Okay, how have I never reviewed an *NSYNC music video on my blog before today? It sounds impossible to have this happen, and yet here we are. This song has been stuck in my head all day, probably because I've recently caught up with Celebrity Karaoke Club (which is a lot trashier than I thought it was going to be, but it's addictive trash), and this was one of the ending songs as they said goodbye to another contestant, and it made me realise how much I loved this track in the '90s. To be fair, it's still a brilliant song today and I could so see it resurfacing as a viral hit over the next few years.
*NSYNC were a '90s/'00s pop boy band consisting of Justin Timberlake, JC Chasez, Chris Kirkpatrick, Joey Fatone, and Lance Bass. They had a number of hit singles but I never really caught on to the group and preferred UK boy bands such as 5ive and A1, at the time. This song is strong and powerful with the group giving it throughout and easily making it catchy. This is truly an unforgettable track with Justin Timberlake and JC Chasez impressing vocally. The song was originally given to 5ive, who rejected it, clearly, they missed out because it became a brilliant hit for *NSYNC.
The music video, directed by Wayne Isham, is totally iconic and one we all remember. It opens with all five members being string puppets, controlled by a woman, who is the former model and actress, Kim Smith. She cuts the strings of Chris Kirkpatrick and Joey Fatone first and they fly through the air and onto a speeding train where they run away and try to evade the woman, who gives chase. She next cuts the strings of Justin Timberlake and chases after him in an abandoned warehouse with a pair of dogs, but he manages to escape too. Lastly, she cuts the strings of JC Chasez and Lance Bass who land in a red Dodge Viper and they speed away as Kim Smith gives chase in her silver BMW Z3. They end up sliding into a u-turn to escape from her, which totally works. Throughout the video, there's a performance visual where the group are performing in a blue rotating box, which is made to look like they're on changing gravity fields. During this performance piece, they give us brilliant dance choreography and passion for the song. This is totally one of the best music videos released in the '90s/'00s.
Why do two of my all-time favourite artists release new music on the same day? Like, I love it because it's new music from both INNA (who has collaborated with Michael Calfan on the track "Call Me Now") and Alexandra Stan (who features on this song "Bandit" by Paul Damixie) but it causes me to have to choose which new release to cover - or it normally would, in this case, luckily, INNA hasn't dropped a music video for her new song and so Alexandra Stan has to be my new release music video review this week and I am loving it. This song effortlessly gets stuck in my head, to the extent where I just have the chorus going around and around, eager for me to listen to the song on repeat. It's a really fun song with Paul Damixie giving us some brilliant instrumental sounds throughout the track whilst Alexandra Stan brings the vocals and her care-free spirit as she sings.
The music video has been directed by SAN and has a cowboy-theme throughout with both artists appearing in a wild wild west village. Alexandra Stan appears in most of the scenes, giving us a performance piece where she's wearing a hat that has string hanging down all around it, which clearly gets in the way and she's always messing with it. There's also a performance with a cactus where she's watering it and herself with a hose, and then there are also scenes where she's inside a bar, performing on the tabletop wearing cow chaps. Paul Damixie can be seen walking around dressed as a cowboy throughout. It really has a bandit air to the video with the cowboy theme, but I feel it's missing connection and substance.
This has got to be one of the best music videos that Antonia has ever released. I discovered it when I was creating a CelebMix article titled 5 of Antonia's Best Music Videos and I couldn't help but crown "Hurricane" as the best one. I do wish that the track had become an international success just so that the music video could've been shown on music channels all around the globe because it really is so amazing and it's shocking that there are only 6 million YouTube views, I mean, that's still a lot but this so deserves a tonne more. The song reminds people of Eminem and Rihanna's song "Love The Way You Lie", and whilst I agree with them on the meaning behind the songs, Antonia's vocals are completely off the chart filling the track with so much heart and passion throughout. Puya's rapping switches the track up adding more Eastern-European vibes to the track whilst also making it truly Romanian. The lyrics of the song paints a story of a love that has its ups and its downs, but one she would fight for, for every single day - I need someone who would fight for me!
I've already stated that I think this is one incredible music video but I'm willing to say this again and again. I could literally watch this on repeat, over and over. It's both a narrative and a performance piece with Antonia completely selling it from the get-go. We start off with a scene where Antonia is dressed impeccably in a black dress as she walks down the corridor away from her on-screen love-interest who has clearly done something wrong. We flash through performance scenes, which we continually see throughout the visual of both Antonia and Puya who are giving it their all, you can see in their eyes that they mean every single word they are singing. The narrative continues with a flashback of Antonia meeting her love interest for the first time as they both work at a cute small bar where she's a waitress and he's a barman. During this scene, when the chorus kicks in, Antonia jumps up onto the stage and sings her part of the song, to which the audience applauds her.
The story continues in which they move up in the world and go into the business side of things. He has his own office, and Antonia looks amazing as she struts around promoting Avon - she's even on the cover of his assistant's Avon book. Antonia returns to his office, only to see the said assistant with her hands all over him. Let's be real, Antonia isn't someone you want to get on the wrong side of, and her face in that exact moment, says it all. She ends up forgiving him, until their fancy dinner comes along, in which she's already got her doubts about him and then, on top of that, he gets a message from another woman saying that she misses him. Well, Antonia flips, and rightly so, shoving him and throwing a glass of wine over him - you go, girl! She returns to the bar that she once worked at and takes a seat, he later follows hoping to make it up to her, she goes to sing on the stage and the ending scene sees them hugging. Their love is clearly so strong and forgiving is never easy. It's great to see the representation of a real relationship in this visual. There's so much going on, so much detail, which makes me want to watch this again and again. Definitely one of Antonia's best music videos to-date.
Another music video I haven't seen before today, from one of my favourite girl groups. I'm literally blaming YouTube for all the reasons why I'm missing these music videos, as they no longer send emails when a channel you're subscribed to releases a new video - I get it because my email is full of YouTube emails, so I do understand it from that perspective, but on the other hand, I am missing all these music videos that I want to watch upon the day of release, not weeks and weeks down the line. This one is another great performance piece from Little Mix and I've recently been watching their TV talent show Little Mix The Search where they are searching for people to form a band which will go out on tour with them as their support act; this song has been played a couple of times in the background of the show and it is so addictively catchy. It's a very sweet pop track about being in love and how that feels like a holiday.
The music video is a pure performance visual that was filmed during the pandemic and as with all the music videos that are being filmed during this time, there are restrictions, limitations, and plenty of difficulties, which explains why this music video is slightly disappointing considering their previous visuals, yet it can totally be forgiven due to filming during these tough times. Little Mix still manages to bring it, with all things considered, giving sexiness, dance, and fierceness. Throughout the video, they are depicted as mermaids and goddesses. It's an iconic video with some brilliantly edited scenes that transports them into such a magical world, but it's just missing the Little Mix fire that they deliver in all their other music videos.
How have I not seen this yet? Since it was released a few weeks ago, I thought I'd write up about it today. I'm shocked this hasn't been a global hit - certainly, it's charted in many different countries, but in the UK it only reached number 42, to date, with the US Billboard it's peaked at number 36, and in Australia it's peaked at 47. It's done well in Belgium, New Zealand, and Japan. There is plenty of time for it to work it's way up the charts around the world, but I am shocked it hasn't instantly become a worldwide success, especially since Marshmello & Demi Lovato have a tonne of fans collectively. The song is so amazing too, spreading positivity throughout the world when we totally need it most, especially since a lot of people aren't OK what with the pandemic affecting everything from jobs, relationships, friendships, family, life, enjoyment, and a hundred different other things too. Demi Lovato's vocals are on fire from start to finish, whilst Marshmello totally impresses with the production, this was a brilliant team-up!
Directed by Hannah Lux Davis, the music video sees the two stars go back in time to their childhood bedrooms. They awake in their old beds and there's a tonne of nostalgic themes shown throughout. We watch them take time to address their younger selves and start to see the kid they once were again. I love how they interact with their younger selves and just end up partying in the street together. Don't we all wish we could just do that, like right now? It's a great video, I just wanted a bit more from it. The artists have teamed up with Hope For The Day which is a non-profit movement opening the conversation of proactive suicide prevention and mental health education.
Still at number one in the UK is 24kGoldn with "Mood" which features iann dior and so I have decided to review Justin Bieber's most-recent single and music video, titled "Holy" featuring Chance The Rapper as it is sitting at number 10 and has been for two weeks in a row. I'll be surprised if this doesn't climb higher next week, but there's also been a tonne of new releases this week and so the chart could see some interesting changes come Friday. "Holy" is one of Justin Bieber's songs that will go down in history as it's just so honest and he delivers it so personally that it's hard not to like it because his voice is just in tune with the lyrics of the song that you feel every word. Chance The Rapper brings it for his verse, impressing vocally and attuning to the track easily. I'm shocked this has only peaked at number 10 here in the UK, but here's hoping it climbs as it deserves to chart higher.
The music video is so good and relatable to a whole lot of people right now since many have lost their jobs - me included - and many are struggling with paying bills and rent and having difficulty with landlords, and it's so inspiring to see Justin Bieber showing these tough times in his music video, which has been directed by Colin Tilley. It stars both artists with Ryan Destiny (best known for being in Lee Daniel's Star TV series) and Wilmer Valderrama (best known for being in That 70's Show, From Dusk Till Dawn: The Series, and NCIS). We follow Justin Bieber as he works as an oil worker, a story is painted as he has a good home-life and an okay working life, and Ryan Destiny has a good working life too, until the pandemic hits and he loses his job, she loses a patient in her care home that she's grieving for, and then they lose their home and they end up walking the streets until Wilmer Valderrama, who has just returned from being in the armed forces, sees them on the sidewalk and offers to take them back to his home where a meal will be waiting for them. It's such a great music video that showcases that there are good people in the world, that there will be light at the end of the tunnel, and that good things happen even if you are at rock bottom. People need a music video like this, and it certainly helped me too as I feel like I'm at rock bottom right now - but I know so many other people are worse off than me. Chance The Rapper's part in the visual is purely performance-based and doesn't add much to the story but it's great to see him give his part his all.
Last week, I watched the Outsiders' music video for "Keep This Fire Burning" which featured Amanda Wilson and one of the dancers looked a lot like Ian Somerhalder - although I still doubt it would be him, so I decided to see if he had actually starred in any music videos, and this one came up, from non-other than Eurovision 2008 winner Дима Билан (also known as Dima Bilan) with his song "Слепая любовь" which means "Blind Love" in English. This was released in 2011 when The Vampire Diaries were in season 2/3 so Ian Somerhalder had totally established himself as Damon Salvator. I've tried to find out how this happened but I can't find any good sources apart from rumours that they are good friends. The song is so strong with Dima Bilan giving it his all. I'm disappointed that Yuliya Krylova isn't credited as a vocalist in the song nor in the music video, she should've at least got a feature credit on the song. "Слепая любовь" is a catchy track all about being consumed by blind love and desire, it's such a hot track if my English translation of the lyrics are correct.
And so, it's no surprise that the music video, directed by Vladislav Opelyants, is just as hot as the song itself. I was hoping for some sort of twist but it didn't really happen, we just see Dima Bilan and Ian Somerhalder make eyes at one another as the latter is arm in arm with a woman at a party, but Dima Bilan wants the girl and so they end up in a fight which is intercut with two different sex scenes but we never know who wins. It certainly has a vibe of The Vampire Diaries running throughout and it was certainly the inspiration behind the visual, especially since Damon Salvator and Stefan Salvator fight over Elena Gilbert throughout the series. I just so wanted some sort of twist at the end, something that doesn't make it the typical story of two men fighting over a woman.
This new single from Antonia, along with the music video, titled "Rebound", was dropped last week, on Friday. It would've made a perfect New Release music video blog article but it didn't get released until after I had written about fellow Global Records track "Matado" by Gino Manzotti & MAXX; and so, I've had to wait a week to review this on my blog, but that didn't stop me writing about it for CelebMix. I fully love this song from Antonia to the extent where I would say that it's one of my favourite releases of the entire year. "Rebound" just speaks to me in so many ways, especially after my break-up a few months ago and now that I'm single. In the past, rebounding has been my go-to and I've not been able to do such a thing this time around because I haven't been clubbing due to the pandemic, so I've had to tackle my feelings head-on and learn to love myself for me. Antonia delivers this track perfectly showing off her vocals, her connection with the song, her honest portrayal of the lyrics, and the emotional side to the track. This track deserves worldwide success but will probably just be another awesome track that her fans will treasure.
The music video, directed by Bogdan Paun of NGM Creative with Alexandru Muresan acting as director of photography, captures the pure essence of the song. Antonia acts brilliantly moody feeling lost without the one she loves, the one she misses, and she's regretful that she had to have a rebound to make her realise this. Most of the scenes are set in a bar - the typical place where someone may find a rebound - where she's drinking shots and performing to the camera. Other scenes sees her inside and outside a warehouse, really capturing the emotion of the song on her face which we can easily feel as we watch the video clip. I'm sad that there's no love-interest to add to the narrative of the music video, but there is a sponsor of Kreskova Vodka. Overall, another brilliant music video from the NGM Creative team, with Antonia giving it her all!
Today, a tonne of new releases have been dropped with plenty of them coming from my favourite artists that I really was spoiled for choice on which music video to review for my New Release blog. I went with Becky Hill's new single "Space" because I've supported her since day one (when she appeared on The Voice UK) and she just keeps on releasing anthems after anthems! She's such an incredible singer and I felt extremely lucky that I managed to see her live at the start of 2019, for my birthday, and I hope I get the chance to see her perform on stage again - I'm sure I will. "Space" is an epic song that really showcases Becky Hill's incredible vocals. The lyrics paint a story of a broken relationship where outside troubles are infecting the love they have for one another and tainting it, to the extent where space apart may just be what they need. This hit me right in the heart, especially after going through my break-up a couple of months ago. This is the second time that Becky Hill has dropped a song that speaks to me at my very core at that very moment. She's a powerhouse of a vocalist and "Space" allows her to prove that to the world. This is one incredible and fierce track, that needs to become a chart hit to allow Becky Hill to get the recognition she deserves.
What can I say about this music video? Well, it's probably one of the best music videos I have seen all year! Relating brilliantly with the song, Becky Hill shines throughout with her love-interest acting brilliantly too. The narrative side of the visual is conceptually simple but that is all that is needed because everything else is what makes it superb. I love the editing techniques throughout, from the crazy stairs to the stretching table, all of which adds to the space idea. Then there are the performance visuals which Becky Hill knocks out of the park. Her voice is on-point throughout, she looks absolutely stunning in that flame-orange dress; and, when her hair is up, it really exposes her beautiful face, whilst when she has her hair down we can just feel the power within the visual as she holds her notes. I am blown away with this incredible music video, and it's surely one I'm going to watch again and again.
Let's keep the Amanda Wilson videos coming since it's time for my Thursday Revisit review. I fully remember this dance song although I'm shocked it only made it to number 80 in the UK, with Robyn's original doing better in other countries and Beverly Knight covering it to chart success in the UK, both back in the '00s before Outsiders and Amanda Wilson came along with this awesome version. I swear I've heard this song played in the clubs in the last few years, although not very often nowadays. Dance music usually is linked to fitness one way or the other and so that also explains the fitness video for the track. The song is total fire, with Amanda Wilson impressing again with her awesome vocals. The lyrics are full of fighting spirit for a relationship - which I totally get as my past relationships makes me understand that I fall deeply and would do anything for the person I'm with, so this song totally speaks to me, I know I just need someone who would do the same for me.
The accompanying music video isn't very engaging for the viewers, even if the song does inspire fitness. I hate that they used the dancers to lip-sync to the song rather than Amanda Wilson herself, she's beyond underrated, and her voice is completely amazing on this track and her other releases - which I'm still listening to on my Apple Music. She's featured on a whole lot of songs that are all worth listening to, and I seriously cannot wait for new music from her. As for this video, it's easily forgettable and there's not much substance to it at all. Also, one of the male dancers looks a lot like Ian Somerhalder, although it is unlikely to be him
Today I've been on an Amanda Wilson listening spree, and she has one absolutely incredible voice that so deserves 100x more recognition than she's got over the years. I've been critical of her in the past, especially on the Freemason's song and video "Love On My Mind", but I absolutely love her vocals on Tim Berg's "Seek Bromance" and this one, "Watchin'", and so I personally think "Love On My Mind" just isn't the best song and doesn't suit her voice as well as her other singles. On top of that, she's worked with a tonne of producers and DJs, creating some awesome songs, and she also has a new song on its way according to her Instagram. To have been in the music industry for over two decades with various chart hits shows her longevity as an artist and simply how incredible her voice is - I'm now a fan after hearing some of her other songs! The Freemasons have given us some incredible dance classics over the years with this one sampling the R&B track "It's Over Now" by Deborah Cox. I am much more familiar with this club/house version as it was a hit in the UK and is still on rotation in the clubs, even now.
The music video is a purely narrative visual which sees a woman setting up her boyfriend by inviting him to a house party where there are many women partying, all of whom make moves on him and he encourages them to do so. Each of the women whom he flirts with and makes moves on all come back to the girlfriend to let her know everything he's been up to. She's wearing a mask throughout so that he doesn't spot her and then the final scene sees him going into a room where she is and he makes his move and she takes off the mask and he knows he's in trouble. She and her girls kick him out, and I presume they all continue to party together. It's a good video that relates to the song very well and it's a right set-up too, but there's no revenge, there's no punishment apart from him losing his girlfriend, and it's all just a little bit basic, especially since a lot of us can relate as many of us have been cheated on - I sure have been. Considering how strong Amanda Wilson's voice is in this track, I was expecting a much stronger music video. Regardless, it works well with the song and the first few scenes intrigue the audience into the video.
This week saw SuperM release their debut album, titled Super One, and I've been listening to it for the past few days and loving every single song of theirs. SuperM are a Korean pop supergroup boyband consisting of seven members who are from other k-pop groups, Taemin from Shinee, Baekhyun and Kai from Exo, Taeyong and Mark from NCT 127, and Ten and Lucas from WayV. K-pop music has really become big all around the world over the last few years, with a few top groups charting globally and collaborating with some of the world's biggest stars, it's certainly a trend that I hope stays as K-pop is finally getting the recognition it deserves. I have been loving SuperM's music lately and their debut album, Super One, is one of my favourite releases of this year. I've loved "100" since I first listened to it, although I can totally get why people aren't so keen on it and the group certainly impresses more on their other tracks; I just feel the power and passion in this song and it inspires me to go 100.
SuperM do not hold back for this music video, but we totally expected them to be at 100 during the entire visual, let's be honest. Their main focus is performance energy and that is exactly what we get in this pure performance-based music video. K-pop always delivers on dance choreography and SuperM bring it 100 per cent, exactly in-sync when they need to be whilst also showcasing individuality and their passion for the song and the group. Their style is also on-point and I love the cutaway scenes and the intriguing settings. It's a fired-up music video and, as a viewer, I have no doubt they have put their all into the group, the song, the music video, and everything else. I'm sure that SuperM will be the next big, international K-pop group and I'm very interested in how their debut album, Super One, charts worldwide.
On Friday, a new UK number one was announced, dethroning Cardi B's "WAP" which features Megan Thee Stallion, so now 24kGoldn is sitting at the top with "Mood" which features iann dior. "Mood" is a catchy number that has been doing the rounds on TikTok and so it's not a surprise that this has continuously climbed up the UK chart and various other charts around the world, becoming the artists' debut international hit. The lyrics tell the story of a toxic relationship and how their girlfriends' are always in a mood - hence the title of the song. It's one some listeners can relate to in one way or another, and if you can't relate as you have gone through life without being in a toxic relationship then you really have been lucky.
The accompanying music video, which has been directed by Sebastian Sdaigui, has slight narrative scenes with the performance scenes taking the spotlight throughout. Both the artists have a love-interest during the storyline and we can see her being in a mood and I get that it's not easy to showcase a toxic relationship and what they do show works well, there's just not enough of a narrative to allow the viewers to relate to the story being told. On the other hand, 24kGoldn and iann dior completely shine throughout the performance scenes, showing energy, emotion for the song, and their passion for the track, which totally makes up for the short narrative scenes.
Last year, I had the incredible opportunity to premiere this awesome music video on CelebMix and since that day, I have been a fan of ÊMIA because her voice is amazing and her songs are absolutely brilliant. I later went on to interview her for CelebMix and write about her EP - titled "Little Secret", which you should so check out. "If You Can't Take The Rain" just hit me right in my heart as soon as I heard it and ÊMIA really shines in both the song and the music video, showcasing how talented she really is. The lyrics touch upon her partner not being there for her when she needs them to be - I know that feeling so well, especially when I stayed in the hospital for a week last year and my now-ex didn't even come and visit me - and so, without a shoulder to cry on, ÊMIA has built up the courage and strength inside of herself and she's no longer afraid of being alone. It's such a powerful message behind it that anyone can relate to and her beautiful voice encapsulates every listener making us wish the song never ends.
The accompanying music video was directed by Jesse Bronstein and Jacob Guzman Lawson, whilst the former also acted as director of photography. ÊMIA looks stunning in every single scene, easily making a statement in the opening sequence where she's sitting in a clear glass box in a field. The following scenes see ÊMIA with her on-screen love interest who is wearing a suit but their head is covered. Dance choreography follows that is incredible to watch and is reminiscent of Justin Bieber's "Love Yourself". Clever and intricate, ÊMIA really brings it for this truly unforgettable music video that completely relates to the song perfectly. She's a rising superstar and I have every confidence in her to release a global hit in the future, with a voice like hers, it's clear she's going to go far in the music industry.
Charlie Puth's music has always been hit or miss for me, like, some of his songs are incredible and I love them a lot, some have grown on me and I like now purely because I've heard them so often, and then other tracks just aren't to my liking, and "Mother" is one of those songs - although I have a feeling it will grow on me, considering I only heard it yesterday. It jumped out at me as I saw it on TV as my brother was on the YouTube app, and I barely even recognised Charlie Puth with his shaved head, yet it so suits him and he looks damn fine in this visual. It was released just over a year ago and I'm surprised it didn't become an international hit, but it's gaining traction again and I have a feeling this will become a sleeper hit, or it'll forever be underrated.
Directed by Dawit N.M with COUSCOUS acting as the production company, this accompanying music video fits in perfectly with the song itself. It has a slight throwback to Christina Milian's "Am to Pm" to it due to the main female character sneaking out of the house, but overall gives a good narrative and Charlie Puth's relaxed performance vibe is stellar. The story follows a group of young adults spending time together by jumping in neighbours swimming pools and going for drives, with the ending scene showing our main character sneaking back into her home and getting under the bed covers just before her mother opens the bedroom door to check up on her. It's a great storyline that will never get old but this one has some unique camera shots that really transforms the narrative and Charlie Puth performs the song within the narrative as if he's both a part of the group and not a part of the group. It's clever, interesting, and engaging. It's another brilliant music video from Charlie Puth.
Released today through Global Records - which is one of my favourite record labels at the moment as they have some amazing artists signed and consistently release awesome music - Gino Manzotti & MAXX are here with an addicting tune, titled "Matado". The song got me hooked the second I heard it and seeing that a music video was also released to accompany the track, I knew I was just going to have to review it today. Gino Manzotti & MAXX have had massive hits in the past under the group DJ Project which included the vocalist Elena Baltagan, where they've worked with the likes of Elena, AMI, Deepside Deejays, and Mira. Now releasing under their own names as a duo, I'm excited to see where this new project takes them. "Matado" is an awesome song that follows up their previous single "Arabian Story". It's got a lot of Eastern European and Asian beats and melodies mixed in with the high dance energy with hints of progressive house. The uncredited vocalist has an incredible voice that really lays out the lyrics of the song.
As for the accompanying music video, directed by Alex Ceausu, I am kind of unimpressed. There's a big dance number that has great choreography, and it's clear that social distancing was important to them so it's great to see that they did this during the pandemic, but the narrative doesn't really go anywhere apart from a briefcase being handed over. There are extra performance shots of pole dancing and of Gino Manzotti & MAXX, but these scenes do not bring the audience back into the visual. This is such a brilliant song and I can see it going viral, but the video doesn't live up to the song itself.
After reviewing Dami Im's newly released single and music video last Friday, titled "Paper Dragon", I just had to review one of her first few music videos for my Thursday Revisit! "Gladiator" is one of my favourite songs from her, but I've never seen the music video before today, so I was excited to see what the visual would be like. The song was the second single from her third studio album, Heart Beats, and charted in Australia at number 11. "Gladiator" explores female empowerment and is suggestive of fighting for oneself and loving who you are as well as fighting for what you want and love. It's an incredible song that always makes me feel like I can do more and it certainly helps me to focus.
The music video opens with a passage that states, "The ancient scrolls tell of a legend, that the one who is pure of heart would someday reunite the pieces of the sacred medallion, rescue the princess and vanquish evil from the kingdom. A true warrior. A Gladiator." Then we see both a performance piece and a narrative intercut throughout. Dami Im looks stunning in her performance visual as she throws her heart into this song and you can tell how much this song means to her. In the narrative, we watch a young female warrior training and continuing to do so when she grows into an adult. She goes on to battle against evil and reunites the pieces of the medallion. It's a brilliant music video that has the viewer hooked from the first few seconds, so much so that we want to know what happens next after every scene. It's not surprising that the video is her most-watched music video to-date with over 3.9 million YouTube views, on her channel, with "Sound Of Silence" being her most-viewed video overall.
I've literally just been listening to Bea Miller's new EP, titled sad boy hour, which was dropped this week and includes this very song as one of its four tracks. Since I've never watched the music video, I thought I might as well review it today. The song is literally one of my favourites and I can highly relate to it, especially after going through a break-up, since I definitely don't feel like a person at the moment and I'm struggling to feel anything, think I just feel really numb and I need some good things to go my way! I have been a fan of Bea Miller since The X Factor US days where she placed ninth on season two. I just adore her voice and her music and I loved "Feel Something" when it was initially released, and it has now become a sleeper hit due to a resurgence of the song on TikTok. The song is about not feeling anything, feeling numb, and how that is worse than feeling pain or anything else. It's a clever and beautifully written song.
In the music video, directed by Pilar Zeta, Bea Miller plays an astronaut as she goes to what looks like an alien hospital where their patients are numb and aren't feeling anything. Bea Miller is examined and tested on and the occasional emotion will come through but only for a split-second. She has really encompassed the whole feel nothing feel of this music video and it really works well in this alien-like setting. Towards the end, Bea Miller escapes the examining room and comes across a portal door which takes her into a forest on Earth and her feelings slightly return but even that doesn't help and she ends up back at the alien hospital where she takes her seat again, alongside the other patients and they all display a fake smile for a split second. Such a brilliant music video with a great concept. Bea Miller is an absolute star, how she's not a global success yet, I'll never know.
After reviewing the total club hit, "Dirty Talk", by Wynter Gordon, I just had to look at her latest releases, which she's releasing under her real name, Diana Gordon. "Kool Aid" is currently her most viewed music video on her channel, so I thought I'd review this for today. Rhythmically addicting, this track has a lot of indie vibes running throughout with Diana Gordon fully putting her dance music behind her. "Kool Aid" is one of those tracks that will grow on you whilst also getting stuck in your head.
The music video is a performance-based visual that is full of relaxing vibes that Diana Gordon releases as she sings the song. She certainly has star quality in the clips as she performs, easily intriguing the viewers. There's s many cool clips throughout, especially the grass guitar, although I don't have any idea how the opening scene with the turtles links in with the whole concept. Children can be seen throughout, having a good time on set in various costumes and playing with props. It's a good video, just isn't all that memorable and doesn't link in with the song itself all that much.
Cardi B's "WAP" featuring Megan Thee Stallion has gained a third week at the top of the UK charts, and I wonder if that will change come Friday, as there is currently a lot of competition inside the top 10, including this latest entry, which is currently at number nine, and it has been steadily climbing over the last two months or so. Jason Derulo has returned to the sort of hit-pop music that has seen him score top hits over the decade that he's been in the music industry, with "Take You Dancing" easily showing the progression he has had as a pop music artist. The lyrics are very metaphorical insinuating that he wants to take his lover to bed. The track's beat does remind me a lot of Charlie Puth's "Attention", which others have also mentioned, and it has the same addictiveness quality to it, so it's not a surprise this has become a successful single release - and I have no doubt it's doing the rounds on TikTok at the moment.
The music video has a performance narrative throughout - which is typical of Jason Derulo music videos. The opening scene sees a server spark electricity, and Jason Derulo gets a text on his new LG phone, from Movi3 that the internet has gone down before the song fully kicks in. Then the following scenes see Jason Derulo with his on-screen love interest, which is Analisse Rodriguez, a professional dancer and actress, who is also seen in other videos of this song alongside him (she's also appeared in various other music videos); the two showcase an on-screen relationship filled with emotion and passion, and Jason Derulo shines completely as he bats out smooth choreography as if it's easy. It's a great music video and that song is certainly stuck in my head now, but I don't quite understand the very start about the internet going down, like how does that fit in with the rest of the story? The only thing I can think of is that with the internet out they could have some fun in the bedroom instead. It's a really good music video, I just wish the narrative was more clear. The dancing is on-point throughout, I expect nothing less from Jason Derulo, and Analisse Rodriquez is fire throughout the video, she really has the spotlight at times throughout the scenes.
So, today I was thinking about what music video to cover and I was thinking about the new releases I was currently listening to (and I still am listening to, I swear there is so much music released every Friday that it's impossible to keep up with it all), and for some reason, Jenn D's "You Keep Giving Me Love" popped into my head - gosh, I loved that song (along with "Lose It") - and so I was wondering what she's been up to lately since I know she released tracks under her full name, Jennifer Davies, before joining HAARM, which (according to Twitter) I discovered in 2017 - yet, how do I not have any of their songs on my iTunes/Apple Music? I should've added their music into my library back then, I have totally been missing out during those three years! Now, I've found them again and I'm currently loving their music.
This song and its music video were released six months ago. HAARM brings it for the track, letting us know how much they believe in this song and I can definitely feel the vibes they're sending out. They're style really stands out for all the right reasons and this song, "Tell Me What You Want", would certainly grab the spotlight in any playlist. The vocals on the song is superb and they enable the lyrics to get stuck in your head.
They also dropped this music video to accompany the track, which has been directed by Daniel Fitzsimmons. There's both a narrative and a performance to this visual, with the band playing their song in a red cube box-like area which creates this moody effect that really works with the song itself. As for the narrative, that follows a blonde woman who is consistently writing the HAARM logo where the two As join together. It really allows them to put a stamp on their name and brand and later connects with the performance scenes themselves as a red box with their logo all over it suggests that the band are actually inside performing their song, which is an interesting concept, overall.
I've had this song stuck in my head today and I'm so surprised I haven't written up about the music video before. To be fair, I wasn't keen on the song when it first came out and so I probably avoided it and decided not to cover it on this blog, but as the years have gone by I've started to appreciate this absolute club banger, that I just love hearing when I'm clubbing - I so miss clubbing at the moment! Wynter Gordon is now releasing awesome music under her real name, Diana Gordon, and I'm sure I'll write up about one of her newer songs in the upcoming days/weeks. To date, this is her biggest single, and it's not surprising since it was addicting, to say the least. It's definitely going to be a club anthem that will go down in history. This is one of those hits that people, even children, used to sing out loud and are now only realising what all those words actually meant - the same can be said with a tonne of other songs including 50 Cent's "Candy Shop" featuring Olivia.
Considering the lyrics of this song, I was expecting a much more naughty music video but I am pleasantly surprised that it's just a performance visual with not much going on at all. Wynter Gordon - or should we now say, Diana Gordon? - is full of energy as she sings the song, and her fashion is on point throughout! There is a naked scene, which isn't a surprise but does remind me of the one Rihanna scene in "Umbrella" featuring Jay-Z. It's a safe video considering the song itself, but also emphasises the club anthem style of the song.
