belle voix where he placed third. This song charted at number 15 in France and even managed to hit number 14 on a Belgium chart. It was written by Amir Haddad, Renaud Rebillaud, and Nazim Khaled.
Directed by Francis Cutter with choreography coming from Kyf Ekamé, the music video stars Amir and his love interest, actress and dancer, Caroline Blot, moving in together. As the camera circles through various settings in this place that they're moving into, time moves on and we see their relationship unfold.
We watch as they move in, with a box and rearranging furniture. This then turns into setting up the house, with the product placement of Nordnet, and setting the table for a meal; to Caroline Blot getting ready in the mirror. It's all happiness and smiles with an energetic dance scene, full of love and cheerfulness, which is nailed by both Amir and Caroline Blot.
But things do take a turn for the worse. There's friction in the air which then intensifies into an explosion of sorts. They are clearly not enjoying each other's company anymore. The following choreography is angry and full of hatred, but still in a loving way, enough where they get over this tiff and continue on with their lives, happy to be together.
Overall, this music video easily relates to the lyrics of this song and manages to tell quite the story. There are performance scenes throughout that see Amir in a monologue-like scene expressing his feelings towards this song, bringing that extra special twist to the visual that is completely passionate in every way.
How have I not reviewed this yet? I just watched Top Of The Pops from Christmas Day (this is backdated to the 3rd December, so I am weeks behind at the moment - but I will catch up), and I seriously didn't know there was a music video to this song. RAYE and Jax Jones certainly brought it to the TOTP stage, although this music video certainly falls short in comparison. Watch a young girl dance around a house as RAYE sings the vocals to this amazingly catchy Jax Jones song "You Don't Know Me".
Jax Jones, real name Timucin Aluo, is a DJ from London who has certainly made some incredible waves in the music industry this year; no doubt 2018 will see plenty of hits and collaborations, and hopefully an album. He's released some amazing songs and worked with some big stars. Yet, it was this track which is his biggest solo hit, although I reckon it won't be the only one for long. This track features RAYE, real name Rachel Keen, who is certainly a rising star. She's released some catchy tracks and has received support from a whole range of stars. She's determined to make it in the music industry and you can't knock her for trying as she continues to drop amazing track after amazing track. Watch out for RAYE! This song samples M.A.N.D.Y. vs. Booka Shade's 2005 track "Body Language" hence the songwriting credits. "You Don't Know Me" was written by Walter Merziger, Arno Kammermeier, Peter Hayo, Patrick Bodmer, Uzoechi Emenike (MNEK), Phil D. Young, Timucin Aluno, Janee Bennett, and Rachel Keen.
Directed by Remy Cayuela, this music video stars a young girl of between 8 and 10 years old who dances around her house - this certainly takes us all back, we've all done this once in a while, haven't we?
There's nothing special about this, the young dancer is incredible in some of the dance sequences however at other times, it's quite average and childish. This would be okay if the song was a children's song, or a song aimed at children or even a song about children dancing, but it isn't.
RAYE appears in the background singing the song whilst relaxing, which loses any chance of a performance part of the music video - imagine going to see her live and see her just sitting there singing this song; yes, I know she wouldn't do that, but this literally just shows how beautiful she is.
The ending is comical to an extent as the girl breaks through to Jax Jones' home where he totally digs her dancing. Regardless, this doesn't work and I don't like it at all. I was going to give kudos for the Jax Jones appearance and the good dancing in some scenes, but upon second look, it's totally not worthy. It does get a few very small kudos for having the cereal box in the kitchen!
I am still behind on my blog, and it's all Fergie's fault for dropping new music video after new music video which I covered on CelebMix, including this one. Okay, so it's not all Fergie's fault; recently, as I was finally catching up, INNA decided to release a brand new single every day of the week for seven days, which I also covered for CelebMix around my usual articles. I am flat-out right now, but that doesn't stop me intending to catch up on my blog, especially since I have been nominated for a UK Blog Award, don't forget to vote for me. Now, I'm not so keen on this music video, and thought it'll be an easy one for me to cover as I attempt to catch up. Watch Fergie showered and covered in glitter as Denna Thomsen turns the song into an epheral dance sequence in this interesting music video for "Love Is Pain" as part of the Double Dutchess: Visual Experience.
Fergie, full name Fergie Duhamel and previously known as Stacy Ferguson, is best known as being the sole female member of The Black Eyed Peas. She released her second studio album this year, to various critical reviews - personally, I absolutely loved it, check out my CelebMix review. The album really shows her versatility as an artist and should definitely help her pave way to an exciting future. This song is the last track on the album and it is incredible by itself because of how much of a personal track it is, although there are much better songs on the album - to be honest. The song was written by Fergie Duhamel and Toby Gad.
Directed by Nina McNeely, this music video is definitely full of glitter, blood, dancing, emotion, and grit. Fergie sure knows how to perform, and boy does she do just that. She's full of performance vibes and every single word of this song really manages to hit home. It resonates deeply with every listener.
However, it's not all great. There's really not a lot going on, and although Denna Thomsen is incredible in interpreting the song into an interesting dance routine, it feels like there's no substance to it. This would've worked so much better if it was Fergie doing the dancing, instead the constant switching between Fergie and Denna Thomsen manages to throw some of the emotion away.
Overall, this music video should've been better, but considering the incredible videos that are also a part of the Double Dutchess: Visual Experience, all can be forgiven for this one. It is highly emotional, both the song and the music video, but Fergie brings it like no one else can and that really pushes Denna Thomsen's visuals into the background.
I wasn't sure what music video to review today; and, since BTS has certainly proved that they are a force to be reckoned with, pushing k-pop into international mainstream music; it's about time they made it on to my blog. They continue to release songs that get everyone enjoying. The BTS Army - their fans - are sure making waves all around the world as they continue to support BTS in every single way, and it's admiring how they've managed to become an international chart-successful group. Watch BTS take us to the galaxy whilst they show off their incredible dancing in this universe inspired music video for their song "DNA".
BTS are a seven-piece boy group from South Korea, consisting of Jin, Suga, J-Hope, RM, Jimin, V, and Jungkook. The group was formed by Big Hit Entertainment and they released their debut single in 2013. Since then, they have been building their fanbase, determined on making a global impact, and they sure have done that. BTS are the group to watch as they bring k-pop into mainstream music with the intention of keeping it there and truly allowing it be a genre flooding charts and radio. This is not one of those one-off singles, k-pop is finally here to stay, truly and properly. This song managed to chart all over the world, including my home country of the UK. "DNA" was written by Pdogg, Supreme Boi, "hitman" Bang, Suga, and Rap Monster (RM).
The music video was directed by YongSeok Choi. It shows enhanced images of DNA whilst the guys perform choreography that mimics the chemical structure of the molecule. It uses CGI-enhanced sets that really emphasise BTS in every way. Their performance piece is so on-point, there's no way I can fault them on their dancing.
Just wow! This group sure knows how to put on a show. Just imagine the amazing energy they would bring on stage at one of their gigs or live shows. They're all in such perfect sync and they literally go all out. The choreography is completely complex, to the extent that I reckon high-profiled artists would not be able to pull that off. If it was just them performing, then it'll certainly be getting my maximum five stars.
However, the scenes aren't easy to follow and the whole thing comes off as a bright explosion whilst being completely quirky, and not in a good way. It is addicting, enough to put anyone into a trance, but it doesn't follow anything, making it quite confusing to any viewer - I guess DNA itself can be confusing to those who don't understand it. BTS are on form, and I can't wait to see their world domination intention become reality because I am so ready.
Now, how have I not reviewed this yet? My favourite collaboration in the whole world and the song is such a jam too! Well, it's time I rectify this and write up a review of this music video. The song is a killer but it nearly didn't get released, as it was originally an Inna song, with her singing slightly different lyrics, it was "from Argentina to Mexico", but it obviously got changed for this collaboration - to be fair it does feel more like an Alexandra Stan song. It works well as a collaboration and certainly brings the fire. Many people referred to it as the Romanian answer to Shakira & Rihanna's "Can't Remember To Forget You". Watch Alexandra Stan and Inna wear sexy clothes as the perform this song and knock out some killer choreography, whilst Daddy Yankee performs a segment in this music video for "We Wanna".
Alexandra Stan is one of the biggest female Romanian artists around at the moment, she went viral with her song "Mr Saxobeat" which charted all around the world, she hasn't managed to follow through with that success with any of her follow-up songs, although most of them are flat-out amazing and catchy in every way - just take a listen and you'll have no choice but to agree. This collaboration sees another top Romanian female artist perform the song alongside her. Inna, real name Elena Alexandra Apostoleanu, is a worldwide artist and has over two billion views on YouTube. She has fans in countries all around the world and rose to fame with hit singles "Hot", "Amazing" and "Sun Is Up". She's collaborated with big stars and hit it big again with "More Than Friends", "Cola Song", and "Good Time". Yet, it's her latest singles that have risen to the top with "Gimme Gimme" and "Ruleta" having over 100 million YouTube views. I am waiting for the day she has a global chart hit in every country - it's bound to happen sometime soon. They later collaborated together, again, on G Girls' "Call The Police". Featuring on this track is Daddy Yankee, real name Ramón Rodríguez, who is one of the biggest latino singers around, he's hit it big a number of times, most notably with "Gasolina" and extremely recently with "Despacito". This time, he's bound to stay on form and hit out chart single after chart single. This song should've been a worldwide hit; disappointingly so, it only charted in a few countries, turning this into a treasured hit by many. The song was written by Ramón Ayala, Jacob Luttrell, Andreas Schuller, and Thomas Troelsen.
Directed by Khaled Mokhtar, Dimitri Caceaune, and David Gal, this music video is another performance piece from Romanian artists Alexandra Stan and Inna, as well as Puerto Rican artist Daddy Yankee. However, the female singers switch it up by actually performing a dance sequence. Yes, Alexandra Stan and Inna are actually dancing in this visual.
The visual starts off with a Lenovo phone ringing, suggesting that the song's backing track would be perfect as a ringtone. Someone flips the phone over and answers the call from Alexandra Stan - could this possibly be Inna's phone?
We then flit over to a close up of a chandelier and various other shots as the collaboration between Alexandra Stan and Inna truly begins. This song combines the Saxobeats and the Club Rockers, making both fandoms very happy that their dreams of a duet is finally here.
The following scenes see both artists perform the song in various outfits and settings. Alexandra Stan is overly sexualised, to the extent where all eyes are on her. I hate most of the outfits she is wearing, and she just comes across too much of a try-hard. Inna, on the other hand, is more reserved in her fashion choices and certainly comes off a lot better. My favourite performance segment, apart from the dancing scene, is totally Inna's stage scene. Although each scene, from each of the artists, are pure fire, these women sure know how to bring the energy.
As for Daddy Yankee, he clearly filmed his segment somewhere else, but the constant switching from scenes makes it feel like he was actually there. He brings the same amount of energy throughout whilst Alexandra Stan and Inna prepare for their dance battle and choreographed sequence - this is the scene that grabs us all.
Overall, this song is a complete banger of a tune - it should've been a worldwide hit. The accompanying music video is overly sexualised, although it looks like Alexandra Stan and Inna had loads of fun during the party at the end, and it sure gains kudos for their dance sequence, which is pure fire. Both these artists need to do full-on choreography in one of their upcoming music videos because they are certainly more than capable. It's also nice to see Daddy Yankee break up the song with his segment. A perfect song and a pretty great video.
Okay, time to kill me now... Can you believe I've never seen this music video? Yeah, I know, I know. It's the most watched video on YouTube at the moment, and I still haven't seen it. Well, this week I'm having a Daddy Yankee addiction, and I cannot believe I haven't covered this on my blog - mainly because the Justin Bieber remix made it go global and I kept on hoping that version would get a music video, but it never did. This version, surprisingly, is a bit different to the remix and it is very noticeable. Watch Luis Fonsi and Daddy Yankee perform in La Perta neighbourhood and the bar La Factoría in San Juan, Puerto Rico in this music video for the global international hit song "Despacito".
Luis Fonsi, real name Luis López-Cepero, is a world-renowned Latin-pop singer, who's mainly known for this song due to its popularity. It literally blew up and then Justin Bieber adding his vocals to the remix certainly launched this song into a worldwide hit. Luis Fonsi has been in the music industry since the late 90's and has certainly proved that hard work and persistence definitely pays off. Finally, he's now known all around the globe. He definitely deserves it, especially looking at his contributions to music over the years. All it takes is that one song to launch someone. He's been hitting Latin charts for many years, though. Featuring on this track is Daddy Yankee, real name Ramón Rodríguez. He's the one who hit charts hard with "Gasolina" but didn't keep the chart hits although he certainly made a name for himself. This collaboration pushed him right back into the spotlight, although he's been trying to do so for many years; only this time Daddy Yankee is here to stay, that's for sure. With the release of this song, Latin-Pop has returned to charts around the world, it's popular once again and it's not going anywhere at all. The song was written by Luis Rodríguez, Erika Ender, and Ramón Ayala.
Directed by Carlos Perez, this music video really hasn't got a lot to it, surprisingly! I was so expecting an incredible music video in every way, one that will amaze and shock me, especially since it's the most watched video on YouTube at the moment. Why is this not incredible, it's completely mediocre - people need to watch better music videos.
Starring in the music video is Miss Universe 2006 winner Zuleyka Rivera. We watch her walk the neighbourhood and act sexily, whilst Luis Fonsi and Daddy Yankee bring energetic performance vibes, ones we totally expect to see on stage, one day.
If anything, Luis Fonsi impresses as he takes on some of the choreography throughout, although it's only a step or two whereas the backing dancers go all out. The music video ends with them in a popular bar as the song finishes.
Overall, there's nothing much to this music video, it's a typical Latin-Pop performance visual, with nothing exciting to keep us entertained; well, unless you count that one risque dance move that will shock anyone watching this for the first time. I was expecting something so much better than this average video, that's for sure.
Gosh, I've had this song stuck in my head all day! To be fair, you can't really blame me, as it certainly is catchy. I'm delighted to have found the music video, although it is just a stage performance music video, so nothing special whatsoever. Watch Miley Cyrus perform as Hannah Montana and sing "Old Blue Jeans" in front of a crowd during a gig in this music video.
Hannah Montana was a TV series that ran between 2006 and 2011 on the Disney Channel, which saw Miley Cyrus take on lead character Miley Stewart, who lives a double life as an average school girl and a famous recording artist called Hannah Montana. I have never seen a single episode of this series - since I did not have the Disney Channel at the time - but I did see the movie, which was pretty good. There are many catchy songs that have come from the TV show, this certainly being one of them. It later led to some of the songs charting in some countries as Miley Cyrus' own music career launched. The song was never released as an official single, but it did get this music video. "Old Blue Jeans" was written by Michael Bradford and Pam Sheyne.
This is just a concert music video. A pure performance visual, obviously. It really does leave me with little to say. Although, it's clear the audience fully enjoyed the show throughout.
As expected, Miley Cyrus brings it dressed as Hannah Montana; and just like the song she is wearing a hell of a lot of denim, although she's not wearing some old blue jeans, that's for sure.
There's a lot of energy being spread in the music video as they perform with instruments and the dancers are full of life. It really does transcend perfectly to the audience.
Although this is a good gig music video, they so could have given this song a much better visual. There's so much good energy and as a gig music video, it isn't so bad but still could've been better.
I am still behind on my blog, and it's all CelebMix's fault for being slow, it's Fergie's fault for dropping a new music video each day, and recently, it's INNA's fault for dropping a new promotional single a day. Regardless, I'm determined to catch up on my blog, eventually - I will catch up, I promise. So, here is another Chart Mondays, backdated to 20 November 2017, where Camila Cabello is still at number one with "Havana" featuring Young Thug - she's still at the top spot right now - so it opens the top ten to my review, and Mabel has been inside for some time, and is at number ten on this day, about to drop out fully. Watch Mabel and Kojo Funds dance in a low-light club as they perform their collaborative song "Finders Keepers".
Mabel, full name Mabel McVey, is a Swedish singer who was born in Spain, and currently lives in the UK. She is the daughter of Neneh Cherry and Cameron McVey. She has released mixtapes, EPs, and various singles, clearly leading up to an album, eventually. This song is her only hit to date, although I reckon she'll have another one as the years go by. She's confident, sassy, and clearly in love with her music and we get all that from this clip alone. I definitely suggest you keep an eye on Mabel as she builds up her career. The song features Kojo Funds, who is an emerging rapper from London. He's definitely creating his own waves in the industry, collaborating with some of the best artists. I reckon we'll be hearing from him a lot more in the future. The song was written by Mabel McVey, Jordan D. Reid, Marlon Roudette, Errol Bellot, and Steven Marsden.
Directed by Savanah Leaf, this music video is a pure performance visual that contains a lot of dancing. It has a current grime feel to it, and the club sure emulates that in every way.
There really isn't a lot going on in the visual. Mabel brings it when she's singing the song, but she looks like she's more interested in clubbing and dancing with the dancers and Kojo Funds, rather than actually sending the song out to the viewers in the visual.
The dancing is freestyle throughout with no choreography whatsoever, it's not impressive and doesn't bring anything to the table. It's all relaxed and just comes off simple. I feel some clips are repeated, and there's just nothing to this. Kojo Funds adds great energy at the start of the video, but it's just not enough.
I've kind of had an Alex Aiono addiction on my blog recently since I went to see him live at his London gig for CelebMix. So, I thought I might as well continue reviewing his music videos, especially since he impressed at the O2 Academy 2 Islington when I was there. He didn't sing this song, or maybe he did and I didn't clock it. Either way, I love this song and music video, it has an addicting side to it the more you listen. Watch Alex Aiono perform this track whilst two sets of dancers are controlled by Feder in this music video for "Lordly".
Feder, real name Hadrien Federiconi, is a French DJ who has had a few successful hits, this track totally being one of them, although it's his debut "Goodbye" featuring Lyse that really launched him and gave him his first international hit. He's certainly one to keep your eye on as he brings out more addicting tracks that we all can't get enough of. The feature on this song is Alex Aiono, who has pretty much been making waves within the music industry. He's prepared to release a fully-fledged global hit, one that's clearly on the cards soon enough - especially with his massive following and considering the awesome songs he has dropped to date. This song did manage to chart in many countries. It was written by Hadrien Federiconi and Tienus Konijnenburg.
Directed by Kristian Young, this music video is quite theatrical - much like the backing track of this song. It definitely has a dark theme going on, especially since Feder acts as quite an evil character, controlling two sets of contemporary dancers.
It's almost as if the dancers are battling it out to win some sort of prize, and during some of the scenes, it looks like Feder has to choose between them. Regardless he is definitely controlling them with his writing, or spinning of a coin, or via the cards at the start. Once the coin stops spinning, the dancers all fall to the floor.
The contemporary dancing is on point throughout, with all four dancers impressing to no end. The routine is mighty complex and easily emulates the beat of the track. As for Alex Aiono, he brings quite a relaxed energy to his performance piece, which is a contrast to the dancers, and slightly disappointing.
Overall, this music video would've been much better if it had made a little bit more sense. It's like they've built this entire concept but not revealed it so the viewers are left confused. It's a solid track though and one that I'll definitely be listening to again and again.
This hot new collaboration was released on the 17 November 2017, and therefore is acting as my New Release for this backdated date. It's quite the team-up, one we all can't help but love, especially since Latin music is extremely popular right now. The song is dead catchy with ex-summer vibes displayed throughout; however, it feels like they've transformed the track into a eurodance anthem and it just feels like it's trying that little bit too hard; regardless it is fire! Watch Luis Fonsi and Demi Lovato come together in this fired-up dance music video which sees them perform together for the song "Échame La Culpa".
Luis Fonsi, real name Luis López-Cepero, is from Puerto Rico and is best known for his worldwide hit "Despacito" which was a collaboration with Daddy Yankee, and was later remixed with vocals from Justin Bieber. It blew up all around the world, grabbing many number ones in various countries. It has certainly launched Luis Fonsi as an international artist, one we're all keeping our eyes on. He has been in music since the late 90's which is truly remarkable and shows that perseverance really does lead to international fame. In comparison, Demi Lovato has certainly not been in music for as long, but she is one of the rising female artists in the world, one we're all aware of and constantly listening to, so this duet was definitely the perfect collab. It just feels like it's been released a little too late, Latin music always brings the summer sunshine, but it's now winter, and this doesn't have the winter-feel to it. In English "Échame La Culpa" means "Put The Blame On Me". It was written by Luis Fonsi, Alejandro Rengifo, Mauricio Rengifo, and Andrés Torres.
Directed by Carlos R. Perez, the music video has a lot of Latin vibes to it, working well with Spanglish song. Demi Lovato's clipped Spanish isn't so bad but after a few plays, you realise she's not fluent in Spanish at all - which we already knew.
This is more of a performance piece more than anything. Luis Fonsi and Demi Lovato start off with intercut scenes, she's in a bedroom, lying on a bed, whilst he's in an alleyway, walking down some stairs - he looks hot in those trousers whilst she looks hot throughout the entire visual. They talk on the phone, saying "Hey", before hitting the club where they dance the night away.
Their performance pieces are on fire, and you can expect an entertaining show with both these amazing artists on stage at a gig. Luis Fonsi brings it a little more than what Demi Lovato does, and he manages to get more video time. The elevator sure is a main visual that we presume takes us to the club, although we're not sure how Demi Lovato gets there.
Overall this music video would've worked a lot better if there had been a narrative or we had at least seen how Demi Lovato went from the bedroom to the club. She seems awkward in her dancing at the venue whilst everyone else bats out brilliant choreography. She does bring it to the performance piece, though. As for Luis Fonsi, he practically saves the whole video from completely falling apart.
This music video is completely awesome, and that is why I'm covering it on my blog today, even though I'm going to have to deal with this awkward title that I can't possibly type out on my English keyboard - why do I always make it difficult for myself. This track is addicting, but it's the music video that really allows this Eurovision 2017 singer to shine. It excites me, as it proves he has a bright future in every way. Watch Kristian Kostov perform, dance, and act alongside an actress as they transform his new song into a stunning visual in this music video for "Ты мой огонь".
Kristian Kostov is best known for coming second in the Eurovision Song Contest 2017 with his song "Beautiful Mess"; he represented Bulgaria and scored 615 points. That certainly launched him internationally, but before then he appeared on Golos. Deti (The Voice Kids Russia) where he got to the finals coming joint fourth. Not long after that, he competed in The X Factor Bulgaria, once again he got to the finals and came second overall. He's been a big hit in Bulgaria and has had a couple of hit singles. His Eurovision song sure launched him as an artist, but he has since released songs in his home language of Russian, just like this one. "Ты мой огонь" means "You Are My Fire" in English and regardless of the fact that I don't understand a word he is singing, the song is beyond catchy and shows exactly why he deserves to be an international star. The song was written by Vadim Igorevich Bulaev, and Daniel Kostov.
Directed by Vasil Stefanov, this music video has a lot of Nick Jonas and Tove Lo "Close" vibes going on, but in a more warped sense. There is a clear connection between the pair, but they don't quite get together, almost like they're playing the game, just like the lyrics suggest.
It's really clever the way they've managed to interpret the lyrics and made this addicting visual - I only know this as I used a rough Google Translation of the lyrics to understand what Kristian Kostov was singing.
The dancing is on point throughout, and it is amazing to see Kristian Kostov fully nail the routine. The choreographer was Milen Dankov and he also came up with the concept that really makes this whole thing work. We all wish we could dance like that; Milen Dankov please come to the UK and teach me!
The performance piece includes Kristian Kostov's face being projected on his real face, with some awesome smoke effects too. This really shows off his stage presence, which we also saw at Eurovision 2017. He brings the fire, just like he does during the dance sequence.
Overall, the music video has a big concept that totally relates to the lyrics in every way. This is one of those visuals that continue to impress every time you watch it. It's one I will never get tired of, and one that works perfectly with the song! Even if you haven't got a clue what the lyrics of the song are about, the characters sure gives a great representation, instead.
OMG! Charlie Puth needs - and I mean really really really needs - a choreographer to sort him out. This feels too much like dad-dancing or the dancing from the unforgettable awkward scene in The Inbetweeners. However, there is a slight scene that saves the whole entire music video from being a total disaster - but more on that later. The song is a flat-out banging tune though, and I can so see it gaining momentum and becoming popular. I was saving this for Chart Mondays, but as it jumped into the top ten, Camila Cabello grabbed the top spot with "Havana" featuring Young Thug, and now this song is dropping down the UK chart, unfortunately. So here we are. Watch Charlie Puth dance through downtown Los Angeles in the street and inside a building in this music video for his song "How Long".
Charlie Puth is quickly becoming one of the biggest male artists in the world; he keeps releasing hit after hit after hit, and I have no doubt that his new album is going to be mighty popular. This song peaked at number nine in the UK, which is the exact same chart number that previous single "Attention" grabbed; both songs are addicting in every way and really shows that the new album is going to be something we all won't be able to get enough of. The song was written by Charlie Puth, Jacob Kasher, and Justin Franks.
Directed by Emil Nava, the music video is a pure performance piece that really shows Charlie Puth's confidence and stage dance ability - which isn't much. He isn't afraid of making a fool of himself, and this is what makes this music video a soon-to-be classic.
There are some amazing moves such as flying and wall climbing, which definitely switches up the music video; and, it is great that he can dance freely but there's just no connection to the song and it just comes off so embarrassing.
He's trying to be smooth, casual, and slick, but it comes off quite smarmy. It might've worked a bit better if he hadn't have been dressed in a suit, and the obvious product placement of the Dodge Challenger car suggests there was meant to be a narrative to the music video, especially since there is a love interest inside the car. People say it signifies the woman he got with, versus the woman in the painting who is the person he cheated on.
Overall, this music video has nothing to it, and even Charlie Puth admitted that he wanted to do something random. Music videos should represent the song and transform it into a visual experience for every viewer, and although there are some scenes that link in with this song, this just doesn't work as an overall concept.
