Belle Amie was one of my favourites of the seventh series on The X Factor, after Katie Waissell who has not released any music videos thus far; Treyc Cohen who too haven't released any music videos, and Cher Lloyd, who has released music videos and all of which currently appears on my blog. So Belle Amie were my next favourite. They were a four-piece band during The X Factor, but Geneva Lane left to pursue a solo career in 2011, and most recently Rebecca Creighton (the red-head) has recently left to pursue an R&B solo career, she has also expressed her frustration at the little amount of support that was about for Belle Amie at the time. Since Rebecca has left, it leaves Belle Amie in an undetermined future, will Sophie Wardman and Esther Campbell continue as a duo? Will they recruit a new member? Or will they too leave Belle Amie? Who knows? But there is one thing for sure, girl bands are currently storming the charts and if Belle Amie were to continue, I reckon they will have a lot more support than what they think. The seventh series gave us a lot of great acts, these are: Matt Cardle (winner), Rebecca Ferguson (second), One Direction (third), Cher Lloyd (fourth), Mary Byrne (fifth), Paije Richardson (eighth), Aiden Grimshaw (ninth), Belle Amie (eleventh), Storm Lee (fourteenth) and Nicolò Festa (sixteenth).
"Girls Up" was written by Michaela Shiloh and Chad Dexter. The song is about girls thinking they have to be someone they are not to impress someone, such as slimming and changing ones appearance. It's good that this is their debut song, it means they can spread a message out to people, and hopefully help change the world. The girls look great together and I got excited that we could possibly have a new girl band on the block. But the song charted at number 25 on the UK Independent Chart, not even managing to hit the UK top 200, and then with Rebecca leaving I don't think we'll be seeing any more of Belle Amie, I just hope I am wrong, and they come back stronger than ever.
This music video was released on 17th June 2011, not long after I started this blog. I so wanted to review it back then, but something clearly stopped me, obviously this special clearly was going to happen whether I liked it or not, and I'm glad I waited so long. This video has everything it could possibly need and it relates to the song perfectly.
I like how they are dolls at the beginning, with Rebecca trying to eat some cake, proving that indulging isn't a sin. I like how the message of the music video comes across and you know that it's okay to be yourself. The second part of the video is them at a photo shoot and they are surprised at the editing software as they are clearly being changed to suit the people doing the photo shoot, this shows to people that what you might see in magazines might not be exactly real.
The scenes are full of choreography that works really well with the song and the whole meaning, it may not be easy to copy, which isn't exactly the plan, and it also shows the girls as a united force (which happens to be a little misguiding).
Overall a great song that becomes irresistibly catchy, and an accompanying music video that finally relates to the song. I haven't got a bad thing to say about this video, nothing, zilch, nada. So clearly I have to give it this rating.
Rachel Adedeji came ninth in the sixth series of The X Factor, she wasn't my favourite, in fact Stacey Solomon was my favourite, who although has a record deal, has yet to release a music video, unless you count the Iceland adverts... So my second favourite was Rachel, one of the main reasons was the announcer: Peter Dickson, said her name amazingly, and I'd always copy how he says it. She is still currently unsigned, however she has released two music videos (all her own doing, with director Drew Cox), and released a EP which features this song on iTunes under R.A.M. Recordings. It apparently charted, although I cannot find any sources to back that up. The sixth series gave us a few artists, who are: Joe McElderry (winner), Olly Murs (second), Stacey Solomon (third), Lloyd Daniels (fifth), Jedward (sixth), Jamie Archer (seventh) and Rachel Adedeji (ninth).
"Follow The DJ" was Rachel's first music video, it was released on a 4-track EP called "Club Lights" following her second music video of the lead track and title of the EP. The song was written by Starley Hope, Maria Marcus, Rachel Adedeji and Versatile. It's extremely catchy along with her second music video. Personally, if this song was promoted more, then she would have definitely charted quite high. I hope she gets picked up as she clearly deserves it!
The music video is again low budget, it's something we have to expect from X Factor Finalists. However a low budgeted music video can be amazing too. This one is well edited and once again is a pure performance piece, however what is different is that it contains a few scenes that could be considered narrative. Not only that but there is even choreography included, this is clearly the full package, and tests the boundaries of low budgeted music videos.
Rachel Adedeji performs the choreography perfectly, I like the use of slow-motion, which could easily suggest the end of a club night in which you may have drunk that little bit too much, and everything starts to slow down a bit. The paint throwing definitely reminds me of Amy Studt's "Chasing The Light". There is a few questions such as why is she wearing that weird gold head-wear thing, I don't even know what to call it!
Overall, a very catchy song that needs to be listened to a lot more, and a music video that tests how far a low budgeted music video can go, this truly is amazing at what they've managed to pull off, however not everything fits as there are some weird costumes she dresses up with, that unfortunately I can't ignore so I'm dropping one star off, but that is all.
The fifth series of The X Factor had to be one of the most competitive years ever. But I always had a favourite, and that definitely was Ruth Lorenzo. So why not use her video for my X Factor Special? She has been trying to release her music for some years now, she first got a record deal with EMI Records but soon left due to artistic differences. She has been trying to fund her own music, through the help of her fans. So far she has managed to make a video and release this song in Spain. Since then she has been trying to release her album, but there is no sign of it as of yet. The fifth series was very competitive, there was so many artists that came from this series, which proves how difficult it was. The following artists managed to get record deals: Alexandra Burke (winner), JLS (second), Eoghan Quigg (third), Diana Vickers (fourth), Ruth Lorenzo (fifth), Rachel Hylton (sixth), Daniel Evans (seventh) and Laura White (eighth).
"Burn" is Ruth Lorenzo's debut single, and it is currently over a year old, and suggests what's to come, but if this is what she could do back then, then WOW! She is bound to become a big star, if only she will start releasing and promoting in the UK. The song reminds me a lot of her performance on The X Factor, where she sung Prince's "Purple Rain", that is a performance that is stuck in my mind, and I'll never forget it (video of her performing it on The X Factor can be found below). The song got a bit of success in Spain and charted at number 16, but it was never released in the UK, it had various rumoured release dates, but it never happened! Apparently the album will be released next year, but it might be another rumour, so I guess we will just have to sit and wait in apprehension.
This music video is low budget, but all we need is Ruth Lorenzo and her incredible emotional face to be drawn into. You can definitely tell that it's a self-penned track and she sings it beautifully. It's a performance piece and it's great to watch as every note she manages to hit makes you really feel every single emotion she is feeling.
There are various scenes, some bits suggests her stage work, some scenes look like a photo shoot, and then you have her walking down a street which sounds boring, but so many people just walks down a street thinking a lot, and that is exactly what she is doing.
Overall an amazing song that does become catchy towards the end, the accompanying music video is low budget, simple and oh-so emotional, I would've like a narrative, but I totally understand that it would've cost money they couldn't afford. However if you are going to do a performance piece video this sure cuts close to a top notch video!
Same Difference was definitely my favourite act from series four of The X Factor, so of course I was going to review one of their videos for my X Factor Special. Same Difference is a band consisting of siblings: Sarah Smith and Sean Smith. They came third overall, and Simon Cowell put them on his label, but since they didn't chart very high they were soon dropped, and then picked up by PopLife Records. As of now... I'm not sure where they stand, I think they may have been dropped, but I could be wrong. The fourth series of The X Factor gave us a few artists, the following people managed to get a record deal: Leon Jackson (winner), Rhydian Roberts (second), Same Difference (third), Niki Evens (fourth) and Daniel DeBourg (eleventh).
"Shine On Forever (Photo Frame)" was Same Difference's second single, their first on PopLife Records. And I have to admit it is a good first single, but there were clearly better songs on their album "The Rest Is History", which may have charted better. It was written by Sean Smith, Sarah Smith and John Myers. The fact that they have helped write the song has clearly shown how much it means to them. The song charted at an extremely low number 100. The reason was because Same Difference offered the single cheaper if people texted in, in doing so they received a code to then go on to 7digital to get the track. The main problem, however was that people forgot to get the track from 7digital, so therefore people had paid for something they didn't collect, and so it didn't chart very high. But apparently sales suggested it would've charted pretty high if people had downloaded the single.
This music video shows Same Difference all grown up, they decided to change their sound and their appearance as their fans had all grown up as well. This shows them sexy and very different from the childish songs they sung on the album they released under Syco (Simon Cowell's label). It's got a big choreography sequence and also sees them clubbing, suggesting what their new sound is like.
However, Same Difference are great dancers, but no one can make that choreography sequence good, it's quite cringe-worthy and quite worrying, didn't anyone tell the director that dancing in a smart jacket is one of the worst things people do? Sean just looks out of place, the jacket makes it difficult to move in. But this is the only complaint I have about it.
Overall a catchy song that I could listen to over and over again, it's accompanying music video is missing a few things, but as a whole it works well, and shows that they are growing as artists and managing to centre their audience and keep with them. I hope this isn't the last we will see of these guys, as they have yet to find the popularity they clearly deserve.
Continuing with my X Factor Special, we have finally turned to a winner! Leona Lewis became the first X Factor female winner, not only that she went on to release chart topping hits, not just in the UK, but in the US as well as worldwide, not bad for someone who was a receptionist before auditioning. She was a clear winner as soon as we saw her audition, and I don't think anyone stood a chance, Simon Cowell will never get rid of her, she's bound to his label now forever, and she is never going to stop doing well. The third series of the X Factor gave us a few stars, these include: Leona Lewis (winner), Ray Quinn (second), Ben Mills (third), The MacDonald Brothers (fourth), Eton Road (fifth), Kerry McGregor (ninth) and The Unconventionals (twelfth). Leona Lewis teamed up with Avicii (one of my favourite house artists), his real name is Tim Bergling, for this track. There was actually a court order for Avicii to be a part of the song, as apparently Simon Cowell used Avicii's song "Penguin" without permission, it looked like it was going to be a major battle, but Leona and Avicii put a stop to it and came to an agreement.
"Collide" was written by Arash Pournouri, Autumn Rowe, Sandy Wilheim, Simon Jeffes and Avicii. The song also samples Avicii's song "Penguin". This is Leona Lewis' most recent single release, showing us a glimpse of her new album "Glassheart" which is bound to surprise us all since this is a totally new direction for her. Is it going to work? Who knows, but I believe it may take us a while to get used to it. She has a phenomenal voice, no one can refuse that, and I can't wait to see what the future will bring.
The music video is a typical Leona Lewis music video, yes she actually has a style! Personally there's something missing, every time I watch her videos I know exactly what to expect, and that is exactly what I get. I like how it's consistent, but that is all I can say about them!
There's not a lot going on, I love how the waves "crash" into people when she sings that bit of the song, which shows she has a brilliant editing team, but I'm missing a narrative, it's exactly what she sings about and we managed to see it in "Bleeding Love" but there's no sign of it here.
Overall a catchy song the more times you hear it. But it's music video is the same old same old from Leona. Personally I want some sort of risk video that shows she can do something different. She's changing her musical style now, so why not give it a go and change up the videos too!
