New Dami Im music has been released today and I am beyond happy and I totally feel encouraged with this uplifting empowerment song, "Paper Dragon". Dami Im is one absolutely incredible singer and once again she blows me away with her amazing voice! I'm glad to see her return to a more upbeat track, continuing to show her versatility as an artist, and this song is really quite a number. Addicting from the get-go, "Paper Dragon" is about not letting anyone push you down and continuing to fight to get to where you want to be. This is highly relatable to a lot of people, especially during this COVID-19 pandemic, as a lot of people have lost their jobs (me included) and other things that have happened to people has made them feel like they're not good enough (I went through a break-up and there are still some days where I just feel lost and I'm not where I want to be in my life, career, or anything else, but I'm a fighter too and I'll never stop trying). This is one incredible song, that deserves to become a hit!
Accompanying the track is a paper origami-inspired music video that has been directed by Stefano Bertelli at Seen Film Studio with Riccardo Orlandi acting as assistant director. We follow a paper caterpillar that starts life on the leaf of a flower. It soon evolves into a butterfly who goes on a journey through the desert, flying past an awesome snake and landing near a cactus. With no water, it slowly starts to die, but lightning strikes the cactus - which is storing water - and the butterfly gets a drink. I then magically evolves again, this time into a dragon, who flies across the desert powerfully. Throughout there are performance scenes of Dami Im singing the song, wearing a stunning red jumpsuit and looking gorgeous in every scene. She's displayed like a paper sticker, jumping into this awesome paper-like world. At one point the jumpsuit turns to white as she nears the end of this incredible song. With conviction, Dami Im puts her heart into this song and music video, showing how much these words mean to her. I hope that I get to see her perform live on stage one day, as I need to hear this awesome voice live!
Okay, I am shocked I haven't written about this to date, especially since I am a massive fan of INNA's and I've seen her twice, and I've written a lot about her songs, music videos, albums, and I even managed to interview her for CelebMix. So, I thought I better write up about this one today, for my Thursday Revisit since I reviewed her new music video for "Read My Lips" with Farina, this week. This song, "Cola Song", is possibly her most-recent international hit, which is crazy to think of since she has consistently released new music over the years. The song is totally a summer anthem and her voice sounds amazing on this track. It's an addicting grower of a song and has an undeniable Latin flavour to it, thanks to the feature from J Balvin.
The music video has gained over 200 million YouTube views, which is completely crazy and makes some of the scenes iconic to INNA because it has been seen by so many. However, this pure performance music video exudes sex, a visual we are used to from INNA and have seen in the likes of "Amazing", "Sun Is Up", "Déjà Vu", "Club Rocker", and "INNdiA" amongst others. There's not a lot going on, but INNA impresses me with her choreography which she totally knocks out of the park, and we totally need to see her dance more - for sure. Other scenes include her being in the water and also being topless, but most of the scenes show her in a bikini enjoying the beat of the song and enjoying the summer sun. It's definitely a track that is perfect for the summer, but the music video doesn't inspire me, and she has released better music videos both recently and further in the past.
I really do like to just browse through YouTube, sometimes, and a music video will just pop out at me and this is certainly one of these days; I didn't even know that there was a music video to this awesome collaboration! "Fall In Line" by Christina Aguilera and Demi Lovato is full-on powerful! Their voices are some of the strongest in the music industry and they both manage to blow us away on the verses of this song and then they turn it up for their killer harmonies! The track is also highly emotional with the lyrics filled with female empowerment, and it is just super inspiring to all who hear it. What's also shocking is that it wasn't a chart success around the world, hitting number 99 in the UK and number one on the US Billboard Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles, and 97 in Canada - I mean, seriously? This should'be been top 10 around the world! This is one absolutely amazing collaboration and totally deserves to be heard more.
Accompanying the song is this amazing music video, directed by Luke Gilford. The opening scene sees two children playing in a field together who look like younger versions of Christina Aguilera and Demi Lovato (although there is an 11-year age difference in real life however this music video makes it out like they're the same age), who are taken away by people in black. The song kicks in and we see that both artists are now all-grown-up and living in a containment facility and held prisoner. At times, they are forced to sing on a set - which could relate to the music industry as a whole (especially women) where artists are forced to sing certain songs that are likely to become hits and to also look a certain way and to act sexy on-screen. Christina Aguilera and Demi Lovato make a plan to escape and end up breaking out of their chains and escaping the facility, and finally seeing daylight again and to breathe fresh air. A well-crafted music video with a brilliant concept. They could've added a bit more here and there but they brought it regardless and made a truly unforgettable music video! I could watch this again and again and again!
Today I watched clips from the interview Miley Cyrus did with Joe Rogan, and I thought I might as well keep with the Miley Cyrus theme today. This song, "Mother's Daughter", was released as a single in promotion of her EP, "She Is Coming" - which I simply adored from the first play. I'm sad that this single didn't chart that high, as it is definitely an anthem, but I feel like it's gained more traction this year than last year - when it was released. Is it possible it was just before its time by just a year? Regardless, it's a brilliant song and Miley Cyrus impresses to no end with her vocals and the lyrics. I cannot get enough of this song, for sure!
Directed by Alexandre Moors, this music video is all about women's rights and representation. The concept was created as the anti-abortion "heartbeat bill" in the US started to gain traction. Miley Cyrus is full of energy in this mainly-performance visual. She's wearing red latex which obviously has us remembering Britney Spears' "Oops!... I Did It Again" music video. Intercut throughout her performance visuals are clips of diverse women posing, giving representation like we rarely see. It's just a beautiful statement that shows that everyone is valued in this world. It's highly relatable to a lot of people and I'm so glad to see such a music video. There's also reference to Joan of Arc as she is wearing gold armour. Miley Cyrus' mother, Tish Cyrus, also makes a cameo in the video. Miley Cyrus doesn't shy away from making statements and we so need more visuals that spread representation and education.
Since Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion are still sitting at the top of the UK Singles Chart with "WAP", I decided to review this music video by Paul Woolford, Diplo & Kareen Lomax as "Looking For Me" jumped into the top ten this week and is currently at number eight. The song is a great dance track but it doesn't hit me quite the way other songs in the genre does, it's not really my thing even though I am obsessed with dance music; however, it's great to see dance music hitting the charts.
As for the music video, directed by Double Ninja and produced by Left, it has such a bright and detailed aesthetic. The volcano itself looks so real. Three celestial beings representing the three artists, Paul Woolford, Diplo, and Kareen Lomax, appear down from the sky and starts to use their magic to upturn the volcanic rocks and turn it into bright and colourful flowers before erupting the volcano with paper-like animals which end up living on the new flower volcano area. It's a beautiful music video but I have no idea how it relates to the song itself, it's also quite slow at the beginning too. I was hoping for so much more, but regardless, it is well-animated and it does look so good!
Ever since I started blogging again I've been impatiently waiting to review this music video because this is Relley C's best music video to-date and I absolutely love the narrative, the performance and the incredible song. I previously wrote up about it for CelebMix. This is just well-packaged and a perfect and unforgettable music video. I love it so much and could watch it again and again and again - well, I have been doing just that. The song, "Liar Liar", is taken from her most recent EP, titled "We've All Been There", and it's a stand out track. Relley C's vocals are stunning as she sings about not having time for liars and cheaters in her life - which is something I can totally relate to! Like, liars annoy the hell out of me and I respect people who tell the truth a hell of a lot more (even those not-nice truths) than those who simply lie. Every time I hear the song, now, I can't help but sing it out loud! Total fire!
Accompanying the track is this amazing music video which starts off with a narrative that shows Relley C's love-interest spending time with another girl in their apartment, and Relley C walks in on them, and so after an argument, she chucks him out - good for her. The rest of the music video is mainly performance scenes in the apartment, at a piano, at the recording studio. She looks stunning throughout and she showcases emotion and fierceness, and you can really tell she means every single word!
I have really been listening to all of Thalía's music on Apple Music and I adore this song, "Tú Y Yo" which means "You And Me" in English. The song was released in 2002 and became one of her most popular singles, which is not a surprise as it is mightily catchy and will likely get stuck in your head after the very first play. A remix of the song was later released in extra promotion of the song with a feature from Kumbia Kings.
The music video has a typical '00s style to it, especially when Thalía is walking down the street - I swear many '00s stars had at least one music video where they're doing that. There are various scenes throughout, but most of them are performative, with Thalía giving fierceness and confidence. Other scenes include a guitar scene and a motorbike scene. Throughout the video, she looks stunning, and she's certainly has that star quality aura surrounding her. Love this song, I just wish this music video had more going for it.
INNA just keeps on releasing banger after banger and this one is no different, in collaboration with Farina, titled "Read My Lips". I feel like I've heard this song before like it's a part of INNA's unreleased songs - just like "We Wanna" used to be, the collaboration with Alexandra Stan which also featured Daddy Yankee. As much as I love INNA's songs and as much as I feel like she could sing anything and I would still love it because of her gorgeous voice, I feel that this is disjointed, and I think it's due to it being a collaboration with Farina; I don't think it was the best song for them to collaborate on as Farina's reggaeton style doesn't match the rhythm of the song and INNA's superb dance vocals, but "Read My Lips" still works as a song overall, I am eager to hear remixes of the song to see what the DJs and producers would do to the track.
As for the music video, I am getting Mad Max vibes throughout. Filmed by two different groups (NGM Creative for INNA and NJ Entertainment for Farina) due to the artists being in different countries, this music video is incredible. The visual opens with a goddess-like theme with INNA looking amazing in a black dress where she's sitting on a chair/throne. In contrast, a second scene is shown where INNA is wearing a red dress with a red line splitting her chin and neck in half, vertically. Farina matches with a black outfit that is a lot more provocative, and a separate scene sees her in a goddess-like cream-coloured rope outfit, as the tone of the song changes to match her rap. The middle-performance scene sees INNA in a skin-and-beige-coloured outfit continuing the goddess themes whilst Mad Max-style visuals intercut - almost as if the song is a film soundtrack. With the final scene showing INNA wearing a bright fluffy yellow coat. It's such a high production music video, how is this not a part of a film soundtrack? The dancers are bringing some brilliant choreography, it's just a shame they don't get a full scene. The music video is good, it's just missing a few things that could've elevated it to be better.
For Thursday Revisit, I've decided to review Cardi B's debut single and debut music video, which was released in 2015, just making it into the five-year-old Thursday Revisit rules. I've never seen this video and I'm eager to see what it's like and to compare where she came from to where she is now. The song is a rendition of British rapper Lady Leshurr's "Queen's Speech 4" which went viral, in itself, in 2015 and it's amazing that Cardi B reinvented it for herself, like Lady Leshurr reached across the Atlantic with that track and set Cardi B into motion! Cardi B even mentions Lady Leshurr and her song in this rendition of the song. She goes in hard with her rap, and it's no surprise she's become a star. Prior to the release of this song, she appeared in Love & Hip Hop: New York TV show for its sixth and seventh seasons.
The music video, directed by Renel Jolly, is set in a salon where Cardi B is getting her nails done whilst others are getting their hair done. She also appears as the receptionist, and various characters walk into the salon. There's not a whole lot going on and it's certainly not at the high-budget of her more-recent music videos, and yet she still brings star quality to the visual throughout.
Alongside listening to a lot of Natti Natasha, I've also been listening to Thalía a lot too. I first came across Thalía last October when I attended Inna La Londra (Inna's concert in London), where her opening DJ played one of Thalía's songs and everyone was practically singing along and so I used Shazam to find out what song it was. Now, almost a year later, I'm exploring her back catalogue of songs, which is lengthy, to say the least, and she is such a brilliant singer. It's amazing to see one of the top female Latin artists collaborating with Natti Natasha who has soared withing the Latin music world recently. The music video on YouTube has amassed over 1 billion views, which isn't surprising since both stars have massive fanbases, and I can see this continue to gain more and more views. The song itself charted well throughout Latin America as well as peaking at number five in Spain. The track's title, "No Me Acuerdo" translates into English as "I Don't Remember", and it's about having a night out and waking the next day to her lover who tells her that he's been told she cheated on him but she doesn't remember the rest of the night.
The music video takes the story of the song and recreates it. We start off with Thalía waking up in bed at 4pm, with her lover showing something on a phone, an image of her in the arms of another guy. We then get a flashback to her night before as she tries to remember what happens. We see her partying the night away with Natti Natasha and eyeing up another guy who ends up carrying her on his shoulder - which is where the image from the phone comes from. The ending scene sees her love-interest storming out of the room as she looks at the image on the phone. It's such a good music video and it looks like Thalía and Natti Natasha had such a good time filming this music video.
So, today, I've been having a Natti Natasha kind of day and listened to all the songs she has released to date, and there have been some absolute fire tracks that she's released, she's definitely someone we all should be watching as she's quickly become a top female artist in Latin America and I truly believe she'll have a worldwide hit sometime soon, I'm just sad it wasn't this one as I adore this song. This is not a surprise as I am a fan of Dimitri Vegas & Like Mike and I need to attend one of their gigs, one day. Their music has been so on-point the last few years, collaborating with some of the biggest names, and this song release is no different as the one and only David Guetta and Latin superstar Daddy Yankee and rising stars Afro Bros all came together on this track along with Natti Natasha whose vocals were completely off the chart. If you haven't heard "Instagram" yet and haven't added it to your party playlists, then you're completely missing out. The song should've been a chart-raging success instead, it did moderately well apart from in the Netherlands where it reached the top 10.
The awesome music video starts off with a guy finding a phone on a beach and the screen is showing Natti Natasha's Instagram profile. Then the music starts and Natti Natasha stuns in every single look, she's on-point, sexy, and beautiful. There's a scene where she's on a yacht, one where she's in a club and the narrative scene which sees her walking down a road where guys in cars offer her a lift, which she turns down until a group of women come along and she hops in. We then hop over to Daddy Yankee, which the women are watching on a live video (perhaps Instagram Live?) where he's on a cliff and bringing it reggaeton style, and we watch others watching his live stream, including David Guetta, who then invites Natti Natasha to a pool party at his place, and all the artists are there too (apart from Afro Bros who appear as a video on a phone screen). This is when the party really gets started and Natti Natasha continues to shine in every way! At the party, someone takes her phone - but she's not bothered - and the phone is passed around and ends up on that beach, creating the full-circle moment of the music video.
Creative concept, brilliantly incorporated with the song itself, and an absolutely addicting track. What more could we all ask for? How did this song not go viral and become a fully-fledged international hit? I will never know.
Chart Mondays are back and we have a brand new number one! I knew Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion was going to reach the top spot here in the UK at some point. Since "WAP" was released, the song and video have gone viral and so it's no surprise that it's reigning at the top of the official UK singles chart. Rap and hip-hop aren't really my thing, but I can appreciate its lyrics at times and there are a few artists in the genre that I actually like and support. Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion come in hard for this track and I have to applaud them for how they've made their mark in what is considered to be a male-dominated genre. "WAP" samples Frank Ski's 1993 song "Whores In The House" and contains many sexual innuendos about how they wish to be pleased by men - which makes a change since for decades we've heard male rappers and hip-hop stars sing about women pleasing them, and it's great that Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion has flipped the script with this release. To see such a song go viral and chart highly all around the world is a massive feat and has to be applauded.
The accompanying music video, directed by the one and only Colin Tilley, is flat-out incredible. There's so much power in every single scene and it's such a clever concept considering the lyrics. If this was a male song about women pleasing men, you can imagine the visuals - because we've seen it a hundred times before - and so creating a reversal music video would've been the most typical music video and yet it wouldn't have quite the effect (plus we've seen such music videos from other female artists in the past); instead, Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion bring confidence, sass, and self-awareness of their bodies and their needs. They bat out the choreography with no problems and continue to be sexy, sultry, and sensual. There's a scene where Kylie Jenner walks down the corridor, and it's such a moment because there's so much self-empowerment in the way she walks that captures all our attention. Normani, Rosalía, Mulatto, Rubi Rose, and Sukihana, all make appearances, mainly as dance scenes, showing their fierceness and self-empowerment.
Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion make an incredible and unforgettable statement with this music video and those who criticise the music video for its sexually explicit content need to look at themselves and complain about the hundreds of much-worse music videos by male artists that go back decades upon decades. This is on-point from start to finish and sexually-charged in a good way; it makes quite the statement, and we need more female empowerment in this world, for sure!
This came up on my YouTube recommendations and I thought I'd review it for my blog. The song is completely strong with Mitchell Tenpenny impressing to no-end with his awesome vocals. He has been making waves in the country music industry, with "Drunk Me" becoming his most popular song to date, although I reckon with his voice, he'll have a big hit sometime soon. Once again, YouTube just knows the sort of music and videos I want to watch as I recently went through a break-up (as I explained in my Instagram post and yesterday's review of ÊMIA's "Selfish"), and it still hurts, even though I know it was for the best. Mitchell Tenpenny's "Broken Up" is a fired-up track that is full of so much emotion, that this track just speaks to me on so many levels.
The accompanying music video is absolutely brilliant, they've captured the story of the song in the entirety of the scenes. The opening scene engages the audience from the start making us wonder what happened, and then the narrative unfolds with intercuts of a performance piece from Mitchell Tenpenny that shows off his passion and energy for the song itself. It captures the entire vibe whilst also satisfying people with the cracking of the mirror and the glass panels in the photo frames. I could so watch this again and again!
I came across ÊMIA, real name Anh Le, when I was given the opportunity to premiere her music video for "If You Can't Take The Rain" on CelebMix and I also managed to interview her. That experience turned me into a fan and I've been following her ever since. She dropped this music video a few days ago and also recently released a new single with Imfinenow, titled "Hurt By You", which you should so check out. Her vocals are amazing and she makes addicting music you can't quite get out of your head - we're sure you'll be a fan in no time and you'll be playing her music over and over again. She's got huge star potential and I truly believe she has an incredible future ahead of her.
"Selfish" speaks to me in volumes as I recently been through a break-up (check out my Instagram post about it), and I'm slowly learning to love myself and to be selfish now. The lyrics are so powerful in this, especially "I put you above me and everyone else, The things that I’d do or I didn’t, You were in my decisions" literally describes me in every relationship I've been in but, as plenty of other songs have stated (including JoJo's "Man"), I need someone who will put me first for a change, and right now that's me, not anyone else. Let's all follow in ÊMIA's footsteps and be a bit more selfish.
Once again, she blows me away with her awesome voice and she easily floods the song with much-needed emotion that touches every listener's heart. The music video has been filmed during quarantine and she nailed it! Looking fierce and selfish (in the best way) throughout whilst knocking out the great choreography by Christabelle Tan, ÊMIA is full of confidence and emotional strength. She even edited the video herself, whilst Caroline Lazar shot the visual. Look out for ÊMIA in the coming years and listen to her music because I can't get enough of her songs!
He's back! Bryson Tiller is gearing up to release a brand new album in the coming months, titled Serenity, and it will be his third studio album. Doing what he does best, Bryson Tiller has dropped a unique track that really allows him to shine in every way, "Inhale" is one special song and it has already made an impact with this music video trending on YouTube, which is how I came across it.
Directed by Ro.lexx, the video captures the essence of a relationship in just a few scenes, from the text to the bedroom scene to the looks they give each other when they're sitting outside. It's such a mood as a whole, totally grabbing the attention of the viewers and fully giving them a fly-on-the-wall-experience. As a whole, there's not a whole lot going on, but their ability to convey all in just those few scenes gives us all we need to know. A clever and interesting concept that totally works with the song.
Well, this was a nice surprise to come across for this week's new release music video review. "Midnight Love" by Jindi featuring Smylie is an infectious reggae track that I really haven't been able to get out of my head since the minute I heard it. Jindi truly managed to blow me away with his awesome vocal on this track, whereas Smylie brings the dancehall flavour that adds the extra spice that is needed. This collaboration is something different, fresh, and exciting, giving us a tune we will definitely listen to many times over.
The accompanying music video is really visionary, with a chilled-out opening scene which sees Jindi in Dubai calling Smylie in Harare, Zimbabwe, where the latter invites the former to come and visit. The viewers watch on as Jindi visits Zimbabwe and showcases the beautiful locations and the people that they meet. Some of the scenes are breath-taking, and both artists nail the performance side of things giving us perfect energy that just adds to the song, overall.
ROBBED! Oh yes she was, Manila Luzon was absolutely amazing on RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars 4 and totally deserved the crown but one slip up meant she ended up in the bottom two and was sent home and I've never been more disappointed - apart from when Shangela didn't make it into the top two during All Stars 3 (which totally explains the ending of this music video)! I adore this song when I first heard it back when Manila Luzon's album Rules! was released. Yet, this music video has just made me love the song, even more, drag queens as animated characters are literally the best thing ever - I loved Netflix's Super Drags and World Of Wonder's DragTots... We need a long-running animated drag queen TV series - someone commission it already!
What's not to like about this? Both Manila Luzon and Latrice Royale are drag queen extraordinaires and how they haven't won RuPaul's Drag Race, yet, I'll never know - I'd so throw in Shangela and Raven into this mix too as they also deserve to win (and Jujubee, although she's currently in the running to win All Stars 5). There is literally so much detail in every single scene that every time I watch this I see something new. Manila Luzon and Latrice Royale look total-fire, and I am living for their looks throughout, and Shangela looks like a star at the end of the video too. I love how Naomi Smalls is the hostage and she's even being gagged with the lipstick that sent home Manila Luzon. I love the small details too such as the car's pedals saying "Shantay" and "Sashay", the smoke bombs saying "All T" and "Shade", the news is called "News 96" instead of "Club 96". It's so amazing and I hope we get to see this drag queen art animation style again, maybe Manila Luzon will do a continued storyline in a new music video? - Oh, how we can only hope. Thank you, Chaos Emporium Inc, for creating this awesome music video!
This popped up on my YouTube recommendations, so I thought I might as well give it a shot, and I'm so glad I did as this is a very heart-warming song with such a massive story behind it. I've never come across Chris Bandi before, and a quick Google search lets me know that he is a rising American country singer who dropped his debut EP this year. He has everything going for him, his brilliant voice, great songs, and incredible music videos - well if this one is anything to go by. This song is a message to his father who has passed away and updating him on his life and his beautiful wife and daughter. It's such an adorable song that touches the hearts of everyone who hears it. His brilliant voice is accompanied by a piano throughout, which can sometimes overpower his vocal but doesn't stop the delivery of the strong message behind the track.
I wasn't sure what I was expecting when I clicked on this but it wasn't this incredibly powerful and moving music video. It's simple but so effective. The main scene sees Chris Bandi performing "Would Have Loved Her" on a piano, outside between two trees, and it's such a beautiful location. Scenes are intercut with a woman and a child who we presume are the wife and daughter he sings about in the song. The ending sees a wooden cross, suggesting he is singing the song to his late father, and it's just perfect. This video accompanies this song beautifully, and I cannot fault it at all.
On Friday, it was announced that Jason Derulo and Jawsh 685 had made it to the top of the UK singles chart with their single "Savage Love (Laxed - Siren Beat)", the song of which had become extremely popular on the video streaming app, TikTok. The app has really taken over when it comes to the chart, with many of the songs being used becoming successful. This track has quite a bit of controversial drama surrounding it as Jawsh 685 originally released the track, titled "Laxed (Siren Beat)", instrumentally, which is the track that became popular on TikTok; and, he later reached out to a variety of well-known stars, to remix the track, one of whom was Jason Derulo - who leaked his version in the hopes of being the one to release the official remix. I guess it worked in his favour and, regardless, the song became a hit.
I always forget how incredible Jason Derulo's voice is until he releases a new song, he's such a diverse artist and extremely versatile and it's great to hear him showcasing his vocal prowess on this track. Instrumentally, it's addicting, and it's no surprise that this blew up on TikTok, but Jason Derulo's vocals certainly make the song.
There's not a whole lot going on in the music video, we're in an era where quarantine videos are the norm, and I'm sure there's been plenty of music videos in the past that are absolutely brilliant and still could be done under the same restrictions as we have right now. I was hoping this would've been a lot better, especially since the song was planned to become a success. We just watch Jason Derulo in the studio, singing the song and grooving to the beat. I don't really have a lot to comment on, in some of the scenes he is shirtless, but throughout you can tell how much he likes this song, and that's what really matters... I just wish there was more to this, it really is quite forgettable.
As with every week, there have been so many new releases! Obviously, my favourite release, this week, has been INNA's new single "Nobody". I'm loving the direction she's taken with her new music recently and this deserves to be a summer hit and I certainly can't stop listening to it.
This week has seen so much new music, that it has not been easy to track it all. There's been some brilliant debut singles, EPs, and albums, and some releases from legendary stars. Find all the music that has been released this week including what you may have missed, below. These singles, EPs, and albums have all been released in the UK between 13 June 2020 and 19 June 2020. Some releases have previously been released a few weeks ago, in different countries, but have arrived on download and streaming services in the UK, this week (between 13/06/2020 and 19/06/2020).
This song was released last week, but the music video was dropped today via Ultra Music's YouTube Channel and it is cuteness overload, for sure. The song is incredibly addicting and Karen Harding brings emotion easily throughout. Vocals on fire from start to finish, it's powerful and passionate with every listener feeling the lyrics in their hearts. It's one of my favourite releases from last week because of her awesome voice, the brilliant sound from Digital Farm Animals, and I just love the R&B hints that truly makes this song.
It's not easy to turn out a brilliant music video for such an awesome song, but they've done just that. Directed by Jordi Estapé with Henry Gill acting as director of photography, we watch Karen Harding spending time with her on-screen love interest and it's just so adorable. There is so many cute moments and scenes throughout and they've really captured the meaning of the song into the music video. It's refreshing to see, especially since I feel that this is how cute my long-distance partner and I look when we're spending time together, even though we haven't seen each other since the end of February due to this lockdown, and we really can't wait to be together again. This music video is full of love, heart, and passion, one I could watch again and again, on repeat. So beautiful!
It's Thursday, which means Thursday Revisit time, and I've decided to choose R3HAB's collaboration with NERVO and Ummet Ozcan, titled "Revolution" which charted well in Belgium, Ireland, and the UK, but did the best in Poland, peaking at number five. The video opens with a news announcement that the three artists are wanted and are somewhere in the desert, presented by a masked army guy with a robotic voice. The artists are then seen pushing a car across the desert, while an old man is eating cereal in front of a TV. A crowd comes to help them with the car as we see more of these holographic army-like people attempting to track R3HAB, NERVO, and Ummet Ozcan.
NERVO's vocals are absolutely incredible and really makes the track, whilst the backing track is awesome in itself. It's no surprise that the song managed to chart in some countries, and its accompanying music video is interesting and inspiring to a certain degree. Fierce and strong, this really stands out, and NERVO certainly has the spotlight on them during the whole visual.
Easily one of many of my favourites from Melodifestivalen 2020, Paul Rey literally made me tear up the first time I heard this song. He performed it incredibly on the night, and this would've been a brilliant track to be sent to Eurovision to represent Sweden - to be fair, the Swedish national selection show is so incredible with plenty of amazing acts, that I'm pretty sure any of them would do well in the Eurovision Song Contest. This music video is so special, as I was given the opportunity to premiere the track on CelebMix, and interview Paul Rey, himself.
This music video is one of my favourites, I love how Paul Rey is in bed as visuals of him and his real-life wife during incredibly happy days are projected around him. We all rejoice in our happy moments and totally need to remember them when we're feeling down or away from our loved ones - more so than ever as we've been on lockdown and quarantine. It's a very weird time and true love will shine through if you let it. I do admit, I want to lye in bed all day and night and live in the dream world with the one I love until we can see each other again, and it has been so difficult - plus we're a long-distance relationship, so I feel like it's tougher and I just have to believe that we'll pull through and everything will be okay.
Although this music video is laid-back (literally with Paul Rey just lying in bed singing his song), it's cleverly done and relatable to many. I love how the projections work really well and suggest the scenes he has been dreaming about.
Ever since I saw Sofia Carson in the Disney Descendants movie, I have followed her singing career and her voice just keeps getting better and better with every song she releases. The video opens with a short statement from Sofia Carson, setting the storyline with the words, "She fell for him like a petal falls from a flower until every piece of her was his. She loved him and now nothing will ever be the same." - Anyone who has ever been in love, who has ever taken another into their hearts, and made their world theirs to share, will fully understand this, it's how I feel right now and have been feeling for the last two and a half years, although the song takes on a different meaning, there are bound to be times in any relationship where you'll understand the meaning of this song, either slightly or whole-heartedly.
The video sees Sofia Carson posing for the camera in a warehouse, clearly, she's doing a photo shoot. She looks absolutely stunning from start to finish. It's the perfect setting for something so emotional whilst being emotionless, as when posing for photos you are meant to express yourself in a different way to the way you are feeling, which is what we see during the other scenes of the video where she is off-set from the photo shoot. There are black and white visuals spaced between the narrative, showing Sofia Carson in the studio with R3HAB, recording the song, adding the much-needed emotion that allows the lyrics to connect with the listeners.
With the relaunch of my blog, I've decided to keep my Chart Mondays review, although I may have to switch up the rules for these reviews as the top-ten isn't as ever-changing as it used to be. DaBaby is number one this week with the song "Rockstar" featuring Roddy Ricch and since he previously got to number one, I'll probably write up a catch-up review on it and backdate it, so I've decided to choose Tion Wayne who has collaborated with Dutchavelli and Stormzy for this track "I Dunno".
This music video was sent through my email last week and it piqued my interest purely because Blu Hydrangea stars in the visual alongside many others, and the thumbnail certainly drew me in. What I didn't expect was a catchy '80s inspired club track, with a crazy addicted beat and one brilliant dance choreography that is clearly inspired by TikTok and one I so wish I could learn how to perfect.
The club-goers of the world - me included - are missing the nightlife, the culture, the dancefloors, and the awesome club tunes that you only love if you're in a club, while we're on lockdown. Joy Club decides to bring house clubbing to your screen with this music video, although I can't ever imagine a dance choreography hitting the clubs like this one - this is totally an at-home dance sequence.
As the first verse of the song kicks in, we rewind to 10 hours earlier where we see the stars waking up and getting ready for the day ahead of them, setting up their club-at-home set and dressing themselves up. It showcases the boredom many of us have felt during the lockdown.
Such a good video that more people need to see this, and the song itself is so very catchy! What's not to love about this? Fierce, strong, and funny, Joy Club's music videos are ones to keep an eye on, for sure.
This song has quickly become one of my all-time favourite songs ever written, and I'm so glad that Lady A (previously known as Lady Antebellum) were the ones to record it. "Ocean" is one phenomenal song that makes me cry every single time I hear it because it means so much and can be interpreted into a number of different ways and can be related to being in love, having family relationships, and even friendships. We all have our demons, we all have walls (or should I say waves?), and we all push people away at some point in our lives - and this is even more relatable to me since I no longer have my office job and I'm worried about everything in relation to that, but I know that as long as I can stay positive, things will work out. This song is such an emotional track, that I really wish it had become an international success.
