This year of Eurovision brought the battle of the warriors, as Amber also released a song called "Warrior"; however, Nina Sublatti totally won by making it to the Grand Final of the Eurovision Song Contest 2015, whereas Amber didn't make it. Nina Sublatti, for Georgia, came 11th with 51 points. Showing strong female warriors, this video shows girl power and strength in a great visual for Nina Sublatti's "Warrior".
Nina Sublatti, real name Nina Sulaberidze, won the national selection for Georgia in 2015 and therefore came to represent the country at Eurovision. She had previously released a few singles, as well as an album. After Eurovision, she released a few more singles that didn't chart so well. Then she went on to become a judge on the Georgian version of The X Factor. This song was written by Nina Sublatti and Thomas G:son.
The music video was directed by David Gogokhia. It features five models, portraying Tamar of Georgia, who is a Georgian National Hero who ruled Georgia as the first Queen Regnant. The models are Nina Potskhishvili, Mariam Sanogo, Keta Gavasheli, Lina Tsiklauri, and Dea Aptsiauri.
There isn't a lot to this very visual video that is completely filmed in black and white. There's not an awful lot of movement in the video, although there are two very cute huskies.
The performance piece is extremely static. Nina Sublatti was clearly told not to move much, and this does lead to quite a bland visual. However, I guess it's some sort of visual of strength.
Overall it's not that memorable, and definitely hasn't got a lot going on. I don't get why they chose it to be shown in black and white, and I also don't see why Nina Sublatti couldn't give a better visual in her performance piece. I feel there should've been more to this music video.
Another Inna music video I haven't reviewed and what better time to review it when I'm going to see her in Dublin, Ireland in a few days time. I literally can't believe it's this close. This was one of my favourite songs from her third album, and I used it as my ringtone on my phone for a while due to the amazing opening lyric. Inna proves she can dance in this performance-based music video for "In Your Eyes" that is extremely sexy and includes a visual of featured singer Yandel.
Inna, real name Elena Apostoleanu, is a Romanian female superstar, with a string of massive hits behind her. She's work with some of the biggest stars and has really made a name for herself. This song was the last single release from her third studio album "Party Never Ends". I sure hope she sings it at her Dublin gig in Ireland. The song features Yandel, real name Llandel Veguilla Malavé, who is from Puerto Rica. He has made his own name in Latin music, mostly as being part of a duo named Wisin & Yandel. This song was written by Steve Mac, Ina Wroldsen, and Llandel Veguilla.
Directed by Barna Némethi, this is another music video by Inna that doesn't have a lot to it. The video is another performance-based video, showing off her performance vibes. This definitely gets me excited to see her on Saturday, not going to lie; although not so keen on what she's wearing.
It's clear the team behind this music video went for sex appeal, in the hope that it will attract many male and the few female watchers to the video; especially since her top - do we even call it a top? It's just a piece of material wrapped around her - keeps moving. She almost falls out plenty of times. Yet, sex does sell and with a body like Inna's we can't really blame them.
The scenes give a chance to have a choreographed dance scene, but it's clear they never brought anyone in to do a segment, and so they look like unrehearsed dancers, who are freestyling and grooving to the song. Inna fully shows she can dance, which is something different for her, although if she were thrown a full choreography segment, it would have worked better.
As for Yandel, he comes off well, although his scene is intercut with scenes of Inna since she would appeal more to the audience viewing the video. As a whole, this could've looked a lot more professional, instead it just looks a little lost. There should've been a dance scene, but Inna still shows off her performance ability effortlessly.
Now before you all moan that I haven't tagged the featured artist, Kendrick Lamar, into this blog post, it's because this music video doesn't include his rap. Since Clean Bandit is still at the top of the UK Singles Chart in collaboration with Anne-Marie & Sean Paul with "Rockabye", it opens the top 10 for my Chart Mondays review. I chose this one because it's an extremely catchy song and the video is quirky and spoof funny. Maroon 5 dress as bugs, that humans are trying to catch and zap on a mobile app similar to Pokemon Go. Frontman Adam Levine falls for a woman in an orange costume who can fly in this video for "Don't Wanna Know".
Maroon 5 is a band we all know and love. They always have some of the best music videos and have really stood the test of time with their music and longevity. The band consists of Adam Levine, Jesse Carmichael, Mickey Madden, James Valentine, Matt Flynn, and PJ Morton. They've had various hits over the years, and this being in the UK Top 10 Singles Chart is another one to add to their collection. The song originally features a rap from Kendrick Lamar, real name Kendrick Duckworth. He is one of the biggest American rappers out at the moment, but surprisingly the song has omitted the rap from this music video. The song was written by Kendrick Lamar, Adam Levine, Benny Blanco, John Ryan, Jacob Kasher, Ammar Malik, Kurtis McKenzie, Jon Mills, and Alex Ben-Abdullah.
Directed by David Dobkin, the video is a comedic spoof of Pokemon Go. Whilst also relating to the song, it is definitely quirky. The video also has cameos from various stars including Sarah Silverman, Amanda Cerny, Shaquille O'Neal, Ed Helms, and Vince Vaughn.
The opening scenes show Adam Levine in his bug costume, which he wears throughout the video. He is missing his former lover, Sarah Silverman, who is displayed in a photograph. His costume is super cute, for sure.
The music kicks in as he drives around town, with clips of the other band members going about their day, all of which are dressed up in bright coloured bug-like costumes too.
Adam Levine's car comes to a stop at a crossing as he watches Ed Helms get chased by people with an app, which later zaps Ed Helms and he vanishes. Adam Levine gets out of his car and starts to run. At the same time, the other band members start to run. There are seven band members shown in the video, which means touring member Sam Farrar also appears in this video too.
Adam Levine manages to escape to a park, where he hides behind a tree until he comes across Amanda Cerny dressed as an orange. They get found by humans and she flies away, up into the air. This is where this narration ends and a new one picks up... Did Adam Levine get zapped? Or did he manage to run away? We may never know.
The new narration picks up with Adam Levine sunbathing in his bug costume beside his pool. A human jumps over the fence to try and zap him with the app, but Adam Levine zaps him right back; don't walk on a Pokemon's property or be prepared to be blown up!
The video continues with a party and the aftermath of the party. We watch as Adam Levine finally stumbles across the orange again, but she turns her back on him; how rude! At the end, we watch a café scene with Vince Vaughn as they chat about standing up for themselves.
The chopped up narrative is intercut with performance scenes, including a tour scene. Showing energy and their usual flare, Maroon 5 shine even when in their costumes. I like the director's comedic scene where he suggests the group should wear hats, but Adam Levine doesn't want to spoil his image, all the while dressed as a very cute animal!
Overall, this video is totally full and fun. They look exhausted being in those costumes. Adam Levine looks love lost which is totally good, but for the first time in a long time, the other band members manage to outshine the frontman. It's refreshing to see, but definitely not something I was expecting. The narrative is too separate for my liking, it doesn't quite flow and doesn't make complete sense. Yet, it's solid nonetheless.
Today, I let my iTunes choose a song, and as I played my music on shuffle, this one came on and I knew I had to review it's accompanying music video. It's a highly emotive song and effortlessly sung by the vocalist. It translated perfectly into a music video and definitely helps to inspire people globally. Released as a tribute to Paul Bäumer, one-half of Bingo Players, who died of cancer the year earlier; "Knock You Out" sees a girl train herself up to be stronger in the gym after she's had enough of her boyfriend beating her up.
Bingo Players is a one-man project consisting of DJ, Maarten Hoogstraten. Originally, a duo, Paul Bäumer died of cancer. The project continues because that was the latter's wishes. Unfortunately, this single didn't do quite as well as "Get Up (Rattle)" did, which was their last single as a duo. Even though this was released as a tribute to Paul Bäumer and even though this song is so catchy and emotive, it didn't get the recognition it definitely deserved. The vocalist on the song is Kim Viera; hailing from New York, she's building her own career. After singing a few cover songs, she has gone on to release them. The song was written by Maarten Hoogstraten, Magnus Beite, Mikkel Eriksen, Paul Bäumer, Sia Furler, and Tor Hermansen.
This narrative based music video shows a woman in an abusive relationship, attempting to make herself stronger so that she can leave him.
Relating to the song perfectly, it exactly translates the "My fight is won. Who needs a gun." lyrics, which is totally suggestive of where she is now compared to where she was back then.
Clips switch between the past and the present. In the past, we see her relationship turn abusive, where she gets knocked about. In the present, we watch her toughening up in the gym, as she learns how to fight and defend herself.
At the end, we see her meet up with a new guy, someone who takes her bag from her and clearly cares for her. We watch as they walk past her abusive ex-boyfriend. Her smirk suggests her confidence and proves that she knows he's missing out on her gorgeous self.
Full of uplifting confidence that will surely inspire many people in the world, both men and women. It really goes to show how a music video can make an inspirational impact on people globally. Might've been nice to see a performance piece cut between the scenes, but not at the loss of any of the visuals.
Since it's a week until I see Inna for the first time, I thought I'll review one of my favourite songs from her. I remember when this was released, and I loved the song so much. Not so keen on the sexualised music video, which we'll get to later, but the song is most definitely fire. Inna collaborated with Marian Hill for this catchy club song, with a fiery sexualised performance based music video.
Inna, real name Elena Apostoleanu, has had a long-lasting and worthy career to date, and it isn't stopping anytime soon. She may have disappeared from certain lights in certain countries, especially the UK, but that doesn't mean she isn't doing well for herself. She has a new album coming out, and I'm hoping she drops her new single before I set off to Ireland to see her on the 3 December 2016. This song features Marian Hill, a songwriting duo consisting of Jeremy Lloyd and Samantha Gongol. Upon release, they didn't help Inna promote the song; however, it wasn't an official collaboration, they just received featured credit because the song samples their song "Got It". The song was written by Ilsey Juber, Marcel Botezan, Radu Bolfea, and Sebastian Barac.
The video was directed by Michael Mircea, with intricate editing techniques which makes it quite artistic.
Inna performs with her usual vibes, she's definitely into the song and she works the camera. Her dancer, however, fails to give anything more to the music video. He feels more like a filler than anything else.
A few different outfits that certainly shows Inna's body. Yet the thing that steals the entire video is definitely the snake visual. A snake is tantalisingly dangerous, slithering over Inna.
The effects are intricate and artistic, from fire to smoke, from mirrored reflections to water illusions. This video attempted to make it more interesting, and yet fails to capture some of the audience. Considering Inna totally upped her game with her next music video: "Bop Bop", which is total fire; this one totally falls flat.
I have literally been waiting for this day to come, ever since Jordan Gray announced her debut single, and then later followed it up with a music video. I have refrained from reviewing it on my blog until today because I wanted it to be my New Release this week, and here it is. Jordan Gray looks amazing during a cis male-trans female love scene with Mickey Taylor; whilst performing "Platinum" in scenes including Billie Gold and Isabella Bliss.
Jordan Gray is known for being a contestant on the fifth series of The Voice UK. She made a name for herself as being the first trans to appear on The Voice in any series across the world. Unfortunately, none of the coaches turned for her, but one of Paloma Faith's acts dropped out and she had the ability to bring someone who didn't get any turns, she chose Jordan Gray. It didn't stop there, though, Jordan Gray progressed all the way to the semi-finals. This is her debut single and she is hoping for a good chart placement. It isn't doing so well, so help her out and buy "Platinum" on iTunes.
The music video is directed by Jak Kav. It features a short narrative with various performance pieces, which really showcases Jordan Gray as an artist.
The opening scene starts the narrative as we watch Jordan Gray in a love scene with male actor Mickey Taylor, who is obviously her love interest. It is the first time there has been a cis male-trans female love scene in a mainstream music video. They are tantalisingly sexy on the bed.
There are various short snippets of performance pieces, from Jordan Gray at the piano, as well as performing on a stage surrounded by blue lighting.
Later Isabella Bliss and Billie Gold sex up the video even more in a burlesque scene, which later transitions into a black and white car scene where Jordan Gray is in the front singing the song whilst Billie Gold and Isabella Bliss are passengers in the back.
If anything, this music video is extremely thought out, definitely showcasing Jordan Gray as an artist, all the while relating to the song in every way. This music video is confident, strong, and one that will be embedded in your mind so that you have to watch it again. Fierce and sexy, with an infectious voice, Jordan Gray is on her way to superstardom.
Before today, I haven't heard this song, let alone seen the music video, but since it's Thursday Revisit, I thought I'll choose Aly & AJ because it's unlikely they'll feature on my blog again, for a while at least. This is their debut single, that did all right. They were Disney stars, and I remember thinking they reminded me of Mary-Kate & Ashley, although Aly & AJ aren't twins. In this music video for "Rush", we watch Aly & AJ being gypsy-like, busking to earn money and then spending it on recording material for the song.
Aly & AJ are sister duo consisting of Alyson Michalka and Amanda Joy Michalka, they changed their name to 78violet for all of an unreleased album, before changing it back. Their biggest hit to date is "Potential Breakup Song" which became an international success. They have acted in a number of films and TV Series, mainly separately, although they have been in a few together. Their debut song hit the US Billboard Chart at number 59. It was written by Alyson Michalka, Amanda Michalka, and Carlos Tornes.
This music video is directed by Marc Webb. There is another music video out there, released by Disney, which features the sisters on stage whilst there are scenes of "Twitches" intercut throughout. I am reviewing Marc Webb's music video because it feels much more official.
We watch the girls in various scenes. Most notably Jackass Ginger, which is a local popular swimming spot near Pali Lookout, Oahu, Hawaii.
The scenes show the girls having fun with their friends, doing what they want and having a good time. To gain money, they busk, which clearly brings in a lot of money as we watch them go and buy recording equipment.
It's a simple music video, but it captures the essence of the song, and it really is quite visually interesting. On the second watch, you see things you may have missed the first time, which definitely makes this something special. Aly & AJ are currently working on a new album, so I look forward to that being released.
This is the emotional song that should've done much better in the Eurovision Song Contest 2015. Romania entered Voltaj and scored 35 points placing them 15th, which isn't such a bad placement. The song is so emotional, and Voltaj easily displays the love lost of the song in the music video and studio recording, however, on the night, it just didn't go so well, and they didn't display the emotion quite the way we expected. This led to the not so great score. Voltaj's "De la capăt" is about people going to earn a living in a different country and leaving their children behind; in the video we watch a child missing his family.
Voltaj, are a five piece Romanian pop rock group consisting of Călin Goia, Gabriel "Porcus" Constantin, Adrian M. Christescu, Valeriu "Prunus" Ionescu, and Oliver Sterian. They have released many singles and albums, and have been going for many of years. They won best Romanian Act at the MTV Europe Music Awards 2005. Since this release, they went on to release an album. This song is full of emotion, although I totally agree that it's much better sung in Romanian. For some reason, Voltaj loses the emotion slightly when they change to the English version of the song towards the end. The song was written by Gabriel Constantin, Călin Gavril Goia, Adrian Christescu, Victor-Răzvan Alstani, Silviu-Marian Păduraru, Monica Stevens, and Andrei Leonte.
This music video totally relates to the song, and has a brilliant narrative backed up by a typical performance piece. The visual is so stunning.
The narrative is intense. You watch a lonely boy missing his parents as he goes through his life. He gets a parcel from his mother, who then he writes to before he goes and explores, possibly going on an adventure to which is a part of his memories from the time he spent with his family, that's my theory anyway.
The mother is currently living in Austria, clearly earning money to give her child a much better chance at life, who she's left behind in Romania. Unfortunately, the letter is sent back to him, which makes him pack his stuff up and take a boat trip out over the water. We presume he's trying to get to Austria, although that is a long way to go by boat.
The performance piece isn't anything new, it's a typical band performance. However, I love that there are some scenic scenes such as when they're on the cliff, as well as on the boat in the open water.
Overall, the music video is completely emotional. It has everything, from a narrative that is so sweet and that many children and adults will identify with in Romania, as well as other countries; to a performance piece that may be typical, but is scenic. The boy is so adorably cute, that it was great to choose him for the role. It's such a shame this song didn't do better at Eurovision 2015, but it all depends on the night and for some reason, the emotion didn't come across as well as previous performances.
After seeing "The Edge of Seventeen" today, I had to review this music video, where the title character is collaborating with one of my favourite new bands! The film is highly relatable and is definitely a must-see film! This song doesn't really relate to DNCE, who have just released their very unique debut album, hence why they merely only featured on the song. Hailee Steinfeld and her love interest go to a DNCE concert, where Joe Jonas passes her a mic to sing the song with them, whilst jealousy seeps out of the boyfriend in the music video to "Rock Bottom".
Hailee Steinfeld was the main character, Nadine, in the new film that hits UK cinemas next week called "The Edge of Seventeen". Check out the review I wrote for CelebMix. She's played various roles in films and TV shows, and has proven a few times that she's quite the triple threat; she can dance, sing, and act. This song is much sweeter than her most recently released "Starving", and it's quite surprising to see this wasn't an international hit because it's definitely catchy even if it is only mediocre. DNCE are a four-piece band consisting of Joe Jonas, Jack Lawless, JinJoo Lee, and Cole Whittle. Their music is like nothing you've heard yet, their album is phenomenal and you should totally check it out and my review for Outlet Magazine. This song doesn't really go with the songs DNCE have released. "Rock Bottom" was written by Mattias Larsson, Robin Fredriksson, Julia Michaels, and Justin Tranter.
Directed by Malia James, the music video is a memory-narrative music video, with a performance piece segment halfway through. Hailee Steinfeld's love interest / boyfriend is played by model and actor John Economou.
The opening scene sees Hailee Steinfeld in the back of a taxi, singing away to the song, as memories of her time with John Economou unravel in a series of events, from loving and passionate scenes to fights and argumentative scenes. It all leads up to a concert event where they attend a DNCE concert together. This is where she takes to the stage to perform the song with DNCE.
Now this performance piece is full of emotions, she has really identified with this song and her chemistry with Joe Jonas is infectious. She is loving every minute of being on that stage. However, there's a continuity edit that does my head in, her furry red coat starts off relaxed around her arms, revealing her back. However, in some scenes, she has the coat half-on-half-off and, in others, she's wearing it over her shoulders. It's so distracting.
Her love interest ran out the door whilst she was performing with DNCE, he clearly couldn't put up with her making eyes at Joe Jonas; I totally don't blame her, though. She steps off stage to go and find him, which is why she ended up in the taxi in the first place. The ending sees them kissing in the rain in a sweet and romantic scene.
Overall, it's a great complete music video. Every aspect and scene has been completely thought out and works in a loving circle visual. However, that continuity error bugs me nonstop. A great music video that relates to the song perfectly!
It's Monday, and Clean Bandit is still at the top with "Rockabye" featuring Sean Paul and Anne-Marie. So that opens the top ten to my Chart Mondays review. There are two reasons I've picked this music video: one, this song is set to drop out of the UK top ten next week, especially since it's been dropping week-on-week and it's currently sitting at number 10; but, also, two, I'm going to see "The Edge of Seventeen" tomorrow, as I won two free tickets to the film, which Hailee Steinfeld stars as the lead character. Considering what films I have seen her in, she's going to be perfect in the film, yet it's her music videos and songs that really impact me as they are so different from her characters. Sexy, confident and full of fire, Hailee Steinfeld dances away whilst eyeing a guy in this music video for "Starving" which is in collaboration with Grey and Zedd.
Hailee Steinfeld is a singer and actress, who is totally proving that you can do both and make it big. Her film roles have been completely incredible and as she starts on her musical career she is releasing solid songs everyone is loving. She's practically the next Hilary Duff, for sure, and yet encroaching on the brilliance of Jennifer Lopez. In the next decade or so, Hailee Steinfeld will be one of the greats, she's already halfway there and it's not going to stop now. This song is a collaboration with Grey. They are an American electronic brother duo consisting of Kyle Trewartha and Michael Trewartha. They have remixed some pretty well-known tracks, and has released two collaborative tracks, including this one, the other being "Adrenaline". Zedd features on this track, real name Anton Zaslavski. He has worked with Grey on both of the aforementioned tracks. He is definitely one of the biggest DJs in the whole world, and I am a fan. This song was written by Michael Trewartha, Kyle Trewartha, Robert McCurdy, Christopher Petrosino, and Asia Whiteacre.
Darren Craig is the director of this mainly performance-based music video, which envelopes a slight narrative. Grey make a cameo appearance in the music video, although no sign of Zedd. Hailee Steinfeld is a vision.
There are a few scenes to point out. The opening scene is emotional, really impacting the audience making them think she's serenading us. Then a shirtless dancer comes in the choreography scene, he's obviously the love interest. The scene is fire, with Hailee Steinfeld completely showing she can dance as well as sing and act; totally a triple threat!
Then there's the fading into the wallpaper scene, where her outfit matches the wall behind her, this totally messes with my head, and I find it difficult to focus. Luckily, I'm not the only one, though. It's a slight insight into the sort of characters I've seen her play in the films I've seen, although the outfit in question totally pushes that idea out the way because that outfit is sexy, sultry and completely works for her.
The video's great, although a more-developed narrative would've made this brilliant. There are a few undeveloped scenes, that I wish I could see more of; the ending scene, in particular, is gorgeous but not long enough. There's not a lot else I can say, but it's one of the good performance-based music videos I've seen!
