Having reviewed this song for Outlet Magazine, I thought I'd give it extra promotion on my blog, as I am slightly obsessed with the clear emotion that Dani Robert has put into this song, and the music video is subtle yet interesting throughout. It has gained over 2,000 YouTube views and 179,000 Spotify streams in the month that this song has been released - which is pretty impressive. It's not much of a surprise considering how great this song really is. Watch Dani Robert perform her song in this black and white visual as we watch two friends grow from toddlers to adults whilst feelings develop in the music video to "Clouds".
Dani Robert is a Canadian singer/songwriter who has been focusing on music ever since she was young. Her path turned her towards becoming a musical therapist, helping people through music. Having worked with music so much, she has crafted her own unique sound, blending different genres to create her first single "Clouds". This is clearly just the start of this fantastic singer/songwriter, and we can't wait to see what the future brings for her.
Directed by Gord Poon and Long Truong, this music video is both narrative and performance based. There's not a lot going on with subtle scenes that totally work throughout.
The performance side shows Dani Robert bringing her song to our attention. She grabs the spotlight throughout this music video as she sings the song and that's not easy to do when this intricate narrative is being shown.
We watch two toddlers together in some cute scenes, which then leads into scenes of them being teenagers and then fully grown adults as they dine together - clearly having a catch-up. Yet, there's more behind it, there's subtle interest in each other as they grow, and it's clear that the feelings for each other build. However, even as adults they don't cross that line of friendship.
Overall, an in-depth and intense music video, that relates to the song well. It has this sad aspect to it, one we've all felt now and again. It's relatable to the viewers, and the subtleness is something that is so difficult to capture - yet they've managed to do just that.
Aminata is back with another brilliant song and music video that it's shocking to think that this Latvian singer didn't win Eurovision 2015 with her epic song "Love Injected"; however she continues to bring out amazing follow-ups that just demand all of our attention. How she isn't an internationally-known star, yet, I do not know; just explore her music and you'll see exactly what I'm talking about. This song is pure magic, and is the start of new music from Aminata - we literally cannot wait to hear more. This is on fire from start to finish. Watch Aminata perform her new song whilst showcasing Latvian fashion, culture, dance, and sport in this music video for "Prime Time".
Aminata, full name Aminata Savadogo, first came to my attention when she represented Latvia at the Eurovision Song Contest 2015 with her awesome song "Love Injected". She came sixth with 188 points, but that year was definitely highly competitive. Since then she went on to release more incredible singles and two albums; we hope that the release of this song is the start of her dropping her third. This song is beyond catchy with a brilliant sing-a-long hook that we can't get out of our heads! The song was written by Jonas Brogger Filtenborg, Edvin Hjertquist, and Aminata Savadogo.
Directed by Steve Spencer, this music video is a pure performance piece with Aminata taking the central spotlight as she dips into various attention-grabbing scenes. She's stylish throughout, and I am obsessed with her socks and skirt look at the start - if it's now acceptable for men to wear shorts and socks, it's time for women to embrace skirts and socks because Aminata rocks this look perfectly.
There are various scenes throughout, the tattoo scene is sexy, the football scene is fierce, and the dancing throughout is on point. The visual shows Aminata performing her song, bringing it like we've seen her do plenty of times before.
It's another great performance visual from Aminata and really works with the song. Yet, this isn't all that memorable next to the song, it feels like there's too much going on whilst not enough is being shown in each scene. Some shots look like there's a narrative that isn't shown, especially with the tape going into a parcel. Not fully expanded, but works nonetheless.
We have a whole new number one guys! Once again, it's DJ Khaled, only this time he didn't need the help of Justin Bieber to rise to the top; instead, this is a collaboration with Rihanna and Bryson Tiller. However, it is set to be a one-week number one as "Despacito" by Luis Fonsi & Daddy Yankee featuring Justin Bieber plans to climb to the top once again - summer is truly here. Rihanna totally shines on the track but in the video, she doesn't have her star quality and something is certainly missing. Watch DJ Khaled, Rihanna & Bryson Tiller perform "Wild Thoughts" in Little Haiti, Miami, Florida, amongst the streets and up in the sky in this music video for the song which is the current UK number one.
DJ Khaled, real name Khaled Mohamed Khaled, has really turned into an international star after "I'm The One" charted all over the world, and now he is continuing his success with hit single after hit single. DJ Khaled is seriously becoming someone everyone wants to collaborate with and I am excited to see what killer songs he is going to release next. On this track is Rihanna, real name Robyn Rihanna Fenty, who needs no introduction... You'd have had to be living under the biggest rock in the world to not know who she is; however, her latest songs haven't impacted the chart that well and aren't all that catchy, in my opinion. I do miss her club hits from years ago, nothing can top "Don't Stop The Music". Then there's also Bryson Tiller on this track too. This is the first time he has charted inside the UK Top 40 and at the top too, opening the UK public to his music, although his albums have charted well to date. The song incorporates a sample from "Maria Maria" by Santana, hence the long list of songwriters; who are DJ Khaled, PartyNextDoor, Bryson Tiller, Rihanna, Raul Rekow, David Mcrae, Marvin Moore-Hough, Carlos Santana, Karl Perazzo, Wyclef Jean, and Jerry "Wonder" Duplessis.
Directed by Colin Tilley - one of the top music video directors around at the moment - the music video was filmed in Little Haiti, Miami, Florida. It's mainly a performance piece as Rihanna is fierce throughout whilst DJ Khaled takes the spotlight at times and Bryson Tiller remains in the background in some interestingly visual profile shots.
The start sees DJ Khaled and Rihanna walking down the street; interspersed with shots of people at an event, enjoying the music. She acts confident and sassy during her walk and even does some dancing with DJ Khaled.
Next, we see her wearing a floaty blue dress which certainly doesn't flatter her at all, in a bedroom. Her clothing for this music video is very relaxed and chilling; it doesn't scream high fashion and probably explains why she doesn't shine throughout the video.
For his part, Bryson Tiller brings it in the song, but he also doesn't shine enough during his visual. Bryson Tiller and Rihanna do bring wild thoughts but it's just not enough there to entertain the audience. Apart from the gorgeous performance ending, that sees all three artists on a block as fireworks light up the sky behind them - which is a brilliant scene although that's to do with the concept and not the artists themselves - the music video just doesn't keep the audience interested and this just feels like another music video to mix in with all the other average ones out there.
After writing this up for CelebMix, and potentially gaining an interview with this amazing Romanian female singer, I just had to write this up for my blog too. Raluka has sure come a long way since she first hit the music industry, and we are all loving her red hair - which she debuted in the "Du-ma Spre Noi" music video - the Romanian version to this one. "Tattoo" is just the English version of the song and visual. Watch this backwards motion clip of Raluka running away from her vocally abusive guy in this music video for the English version of "Du-ma Spre Noi" titled "Tattoo".
Raluka, real name Alexandra Raluca Nistor, first came to my attention when I was flipping through Inna and Alexandra Stan's music videos on YouTube; Raluka came up amongst my suggestions with her collaboration with DJ Sava on the song "I Like (The Trumpet)"; since then I have been a fan and have followed her career. Before then, she was one-third of girl group Pepper Girls. In recent years, she has been bringing it with amazing songs that I definitely can't get enough of, and "Tattoo" has just been added to that list alongside her previous singles. The song's lyrics were written by Sophia Ayana.
Directed by Alex Ceausu, this music video starts with the end and shows Raluka spending time with her friend - who we find out is named Angie. We watch the backwards-motion narrative interspersed with a relaxed performance piece.
The whole visual is very sensual between Raluka & Angie and could explain the ending - which is really the start. Although we all much prefer the sexy Romanian version of the song since it has that tantalising feel to it.
The performance piece is relaxed, with Raluka really getting into the song and trying to make the English lyrics have the same effect as the Romanian lyrics; which is not easy to pull off. Raluka does a great job and it totally makes us want to see her live.
Overall, it's a great music video, and reminds me of Inna's "Crazy Sexy Wild / Tu Si Eu" only because that too has a Romanian / English music video versions that are the exact same with subtle differences; just like this one. It fits the song beautifully and it's a song we can never quite get out of our heads for the rest of the day, whether that being the English or Romanian version.
I watched this music video upon its release a couple of days ago and it made me cry, it is incredibly emotionally powerful; definitely the best Manel Navarro music video to date! This Eurovision 2017 star may have come last, but he's proving that he won't let that defeat him; besides this song is way better than "Do It For Your Lover", and this amazing music video just proves he has talent. Watch Manel Navarro cheer everyone up with his inspiring song "Keep On Falling" in this music video from the Spain Eurovision 2017 representative.
Manel Navarro is best known for coming last at the Eurovision Song Contest 2017 where he represented Spain with his song "Do It For Your Lover". He was known by many when he previously released "Candle" - which I reviewed for Outlet Magazine and its music video - and I even interviewed him for CelebMix in the run-up to Eurovision. He admitted that he had more songs to come, and this latest contribution shows how amazing he truly is. This song is heartwarming and completely special. Manel Navarro's vocals are on point throughout and he manages to convey all the emotion he feels for this song. According to Vevo, the song was written by Antonio Rayo "Rayito".
Also, according to Vevo, the music video was directed by Fran Gas. It contains a performance piece and a narrative piece which all adds up to this perfect music video that made me cry on my first watch - it still touches my heart every time I watch it.
In the narrative, we watch three people - a girl and two guys - who are dealing with nasty words that have been said to them and lingered with them. For those of you who know me, this is currently me at the moment; I have an awful person in my life who is saying nasty things to me hurting me with every single word, and although I ignore those words, they still hurt regardless. I am one of those people in this music video - and so are a lot of others in this world.
We continue to watch as a box appears with a hand crank music box inside; on the lid, it says "Listen and pass it on!" The girl starts and cranks the music box and the words on her face magically disappear. She passes it on to the young boy and the same happens to him; this boy then passes it on to the older teenage boy, who also listens to the music box and everything is all right again.
We later find out that Manel Navarro created the music box himself to spread love, hope, and happiness. His narrative piece sees him sitting on a chair in a bedroom expressing emotionally what this song means to him. It's simply wow! The music video is completely incredible in every way!
Today was a struggle to find a New Release with a music video, most of the ones that do have a music video are instant grat singles; however, I stumbled across this one and I'm glad I chose this one for my New Release blog review. Infusing kaleidoscopic images projected onto her face for this music video, Alice Kristiansen loses the viewers as nothing new happens with this visual for "Lost In Translation".
Alice Kristiansen is a New York-based singer who gained a high following after Ashton Kutcher posted one of her videos to Facebook in 2015. Since then she's been building up her career with more releases that show her sound and emotional spirit. This song is newly released today following on from her most recent single "Lost My Mind". The video has already gained 36,000 views and counting on YouTube and the song has received over 2,000 streams on Spotify. "Lost In Translation" is an empowering emotional song that is totally unforgettable.
This music video is beyond simple with not much going on. It's a pure performance visual with kaleidoscopic images being projected onto her face and the background. Other images include falling leaves and block imagery.
There are two main scenes, one which is zoomed out completely, and one which is a proper headshot. This exposes her performance vibes which are barely there. She doesn't interact with the song, and fail to express what it means to her; it's frustrating to see because I know she can bring it and do the song justice, it's just a shame she doesn't for this video.
Overall, it's a good concept, it just doesn't go anywhere. Alice Kristiansen fails to connect with the audience; it's lacking substance and emotion.
It's time for Thursday Revisit, and I thought I might as well promote Samantha Jade more and show off her debut music video, which was actually the theme song to the hit movie Step Up! It's surprising that she was a part of one of the biggest dance films ever released, and it didn't help to launch her career - however, promotion with the song is usually key when it comes to this sort of thing. I guess it's good that things didn't work out as she ended up going on The X Factor Australia and won. Watch Samantha Jade and her friends create their own "Step Up" music video in promotion of the film and its soundtrack.
Samantha Jade, real name Samantha Jade Gibbs, made it big when she won the fourth season of The X Factor Australia in 2012; which saw her winner's single "What You've Done To Me", go straight to number one in her home country. We are still waiting for an international smash from her, which we sure isn't far off. However, many people - including me - were unaware that she attempted a career way before then. This is her debut single released in 2006 in promotion of one dance film that we all know (and that launched Channing Tatum), titled "Step Up". It was the title track of the soundtrack to the film. The song was written by Diane Warren and produced by Wyclef Jean.
Directed by Scott Winig, this music video is a typical mid-00's visual, that is totally taking us back in every single way! She's seriously bringing it in the music video and it works completely.
There's not a lot to this video, however. We see her and her mates find out about a "create your own Step Up music video" promotion, and decide to do just that. They end up in front of an electrical shop and they distract the cashier as they record the video, using the equipment.
Throughout there's typical 00's dance choreography that Samantha Jade totally nails with her backing dancers. Most of this scene is in front of the electrical shop. We later see the narrative expand as she gets a message about being in the Step Up film - suggesting that she won the music video competition.
As this is a soundtrack music video, we also see clips of the film Step Up throughout. It's so great to see Channing Tatum and Jenna Dewan again; reminding me of how long it's been since I've seen this film - way too long.
Overall, it's a great soundtrack music video; however, the clips of the film are way too short, and I feel like the narrative could've been broadened as it's not completely obvious. On the other hand, Samantha Jade is totally fierce and brings it in every way. I also really like the concept too.
A few days ago, The Nightingale Club - which is my favourite club to go to in Birmingham - announced their event dedicated to Little Mix. They've recently started playing more Little Mix songs amongst their sets - old and new; so this didn't really come as a surprise. During one of my nights out, my friend and I came up with a salute dance move to this song - I'm sure we all have one - and we cannot wait to do it again whilst clubbing at this event, on 5th August. The song is one of my favourites, and has killer choreography throughout! Watch Little Mix "Salute" to this amazing song representing all the women in this empowering music video.
Little Mix are a British girl group consisting of Perrie Edwards, Jesy Nelson, Leigh-Anne Pinnock, and Jade Thirlwall. They are still the only group to ever win The X Factor; which they did back in 2011 on the eighth series. They continue to up their game with every single release and album release. Their most-recent album finally got the girls their first number one on the UK Albums Chart. This single was the last one released from their second studio album of the same name. They didn't release many from this album, compared to the others; even though they have killer tracks written by Nicola Roberts on their albums - why oh why did they not release these ones as single? This song managed to chart at number six on the UK singles chart. The song samples Xzibit's "Paparazzi". It was written by Thomas Barnes, Peter Kelleher, Ben Kohn, Maegan Cottone, Perrie Edwards, Jesy Nelson, Leigh-Anne Pinnock, and Jade Thirlwall.
Directed by Colin Tilley - another in-demand music video director - this visual is commanding, dark and completely fierce in every way.
As mentioned, the key part of this music video is the dance choreography. The girls bring it like no other girl group can, that I have seen. Fully nailing every step and seriously getting into it in every way.
There are some profile scenes on each of the girls; these really work to emphasise independence even when they are seen in a group. This allows the viewers to latch on to one of the girls, someone who they can identify with slightly and follow throughout the visual.
Overall, this music video should've had a slight narrative, and it looks like there could've been one in the making but it may have been stripped away. Regardless, this is fierce and on point. The girls give it their all and it really does pay off.
This has been amongst my YouTube recommendations for quite some time now, so I thought today would be the perfect opportunity to watch and review it. This music video is pure magical, and the song is amazing even if it is unmemorable - talk about relating perfectly to the song, and making us all jealous in the process; this is the type of relationship we all want! Watch Samantha Jade and her on-screen lover Levi Neufeld become "Circles On The Water" as they spend time together in this adorably cute music video.
Samantha Jade, full name Samantha Jade Gibbs, is an Australian singer/songwriter who is best known for winning the fourth season of The X Factor Australia. She has had a successful career to date, having charted well in her home country since winning the TV talent show. She has also done some acting in Home and Away, as well as House of Bond. We can presume this single is from her upcoming third studio album; unfortunately it hasn't charted well, managing to get to number 270 in Australia. It totally deserves to do better, the song is a killer - although it isn't all that memorable and would get forgotten if heard on the radio; however, the music video makes up for it in every way. This needs a remix that launches the song internationally! "Circles On The Water" was written by Johan Gustafson, Hayley Aitken, and Cassandra Ströberg.
The music video is completely relatable to the song, and as I previously mentioned, Samantha Jade and on-screen lover, actor and model Levi Neufeld makes us all jealous with their relationship goals on-screen relationship.
They do a lot of couple things, whilst managing to convey their chemistry throughout. It's a great display of emotion whilst they go camping, play in the arcade, go cliff golfing, play basketball, curl up in bed, and every thing else.
Overall this music video completely reflects the song in every way. It's sweet and totally adorable. Samantha Jade is certainly a rising star in the music industry, and I hope that she has a global number one sometime soon, and/or represents Australia at Eurovision. This song and music video just proves how incredible she really is. The only thing that lets this down is the performance piece, which isn't memorable at all.
This is one of those sorts of songs that grow on you. I've heard this song so many times now that I've started to like it; yet, at the same time, I'm still not going to be a fan of this track. I wish it wasn't in the Top Ten of the UK Singles Chart, just so I don't have to review it (yeah, I had two other options, but this one is more likely to drop out sooner than the other options I had today); since Luis Fonsi & Daddy Yankee featuring Justin Bieber is still on top with "Despacito", I kind of had no option. This video has all the coloured filters you can imagine and want, distorting reality yet keeping it real. Watch Katy Perry, Pharrell Williams, and Big Sean perform "Feels" on what looks like a tropical island, as Calvin Harris rocks up in the background with a guitar as colour distortion switches up this music video!
Calvin Harris, real name Adam Wiles, has really come a long way since his debut and is absolutely bringing it when it comes to music; his latest album is all collaborations, showing off his producing side, which we've seen before; however, I truly believe we prefer his own vocal music, as that is what soars him up the chart, in some cases. Regardless, he continues to be a top DJ that we continue to love. Featured on this track is Pharrell Williams, who has also been bringing it over the past few years; he's definitely a solid performer and vocalist, one everyone wishes to collaborate with one day. Katy Perry also appears on this track; real name Katy Hudson, she's quickly pushed herself up there with the top female singers of the world. And then there's Big Sean, real name Sean Anderson, the rapper who comes in and out of mainstream music and also manages to stay on top form. This is one heck of a collaboration, it's just a shame that this song is a grower and not an instant catchy hit, but it's one that stays in our head annoyingly. It was written by Adam Wiles, Pharrell Williams, Katy Perry, Brittany Hazzard, and Sean Anderson.
Directed by Emil Nava - here's his name again, definitely an in-demand music video director - this visual is taking colour distortion to the next level; pretty much using every colour filter imaginable to not only infuse summer but to show that colour doesn't matter.
All three vocal artists nail this performance piece, but I feel that there isn't a lot for them to do, and there's more focus on the colour, making us blink so much that we practically miss what they're doing; not that they're able to do much since Pharrell Williams is trapped in a boat in the middle of a lake surrounded by sand; Katy Perry is lying down in the grass with a bright yellowy/orange dress that is unflattering on her, hiding away; and, as for Big Sean, he's sitting down on a chair as if he's the King of this tropical island, but he can't embody his lyrics because of his two parrot side-kicks, that totally steal the show.
There's just not an awful lot going on in this music video. The colour transforming filters can either capture the audience or turn them away, and since they stick with this idea, everything else loses focus and gets sent into the background.
Overall, this music video deserved to be better, it embraces summer and goes over the top with colour filters - it's literally the only thing I can comment on. It's interesting to an extent and we all want to visit that place, but it's not awesome at all.
