I wasn't sure what music video to review today; and, since BTS has certainly proved that they are a force to be reckoned with, pushing k-pop into international mainstream music; it's about time they made it on to my blog. They continue to release songs that get everyone enjoying. The BTS Army - their fans - are sure making waves all around the world as they continue to support BTS in every single way, and it's admiring how they've managed to become an international chart-successful group. Watch BTS take us to the galaxy whilst they show off their incredible dancing in this universe inspired music video for their song "DNA".
BTS are a seven-piece boy group from South Korea, consisting of Jin, Suga, J-Hope, RM, Jimin, V, and Jungkook. The group was formed by Big Hit Entertainment and they released their debut single in 2013. Since then, they have been building their fanbase, determined on making a global impact, and they sure have done that. BTS are the group to watch as they bring k-pop into mainstream music with the intention of keeping it there and truly allowing it be a genre flooding charts and radio. This is not one of those one-off singles, k-pop is finally here to stay, truly and properly. This song managed to chart all over the world, including my home country of the UK. "DNA" was written by Pdogg, Supreme Boi, "hitman" Bang, Suga, and Rap Monster (RM).
The music video was directed by YongSeok Choi. It shows enhanced images of DNA whilst the guys perform choreography that mimics the chemical structure of the molecule. It uses CGI-enhanced sets that really emphasise BTS in every way. Their performance piece is so on-point, there's no way I can fault them on their dancing.
Just wow! This group sure knows how to put on a show. Just imagine the amazing energy they would bring on stage at one of their gigs or live shows. They're all in such perfect sync and they literally go all out. The choreography is completely complex, to the extent that I reckon high-profiled artists would not be able to pull that off. If it was just them performing, then it'll certainly be getting my maximum five stars.
However, the scenes aren't easy to follow and the whole thing comes off as a bright explosion whilst being completely quirky, and not in a good way. It is addicting, enough to put anyone into a trance, but it doesn't follow anything, making it quite confusing to any viewer - I guess DNA itself can be confusing to those who don't understand it. BTS are on form, and I can't wait to see their world domination intention become reality because I am so ready.
We finally have a music video for this number one song, just as it steeply falls down the UK chart. I could've done with this when it was at number one instead of having to keep mentioning it didn't have a music video, which was true at the time. Now as it drops out of the top ten and Camila Cabello stays strong at the top spot with "Havana" featuring Young Thug (she's later knocked off, but this blog is backdated); we get to watch the music video and I get to review it for my Chart Mondays review. Watch Post Malone fight with samurai swords covering himself and the room with blood as a battle rages on in this music video for "rockstar" featuring 21 Savage.
Post Malone, real name Austin Post, is a hip-hop artist who has had a number of hit songs in the US. It takes a lot for hip-hop tracks to make it over the water to the UK, but this track surely did, whereas his previous tracks only charted moderately well. Personally, I think this song did so well because of it not having a music video, and only the chorus was released on YouTube, therefore sending everyone on to streaming services to hear the song - just like Drake did with his song "One Dance"; which still doesn't have a music video. This song features 21 Savage, real name Shayaa Abraham-Joseph. He is an American rapper who has been making some waves in the music industry, this song has certainly pushed his success, that's for sure. This song was written by Austin Post, Shayaa Abraham-Joseph, Louis Bell, and Olufunmibi Awoshiley.
Directed by Emil Nava, the music video takes inspiration from Japanese action film Lady Snowblood. There are narrative scenes throughout but this is mainly a performance piece. Post Malone brings a bit of energy, but it's 21 Savage that truly shines in this video when it comes to stage presence.
As for the sword fighting, it's interesting but doesn't seem to tell any sort of story, there's just Post Malone dressed in white with his backup women fighters also wearing white, as they stab and slash at the enemies who are men, dressed in black, spreading their blood over themselves and the room, before it's all washed away with sprinklers in the final shot.
That's all there is to this music video, nothing stands out, the snake has too much screen time especially when it isn't doing anything specific, and there's just too much blood. It's obsessive and over the top, and doesn't really relate to the song much.
Now, how have I not reviewed this yet? My favourite collaboration in the whole world and the song is such a jam too! Well, it's time I rectify this and write up a review of this music video. The song is a killer but it nearly didn't get released, as it was originally an Inna song, with her singing slightly different lyrics, it was "from Argentina to Mexico", but it obviously got changed for this collaboration - to be fair it does feel more like an Alexandra Stan song. It works well as a collaboration and certainly brings the fire. Many people referred to it as the Romanian answer to Shakira & Rihanna's "Can't Remember To Forget You". Watch Alexandra Stan and Inna wear sexy clothes as the perform this song and knock out some killer choreography, whilst Daddy Yankee performs a segment in this music video for "We Wanna".
Alexandra Stan is one of the biggest female Romanian artists around at the moment, she went viral with her song "Mr Saxobeat" which charted all around the world, she hasn't managed to follow through with that success with any of her follow-up songs, although most of them are flat-out amazing and catchy in every way - just take a listen and you'll have no choice but to agree. This collaboration sees another top Romanian female artist perform the song alongside her. Inna, real name Elena Alexandra Apostoleanu, is a worldwide artist and has over two billion views on YouTube. She has fans in countries all around the world and rose to fame with hit singles "Hot", "Amazing" and "Sun Is Up". She's collaborated with big stars and hit it big again with "More Than Friends", "Cola Song", and "Good Time". Yet, it's her latest singles that have risen to the top with "Gimme Gimme" and "Ruleta" having over 100 million YouTube views. I am waiting for the day she has a global chart hit in every country - it's bound to happen sometime soon. They later collaborated together, again, on G Girls' "Call The Police". Featuring on this track is Daddy Yankee, real name Ramón Rodríguez, who is one of the biggest latino singers around, he's hit it big a number of times, most notably with "Gasolina" and extremely recently with "Despacito". This time, he's bound to stay on form and hit out chart single after chart single. This song should've been a worldwide hit; disappointingly so, it only charted in a few countries, turning this into a treasured hit by many. The song was written by Ramón Ayala, Jacob Luttrell, Andreas Schuller, and Thomas Troelsen.
Directed by Khaled Mokhtar, Dimitri Caceaune, and David Gal, this music video is another performance piece from Romanian artists Alexandra Stan and Inna, as well as Puerto Rican artist Daddy Yankee. However, the female singers switch it up by actually performing a dance sequence. Yes, Alexandra Stan and Inna are actually dancing in this visual.
The visual starts off with a Lenovo phone ringing, suggesting that the song's backing track would be perfect as a ringtone. Someone flips the phone over and answers the call from Alexandra Stan - could this possibly be Inna's phone?
We then flit over to a close up of a chandelier and various other shots as the collaboration between Alexandra Stan and Inna truly begins. This song combines the Saxobeats and the Club Rockers, making both fandoms very happy that their dreams of a duet is finally here.
The following scenes see both artists perform the song in various outfits and settings. Alexandra Stan is overly sexualised, to the extent where all eyes are on her. I hate most of the outfits she is wearing, and she just comes across too much of a try-hard. Inna, on the other hand, is more reserved in her fashion choices and certainly comes off a lot better. My favourite performance segment, apart from the dancing scene, is totally Inna's stage scene. Although each scene, from each of the artists, are pure fire, these women sure know how to bring the energy.
As for Daddy Yankee, he clearly filmed his segment somewhere else, but the constant switching from scenes makes it feel like he was actually there. He brings the same amount of energy throughout whilst Alexandra Stan and Inna prepare for their dance battle and choreographed sequence - this is the scene that grabs us all.
Overall, this song is a complete banger of a tune - it should've been a worldwide hit. The accompanying music video is overly sexualised, although it looks like Alexandra Stan and Inna had loads of fun during the party at the end, and it sure gains kudos for their dance sequence, which is pure fire. Both these artists need to do full-on choreography in one of their upcoming music videos because they are certainly more than capable. It's also nice to see Daddy Yankee break up the song with his segment. A perfect song and a pretty great video.
Okay, time to kill me now... Can you believe I've never seen this music video? Yeah, I know, I know. It's the most watched video on YouTube at the moment, and I still haven't seen it. Well, this week I'm having a Daddy Yankee addiction, and I cannot believe I haven't covered this on my blog - mainly because the Justin Bieber remix made it go global and I kept on hoping that version would get a music video, but it never did. This version, surprisingly, is a bit different to the remix and it is very noticeable. Watch Luis Fonsi and Daddy Yankee perform in La Perta neighbourhood and the bar La Factoría in San Juan, Puerto Rico in this music video for the global international hit song "Despacito".
Luis Fonsi, real name Luis López-Cepero, is a world-renowned Latin-pop singer, who's mainly known for this song due to its popularity. It literally blew up and then Justin Bieber adding his vocals to the remix certainly launched this song into a worldwide hit. Luis Fonsi has been in the music industry since the late 90's and has certainly proved that hard work and persistence definitely pays off. Finally, he's now known all around the globe. He definitely deserves it, especially looking at his contributions to music over the years. All it takes is that one song to launch someone. He's been hitting Latin charts for many years, though. Featuring on this track is Daddy Yankee, real name Ramón Rodríguez. He's the one who hit charts hard with "Gasolina" but didn't keep the chart hits although he certainly made a name for himself. This collaboration pushed him right back into the spotlight, although he's been trying to do so for many years; only this time Daddy Yankee is here to stay, that's for sure. With the release of this song, Latin-Pop has returned to charts around the world, it's popular once again and it's not going anywhere at all. The song was written by Luis Rodríguez, Erika Ender, and Ramón Ayala.
Directed by Carlos Perez, this music video really hasn't got a lot to it, surprisingly! I was so expecting an incredible music video in every way, one that will amaze and shock me, especially since it's the most watched video on YouTube at the moment. Why is this not incredible, it's completely mediocre - people need to watch better music videos.
Starring in the music video is Miss Universe 2006 winner Zuleyka Rivera. We watch her walk the neighbourhood and act sexily, whilst Luis Fonsi and Daddy Yankee bring energetic performance vibes, ones we totally expect to see on stage, one day.
If anything, Luis Fonsi impresses as he takes on some of the choreography throughout, although it's only a step or two whereas the backing dancers go all out. The music video ends with them in a popular bar as the song finishes.
Overall, there's nothing much to this music video, it's a typical Latin-Pop performance visual, with nothing exciting to keep us entertained; well, unless you count that one risque dance move that will shock anyone watching this for the first time. I was expecting something so much better than this average video, that's for sure.
As soon as this dropped, I knew I'd be using it as my New Release for this date, after writing up about it for CelebMix. The song has been out for over two weeks now, but this blog is backdated as I attempt to catch up on my blog posts. I have supported Sam Callahan since I stumbled across "Runaway Train", and have continued to support him as the years have gone by, he even became Artist of the Month on my blog, back when I was focusing on those posts. Now he's got another brilliant song out, and I can't get enough of it. Watch Sam Callahan walk through a forest as three women throw colour powder over him and cling to his tee, eventually ripping it from him in this sexy music video for "Burns Like Fire".
Sam Callahan is a UK male singer-songwriter who has been releasing music for many years. Most notably, he was a contestant on the tenth series of The X Factor, where he made it to the live shows and came seventh overall. Since then he has been working on new music and has been dropping a lot of teasers, we've already had "Bigger Things", which was then followed up with "I Love It When You", and now we've got "Burns Like Fire" which is an extremely addicting track. He later dropped a remix and a live acoustic version of the track. The song was written by Sam Callahan and Jamie Sellers.
Directed by Johnny Marchtta, this music video has to be Sam Callahan's best one to date, for sure. There's not a lot going on throughout, as this male singer-songwriter walks slowly through the forest. Acting as his three love interests are actresses and models Rebecca Liddle, Jo Marney, and Jazmine Martin.
Taking the "before it all blew up in my face" lyric and turning it into colour powder, this music video centres around that. As Sam Callahan walks through the forest, each girl approaches, throws the colour powder at him, clings on to him, and pulls at his t-shirt.
By the end, all three women surround him and throw powder before attempting to tear his t-shirt off him; they eventually do and we're treated to a topless Sam Callahan. We then see him wake up in bed - it was all some weird colourful dream, or so he thinks. He flings the duvet from him and we see that he's covered in the colour powder. What really happened then? Your guess is as good as mine.
Overall, it's a clever concept of a music video. It's addicting, enjoyable, and interesting in every way. They all look like they had great fun filming the video, although it's clear that Sam Callahan's necklace gets in the way at times. I hope the future music videos from this talented male singer is of the same high quality.
