Jax Jones Featuring RAYE - You Don't Know Me


You Don't Know Me (feat. RAYE) - Jax Jones |

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!
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Becky Hill - Rude Love


Rude Love - Becky Hill |

She's the superstar I have been supporting since the first series of The Voice UK, I am now happy to see that Becky Hill is finally getting all the credit she deserves and more. The video is amazing and turns her into the superstar we've always known her to be. She's fully bringing it recently, and I cannot wait to see what other surprises Becky Hill has in store for us. Watch Becky Hill in her superstar music video that is full of brilliant profile performance visuals for her song "Rude Love".

Becky Hill has fully left her stamp on music around the world, with many featured hits amongst her discography, and we're sure there will be more where they came from. Her voice perfectly suits house tracks, hence why she has teamed up with Oliver Heldens, MK, and Matoma, amongst others, on tracks "Gecko (Overdrive)", "Piece Of Me", and "False Alarm" respectively. She has also released many singles herself, and they are, certainly, treasured songs by many of her fans. Now she's promoting this song, which just had a whole new remix drop by MNEK. Talk about fully bringing it!

Directed by Andrew Morgan, the music video really puts the spotlight on Becky Hill, turning her into a fully-fledged superstar, and it's so nice to see a great performance piece from her.

We see Becky Hill singing her song with all her performance energy we've seen from her to date, and then some. She is fully tuned in within the lyrics of this song and clearly wants to get the message across, which she certainly does.

I have previously written up about the single release and the music video for CelebMix, as well as additional single and video articles for Outlet Magazine, so I feel like I haven't got all that much left to say about this music video. It really does make a change to see Becky Hill centre of the music video with the spotlight on her. She is definitely future star material if she isn't already there yet.
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Zara Larsson - Ain't My Fault



One of the world's much-loved Swedish artists about at the moment is Zara Larsson. Now she's going for a global career and "Ain't My Fault" should be the start of that, she just needs to be careful, because she's at the point in her career where everything can just disappear in a few seconds. It's happened to many artists before her, hit songs are all okay as long as you continue to release one after the other after the other. This song faired well but it's a rocky ledge to be sitting on right now. Zara Larsson entertains in this sexed-up music video for "Ain't My Fault" that is completely polished it hurts. Choreography on point as well as her performance vibes. She's ready for global stardom!

Zara Larsson came to fame globally thanks to MNEK collaborating with her on track "Never Forget You". This launched her around the world, where her previous song "Lush Life" started to gain traction. Next, Tinie Tempah snapped her up for song: "Girls Like" and that was it, she was famous. David Guetta then grabbed a collab on song: "This One's For You", but it didn't do as well as her other songs globally, and now this one isn't proving the success they were hoping for. The reason being is her diversity. Zara Larsson is doing something no one else is doing in the music industry at the moment. Her songs are completely unique, and that is a risky business but one that will surely pay off. Let's be honest, her international album, which she is working on, will be perfection personified. With "Lush Life" and "Ain't My Fault" as lead singles; her album is what we need in our lives right now! This song was written by Uzoechi Emenike (MNEK), Zara Larsson and Markus Sepehrmanesh.

Directed by Emil Nava, the video is a pure performance piece with Zara Larsson really getting into this sexy role. It's definitely a side to her that we've never quite seen before. In her previous videos, it's been natural beauty, this one seems like she's trying too hard; however, she gives as good as she gets and really owns this style in some scenes.

In certain scenes she's relaxed and it works but in others, there's a complete disconnect. This is what loses the audience. On the other hand, her choreography is pulled off perfectly, although simple she's in time with her backing dancers and she's having fun.

There is a potential chance of a narrative as we see an ex-lover tied up and dangling from the ceiling. He soon disappears off-screen and is all but forgotten. Again, Zara Larsson hints at a narrative but doesn't give us one; this happened in "Lush Life".

There's not a lot to say about this, Zara Larsson struggles to adapt to this sexy version of herself. She seems awkward as if she doesn't really know how stunningly beautiful she really is. This video would've worked if she had more confidence; in parts she has it, but in others she's lost. It's a great song but there's just a distance in the music video that fails to keep the attention of the viewers.
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MØ - Final Song



Let's be honest, MØ has been trying unsuccessfully to crack the worldwide charts for a few years now, luckily she teamed up with Major Lazer and the rest is history. This song has blown up, especially after the amazing "Lean On" and "Cold Water", if it wasn't for those songs, would this have done so well globally? There are a tonne of amazing songs that just doesn't get the recognition that they truly deserve and this could've been one of them. However, that fate is left to many other songs as this one rages the charts around the world. MØ acts sweet and innocent throughout this video, showing off her performance vibes to this Final Song, but it won't be her last!

MØ, real name Karen Marie Ørsted Andersen, has released quite a few singles, but this is the song that has pushed her into success. Her collaborations are what have given her the fame to gain momentum in the music industry. As I've said many times before, promotion is key, MØ has promoted herself as an artist by featuring on songs that become popular. Now she's impacting the music industry in a big way, but she needs to hold on to her popularity as it can easily slip and MØ could easily disappear. However, she's built herself up to this point, so I doubt she'll lose it completely like many have done before her. This song is so catchy, that it kind of reminds me of "Fight Song" by Rachel Platten, it has the same feel to it, and the more it's heard the more appealing it becomes. It was written by Karen Marie Ørsted, Noonie Bao and Uzo Emenike (known as MNEK). The latter songwriter has been on form lately, writing and collaborating with amazing stars.

Directed by Tomas Whitmore, it is effortlessly beautiful throughout. MØ has this performance style that is unbeatable, it's rare to find in a singer, but she has got it. So much energy released out to her listeners and watchers, I'm in awe of her.

Her dancing is on point throughout. There is not a lot of movement in the choreography, but I guess floating effortlessly does take it's toll on the body. Her lines are flawless, this is a girl who can dance and stylishly too.

The shadow effects on the desert floor are awesome to watch throughout, but it's the floating that is perfection. It takes skill to perfect floating nicely, yet MØ works it look totally natural. This is so believable that it looks too real. We all know it's special effects, and yet it's more that perfection, it's more than flawless, it just works amazingly!

Overall, this performance piece is engaging, interesting and totally out of this world. MØ is a rising star, and I hope she continues her success in her upcoming music ventures because if this is what she can do in a music video, she must be brilliant live on stage. This video may be missing a narrative, but the performance definitely makes up for it.
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MNEK - The Rhythm



I think I've just let The Rhythm get to me and I've just lost my mind. As if I've never seen this video before now, it's amazing, and with a song that so should've charted higher than number 38, but I guess MNEK is definitely in the limelight now, what with his collaboration with Zara Larsson on the song "Never Forget You". He has been announced as one of the headline acts at Birmingham Pride 2016, I just wish Zara Larsson was appearing too. MNEK tells you that The Rhythm will lose your mind, and he is totally right with this freaky music video, it seems MNEK is the only person not to lose his mind in this supermarket.

AND HERE'S ANOTHER BIG HEADLINER...Birmingham Pride are proud to announce that Grammy-nominated British singer,...
Posted by Birmingham Pride on Thursday, 17 March 2016
MNEK, real name Uzo Emenike, has had an established career as a song writer, he has had three number ones and plenty of top ten hits. Now he's creating a career as a solo singer and he is doing a fine job of it, although he isn't exactly a strong singer, he has a perfect soul in his vocals, enough to give him his own number ones in the future. I'm excited to see what he releases next after the amazing hit single "Never Forget You". This song was written by Uzo Emenike and Kersha Bailey.

Directed by Clemens Habicht, the video is once again set in a supermarket, this seems to be a common setting in dancing music videos. I think it's because we've all been in one of them, it's part of everyday life and I think that's what makes it a good setting to put something unnatural. Other videos that have recently been set in a supermarket is Galantis' "Peanut Butter Jelly" and Skrillex & Diplo & Justin Bieber's "Where Are Ü Now".

MNEK is working at the supermarket and he changes the music to his own song The Rhythm. Once the customers hear the song they start to lose their minds just like the song suggests.

They start to dance to the track and then the dancing gets really crazy as special techniques are used that even makes the viewers lose their minds, throughout I was like: is this really happening?

Trampolines were definitely used in the video and other visual transformations. It works really well, although the supermarket would definitely be wrecked by the end of the video, however it's only slightly untidy.

Overall, a great video that relates perfectly with the song. MNEK is a star that much is obvious. I love the video, it's freaky, it's weird, it makes me lose my mind just like the customers. I was a little unexcited when MNEK was announced as one of the acts at Birmingham Pride 2016, now I'm excited to hear him live.
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Karen Harding - Say Something



Whoever said persistence was a waste of time? Karen Harding proves that taking a risk and appearing on multiple talent shows doesn't only show you can take rejection, but it can also get you a record deal. Karen Harding delights us in her debut single's music video, her stage presence is obvious, although she fails to capture us entirely, great singer, visually beautiful, Karen Harding is one to watch for 2016!

Karen Harding first appeared on TV as an entrant for 'Your Country Needs You', the UK's selection for Eurovision 2010. She failed to make it past round one and was eliminated. The winner was Josh Dubovie, who was the third UK entrant to come last in the competition. Pretty sure Karen Harding would've done better. She next appeared on the tenth series of The X Factor, but was eliminated during the six chair challenge. And now she's made a name for herself, and hit the top ten of the UK chart with this banger. It just shows persistence does work. The song was written by Karen Harding and Uzo Emenike (MNEK).

Directed by Carly Cussen, the video is set in a club, and Karen Harding is just arriving, looking secy and ready to show who she is as an artist.

This debut song is perfect for clubs, and so I expected some sort of dance sequence, and although Karen Harding is seen dancing, it looks more like it was choreography she made up so that it doesn't look like she's just singing the song.

There is a group of dancers, which Karen Harding is with at certain times, however she isn't dancing with them, especially when the beat picks up and the dance group shows us what they've got, I just wish Karen Harding was dancing with them.

Overall a great performance-based music video for the song, however it gives us no narrative whatsoever, and the video doesn't give us much insight into Karen Harding, can she even dance? We need something more from her to really capture our attention, because this song is definitely something.
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