Critic Jonni

Taylor Swift has been in my head all day, especially this song since some of my flatmates were "Mean" to me yesterday, however I'm complaining about nothing, I'm just not into practical jokes. Anyhow, Taylor Swift has lined the way for country stars in the UK. Most recently her album "Red" sore to the top of the UK charts, and it begs to question, will she be able to influence country artists into releasing in the UK? And possibly make the UK enjoy country music? This is something we're going to have to lye in wait and see.

"Mean" was written by Taylor Swift. It is about a critic who was a bit too harsh on her during a performance. This is what I like about Taylor Swift, she'll take anything that has happened to her and make it into a song, and usually it's bad things, sometimes it's best to stay away from her, oh wait! That didn't work for the guy in the song "The Story Of Us".... Hmmmmm.... Well clearly you are meant to make friends with her, and always make a good impression. This song was never released in the UK, and that is understandable since it is an extremely country song, and it would have been unlikely to chart, however it was released elsewhere around the world, so why miss us? It could have charted, but that's a big maybe.

The music video is simplistic, and very theatre-like. But this is what makes it stand out. It looks like it was made on a low-budget side, but to have been able to pull this off is amazing and I doubt I'll ever get bored of watching it.

The narrative evolves around bullying. This is one of the biggest impacts of the world, and it's impossible to stop it, but people always have a shot at it, and I think it does work. I like how the song also relates to bullying as well, and it was definitely the first thing that came to my mind when I first heard it, and I bet others thought the same. I particularly like how it shows that the bullied usually triumphs, and ends up in the "big old city" and the bully is forgotten and has disappeared but will forever be "mean".

There is a great performance side added to this video that makes me want to see Taylor Swift live for a 2nd time. I went and saw her at the LG Arena, Birmingham, UK in March 2011 with Edges. And she was remarkable, and she is just as great in this video, I feel like I'm back there watching her.

Overall, a great song to listen to when someone's being mean to you, it should've been released in the UK, but kind of understand why it wasn't. The music video is exactly what I wanted and more and I couldn't have asked for anything better. So after I've finished this review I shall be off to watch it again.

Buy on iTunes

Will.I.Am, real name William Adams, is one quarter of American band The Black Eyed Peas. He is a coach on The Voice UK and is well-known for his name-dropping on the show. He knows exactly what he is talking about and is one of these people who will be a part of the music industry for the rest of his life. I am looking forward to his future singles, but can he top this collaboration? I very much doubt it. This song features the high-profiled Miss Britney Spears, who has appeared on this blog a number of times. I admit, I am a fan, one of the Britney Army. She has had a successful career, but has recently been failing to chart. Her last number one was back in 2004 with "Everytime", could this song be the one to push her back in the limelight? Definitely.

"Scream & Shout" was written by William Adams, Jef Martens and Jean Baptiste. The song is extremely catchy and I cannot stop listening to it, and I look like I'm not the only one. The song uses the iconic "It's Britney Bitch", first used in the song for "Gimme More". The single release date in the UK was pushed forward a few weeks after the demand in the UK was extremely high. The song has been climbing up the UK iTunes chart, this is definitely going to be a hit, but with stiff competition from The X Factor winner James Arthur with his single "Impossible", it is going to be a major chart battle.

The music video is definitely different to what we expect, but it links in great with the song and it's meaning. It has been described as a series of photographs, and that is exactly what it feels like. Like someone is trying to show you something through a series of actions.

As everyone has already announced, Britney Spears stands out amazingly. And although she is merely only featuring on the track, you can't help but feel eager to watch her again and again. I think she has this essence, this performance essence that lights up when in a music video. Will.I.Am tries his best to stand out too, and although he managed to do so, it's just not as engaging as Britney.

There's so much going on, and even though I have already seen it about 10 times, there's still parts of the video I haven't seen before, and this is what makes a video like this, great. You have to make them want to watch it again and again so that they don't miss anything.

Overall a great song that deserves to get to number one this Sunday. The music video is the best music video I have ever seen in this style. Any competition in this style has been blown away and I cannot even think of any similar. I like it's subtle links with the song and the editing is WOW. I have nothing else to say, except UK fans download now, this NEEDS to be number one!

Buy on iTunes

Again, I am sorry I haven't written any posts lately, but I dislocated my leg on Wednesday and I have been in and out of hospital since, unfortunately I never became a ghost, or maybe I did and haven't realised. However I have no tattoos so maybe I was a sensible ghost.

Deadmau5, real name Joel Zimmerman, becomes my Sunday revisit, purely because I don't think I'll have much of a chance of being able to review one of his music videos for some time. Hopefully it'll be sooner rather than later. This track features Rob Swire he is the lead singer of the band Pendulum and have had a lot of success with the band, and he will continue to do so. However Pendulum has not yet featured on my blog. But I'm sure they will in the future.

"Ghosts 'n' Stuff" was written by Joel Zimmerman and Rob Swire, and is currently Deadmau5's highest charting single in the UK to date. It was originally made in 2004, and has gone through 10 revisions. The song is quite catchy, and I think I slightly remember it when it charted in 2008 at number 12. But I have not seen the music video before now.

The video is narrative with a clever performance side entwined. I love the ghost and the fact that it can't go through walls and everyone can see him reminds me of the complete opposite of the film "Ghost", and I also like how we see the bad ghosts try to capture him. I also like the tattoo, and how it is incorporated perfectly.

The performance side of things is good to watch. I like how we get to see Deadmau5 doing what he does best, and makes me really want to see him live. I also like how the ghost becomes someone in the crowd. Which reminds me of Avril Lavigne's "Losing Grip". And the fact that it isn't just a boring usual performance music video is good.

Overall, it's a great song which did well to get to number 12 on the UK Chart. The music video is very different to "The Veldt", which shows how much variety his music videos gives us. This video is great to watch as well, and I have nothing against it. I just feel that it doesn't capture me as much as it should. On the other hand, I can't fault it. So I have to give this rating.

Deadmau5, real name Joel Zimmerman, has never appeared on my blog so far, and wouldn't have done so today, if I had not gone bowling and saw this video on the TV screens. He has been going since 2005, and although he is from Canada, he has had the most chart hits in the UK, with 15 single entries. This is his joint third best chart position, at number 68 along with "Sofi Needs A Ladder". The two better charting singles are "Ghosts 'n' Stuff" (at number 12) and "I Remember" (at number 14). This song "The Veldt" was written by Joel Zimmerman and Chris James. It is based on the short story of the same name written by Ray Bradbury (Click here to read the story, it's well worth the read). So I wonder what the future will bring to Deadmau5, he's definitely not disappearing, that's for sure, and hopefully there will be a single to top the charts soon? Surely he is credible enough. The song features Chris James who is a good vocalist, but hasn't come into the limelight much, hopefully we'll see more of him in the future.

The music video is also based on The Veldt by Ray Bradbury, which makes the link in with the song amazing. The animation was done by Qudos Animations.

I watched this before reading the story, and was surprised and very interested. Of course I was interested otherwise I wouldn't be reviewing it, right? After reading the story online, this video blew me away, it describes exactly what I imagined in the story and more so.

I have nothing bad to say at all about this video. It follows the story's subtlety with murder and I have to give a ten out of ten for that, it's practically more subtle in this music video rather than the story.

Overall, a great song that makes more sense after reading the short story. It's accompanying music video is amazing, I got scared when the brother (presumably Peter from the story) pushed the girl (Wendy) off the cliff, I was like, what are you doing? But the ending is surprising and expected, after reading the story. But even if you don't read the story it still works well, and I can't help but give it the full rating, as I just can't give it anything else.

OK Go are a four piece American Alternative rock band consisting of Damian Kulash, Tim Nordwind, Dan Konopka and Andy Ross. I have never heard of these people before and one of my flatmates mentioned them a few days ago. Then all of a sudden, today I got a request for this song... Seems a bit shifty to me, but it might just be a pure coincidence because I just completely embarrassed myself by talking about this suggestion to him and he had no clue what I was talking about, or he is a very convincing liar. I'm thinking the former. This week really haven't been my week at all. Anyway, OK Go have had a few hits in America, the UK and Australia. It'll be interesting what the future will bring.

"Here It Goes Again" was written by Damien Kulash. The song is currently the band's only single to dip into the US Billboard Hot 100, managing to chart at number 38. In the UK it managed to chart at number 36. However it is believed the reason for this is the music video, as it became one of the most watched YouTube videos, until it got taken down. See I told you the music video does count towards sales. It's not my sort of thing, but I don't cringe listening to it, so clearly my flatmates are slowly getting through to me.

The music video is pure genius. It is one continuous take of the band dancing on treadmills, all choreographed amazingly. Apparently, it is common in their videos, for Tim Nordwind to lip-sync the song's lyrics when it's actually Damien Kulash who sings the vocals.

This video is definitely a statement and it's always great to watch, even though I've only seen it once. It took seventeen attempts to finally get it right, and they pulled it off perfectly... Or have they?

Time for the nitty-gritty... There are a few steps in the choreography that is missed, and videos like this clearly make them stand out, and I can't help but express how important it is to be in sync at all times. However I give it the benefit of the doubt as they must have been tired after seventeen attempts.

Furthermore, the song and the video doesn't relate, this is usually a must, and even performance based videos manages to convey the meaning through the expressions, again I'm willing to let it slide because this is a totally unexpected video. I also feel that something else should be included. I just feel it's pretty uninteresting. However it's fun eye-catching and not something I expected.

Bayer parodied this for their Effervescent drink: Berocca (which I take regularly). Their adverts are always fun to watch. See right for the video.

Overall, the song is not my thing, but it is others, and I respect that. The video is a great idea, it's fun, it's different, and it definitely stands out. However it's a bit bland and missing that extra little spark that's needed to make me go WOW!