Well this is a bit embarrassing right? Please bare in mind that I was only 12, and so I decided to cheer on Chico, now as I'm older and I look back on it, I realise it was done on purpose to attract the younger audience watching. Chico, real name Yousseph "Chico" Slimani, has had a bit of success, I think quite a lot of people are aware of who he is. He got a number one single with his first song "It's Chico Time", but since then he has gone on to release a couple more singles which got a bit of popularity, and an album which failed to chart. From then on he has been popping up on a variety of reality shows, from "CelebAir" to "Dancing on Ice". Will he return to music? It's doubtful since he keeps popping up on TV Shows and it looks like he is setting out on a film career, but I wouldn't put it past him to try again in the future.
It's Chico Time was written by Mark Hudson, with the help of Chico. It was first sung live on The X Factor during the live shows. The second series of the X Factor gave us a few more stars than the 1st series, these include: Shayne Ward (Winner), Andy Abraham (second), Journey South (third), Brenda Edwards (fourth), Chico (fifth), Maria Lawson (eighth), and a few more as well. This song got to number one, and most recently Chico re-released it under a new name called "It's England's Time" with all proceeds going to charity, however it failed to chart.
The music video is definitely low-budget, clearly it didn't matter since it got to the top spot. It's a pure performance piece, with still a catchy tune, believe it or not. There is a lot of children in the video that must hate seeing the video right now, it is on the embarrassing side!
There's not a lot going on, there's a big choreography scene which makes the song more appealing, especially for children as it isn't too difficult to follow the dance steps, and I have to commemorate the video for being able to teach the kids how to copy the dance moves, although I doubt many will realise. I also like the reference of the clock at the end!
Overall, I believe the song is still catchy, it's definitely stuck in my head, but the video is lacking, I know that it's low budget, but some low budget music videos still look amazing. This is clearly missing a lot and not many people will go out of their way to watch it, especially the kids who performed in the video!
Okay, G4 was a band I didn't like much during The X Factor series 1. I was rooting for Tabby Callaghan and Cassie Compton, but Cassie has not released any material thus far, and as for Tabby, even though he has released a number of songs, none of which happen to have a music video. So after looking at all 9 finalists it was down to the final 2, and I have to admit I do prefer G4 over Steve Brookstein. Since this was the first series not many of the artists got recording contracts, a lot of them are still trying today. As for G4, I wanted them to win, but I'm glad they didn't as they soon broke-up. The band consisted of Jonathan Ansell, Mike Christie, Matthew Stiff and Ben Thapa. Jonathan Ansell is the only one who still appears on TV and even though he shares the same name as me, I really don't like him, he comes off extremely arrogant and annoying. The others have appeared now again, one is well-known in the operatic world, and the other two are doing various projects. Will they ever reform? Don't make me laugh, my bet is that Jonathan Ansell was the reason they split up.
"Bohemian Rhapsody" is a cover version of the extremely well-known Queen version. Queen's version is a rock style, whereas G4 has gone more into an operatic version, which is a clever twist, and a different take on the song, but yet again, Jonathan Ansell is centre of attention, and although he is the lead singer he takes it too far. He very much reminds me of Andrew Stone. There has been many cover versions of this song, along with different versions of the original video. This is definitely not one of my favourites. Not even close.
This video is attempting to do the same as Queen, however it fails badly, mainly because it looks low budget. There are various scenes, but it was probably done in one complete day. G4 really aren't doing much, maybe they were instructed to pose in certain ways or was told to just stand/sit there.
I bet when they look back at this video now, they regret some of the things they did, especially Jonathan Ansell who acted very weird when the flirtatious girls came on screen, there's exactly one second during one of the scenes and he kind of jumps up and down.
Overall a great song that wasn't initially G4's song. But it's a great cover version idea, on paper, but I don't think it quite works in real life. As for the video... Well there's no link, it's purely a performance piece, but they don't even perform it very well. And even though I keep saying Jonathan Ansell wants all the attention, that's exactly what I've done with this review, as there clearly is nothing else to comment on, Jonathan Ansell is what made G4, I'm afraid to say. And even now, if any of the other members popped up on TV, none of us would realise they were too a member of G4.
Starting off my X Factor Special, is LITTLE MIX. They were the winners from the 8th series of The X Factor UK. They are the first and could quite possibly be the only band to win The X Factor. They all auditioned separately, and the judges, during boot camp didn't think they were strong enough to go through individually, so the judges put them together, and made an unstoppable band, who was mentored by Tulisa. They consist of Perrie Edwards, Jesy Nelson, Leigh-Anne Pinnock and Jade Thirlwall. I can see Simon promoting these here, there and everywhere, and that is exactly what he has been doing. But could these girls be the next Spice Girls? Who knows but they are definitely spreading their own little message and I can see them being unstoppable and liked all over the world. The 8th series of The X Factor UK has actually spawned quite a lot of artists so far, all the following has managed to get a recording contract, and I bet there will be more to come. So far we have: Little Mix (winners), Marcus Collins (second), Amelia Lily (third), Misha B (fourth), Janet Devlin (fifth), Craig Colton (sixth), Kitty Brucknell (seventh) and 2 Shoes (joint thirteenth). It will be interesting who will do well and who will not...
"Wings" was written by Little Mix, Iain James, TMS, Erika Nuri, Michelle Lewis, Heidi Rojas and Mischke. The song is all about beating bullies and not letting anyone hurt you with words. It reminds me of the Sticks and Stones Nursery Rhyme, but not only that the song pattern seems similar; furthermore there is many references to other songs and sayings, and when I first heard this song I could name a few, there's the saying "Water off a duck's back" but the song changes it to "Water off my wings". And I always think "Mama told me..." reminds me of "The Clapping Song".
The music video isn't amazing, but it's not dull either. It's a pure performance piece, edited well and intricately. There is choreography that does remind me of the Spice Girls. I also like how close of a group they are, you can really tell how much they have connected, and how much this song clearly means to them.
I like how this song is telling the world not to let anyone bring us down, it's a perfect message, that I hope they manage to spread throughout the world. I like the British flag they put in and the editing shots used, however it does leave me with little to comment on, personally I wouldn't go out of my way to watch this video alone, however the music totally makes up for the video and I can't stop singing the song. I also like how the video appeals to children because it's colourful and eye-catching, meaning their message can be spread much quicker.
Overall, an amazing song that will surely soar to the top of the charts... Will it stay at number one? Who knows, we'll just have to wait and see. As for the video their is not much going on, but I like how it's edited and has been made, obviously a lot of thought went into it, especially since the video may not have had a big budget. And what would have been the point in an amazing music video, if the song is perfect anyway? If I was reviewing the song, it would've got 5 stars, but since I'm reviewing the video I have to be honest and give it this rating.
The Spice Girls are my revisit today, purely because I don't think I'll have another opportunity to review their music videos again. Unless requested or a surprise reunion starts up again. They were a 5-piece girl group who all had little aliases to their names. They were Victoria Beckham (née Adams, Posh Spice), Geri Halliwell (Ginger Spice), Emma Bunton (Baby Spice), Mel B (Scary Spice) and Mel C (Sporty Spice). They were worldwide superstars, that made the biggest impact ever in the 90s. They spread Girl Power across the globe and were famously known for some of the dresses they wore, or the projects they went on to do. Apparently another reunion tour is going to start soon, but I believe it's highly doubtful.
"Wannabe" was written by Matt Rowe, Richard Stannard and Spice Girls. This song was written really quickly, apparently, and the girls came up with various parts of the song along with "zigazig-ah". They were having fun and they all just got hooked to this one word, which I have to admit is a great word and should appear in more songs, shame it hasn't. The song is more about friendship than anything else, and also has an in-direct link to their most recent single: "Headlines (Friendship Never Ends)". This video is their most memorable, and the song got to number one in lots of different countries.
This music video shows the girls having fun. I love the start and the end where you hear them laughing and jumping about and then singing Wannabe a cappella. I also like the setting, they are obviously in this posh hotel, and they are singing and showing how street they are compared to the people around them.
Now you'd think Posh Spice (Victoria) would fit in, and it looks like she's trying to do just that, flirting with the guys and stuff, but we don't see much of her at all, and funnily enough she doesn't even get a singing part, which is quite surprising to be honest. I also like how Melanie C does a back flip, showing her sporty side, but can she do that now? I doubt it...
Overall a great video that shows how young and free they were, I didn't like it when they broke up, and when Geri left the band, but I totally understood why, their schedule got too hectic and there was just no way around it. The accompanying music video is fun, lively and there's only one word I can use to describe it: "Zigazig-ah".
Cover Drive has featured on my blog a couple of times, first time was for "Twilight" and then their follow-up single "Sparks". This is their fourth single overall, and I wasn't that keen on it, like all their singles, but since their performance on Red Or Black, how could I not review this song today? This Barbados band consists of 4 members who are Amanda Reifer (Karen Reifer), Thomas-Ray Armstrong, Barry Hill and Jamar Harding. It took me some time to get into this band, but Tink09 was hooked immediately and kept telling me to review them, eventually I did and this band will not stop appearing on my blog. This song features Dappy, real name Costadinos Contostavlos, who used to be a member of N-Dubs before they broke off, he is also the cousin of Tulisa. He has had a UK number one along with a few more chart topping hits that just missed out on the top spot. It will be interesting where these 2 artists will go in the future.
"Explode" was written by Karen Reifer, Thomas Ray Armstrong, Jamar Harding, Barry Hill and Steve Mac. The song is about falling for someone, and then Dappy comes in and adds something extra to the mix. This song is definitely similar to their other songs, but it is so catchy you can't help but like it. The theme to it is exactly what is enticing people into buy their album, even I want to listen to their album now. I can't wait to see what the future will bring to Cover Drive.
This music video is quite clever, Dappy is a judge and they are holding open auditions, after a bland band the crowd is restless and really bored, then Cover Drive comes along and perks them all up again, Dappy even decides to sing with them. Personally, I think it's a little jibe to Tulisa since she is a judge on the UK X Factor, but it's insignificant.
It is a performance based video, and I like how Amanda comes off the stage and dances while Dappy is rapping. I like the scenes of the band as they get into the groove of Dappy's rapping. I also like the other shots of the band just generally having fun, it kind of reminds me of the video for "Twilight".
Overall a great song that is definitely stuck in my head. And a great music video that I cannot fault. It's both performance and narrative and just seems so effortless that makes you question if there is something missing, but I can't find a problem anywhere, so I have no choice but give this the rating it clearly deserves.
