Mandia Nantsios is my "Artist of the Month" for March (her profile will be up later), so it's only right I review her first music video and single with it. She is just 16 years old, and with a very meaningful voice, every word is sung with conviction and you know she means it all. Her second single was "One Last Time", she got five stars from me for that one, will this follow? The world better watch out, because this Canadian superstar is on the verge of stepping into the spotlight.
"Never Again" was written by Mandia Nantsios. It's engaging, raw and emotional, all the aspects of a perfect song.
This music video follows the song in every way. There's both a performance and a narrative. The narrative side is crisp and follows through from the song.
It's the usual boyfriend cheats on girlfriend, we've seen this in a few videos in the past, but this one stands out because we get to see what the past was like for them, and then return to the story in the present, with her dropping the necklace he bought her.
The performance side takes dominance during the centre of the video, she is seen in various locations, some of which, such as the boat, shows what he is missing out on. Other settings add to the raw emotion, leaving you surprised at how strong of a performer Mandia Nantsios is.
The one problem I do have is the dancers in the background, they kind of feel out of place, almost like they're trying to be more important than Mandia, however the editing has made Mandia Nantsios more in the picture, preventing her from being empowered. After a second watch I can almost forget that the dancers are there. On the other hand, I feel that they shouldn't have been included, Mandia's such a good performer she doesn't need them.
Overall a song that is perfect in every way and just proves that Mandia Nantsios is an up and coming star. The music video reflects the song the way we want it to, adding more emotion to the song, which seems impossible. Although I don't like the dancers, I'm prepared to let it slide, since they're easily ignorable.
Miley Cyrus, real name Destiny Cyrus, has appeared on my blog quite a few times. This time my iTunes decided to get it stuck in my head, and it sure managed to do that. This song is probably one of my favourite songs from Miley Cyrus, and I'm interested in what she has in store for us in the future, clearly it's going to be big, but can she get higher up the UK Chart?
"Fly On The Wall" was written by Miley Cyrus, Antonina Armato, Tim James and Devrim Karaoglu. Many different interpretations of the song has been made, from sympathy to the boyfriend, to the boyfriend wanting to know everything. Miley Cyrus soon enough cleared it all up, saying it was about the paparazzi... And the music video empathises that perfectly.
This music video shocked me over and over again, from the start to near to the end, and then the completely surprising ending. This video really reflects what it is like to be followed by the paparazzi. Britney Spears has been portraying her concerns for ages now in the videos for "Everytime", "Piece Of Me", "If U Seek Amy", "Hold It Against Me" and "I Wanna Go", I'm sure there's probably more. Other music videos include: Stone Sour's "Through Glass", Kelly Clarkson's "Mr. Know It All" and Cher Lloyd's "Swagger Jagger".
And although this song came out it hasn't stopped anything, and it's only getting worse, only a few months ago, Miley Cyrus posted a video of her walking her dogs while one of the paparazzi parked in a handicapped place and ran in front of her taking pictures (video can be found on the right).
Once again we have a narrative and a performance piece. First off we think her boyfriend is going to turn into a werewolf with the full moon being out and stuff. Instead he turns into one of the paparazzi. She then ends up in the car park and is being chased everywhere she goes.
The best bit has to be when the paparazzi start to dance, I can't help but laugh as I'll always remember the first time I saw this and I really wasn't expecting it, and it still manages to draw me into that surprise every time. And then we get the more shocking ending, where her boyfriend sells her story about the paparazzi. That's just wrong on so many levels.
There's a bit of a performance side in the car park, which she lets lose and has a little bit of fun. I reckon she really enjoyed filming this music video, and in doing so, it's just as fun to watch.
Overall a great song that only managed to get to number 16 on the UK chart, it clearly deserves a higher position. The music video is pure brilliance, and definitely one of my favourites. It has a close theme to Michael Jackson's "Thriller". So you can all guess what my rating is going to be...
Ke$ha, real name Kesha Sebert, annoyed the hell out of me last week, when I was expecting her to release this single in the UK, instead I had to struggle to find a different new release, and I ended up with Daniela Brooker's "Heartbreaker". Then a couple of days ago, I notice the remixes single released claiming to be released at the start of March, which it wasn't. Ke$ha, has recently been disappearing slowly, but all of her UK 'Animals', aren't going to let her become unknown to us. I am hoping she returns with a big song soon, her new album is full of potential hits, so pull a good one out the bag Ke$ha, especially the one that features Iggy Pop called "Dirty Love", it's my favourite track from 'Warrior'.
"C'mon" was written by Kesha, Dr. Luke, Bonnie McKee, Max Martin, Melin Shikder, Cirkut and Benny Blanco. A lot of well-known song writers, and although the song is very catchy it didn't chart as well as it should've done, especially in the UK since there was a mix-up with the release date. Some people have commented saying this isn't wacky enough for Ke$ha, and we can kind of see what those people mean, especially if you compared the song to "TiK ToK" or "Blah Blah Blah". But she definitely makes up for it in the video.
The video looks normal at first, showing her being late for her shift at a diner, only her boss is sleazy. His name is Ri¢hard (similar to Ke$ha because he has a cent sign in his name). She soon quits her job, and that is when her 'Animals' turn up and makes everything out of this world.
It has nothing to do with the song, and that is what I find is really missing. However there's a lot of fun going on, especially in the back of the van, it's much bigger inside than it is on the outside, clearly.
I like how they return to the diner and get their revenge. I think the people dressed up are amazing, especially since on of them does a back flip! But I wanted meaning, I wanted a connection with the song.
Overall a song that should've charted well everywhere. And an accompanying music video that needs some engagement, however manages to hook to the song with the use of her singing 'I don't wanna go to sleep, I wanna stay up all night' so hence the partying, and just having fun. But needs more of a connection.
K Koke, real name Kevin Georgiou, has only just started his career in music. He is currently signed to Roc Nation, and is planning on releasing an album soon. So far he has released various mixtapes, along with his first single "Turn Back" featuring Maverick Sabre. This is definitely an up and coming rap star, and will definitely become embedded into British history in the near future. I cannot wait to see where his career will take him, and what amazing new, powerful songs will climb up our chart, from this guy.
The featured artist is the amazing Rita Ora. Who's had one of the quickest pushes into fame, we've seen in a long time, reminding me of Britney Spears when she first came on the scene. Rita Ora has three consecutive number one UK singles to her name, along with a number one album. Her recent singles have not been as much of a success, but I'm sure that will change with the reported new album to be released this year. She will become unstoppable.
The music video does well to represent the song. As the song is about ending up in prison after doing something that is completely not worth it. K Koke was arrested in 2011 for an attempted murder of unidentified 27-year-old football player. On 3rd November he was acquitted of all charges after seven months on remand. He has put that behind him, and even incorporated much more meaning to his rapping. You know just by hearing his words, that prison wasn't great at all, and clearly he's hoping that he will stop this from happening to others. And I can't help but feel proud that there are artists out there trying to make a difference.
There is a narrative and a performance side. The narrative plays on the prison and what it is like inside. It does look pretty boring to be honest, but what they really play on is the guilt of the person going in. Again another actor we don't know.
The narrative side shows exactly how Rita Ora performs, and as usual she goes all out, with her amazing energy, it flows perfectly to K Koke, who hasn't got many vibes, but there's enough there to make him mysterious, and it makes you want to go and see him live just to see if he can live up to his video, and to find out what more he has to give.
Overall a very personal song, that holds so much feeling and depth of emotion that you can't help but be drawn into the song entirely. The music video does the exact same thing, only this time showing the consequences of your actions. And I can't help but join Rita Ora with her lyrics 'lay down your weapons, weapons for me'.
Nickelback became my Sunday Revisit, purely because I was shocked to find out I have not reviewed this music video, after quoting it in both "Lullaby" and "Gotta Be Somebody". They are a four-piece rock band consisting of Chad Kroeger, Ryan Peake, Mike Kroeger and Daniel Adair.
"How You Remind Me" was written by Nickelback, and has recently been covered by Chad Kroeger's fiancé Avril Lavigne for the film 'One Piece Film: Z', so far it has only had a Japan release, but I have my fingers crossed it gets released worldwide with her new album. The original is probably Nickelback's most well-known song alongside "Rockstar". These two songs always come to mind first when this band is mentioned. This song is the second highest charting single from Nickelback, following "Rockstar".
This music video is powerful and meaningful, both narrative and performance and nothing wrong with it at all. So I think you can all guess what my rating will be.
The lead actress is Annie Henley, and she does a great performance of being Chad Kroeger's ex. She's almost a ghost, disappearing every time Chad sees her. And it's totally understandable if you thought she was haunting him wherever he went. This whole idea brings up a totally new angle to this story that I have never thought of before. However, they link it back to the song at the end, with her actually being amongst the crowd and looking quite sultry. You know that she hurt him, and although he's not ready to quite let go, he doesn't want her back.
The performance side has all the vibes we've seen from other music videos; clearly, this is a band who knows how to perform, and if you're ever lucky enough to see them live, then please invite me too! Their performances in their videos are full of emotion and energy. Making a lot of people want to see them live, including me.
Overall a great song that you can't help but enjoy, and an accompanying music video that no one can fault. For me, it has everything I want and more and I can't help but sit back and watch how great this is. So you can all guess what my rating will be, and how can I rate it any less?
