From what I have heard from Beyoncé's latest album, it's nothing that interests me, and yet it's flooded with emotion and is completely new and her own. No one can deny the influence Beyoncé has had in the music industry, regardless of the fact that I'm not a fan of her new music. Her new stuff just isn't for me, and maybe once upon a time I did enjoy Beyoncé's music, but she's practically developed her music into something that isn't for me over the past few years. "Hold Up" by Beyoncé is a hate loving exploration for wrecking things with a baseball bat. Progressive from drowning to being in control.
Beyoncé, full name Beyoncé Knowles-Carter, first came on the scene as the lead singer of Destiny's Child. But it wasn't until she went solo that she soon became this massive singer. Now she's poured her heart and soul into her latest album 'Lemonade', which has had mixed reviews from critics and the general public, which explains the not-so-great chart positions she's been pulling in. Regardless of which, her music videos for the album have all been FIRE! This song contains a sample of "Can't Get Used To Losing You" sung by Andy Williams, an interpolation of "Maps" by the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, and an interpolation of "Turn My Swag On" by Soulja Boy. This is why there is a tonne of songwriters... Which are: Thomas Pentz (Diplo), Ezra Koening, Beyoncé Knowles, Emile Haynie, Joshua Tillman, Uzoechi Emenike (MNEK), Sean "Melo-X" Rhoden, Doc Pomus, Mort Shuman, DeAndre Way (Soulja Boy), Antonio Randolph, Kelvin McConnell and Yeah Yeah Yeahs.
Directed by Jonas Åkerlund, the video is part of a one-hour film titled 'Lemonade' which aired on HBO. Seeing only this snippet of the film is questioningly difficult as we haven't seen all parts of the film. However, judgement can only be made on this music video rather than the film as a whole.
The start, the monologue of words which Beyoincé uses to introduce the music video, is suggestive of drowning. That she once succumbed to things and changed herself to become someone.
That is not who she is now, she won't be told what to do, she won't become something she's not. This is who she is, this is the musical direction she has gone down, and she doesn't care what anyone else thinks.
The steps scene is my favourite, she looks like a sea creature breaking the surface, becoming a land creature. As she walks the streets, she grabs a bat and starts taking her hatred out on cars, shop windows, cameras and a hydrant. Although all she feels is happiness.
Overall, this video isn't exactly complete, what with it being a part of the one-hour 'Lemonade' film. However, it does relate to the song well, and it's a great reflection on how Beyoncé is feeling at the moment. There's not a lot else to say, although baseball bats seem to be in right now after Suicide Squad's Harley Quinn.
Last week I had two options for Chart Mondays, or so I thought... And I chose Calum Scott's "Dancing On My Own", knowing full well that my other option would make it to the top of the UK Chart this week, and it sure did.
Little did I know that The Chainsmokers hasn't released a music video for "Closer" which features Halsey, This is the song that is currently sitting pretty on the top of the UK Chart.
Regardless, if I had known this last week, I wouldn't have seen it as a choice. My opinion may have been slightly different, that being said, we can't dip into the past and change things around to see what the outcome would be.
End of the day, this is the fifth time I've not had a video to review for Chart Mondays due to the fact that I have already reviewed all the music videos for the entire UK Top 10 Singles Chart, apart from the ones that haven't been released yet, obviously.
Time to reminisce over my past reviews as click the links to the UK's Top 10:
To finish off this blog post, here's a little question to think about...
Is streaming services wrecking the UK chart?
Just a quick glance at the UK iTunes Chart tells an extremely different story... They said streams won't affect songs near the top of the chart, but it clearly has. In America, they count YouTube plays and various other things towards the Billboard Chart. Things are going to have to change, mainly because the chart is supposed to show what music is most popular, and although that may be the case, slightly, I'm sure that top 10 isn't the current most popular music in the UK.
What do you think? Let me know below or on my social channels.
After a random tweet suggestion asking me to watch this music video; it's time for Bronnie to be a part of my blog. Inspiring musician, Bronnie is ready to bring back the pop/rock music we all fell in love with a decade or so ago. Unsigned and going after her dreams, Bronnie is fighting for what she wants, and totally inspiring a lot of people. With a massive fan base on Twitter, it's only a matter of time before Bronnie makes it big. Bronnie rocks on this "High School Sucks" track, showing scenes of her recording session at Edge Recording Studio as well as scenes from famous films to relate to the lyrics.
Bronnie, full name Bronnie Hughes, is an 18-year-old singer who is currently unsigned. She has currently over 300,000 views on her YouTube Channel. A total of two releases on iTunes, one of which is a Christmas song. She takes inspiration from 00's pop/rock music from Avril Lavigne to Busted to Bowling For Soup. She won the Ryan Seacrest Cover Song Contest, and has been in musical theatre since she was seven. This girl is focused and driven, and is definitely someone to keep your eye on. Requesting the help of Josh Bentley, Patrick Doyle, and Tom Atkinson of the band Liberty Calling, Bronnie recorded this song at Edge Recording Studio, where many famous acts before her have recorded songs and albums. She announced in a behind the scenes video clip, that she wrote the song in February 2015.
The video is less high school and more recording studio, although high school clips from famous films are shown throughout, which nicely links in with the lyrics.
Great visual editing throughout, it really shows Bronnie as this up-and-coming star. It introduces her as a singer-songwriter, showing what she's been up to with this song.
Various clips from American Pie are intercut with a perfect visual of Bronnie. Relating in perfect timing to the lyrics, especially the ode to Sum 41.
As for the performance scenes, Bronnie is on form, you can tell how much she loves this song, and what it means to her. Full of life, in the video, her bubbly charm can be seen throughout and even in the BTS videos. She's a positive person and so genuine, which she easily outputs in the video. If she replicates that on stage, which she no doubt does, then anyone who goes to see her live will be in for a treat.
This is Bronnie, and we all better watch out for her. This video shows her time at Edge Recording Studio, as well as her upbeat positive vibe and performance presence. This is who she is, prepared to bring back the pop/rock genre we all loved a decade ago. Making it current and making it new, Bronnie is ready, are you?
We all have to admit, this track was FIRE when it was released; actually, all of the Pussycat Dolls' songs were TUNES! This was sung on The X Factor today, and I just had to review the video. The problem I had back then was Nicole Scherzinger taking on the lead vocals and the other girls were more like backup singers. Regardless, I still bought the albums and singles. They were full of sassiness and sexiness, much like Fifth Harmony now, only with a lead singer. Totally turning themselves into strippers, the Pussycat Dolls loosen up some "Buttons" with Snoop Dogg in this music video.
The Pussycat Dolls were a six-piece group, at this time, consisting of Nicole Scherzinger, Carmit Bachar, Ashley Roberts, Jessica Sutta, Kimberly Wyatt and Melody Thornton. They made a massive name for themselves back then, becoming one of the biggest American girl groups around at the time. Regardless of the problem with Nicole Scherzinger being the lead singer and the other girls giving backing vocals, the songs were amazing, enough for people to forget about the problem with the group and just focus on the songs. If it weren't for this group, we may never have had Nicole Scherzinger. Yes, she may have made it all on her own, but I doubt she would be as big as she is right now. Not only that but the other girls have started making a career for themselves now too, which really proves that each girl in this group are just as good as one another and deserve to be a part of the music industry. They only had two albums, but if lyrics were shared like other current girl groups do now, then maybe they would've continued. The song features Snoop Dogg, real name Calvin Broadus Jr., who's one of the biggest rappers in the world, and he's made his name, he's made his fortune and he is still releasing music for his fans. This song was written by Sean Garrett, Jamal "Polow da Don" Jones, Jason Perry, Nicole Scherzinger and Calvin "Snoop Dogg" Broadus Jr.
Directed by Francis Lawrence, this music video is sexy, stylish and totally relatable. There's some great editing work in the video, with the fire and the chairs definitely making the girls look even more hotter.
There are continuity edits that annoy me, though. During the chair scene and the fire dancing scene, the girls lose a member. Melody Thornton isn't involved in these two scenes. She's definitely not a part of the chair lap-dance scene, with the Pussycat Dolls dropping down to five members. As for the fire dancing scene, she disappears when the girls are on their backs in a circle formation, only she reappears later on when the circle is finished. For those of you who notice this, it's an annoyance that I certainly can't get over. It's bad enough that Nicole Scherzinger takes the spotlight in the verses and most of the choruses, but excluding Melody Thornton completely is shocking, even if it was at her request.
Snoop Dogg's inclusion is mysteriously intricate. He's seen as this guy who the girls want to be with, and his rap lyrics does the song justice, but he just doesn't look the part.
Overall, sexy, stylish and on form throughout. A few annoying continuity edited scenes that although are worked well with the help of some CGI, it tries to hide the fact that they are missing a girl.
Tulisa is back, and boy is the female boss back! Having been away from music for a while, she is now ready to make a massive comeback, and this new version of this song has got everyone loving her again. This club anthem tune is so catchy, you'll be singing along the next time you hear it, guaranteed. It's stuck in my head right now. Tulisa is on holiday, once again, in her music video for "Sweet Like Chocolate", catchy, sexy, and totally on form, she is loving life and she is ready to make a massive comeback.
Tulisa, full name Tulisa Contostavlos, first came on the scene with N-Dubz. After they disbanded she had a successful solo career with "Young" being her first number one. It is unlikely that this new song will make it to the top, but it'll definitely chart well, especially with how catchy the song is. Featured on the track is Akelle, full name Akelle Charles, who is known as part of trio: WSTRN, who's song "In2" peaked at number four in the UK. The song interpolates Shanks & Bigfoot's song of the same name "Sweet Like Chocolate".
This holiday music video isn't anything new from Tulisa, she's clearly enjoying her life and she wants to show everyone. It has a similar narrative as "Young", yet less of a story and more about having fun.
Akelle adds a fun rap lyric, that breaks up the song nicely, but the whole visual is simple and uninteresting. Having seen many videos like this before, there's just nothing new being brought to the table.
Various extreme-water holiday amusements are shown in the video, to show extreme excitement, and that Tulisa has no fear. She's on holiday, having a good time. She's healthy, she's happy and she's totally genuine.
It's a pleasant sight to see, it's like she's back to herself. Now she's ready to come back to music and do what she loves. I hope she follows this single up with new amazing music because I am loving the vibes coming from this new track, even if the video isn't as great as I hoped it would be.
