Jennifer Lopez - Ain't Your Mama



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Recently released, this just puts J Lo back on the music radar. Jennifer Lopez is back! But is she here to stay, that is the main question. She's forever dipping in and out of music like dolphins porpoising in water. She releases hit after hit and then takes a break. She has taken up a residency at The Axis auditorium located in the Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino, where Britney Spears' residency 'Piece of Me' is, in Las Vegas. Titled 'All I Have', the first leg, consisting of ten dates, were completely sold out. This song is extremely catchy. Jennifer Lopez sports different looks and characters in this upbeat video for Ain't Your Mama. A women empowerment theme, dancing, acting and visually amazing, this video has it all.

Jennifer Lopez in 'Ain't Your Mama'
Jennifer Lopez is probably the only artist I know of who has had a music career spanning more than a decade and not released a greatest hits album. Amassing an amazing amount of global hits, this singer needs to release a greatest hits album filled with all her high charting singles. Instead she just comes back stronger and harder every time, with perfect songs that impacts the charts around the world. This song, however, has yet to chart in the UK, but with the video just being released, and the slow popularity on radio, it might be a brilliant climber. This song was written by Meghan Trainor, Lukasz Gottwald, Jacob Kasher Hindlin, Henry Walter, Theron Thomas and Gamal Lewis. Completely sassy the song is about men finding their girl incredibly sexy at the start of the relationship and then expecting them to do everything for them further down the line.

Jennifer Lopez in 'Ain't Your Mama'
The song caused controversy when released with many Kesha fans urging people to boycott its release. The problem comes from the song being written and produced by Dr. Luke. If you don't know about the Kesha vs. Dr. Luke court case then surely you've been hiding under a rock. The song was written and recorded in 2014 by Meghan Trainor and planned for her debut album 'Title', however it didn't make the cut. Two years down the line, Meghan Trainor gave it to Jennifer Lopez. Dr. Luke was not involved in J Lo's version, but has to be credited as he was part of the original. Regardless of this, it's an amazing song and was definitely made for Jennifer Lopez, her vocals work perfectly for this, I can't imagine Meghan Trainor singing this, but would like to hear how different it is.

Jennifer Lopez in 'Ain't Your Mama'
The music video was directed by Cameron Duddy, both performance and narrative, Jennifer Lopez stuns us as six different characters, all with their own style inspired by different eras. It reminds me slightly of "Papi", and is added to her collection of amazing music videos. There is frequent product placement throughout, just like Avril Lavigne's "What The Hell", it's quickly becoming normal within music videos. Vogue magazine, Beluga vodka and Lavazza coffee are some of the most obvious.

Jennifer Lopez in 'Ain't Your Mama'
Jennifer Lopez starts off as a news anchor, she's in a phone booth having a heated conversation. Next she's at the desk, ready to give a special announcement, whilst Hilary Clinton's 'Women's Rights Are Human Rights' speech is heard followed by Patricia Arquette's Academy Award speech and finally Gloria Steinem's 'Address to the Women of America' speech. She then tells the women at home to get out of their seats and shout out the window 'I Ain't Your Mama'.

Jennifer Lopez in 'Ain't Your Mama'
Various characters are then shown. She plays 1950's house wife, a secretary, a factory worker and a 1980's business woman. Lastly she is shown wearing her thigh-high boots by Rihanna for Manolo Blahnik, gifted to her by the Barbadian singer.

Jennifer Lopez in 'Ain't Your Mama'
The final scene is my favourite, Jennifer Lopez dances with a group of women pulling off complex choreography proving that she can sing, dance and act, Reminiscent of "Papi", only with a group of women instead of men.

Jennifer Lopez in 'Ain't Your Mama'
Jennifer Lopez is the epitome of a triple threat, a trifecta. However it comes at a consequence. She has established herself in singing, dancing and acting, but she isn't on top in any of those areas. But no one can deny that she is on form. J Lo is back, she's still "Jenny From the Block", but she's the triple threat you don't want to clash with. I expect to see 'Ain't Your Mama' climbing up the UK chart soon enough.
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Meghan Trainor - NO



Untouchable, untouchable, untouchable. Meghan Trainor is definitely one of the biggest artists in the music industry, her songwriting skills have not only landed her at the top of charts around the globe, but many other acts too. She is untouchable, the one we all need to keep watching. In a stance to tell women to stand up for themselves; they don't need a guy in their lives, she sends out some girl power and strengthens her dancing troupe; just say no.

Meghan Trainor first hit the scene with her debut single "All About That Bass" which hit number one in the UK, as well as many other countries. Since then she has been chasing the chart, failing to reach the top with solid hits. Her collaboration with Charlie Puth on "Marvin Gaye" put her back at the top in the UK, but no new solo chart toppers as of yet. This song is her first single from her new album "Thank You" which is expected to be released next week. Charting just outside the top ten at number 11, twice; this wasn't the hit she was expecting. The song reminds me of Beyoncé's "Crazy In Love", although apparently it was inspired by Britney Spears' "Overprotected" with NSYNC and Destiny's Child influences. It was written by Meghan Trainor, Eric Frederic and Jacob Kasher Hindlin.

Directed by Fatima Robinson and Barnaby Roper, the video is a strength in unity and girl power dance video, that has amazing visual performance sides.

Meghan Trainor has curved into a provocative temptress, whilst saying no no no. She's untouchable, she doesn't want to give her name, her sign, her number, no no no. Guys stay away, she's independent and wants to stick with her girls tonight.

The choreography enforces what she is singing and although it isn't complex, as such, it enforces her statements in the song. Set in a warehouse, Meghan Trainor stands out, although that coat does nothing whatsoever for her.

We're all used to seeing this sweet side to Meghan Trainor, but she needs to grow as an artist, and this is a perfect song and video to do just that. Encouraging being single, Meghan Trainor is easily becoming the next role-model for young girls, and although the video is pretty saucy, it's totally toned down and pretty average. A nice effort.
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New Release: Radiohead - Burn The Witch



It is extremely refreshing to see a music video that has been worked on so much. In a Camberwick Green meets Hot Fuzz and The Wicker Man style music video, Radiohead's "Burn The Witch" is a tongue-in-cheek video that is fresh and imaginative, making an ingenious political statement in the process.

Radiohead are a five piece alternative rock band consisting of Thom Yorke, Jonny Greenwood, Colin Greenwood, Ed O'Brien and Philip Selway. Returning from a hiatus, Radiohead has made one of the biggest comebacks with this first release from their ninth studio album. The band and the single have both trended worldwide on Twitter, with much hype and love going out to the band. The song is set to chart highly on the UK singles chart this coming Friday, The song has been in talks since 2000, and has been a long awaited single, much like "Nude" which was written 12 years prior to its release. This just proves that Radiohead are focused on recording songs just right, nothing but perfection will do.

Directed by Chris Hopewell, this entire music video took a total of 14 days to complete. Completely focused and detailed, it's so nice to see that a lot of thought went into this music video, and it relates well with the lyrics, even if controversy has flared up.

An inspector visits the town. He refuses to shake the hand of the mayor. The mayor shows the inspector around the village, there's a model village with actual model people moving about, there's a painter putting a red cross on a door (link to an ominous passover), there's a symbolic ritual where a woman is tied up, there's a gallows that has been dolled up with flowers. And then there's the big finale, there's a big wooden wicker man, which the inspector is encouraged to climb into by the mayor, and then is set alight. At the end, we find out the inspector has survived this incredible ordeal.

Every minute detail is spoken for in this music video, a lot of effort, which totally has paid off. This is something I could watch again and again and again.

It takes me back to a childhood I barely remember. A few children's TV shows has used this stop-motion animation plenty of times before as well as some advertisements and commercials. Definitely inspired by Camberwick Green, Trumpton and Chigley (all three series are part of the Trumptonshire trilogy). It is also being compared to the likes of The Wicker Man and Hot Fuzz, there is a lot of links and references to these films, which can be found here.

Overall, I love this so much, it stands out on any music channel, it relates perfectly with the song. Tongue-in-cheek, surprising and definitely interesting, this music video has it all, a perfect narrative with a tonne of effort that definitely pays off. With the amount of YouTube hits this video has been getting, as well as the chart placing this Friday, Radiohead is officially back!
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Sia - Taken For Granted

Two music videos were released for this song, so I shall review both of them, although they feel pretty similar. This happened with Rihanna's single "Work", where two videos got a surprise release.

The reason why there's two for this single is that the first music video was apparently shot on just a 50 bucks budget. When this single became popular and hit the UK chart at number ten, they had the money to fund a more higher budgeted music video.

Sia, full name Sia Furler, started off her career in acid-jazz band, Crisp and provided vocals for their two albums. Crisp later disbanded, and Sia moved to London, she then worked with Zero 7. In 2000 she got a recording contract with Sony Music's sub-label Dance Pool and released this as her first ever single. It's nice to look back on old songs on my Thursday Revisits. This is a complete change to who we know Sia as. "Cheap Thrills" and "Chandelier" are totally different to this song, but this is definitely just as catchy. The song heavily samples Sergei Prokofiev's "Montagues and Capulets", which not only gets repetitive but doesn't make the song any more appealing. It was written by Sia Furler and produced by Nigel Corsbie. Sia is out in the open in both these videos, no hiding behind a wig. True to herself, her voice is soulful, but with no performance vibes, both videos fall flat. The song reminds me of P!nk's early work.



This is the first video, directed by Matthew Bate on a 50 bucks budget, apparently, it is slightly more appealing and interesting than the second one. Low budget music videos rarely interest me, as they haven't got enough money to capture the audience enough. The narrative isn't played out fully because of this.

However it is a nice idea, and some scenes are exact replicas of the lyrics of the song, relating exactly. There's an intricate scene in which ghostly Sia sings to the Sia crashed on the bed. I love this idea, although it isn't played out enough. This should've been the main narrative.

This video shows that some low-budget videos attempt to include too much, which leaves the audience, not only wanting more, but deprived of visual entertainment.
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This is the second music video that was released. Directed by Fatima Robinson and edited by Angus Giorgi. This one is much more visually friendly, because of the much higher budget.

Sia is a vision of beauty, although not so keen on the style of the bedroom scene, she looks poor and lonely which is the whole intention, but compared with the other two characters it feels totally out of place.

Sia proves that even different people can feel the exact same emotions. They deal with them differently too, which she undoubtedly displays for the music video.

Unfortunately, Sia fails to manage to capture us in this performance based video. It plods along with very little excitement or even an understanding of what is unfolding. There's a little ode to the previous music video, a scene which doesn't make sense no matter which video you view.

Overall, visually more appealing, but much more tedious and bland.
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Alexandra Stan Featuring Mohombi - Balans



Woke up with this song in my head, and obviously I never pass up an opportunity to promote one of my favourite singers. One of the leading Romanian stars, Alexandra Stan really hit it out on international success with the song "Mr Saxobeat", since then she had some difficulty with her management, but after the deeply personal song "Thanks For Leaving", Alexandra Stan is back on form. Alexandra Stan styles it up in this video for Balans, collaborating with Mohombi giving us a playful party that is full of fun, can you Balans?

Alexandra Stan is gearing up for her second single and music video from her most recent album Alesta, which is a bargain of a price on iTunes. She has recently released her own clothing range in Japan as well as promoting the album over there. Currently, Inna and Alexandra Stan are both successful over in Japan, and with enough promotion they will do well globally. Alexandra Stan will always be following in Inna's footsteps, but they came together for "We Wanna", and more hit singles in the future will definitely follow. The world better watch out, because Romania is coming! This song features Mohombi, full name Mohombi Moupondo, a successful Swedish-Congolese singer. He has had a few hits dotted here and there, with some surprising collaborations. His vocals are soulfully authentic, which definitely adds something special to this song. "Balans" would not be the same without Mohombi. This song was written by Barac Sebastian-Alexandru, Botezan Marcel, Mohombi Moupondo and Breyan Isaac.

Directed by Anton San, this video is a full on sexy party. The stylist has picked some unique outfits for Alexandra Stan that may not be stylistically awesome, but shows her off exquisitely.

Razvan Firea & Marius Ferascu act as stylists in this video, whilst Claudiu Sarghe is the hair stylist. The latter fails to interest me at all, nothing special about Alexandra Stan's hair in this video. The costumes are intricately unique, a wild combination that works.

The video relates to an extent, but there's too much focus on sexing Alexandra Stan up that the feel overall falls completely. Mohombi doesn't add to the video either, leaving everything a little flat.
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