Louisa Johnson - So Good



This dropped recently, and I just HAD to review it, especially after hearing it live at the Kiss Haunted House Party 2016. This full on party anthem was initially sung for the first time at the Kiss Haunted House Party 2016, where I captured the entire performance of the song. It was released the following day and then was performed on The X Factor, just last week. The song is her first solo effort since winning the contest, not counting the winner's single "Forever Young". Louisa Johnson goes out, it was only meant to be for an hour or two. A bar performance and a brawl all happen in this "So Good" music video.

Louisa Johnson won the twelfth series of The X Factor. She is known as the only winner never to hit the top two with her winning song; unfortunately, she got to number nine with "Forever Young". However, teaming up with Clean Bandit for song "Tears" was an amazing idea and once again pushed her into the limelight. This definitely helped to further her potential success. This song is completely catchy, it's party inspired but quite a slow ballad pop song that we can't get out of our heads! It was written by Steve Mac, Chelcee Grimes & Ed Drewett,

Directed by Emil Nava, a constant name we hear often in the directing of music videos. this was obviously going to be theatrical from the first few seconds.

Louisa Johnson performs in bed, clearly waking from a possible nap? Other scenes show her performing at an empty petrol station and a bar.

This bar is an important part of the music video. She steps onto the stage and sings the song. The bar is practically deserted apart from the drunken guys, one of who steps up to her and dances. This guy is shoved away by her crowd.

The girl group later go outside to beat up the men outside who are ranting at them. It would've been good if they had all cartwheeled forwards at the same time, but it's slightly out of sync. Louisa Johnson just stands in the middle and sings.

As a whole, it's an okay music video. It's clearly high-budgeted and has a similar feel to Alexandra Burke's "Bad Boys", yet it's trying to make Louisa Johnson way more classy. It incredibly theatrical, yet nothing to follow-up. The video does suit the song well, though.
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will.i.am Featuring Justin Bieber - #thatPOWER



Literally didn't know what to review today, so I let my iTunes pick by playing all my songs on random, this one came up and I was like, okay. I am slightly surprised I haven't reviewed this yet. It was released after the awesome collaboration with Miss Britney Spears on "Scream & Shout". It worked well. will.i.am becomes robotic whilst Justin Bieber is a hologram in a futuristic take during the music video of "#thatPOWER".

will.i.am is quickly becoming a household name, if he isn't already. Definitely one of the leaders in the music industry, his real name is William Adams. He has worked with some of the biggest stars, and his own band, the Black Eyed Peas, are embedded in history as one of the biggest groups. There is really no stopping will.i.am and I cannot wait to see where The Voice UK coach ends up. Collaborating on this track is Justin Bieber, another high-profile male artist, with various hits under his name just like will.i.am. Such a massive collaboration, it's no wonder this song did so well. It was written by William Adams, Damien Leroy, and Justin Bieber.

Directed by Ben Mor, and filmed in Japan, the video features will.i.am as a robotic dancer, Justin Bieber as a hologram and there are appearances from Japanese dance group World Order.

There is an alternative music video available to watch alongside this one through Shazam. This additional video has no audio; it is supposed to give you an alternative viewing experience by allowing you to view it alongside this one so you can notice the differences.

As a whole, it's an innovative idea, definitely futuristic, which makes it quite clever since the music video is futuristic.

The dancing is on point throughout, we expect nothing less from will.i.am. However, I find it very unfortunate that Justin Bieber wasn't there in person. The hologram makes him look dead or something, suggesting he never made it to the future. The dancing is occasionally out of sync, but it can be forgiven since they are subtle.

World Order are amazing in their scene. Defying dancing as we know it and managing to easily stun us throughout.

There's not a lot else to comment on. This is totally interesting from start to finish, and it feels like it's part of a bigger picture. There's just something missing, there should be a more expansive narrative. Nothing continues the video on, it's hard to understand what is going on.
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New Release: Johnny Robinson - Deliver Me



Okay, so this was someone I didn't like on The X Factor, a joke act on the show, so to speak. Now he's this glorified drag queen, and I like him a little more. I kind of wish he had entered The X Factor as Sarah Lee, as I would've supported him all the way through The X Factor. However, is this just an attention-seeking alter-ego, especially when we have credible artists who are drag queens like RuPaul and Conchita Wurst. If he had released this song as Sarah Lee, and encouraged people to call him by that name when he's in drag, then fair enough, but personally, to me, this is an exposure ploy. Johnny Robinson, dressed as Sarah Lee, performs in this music video for "Deliver Me" whilst a guy plays the violin.

Johnny Robinson was a contestant during the eighth series of The X Factor. He came eighth overall. Various other artists from that year have gone on to have successful careers, whether that's in music, on the stage or in other ways. Regardless of what people said, the eighth series managed to create some artists that are highly talked about to this day. Johnny Robinson has previously released music, most notably a Christmas song in 2012. Now, as Sarah Lee but known as Johnny Robinson even when he's dressed in drag, he has released this single. It was written by Jon Marsh and Helena Marsh.

The music video is extremely basic, but I have to give kudos for Johnny Robinson; he looks stunning as Sarah Lee. It really shows what makeup and a wig can do! Sarah Lee looks fire!

It is mainly a performance piece, the thing is Sarah Lee isn't performing that well, Johny Robinson did much better on The X Factor stage, but in this music video, he seems more concerned about looking good for the camera rather than trying to give a good performance.

I don't quite understand the violin player, perhaps he's the love interest that Sarah Lee is singing to, but it just fails to flow.

At the end of the day, I think Johnny Robinson should continue to release music as Sarah Lee. I'm sure he would have a more successful career as a drag artist. However, they should release the music under Sarah Lee, rather than confusing the world by putting his actual name on the track.
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Michael Jackson - Thriller



This was obviously going to be a part of my Halloween Special. This music video is monumental, it's iconic, it's the one everyone still talks about today! My blog has been going for over five years, and it shocks even me that I have never reviewed this music video, actually I don't think I've ever watched it from start to finish before today. But now, it's time to redeem my blog by making sure this gets reviewed, and what better way than being a part of my Halloween Special? Michael Jackson turns into a werewolf and a zombie in this "Thriller" music video, but is it all just in her head?

Michael Jackson, what am I meant to say about THE Michael Jackson? He's a total legend, everyone knows who he is and he definitely shaped music as it is today. Surprisingly, this song didn't chart as well in the UK as it did everywhere else as well as his other singles. It got to number 10 in the UK and has yet to peak higher than that, regardless of the multiple entries in the UK chart. The song will forever appear on Halloween playlists and is always the first song people think of regarding Halloween. "Thriller" was written by Rod Temperton. It was originally called "Starlight", but through many transformations, it became the title it is now.

Michael Jackson had a vision for this music video, having seen 'An American Werewolf In London', he wanted the director of the movie to be the director of his music video. John Landis agreed. The love interest is played by actress Ola Ray.

We watch as a car runs out of fuel, Michael Jackson and Ola Ray start to walk home. He asks her to be his girl and gives her a ring to make it official. That's when he admits that he's not like other guys; he next transforms into a werewolf and chases after the girl.

The scene changes to modern-day with Michael Jackson and Ola Ray in the cinema, watching the previous scene. She leaves the cinema because she's not enjoying it. Michael Jackson follows her out and starts to sing the opening verse, whilst dancing around her.

They walk past a graveyard; this is when Vincent Price's vocal part kicks in and we watch skeletons rise from their graves, almost like zombies. They catch up with Michael Jackson and Ola Ray circling them.

This is where Michael Jackson turns into a zombie and the iconic dance scene begins. This is completely flawless from start to finish. The choreography really focuses on the storyline and makes it relatable. Everyone is in sync and it's more than perfect.

Ola Ray runs into a house and shuts the door but that doesn't stop the zombies from coming in and chasing her. Zombie Michael Jackson closes in. But the next moment, he's back to normal and there are no zombies. Ola Ray calms down and gets off the couch, allowing Michael Jackson to take her into his arms. What she doesn't see is Michael Jackson looking back at the camera and his eyes gleam yellow. He surely isn't like other guys.

The ending was recreated for Britney Spears' epic video for "I Wanna Go". The iconic dance scene has been covered plenty of times. This video as a whole has got it all, and it is definitely one of the best music videos ever made. It's got a great narrative, a brilliant performance piece, and an eerie ending that you can't help but love!
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Rockwell - Somebody's Watching Me



My Halloween Special isn't all about the new Halloween songs, old ones have to totally be included as well. Although I am more of a fan of the more recent version of this song by Beatfreakz, which is also called "Somebody's Watching Me", there is just something more haunting about the original. The song features Michael Jackson singing the chorus, with Jermaine Jackson provides backing vocals. Rockwell arrives home thinking that "Somebody's Watching Me" inside his house. He envisions items and people, turning it into a very paranoid music video.

Rockwell, real name Kennedy Gordy, is the son of Motown founder Berry Gordy. He had a short-lived career in the 80's, releasing three albums and ten singles. This debut single is his biggest hit, possibly because of the featured vocals of Michael Jackson as well as the backing vocals from Jermaine Jackson. The song hit the UK charts at number six, but Beatfreakz did better by hitting number three in the UK. In the US, Rockwell hit number two with this song. But got to the top spot in Spain and Belgium. The song was written by Rockwell.

The music video is low-budget and directed by Francis Delia. It's a complete narrative with a short performance piece embedded within.

Rockwell arrives home to discover his house has become haunted. He envisions various things, from his dog being a mutant pig, to someone watching him in the shower. It's relatable from start to finish.

The star is really not having the best time in his house. Even the people on the TV come up to the screen and watch him. There's also this freakish butler who appears in the background of the thumbnail. He also envisions himself buried in the graveyard, as well as various other spooky things.

This is inspired by the film 'Psycho', but the visions is reminiscent of 'The Dead Zone'. The haunted house theme is a classic Halloween storyline that always manages to scare. Michael Jackson, unfortunately, doesn't appear in the music video, regardless of the fact that he provides the vocals for the chorus, neither does Jermaine Jackson.

The ending of the video leaves it on quite the cliff-hanger, maybe his visions were all leading up to this point. It's a great low-budget music video that has everything we could possibly need. The singing in the shower performance piece isn't so engaging and feels a little too fake and Rockwell is totally not comfortable being filmed in the shower.
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