Chart Mondays: Harry Styles - Sign Of The Times


Sign of the Times - Harry Styles |

Time to do my Chart Mondays music review, and Luis Fonsi & Daddy Yankee feat. Justin Bieber is still on top of the UK music charts with "Despacito". The Justin Bieber version doesn't have a music video, unfortunately, therefore opening up the UK top 10 to my review and it looks like Harry Styles will be dropping out next week. The last time I watched this music video was when I had to review it for Outlet Magazine. I am not that into this song or its music video; actually, I don't really like Harry Styles or any of the other One Direction members, and I usually stay away from their music as a whole. But here he is now, making his solo debut on my blog. Watch Harry Styles take to the skies in his solo debut music video for "Sign Of The Times".

Harry Styles is best known for being one-fifth, or one-fourth of One Direction, who came third on the seventh series of The X Factor. He launched his solo career with this song and soon followed it up with an album and promotional instant-grat singles. His sort of music is very different to those of the One Direction days, and it really isn't my thing. This song did reach number one but didn't have a music video at the time. As of now, it's sitting at number ten on the UK Singles Chart. It was written by Alex Salibian, Jeff Bhasker, Harry Styles, Tyler Johnson, Ryan Nasci, and Mitch Rowland.

Directed by Woodkid, the music video was set in Isle of Sky in Scotland. It doesn't exactly relate to the song, but seeing Harry Styles soar into the sky is something new and interesting.

There are various stunning imagery used throughout. There was a green screen used, as well as a stunt double; both of which is fairly obvious and unexpected.

Favourite scenes especially include when he runs on the water, and when the invisible helicopter creates the ring around him, on the water. It was clearly thought out well, and they made it totally work in more ways than one.

Overall, it's extremely simple but was risky. It stands out from other music videos as it's not at all typical. Yet, there's no substance to it, he doesn't look that eloquent up there in the sky; he should've been like the people who fly on Dancing on Ice; instead, he's just floating in the sky, doing nothing spectacular.
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Chart Mondays: One Direction - History



Well this is the end of One Direction, FOR A YEAR or maybe a little more, but this is not the complete end. One Direction is not finished, they are just on hiatus, and we all know that their comeback will be one of the biggest things in music. They are taking a break from the group to do their own things, hell the video proves they deserve this, and what a brilliant last music video, for now, they will come back, I'm telling you that now! One Direction says their goodbyes in this video, for now, the band is not over, and they don't want their fans to be done with One Direction, and this video is a great representation of that.

One Direction are a four-piece boy band who hit global success after coming third on the seventh series of The X Factor. They are currently on hiatus, if you haven't already guessed, and apparently will come back in 2017. They consist of Niall Horan, Harry Styles, Liam Payne and Louis Tomlinson. They originally had a fifth member, Zayn Malik, who pulled away from the group and has recently released his debut single. This song was written by Wayne Hector, John Ryan, Ed Drewett, Julian Bunetta, Liam Payne and Louis Tomlinson. The song is a fair well for now to their fans, in my opinion, and they promise to reform again.

The music video is amazing, directed by Cal Aurand and Fulwell 79, it contains clips of their journey so far. They look ever so young when they were first put together on The X Factor.

They are definitely the most successful act from The X Factor, despite coming third in the competition.

The video has a lot of clips of the boys, some surprising scenes that we've not seen before, or ones that are much older. I love the friendship between them all, typical brotherly love they all clearly have.

The performance side of the video is too similar to "Drag Me Down" for my liking even though the ending is extremely sad. However the ending was apparently cut too short as they rushed back together at the end, to signify that this isn't the end of the group, but if it wasn't shown then it's suggestive that this could well be the end for One Direction.

Overall, perfect video that looks back over their career and what they have done. They have included a few clips of Zayn Malik too, even though he has been hitting out lately about the group. He has become the Geri Halliwell of One Direction. I wonder where these boys will go next.
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Chart Mondays: One Direction - Perfect



Adele's "Hello" has finally been knocked off the number one spot... By Justin Bieber with "Sorry"... Only that has yet to have an official music video; leaving me, once again, with my chart Mondays open to the top 10. The top five, unfortunately, are either filled with videos I have reviewed or they don't have one. With little to choose from, I chose this one because I feel that One Direction have totally upped their game since Zayn Malik left the band. Classy and stylish, One direction shows what perfect means to them, which is trouble in hotel rooms, little rendez vous and going places you can't pronounce.

One Direction now consists of Harry Styles, Liam Payne, Niall Horan and Louis Tomlinson. Since becoming a four-piece they have definitely had much more catchy songs, so it's no wonder they chart so highly. This follow-up to "Drag Me Down" is a perfect ballad, that you can't help but sing-a-long to. Written by Jesse Shatkin, Jacob Kasher, John Ryan, Maureen Anne McDonald (MoZella), Julian Bunetta, Harry Styles and Louis Tomlinson.

Here are the boys in black and white... They come across classy, but it's rare for me to approve of this setting on a music video. It was directed by Sophie Muller.

The video shows the boys lives whilst on tour and what they do in their spare time. Links in well with the song in the aspect of the hotel corridors and they also doing things they shouldn't, like playing football indoors.

Relaxed and fun, the band really perform and proves that they are good to see live. They capture the essence of themselves, their own individualities and an attempt at a look-in of One Direction as a whole, some may say their lives are perfect.

Simple, easy, tiring; the black and white effect does not help this video at all, and has definitely taken one star off this video. All four guys are again singing to one girl, very similar to their debut "What Makes You Beautiful", however have to hand it to them, everything else is just fine, not great and definitely not perfect.
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One Direction - Drag Me Down



This has to be my favourite One Direction song thus far. I did like "What Makes You Beautiful", but their voices in this song are so powerful and emotional, this is exactly what I've been waiting for from these guys. A memorable video to boot too, although it only links in with the drag me down part of the song, since they're in a spaceship and creating a force against gravity. Maybe they're off to see Britney in "Oops!... I Did It Again" or maybe they're after Ariana Grande in "Break Free".

One Direction hit headlines recently as they announce they're splitting up, however it's only for a year, before they return as a band again. So can we get this straight, just like many other bands do, they're going on hiatus, they are not splitting up completely... So can we all stop using the words One Direction Are Splitting Up, because they really aren't. They deserve this break, and they will get back together after a year.

They are now a four-piece band consisting of Harry Styles, Niall Horan, Liam Payne and Louis Tomlinson. Recently, Zayn Malik left the band to pursue a solo career, however if this is the outcome with him not being in the band, then they're better off without him. Sorry Zayn fans, but every time I saw Zayn, I always thought of the day he cried at bootcamp on The X Factor, not a good look at all. They came third on the seventh series of The X Factor, behind Matt Cardle and Rebecca Ferguson. Other notable stars from that year includes, Cher Lloyd, Mary Byrne, Katie Waissel, Paije Richardson, Aiden Grimshaw, Belle Amie and Storm Lee. The song was written by Julian Bunetta, Jamie Scott and John Ryan.

Directed by Ben & Gabe Turner, the video is set at NASA, and features One Direction as astronauts, I have to admit, this has not been done before, and the idea that a spaceship defies gravity and there for even gravity can't drag them down is a great link.

Their performance piece looks good, purely because of the setting and the camera angles as well as the way the cameras are used. However, it works exactly the way you expect, as it makes you want to go and see them live. I saw them live at The X Factor Tour, but they have a lot more energy now than back then, and you can see it in their music videos.

Overall a video that doesn't disappoints, but doesn't give us the wow factor. However the song makes up for that entirely as the song is so heartfelt and emotional, even though they didn't write the song personally, you know they've connected with the song and they mean what they're singing.
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New Release: Bowie Jane - Bad Boy

Bowie Jane first came to my notice when she stumbled across this blog and started talking to me on my Facebook page. Since then she has gone on to promote her singles anywhere and everywhere here in the UK, as well as turning up at Staffordshire University (my university) for a radio interview, where she left me a signed CD of  "Luv Bomb". Since then I have been keeping an eye on her Twitter and Facebook, and found out her third single (the first being "Miss U Hate U") is being released this month. So just for you lot, I have organised an interview with Bowie Jane, and she will become Artist Of The Month for July.

"Bad Boy" was co-written by Bowie Jane and her producer Jason Bond. It's really catchy, and I know I'll be singing it all day today. Especially since I've bought it from iTunes, and I can't stop playing it.

The music video has become one of Bowie Jane's most viewed YouTube videos so far, and those views are only ever going to go up and up and up. It may not be a big budgeted video that well-known artists push out, but as I have proven on this blog over and over again, the simple videos can sometimes be the best, and this is clearly one of them.

It is practically performance based, with Bowie Jane singing in front of a brick wall, but she knows how to perform, and you are engaged right from the start.

Then the slight narrative jumps in with a bunny rabbit, who clearly is the 'Bad Boy'. It is very suggestive and makes this video stand out.

The slight narrative includes various slides which say various things. The first is: "Taylor Swift Admits 'I Knew You Were Trouble' Was A Blast At Harry Styles", and the rabbit just before the words is dressed up as Harry Styles. Next is the rabbit dressed as a golfer with the accompanying headline: "A leopard might change it's spots... but a Tiger doesn't change his stripes", a dig at Tiger Woods obviously. Next is the Hugh Grant and Divine Brown scandal. Afterwards the rabbit has a gas mask on definitely dressed up as Justin Bieber, with "Selena Gomez Throws Gifts Bought By Justin Bieber In The Bin? Bye, bye, bye Bieber....".

Overall a song that is stuck in my head, and one that I will be listening to for years to come. And a music video that makes me laugh, it's enjoyable, it relates to the song, and has everything possible to make it a great video. I can't stop watching, I can't stop listening, this is one song you all need to get now!

One Direction - One Thing

Okay, so I'm not a fan of One Direction and usually skip over their music videos, but I was struggling today to pick a video for this blog, and I decided to look at the TV, spontaneously, I just picked it.

One Direction came Third on the seventh series of the X Factor. The band members are Niall Horan, Zayn Malik, Liam Payne, Harry Styles and Louis Tomlinson. It was one of few series that released quite a few artists into this world, they are: Matt Cardle (winner), Rebecca Ferguson (second), One Direction (third), Cher Lloyd (fourth), Mary Byrne (fifth), Katie Waissel (seventh), Belle Amie (eleventh), Storm Lee (fourteenth) and Nicolò Festa (sixteenth). One Direction has had quite a few hits here in the UK, and have recently took over America, winning a lot of hearts out there, and creating "One Direction Infection". Not only that, they have become the first British Group to have their first album go straight to number one on the Billboard chart. I have previously reviewed "What Makes You Beautiful" on this blog. They will be one of the biggest acts around the whole world, but my question is... Why is there a winner of the X Factor, when other positions clearly do better... Where is Matt Cardle now?

"One Thing" is the third single to be released in the UK from this band. It was written by Rami Yacoub, Carl Falk and Savan Kotecha. Obviously only the best writers for this band, they have all worked with big names in the past, and also created What Makes You Beautiful. This is another great and catchy song, and again it looks like a bright future for these guys.

The music video is performance based, which is usually not my favourite type of music video, however, it's done differently and it puts a great spin on things, and definitely stands out from other performance videos. Which is extremely difficult to do.

There is a lot of One Direction fans involved in this music video. They were invited to join the video, but on one condition only... And that was that they had to find out where it was being filmed through a series of clues, which may be the reason why they are all very excited, although, I bet that is usually what their fans are like.

The music video is basically a tour of London, with One Direction singing here and there, such as on some steps, in a park, on a bus, and in front of fans.

Overall, it's definitely a different kind of music video, with a great song to go with it. It charted at number 9 here in the UK, but has done a lot better elsewhere. These boys are going to be a worldwide success, if they aren't already, and it looks like they've come out on top from that series of the X Factor.

One Direction - What Makes You Beautiful


One Direction came third on the seventh series of the X Factor. That series is probably the only series to have the most live final contestants release singles and albums, or at least have signed to a record company. So far there is, Matt Cardle (winner), Rebecca Ferguson (second), One Direction (third), Cher Lloyd (fourth), Mary Byrne (fifth), Katie Waissel (seventh) Belle Amie (eleventh), Storm Lee (fourteenth) and Nicolò Festa (sixteenth). This is One Direction's first single, and it's bound to do well on the charts especially since mid-week has predicted number one for them. This song is catchy and heart-felt, it does sound similar to other songs, which I'll mention later, and it is one of those songs where you don't even realise you are singing a long to it until something drastic happens like the radio being turned off or something, and you're still singing. It's that catchy which would explain why it'll get a high charting position.

One Direction is a 5 member pop band whose singing voices are brilliant on their own but even better together. The 5 members within this group are Niall Horan, Zayn Malik, Liam Payne, Harry Styles and Louis Tomlinson. In the X Factor they all auditioned for the boys category, at boot camp some of them paired up and made friends to try and get through boot camp stage. By the suggestion of Nicole Scherzinger these boys were grouped up into a boy band, and now thanks to her, we have One Direction. I have to say that I really don't like Liam's hair, it used to be straight in The X Factor, however now he's tried to copy Harry a bit, and it definitely hasn't worked out for him, I don't think. One Direction are now storming YouTube with just over 8 million hits, with popularity here in the UK as well as America and Australia. This band could be the next big thing, and could be the first UK X Factor band to make it as global megastars.

This song is all about a girl who the boys think is beautiful only she is shy and is unaware that she is, but apparently "that's what makes you beautiful". I don't know whether the intentions behind the song is hat all 5 members want to go out with her (imagine that argument over who would get the girl) or just someone each of them have known in the past. The song was written by Carl Falk, Savan Kotecha and Rami Yacoub. Savan has once again popped up as the song-writer on this blog, the last time I listed him as song writer was for Britney Spears' single "I Wanna Go", so he is becoming more and more well-known in the music industry, and can definitely see more catchy song-writing coming from him soon.

The music video is a little weird, I am not totally sure what to make of it. The music video contains a lot of fun, which is what you naturally expect from this band, however it isn't what the story is about really, is it? One Direction are on a beach waiting for this girl and her friends to show up. I find it funny how they only ever show one girl when the band members are singing, it suggests that they all like this one girl which seems a little over the top, if you asked me. This one girl could be taking all five on a ride.... But I don't see why each member didn't have a girl of their own to sing the song to.

I really like the bit towards the end when you see clips of the band and they've just sparked up the sparklers and they are sparkling in the background as if all the bits of sparkle are showering the members, I know how they've done it but I think it's quite clever, it goes with the "Na Na Na Na Na Na Na" bit in the song, but that's all I can pair it up to, along with the fun element side of this video. I still don't get why they didn't make this video a bit better.

Overall I really like this first single from this band, I can so see them becoming really big, but could imagine that a split might happen in about a decade's time maybe, since each member did audition by themselves. But maybe I'm wrong, maybe they do have a strong bond between them all and that it will last until they are old, we'll just have to wait and see. However the video isn't that good, and it's quite average to be honest, with very little links with the song. So I'm sorry to give it this rating, but I have to be totally fair.
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