She was one of the first few to be announced for Birmingham Pride 2017 and having heard her sing live on The X Factor tour, I just know she's going to blow us away on the Birmingham Pride stage. I wanted her to win The X Factor, and I cannot wait to see what the future brings to her. This is the first time I have come across her songs and I adore this one, it's so catchy and does have a 007 James Bond theme to it as many have commented. Her voice is absolutely incredible, and will definitely take her places, it has to! Watch Saara Aalto sing about a guy who cheats on her with another woman, a guy who had her heart and chose someone else in this music video for her song "You Had My Heart".
Saara Aalto first came to my attention during the thirteenth series of The X Factor, where she placed second overall. Her voice and power were amazing on the show, and she came back week after week, fighting for her right to be in the competition. She proved herself time and time again, winning over the British public. This single was her second release overall, back in 2013. The song is definitely catchy and it's a shame it didn't become an international hit. She's now under the Syco record label, and so she might release a hit song soon, we all hope so. She's quite the fighter and most definitely an inspiration to many. This song was written by Saara Aalto and Teemu Roivainen.
Directed by Marko Mäkilaakso, the music video is both a performance piece and a narrative. In both scenes, Saara Aalto impresses to no end, as expected.
The performance piece shows her stage presence, her killer vocals and her amazing performance vibes. She could literally sing any song in the world and do it justice with her vocals. She exudes confidence and stage presence. She is loving having a backing band and it works so well, assisting her incredibly with the song.
The narrative is highly emotional, as we see Saara Aalto in what looks like a wedding dress, singing to her groom, who is played by actor Sergei Ionin. We later see her love interest meeting a blonde-haired woman, who is played by actress Evi Oivanen. They kiss passionately.
This storyline fits perfectly with the song, as we see Saara Aalto find out about the kiss. He's in love with someone else, whilst she's clearly in love with him. He had her heart and he's just used her. As the final scenes begin, we see Saara Aalto prepared to get her revenge, but we never find out what she does, leaving it up to us to wonder.
Overall, this video is a killer. It's fully relatable to the song, it has an incredible performance piece and an engaging narrative. This deserves to be seen internationally, with the song becoming a global success. Unfortunately, a four-year-old song would never get that chance. Regardless, this will forever remain our little treasure, as we watch Saara Aalto become the star she deserves to be.
We all saw this coming, especially since last week I didn't have a music video to review for Chart Mondays, yet the day after this video got dropped, which was slightly frustrating, why couldn't they have released it last Monday? Regardless, I might've struggled this week, so guess it goes in roundabouts and circles. Ed Sheeran has climbed back to the top of the UK Singles Chart with "Shape Of You" as he's UK Tour kicks off, which opens the Top 10 to my Chart Mondays review. I'm so glad this stayed in the top 10 so I could review it today. It's such a catchy song and it'll be in my head for the rest of the day, no doubt. Watch Zedd & Alessia Cara prove that just one small thing can change everything in this music video for their new song "Stay".
Zedd, real name Anton Zaslavski, has had a phenomenal career to date and has really proven himself as one of the top DJs in the world. This collaboration is just another hit of his. The only thing is that people may get this song confused with another single of his called "Stay The Night" which featured Hayley Williams from Paramore, due to the fact that the titles are very similar. Regardless, the song is another killer and is definitely a song I love hearing in the clubs. The song is a global success, which isn't such a surprise since it has combined Zedd's fans with Alessia Cara's. Real name Alessia Caracciolo, she has been slowly establishing her career, with this song being her highest charting single to date on the UK chart. The song was written by Zedd, Linus Wiklund, Alessia Caracciolo, Anders Frøen, Sarah Aarons, and Jonnali Mikaela Parmenius.
Directed by Tim Mattia, the music video relates to the song easily. It features a lot of back and forth scenes which are similar to that of Instagram's boomerang videos. This effect has been used a number of times in music videos, including Inna's "Gimme Gimme".
We see Zedd and Alessia Cara go about their day; they almost share an elevator but Zedd just misses out. Alessia Cara sits at a café pouring lots of sugar into her hot drink; whilst Zedd plays pool.
We watch a lot of, what I'm calling, boomerang scenes that are all in time with the music, yet as the music video progresses we see Zedd managing to get to the elevator in time. This totally changes the day, which sees Zedd and Alessia Cara spend their days together; and what a lovely couple they make.
It just shows that one small little thing can change your entire day, yet another small thing happens... Zedd doesn't look where he is going and walks into the road, backwards; subsequently getting hit by a car. A distraught Alessia Cara can be seen crying. It just shows that time can be short
It's a great emotional music video, that easily relates to the song. Zedd and Alessia Cara both look stunning in the visual, fully embracing their characters and portrayal of the song. It works well and definitely something I could watch again and again.
WOW! This surprised me, well done Birmingham Pride at getting this act for the main stage tent, she's going to nail it on the day, as this song is pure fire and I'm glad that it is a part of my Birmingham Pride Special. Nadia Rose is proving that the UK really does have great female rappers and she's one of a few rising stars that people are talking about. This video was shot in one exact take. Watch Nadia Rose walk down the street with a group of dancers in tow proving that she's one of the leading UK female rappers in this music video for her song "Skwod".
Nadia Rose has pretty much just launched onto the music scene, having dropped her debut EP in January 2017. She is the cousin of Stormzy; yet, with her brilliant voice, she's totally going to become a star in her own right. So far, she has released three official singles from her debut EP. I reckon more new music isn't far away and an album will follow. I truly believe she'll release a hit single in the future; so I suggest you keep your eye on this female rapper.
Directed by Reece Procter, the music video is shot in one complete take and sees Nadia Rose walking down the middle of a street with backing dancers. She sings along to the song and dances with her dancers.
It's a very cool music video, with Nadia Rose coming off brilliantly. She has this relaxed vibe about her, that I hope I'll be able to see her unleash across the crowd whilst on the Birmingham Pride stage. Yet, there is one major problem I have with this music video.
She's not in time with her backing dancers. There are many reasons why the choreography looks unpolished; sometimes it's meant to be, sometimes the artist hasn't practised with her dancers - which would explain why it looks like she hasn't got a great relationship with them; or maybe, she is just rolling with her relaxed vibe which means she doesn't really care about being in time with her dancers. Either way, it still comes off well.
The announcement of her being at Birmingham Pride 2017, may have been a slight disappointment to those of us who didn't know who she was, but just watch this music video; she oozes stage presence, so I suggest you are in the main tent when she is on stage because we're all going to be in for a real treat.
This trio has been announced for Birmingham Pride 2017, and I struggled to choose a video for my Birmingham Pride Special but settled on this one since it is the one that is the most recent. It's definitely quirky. The group is an electro group who have had mild success since they formed in 2008. Their style makes them one of the most perfect acts to be a part of the line-up for Birmingham Pride; and, yet, at the same time, they are another group I didn't know and so making the line-up even more disappointing. I definitely won't be in the main tent watching them perform. Watch Hercules & Love Affair blur the lines between the explicit and the abstract, layering them within the music video for "Controller" which features Faris Badwan.
Hercules & Love Affair is an electro project created by American DJ Andy Butler, alongside the DJ, the trio consists of Rouge Mary and Gustaph. The group have charted in the US and the UK, with their debut album and respective singles; although it was only mild success. They created the group in 2008, and have been establishing their career and continuing on with this project. They definitely inspire as they continue to release the music they want. The song is from their long-awaited fourth studio album which will be out in July 2017, apparently. This song is in collaboration with Faris Badwan, who is best known as the lead vocalist of The Horrors.
The music video was directed by Rei Nadal. It contains a lot of layers and various different visuals. The scenes are definitely quirky and relates to the song well.
It isn't your typical music video, and it fails to keep the audience engaged throughout. On the other hand, it's different and interesting. You want to know what's going on, yet the scenes get more and more bizarre as the music video continues.
It's quite scary, to be honest. It's not something I would want to watch again, and I'm not so keen on the song either. Regardless, as a whole it's intricate. Yet, it's something I'm not interested in watching again, and I will not be in the main tent when this trio is on stage.
Another Birmingham Pride 2017 act for my Birmingham Pride Special. This was one of the first artists that they announced who I didn't know. It was probably the start of my disappointments with this year's line-up. I am still waiting for some more announcements from Birmingham Pride, surely they have more to this line-up. Anyhow, BETSY impressed with this song, which is her most-viewed YouTube video to-date; her voice is reminiscent of Cher's voice, and with the right song, I truly believe BETSY could be pushed into international success. Watch BETSY perform her song "Lost & Found" in this music video, whilst driving around, acting sexy, and smashing up objects with a golf club; as you do.
BETSY hails from Wales and has released a number of songs. She's fashionable and professional. She landed a job designing at Balenciaga in Paris before deciding her heart lies with music and not with fashion. She is definitely a rising star. She has a distinctive Welsh-sounding voice that is very reminiscent of 90s popular music - her vocals would be perfect for a cover version of one of Cher's songs; or maybe, instead, she could do one better and collaborate with Cher, now that is something we'd pay good money to see! This song is her most popular, at the moment; although, I reckon she'll have much bigger hits in the future.
Directed by Can Evgin, the music video is a pure performance visual with little-to-no narrative included. Although, reasons as to why she is smashing up objects is beyond our ability to understand.
Throughout BETSY looks stunning; well, she's trying to look stunning. Her fashion choices are incredible and definitely makes her look sexy, but there's just something not right, just something that doesn't quite work. I believe it might be her facial features, the brown eyebrows with the blonde hair has always been a no-no in fashion, even though it's definitely kind of trendy at the moment; however, BETSY pulls off the luck like she's the trendsetter and it most definitely works for her. I'm not sure what it is.
There's not a lot to this music video, and I feel sorry for the cat ornament that BETSY smashes to pieces, as that looked really cute! The golf club really does smash the objects to pieces, but it doesn't add much more to the music video. The song is okay, and so is the music video, but I expect BETSY to release something much better and much more popular in the future.
