Critic Jonni

Issues - Julia Michaels |

Songwriter turned into an artist with a hit song, Julia Michaels has had support from internationally-known artists and now she's quickly becoming internationally famous herself. This week she reached number ten on the UK singles chart; with Ed Sheeran still at number one with "Shape of You", it opens the top 10 to my music video Chart Monday reviews, and this was literally my only option. I'm not exactly a fan of the song, but I admire her for her songwriting career, and it looks like she's made it as an artist too now. Watch Julia Michaels reveal that she and her lover has "Issues" and problems, yet there's an obvious attraction between the pair.

Julia Michaels has been a permanent mention within my blog posts since she has written some of the best songs by my favourite artists, people like Britney Spears, Fifth Harmony. Rita Ora, Little Mix, Nick Jonas, and Sofia Carson. Now she has the spotlight all to herself, and her song has gained momentum, It took some time, but "Issues" is a definite grower of a song, which is why it has now started charting well globally, months after it was released. The song was written by Julia Michales, Benjamin Levin, Tor Hermansen, Mikkel Eriksen, and Justin Tranter.

Directed by Tabitha Denholm, the music video shows Julia Michaels singing to her love interest, who is played by actor Alexander Koch - who some may know him from Under The Dome, where he played James "Junior" Rennie.

The opening scene sees them both in bed together, under the covers. There's clear chemistry between the two, chemistry I wish I had with someone, but nope, I'm single; while snapshots show her singing in the kitchen. She walks to the bedroom, but he's no longer in her bed - where has he gone?

She walks outside to what looks like an outhouse, where he is talking with another woman, who turns out to be Julia Michaels all dressed up. As a party ensues, she watches him across the room as he flirts and connects with another woman. Julia Michaels sidles up to another guy, and Alexander Koch's jealous stare is all too obvious. It's clear that the party was the night before, and while everyone went to sleep, Julia Michaels gets up off her chair and dances all alone, as he sits back and watches.

Closing scenes see them in the bed together again. It's cute and goes well with the narrative of the song, but I feel a slight disconnect, to be fair I feel the same disconnection with the song itself. I think I kind of expect more from her because of her amazing songwriting skills, and I have the same feelings towards this as I do towards Ina Wroldsen's "Aliens (Her Er Jeg)". I just feel something is missing.

Buy on iTunes

Rendez-Vu - Basement Jaxx |

Another one of the headliners for Birmingham Pride 2017, and another I am not so interested in, only because I feel like their an old group - they have been going for over 20 years, and they weren't a big part of my childhood. Their music isn't really my style and although some of their songs hit it big, where we all enjoyed their music; some could say that their music was overplayed for that time, and doesn't last long enough. This song is their highest chart number, at number four in the UK; yet, I barely remember the song, and even though it is quite catchy, I don't enjoy listening to it. Basement Jaxx just aren't my cup of tea, but I respect them for creating music for this long and giving some surprising hits. They have their own mark in musical history which is still there today. Watch a dog's dream turn into an interesting battle over a woman in an interesting comedic story that also includes rock, paper, scissors in the music video for Basement Jaxx's "Rendez-Vu".

Basement Jaxx are an electronic duo consisting of Simon Ratcliffe and Felix Buxton. They have been going for over 20 years and have a number of 00's hits to their name. They have been releasing new music in recent years, but they haven't charted with these songs. They remind me a lot of Daft Punk - I think it's to do with the voice coding software used on their tracks, which is why they were so popular since that was all the range back then. I truly think they could make a comeback because Daft Punk managed to do it, but they need a hit behind them for that to happen. This song charted well globally; although, I was only six years old at the time, I barely remember the song. It was written by Simon Ratcliffe and Felix Buxton.

The music video was directed by Evan Bernard. It is a pure narrative and totally interesting from start to finish. I believe the concept was definitely before its time, and if it were to be remade, it would look incredible now.

We watch a dog sleeping as the opening scene, and we then follow a boy to a crowd who is watching a guitarist that has a Mexican vibe going on. He is portraying a scene in his music, where we watch bikers drive over a desert, clearly on a mission. We go into the past as we see the leader telling his story, about being with a woman and having a good time with her. They are interrupted by a Mexican wrestler, who is wearing a mask and is the boyfriend of the woman, and he breaks the lover's hand, which is then replaced with a record player needle.

We then realise it's the woman who is now telling the story to her colleagues. She's working where the Mexican is playing the guitar. His story continues as the wrestlers see the bikers drive across the desert, and they plan to meet them in the village. They both arrive at the village at the same time and square one another off. A battle of rock, paper, scissors takes place with the winner getting the girl.

At the end, the dog wakes up and we realise it's all been a scenario in the dog's dream, and it wasn't actually true. It's cute that the dog dreams about these sorts of things, although I don't see how the overall storyline relates to the song specifically. It's interesting and fun, but it's not something I'd happily watch again.

Buy on iTunes

Be the One - Dua Lipa |

Starting my Birmingham Pride 2017 Special is Dua Lipa, who is one of the headliners for this year's event. I'm not really into her music, and I definitely won't be in the main tent watching her, but I have to admit that she is one of the biggest up-and-coming female artists out at the moment, and she's slowly getting some hits behind her. However, I truly believe she's on a rocky fence, she needs a massive chart-topping hit soon or she might just completely crumble, like so many artists we've seen before. She's extremely current right now, she just needs to stand the test of time, and a chart-topping hit will do exactly that for her right now. With her debut, eponymous album prepared to release the week after Birmingham Pride, she's got to have an exciting new track that will blow us away, otherwise, she will end up disappearing. Watch Dua Lipa perform in this music video for "Be The One" that was filmed around Soho, London. See her sing her song amongst the streets we all know.

Dua Lipa is a fairly new artist on the scene, but she has already had some great chart numbers, this one being her best hit to date; although her collaborations with Sean Paul helped the success of this song for sure. Their track together, titled "No Lie", also charted in the top ten in the same week that this song did. She just needs to keep a hold of her fame and bring another chart-topping hit, it's the one thing she hasn't done yet, and this song just isn't that. It was written by Lucy Taylor and Nicholas James Gale (Digital Farm Animals).

The music video was directed by Nicole Nodland. It's a pure performance visual, and it's the type of presence we're probably are to expect from her on the Birmingham Pride 2017 stage. It's chilled back and relaxed, whilst she portrays the emotion for the song.

There's various London streets being shown, that are easily identifiable, enough where I know I've walked there before. There are some great profile scenes and the editors have done a fine job with this as an overall piece.

However, Dua Lipa just isn't my sort of performer, I just don't feel the passion behind this song that she needs to delve deep and deliver to me. Her voice is strong, don't get me wrong, but I truly don't think she'll become as big as others have in the past. She's very current, and very right now, but I don't think she will be able to stand the test of time, and I'm still quite surprised she's a headline act at Birmingham Pride, especially since she hasn't even released her debut album yet. However, the same could've been said about Jess Glynne back in 2015 when she was a headline act at Birmingham Pride 2015, so Dua Lipa might just follow in her footsteps - well, minus the number one singles, obviously.

Buy on iTunes

Hey Ma (feat. Camila Cabello) - J Balvin & Pitbull |

Out of all the releases this week, this is the only one I've actually bought. There are two versions of this song and two versions of this music video (although they are very similar). One of them is in Spanish with Pitbull & J Balvin as the main artists, and then there's this English version as J Balvin & Pitbull - which was released today. There isn't much difference between both music videos, hence why you can find the previously released Spanish version below. This song is part of The Fate of The Furious (Fast & Furious 8), and as a soundtrack music video, there are scenes from the film in this visual. Watch J Balvin and Pitbull's English/Spanish music video for "Hey Ma" that features Camila Cabello for The Fate of The Furious, as they dance and sing amongst cars.

J Balvin, real name José Balvin, first came to my attention when he collaborated with Inna, on her song "Cola Song". I actually have to sing his name every time I read it - just like he does in the said song. He also collaborated with Sofia Carson for "Love In The Name". But this is the first song of his I've heard, the first one that he doesn't appear as a feature - instead, he's the main singer. He's a Columbian latin singer and has won a few awards for his songs, yet this one is definitely going to give him more of a spotlight, especially teaming up with American rapper Pitbull - who has also had success with Latin-inspired music as well as thousands of different genres. His real name is Armando Pérez, and has also worked with Inna - twice, but mainly known for "Good Time". He's a successful international artist, and there is definitely no stopping Pitbull. Featured on this track is Camila Cabello, now officially away from Fifth Harmony, she's stepping up her game and pushing her name out there through featured tracks. Having already been successful on collaborations with Shawn Mendes and Machine Gun Kelly, on tracks "I Know What You Did Last Summer" and "Bad Things", we're sure her career is going to go places in the future. This song was written by Armando Christian Pérez (Pitbull), José Balvin (J Balvin), Karla Estrabao (Camila Cabello), Jamie Sanderson, Tinashe Sibanda, Philip Kembo, Soaky Siren, and Johnny Yukon.

Directed by Gil Green, the music video is definitely spicy and sexy. It has quite the Spanish flair to it, and as an English version, it's not quite so intimate as the Spanish version is (which can be found at the bottom of this review).

The opening scene is a welcome sight, as we watch Camila Cabello walk the streets and interact with the people around her; before making eyes at J Balvin who kicks off the singing. There are some great interactions between this trio, although it looks like Pitbull was unavailable on the first day since he isn't in the scene with Camila Cabello and J Balvin; instead, he jumps out of a car that looks like it's from the set of The Fate of the Furious (Fast & Furious 8). He's scene involves him dancing in the middle of a group of women dancing around him. Typical Pitbull, and yet he's stylish and looking cool, in his posh clothes. He's not the best dancer, but he knows that and rolls with it, giving his scene perfect fire.

There are a few scenes from the film they are promoting, although not enough that it distracts from the music video itself. The film is something that I do plan to see, but I don't think this music video shows enough to make people want to see the film.

As the music video progresses, there's a night scene with J Balvin and Camila Cabello. It's sexy and full of flirting, and they do well to show just that. But our favourite scene is where the whole trio is dancing together in front of the camera. Unfortunately, it's clear that lighting was a problem with this specific scene, but they've done well with it and all three of them clearly got along well.

Overall, it's a Latin-inspired music video, that feels so right when you are watching the Spanish version of the song. As for the English version, it doesn't quite fit so well. It's clear that that language doesn't quite belong in this specific place. Regardless, the English version is something radio will be playing, and as it gets warmer here we expect this to become an early summer anthem for us all.

Buy on iTunes (English Version)
Buy on iTunes (Spanish Version)

Hey Ma (feat. Camila Cabello) (Spanish Version) - Pitbull & J Balvin

Put Your Graffiti On Me - Kat Graham |

There are two music videos to this, and I'm not entirely sure which one is the official video, regardless I chose to review this one as it was the first video that was released and features more scenes. However, I do prefer the other one in comparison, and I'm not the only one since the other one has a million more views than this one. Putting comparisons aside, I might review the other one sometime in the future but for now, we're sticking with this one. Watch Kat Graham dance her way sexily through this music video with some killer choreography segmented with intricate profile scenes during this music video for "Put Your Graffiti On Me".

Kat Graham is best known for playing Bonnie Bennett in The Vampire Diaries. Some may know her from Honey 2 playing Maria Ramirez, but this music video shows her in a whole new light. I chose this song because I recently reviewed "Sometimes" earlier this week, and for my Thursday Revisit I was interested to see if she's reflecting who she really is in her music and the accompanying music videos, and she surely is. She's sexy, confident, and fierce, both on the tracks and in their respective music videos. This song is her biggest hit to date (if you don't count her uncredited vocals on will.i.am's "Got It From My Mama"). The song was written by Nick Audino, Lewis Hughes, Sam Watters, and Matt Bair.

Directed by Benny Boom, the music video heavily features dance choreography from Sheryl Murakami, however as the second music video for "Put Your Graffiti On Me" reveals, a lot of the dancing was cut completely out, for profile visuals, which doesn't quite add anything to the music video, if anything it makes it less engaging.

She shines throughout the dancing segments, whilst fades in the profile pieces. Kat Graham is a performer, she's destined to stand on a stage and fully unleash energetic dancing vibes out to a crowd. The scenes where she's singing the song fail to keep the audience interested. She attempts to be sexy and stylish, and although she can pull it off, the dark themes surrounding her just makes them fall flat.

Overall, this video could be much better, and the second version proves that it can be. The video just fails to keep us interested throughout; however, Kat Graham remains fierce and attempts to bring it, which slightly saves the video.