Yet again, the number one of the UK singles chart has been claimed by Luis Fonsi & Daddy Yankee with "Despacito" featuring Justin Bieber - which still doesn't have a music video, yet; so this opens up my Chart Mondays review, and I have been dying to review this one. Another One Direction solo debut single, and this one is totally a jam of mine. I'm literally claiming it as my favourite solo material from the guys, and I'm totally looking forward to Liam Payne's future releases because I never expected that his musical route would be totally up my street. Watch Liam Payne perform his debut single "Strip That Down" alongside Quavo in a neon-lit room, segmented with an on-fire dance group who nails brilliant choreography throughout this music video.
Liam Payne, in case you didn't know, was one-fifth/one-fourth of One Direction before their hiatus. All five members of the group have gone solo, with Liam Payne being the last of them to release solo material. This single managed to peak on the UK chart at number three, but now it's slowly heading down the top ten, and will probably drop out completely by Friday, or the Friday after. Featured on this track is Quavo, real name Quavious Marshall, who is mostly known for being one-third of hip-hop group Migos, as well as featuring on DJ Khaled's "I'm The One" alongside Justin Bieber, Lil Wayne, and Chance the Rapper. This song is beyond catchy and works perfectly. It samples Shaggy's hit song "It Wasn't Me", which itself samples War's "Smile Happy" which explains the long list of songwriters. "Strip That Down" was written by Liam Payne, Steve Mac, Ed Sheeran, Quavious Marshall, Orville Burrell, Rickardo Ducent, Shaun Pizzonia, Brian Thompson, Sylvester Allen, Harold Ray Brown, Morris Dickerson, Le Roy Lonnie Jordan, Charles William Miller, Lee Oskar, and Howard E. Scott.
Directed by Emil Nava - another popular music video director - the music video is a pure performance visual. It has two main parts, Liam Payne and Quavo singing the song, and a dance performance from a dance troupe.
As for the performance visual, Liam Payne is trying to look sultry and sexy, but he just looks like he is not enjoying this at all - maybe that sunbed room is too hot for him? He seriously looks lost without his band mates beside him. In the song, he mentions how he is having fun, yet he fails to send that across the viewers; and, apart from the one smile that takes up a few seconds of this music video, there is no enjoyment from him in this music video whatsoever.
As for Quavo, he tries not to overshadow the ex-One Direction member, and he doesn't do half a bad job. Yet, it's this amazing dance troupe, with the killer choreography that grabs the music video entirely. However, I am not so keen on the black and white contrasting with the very colourful neon room. You can watch the full dance video below.
Overall, this just doesn't work. I feel there was an attempt to make this sexy in every way, but Liam Payne looks bored out of his mind, more than anything else. There is a very long silent intro, that definitely lined up the tragic music video. The dance troupe pretty much saves this disaster of a video. However, the song will still continue to be a jam of mine, and I cannot wait for Liam Payne's future music; it's just a shame about the video.
After reviewing this song for Outlet Magazine, I had to go into depth about the music video on my blog. It has definitely become my favourite Hailee Steinfeld song to date, although I reckon that she'll manage to release more hits that I'm going to fall in love with. The song is an inspiring, uplifting song; it's a great spin on the concept, as many are preaching about how being different is good and not conforming to society; yet, Hailee Steinfeld wants to be confident, wants to be strong and beautiful, wants to go far and be unstoppable - just like most girls are. It's a brilliant twist, flooding minds around the world with positive energy, and it's wonderful to see. Watch Hailee Steinfeld act as different girls all aspiring to be like "Most Girls", becoming an inspiration to her fans and young people as a whole, in this music video.
Hailee Steinfeld first came to my attention in Pitch Perfect 2, and she has used this to launch herself in the acting and music world, completely dominating slowly but memorably. I'll definitely never forget her main role in the Edge of Seventeen, which she nailed completely. She has worked with some great names including Sigala and DNCE. This song is intended to be the lead single to her debut studio album. It has charted moderately well around the world, which just isn't good enough for me as she deserves so much more success with this inspiring song. It was written by Hailee Steinfeld, Ryan Tedder, Zach Skelton, Jeremy Dussolliet, Tim Sommers, and Asia Whiteacre.
Directed by Hannah Lux Davis - seriously the most in-demand music video director around at the moment - the music video sees Hailee Steinfeld in various acting scenes styling out the girls she is singing about; whilst also showcasing how they are feeling at that moment and are aspiring to be like most girls, not just some girls.
Hailee Steinfeld channels various looks in this music video, each one showing off a totally different personality trait. We have the sporty girl (who is a boxer); we have posh girl (who is glam and rides in the back of a limousine); we have book-lover girl (who spends all day reading books); we have purple-haired artist (who has a team behind her); and performance shots of Hailee Steinfeld herself, as well as with her girls - all of whom are wearing tops with words of strength on them. Almost hitting the Spice Girls personality traits - almost. She's ironically showing off most girls, but not all girls look like that. These are the people who have beauty on the inside, but she also looks incredible on the outside.
She's received a lot of flack for this little tidbit, but I feel that this is how she is expressing them on the inside. That these sort of people are actually her in different forms, that she's all of these girls inside of her, and this is why the music video works because she's just completely genuine whilst still doing everything that she likes to do. She can become anyone of these people because she is like most girls.
The opening and the ending is quite questioning. I love the start as we see Hailee Steinfeld and unknown mystery guy talk, where he tells her that she's not like most girls; well that was totally the wrong thing to say because she actually wants to be like most girls. Yet, the ending just baffles me because he is seen standing in front of nine TVs watching Hailee Steinfeld's music video, where she actually tells him that she wants to be like most girls. The ending scene just doesn't add properly into the visual.
Overall, I am still obsessed with this song, and it's such a shame it hasn't performed better on charts around the world. It's accompanying music video isn't, at all, anything like we expected. This should've been so much better, and even though delving deeper allows us to understand where she's coming from, it just doesn't come across well enough.
How have I not reviewed this yet? There just seems to be more and more music videos coming out and I can barely keep up. This is a brilliant collaboration, the song itself is full of club-vibes which totally make it my sort of track; however, the opening is a little too downbeat for my liking; it just doesn't excite me until the chorus kicks in. Even though it's rare for artists to join forces a second time, we're all hoping that they do. Watch Cheat Codes and Demi Lovato perform "No Promises" in what looks like a post-apocalyptic world, as the boys' logos and geometrical shapes emanate from within the visual of this music video.
Cheat Codes are an electronic dance trio from America, consisting of Trevor Dahl, KEVI (Kevin Ford), and Matthew Russell. They became famous after a collaboration with Kris Kross Amsterdam on the song "Sex", which certainly launched them globally. They've had a few great follow-up hits, this song being one of them - yet, they haven't managed to create the same success as before; although I bet it's not too far away. This collaboration sees them teaming up with Demi Lovato, who is certainly one of my favourite female singers around. She definitely helped the success of this single. She is currently working on new music, although it might be a wait until she releases her solo material since she has quite a few planned features being released with many top DJs. It's great to see her defining her sound and discovering new types of EDM music. This song has done moderately okay on the charts around the world, but it definitely deserves to climb up further; however, I truly believe the start of the song could be to blame for the okayish chart numbers. "No Promises" was written by Trevor Dahl, Matthew Russell, Kevin Ford, Demi Lovato, Ari Leff, and Loote.
The music video was directed by Hannah Lux Davis, the in-demand director. This has surprised me that she directed this video because I'm so used to something better; although, I reckon the visual idea behind this was awesome, and it was stripped back.
It's a full-out performance piece, and I was totally expecting chemistry between Demi Lovato and Trevor Dahl; but, instead of using Demi Lovato's acting skills brilliantly, they decide to focus on the camera, and making the audience see them. This just doesn't come off engagingly, and although these profile shots are intricate and gorgeous, it just doesn't work that much without the chemistry between the singers.
Demi Lovato steals the show completely. Her sexy scenes in the warehouse-like building are complete fire. She's channelling Clarke Griffin in every way (from The 100 TV show); it totally works with her surroundings.
Overall, this should've been polished perfection, much like many other Hannah Lux Davis-directed music videos; but, whether Cheat Codes and Demi Lovato don't get on, or they were just rushed with the whole visual, who knows. But, this clearly doesn't work as well as we all wish that it did. I also fail to see how it relates to the song exactly; however, Demi Lovato's fierce camera acting saves this from being a total disaster.
I'm so glad that Alexandra Stan has a new single out, and not only that, but it has been released on a Friday! This means I can review the music video for my New Release blog, which I am ecstatic about. Breaking away from Global Records and releasing her music on Alexandra Stan Records, "Boy Oh Boy" is planned to be the first single from her upcoming fourth studio album. I have previously reviewed the song and music video for CelebMix,. The song has distinct reggae vibes mixed with 90's influence and Asian culture, all wrapped up in a modern Eurodance song that is typical of Alexandra Stan's style. The song is addictive to say the least; while the music video showcases her beautifully. Watch Alexandra Stan sing her song "Boy Oh Boy" while captivating Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia in every possible light.
Alexandra Stan continues to prove that she's one of the top female artists out of Romania. Her effortlessly catchy songs are released one after another. She keeps to her style, with her voice on point throughout, whilst managing to progress and further her career. This single is a great transition single from "9 Lives", which was her last single release from her third studio album 'Alesta'. This one is a slightly new direction, showing that she has got some amazing new music on the way. "Boy Oh Boy" was written by Alexandra Stan, Marius Mirica, and Andi Grasu.
Directed by Bogdan Paun, the music video is a pure performance visual that was filmed in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Alexandra Stan wanted to capture the Asian culture, the Asian people, and the Asian atmosphere; and she pulled it off perfectly, even meeting people who wanted to star in the video.
Some of the scenes were filmed at the Batu Caves Tempur, as she revealed in some of her Instagram photos. She has dropped teaser one and teaser two in the run-up to this music video. She brings her usual energy to the visual, clearly caring a lot about this song and meaning every single word.
My favourite scene is when she's walking through the street, clocking all the people around her, allowing them time in the visual. There are also brilliant scenes of what appears to be a food warehouse, displaying the food served in Malaysia - tantalising.
The song's ending bridge is beyond anything we could've imagined and is certainly the best part of the song - if only it lasted a little longer. I hope that this sort of bridge appears in many of her new songs. During this part of the video, Alexandra Stan releases all her performing vibes, easily giving the camera everything it needs to capture her beautifully. Definitely an unforgettable moment during this segment of the video.
Overall, the song is something I can't get enough of, and the music video perfectly relates to the song. I like how she wanted to show off Malaysia. It works well, although I'm not so keen on some of the colourisation filters used; it makes it slightly too dark and mysterious, which doesn't really go with the rest of the scenes.
Out of all the options for my Thursday Revisit; of course, I was going to choose RuPaul's debut single which definitely inspired many people and charted in the US, the UK, and Canada. This song is totally iconic because so many of the phrases that we hear RuPaul say on his TV show "RuPaul's Drag Race" are ones he says in this song. The song was released in 1992 and had pretty good success. Personally, I always identify the 90's as a decade with influential drag queens. From what I remember, there was many of them on TV, making a name for themselves. Nowadays, it's not so easy to find drag queens on mainstream TV shows. They clearly left an impression on me, as I remember asking my Mom all about them. RuPaul has totally been an influential person for the LGBT+ community and this drag queen will go down in history. Watch RuPaul play a little black girl and become supermodel of the world, based on his own young life within the gay community and the culture he grew up with in this music video for "Supermodel (You Better Work)".
RuPaul, real name RuPaul Charles, has definitely come straight back into the limelight with his very popular American TV show RuPaul's Drag Race, which has seen him crown a number of drag queens as America's Next Drag Superstar. Yet, this is the song that really started RuPaul's music career - which has certainly been lengthy. It's inspiringly catchy and definitely was a surprising hit for the era that it was released. It managed to chart at number 39 on the UK Singles Chart and number 45 on the US Billboard Hot 100; as well as number two on the US Billboard Hot Dance Club Songs Chart, and number four on the Canadian RPM Dance/Urban Singles Chart. The song was written by RuPaul, Jimmy Harry, and Larry Tee.
The music video was directed by Randy Barbato, and it continues to prove how current RuPaul is. The visual has a performance piece based within a narrative and is completely flawless. This concept and the way they have managed to pull it off is certainly ahead of its time. Was this really filmed in 1993? Throughout the video, actress LaWanda Page talks; she has several lines in the song, but does not appear in the music video; although she does appear in RuPaul's following videos.
During the narrative, we watch a little black girl get spotted by an "Ebony Fashion Fair" talent scout who then grows up to become the supermodel of the world. This is all announced by LaWanda Page as RuPaul looks at old photos. The video continues to show RuPaul as the supermodel of the world, prancing down the road like it's a runway.
She continues to do model things, like photo shoots and signing magazines with her face on. She uses the song to teach others that they have to work. As the video progresses, we see that this life is getting too much for her - and we all know how that feels. Stressed and overworked, RuPaul cracks under pressure; but. at the end, she laughs it off as if it was all a bit of fun.
It's totally not surprising that MTV loved this video, we all love this video. Clearly, the music channels played a key part in creating a hit song; and, to be fair, they still play a major part in the charts, especially considering people like Shawn Mendes with "Stitches" launched up the UK chart with his song, after the music channels played it often (as well as radio, obviously). This is complete in every way; and, to be fair, if it were released in today, it'll get a similar rating, because it's strong, it's effective, and it's relatable to the song in every way.
Couldn't decide what music video to review, so chose this one since I am currently playing Nickelback's latest album; which has the same title as this single. The album is pure fire throughout, and this music video is just as powerful. Nickelback are truly back, putting their stamp on rock music and proving how great they truly are. Watch Nickelback become freedom-fighting revolutionaries as they rescue imprisoned humans from machines in a post-apocalyptic world in this music video for "Feed The Machine".
Nickelback are a Canadian rock band consisting of Chad Kroeger, Ryan Peake, Mike Kroeger, and Daniel Adair. They are one of the most successful rock groups of all time and continue to keep to their sound whilst keeping it current and mainstream. We all like a little bit of Nickelback, whether we like to admit to it or not. This latest album is complete fire from start to finish. It has certainly proved that they can continue as a band without changing their music genre. This song is their first single from the album, and it is one of those songs you never forget. It was written by Chad Kroeger, Ryan Peake, Mike Kroeger, and Daniel Adair.
Directed by Kyle Cogan, this music video is fully in-depth, easily relating to the lyrics. There is a slight performance piece, but it's mainly narrative; easily relating to the concept of the lyrics, transforming them into this perfect visual.
We watch as these robots come after two girls, one of which gets captured outside, whilst the other manages to escape and finds a place to hide. Then, the one who survived was taken to a village by a woman and given some water, and then they make a plan to free the humans that have been captured by the monsters, who are clearly just feeding the machine.
The concept is great and very relatable to many people in the world at the moment. There's not much inclusion of Nickelback as a whole; their scenes are more profile shots than anything else. I like the ending which sees the machine shut down once the humans are all rescued. Such an iconic music video, and yet there's just something missing as a whole.
Here is Kiesza, once again, proving she is a vocal powerhouse and determined not to go down as the "Hideaway" girl; I just know there is another hit on the horizon, for sure! This song deserved to be one, but we'll keep it amongst our treasures; one we'll sing along to every time we hear it; one we'll request to play at every party; and, one that we will never forget; just like all the other treasures we have. Bakermat has really proven his ability to create a hit, and although it may not have chart success, it's one I absolutely love. Watch Kiesza inspire everyone to dance in this ode of a music video to the past, whilst still keeping it modern and with a comedic effect, for Bakermat's "Don't Want You Back".
Bakermat, real name Lodewijk Fluttert, is a Dutch DJ and music producer, who has had a few successful songs, but most of which have been solid hits that haven't got the recognition they deserved. Only two of his songs have hit the UK Chart, these are "One Day (Vandaag)" and "Teach Me". It's a shame this one hasn't made it, especially since the collaboration is with Kiesza, real name Kiesa Ellestad, who may be a Canadian singer, but she's had massive success in the UK. Her hit, "Hideaway" peaked at number one, and she followed that with "Giant In My Heart" which got to number four; and, even her third single, "No Enemiez", peaked at number 30, inside the top 40! Yet, she hasn't been able to chart since, but promotion of this artist isn't as high as it was when "Hideaway" dropped; but, with a voice like Kiesza's, you'll always be a fundamental part of the music industry. This song was written by Lodewijk Fluttert, Clifford Goilo, Janée Bennett, Komi Al-Hakam, and Tamera Foster.
Directed by Adam Madrzyk, this music video is tongue-in-cheek as Kiesza encourages everyone to stop what they're doing and to dance their way through this song. Her vocals are on point throughout as she brings some fun to this brightly-themed music video.
The whole concept reminds me of Jigglypuff from Pokémon because everyone is asleep by the time she stops singing, probably from the exhaustion of dancing to the song. The opening scene sees a child go downstairs to watch TV and eat breakfast; it's clear that this is a children's TV programme that Kiesza is performing on.
She inspires fitness, wrapping it all around dance choreography, which she totally nails next to her backing dancers. The song is catchy, and Bakermat is looking super handsome in the visual. I also love how the people behind-the-scenes all start to dance too, and we also have an annoyed director who then ends up dancing too.
It totally works, but does it really relate to the song? It feels that the music video is a comical visual that doesn't really reflect the song. However, it's one I could watch over and over again; one that you'll see something new every time you watch.
This song is the current number one in the UK, which isn't all that surprising since it is a charity single. Many artists came together to sing this heart-warming song after the tragic news about the Grenfell Tower. The music video for this charity single showcases the devastation caused by the fire that erupted in London at the Grenfell Tower. It also showcases the many artists that came together to record this version of the song. It just shows how much they can all pull together when there's a time of need. The song has charted in many countries around the world. Watch the devastation that was caused by the Grenfell Tower fire, while we see many artists come together in this music video for charity single "Bridge Over Troubled Water".
Artists For Grenfell consists of many artists, all of whom came together for this single. The following artists sang on the song: Stormzy, Robbie Williams, James Blunt, Rita Ora, Craig David, Bastille, Liam Payne, Emily Sandé, Kelly Jones, Paloma Faith, Louis Tomlinson, Labrinth, Jorja Smith, WSTRN, Leona Lewis, Jessie J, James Arthur, Roger Daltrey, Ella Eyre, Anne-Marie, Ella Henderson, Louisa Johnson, 5 After Midnight, Angel, Carl Barât, Deno, Donae'o, Dua Lipa, Fleur East, Gareth Malone & The Choir for Grenfell, Geri Halliwell, Gregory Porter, Jessie Ware, John Newman, Jon McClure, London Community Gospel Choir, Matt Goss, Matt Terry, Mr Eazi, Nathan Sykes, Omar, Pixie Lott, Ray BLK, Raye, Shakka, Shane Filan, Tom Grennan, Tony Hadley, and Tulisa. Musicians also recorded parts of the song: Brian May - on guitar, Nile Rogers - on guitar, Tokio Myers - on piano, and Pete Townsend - on guitar. This was a brilliant collaborative effort, and the song shot to the top of the UK charts. There are a few outshining vocals, to me Rita Ora and Ella Eyre shine out above them all, with James Arthur bringing his usual raspy voice. The song was originally sung by Simon & Garfunkel where their "Bridge Over Troubled Water" also hit number one in the UK. The song has been covered by many, my favourite being Hear'Say. The song was written by Paul Simon. All proceeds of this version of the song that Syco Music and Sony Music receive will be donated to the London Community Foundation and distributed by them to those affected by the fire.
The music video is a typical charity single music video, that showcases the Artists For Grenfell in the studio, recording the song; whilst clips of the devastating events after the fire are shown in segments. This is really nothing new and, as usual, the artists are shown in black and white, which doesn't add anything to this music video, apart from contrast.
Stormzy fully encompasses the song at the start, clearly adding something new to this song and making it unique. The sights we watch are completely saddening, and something like this could've happened to any one of us or one of our family members.
Overall, the video captures the devastation of the Grenfell Tower fire. I'm not so keen on the studio visuals of the artists as we've seen this sort of thing a thousand times before. As a whole, it totally deserves to be number one, and I'm glad that the public has done their part by buying the charity single to help all these sufferers.
I haven't seen this music video before today because I was waiting to write it up for my Chart Mondays review; however, it looks like this song isn't going to return to the UK's top ten anytime soon, even though this visual has been released. So I thought I might as well review this today, since I am obsessed with Shawn Mendes, and not just because of his beautiful voice and emotional songs. This track has me singing along whenever I hear it, although I don't think it's as good as many of his other songs. Watch Shawn Mendes be free travelling with his love-interest, Ellie Bamber, throughout Europe, as well as showing his gigs in those respective cities in this music video for "There's Nothing Holdin' Me Back".
Shawn Mendes is the Canadian superstar who is bringing out hit after hit after hit. Thanks to the music channels, I was aware of "Stitches" before it blew up in the UK. He is quite the climber on the UK chart, usually charting low to start off with and then zooming straight up. This has happened often with his singles; but, he's quickly becoming a male artist everyone is talking about, so he definitely has a bright future ahead of him. This song was released as part of the reissue of his second studio album. It was written by Shawn Mendes, John Theodore Geiger II, Geoff Warburton, and Scott Harris.
The music video is directed by Jay Martin. It was filmed in Paris, Amsterdam, and Isle of Thanet, Kent. The visual also features actress Ellie Bamber as Shawn Mendes' love-interest and on-screen girlfriend.
They travel around together, just like the opening lyric suggests. They are clearly having a lot of fun together travelling on trains, trekking along the coastline, and running through transportation hubs. They clearly get along great, and their acting skills really come into play as they easily showcase a relationship that we are all jealous of.
That's about all that goes on in this music video. There's a slight performance piece which sees Shawn Mendes performing on stage, with his guitar. He displays his emotion just like he does in every other performance we've seen. You definitely won't be disappointed at one of his gigs. Overall the video is good, but it just feels like it's missing something; it might be that the visuals don't showcase their on-screen relationship all that well.
I have been watching RuPaul's Drag Race recently, and I'm addicted. I am now on season seven, so no spoilers, please! This song gets played at The Nightingale Club in Birmingham often, and I've always thought it was Lady Gaga, until I watched season six of RuPaul's Drag Race, and I was like 'of course it's RuPaul'. So catchy and it so should've been an international hit; the music video also featured the top four drag queens from season six, which was the best season I've ever watched, to date. It was also the first time that the top three were all my favourites, and the first time one of my favourites won. Watch RuPaul perform the song "Sissy That Walk" accompanied by the top four of season six of RuPaul's Drag Race: Bianca Del Rio, Adore Delano, Courtney Act, and Darienne Lake.
RuPaul, full name RuPaul Charles, is one of the biggest drag queens around the world; especially now with the success of RuPaul's Drag Race, the TV show that sees drag queens compete to be the next drag superstar. She has a range of musical hits, she's a television host, has a whole range of merchandise, and has starred in many films and tv shows. She's been releasing songs since 1992 and even charted in various countries and had some of her songs sampled in recent music (yes, I'm on about Britney Spears' "Work Bitch"). On the other hand, she hasn't managed to hit the charts since the 90's, but with a new album on its way, and with Drag Race actually becoming a must-watched show, RuPaul might just return to the charts one day. This song was written by RuPaul Charles and Lucian Piane.
The music video was directed by Steven Corfe and was edited by Michael Roha. The last challenge of every series of RuPaul's Drag Race sees the queens star in RuPaul's next music video; in this case, it was the top four of season six of the show that appeared in this music video. Bianca Del Rio went on to win, with Adore Delano and Courtney Act becoming runner-ups, and Darienne Lake coming fourth.
In the video, all the drag queens are looking fierce throughout. Bianca Del Rio does really shine in this, along with Adore Delano. As for Courtney Act, she gives it her all but I feel she gets a little lost, but it's Darienne Lake who totally falls short.
Anyone who has watched the episode where they filmed this music video, will know that Adore Delano came up with a brilliant dance move, which Darienne Lake then stole, and then it was cut out altogether for the music video, which was a shame.
The pit crew also appear in this music video, stripping during their scene, which we are not complaining about. Yet, it's RuPaul that stuns us all in this visual, with perfect performance vibes, which she totally brings. This is totally her song and she's going to let you know that in this music video. Although, the black panther does stand out the most for me.
Overall, it's great to watch and reminisce over the best season of RuPaul's Drag Race, but I'm not so keen on the fact that it's shown in black and white; I just don't see the reason behind it. Regardless, it's a powerful visual that goes perfectly with this power-dance track that I just love clubbing to when I hear it at The Nightingale Club.
