I know you all have been waiting for me to review this music video, purely because of the amount of YouTube hits it has received. It currently has just over 169 million hits, and is currently the most watched video on YouTube.
I have been a fan of Avril since she first hit the music industry, but you already knew that from my previous Avril Lavigne posts. She recently returned to music but didn't do as well as she predicted. However she felt she needed to release "Goodbye Lullaby" because it was very emotional and personal for her. She is currently working on her fifth studio album which will see her return to her pop sound, apparently.
The song was written by Avril Lavigne and Dr. Luke, proving that such a collaboration definitely gives her the credibility she so deserves. The song made very high chart positions in a number of countries and she managed to get number one in more than 10 different countries. Unfortunately it missed out on the UK chart and only got to number two. At the time a charity single was at number one and never moved from the top spot. Preventing Avril from getting her first ever number one. At this current moment, she has still never reached that important top spot. The song is incredibly catchy and it's probably one of her signature songs, especially with that amount of YouTube hits.
The music video is really good, and it's really clever what they have done, and I reckon Avril enjoyed filming it. In this video she plays two different girls, one who has a boyfriend, but seems really needy, and the other girl is a rocker chick who will go out and get whatever she wants. In this she wants the other girl's boyfriend.
My favourite bit is the choreography that Avril pulls off, she does it so easily, and although they are purely simple dance scenes, there's something about them that makes them stand out. There are also a lot of fun bits in the music video, such as the miniature golf scene which was hilarious, and I love the scene near the end, I would be really interested in how they went about filming certain parts.
The boyfriend, for people who want to know, is played by Bryan McMullin. Also Evan Taubenfeld once again appears along with Avril's brother Max Lavigne. I'm interested if Avril will ever make another music video as good as this one, purely because of the amount of YouTube hits, will she manage that? Or will this music video always be the one to try and beat?
Overall, I love the song and it's music video fits in perfectly. I like the video, and I think everyone does, it fits in with the song and has the perfect storyline, that makes sense. You can't help but laugh at some of the scenes in the music video, and I wonder if Avril will ever make a video as good as this?
This is the X Factor Finalists' charity released song, every single year the contestants create a single with all proceeds going to a certain charity, over the past few years it's always been the "Help for Heroes Charity", however this year they've changed the charity. Now all proceeds are going to "Together for Short Lives" charity.
Differently, this year the finalists have collaborated with One Direction and JLS, making this one of the most ultimate line-ups ever, and begs to question why Simon Cowell decided to make it a collaboration... Rumours suggest that he doesn't think this years finalists are good enough, however in my opinion I think he wanted to make sure the charity got the most amount of money possible, and in this case managing to get One Direction and JLS fans to also buy the single.
The X Factor Finalists include: Jonjo Kerr, James Michael, 2 Shoes, Nu Vibe, Sami Brookes, Sophie Habibis, The Risk, Johnny Robinson, Frankie Cocozza (doesn't appear in the video, or radio edits, but does appear in the single as he recorded his part before being ejected from the show), Kitty Brucknell, Craig Colton, Janet Devlin, Misha B, Amelia Lily, Marcus Collins and Little Mix. One Direction and JLS also feature on this single. But will it reach number one? With all those high charting positions and those incredibly talented artists right at the top at the moment, will they have a chance at getting to the top spot? We'll just have to wait and see.
The song is "Wishing on a Star", first released by Rose Royce, and it became quite a hit in the UK managing to get to number 3. It has been covered by a number of artists including: The Cover Girls, Jay-Z featuring Gwen Dickey (the most well-known version), Beyoncé and Seal. The X Factor Stars perform it amazingly, but I do feel sorry for the ones who were evicted early and who didn't have their own solo part, and I think it's a little unfair how some of the finalists who were evicted early got a solo part, whereas others who went further in the competition didn't.
The music video is definitely pretty good, it's nice to watch and I like how it's been edited, although sometimes I dislike it because of the editing. It's definitely one of those music videos you'll watch if there's nothing better on, and one of those videos you'll probably only ever watch once, I definitely wouldn't go out of my way to watch it again, and although it isn't rubbish, it's not amazing either. It's just your typical average multi-collaboration music video.
I like the idea of the video footage of "Together for Short Lives" in black and white, it makes it more emotional and you can feel what they want to get across. However black and white videos annoy me, purely because we have colour now and they can film in colour, so why not make it as emotional in colour. Personally I think they use this effect because they don't think they'll get the message across as clearly enough. So they try to make it sad and upsetting using the black and white editing tool.
The finalists in the music video are displayed really good, and you know that they mean every word they are singing, I like the fact that they went to visit some of the children, which makes it more personal to them. However the editing got on my nerves. During some points a new finalist would start singing, and the video wouldn't cut back to the finalist who was singing, and so at some points you haven't got a clue who actually sung a certain part.
Overall it's an average music video, and a really emotional song, but it's not much of a collaboration as each of the finalists do not have a solo part, which isn't their fault as they all deserve to be on the single. The music video is okay but I wouldn't watch it any more than I have to. I'm sorry to give this rating, but this definitely could have been a lot more.
So it's Sunday, and I was struggling to think of an artist to do my revisit on. But then I realised that I have reviewed Katy Perry's most recent single, so why don't I review her first ever single to even it out.
Katy Perry released this song in 2008 and was written by Katy Perry, Dr. Luke, Max Martin and Cathy Dennis. Once again Max Martin and Dr. Luke have popped up, and it's no wonder such songs are made because they are most definitely an unstoppable force. Cathy Dennis is a British songwriter and has written a lot of known songs released by pop stars such as Kylie Minogue, Britney Spears and The Spice Girls. Apparently the song is about having a really close friendship when you are young. This song is very controversial, but luckily the music video is pretty fine, it could have been a hell of a lot worse.
To be totally honest, I'm not entirely sure what to think about this music video, it is okay and links in with the song to an extent, but I've previously stated in past reviews that if the narrative is similar to the song then it's usually a really good thing, but in this case, if the storyline fitted in with the song, then it would have caused a lot more controversy and it really wouldn't be a good idea, so I'm pretty much torn.
There really isn't a lot to say about this music video, I don't understand what a cat has to do with anything, and even though it is quite cute it sort of looks out of place. For people who, as of yet, are unaware, this music video features a then-unknown Ke$ha, but it wasn't long until Ke$ha made a name for herself, could being in this music video help her career?
Katy Perry and the other women are dressed like they are burlesque dancers, and they are dancing to the song (if that's what you want to call it). I like the mirror where they draw "I 'heart' Katy", and I think it's Ke$ha who draws it with her "cherry chapstick", but I'm not totally sure. I think if they were aware of 'heart hands' they definitely would have used them, but I'm glad they haven't as it's kind of dying off at the moment, in my opinion. I also love the ending, which is really clever, and I think a lot of people like the ending too.
Overall I like the song because of the very catchy music, although the lyrics are a little over-the-top, but what do really expect from Katy Perry? The music video links in very well, without it being too narrative to prevent controversy. The reason I've dropped a star is that there really isn't a lot going on, I'm not suggesting she should have "kissed a girl and liked it", but I am saying that there could have been more scenes that took place. But for a first single music video, this is definitely one of the good ones!
I have been a fan of Amy Studt since she first came out, her first album "False Smiles" did really well and the singles released from the album did even better. I even remember her performing on Top Of The Pops all those years ago. Unfortunately she was dropped from her record label, which was definitely uncalled for since she got really high charting positions. After a very long wait, she finally returned with her second album "My Paper Made Men", however the album failed to chart and the spawned singles charted extremely low. The album was definitely a different sound, and it did take me a while to finally enjoy it, and realise that this showed off her amazing vocals. On the other hand, she had little promotion and I bet that was the reason why the album and singles have failed. "Nice Boys" was the third and last single to be taken from her second album. She has cited on social networking sites that she has a third upcoming album and apparently it's taken a new direction, and will probably be released in 2012. I just cannot wait for it to be released, let's hope this second attempt at a comeback gives her the popularity she definitely deserves.
"Nice Boys" was written by Amy Studt and Andrew Crutwell-Jones. I like the fact that Amy Studt likes to write her own songs, it makes them more personal and much more easier to connect with the song and the fans out there. There is definitely different perceptions of what this song means, and I don't think I can be persuaded differently, I personally think that Amy Studt has fallen for all these nice boys in the past, and she has finally come across someone who isn't just nice, he's more and he is special. This song suggests that she has found the person she wants to be with for the rest of her life especially since the opening lyrics are: "Never had a man who can, Always had to do it for myself". It's written in past tense so therefore she must have found "a man who can". However other people hear this song and think differently to me, they might think that she's going alone and that she's brushing away any "nice boys" that want to go out with her. Others say that it shows how much she has grown up, she was slightly vulnerable in her first album but now this second album has more of a grown-up style that proves how much she's been through and because of her life she doesn't believe that "nice boys" are nice at all. I like the fact that this song can mean different things to different people, and I'd like it to stay that way so that more and more opinions can be made (Post below if you have a theory on what the song means).
The music video is low budget, that much is obvious and I bet it took some money to afford the models/dancers. But I like how it links in with one of the theories I mentioned above but you aren't aware of that until towards the end. I wouldn't say it's one of the best Amy Studt videos I've seen, or one of the best low-budget music videos I've seen, but the style and calmness of the song and it's music video is definitely what makes this different.
I like the start, it's simple and it focuses a lot on Amy Studt. You can tell she really means what she is saying. I like how the guys are watching her, and when they come around her too, and I always laugh when she pushes the one person's head away. Also the music video tends to focus on that single guy more than others.
The dance sequence is clever. Not quite sure why Amy doesn't do much, but maybe that's the link to "Always had to do it for myself", whereas now she has 5 dancers moving for her and she doesn't have to do much at all. Also when the camera is in the right position it looks like she's doing all the dance moves.
I like the ending and the fight scene, I do wonder how many takes it took for Amy not to start laughing, hearing all those chairs smash, and I bet the guys enjoyed the fighting scene. I think it proves the "nice boys they don't last" lyric as they are obviously not that nice if one little thing could set them off.
Overall I like this song, it did take a while to grow on me, but it did that pretty easily. The accompanying music video has been shown on the music channels a few times and still is. And it has this "nice" charisma about it that links perfectly with the song. I know some of you may think I'm being biased by giving this video this rating, but it just gives me this feeling, that just makes me think this is a great music video.
Alex Saidac is a new and upcoming Swedish singer, who has already had a hit with this song in a number of countries. I did kind of wonder who it was when I watched it on the music channels today, but I can't stop listening to it, I can definitely see it being big! But which way will she turn? We've had a number of Swedish singers attempt to get on the UK chart but will she be amongst the Basshunter and September, who have had great charting numbers, or will this fail like Ola Svensson's "All Over The World" and Eric Saade's "Hearts In The Air". I reckon it will be a hit, but I've only seen it once on the music channels so we may have a little while to wait and find out.
Alex Saidac grew up as a typical 'tomboy', turning her back on girlie toys she turned to the 'Stockholm underground scene', she became a break dancer performing here and there. She has a love for graffiti art and she is a successful DJ. But when she was 13 she was sent to Argentina training to become, at the age of 17, one of the leading female Polo players in Spain and Scandinavia...in the men's team. Instead she returned to Sweden and entered 'Musikmakarna', and she reached her goal becoming on of the lucky few to gain an internship at Los Angeles. Now she is ready to take on the world by storm, and this track is the one to do it!
This song is really catchy, I do believe if you only listen to it once you may not enjoy it, so I totally recommend you to listen to it about 2 more times and by then you'll love it as much as I do. The lyrics pronounce that the song is about go out clubbing and enjoying it and letting the night be your own, and just enjoying life. The song's meaning kind of reminds me of Pixie Lott's "All About Tonight" and although the songs aren't similar, their messages are alike.
The music video is very clever. I like the fact that Alex Saidac is on a mission and is trying to rescue someone. The use of the searchlight links in perfect with some of the lyrics, and although people might think it doesn't link, I personally feel it works perfectly, since there is a few links and a few more links.
I really like the start with all the words that pop up, these are as follows... "Location: Stockholm, Sweden; Operation: Rescue; Searchlight: Off ---> On; Codename: We Shine; Password: Le Monde De Leo". The mission is taken place during the truck scene. I like this bit because it suggests war at times but instead of a gun, it's a spotlight, and Alex uses it to identify people, as she is trying to rescue someone.
The other scene is that she is in a club with spotlights and this really great glow in the dark, spotlight, rope thing that I so want! This makes the music video look really good and definitely makes it stand out from the many music videos being released today.
At the end of the music video, we find out that she found who she was looking for and the mission became complete, but I think through editing we lost the narrative since we are unsure of how she got there and figured it all out, but maybe we are supposed to fill that in...
Overall, the song is really catchy and her vocals are really good, this is definitely a hard song to sing, and Alex does it so effortlessly. I can see it being a hit here in the UK if the music channels help to promote it. The accompanying music video is a joy to watch as it clearly stand out and I so hope she gets far in her career and releases more here in the UK.
