Dua Lipa - Hotter Than Hell



I'm hearing this a lot lately and it is such a great catchy song that suits her voice, and hopefully her following singles do the same thing. Dua Lipa is new on the scene, and her voice has got us all captured in her music. This video for "Hotter Than Hell" is teasing, sexy and totally hotter than hell. Dua Lipa is relaxed and totally one to watch in the coming years.

Dua Lipa, which is her real name by the way, is a British rising star, currently doing well with this single globally. Her other singles haven't reached quite the expectation as this one, although "Be The One" charted amazingly in other countries. Although her lack of chart success in her own country might impact her future releases, being a hit in other countries may just tip her to be someone to watch out for. Her vocals are on form throughout this song, nice and deep this was not the voice I expected out of such a stunning beauty. This song was written by Dua Lipa, Gerard O'Connell, Tommy Baxter and Adam Midgley.

Directed by Emil Nava, it was filmed in a warehouse. Sexy and sultry throughout, Dua Lipa is a vision of beauty, as she sings the racy lyrics.

A pure performance piece, there isn't an awful lot going on, a lot of visual sexiness in the entire clip, with Dua Lipa showing her confidence.

She does a bit of freestyle dancing, in which we see how much confidence she has as a performer, which will definitely make me interested in seeing her live.

There isn't an awful lot else to comment on, the use of the cameras by the extras really adds a texture to the video, and shows how the same scenes can be seen totally differently, due to the camera used. Although the constant switching between handheld camera and the professional one really messes with the viewing of the music video.

Overall it's relatable, yet distracting. It doesn't really introduce Dua Lipa at all, but that's not what this music video is meant to do since this song wasn't expected to become as popular as it did. Now all eyes are on Dua Lipa, because she is definitely one to watch.
Buy on iTunes

Missy Elliott - Work It



After Honey G sung this on The X Factor, I just had to listen to the actual version, and although no one can ever sing this song as good as Missy Elliott, she gave it a pretty damn good go, and to nail the reversed lyric is just amazing! This is quite a scary music video, and the explicit lyrics is something that sailed past my head when I was younger and listening to this. Yet they're nothing new in rap music, just more obvious here. This quite frightening music video has Missy Elliott doing all sorts of things that is visually worrying, but hell can she "Work It".

Missy Elliott, real name Melissa Elliott, is currently working on her next studio album. She made a full comeback in 2015 with single "WTF (Where They From)", yet nothing else has come from it, apart from uncharted follow-up single "Pep Rally". Missy Elliott will always be one of the biggest female rappers in the music industry, and everyone pretty much wants to work with her. She might be returning to music slowly, but we all know that this new album is going to be off the radar! This song was written by Melissa Elliott and Tim Mosley.

Directed by Dave Meyers, this music video is so ahead of its time, that it actually hurts. They try to do things that you wouldn't expect back in 2002, and yet here it is. The video also features cameos by Timbaland, Eve, Tweet, Alyson Stoner, Aaliyah and Lisa "Left Eye" Lopes. The latter two had died not long after the video and so therefore are commemorated on the front of a car.

During the production, apparently Missy Elliott got quite drunk due to the wine actually being wine. Not only that but real honey bees were used for the one scene and only one crew member was stung.

Totally an artistic piece, with various visuals messed around with to make it look weirdly real, this music video definitely defined visuals back in 2002, even if it did creep us all out back then, and still does today.

Overall realistically weird was basically the concept and they made it work. Totally ahead of it's time, this music video could have been so much more if left for a later date. Yet it doesn't quite relate to the song, even though the dancing is on form throughout.
Buy on iTunes

New Release: Alexandra Stan - Boom Pop



I wasn't even aware that this was going to become an actual single, especially since this is only an online video, and so in theory I'm breaking my own rules, however it was released, and I'm a big fan of Alexandra Stan, so why not write another review about one of her songs this week? This song has been taken from her album Alesta and none of her fans was really expecting a single release on top of this video. Alexandra Stan invites us to her home town of Constanţa, Romania as she sings, dances and hangs with her crew and her boyfriend Staruiala Bogdan in online video for "Boom Pow".

Alexandra Stan has really came into her own with her last two recent albums, Unlocked and Alesta really showcases her as an incredible artist. Unfortunately she had worldwide career success early on with "Mr. Saxobeat", yet less promotion on her follow-up singles had a massive impact on her. Now she's hitting out the tunes and only her fans are hearing her. It may feel more exclusive to us, especially since this video was only released because of us, and yet this is a singer that deserves to be heard globally. The song was written by David Ciente and Trey Campbell.

Directed by iRonic Distors, this video was only released after Alexandra Stan encouraged fans to watch "Ecoute" on YouTube and get the view count up to 10 million. This single has not been released in the UK as of yet, hence why I haven't reviewed the music video, but now I'm thinking it never will be.

The two scenes are quite different from one another, As explained in my CelebMix article I wrote on Friday, the home town online video is relaxed and calm. It's totally nice to see Alexandra Stan happy to just be performing. This video only intensifies my desire to see her live.

There's not much to say about this. She's quite comical, and at times she gives an insight of her personality away from the camera, which we constantly see on her Snapchat stories. This video may not have a high-end budget, it may not have the best camera work, those low-angle shots does nothing for me; but it's probably one of most real videos, and I can't help but appreciate the rawness of it.
Buy on iTunes

Alexandra Stan Featuring Carlprit - 1.000.000



This was the collaboration that would've got Alexandra Stan back on form, or so we all thought, yet it was promoted slightly in the UK before she parted with 3beat records, this could've been a hit, but instead featured as a bonus track on "Lemonade". Alexandra Stan turns to the street in this performance-based video with Carlprit for "1.000.000" which features a bird cage and lots of glitter, but have we seen it all before?

Alexandra Stan had to be my revisit this week, since none of the other artists from this week have been going long enough. This was one of her early songs from her first album. Unfortunately, it was the start of her decline in the international music world. However, she continues to release music, as I'm sure you are well aware, since I continue to support her on my blog. She just needs worldwide promotion, because she definitely has the voice for it. Featuring on this track is Carlprit, real name Rudi Schwamborn, mostly known for the UK number one feature on Cascada's "Evacuate The Dancefloor", since then he has gone on to feature on many singles as well as released his own music that has been received well. This song was written by André Nemirschi, Marcel Prodan and Marcian Alin Soare.

The mirrored box is back, and is usually seen in various music videos and commercials as well as advertisements, and maybe some other art pieces. Not only that, but there is also a bird cage... What is with bird cages recently?

The glitter scene was a surprise, although considering her management at the time and what she went on to do still under the said management, it's still shouldn't surprise me. Luckily she's away from them now, and on to much brighter and better things.

Carlprit is actually a great addition to this video, and it's great to see him take an active role in the performance side of this music video. With only Alexandra Stan to keep him occupied, it's no wonder he shines better than in other videos I've seen him in.

Overall this is a great performance piece from both of these artists. Although more could have been done to relate the content of the song, it's both interesting and engaging nonetheless. I just wish Alexandra Stan was more worldly known, but I guess it's all down to her fans.
Buy on iTunes

Belarus Entry: Teo - Cheesecake



Probably one of the catchiest simple songs in the 2014 Eurovision Song Contest. Both favourable and disliked by fans, this song was the Marmite of the group and yet it did so well! This was the entry for Belarus and managed to place 16th with 43 points. Teo, unfortunately, hasn't released anything new since the Eurovision Song Contest 2014. Teo is tired of being you sweet cheesecake as he tells a girl where to go in this cheeky low-budget music video.

Teo, real name Yuriy Vashchuk, competed in the Belarus national selection to become the entrant to the Eurovision Song Contest 2014. He won and easily outdid the other contestants. Definitely a worthy winner, but the 2014 contest was such a tough year, that it's no surprise that it didn't do better. He is also known as one of the songwriters for Alyona Lanskaya's "Solayoh" which represented Belarus in the Eurovision Song Contest 2013. "Cheesecake" is about a man who ends a relationship because she wants him to be something he's not. The song was written by Yuriy Vashchuk and Dmitry Novik.

The music video is basic at best, definitely a low-budget music video, but Teo is looking more than sharp and slick, whereas his love interest is less stylish.

She does look a bit like Nicki Minaj, no doubts about that, and yet she's dressed quite cheap and easy. This is the whole concept, a bubblegum pop girl who's quite needy, and he needs someone more mature.

There's some cheeky scenes, that are quite comical, but it's difficult to fit things in, when there's nothing else going on.

This is way too basic for my liking, but the tongue-in-cheek humour, alongside the simple lyrics with Teo's pronunciation of the words, adds more to this than you can possibly think. What would be a throwaway music video, is actually quite engaging.
Buy on iTunes