Critic Jonni

The UK hates a whiner, let's be honest, and Sandi Thom, real name Alexandria Thom, has hit the headlines with a video she posted on FaceBook about how upset she is that Radio 2 decided not to play this song. She claims the pop song has everything they needed. What's surprising is that she's chasing an old fashioned way of getting music out to the public, whereas her only number one single got to the top of the charts thanks to the internet. Radio has fought off many technological advances and is still the main game changer when it comes to chart hits. Sandi Thom may have made a 360 degrees music video, and a pop song that is worthy of radio play, but it's definitely not a stunner or extremely catchy, and the video follows suit failing to entertain and make us watch.

Sandi Thom's career is spiralling down and down, unable to gain the sales she needs. I remember buying "I Wish I Was A Punk Rocker (With Flowers In My Hair)". An extremely catchy tune, that even when heard now, we still sing-a-long to. This is what she is missing, she needs a song that's catchy for this century. Earthquake fails because it feels like an old song, one you probably would've played ten years ago.

Annoyingly the video also seems ten years old too. Directed by Gev Miron, Ian Fisher and Sandi Thom. The latter wrote on the YouTube description that it's "shot using Go Pro cameras and the latest 360 technology the video is designed to be interactive and allows the viewer to navigate around the room using their curser or tilting their mobile device" (Sic).

So the video contains four characters all played by Sandi Thom. I'm going to name each one of them and review them that way. Number one is Confident. Moving to the right is number two Dancer. Number three I'm going to name Blondey and number four is going to be called Punk Rocker.

Right... Confident is sassy. But mainly performs the song sitting in a chair, in this roof room. She is currently pregnant, and she is glowing, you can tell. And I wish her the best for her baby, which is due in March 2016.

Dancer has her own little wooden stage to perform on. Disappointingly, she is wearing the same dress and shoes. Tied up her hair and changed jackets, not my idea of a different character, more like trying to cheat. There's no choreographed dance routine, just a lot of simple moves anyone can pull off, failing to entice the audience into watching her.

Blondey is also wearing the same dress and shoes. Instead Sandi Thom adorns a blonde wig and a cream coloured jacket. This is more flowy arms and attempt at Arabic dance moves which do not relate to the song at all, do not include dance moves that relate to a certain culture in a song that doesn't, simple. Unless you plan on doing what Inna did for "Yalla" by singing in Arabic.

Punk Rocker also dons the same dress and shoes. This time she has a purple jacket on and her hair has been dyed. This is the most passion we get from Sandi Thom. Without the tricks, without the 360 technology I would've preferred this video to be just us and Punk Rocker, because that is who she is, she's being real and emotional here, she truly is singing the song, believing every word. But the other characters knock this video right down.

Overall I have to applaud Sandi Thom for trying to make this video current, yet it totally fails. YouTube, for starters, can't handle the video that well, and therefore knocks the song from the singing characters, so either that is the fault of the person who tried to line up her lip-syncing to the audio, or it's because the video is using 360 technology. This is a definite no-no when it comes to music videos. Plus the style looks totally old school. The roof has boxes everywhere and I feel like I'm watching some poorly low budgeted 80's music video. It's just completely awful. Sandi Thom's career is spiralling right down, and there is no rope for her to catch, no ledge to grip on to, and her parachute is not working either. Can she ever come back from this. Probably not.

Buy on iTunes

I cannot believe I found this little gem. Today was difficult, since it's a Thursday, it means revisit time... Yet none of the artists I have reviewed this week have a music video released in 2009 or earlier. Until I found out that Nathan Sykes entered Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2004, and also released this song as a promotional single, not that I can find it available to buy anywhere. This is the only video I can find too. Nathan Sykes proves he can dance in sync with this video, vocals may not be on point, but they don't matter since he is looking adorable, he has grown into one hot guy now.

Nathan Sykes had won a few awards and competitions by this point, and so taking his chances with Eurovision, might not have served him good. In recent years I have become obsessed with Eurovision, many countries take it so seriously, and it's about time the United Kingdom stopped joking around and started to take it seriously too, the competition is not what it used to be, credible acts get sent there and the rightful winner wins, not because of neighbour voting or countries past conflict, and the voting proves that as each year passes, sometimes shocking us. Nathan Sykes came third in the UK selection behind unheard names Cory Spedding and Andrew Merry (the latter became part of The Risk on The X Factor Series 8, which have disbanded). Will Nathan Sykes take a shot at the main contest in the next few years? Or was this something he didn't care all that much about? We do need a credible act to represent us soon.

This is a full performance video, no official music video was released, and so I have the video that is of the UK's selection for the Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2004, which was shown on ITV2.

A typical kids song, with typical kids dance moves incorporated into a choreography, that isn't so bad when watched again.

Good staging, although not that impressed with his fashion choices. Nathan Sykes wasn't exactly Born To Dance, but definitely born to sing, his music career has only just started and he has definitely improved because "Over And Over Again" is a stunner!

"Nathan Sykes 2012" by Joella Marano

You all knew this was coming, and I've been worried about reviewing it, what happens if it doesn't live up to "Wild" and "Fools"? What if I don't like the ending? It's the end of the Blue Neighbourhood videos, part 3/3, with a cliffhanger to boot, Troye Sivan do not let this be the end! Sad, depressing, upsetting and a little bit sexy, a short narrative this time that ends this little series, Troye Sivan is looking dapper, how can the other guy turn him down? Just come to me Troye Sivan, any day you want.

Troye Sivan, real name Troye Mellet, is all set to release his debut album "Blue Neighbourhood" on the 4th December 2015. And I am so ready to buy it off iTunes. His EPs and singles have charted well in the UK, Australia and the US, but will his album top the charts? I surely hope so, but he has stiff competition. Personally he has become an idol in the LGBT world, and I'd have definitely come out sooner if I had had him as someone to look up to. He's influential and a total inspiration, and I'll never stop supporting him.

This final part in his music video series is set at a funeral, it's directed by Tim Mattia.

The funeral is for the other guy's father who was a drunk in "Wild" who also beat him up, who was homophobic as well, which we saw in "Fools". With him gone you would think he would get back with Troye Sivan.

This is not the case and he is still influenced by his father's opinions and expectations, it's so sad that he lets his father still control him.

The cliffhanging ending is devastatingly tragic. I'd never wish that on anyone, although I also think Troye Sivan is a fool to still want him back, just no! Move on and leave him behind, he made his bed and he needs to deal with it. Or not. Yet love is love, and no one can help how they feel towards someone.

Buy on iTunes

Suggestion time! Megan Landry commented on my suggestions page and posted a link to one of her own music videos, risky but clever. First off I want to say sorry it took me eight months before actually reviewing it, but I've been blogging infrequently this year, and only recently started publishing daily, and I only just checked my suggestions and I saw it there. Powerful, innocent and deep, Megan Landry shows us, that as children, we are influenced easily whilst growing up, what we saw, listened to and where we grew up could influence where we are now and who we are, and yet it's us that gets us here. Every person we pass was just a child, like the ones featured in the video.

Megan Landry, 19, is from Ottawa, Canada. She has a total of 20 videos on her YouTube channel, over 8,000 subscribers, and plenty of songs on iTunes. Recently she has released "Stills", her debut album. Her voice is powerful, authentic in a current way, and her songs are clearly filled with passion. The way she is going, all she needs is more promotion, and she'll be topping charts around the world. Watch out for this girl, if she doesn't become something soon, the music industry will be missing someone amazing!

The music video was self-made, directed by Megan Landry, she proves she has the perfect ideas to go with the perfect songs.

The start is insightful, little clips that show what is happening in the world, it's explained later, showing what the children probably became. With this sort of stuff surrounding them it's not surprising.

Children are so innocent, and I totally do miss those days. This really packs a punch and make you see how influence can shape a person, how everyone you pass and meet all were just as innocent as you once were.

As for the performance side, Megan Landry is strong, full of emotion, and intense, reminding me of Diana Vickers. Her voice is perfect and she hits all the notes. The video interprets the song just right, this is one low-budget video that I won't be forgetting because it's so good! Just as a side note, the girl is using a vapour cigarette and not a real one, obviously.

Buy on iTunes

Adele's "Hello" has finally been knocked off the number one spot... By Justin Bieber with "Sorry"... Only that has yet to have an official music video; leaving me, once again, with my chart Mondays open to the top 10. The top five, unfortunately, are either filled with videos I have reviewed or they don't have one. With little to choose from, I chose this one because I feel that One Direction have totally upped their game since Zayn Malik left the band. Classy and stylish, One direction shows what perfect means to them, which is trouble in hotel rooms, little rendez vous and going places you can't pronounce.

One Direction now consists of Harry Styles, Liam Payne, Niall Horan and Louis Tomlinson. Since becoming a four-piece they have definitely had much more catchy songs, so it's no wonder they chart so highly. This follow-up to "Drag Me Down" is a perfect ballad, that you can't help but sing-a-long to. Written by Jesse Shatkin, Jacob Kasher, John Ryan, Maureen Anne McDonald (MoZella), Julian Bunetta, Harry Styles and Louis Tomlinson.

Here are the boys in black and white... They come across classy, but it's rare for me to approve of this setting on a music video. It was directed by Sophie Muller.

The video shows the boys lives whilst on tour and what they do in their spare time. Links in well with the song in the aspect of the hotel corridors and they also doing things they shouldn't, like playing football indoors.

Relaxed and fun, the band really perform and proves that they are good to see live. They capture the essence of themselves, their own individualities and an attempt at a look-in of One Direction as a whole, some may say their lives are perfect.

Simple, easy, tiring; the black and white effect does not help this video at all, and has definitely taken one star off this video. All four guys are again singing to one girl, very similar to their debut "What Makes You Beautiful", however have to hand it to them, everything else is just fine, not great and definitely not perfect.