Another great song from the Eurovision Song Contest 2015. This time it cuts right through my Christmas Special 2016, purely because I want to finish my Eurovision Song Contest Special before the end of the year. Russia has recently been doing well at Eurovision, and this is definitely a song that deserved to win, and one that gets better with every listen. Russia came second with 303 points, just 62 points away from the winner. In this music video for "A Million Voices", we see very beautiful different people as well as Polina Gagarina giving the song her all, which is to be expected.
Polina Gagarina is a prolific Russian singer, she has really made a name for herself and almost won Eurovision for them. A singer like this deserves international fame, and so she continues to try. She released a new album called "9", which was interesting, to say the least. Click here to see my review on the album for CelebMix. She is currently a coach on Golos (the Russian version of The Voice), and on her team was fellow Eurovision 2015 contestant Aminata, who sang "Love Injected", before she got knocked out during the Battles. C1R was the broadcaster who chose Polina Gagarina through internal selection. The song she sang was written by Gabriel Alares, Joakim Björnberg, Katrina Noorbergen, Leonid Gutkin, and Vladimir Matetsky.
This music video is extremely basic, it coincides with a few other Eurovision music videos that haven't got a lot going on.
The shooting of the video involved 25 people of different ages and ethnicities. This really shows during the video, and explains that we are all the same regardless, we're all human.
That is the story of the song itself and it's such a beautiful song that I was hoping that the music video would do the same, but there's just isn't enough substance to it.
Polina Gagarina's performance piece is amazing as per usual. She's gorgeous and definitely camera friendly. She shines singing this song in the music video, so it's no wonder she did amazingly on the Eurovision stage. It's just a shame there isn't a much more expansive music video to relate to the song.
This is just one of those moments that makes you think: "Did this really happen?" And now this is part of my Christmas Special 2016. It's one of those things that you wouldn't expect to happen. Mariah Carey's original version of "All I Want For Christmas Is You" is not only iconic, but it's still very current. It's the one that always charts highly every Christmas, and it's one a lot of people love. It's highly catchy and is one of those ones that people look forward to hearing on the radio. So why she thought it was a good idea to do a new version with Justin Bieber, we'll never know. Watch Justin Bieber shop in Macy's, buying everything and anything, whilst eyeing up Mariah Carey; then later giving out presents in this music video for "All I Want For Christmas Is You (SuperFestive!)".
Justin Bieber is one of the biggest male artists in the world right now; many people have become fans of his music after his recent album. His Purpose album is full of amazing songs that everybody is still talking about today; who knows what the next album will bring, but no doubt it will be amazing. However, when this song was released as part of a Christmas album, he was still coming into his own. His own Christmas song "Mistletoe" is still pretty good, but maybe he needs to release another Christmas album, with a single that will top the charts; it would certainly make a change to see a Christmas song at the top of the UK Singles Chart for Christmas. Teaming up with Mariah Carey, this version of this classic song was released as a promotional single in some countries. She is one of the biggest female artists in the world. She has definitely made a name for herself, made her money and is still current when she wants to be. This should've done well globally, but it's nothing compared to the original.
Directed by Sanaa Hamri, the music video shows the two superstar artists in Macy's. Justin Bieber is a customer, piling everything and anything into his shopping trolley, whilst Mariah Carey poses on a stand as if she is some sort of mannequin.
She winks at him and then the music video progresses as she comes alive. Shoppers wait outside Macy's to get gifts from these two stars.
They throw presents out to the crowd; at times, it looks like Justin Bieber is trying to throw them as far away as possible. There is definitely some power behind those throws.
He does look quite childish next to the highly professional and sexy Mariah Carey. His performance piece is pretty cute, which is a contrast to Mariah Carey's performance piece, who is being overly sexy. It doesn't really gel well, but nor does the song.
The narrative doesn't relate to the song, although I guess you could suppose they are singing to one another. As a whole, I'm not quite so keen on it. However, it is completely festive, and I suppose it's good that they tried to switch up the original. But, even Mariah Carey can't beat the original, and it's her own song. Nice try though.
Another Ariana Grande music video a part of my blog, but the first to be a part of a special; she now debuts on my Christmas Special 2016, I knew she had a Christmas music video, even though it does seem pretty unprofessional, as everyone keeps mentioning in the comments, but fun music videos can be unprofessional. Sometimes artists need a fun time, not a popstar big music video, and this is what this is. Fun. Fun. Fun. Watch Ariana Grande spend time in a house with her friends, celebrating Christmas while she sings her song "Santa Tell Me".
We all know who Ariana Grande is, she grew up on our TV screens on TV show "Victorious", and then later as a main star in the spinoff "Sam & Cat", all on Nickelodeon. Afterwards, she launched her music career and the rest is history. Now she's one of the biggest female singers in the world. With her brilliant voice and her amazing career, the future will forever be bright for this girl. This song was released in 2014 and did mediocre on the charts. It was written by Ariana Grande, Savan Kotecha, and Ilya.
Directed by Alfredo Flores and Jones Crow, the music video is pretty simple. Ariana Grande throws an exclusive Christmas party for her and her friends, at a house.
The opening scene sees her and her friends in a bed with animal hats on, goofing around. They mess around in pretty much every scene.
There's a slight dance sequence on the scenes, but the choreography is too simple as if they came up with it on the spot.
It's cute, it's simple, it's nice, there's not much else I can say. The best part is totally the ending, not because it's finished but because they show some outtakes, which are pretty funny.
Overall, it's cute, it's Christmassy, and it's fun. That's all we need. Ariana Grande deserves some fun in her life at least and this was it. I'm glad she had a good time on set because that really shows.
Another 2016 Christmas song, and another one where proceeds go to a charity. This one was released a couple of weeks ago and so is now part of my Christmas Special 2016. Cruz Beckham, according to his parents, famous footballer David Beckham and posh spice & fashionista Victoria Beckham, have always stated how Cruz Beckham is musically inclined, so it's no surprise he has launched his music career, even if it is a child-like voice with a cute music video. Watch Cruz Beckham spend time in London skateboarding and performing amongst glitter, snow and smoke in this "If Everyday Was Christmas" music video.
Cruz Beckham is the new boy on the scene. He comes from a famous background. His mother is Victoria Beckham, who was one-fifth of the Spice Girls - one of the biggest girl bands in the world - and then later became a fashion designer. As for his father, David Beckham is known mostly for his football career, he has gone on to be the face of many advertising campaigns and has gone down the fashion route with H&M. Their oldest son, Brooklyn Beckham, has recently gone on to model for brands; but now it's Cruz's turn to hit the fame lights. All proceeds go to Make A Wish Foundation.
Directed by Jesse Jenkins, the music video is definitely super cute. It shows Cruz Beckham rolling around London on his skateboard; as well as studio filming, where he performs his song whilst snow and glitter rain down on him; and don't forget the smoke.
There isn't an awful lot going on, but it is cute and does include family and snow, which is kind of Christmassy. Oh and London, which isn't Christmassy, but it is the place I want to move to and the place I want to live.
I like the failed attempt at a glitter angel; nice idea. There's nothing else I can comment on. It's a super cute music video, that includes family and snow, what more can I say? There's a few segments towards the charity, but not a whole lot.
Here's The X Factor's winner's single, and it's actually a Christmas song this time around. Adding some Christmas spirit might just get the winner's single to the top of the charts once again. Yet, that didn't quite happen, since it was quite the competitive week. Clean Bandit with Sean Paul and Anne-Marie is still at the top with "Rockabye". This song peaked at number three, and since it's a Christmas song, I had to include it in my Christmas Special 2016. Watch Matt Terry perform "When Christmas Comes Around" at the live final, with snapshots of the charity work that is done in support of the sales.
Matt Terry won The X Factor's thirteenth series, in a very close final with Saara Aalto. He later signed with RCA records instead of Syco, in quite a surprising move. Instead, Syco signed Honey G, and possibly has some other up-and-coming plans to sign up other acts. They plan to make Matt Terry the next Olly Murs, but the only comparison we can see is the fact that they're both male and that they are now on the same record label. Will this just be another winner who will disappear? Time will tell. This song was written by Ed Sheeran and Amy Wadge.
The music video is a pure performance piece, which we watched during the live final of The X Factor. The only difference is that they have put a black and white filter on; which, I suppose, is to give it more of a festive Christmas visual. Yet, it makes no difference and actually makes me want to watch a different video that's actually in colour. I just don't like black and white music videos, unless there is a specific reason for the filter.
The single's proceeds will go to charities: Together For Short Lives and Shooting Star CHASE. Throughout the music video, Matt Terry's performance piece is cut between snapshots of what these charities do, and how they help people.
It's a typical charity music video, it's a typical X Factor winner's music video, although using the winner's live performance of the song instead of a studio visual is something different, that we haven't seen for a while. It just feels like we've seen this sort of music video way too many times and it's the same old same old. We want something new.
