Sergey Lazarev & Dima Bilan - Прости меня


Прости меня - Sergey Lazarev & Dima Bilan |

WOW! When two top Russian Eurovision representatives from different years, come together, magic happens! This is the result and it's absolutely incredible! I sure hope this isn't the one and only time Sergey Lazarev and Dima Bilan collaborate because we need more of this! One of them is from Eurovision 2008 which he won (he also previously competed in 2006 coming second), the other graced the stage in 2016, also coming second. Together they sure are a force to be reckoned with and this is beautiful and authentic. Watch Sergey Lazarev & Dima Bilan perform their collaboration song amongst a forest and on the beach before turning into animals at the end, in this music video for "Прости меня"

Sergey Lazarev is best known for representing Russia at the Eurovision Song Contest 2016, where he came third with the song "You Are The Only One"; during the votes, he came out on top in the public vote, but it was the jury vote where he didn't score enough points. Overall he scored 491 points under the new voting system. He has gone on to release more addicting music (including this song) and continues to prove he is one of the top male Russian artists in the industry. The same can be said of Dima Bilan, the collaborator on this track. He has also represented Russia at Eurovision, he competed at the Eurovision Song Contest 2006 and the Eurovision Song Contest 2008; he came second in the former with his song "Never Let You Go" where he got 248 points, and won it in the latter with his song "Believe" where he gained 272 points; all of which was under the old points system. This is why this is a brilliant and epic collaboration! Surprisingly, the song didn't chart well in Russia, or in any other country, so it will definitely go down as a global treasure, one we all love but not enough to get it to chart well. The song translates into English as "Forgive Me" and is about asking a lover to forgive. It was written by Roma Kenga.

Directed by Leonid Kolosovskiy, the music video is displayed in black and white for no reason other than to stop colourisation and perhaps give it a solid sad feel to the song - which works but doesn't mean I have to like it. It's purely a performance video, that allows each artist to send out the emotion of the song.

The guys bring it for the visual, Sergey Lazarev is there bringing the passion in a forest-like setting, whilst Dima Bilan gives us all sorts of chills as he sings on a beach. He even drops a pocket watch with an image of a woman on to the sand - talk about hitting us in the heart.

There are some scenes that see them together, walking down a path that later splits off. There is also a whole performance scene in a totally different location against a black screen - it adds more depth because they are totally performing, but it looks quite odd mixed up in the other scenes.

I do love the final part, where Dima Bilan rushes into the water - we're very happy about seeing a wet Dima Bilan, but he soon turns into a dolphin which is more cute than sexy. All the while, Sergey Lazarev turns into an eagle as he runs to the top of a high-point. It's clever and cool, with some great emotional realness throughout. However, there's so much that could've been included, we needed more depth and the black and white visual doesn't add anything either.
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Carla's Dreams - Pana La Sange


Pana La Sange - Carla's Dreams |

I'm totally on a Carla's Dreams fix at the moment with their addicting songs and interesting music videos. I wasn't sure I would like this as I heard a clip in a Global Records round-up of 2017, but it just stood out to me and as soon as I watched the video and the song in full, I fell in love with it completely. Carla's Dreams sure are making waves in the music industry, around the world. The anonymous group proves that you can have a great successful career as an anonymous group. Watch Carla's Dreams perform while contemporary dancers perform in a group translating the song into an incredible story for the song "Pana La Sange".

Carla's Dreams are a Moldovan anonymous group who have charted well in Romania and has collaborated with some of their best artists. Their music certainly has their stamp all over it and every single song is easily identifiable as Carla's Dreams; they seriously are bringing something new to the music industry in every way. This single was the lead single from their most recent album, titled "Antiexemplu"; and it sure has been popular. The song's title translates into English as "To The Blood". It was written by Carla's Dreams and Alexandru Cotoi.

Directed by Roman Burlaca, the music video has the main focus on the dance narrative, while Carla's Dreams performance is subtle and disinteresting - much like his previous performance pieces, allowing the dancers to fully show off their story.

The choreography is on point from start to finish. Working with water is never an easy task, but these dancers bring it in every way. Easily portraying a love/hate relationship, relating to the song perfectly.

What I don't like about the music video is the trance-like state it puts me in, and I don't mean it in a good way. The constant switching from a black background where the dancers are performing, to a stark-white background where Carla's Dreams is singing the song is off-putting and makes the audience blink too many times, in an attempt to keep up. It just doesn't work. However, putting that aside the awesome choreography makes up for everything.
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Chart Mondays: Ed Sheeran - Perfect


Perfect - Ed Sheeran |

It's Chart Mondays again for my back-dated review and it's the week that Ed Sheeran climbs up to the very top of the UK Chart with his addicting sweet song "Perfect". Since it is the UK number one, and still is three weeks later, I have to review the music video for Chart Mondays. It is quite a Christmas-themed video with his intention to have it as the Christmas number one, which he surely did that when he released "Perfect Duet" featuring Beyoncé as well as "Perfect Symphony" featuring Andrea Bocelli, combining all sales and streams - I expect this song to remain at the top for some time. Watch Ed Sheeran and Zoey Deutch go on holiday together to Austrian ski resort, Hintertux, where they spend some sweet time together in the snow, in this music video for "Perfect".

Ed Sheeran is a force to be reckoned with in the UK. His latest album sky-rocketed on charts all around the world, with all of the tracks charting inside the top 20 of the UK Singles Chart - an accomplishment that made the Official Chart Company change their rules so that such a thing could never ever happen again. This song, in particular, did well for itself, and is certainly one of those songs that many couples would choose as their first dance at their wedding receptions - it's just one of those songs, for sure. The one thing Ed Sheeran hadn't had, yet, was a Christmas number one, so the release of this song as an official single, with various versions released and this brilliant music video, certainly made the song stay at the top of the charts for the Christmas holiday season. The song was written by Ed Sheeran.

Directed by Jason Koenig, this music video stars actress Zoey Deutch as his love interest and was set in the Austrian ski resort, Hintertux. Ed Sheeran and Zoey Deutch really show off their acting skills as they display a loving relationship that's fun and full of sparks.

The completely narrative music video is beyond cute; it's actually adorable. They meet up in a restaurant after Ed Sheeran glances at an old photo on the train. We watch various scenes throughout; mostly, of them learning to ski before tackling the ski slopes.

There's a snowball fight scene and they create snow angels - I've still never done that. They later get pizza, treck through the forest and then eat the now-cold pizza in their log cabin. The box has a message from Ed Sheeran saying that he has a song for her, and that's when he sits her down and serenades her with this very sweet song.

There isn't a performance piece unless you count the serenading at the end. It's such a loveable music video that has lots of charming moments, but it doesn't bring anything new to the table and doesn't go anywhere. It's such an endearing visual that effortlessly relates to the song, but I just wanted something more.
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Carla's Dreams Featuring Delia - Cum ne noi


Cum Ne Noi (feat. Delia) - Carla's Dreams |

My iTunes is always on shuffle, and this song came on and I instantly fell in love with the song. I'm currently learning Romanian through Duolingo, and some of the words completely stood out to me during the whole song. It is also extremely catchy... I just had to review the music video. It is extremely basic with both a narrative and performance side to this, with the former quite difficult to follow. Both artists shine in this visual though. Watch Carla's Dreams and Delia perform the collaborative single "Cum ne noi" while we watch various couples display their love for one another in this music video.

Carla's Dreams are an anonymous group from Moldova who have made incredible waves in Romania. They are signed to Global Records and have collaborated with many major singers in the country. They're definitely doing amazingly in Romania and they sure are maximising their popularity in the world over. This is not the only time they've collaborated with Delia; recently they paired up for new song "Inima". Delia, full name Delia Matache, is a long-running musician from Romania who has had a mighty successful career to-date. She was a part of duo N&D, which was formed with Nicolae Marin, from 1999-2003, where they released four albums. As a solo singer, she has released another four albums to-date. This song translates into English as "What We Feel For Each Other", and the English translation of the lyrics certainly spikes my heart in every way, but it's the Romanian language which allows the song to feel personal and very real from both of these artists. It was written by Carla's Dreams while production comes from Sebastian Barac and Marcel Botezan.

This music video was released on the Cat Music YouTube Channel and is mainly a performance piece with scenes and clips from a narrative that isn't easy to follow.

This is completely basic in so many ways, with Carla's Dreams and Delia giving an energetic and hypnotic performance but they are lacking anything interesting unless you count his incredible swirl face-paint and Delia's beautiful make-up. They certainly make the perfect team and Delia has incredible facial expressions throughout.

As for the narrative, there seem to be two couples throughout. The first one sees the guy working hard as the woman decides to release a smoke bomb - hence her face mask - making him see her. They then work together to diffuse, what looks like, a bomb; before working together to escape a room. In total contrast, the second couple are madly in love with one another, teasing and playing and kissing. A pillow fight occurs - don't we all wish to do that one day - and a piano session; these scenes are beyond cute.

Overall, this is a great basic music video but there's nothing to keep us interested throughout the whole thing. This video doesn't go anywhere. What makes it that slight bit worse is that additional piece of material attached to Delia that opens up to display a visual of either the couples or one of the artists; this may have looked like a great idea on paper, but in actual effect, it just looks stupid. Otherwise, it's definitely a watchable music video, although I'd have loved to understand more about the first couple's story because that doesn't make sense. The second couple are just beyond cute and saves this video in every way.
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Cedric Gervais & Howard Jones - Things Can Only Get Better


Things Can Only Get Better - Cedric Gervais & Howard Jones

Once again, I'm letting my iTunes randomiser pick the music video I review today. This one got stuck in my head from the minute I heard it today, and lacking any idea of what music video to review, I thought, why not? Especially since I am completely behind on my blog and I seriously need to catch up! This music video is entertaining and the song is such an inspiration to me as things really can only get better! Watch JJ navigate through his day as he gets fired and follows a hot girl into a rave before restarting his day again in this music video for Cedric Gervais & Howard Jones' song "Things Can Only Get Better".

Cedric Gervais is probably best known for remixing Lana Del Rey's "Summertime Sadness". He's one of the top DJs in the world, hailing from France. He has had a number of hits, most of which are remixes or newer versions of popular tracks. He's certainly one of these DJs who come back around and around when it comes to the charts. This song speaks to me on an emotional level. It is a collaboration with Howard Jones, who is a recognisable face in the UK music industry, radio, and on TV. I didn't realise, though, that he was a singer and I am shocked to find out how many amazing hits he has released - I only know him for his TV appearances. He sang the original to this song, which has the exact same title and has a classic new wave style to it, which is expected since it was originally released in 1985. This version was released in 2013 and deserved to be a hit, but it wasn't; whereas the original hit number six in the UK and number five in the US, amongst other chart positions. It was written by Howard Jones.

Directed by Nicholas Cambata, this music video is set in the 1980's but there isn't an old filter to the visual and therefore making it difficult to comprehend that it's set in the 80's. It's a full narrative, with Cedric Gervais making a background appearance.

JJ is our main character and he wakes up to find out that he's been fired by his boss, Sonny. He doesn't seem all that bothered though, and gets up, gets changed, and walks down the street in time to this music as if he has this addicting song in his head. He meets various people on the street before spotting Michelle across the road and following her into this underground club where Cedric Gervais is performing.

This is where we get transported into JJ's point of view and watch the events inside the club unfold as if we are him. Towards the end of this scene, we see a woman blow him a kiss before we return to his bedroom to start a brand new day - or so we thought. It turns out that the day is the same day, repeated. He dons the same clothes and meets the same people on the street, doing the exact same thing. However, what's different this time around, is that Michelle isn't standing on the corner.

Still, JJ decides to see if the underground club is still there, so he follows the same path as the day before. I expected it not to be there, but it is, and once again the club event unfolds. Only this time, when he wakes up, Sonny has called him up and told him that he's getting a double promotion. It's true, things can only get better.

Overall, this music video is well thought out and extremely interesting. However, it doesn't make an awful lot of sense, although it does suggest that things do eventually come your way. It also suggests that clubbing and partying gives you promotions - if only that would happen to me. The song still speaks to me since I only have a Saturday job and have hardly any income at the moment, but I'm determined to change that - things can only get better for me and you and everyone else.
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