Critic Jonni

I got an unofficial request for me to review this music video by Incubus27, it's definitely not the sort of song I listen to, although I have heard of it before, on the other hand I have never seen the video. This is the first time R. Kelly, real name Robert Kelly, has appeared on my blog... Will it be the last time? It's doubtful. He released his first album in 1992 (I wasn't even born then), and has managed to stay on top of things especially with people still talking about his music now, including his new songs. His most known song is "I Believe I Can Fly". His new songs have stopped being released in the UK, but I believe he will return at one point and when that happens the song is bound to be a chart hit.

This music video is in reverse, but it's the sort of video that you watch and totally forget that it's going backwards, the reason for that is because you connect with the story easily and you just accept it for what it is. Which is extremely clever, also some of the footage is going forwards as well so it's difficult to concentrate properly.

The narrative is gripping, you want to know why he wants to turn back the hands of time, not only that but you want to know what makes her argue with him. We see him not showing up at a dinner, and not answering his phone. But what really got me is when she "blows the candle on" (as it's in reverse) , she walks backwards to the bathroom, with footage of someone having a shower which I presumed was our main character, however as we see the bathroom there is another person entirely in the shower, as Nikki Grahame would say "Who Is She?"

I think that's all I can comment on, I like the ending, however it is expected. I believe there might be a few other issues hidden here and there if I look for them, but I like the use of the reverse footage, and I can't think of any other music videos that uses it to this extent. I like how the scenes they used make you think wow, like the candle and the basketball, as you forget it's going backwards. Overall great music video with a few faults here and there although they do their best to hide them.

Rita Ora has captured the UK in one sweep gaining 2 number ones in a few months, she is definitely the girl who's hitting the UK hard, she is being compared to Rihanna all the time, but could she shake that comparison in the future? This is her second single to be released in the UK and everyone is talking about it, could it be her third number one in a row? It's quite possible, although it is difficult to do nowadays, especially with the number one changing every few weeks, it's just rare to always expect an artist to top the UK chart, but if anyone can do it it's got to be Rita Ora. But she has competition on her hands as the week she releases this song, a number of popular artists also releases the same week and they could potentially grab that top spot, it sure will be an interesting week.

"How We Do (Party)" was written by a huge range of songwriters because it samples "Party and Bullshit" which was a single released in 1993 by Notorious B.I.G. So here goes nothing. The people involved in writing the song were Alex Delicata, Andrew Davidson, Jermaine Jackson, Andrew Harr, Berry Gordy Jr., Bob West, Bonnie McKee, Christopher Wallace (Notorious B.I.G.), Hal Davis, Kelly Sheehan, Osten Harvey Jr., Sean Davidson and Willie Hutch. It seems the more songwriters that collaborate the bigger the hit, I can so see this going straight to the top just like "R.I.P." and "Hot Right Now".

This music video isn't the best, it's basically a huge party that Rita Ora is a part of, and it's showing exactly how they do. There's so much going on, but then also there isn't and this is exactly why I've been finding it difficult to review as there's so much I could comment on but there's little going on.

So let's keep it short and sweet, I like the cut off bit in the middle where you here her say "On that note party and bullshit". I also like the bit when she hits the balloon, that looks like a total unexpected, unrehearsed clip but done so well they kept it in. Other bits such as when the guy throws paint over "God save the queen" seems a bit stupid and doesn't relate, it felt like they were showing off. The UV lighting was unexpected, again doesn't relate exactly but makes this video more interesting.

Overall an extremely catchy song, and it's accompanying music video fits nicely, I could talk about all the little things for ages, but we'll all just get bored as there is little going on, maybe they thought that they didn't need to do a great video because the song's amazing no matter what. But at least it isn't totally different from the song.

Rizzle Kicks has been popular on my blog for quite sometime now, especially after I wrote the review of "Mama Do The Hump", which is still getting views to this day. Rizzle Kicks are a duo made up of Rizzle and Sylvester, but their real names are Jordan Stephens and Harley Alexander-Sule respectively. They have had a number of hit songs, that keep appearing on the charts, this is one duo we are going to see a lot more of. However they have never had a number one, will that change in the future? Or will they be stuck, just like The Saturdays, keeping an eye on the chart and always hoping for that hit song that makes it to the top.

"Dreamers" was written by Harley Alexander-Sule, Emily Phillips, Jordan Stephens, Ant Whiting, Patrick Lyons and Alex Spyropoulos. There are two versions of this song that has been released, the one that you can hear in the music video and the Epic Remix (which is currently charting a lot higher than this one). The reason why the second one is charting better is because it is a collaboration with Pharoahe Monch, Hines, Professor Green, Ed Sheeran, Dappy, Foreign Beggars and Chali 2na. A big collaboration and I can see this charting high by Sunday! I'm not sure what to think of this song, it's good it's catchy but a bit on the repetitive side, so much so that I got bored at the end.

This music video isn't as good as I expected it to be, Rizzle Kicks are the duo that are leading the way on how to make good music videos, but this one is just not up to scratch. It's more of a performance piece than anything else, with various hip hop dancing included. There is also a cameo appearance from Dappy which shows him playing tennis on his own, that's one way to win I suppose. Personally I would've made the video as the Epic Remix featuring everyone in the song, although there are a few stars that are quite a bit busy, but they still should've done it.

My favourite bit of this video is the various messages that pop up. The one at the start and at the end says "You can check-in. But you can never check-out", which I think goes for dreaming, as once you come up with something you're guaranteed to come back to it. The next one is "Keep calm and carry on" which has been hitting the UK hard recently. Near the end "No accredited sheep beyond this point" and "It's not over until the fat lady sings", which could relate to the song since dreams do send you weird messages sometimes.

The whole video has an Alice in Wonderland feel, it reminds me of Avril Lavigne's "Alice" and Daisy Dares You Featuring Chipmunk's "Number One Enemy". What Rizzle Kicks are showing us is that Alice in Wonderland could have been a dream that Alice stepped into, or fell into, and they aren't the only ones who think that. However that is the only link I can think up of.

Overall a catchy song that is a bit on the repetitive side, it's accompanying music video isn't up to standards we expect from these guys, although it is technically great and has everything you expect, along with hidden references that become more clear when you watch it.

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Dizzee Rascal, real name Dylan Mills, has had a few number ones and I'm sure he'll be getting a few more. However I never find his songs not that memorable, I'll remember it when I hear it but I couldn't work out the song off the top of my head. In this one he has collaborated with Calvin Harris (which links us back to the start of my Collaboration Special), his real name is Adam Wiles, and is probably the main reason why this song got to number one as he is a DJ so he came up with the music which makes this song very catchy, his vocals is great to listen to and I can't help but sing-a-long to them. As for Chrome, there isn't a lot about him, I've heard that he has featured on quite a few songs, but there's no profile to be found...

"Dace Wiv Me" was written by Calvin Harris, Dizzee Rascal, Nick Detnon and Tyrone Paul. Again another possible reason why this song did good was because it was written by the artists who sings the song. It's catchy because of the music, in my opinion, if it wasn't a collaboration with Calvin Harris and it was left to someone else, I doubt this song would have charted as well as it did.

The music video is a typical rap/R&B music video, there's nothing special about it in my opinion, just a couple of guys singing in this place with a lot of girls. It links in well with the song, however it is more of a performance video over a narrative video.

I think a lot is missing to make this video better, they could've been singing to a couple of girls, but instead they were more focused on the camera, which could link in a way if you considered the camera to be a girl in who they are singing to, however Dizzee Rascal spoils all ideas of that as he walks away with a girl leaving the camera all alone.

Overall, you can tell I haven't got anything more to say about this video, I'm seriously grasping at straws here. I'm glad that it's typical of this genre of music, it could've been a lot worse, the song is catchy especially after a few listens but I would put it down to Calvin Harris' music. So I haven't got a clue what to rate this, so I'm going with my gut, and I'm sorry if people think the video is better than this.

Shakira, real name Shakira Ripoll, has never made it on my blog before I decided to do this Collaboration Special., guess she just isn't as big over in the UK as she is everywhere else, especially since this catchy little song failed to chart in the UK, or maybe it wasn't even released... She has a very unique voice, one that if you hear it on the radio you'd be able to identify it within seconds. She released 2 versions of "Loca" one being a Spanish version featuring El Cata, and an English version featuring Dizzee Rascal. Since I live in the UK and only speak English I have decided to review the English version. The Spanish version can be found below. Dizzee Rascal, real name Dylan Mills, is one of those British rappers who has had quite a few number ones for songs that are easily forgettable, in my opinion, which seems a little disappointing, but he is coming back soon with new songs that are definitely going to be chart worthy, let's hope they're memorable too.

"Loca" was written by Shakira, Edward Bello (El Cata), Armando Pérez (Pitbull) and Dylan Mills (Dizzee Rascal). Which is definitely quite a collaboration, and I'm surprised to see Pitbull once again. Again the artist has written the song, hence why she sings it so well, I also like how it shows us a bit of her personality as she is singing about being crazy, which she is from various news reports we have heard about in the last 1-3 years that has had me surprised and laughing.

This music video was set in Barcelona, Spain. It shows her being crazy as we have all come to expect, and we sure do like it. She roller skates, she rides a motorcycle and she dances in a public fountain. However being crazy doesn't mean you have to throw all safety aside, she ended up going on a motorcycle with no helmet (which is against the law in Spain), and she didn't get any permits to film or to jump in the fountain, hence law suits was probably going to happen, but as far as I know nothing really came of it. But then again it does come from being crazy, however doesn't that encourage people to do the same?

Overall I haven't got much to say about this video, the song is catchy, and the video matches the song, but I don't believe in teaching kids to disregard rules, at the end of the day she should've been fined for what she did and we as the public should have known about it, on the other hand it may not have been Shakira's fault at all, maybe it was the director or someone else entirely, she's crazy, we like it but don't throw safety out the window!