Hard choice today when I had to choose one of RAYE's songs for my Birmingham Pride Special; I almost, almost, went with the Jax Jones collaboration titled "You Don't Know Me", but I decided on this song and music video instead, purely because this is her own song, and the sort of music she wants to sing, whereas a feature isn't necessarily her song and can be used just to get her name out there. I can definitely see her bringing this song passion and emotion on the Birmingham Pride 2017 stage. This song has some serious R&B vibes going on and it's definitely one that easily gets stuck in my head. Watch RAYE perform on an ice rink with her guys around her, bringing it throughout in this music video for "I, U, Us".
RAYE, real name Rachel Keen, is a British singer who has been able to get her name out there thanks to two awesome collaborations, one with Jonas Blue on the song "By Your Side" and the other with Jax Jones on "You Don't Know Me". She has yet to manage to chart with her solo songs, even though she has released four so far, and two EPs. This song is her latest, and I expect that she has many more releases planned, and one has got to be a hit - surely. This song was written by Fred Gibson, Rachel Keen, Charlotte Aitchison, and Jonnali Parmenius.
Directed by Charli XCX - yeah, I'm just as surprised by you are, seeing this name as director - the music video is set at an ice rink. It's a pure performance visual, with RAYE totally standing out, what with being the only female amongst the group.
There are some great profile visuals where she certainly brings some passion to the table with this song, Yet I feel like she has more to give, like there's just something missing.
It's nice to see her relax and spend time ice skating. And towards the end, a guy falls over, which is kind of funny. Clearly, they had a great time on set, it's just a shame Charli XCX stayed behind the camera the whole time. These two must be close friends for Charli XCX to direct the music video. There's not much substance to this, and I would've liked to have seen something more.
It's been a while since this has happened, and although technically one of these top 10 has dropped a music video, they dropped it on Tuesday 18th April, and I'm writing this catch-up blog for 17th April since it's a Chart Monday, so as much as I want to review that new music video, I can't.
So instead, there is no Chart Monday today. Surprisingly it's not Ed Sheeran at the top, although he is still dominating with three entries inside the Top 10 UK Singles Chart. I really do need to sort this out and twist up my Chart Mondays since they aren't really working all that well.
Again, there isn't much of a change in the top 10, and this could be down to Spotify and other streaming sites. I admit that I did like the idea of including streams, but now I'm hating on them because of my Chart Mondays not working out the way I want them to. Here are the songs in the top 10...
I have to admit, I wasn't so keen on this song when I first heard it, now I think it's a banger of a song! This is the only artist who will be performing at Birmingham Pride 2017 who I am a fan of and I intend to see. Out of all the acts that have been announced, it's disappointing to know that I am only a fan of this artist and none of the other announcements, and I so hope they reveal more acts as it's not looking like a great Birmingham Pride at the moment. This is Louisa Johnson's latest single, and it's definitely a grower, although the music video should've been better. Watch Louisa Johnson perform in a plane graveyard, where she throws a party where she's supposed to be on her "Best Behaviour".
Louisa Johnson was the winner of the twelfth series of The X Factor and she has yet to release a debut album. As the winner of the show, you would expect Louisa Johnson to be releasing hit after hit after hit, and that hasn't really happened for her - although I fully love her songs, they're not raging chart successes, and they really need to strategize their next move with her, otherwise she could just disappear like many other winners before her. I've seen her live once at Kiss Haunted House Party, so I know she's going to perform amazingly at Birmingham Pride 2017. This song has not charted well at all, managing to peak at number 48 on the UK Singles Chart, but it could easily climb in the next few weeks. It was written by Ben Kohn, Danny Parker, Pete Kelleher, Tom Barnes, and Shungudzo Kuyimba.
Directed by Sarah Chatfield, the music video is a pure performance visual that sees Louisa Johnson pick up her friends in a bus before taking them all to a plane graveyard where they have a massive party.
It's quite an interesting place to set the music video and they really have made Louisa Johnson look amazing. The profile shots are perfect, seeing her perform her song on the wings of a plane; although there is a blue-filter which distracts the visual.
The choreography isn't anything special but Louisa Johnson is clearly loving every bit of this music video and is just having fun. It may not be completely polished. It may not be perfect. But it's something different. The song is definitely a grower, and deserves to climb up the chart!
Another pop star from the early 00's, Jamelia rocked our whole worlds way back then with this complete tune that still gets stuck in our heads to this day. She is a part of my Birmingham Pride Special, as she has been confirmed to be performing on the Birmingham Pride 2017 stage, which is only a few weeks away, now. She hasn't released any new music in over 10 years, now succumbing to being a TV personality, having been one of the presenters on Loose Women. Watch Jamelia strut her way with utter confidence in this fierce music video for one of her biggest singles "Superstar".
Jamelia, full name Jamelia Davis, had a successful recording career during the 00's and was definitely one of the defining British female singers, but like many, she never stood the test of time, and even though she keeps promising a brilliant comeback album, no new music has materialised, and as the years turned into a decade; we can safely say we don't think Jamelia will be returning to music ever; with only one-off appearances here and there. She could make an awesome comeback if she tried, but I don't think that's on the table. This song was an international success, and it's still extremely catchy today. It is a cover version of Christine Milton's song of the same name "Superstar". It was written by Remee, Mich Hansen, and Joe Belmaati.
Directed by Dominic Leung, this music video is a pure performance piece that sees Jamelia sing her song while two backing dancers accompany her every step.
There's choreography throughout, which was definitely popular back in the 00's and I specifically remember copying the Superstar dance moves during the chorus, didn't we all?
She's completely fierce in this music video and nails the entire dance sequence. Yet there's definitely something missing, and there's more focus on sexualizing the video than actually showing Jamelia off as a performer and an artist.
Here is another act who will be performing at Birmingham Pride 2017. I have to admit I used to be a fan of Sophie Ellis-Bextor when she was releasing those amazingly catchy chart-worthy disco hits, but now she's gone down a more relaxed music route and it's just not for me. She has clearly lost a lot of her fanbase going down this different route, hence why she no longer charts on the UK Singles Chart, however she does well on the albums chart every now and again. On the other hand, it's nice to see her release the music that she wants. Watch Sophie Ellis-Bextor go about life in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico in this music video for upcoming single "Death Of Love".
Sophie Ellis-Bextor is a big name from back in the day. She had many amazing hits, including "Take Me Home", "Murder On The Dancefloor" and "Get Over You"/"Move This Mountain", back in the early 00's, but it went downhill from there, with her follow-up singles underperforming, before not charting at all. She's actually quite lucky that there is a buzz around her, and that she still manages to chart on the UK Albums Chart. Her latest album Familia, which this song is the fourth single from, charted at number 12. She recently made an appearance as one of the judges on the UK's national selection show for Eurovision 2017, titled Eurovision: You Decide - she received great comments from Twitter as she wasn't over the top or fighting for attention like the other two judges. This song was written by Sophie Ellis-Bextor and Ed Harcourt.
This music video is intricate, it was filmed in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico and shows Sophie Ellis-Bextor off as if this is a place where she lives. She goes about her day, singing her song and doing what she wants.
It's really serene to watch, but there's just no substance to keep the viewers gripped. I feel that she isn't enjoying performing this song as if it's just a song she chose on a whim. She's completely relaxed throughout but it's all too relaxed as if she has no passion for this song.
The town is clearly beautiful, and this visual really shows off Puerto Vallarta perfectly, I just wish there was more of a performance from Sophie Ellis-Bextor. The whole thing just feels unrelatable, and I'm not that interested in seeing her at Birmingham Pride 2017.
