Making the rounds recently is this new one from Selena Gomez. I am so glad she's releasing this song as a single, this is my favourite from her new album, so catchy and so simple it definitely stands out on her album, where most of her tracks are similar. I cannot wait to hear some remixes of this song. Selena Gomez tells you to put down the weapons and Kill Em With Kindness, sometimes kindness is so much worse than fighting; aggravating and annoying, kindness can really kill.
Selena Gomez has fully moved away from Disney and the band she fronted Selena Gomez & The Scene. She is now fully invested into her solo career, definitely one of the top rising stars at the moment, she is not quite pulling in the global chart hits that other ex-Disney stars have been doing, that might be because of her recent direction, "Good For You" may have been an amazing song that took it's time to climb up the chart, but her album features very similar songs all with the same style as "Good For You". It isn't until she released singles from the album and stood them out herself with videos, that there's been more hype around her. This song was written by Antonina Armato, Tim James, Benjamin Levin, Dave Audé and Selena Gomez. The song has yet to be released in the UK.
Directed by Emil Nava, the video is a pure performance piece in a black and white filter (which puts me off straight away), however it sharpens the picture allowing the photo shoot visual work so much better, however the colourisation could've come back in the other scenes.
Kill Em With Kindness is definitely what Selena Gomez attempts to do by smiling a lot in front of the plain background as scenes change around her. Looking stylishly sexy she is empowering the kindness angle by just looking pretty.
Other scenes include her running in a hotel corridor, and dancers dancing to the song freestyle, since a full-out choreography is never going to work with this relaxing anthem, that isn't really meant for the summer, but I bet the remixes that will be released soon will make this the perfect track at any party or barbecue.
Overall it's a simple video, much like her previous ones for this album, but it works so effortlessly. Selena Gomez can kill me with kindness any day she wanted. Simple, sexy and gorgeous, a beautiful performance piece and she doesn't even need to try.
I have been waiting for this to be released on iTunes, so as I waited, I reviewed it for Outlet Magazine. It's the amazing collaboration between Inna, Alexandra Stan, Antonia and Lori. They are G Girls in a new project from Global Records. These four girls are superstars, part of the leading Romanian female singers that are ready to take over the world. They're already internationally known as solo singers, which makes this collaboration even more special. G Girls want you to Call The Police in this sexy, stylish and inviting music video. Inna, Alexandra Stan, Antonia and Lori come together for this addicting summer anthem.
G Girls, as previously mentioned, is a project from Global Records. Whether this is just a one off, or the start of something new is the question on everyone's lips. For now, it's a one off. This is the second time Inna and Alexandra Stan has collaborated, the first time was for "We Wanna". Inna and Antonia has also collaborated in the past on "Fie ce-o fi". I expect more collaborations in the future. Inna, real name Elena Apostoleanu, has had worldwide success, with "Hot", "Sun Is Up", "More Than Friends" and "Cola Song". Her new single "Heaven" is your relaxing summer anthem! Alexandra Stan hit it big with "Mr Saxobeat", her follow up singles haven't done as well but "Get Back (ASAP)" and "Lemonade" had some charting success. New single "Ecoute" is to be released soon. Antonia, full name Antonia Iacobescu, had a hit with "Morena", and has always been known but never hit it big time. She released her first studio album last year. Lori, full name Loredana Ciobotaru, became known after appearing on the second season of Vocea României (The Voice of Romania), now she's under Global Records and making a name for herself, watch out for Lori! G Girls might have future releases, this collaborative effort is astonishing, super sexy and their voices gel well, making the song a summer hit that should rack up the charts globally, but instead it'll be an undiscovered banger of a tune.
Directed by Roman Bulaca at the Palatul Noblesse, Inna and Antonia start the video off by inviting us inside.
A pure performance piece set within a narrative, the girls show us why we need to call the police on them. They've captured the hearts of the party goers, unsurprisingly. All the guys are around them, pining for their love.
Inna is the total star of the show, classy and sexy she doesn't have to show off, unlike Antonia who is clearly trying to impress. Alexandra Stan is a lot more mild compared to "We Wanna", and Lori follows Inna and is stylishly casual.
There isn't much of a narrative. The girls are practically stealing hearts, wallets and anything they can. Performance wise, they work well together, all four of them can perform and as a collective they give off astronomical vibes proving that they could totally share a stage.
Powerful, engaging and full of Romanian star quality, G Girls works better than we could ever have imagined. Hopefully they will come together for a few more songs, this isn't going to be the next girl band because they are already amazing solo artists, however it could be a project that has more than one single, and maybe a world tour (we can only hope), a G Girls tour would make all the fans hit the roof. G Girls need to do a world tour! I'd so be there!
Rizzle Kicks are finally back, and with a catchy number that I wasn't so keen on at first, but by the end of the song I was singing along without even realising. It's been just over a year since their last single, and each of the duo members have been attempting solo careers, having released music under stage names. Finally they have come back together to create this fresh new sound that has got me caught up in their little trap. Rizzle Kicks return a bit later than never, with many loved references in this visual video where they dress up as characters, proving they're always late in this music video for Always Late.
Rizzle Kicks consist of Jordan Stephens (Rizzle) and Harley Alexander-Sule (Sylvester). They hit international fame with "Mama Do The Hump" which is still my most viewed music video review. As previously mentioned they have gone off to have solo careers since their last single. Jordan Stephens has been releasing music under the stage name Wildhood, where he has released a debut EP and two singles. As for Harley Alexander-Sule, he has been using the stage name Jimi Charles Moody, with various singles released, some songs of which have been used for advertisements. Clearly these two will always be in the music industry, but they are definitely better together, especially since they get successful chart hits as a duo. This song was written by Jordan Stephens, Harley Alexander-Sule and Sky Adams.
Directed by Toby Lockerbie, the duo dress up as loved characters in this music video. At the start they play the White Rabbit and Time from Alice Through The Looking Glass, which instantly made me think it was a soundtrack song for the film, but guess that's reserved for P!nk's awesome song "Just Like Fire". This isn't the first Rizzle Kicks music video to have a Alice In Wonderland theme, "Dreamers" also had a similar theme too.
The song has various references throughout, hence why one appears as Luigi in the video, they mention Men in Black, where they end up dressed in suits in the back of a car. There's many scenes where they lyrics are literally translated into a visual for the video.
Performance wise, Rizzle Kicks are on form as always, their relaxed raping works perfectly and settles in the viewers. The harmonies kick off perfectly during the chorus, creating this infectious sound. Rizzle Kicks are back, yet they're always late, they need to up their game and be on time to be current once again.
By far one of my favourite Inna tracks off her first album, I remember watching this over and over and over again on the music channels, back in 2011. After reviewing her most recent music video for her new single "Heaven" which I also reviewed for Outlet Magazine. I have jumped into Inna's back catalogue for my Thursday Revisit. The UK version of the video is cut by roughly a minute to focus on Inna's image and to get rid of the repeated scenes. Inna is sexed up in the middle of the club trying to win every place with her dancing and her heartthrob of a bartender, in this music video for 10 minutes.
Unfortunately, this song didn't chart in the UK, much to my disappointment, especially since it sounds like it would've been perfect for the UK market, after hits "Hot" and "Amazing". Inna, real name Elena Apostoleanu, hit it off well in the UK, at first, but it spiralled downhill after "Sun Is Up". However, she didn't stop, and made a market for herself in Eastern Europe, where she is apparently the richest recording artist over there. She has sung in many different languages, and is definitely becoming a massive international star. She has recently been announced as a coach on Vocea României Junior (The Voice of Romania Junior) season one. This was her third UK release, but her fifth single internationally. Featured are her producing trio Play & Win, they have helped many artists with their careers, especially Inna, but they have also made quite the name for themselves in the music industry, mainly as producers, but they have also become known as artists themselves. They consist of Marcel Botezan, Radu Bolfea and Sebastian Barac. This song was written by Play & Win.
The music video was directed by Paul Boyd and filmed in London. The opening shows her preparing backstage for a show, or in this case for going to a club. She wears different outfits and puts them up against herself.
The video continues, with her dancing in a club, with her backing dancers. The choreography is on point, and she works the dancefloor like she owns it.
She catches the eye of the bartender, and who can blame her, he's pretty cute. If anyone knows the actor's name, please tell. And asks him to dance with her. She continues to work the club with her perfect performance vibes.
In one scene we are invited into the bathroom, where Inna and her girls freshen up. Before going back on to the dancefloor. Eventually Inna entices the bartender onto the floor with her.
Cute, sexy, over-the-top, yet totally relatable and perfected. Inna looks and acts like a star. This song is perfectly aimed for the western world, but not much promotion went into it, and radio didn't really pick it up. Still one of my favourites, and the music video may not have much substance to it, but what it lacks it makes up for in relating to the song in every way.
Kickstarting my look-back on the Eurovision Song Contest 2014 & 2015, is this number by Mei Finegold. An early favourite that failed to make it through to the Grand Final. Unfortunately Israel scored 19 points, placing them 14th in the second semi-final of the 2014 Eurovision Song Contest. Mei Finegold shows so much sass in this music video for Same Heart; powerful, emotional and sassy, this should've done better in Eurovision.
Mei Finegold took part in Kokhav Nolad (A Star is Born) based off Pop Idol, she came in third place in the seventh season. Her vocals are outstanding, and definitely works better on ballads, however clearly she has love for upbeat tracks considering the songs she has released so far. It seems she hasn't released anything quite so new recently. She'll probably be lost, a Eurovision star that never made it. Yet with a voice like that, she can't give up. This song was written by Rami Talmid.
The music video is full of sass, she's extremely confident in her performance, especially when backed by dancers during the choreography.
She unleashes performance vibes that engages the audience, showing that she is a fighter, and yet no new music since her collaboration with Shlomi Levi & Shay Rokach on pride anthem "Sweet Harmony".
The narrative doesn't develop enough, as Mei Finegold trains with her samurai sword, preparing for the fight that is to come amongst the hills. The video stops before the fight plays out, failing to keep us gripped, and it doesn't have a follow-up video which totally should've been released as another single, as it would've been great promotion for the next single.
Overall, a lost star amongst many; Eurovision 2014 was the year for many stand-out acts, an extremely competitive year to say the least. A banging song that is so catchy yet doesn't quite match the vocalist. And an accompanying music video that leaves way too much to the imagination, yet Mei Finegold does her best with it. Sassy, on point and focused, what more could we have asked from her?
