Kids In Glass Houses have been in my head for the last week, purely because I started uni on Saturday, hence the title of the song. They are from Wales and are a five-piece rock band consisting of Aled Phillips, Iain Mahanty, Philip Jenkins, Joel Fisher and Andrew Shay. I saw them live with Tink09 and Hollagram Star, but we were unaware of who they were at the time, they were supporting Paramore in 2008 and even greeted people in the line.
"Saturday" was written by the band, it paints the picture of being unsure of what is going on, and it's quite clever because it makes us unsure of what's happening too. Occasionally we might realise that 2 people are together, but then something is sung to make us think otherwise, and yet we are still confused towards the end. And this is exactly what we want.
This video takes place in many different eras, it is also both narrative and performance based. I like the idea as an overall factor especially since they portray the eras quite well, which makes us more intrigued. I also like the clothing, and the lyrics of the song matches perfectly at times, and I can't help but laugh.
I also like how it advances as we get near the end, and also the fact that the girl plucks up the courage to give him her number (had she been listening to Carly Rae Jepsen's "Call Me Maybe"?). It shows how much has changed and how. I also love the ending, it's slightly unexpected but you can't help but realise it was meant to be.
But does it relate to the song? Now that is a big question... It does and it doesn't, but it also depends how certain people interpret the song, me personally, all last week, I was thinking about uni and how the song would fit, and yes I did come up with this whole new idea for a video, but after going into more detail, it's made me think of different things. This may relate to some people's ideas, however others may think it's a misconception. At the end of the day, it depends on who you are and what you are currently going through, and in that case it just shows how great a song this is.
Overall a great song that I cannot fault, as for the music video... Well it wasn't what I pictured, but then again it may suit someone else's. However, taking it all into account, it must have been difficult to make, and there is probably a lot of out-takes as they look liken they had a lot of fun. So I'm stuck between two ratings, but since I was obsessed with the song last week, I'm going to choose the higher rating of the 2.
I've been looking forward to this new release as it was frequently announced that No Doubt's song "Settle Down" was going to be released this week, however it has now been pushed back to the 24th and so now I had a difficult decision on who's music video to review, but as this song is climbing up the charts I might as well review the most popular release this week.
Example, real name Elliot Gleave, has appeared on my blog a number of times, he is one musician who is going to be around for a very long time. He has had a number one with "Changed The Way You Kiss Me" and "Stay Awake". He has also achieved a 5* rating from me for his song "Natural Disaster" that featured Laidback Luke, will he get more 5*'s in the future... Well we'll have to wait and see!
"Say Nothing" was written by Elliot Gleave, John McDaid and Dragan Roganović. It is another club song that will definitely get remixed a lot, I also think I heard it last night while I was out clubbing. I think it works well and after just one play of it, it has embedded itself right into my head, I cannot stop singing to myself. Will it reach the number one spot, currently held by The Script Featuring Will.I.Am "Hall Of Fame"? It's definitely going to be a hard one.
This music video looks low budget, and it has definitely been done a few times, there is no narrative, only that something has happened and that they "don't have to say nothing". But I just feel like I'm watching so many other music videos as this has been done way too many times, and it kind of makes you question the director's thinking and his imagination.
There are some aspects that are always good in this type of video, and that's that the actors are so strongly emotional you really understand what the song is for and so it is relatable, but the music channels would definitely get boring if they only played videos like this.
Overall a great song, that becomes catchy immediately, but as for the music video it's more or less a copy of other music videos that have been around for the last 10 years. There's nothing new to this either, and so it does make this quite boring. But I'm giving it the benefit of the doubt, and it is obtaining this rating.
Amelia Lily came third in last year's X Factor. And she releases this song this week, which is already climbing the charts. So this song will wrap up my X Factor Special. She was a favourite on the eighth series of The X Factor and it looks like she is going to have an amazing career in the future. The series also gave us a few artists so far, these are: 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).
"You Bring Me Joy" is an upbeat track that is extremely catchy and will definitely get to number one. You can tell Amelia Lily has really connected to the song as it is full of emotion and you just know that the song is made for her.
This music video is.... To be honest I don't think there's a word for it. I like it but it could be better. It's performance piece although you can see scenes of a possible narrative, which makes me question: was there a narrative and it got edited out? Guess it's something we are never going to know.
There's not a lot to comment on, again it's reminiscent of Cascada's "Summer Of Love" (looks like a few people are creating something similar). As their first driving in a car and then there is a beach party. Amelia acts well, and we can really feel her words, but is she singing to the camera man, or just singing out?
Overall a great catchy song that is sure to be number one this week, but a music video that could've been so much better, however they've more or less copied Cascada's video. Not only that but this video is lacking in some respect, clearly they don't feel the need to go all-out on this video. Taking everything into account, this is definitely the rating it deserves.
Geri Halliwell has been a guest judge twice now for The X Factor. So I chose her for my X Factor Special, since the only other guest judge who has appeared twice is Nicole Scherzinger, who is now a full time judge. Geri Halliwell has been in the spot light for quite a long time, she's quirky and fun and you can't help but laugh at the funny things she gets up to. She was one-fifth of girl group the Spice Girls, who have reformed and then disbanded a number of times. The other band members are Emma Bunton, Mel C, Mel B and Victoria Beckham. Geri Halliwell was the first to leave the band due to differences, she later went on to a solo career, in which this is her first single. The Spice Girls went on to release one more album before disbanding. They returned for a year with a new single and a greatest hits album but then disbanded again, they came together for the Spice Girls West End show, and for the London 2012 Olympics, and rumours have started again that it's possible they will reform again... Who knows? According to Geri Halliwell, she's going to be releasing a new album and single very soon.
"Look At Me" was written by Geri Halliwell, Andy Watkins and Paul Wilson. As expected it was a self-penned track from Geri, since that is what they did in the Spice Girls and it explains the whole meaning of the song perfectly. Geri wanted to get away from Ginger Spice, and this is what the song is all about, showing who she actually is. As for the chart number, it managed to get to number 2, Boyzone was her competition and they got to number one with "You Needed Me", they got to the top by selling 700 more copies which isn't much. However this song was certified gold, whereas the Boyzone song got silver. The reason they beat her to the top was because they released 2 CD singles of "You Needed Me" so fans could buy both and ensure they get to number one. Which is a shame because in theory Geri sold more, so some could say Boyzone cheated.
The music video relates to the song perfectly. It narrative, performance and dance choreography all in one, along with a sister, a funeral, a vamp, a virgin and a "bitch". The video is jam packed, and also in black & white giving us an insight into who she is, and who she isn't.
The funeral is for Ginger Spice, and it is the only bit of the video that is shown in colour. It gives us the last goodbye to the old Geri and helps us to understand who the real Geri is. I really like the start where there is just words saying "Image is just your imagination. Reality is rarely revealed." It shows that she wants people to know who she really is, and to be honest we all know she's done that, we definitely don't call her Ginger Spice any more.
There is 4 characters of Geri Halliwell, there is "Virgin... Sister... Vamp... Bitch..." Which makes me laugh as she clearly is a mix of all of them, well parts of them. And I bet she enjoyed playing each of the parts. I like what they're wearing as well, we can identify who is who and suggests she's a mixture.
There is also a lot of choreography, which is always a good thing as it shows she can dance and it also showed what was coming up, as she appeared on The Brits and Top Of The Pops amongst other shows to promote her songs. And from what I can remember they were big dance choreography routines.
Overall a great song and it what a perfect first single, the accompanying music video relates to the song perfectly, and I haven't got a bad thing to say about the video. It's more than what we expected and it is more or less a mini film that leaves you wanting more! I hope Geri's future music videos are just as good as this.
Nicole Scherzinger recently became the new judge on The X Factor. She was previously a guest judge a couple of years back as a stand in for Cheryl Cole then on the first series of The X Factor (US), she replaced Cheryl Cole as a full judge after Cheryl was fired. She was first in a band called Eden's Crush who didn't get much success, and then she went on to become the lead singer of the Pussycat Dolls. However it always seemed to be Nicole Scherzinger and some backing singers which is such a shame as all the other girls were great singers too. After the band broke-up she went on to a solo career (she did this a few years back and she didn't hit it off that well), recently she returned and topped the charts. She's definitely made it all on her own now.
This song gained Nicole Scherzinger her first ever UK number one, and it's possible it might be her only number one. It was written by Josh Alexander, Toby Gad and Billy Steinbeck. And I'm sure one of these songwriters have appeared on this blog before. This song is so emotional and Nicole pulls it off perfectly, she clearly connected to the song and I was surprised she hadn't written a bit of it herself too. It got to number one in the UK, and managed to chart high in other charts too.
The video is emotionally great, it's both a performance piece with a main narrative behind, clearly we know something has been going on and we can presume someone wants her back, but she's telling him "don't hold your breath" meaning it probably isn't going to happen.
The song is showing that she's powerful and all-knowing, and that she's struggling a bit. I love the very start in the taxi cab (or London Hackney Carriage as it's also known), I bet the cab driver was definitely happy. I also like the rain (pathetic fallacy as it is known) because the weather is a direct reference to her feelings.
There isn't a lot going on, and that is the only downfall of this video, but it's stripped back and emotionally perfect that it links in with the song like you wouldn't expect. This is exactly why it works so great as Nicole Scherzinger has obviously connected to this song.
Overall, a great pop song which makes you understand how it got to the top of the UK chart. It's accompanying music video works great, and I feel emotional watching it, as I think many others do, so I think it's pretty obvious what rating I'm going to give it, and it is definitely well deserved!
