JoJo - When Love Hurts



JoJo, real name Joanna Levesque, is finally back, and I am more than excited. She was an icon when I was younger, and everyone was talking about her when "Leave (Get Out)" was release. After an issue with her record label, who wouldn't let her release any new music, hence the two mixtapes "Can't Take That Away From Me" and "Agápē", she got out of her contract. Now with a new record label, she has released this tringle as a sample of her new album. If this is what her tringle gives us, I am excited to see what else is to come.

I was going to review this song when it was released, however there was no music video at the time so Rachel Platten's "Fight Song" was reviewed instead. Finally this video got released, it's stunning, effortless and engaging, JoJo really stands out proving why we all loved her from the start, and proves to us how she is older, stronger, sexier and vocally much talented. She has already got people talking about her comeback, which is going to hit the charts hard globally.

Written by Ammar Malik, Benjamin Levin, Jason Evigan, Daniel Omelio and Ryn Weaver. The song talks about how love hurts and how strong that emotion is. It is a powerful song, and everyone can relate, to some degree, even if you haven't exactly been in love. The video was directed by Patrick "Embryo" Tapu.

It reminds me a lot of Inna's "Bop Bop", maybe it's because JoJo is seen as a stylish performer, and the vogue dancing and the finger tutting. She's centre stage, being confident and in sync with her dancers.

This is a perfect performance piece, showcasing not only her album, but her future singles, her gigs and the tour she'll be soon be on. Not quite relatable to the song, but it still stands out and it's more than what I was expecting from her comeback music video. Although not quite as hot as Nick Jonas' "Levels" which has a similar setting.
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Chart Mondays: Philip George & Anton Powers - Alone No More



Since Justin Bieber, yet again, has claimed the UK top spot with "What Do You Mean?". Today's Chart Monday is wide open to the Top 10, again. This song is the perfect follow up from "Wish You Were Mine" and Philip George has hit the charts hard, and it looks like he will be having hit after hit. The video is stunning. She has everything I want, a gorgeous guy, a holiday or a few, beach, sun, sand, clubbing, extreme adventuring, funfair, sea, partying, did I mention gorgeous guy? Can we swap places please?

Philip George is a British DJ, who has just came onto the music scene. "Wish You Were Mine" hit number two here in the UK, as well as performing well in other countries. This follow up track is also proving popular, currently sitting at number four, could it potentially climb higher? This is a collaboration with Anton Powers, who many will know him as one third of the dance group Cahill, who have remixed the likes of Inna, Alexandra Stan, Cascada, Nicole Scherzinger, The Saturdays and many more, he is also A&R for 3 Beat Productions. This is a label that released Inna and Alexandra Stan and Unicorn Kid here in the UK, and did a good job with them, until they focused on other acts, hence why Philip George, Fuse ODG and Sigma are doing so well now. This is a problem with most record labels, as they end up focusing more on other acts, they may have their reasons, but still it is a problem. Let's face it, Anton Powers isn't the source of the problem, and he is doing well for himself, as well as for Cahill, pretty sure everyone's heard of one of their remixes by now.

This song is upbeat and catchy, perfect summer anthem for the autumn.

It is an unsurprising music video, to a degree, the song is about loving someone and not wanting to be alone, and that is perfectly replicated in a loving relationship between a man and a woman, played by Luis Young Buaa and Lynn Kelly respectively.

This would be my type of holiday, just wished I had the money to do this and the hot guy to go with it. Regardless, it's fun to watch and engaging to an extent. I love the appearance of Philip George and Anton Powers in the club, it brings reality into this fictional narrative, and kind of reminds me of Basshunter's first two music videos "Now You're Gone" and "All I Ever Wanted" where he too is DJing in the background.
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New Release: Klingande Featuring Broken Back - RIVA (Restart The Game)



Definitely one of the most disturbing music videos I have watched recently. Klingande follows up "Jubel" with this powerful song, yet the video concerns me and definitely wasn't what I was expecting, since house music usually isn't in depth as this.

Klingande, real name Cédric Steinmyller, is from France. The name means chimes in Swedish. Originally Klingande was a duo, consisting of Edgar Catry as well, and although they remain best friends, it wasn't working. Their debut single was "Punga" but it was the second single "Jubel" that became a hit, after Cédric went solo. I am excited to see where Klingande will go next, this single doesn't look like it's going to chart well, here in the UK, but there's always time. Written by Cédric Steinmyller, the song is powerful, something I would listen again and again, it has already charted well in other countries. The featured guest is Broken Back, real name Jérôme Fagnet (which took me ages to find his last name). He is a singer songwriter, also from France. He has released a few songs, but this is what will give him his spark of fame, what he does with it, time will tell.

Two directors for this video: Johan Rosell and Michael Johansson. Strictly narrative, the actors display a cult, one that includes a death sentence, how everyone is still alive I do not know.

They love making wine and drinking it, clearly. They throw parties, and people pay the ultimate price if they have not collected enough berries.

The little girl, at the very start, prepares to run away, but then she has a change of heart and wants to take someone with her, who we can presume is her mother. Only she is betrayed, and we see clips of her final moments as they get ready to burn her alive.

In depth and kind of shocking, something I really wasn't expecting. Considering all the releases this week, I struggled to find a music video to review. This seemed to have been the only one, and yet I'm grateful this had a video at least, even if it did surprise me.
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Taylor Swift - Tim McGraw



Taylor Swift's debut music video and single becomes my revisit this week. As a true swiftie, I do miss her country music, however I still love how far she has come and her most recent albums are my favourites. I have not seen this video before today, and it's a typical country debut video, nothing I didn't expect and no surprises, Taylor Swift has definitely upped her game since this,

Taylor Swift is an international superstar, and if you haven't heard of her, please curl back under your rock. This song is crisp, clear and engaging, just Taylor Swift and her guitar, and compared to "Blank Space" really proves how her musical journey has evolved. Written by Taylor Swift and Liz Rose, it was never officially released in the UK, much like her most recent singles as well as many other US country artist's singles. The song is about Drew Dunlap, who was her boyfriend at the time and he was leaving for college and she wanted to capture the emotion of losing him into a song. It's catchy just like all the other songs she has sung, and filled with such emotion!

Directed by Trey Fanjoy, the video narrates a relationship between Taylor Swift and this guy, Johnny, played by Clayton Collins. They do things together, but mainly spend time together, and you can tell they really really like each other, definitely the point what Carly Rae Jepsen is singing about in "I Really Like You".

I like the starry night sky watching. That is something I'd really like to do, but the UK is just too cold on a night out. I also don't hold a boyfriend long enough to arrange such a thing.

There is a slight performance side, which as usual shows Taylor Swift's emotional side, yet it looks so effortless here that the song has totally taken over.
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Taylor Swift - Blank Space



Grab your passport and my hand, I can make the straight guys gay for a weekend. This is the sentence I have to nail every time I hear this song. The video resembles a mix of Avril Lavigne's "Let It Go" and P!nk's "Please Don't Leave Me". Quirky and narratively fun, something I don't mind watching again and again, and Taylor Swift is looking damn sexy, even when she's crying.

Taylor Swift, country singer turned international pop star, was lining the way for country here in the UK, yet she's dropped all ties to her first few albums, no more "Love Story" or "Mean" or "Teardrops On My Guitar", yet she still manages to make powerful emotional songs that you can't help but love. Written by Taylor Swift, Max Martin and Shellback, it's no surprise that this is a hit, just look at those songwriters' backgrounds. Taylor Swift takes a dig at the media with the song... Pretty sure Britney Spears have done that a few times "Piece of Me" and "I Wanna Go" amongst others. Blank Space only charted at number four in the UK, as no official single was released. This is what annoys me the most as a swiftie (Taylor Swift Fan), at least give us a UK single release too, could've scored a number one with this song.

Linking in well with the song, the video, directed by Joseph Kahn, contains both narrative and performance. In her performance side she's sexy, entertaining, emotional and full of passion. She really proves her acting skills in both parts of the video and you can't help but be drawn in.

The male lead is Sean O'Pry, who is a model. I really believe Taylor Swift could've found someone better. He looks good, not going to lie, but he fails to be as captivating as Taylor Swift is, and it brings the video down, just slightly.

I like how they go from being a couple, to Taylor Swift becoming a maniac and an obsessive freak, it suggests that that is what the media is portraying her as, only she's heightened it a lot more and put her own spin on it. A perfect video, one that everyone is watiching again and again, hence the YouTube views.
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