Well, anyone who has followed my Eurovision Special would have realised that this is from the wrong year. The thing is Måns Zelmerlöw hasn't released an official music video to "Heroes"; unfortunately, there is only a lyric video available. So that left me a little unsure of what to do. Then I remembered Jamala had released this video for her winning entry from Eurovision 2016, and I've been trying to find the time to review it. So today is as good of a day as any, but the today is the best day because it totally completes all my Eurovision blog posts. Watch Jamala perform "1944" amongst an intricate contemporary dance that raises goosebumps and gives chills. Absolutely amazing.
Jamala, full name Susana Jamaladinova, has released a lot of songs and albums. She has really embedded herself as a confident professional singer with amazing vocal ability. It's not much of a surprise that she did well in the contest, and she managed to win it even when the top was very competitive. She won the Ukrainian national final, after initially tying with second place. She represented Ukraine and won with 534 points. Due to a change of the points system, this marks the highest score of the Eurovision Song Contest, ever. There was controversy over the fact that she won because Australia won the jury vote, and Russia won the public vote; Ukraine came second in both and with a combined total, Jamala won overall. The song also gained a lot of controversy due to the potential political content of the song, however the Eurovision Broadcasting Union looked into this and claimed that the song didn't contain any political speech and therefore ruled that the song doesn't break any of the Eurovision rules. Jamala's song tells a story and it really packs a punch, definitely a worthy winner in my books. The song was written by Art Antonyan and Susana Jamaladinova. The song is in English and Crimean Tatar.
Directed by Anatoliy Sachivko, who was also the choreographer for this video; the music video interprets all the emotion Jamala expresses into the song, into an emotional contemporary dance that completely flows and presents the song in the most beautiful way.
Jamala proves that she can dance too, throwing in her ability to perform this song with full emotion. The video was set an abandoned military base: Pamir. Which is on top of Tomnatik mountain.
The weather plays an important part of this music video, I love the rain effect on the camera, as well as the tornadoes that affect the people dancing.
It's all shot under an undue expectation of emotion. There's dark depths to this video and the visual shows it off perfectly. The choreography is amazing and all the dancers manage to stand out and prove their worth.
There's not much else left for me to say. It's quite a battle, one they obviously can't beat and yet they show a strength in unity. It's completely intricate and easily displays the emotions found in the song.
This one was just being played randomly on my iTunes today, and I loved it so much I HAD to see if there was a music video I could review today... And sure enough, here it is. This country duo has been making waves with their music and are quickly becoming an identifiable act within the country music genre. Watch Maddie & Tae perform on two floating chairs as scenes of sweet strength and independence flow throughout this video for "Fly".
Maddie & Tae are an American country duo consisting of Madison Marlow and Taylor Dye. They have so far released one album, one EP, and four singles. Their debut song "Girl in a Country Song" totally launched them in the country music world. This song was their follow-up single, but since then their chart positions have deteriorated. However, things could all change when they come back with a second album. These voices deserve their place within country music and it's no surprise that there is a buzz in the air around these two. This song was written by Taylor Dye, Madison Marlow, and Tiffany Vartanyan.
Directed by Brian Lazzaro, this music video really allows the viewers to identify with Maddie & Tae. They announce who they are and prove that they have beautiful voices to match their gorgeous good looks.
The video is a full sign of female empowerment. The girls encourage their viewers to keep climbing in the song, and that is exactly what is happening to the girl on the ladder, she keeps climbing. The woman who becomes a teacher keeps fighting for the career she wants and the girl on the swing saves herself from falling.
It's all wrapped up in scenes of Maddie & Tae writing the song. This shows complete strength and a love of what they are doing. They are having fun and a good time. There is also a butterfly that is super cute in this video too. Overall, this is neatly packaged, it's strong and it is fearless. It inspires people to keep going.
It's so sad to have heard that George Michael has passed away, on Christmas Day too! Unfortunately, I have already reviewed Wham!'s "Last Christmas", where George Michael was one-half of the duo, in my Christmas Special 2012. So I googled to see if he had released another Christmas song to finish off my Christmas Special 2016, and this one came up. It's a great vocal from George Michael, and it's sad to hear that this legend of a voice has gone from this world. He was also a brilliant gay idol and LGBT activist. This is the second George Michael animation music video; "December Song (I Dreamed Of Christmas)" easily represents the festive date as well as love and lights from a child's perspective.
George Michael, real name Georgios Panayiotou, is one of the biggest male artists in the world. Not only has he had his singles and albums in his duo Wham! but he also did amazingly solo and quickly became a legend. So many people know his songs that it's difficult just to think of one favourite from him. This song was another Christmas song he released recently, then he later performed it on The X Factor. The song was planned for the Spice Girls, but personally, I believe, it sounds so much better from George Michael himself. It charted at number 14 in the UK, but shops sold out of the physical CD so it could've charted higher if they had stocked up more. "December Song (I Dreamed Of Christmas)" was written by George Michael and David Austin.
As previously mentioned, the music video is George Michael's second animated music video, after "Shoot The Dog". It depicts George Michael as a child, who walks through a TV.
It describes a child's representation of Christmas, all wrapped up in quite a sad and lonely way. Since there is only a mother in the whole video, maybe he is thinking of his dad? Who knows?
Inside the TV, we watch him have a snowball fight with a panda, and ride some light bulbs that have wheels on. All the while, his mouse or hamster follows him with every step; mainly in a comedic way.
Towards the end, the child falls from a great height, but luckily he wakes up in his bed; there are presents under the tree, and his mother gives him a cuddle. It's quite dreary, and sad, although the reason why isn't clear. However, it's still quite adorable.
Another new Christmas song and this one is another joyous festive track, that spreads the Christmas spirit throughout everyone, so this had to be included on my Christmas Special 2016. Kelly Clarkson has always been one of those singers who would release a song I like, but then radio overplays it and I don't like it anymore, or even if they don't overplay it, I end up overplaying it and then not liking the song anymore. This only happens to her songs, and I don't get why this happens to me with her songs, all the time. This one is the exact same, but I can't help liking it because it's a jolly Christmas song. In this music video for "Underneath The Tree", watch Kelly Clarkson perform on her Christmas TV Special, while behind the scenes are cut throughout.
Kelly Clarkson hit fame when she won the first series of American Idol. Since then she has really set herself as one of the biggest female recording artists in the world. Recently, she hasn't been charting that well globally, although she manages to come back time and again with a hit first single from each album that she releases. This song is from her Christmas album and managed to hit number 30 in the UK. Since 2013, the song has received great radio play every Christmas, and the song is a favourite around Christmas time. The song was written by Kelly Clarkson and Greg Kurstin.
The music video was directed by Hamish Hamilton and Weiss Eubanks. It consists of Kelly Clarkson performing on her Christmas TV special titled "Kelly Clarkson's Cautionary Christmas Music Tale", which was shown on NBC.
She gives a stunning performance in a beautiful white and red dress, that is totally festive. She proves why she won American Idol all those years ago, she proves that her place in the world is on a stage, singing to people. Her voice is magnificent and this song manages to portray her vocal abilities.
As for the segments between her amazing performance, they're fun and cheeky, showing Kelly Clarkson's lightheartedness behind the scenes. She's clearly an easy person to get along with, and she has a brilliant attitude. Imagine being real life friends with Kelly Clarkson... That'd be the life, and you'll always have a good time when she's around.
Overall, it's great to see Kelly Clarkson on a stage performing. It's where she belongs. It's festive, it's fun, it's just a shame there isn't a narrative to incorporate the beautiful and meaningful song lyrics.
Back to the Christmas music videos for my Christmas Special 2016. This is a classic Christmas song that brings the festive cheer to everyone. I actually heard this song in the car today and thought it would be a great song to include in my Christmas Special 2016, and although the music video is dated compared to the others in my Christmas Special, it's always good to look at some classic Christmas music videos and songs. Watch Paul McCartney and his friends simply have a "Wonderful Christmastime" in this cheerful festive music video.
Paul McCartney is legendary. He made a name for himself as being one quarter of The Beatles, who are known as one of the most influential bands in pop history. The band gained international success, and their name is legendary in itself. Away from the band, Paul McCartney has gone on to be successful all by himself. Personally, I thought he was dated, until he collaborated with Rihanna and Kanye West, proving that he can still be commercially successful. "FourFiveSeconds" really showed that Paul McCartney can come out with a massive collaboration and chart well, once again. This Christmas song is jolly and totally festive. It was written by Paul McCartney; and has been covered by many famous artists.
Directed by Russell Mulcahy, this music video easily translates this happy song into a simple but wonderful visual, that relates pretty well.
Literally, all the people in the music video are having a good time, a wonderful Christmas time. They all attend a party, in which Paul McCartney is performing with his band.
There are various intricate light and editing techniques used throughout which is shocking to see from a 1979 music video. The tricks are totally interesting to watch and shows the imagination behind the people who made the music video.
There's not a lot going on in this music video; however, it's joyous, it's festive, it's Christmassy... What more should we have expected? I like how they tried different things and made the music video current for its time.
I have searched high and low for a new release this week as I refuse to promote or even write about Honey G and her single "The Honey G Show". So, instead, I've found this, and I am so grateful as I actually loved hearing this, and the music video is pretty good too. Guess some luck came my way today. So this is another Sam Feldt single, with vocals uncredited by Jasmine Thompson. Watch a guy lose his best friend, Sam Feldt, to fame in this music video for "What About The Love".
Sam Feldt, real name Sammy Renders, is one of the biggest Dutch DJs around at the moment. He hit it off big with his single "Show Me Love" which had vocals from Kimberly Anne; it was a new version of Robin S' classic song "Show Me Love". It did well internationally, pushing him into the limelight; however, his follow-up singles, much like his previous singles, haven't charted quite so well. This song was originally a remix of Hugel's "Where We Belong" which features Jasmine Thompson. This is a new version of that remix, with some lyrics removed due to Jasmine Thompson's management, according to Sam Feldt himself.
This music video starts off with a guy talking, with Japanese and English words on the screen... It says "Everyone lives in this world. But I have my own. My name is Tom Ballon. And I lost my best friend to stardom."
We watch a series of images follow, which then turn into segmented visuals. We watch Sam Feldt and his friend, who we can presume is Tom Ballon, go about Sam Feldt's superstardom.
Tom Ballon, if that's who he is, is completely lonely following in Sam Feldt's shadow. At his concert, at his home, in loads of different countries and cultures. Tom Ballon, I'm going to call him Tom Ballon, even if it isn't him; isn't having the best time. He's on the outside looking in, not enjoying what is right in front of him.
This could be because of how Sam Feldt doesn't quite include him. The song is called "What About The Love" and Sam Feldt is too interested in seeing the world, playing music to his fans, and doing other things; neglecting Tom Ballon.
The ending has Tom Ballon standing in front of Sam Feldt and still being ignored. He kind of needs to liven up once in a while, I'd do anything to travel around the world with someone; he could be a lot worse off, not going to lie. The final scene has Japanese and English words saying: "Now and then eat an apple, or else you will go bald". That pretty much sounds like a threat, and I don't see how that correlates with the music video, but, okay, although I don't like apples.
Overall, this music video relates to the song completely. It's passionate, and I love how it also shows the energy of Sam Feldt concerts, all the while focusing on this Tom Ballon guy. It's entertaining and intricate. Very clever and comedic. It works completely. The song is one I'd totally listen to again!
Another great song from the Eurovision Song Contest 2015. This time it cuts right through my Christmas Special 2016, purely because I want to finish my Eurovision Song Contest Special before the end of the year. Russia has recently been doing well at Eurovision, and this is definitely a song that deserved to win, and one that gets better with every listen. Russia came second with 303 points, just 62 points away from the winner. In this music video for "A Million Voices", we see very beautiful different people as well as Polina Gagarina giving the song her all, which is to be expected.
Polina Gagarina is a prolific Russian singer, she has really made a name for herself and almost won Eurovision for them. A singer like this deserves international fame, and so she continues to try. She released a new album called "9", which was interesting, to say the least. Click here to see my review on the album for CelebMix. She is currently a coach on Golos (the Russian version of The Voice), and on her team was fellow Eurovision 2015 contestant Aminata, who sang "Love Injected", before she got knocked out during the Battles. C1R was the broadcaster who chose Polina Gagarina through internal selection. The song she sang was written by Gabriel Alares, Joakim Björnberg, Katrina Noorbergen, Leonid Gutkin, and Vladimir Matetsky.
This music video is extremely basic, it coincides with a few other Eurovision music videos that haven't got a lot going on.
The shooting of the video involved 25 people of different ages and ethnicities. This really shows during the video, and explains that we are all the same regardless, we're all human.
That is the story of the song itself and it's such a beautiful song that I was hoping that the music video would do the same, but there's just isn't enough substance to it.
Polina Gagarina's performance piece is amazing as per usual. She's gorgeous and definitely camera friendly. She shines singing this song in the music video, so it's no wonder she did amazingly on the Eurovision stage. It's just a shame there isn't a much more expansive music video to relate to the song.
This is just one of those moments that makes you think: "Did this really happen?" And now this is part of my Christmas Special 2016. It's one of those things that you wouldn't expect to happen. Mariah Carey's original version of "All I Want For Christmas Is You" is not only iconic, but it's still very current. It's the one that always charts highly every Christmas, and it's one a lot of people love. It's highly catchy and is one of those ones that people look forward to hearing on the radio. So why she thought it was a good idea to do a new version with Justin Bieber, we'll never know. Watch Justin Bieber shop in Macy's, buying everything and anything, whilst eyeing up Mariah Carey; then later giving out presents in this music video for "All I Want For Christmas Is You (SuperFestive!)".
Justin Bieber is one of the biggest male artists in the world right now; many people have become fans of his music after his recent album. His Purpose album is full of amazing songs that everybody is still talking about today; who knows what the next album will bring, but no doubt it will be amazing. However, when this song was released as part of a Christmas album, he was still coming into his own. His own Christmas song "Mistletoe" is still pretty good, but maybe he needs to release another Christmas album, with a single that will top the charts; it would certainly make a change to see a Christmas song at the top of the UK Singles Chart for Christmas. Teaming up with Mariah Carey, this version of this classic song was released as a promotional single in some countries. She is one of the biggest female artists in the world. She has definitely made a name for herself, made her money and is still current when she wants to be. This should've done well globally, but it's nothing compared to the original.
Directed by Sanaa Hamri, the music video shows the two superstar artists in Macy's. Justin Bieber is a customer, piling everything and anything into his shopping trolley, whilst Mariah Carey poses on a stand as if she is some sort of mannequin.
She winks at him and then the music video progresses as she comes alive. Shoppers wait outside Macy's to get gifts from these two stars.
They throw presents out to the crowd; at times, it looks like Justin Bieber is trying to throw them as far away as possible. There is definitely some power behind those throws.
He does look quite childish next to the highly professional and sexy Mariah Carey. His performance piece is pretty cute, which is a contrast to Mariah Carey's performance piece, who is being overly sexy. It doesn't really gel well, but nor does the song.
The narrative doesn't relate to the song, although I guess you could suppose they are singing to one another. As a whole, I'm not quite so keen on it. However, it is completely festive, and I suppose it's good that they tried to switch up the original. But, even Mariah Carey can't beat the original, and it's her own song. Nice try though.
Another Ariana Grande music video a part of my blog, but the first to be a part of a special; she now debuts on my Christmas Special 2016, I knew she had a Christmas music video, even though it does seem pretty unprofessional, as everyone keeps mentioning in the comments, but fun music videos can be unprofessional. Sometimes artists need a fun time, not a popstar big music video, and this is what this is. Fun. Fun. Fun. Watch Ariana Grande spend time in a house with her friends, celebrating Christmas while she sings her song "Santa Tell Me".
We all know who Ariana Grande is, she grew up on our TV screens on TV show "Victorious", and then later as a main star in the spinoff "Sam & Cat", all on Nickelodeon. Afterwards, she launched her music career and the rest is history. Now she's one of the biggest female singers in the world. With her brilliant voice and her amazing career, the future will forever be bright for this girl. This song was released in 2014 and did mediocre on the charts. It was written by Ariana Grande, Savan Kotecha, and Ilya.
Directed by Alfredo Flores and Jones Crow, the music video is pretty simple. Ariana Grande throws an exclusive Christmas party for her and her friends, at a house.
The opening scene sees her and her friends in a bed with animal hats on, goofing around. They mess around in pretty much every scene.
There's a slight dance sequence on the scenes, but the choreography is too simple as if they came up with it on the spot.
It's cute, it's simple, it's nice, there's not much else I can say. The best part is totally the ending, not because it's finished but because they show some outtakes, which are pretty funny.
Overall, it's cute, it's Christmassy, and it's fun. That's all we need. Ariana Grande deserves some fun in her life at least and this was it. I'm glad she had a good time on set because that really shows.
