This was Avril Lavigne's first ever single, although I have to admit I could so see it being a band rather than Avril herself, obviously it didn't work out that way. This song was originally written by Avril Lavigne with the help of her producers, which kind of surprised me as I always thought that she had only recently started songwriting. Avril looks so much like a tom-boy in this video, and it's hard to think that she has managed to become as stunning as she is in her most recent video. Some people prefer her this way, of course, people prefer artists in their original format, but she's different and has shown she has developed in her most recent albums. This sing was taken as the first single from her first album "Let Go", it took me a while to realise I enjoyed her music, and by that time the second album had come out "Under My Skin", so I'm missing some of the singles that I would have bought, but there's places I can get them from, as long as I have extra money. For those of you who care.... Abbey Dawn and Black Star and Vaio and Forbidden Rose and any other product placements that now appear in some of her most recent videos weren't even around let alone thought of so you're saved from product placement.
As I have previously mentioned, Avril wrote this song alongside her producers: The Matrix, which consists of Scott Spock, Lauren Christy and Graham Edwards and they have worked with a number of artists, from Korn to Hilary Duff. This song is really good and Avril has mentioned that it is about people being fake. I think it is a clever song talking about "preppy clothes" and "dressed up like you're something else", I like how she sings about high school dramas, because that's where people being fake come from, as they need to fit in with other people to create these cliques. When high school finishes some people become their selves whereas others get stuck in this sort of look that isn't them as they aren't sure what to do next even though their personality may be totally different to what they look like. Thinking of Avril here, I believe she has never changed to try and fit in, she obviously have always wanted to be herself, and it's worked for her.
The amount of times I have watched this music video is a little surprising, if I had bothered to count. I know everything that happens in this music video, and still it makes me laugh, I like lots of different aspects, and now I really enjoy seeing the backing band, who are no long her backing band, as she has a new backing band now. The old backing band featured Mark Spicoluk, Matt Brann and Evan Taubenfeld, who are all doing their own thing now. Mark is now the founder, president and owner of a record label/management company called Underground Operations. Matt is working on projects with other bands as he plays the drums. Evan recently collaborated with Avril on her most recent album "Goodbye Lullaby" and has started his own solo career along with a few acting roles here and there.
This music video is really good, I like how some things have obviously been edited to fit in with the lyrics especially when she sings "we fall and we crawl" a skater falls over. I like how they mess about in the mall and every single time Avril jumps out of the clothes rack to scare that woman I laugh, I also like how she tricks her backing band into jumping into the pool, when she doesn't actually jump in, although personally I would have laughed about it then jumped in anyway, or if I were one of her backing band I would've dragged her in. I like how they ride on the mall karts and when the boys dress up for Avril.
I like how the narrative side includes Avril and her backing band, and this is one of only a few of her music videos where they are shown, which I do feel a sorry for the band, but then again they're lucky to get a few glimpses, some singers take them for granted and don't even bother filming them. I like how they try running up the down escalator, I think that's really funny and I bet you everyone has done that once in their lives, or at least gone down so far and then ran to get back to the top. There's so much I like about this video, but it's also very simplistic but that's to be expected since the producers and director didn't expect Avril to be as big as she is.
Overall I like the freedom and fun elements in this video, I like the skater as it makes it more real, I definitely like the fact that the band gets to play a part in the narrative storyline, and although the music video doesn't reference the song in it's meaning, it totally makes up for it by flipping it upside down and including certain parts into the lyrics. So, although you may call me biased, I feel that this rating suits this video and it definitely deserves it.
I have been a fan of Avril Lavigne, when she first released "Complicated", now I'm am kind of obsessed with her, but have yet to see her live. I have all her albums and singles, and I' little surprised to find out she has never had a number 1 here in the UK, which is quite surprising. However she's had a couple of number 3's and a number 2, with her hit "Girlfriend". This single is her first and lead single from her 4th studio album: Goodbye Lullaby, which is a such a brilliant album that really shows how she has developed, and most of the songs are extremely emotional. She wrote all her songs, with he help of various other songwriters, and so there will be a lot of meaning behind what she is singing. Apparently, she is already working on her 5th album, which is very exciting news, and hope she manages o pull back some fans and potentially new people as I recon she has lost a few over the years of absence of music as her record company was not quite happy with Goodbye Lullaby and kept asking her to record more pop/rock songs.
Avril wrote this song with Max Martin and Shellback, who have written together on a few of 'Goodbye Lullaby''s tracks. Max Martin once again pops up, and once again shows how big of a songwriter he has now become, and Shellback is quickly becoming bigger and better with a lot of the songs he has written appearing in the charts also. There is a lot of unanswered questions about this song and it's meaning, a lot of people have speculated that it's about Avril's divorced with Deryck Whibley, but she did mention a while ago that this album has nothing to do with it. Also Avril and Deryck are still on good terms with one another, and so maybe some of the things she sings about is more in reference to rather than some she did or he did, personally I don't think people should interpret everything that has been sung as a connection as many songwriters say something else that they did so that it is in reference to rather than the fact that they actually did that, as they couldn't fit the right words in the right places, or it would have become way to emotional.
This song is catchy and really upbeat, it is the only pop/rock song on the album as many of the others are more mellow and drastically heart-felt. I believe this song wasn't originally on the album, and Avril has claimed that her album has been done for over a year and her record company asked her for more pop/rock songs. To be totally honest, if I was her, I'd release an album with all the songs she recorded that did not actually make the album, there must have been at least a dozen songs that had to have been scrapped. But then again isn't it the same with every artist? Furthermore, will she be releasing a greatest hits album soon? Maybe she's waiting for a number 1 here in the UK, surely she's released enough songs for a compilation of greatest hits, maybe we'll see one soon, or maybe it's this mysterious 5th album....
The music video was filmed in 3D, which doesn't make much sense to me, why couldn't they have kept some bits in 3D? Or maybe it was made so that people who have a 3D enabled TV can watch it the way it was recorded? I haven't got a clue so please, someone intellectual please come on here and comment about it as I have no idea. The video has mounted up 82 million YouTube hits, which is half the amount of YouTube hits "Girlfriend" has managed to get gaining the video the most watched. I thought this one had a good shot at beating her record, but half-way isn't too bad.... I do wonder what video can beat this enormous amount of views, and it'll be interesting to see.
A lot of people have commented on YouTube saying this is more like an advert for Sony and Abbey Dawn, but what's so wrong with product placement? I don't understand why people don't like it, did the girls not come into school the day after seeing Britney's "...Baby One More Time" with their shirts tied into a knot? Did the guys not start wearing the same clothes as one of their idols such as football players? (Sorry couldn't think of anything else). So what is wrong with it? As I don't have anything against it, apart from the fact that Abbey Dawn clothes are not sold here in the UK yet and so I will probably have to wait years and years to finally get an Abbey Dawn T-Shirt, or decide to fork out a fortune to get them shipped using the online store.
I like this music video, because it is fun, narrative, interesting and fits with the song. I like the fact that Avril puts her two fragrances on at the beginning 'Black Star' and 'Forbidden Rose' and at the same time teases her boyfriend, by locking him in a room, which looks like a wardrobe (how he got out we'll never know). I like the taxi bit, although she probably needed that rear-view mirror. I like how she steps out of the taxi, although that bit you can tell was taken else where as the taxi is automatically slower than how fast she was previously going. I really like the vintage clothing store, the fact that her mom makes a cameo appearance as a clerk and Avril has a few parting words, which is a nice little twist, and I find her facial expressions really funny while she's in the store. And her face at seeing the Abbey Dawn clothing is really interesting and is pretty funny. I like the teasing bit in the hallway and it fits perfectly, and her stage performance. This bit Avril commented as her favourite bit especially the crowd surfing because it was shot in 3D and so she said it was really cool watching it back and seeing the hands come up to catch her. I like the ending and her cheeky wink at the end which totally suggests that she plans on doing it all over again tomorrow.
The little bits are a little surprising, such as her necklace in the first few seconds, even though it's really pretty it has a hateful word on, this goes well with the song in some weird way because swearwords used to be a part of natural language and so it wasn't a hateful word, however now they are commonly used to describe something or someone and they can be harmful in a weird way, the lyrics in the song works well with the necklace because 'All my life I've been good but now, whoa what the hell', which suggests that the word and the necklace used to be good, but now it isn't. Also when I first saw this video I didn't really take in the laptop, but now I've seen the adverts for the Vaio, I know how expensive and interesting it is, and although again it is product placement, it suggests that sometimes Avril just likes a shopping spree and "what the hell". There's probably other things that I've seen and missed, I kind of like the fact that she includes her band in this music video, and I'm interested to see if they'll pop up again sometime...
Overall I love this song, and makes me wish that I had some Abbey Dawn t-shirts, but I presume you can't always get what you want. The song is catchy and very reminiscent of her previous songs. I like the music video, it's about freedom and fun which are always nice things to see in a music video, the narrative is perfect and although people don't like product placement, I like it and thinks it's a good way to promote (and I'm really hoping it might get rid of adverts on the music channels, as adverts gets me really annoyed, especially on music channels). So I shall reward this music video with this rating, as I think it definitely deserves thins and although some bits I may not agree with, it don't matter much.
One Direction came third on the seventh series of the X Factor. That series is probably the only series to have the most live final contestants release singles and albums, or at least have signed to a record company. So far there is, Matt Cardle (winner), Rebecca Ferguson (second), One Direction (third), Cher Lloyd (fourth), Mary Byrne (fifth), Katie Waissel (seventh) Belle Amie (eleventh), Storm Lee (fourteenth) and Nicolò Festa (sixteenth). This is One Direction's first single, and it's bound to do well on the charts especially since mid-week has predicted number one for them. This song is catchy and heart-felt, it does sound similar to other songs, which I'll mention later, and it is one of those songs where you don't even realise you are singing a long to it until something drastic happens like the radio being turned off or something, and you're still singing. It's that catchy which would explain why it'll get a high charting position.
One Direction is a 5 member pop band whose singing voices are brilliant on their own but even better together. The 5 members within this group are Niall Horan, Zayn Malik, Liam Payne, Harry Styles and Louis Tomlinson. In the X Factor they all auditioned for the boys category, at boot camp some of them paired up and made friends to try and get through boot camp stage. By the suggestion of Nicole Scherzinger these boys were grouped up into a boy band, and now thanks to her, we have One Direction. I have to say that I really don't like Liam's hair, it used to be straight in The X Factor, however now he's tried to copy Harry a bit, and it definitely hasn't worked out for him, I don't think. One Direction are now storming YouTube with just over 8 million hits, with popularity here in the UK as well as America and Australia. This band could be the next big thing, and could be the first UK X Factor band to make it as global megastars.
This song is all about a girl who the boys think is beautiful only she is shy and is unaware that she is, but apparently "that's what makes you beautiful". I don't know whether the intentions behind the song is hat all 5 members want to go out with her (imagine that argument over who would get the girl) or just someone each of them have known in the past. The song was written by Carl Falk, Savan Kotecha and Rami Yacoub. Savan has once again popped up as the song-writer on this blog, the last time I listed him as song writer was for Britney Spears' single "I Wanna Go", so he is becoming more and more well-known in the music industry, and can definitely see more catchy song-writing coming from him soon.
The music video is a little weird, I am not totally sure what to make of it. The music video contains a lot of fun, which is what you naturally expect from this band, however it isn't what the story is about really, is it? One Direction are on a beach waiting for this girl and her friends to show up. I find it funny how they only ever show one girl when the band members are singing, it suggests that they all like this one girl which seems a little over the top, if you asked me. This one girl could be taking all five on a ride.... But I don't see why each member didn't have a girl of their own to sing the song to.
I really like the bit towards the end when you see clips of the band and they've just sparked up the sparklers and they are sparkling in the background as if all the bits of sparkle are showering the members, I know how they've done it but I think it's quite clever, it goes with the "Na Na Na Na Na Na Na" bit in the song, but that's all I can pair it up to, along with the fun element side of this video. I still don't get why they didn't make this video a bit better.
Overall I really like this first single from this band, I can so see them becoming really big, but could imagine that a split might happen in about a decade's time maybe, since each member did audition by themselves. But maybe I'm wrong, maybe they do have a strong bond between them all and that it will last until they are old, we'll just have to wait and see. However the video isn't that good, and it's quite average to be honest, with very little links with the song. So I'm sorry to give it this rating, but I have to be totally fair.
I first heard about this band back in 2002 with their single "This Love". I actually did think they were a British band, but by 2004 I had lost interest in the band, and although I kept up to date with their releases I was no longer interested. Recently I have worked out that they are an American band, which kind of makes sense since collaborations with Rihanna and like this one with Christina Aguilera would have been very rare if they were a british band. They've done fairly well over the years in various different charts succeeding expectations in 2002, but slowly failed to do any better. However this song has got everybody talking about it, it is so catchy you can't help but sing-a-long.
Maroon 5 is a 5-piece pop/rock band siding more to the pop side than the rock genre, but personally I'd class them more as an indie band. The band consists of Adam Levine, James Valentine, Jesse Carmichael, Michael Madden and Matt Flynn. The band was previously known as Kara's Flowers but soon changed their name in 2002 because it would stop comparisons to their earlier music which was considered quite different. As I have already mentioned they collaborated with Christina Aguilera with this track. Now she was in the spotlight for a number of years, starting off with the Mickey Mouse club, alongside Britney Spears and Justin Timberlake (to name a few), and then soon became Britney's biggest threat, it was always Britney Vs. Christina, and it looks like Britney came out on top, since Christina disappeared for a few years, but she is crawling back to the top, and Britney once again has this unstoppable competition, and Christina still has the voice. This battle will be fierce once again, but will Christina win this time? We'll have to wait and see.
This song is about Mick Jagger, which kind of explains the title, since at first I used to be confused about who "Jagger" was, but since this video, I've clicked. Mick Jagger is probably best known for being in The Rolling Stones, he has very iconic dance moves and has been described as one of the most influential front men of rock & roll of all time. I love the beat of this song it is so catchy and you can't help but like this song, it has amassed over 20 million YouTube hits and it'll soon grab a lot more attention soon. I love the lyrics especially Christina's, I also like how the song references certain things that can be related to Mick Jagger. I don't know why Maroon 5 has once again grabbed my attention, I really didn't think it would be possible, but they've done it, and although I will not be a fan of them again, I can't help but like their music.
This music video is really good, I really like the start and the ending which shows some old clips of back in the days of Mick Jagger. The band has a lot of respect for Mick Jagger, and I really like how they've managed to show old clips of him in a new light and to be able to show it to the new generation is always a good thing (shush, don't tell anyone but I was unaware of who Mick Jagger was until I started researching for this review, I knew his name from somewhere but wasn't sure where). Adam Levine wanted to expose Mick Jagger to the new generation as many people haven't experienced how great he was. The clips they used was endorsed by Mick Jagger himself, and he even gave the footage to them, which is such a nice thing to do, and I bet Maroon 5 was really happy.
The video is very authentic and goes with the whole Mick Jagger style, I like how many people try to "move like Jagger" including Adam Levine who claims he's "got the moves like Jagger"..... Girl fans of Adam Levine would definitely like his shirtless appearance showing his colourful tattoos off but don't worry guys there's eye candy for us too, with many provocative girls, if you look closely you'll see what I mean. Christina's short verse fits perfectly and her style, with the big floppy hat and the mascara eye-lined eyes makes her a big part of the group, and if Maroon 5 is ever looking for a 6th member, she's right there in front of you. This collaboration is perfect in every way.
Overall I really like this song and the two artists collaborating. I have just found out that Adm Levine and Christina Aguilera were both mentors on "The Voice" (the American version), which could have formed this collaboration. "The Voice" is planning on getting a UK version hosted by the BBC, which I'm certainly looking forward for. The music video is pretty good, like the concept of using a figure icon to express the song, and it relates perfectly since the figure icon is mentioned in the song. The narrative side may be missing a bit, but you really can't help but have joy in your face while watching this video. I have to give this video this rating, for the groovy music video that I'm loving every time I watch it.
Here's another new band for you lot to check out. I have only just recently become obsessed with this band, and I'm sure they will get a lot more fans the more people who listen to them. There is no band I can think of that is at all like them. Some of my friends have said that the line-up is pretty similar and possibly a younger version of The Pretty Reckless, but the comparisons go out of the window after listening to this awesome track. They are really unique and there is definitely a place on the chart for these guys. If they gain enough popularity, which I can definitely see happening, since music channels like Scuzz and Lava TV are obsessed with playing this music video, then this band will definitely achieve UK success and hopefully worldwide, but let's take one step at a time, right? I first saw this music video on Lava TV (which is now called "Greatest Hits TV", but they still have a show for Lava called: "Lava Showcase" which promotes new songs from bands along with unsigned bands), and had the song stuck in my head. Today, it's been in my head again, the song is so catchy that I'd be surprised if there is someone out there that doesn't get it stuck in their head.
Checking Pulse is a 4-piece electro pop/rock band comprising of Emily Wilson, Adam Hughes, Henry Hopkins and Chris Ridgers. They describe their sound as a mixture of Paramore, You Me At Six, Lady Gaga and Forever the Sickest Kids, which I have to admit is quite a mixture, and definitely suggests they are unique in their music, in my opinion. I can definitely see this band becoming really big, they could be the UK's answer to Paramore, if they get enough popularity, which I'm sure they will sometime soon.
I love this song, it's so catchy as you probably know, and it has just a perfect meaningful story that people can relate to. I really like Emily's voice it is really nice to listen to and I'm definitely going to buy all their singles and CD's as they are soon to be the next big thing (I hope). I like the chorus as well with the rhymes at the end such as "Her make-up is running down her face, so wasted she won't give up the chase", they are simple yet really effective, and I can't stop clicking the repeat button, as I'm loving this song! The song is about this girl called Aimeé, who is best friends with Emily, only Emily has seen behind "all her lies" and behind "her pretty eyes", and has decided to break up the friendship between them.
The music video is perfect, it relates well with the meaning of the song, and although it isn't exact, it doesn't need to be, they show everything they need to and also shows Checking Pulse performing on a stage which shows what they are like live which is always good. According to their website, many people who have seen them have expressed views saying that they are a hell of a lot better live than on the CD, which is such a great comment, and I'm eager to see them live.
On YouTube they have amassed 4,000 hits so far for this music video, which isn't too bad since some bands get less than that. However I hope this number goes way up as they definitely deserve it. Checking Pulse has mentioned that the girl who plays Aimeé is a model, however I really think Emily shines out at you and is prettier than the girl who plays Aimeé, sorry.
The storyline is amazing and is definitely interesting. I like trying to spot where all the band members are, they appear in certain clips in the background, which is fascinating as it shows a true representation of a house-party, that isn't out of control. I like the ending it works fine, but I do think it would have been that little bit better if you saw Aimeé crying at the end, as it would link perfectly with "her make-up is running down her face". However not everything can be perfect, and I also believe I'll be playing this song again and again and again, and I am really looking forward for this band to get success as they clearly deserve it, and they have totally captured me in their perfect essence of music, there is definitely a place for them in music.
Overall, without being biased, I have to give this video this rating, because it's fun to watch, it's well-thought through, I really am obsessed with the song, and everything works out nicely, especially the picture at the end, which explains a lot. I like the band being on stage, they seem very up-lifting and I'm on the look-out for when they tour, so hopefully I can catch them. For those of you who are now interested in this band (and I hope you are) here's the Checking Pulse website: http://www.checkingpulse.com/ and those of you who want the CD, go to the store and order it, which is exactly what I'm going to do now.
