I really am looking to YouTube to come up with music videos I can review quickly so I can finally catch up, since I am 25 blogs behind, at the moment - I am determined to catch up, and I will. I was planning on doing Spice Girls' "Spice Up Your Life", but that's already done, then I came across Lady Gaga's "Judas", but I think that music video is going to take up too much of my time, for now - I will review it at a much later date - so then I stumbled across this one, and I'm surprised I haven't reviewed it yet; although to be fair, it's one of Britney Spears' weakest music videos. Watch black-haired Britney Spears pole dance while blonde-haired Britney watches with amusement before checking out a guy in the bar, in this music video to "Gimme More".
Britney Spears needs no introduction, she's one of the top female singers in the entire world who still manages to get chart hits when she needs to. She has recently finished her Vegas residency, which has certainly led the way for many singers to take on Vegas residences after her first set of shows were completely sold out. Reverse back in time, though, and Britney Spears was hitting all the headlines as she went through some personal struggles, and this song and it's subsequent album was released around that time. This was certainly a new side of Britney Spears and the music video really shows that her head wasn't into it - same goes with the other video released from the Blackout album "Piece Of Me" ("Break The Ice" doesn't count since it is an animation visual). The song still climbed high on the charts, regardless of the negative critical reception the video and song got. It managed to peak at number one in Canada; number two in Brazil, Denmark, Ireland, Italy, and Sweden; and number three in Australia, Norway, the UK, and the US. The song was written by Nate Hills, James Washington, Keri Hilson, and Marcella Araica.
Directed by Jake Sarfaty, the music video is beyond basic and certainly isn't on par with what we expect from Britney Spears. Although, this song is certainly the beginning of "It's Britney, Bitch".
There's a slight narrative going on as we see blonde-haired Britney Spears enjoying a drink at a bar, whilst black-haired Britney Spears starts pole-dancing. Britney enjoys watching Britney's show before taking an interest in a guy who is also drinking within the venue.
The dancing isn't anything amazing, and to be fair I do pole dance much better than Britney Spears in this video when I go clubbing - as there is one venue with a pole on the dancefloor. She's quite methodical, clearly thinking about the steps she's taking and what she should do.
The music video was edited and re-edited, with a leak of the previous version being released in 2011. This version omitted the blonde-haired Britney scenes and included the female singer walking down the street and being in a zebra-print bed with a cat. It's clear that no matter what version was released and no matter how this was edited, it clearly couldn't have been saved. However, I much prefer this version, as it gives off a slight narrative that is relatable to the song itself; so, I guess it was a good decision to re-edit the video.
I have been obsessed with the recently released song "Boom Boom" by RedOne, Daddy Yankee, French Montana, and Dinah Jane; that is a re-work of this track. So, having already reviewed that music video, I thought I might as well review the music video to this classic track; that certainly takes me back to my childhood as it was released back in 2000 when I was seven years old. I certainly don't remember this music video though. Watch three young adults go out and have some fun and just live their life in this music video for Modjo's song "Lady (Hear Me Tonight)".
Modjo were a French duo consisting of Romain Tranchart and Yann Destagnol (also known as Yann Destal). They released one album and five singles, this one being their debut and biggest hit. Their follow-ups never quite hit the mark around the world, although "Chillin'" hit number 12 in the UK. The band members went their separate ways in 2003, focusing on their own solo careers; Romain Tranchart went down the producing and remixing path, whereas Yann Destal went on to release an album which gained moderate success in France. It really is this track that made them a total one-hit wonder. It hit number one in the UK, Ireland, Italy, Romania, Spain, and Switzerland. The song samples Chic's "Soup For One". It was written by Yann Destagnol, Romain Tranchart, Bernard Edwards, and Nile Rodgers.
Directed by François Nemeta, the music video displays three young adults having a spontaneous day, where they just go with the flow and have a good time. It does make me think that this is where the idea of the Tim Berg "Seek Bromance" music video came from.
There are a few interpretations of this music video, some people seem to think that this is a polyamory relationship, whereas others think the one guy is just the third wheel. Either way, it's that shower that makes us all question what is really going on. Although, it's pretty clear that one of the guys and the girl is in a relationship with one another - that shower scene is definitely on the sexy side.
The narrative shows them purchasing a car and hitting the road to a festival where a lot of older adults are attending. Line-dancing is shown as well as a stage show, where a guy throws a bottle at one of the three main characters - which then leads to the shower scene. Then the car breaks down - was bound to happen - and the final scenes see them on top of a hill.
Overall, this music video doesn't make the concept clear and seems pretty unrelatable to the song. The one guy, who some refer to as the third wheel, feels more like our main character, which doesn't make sense compared to what the song is about; you would expect the other guy to be more of the main character. This music video displays free spirit with the young adults being carefree, which doesn't correlate to the song at all. It does get a slight kudo for Modjo appearing as backing characters, did you spot them? They were the car salesman and the mechanic. Yet, they don't add anything to save this as a whole.
Backdated Chart Mondays again, as I focus on catching up week-on-week. I will do this, I promise. Ed Sheeran remains on top with "Perfect", and therefore allows one of the top ten from the UK Singles Chart, to be reviewed by me. This one is dropping out. It is officially Marshmello's biggest selling single to-date which certainly goes on to show that this masked DJ is on top form for 2017, but can he keep it going as the new year comes through? The same goes for Khalid who will no doubt become a big star in the next few years. This was an undeniable catchy collaboration, that totally worked in both of these artists favours, I just wish the music video was that little bit better. Watch Khalid and Marshmello perform and bring a sense of unity in this inspiring and lovely music video for their collaborative single "Silence".
Marshmello has really stepped up to the chart music world recently with some incredible collaborations, proving why he is one of the top DJs in the world. He's been a name we've all known for some time, making waves on stages, at festivals, and in the dance music world, but didn't really have an identifiable hit until this one and "Wolves" came along. Now he's a force that we are all watching, prepared to see what else he brings to charts around the world. Featuring on the track is Khalid, full name Khalid Robinson, who is certainly a rising star, managing to fully stamp his way into the international music industry. We all know that the next few years will see him dominate charts around the world, especially with the hype behind him. This song, unsurprisingly, hit charts hard around the world, peaking at number two in Norway, and number three in the UK and New Zealand. "Silence" was written by Khalid Robinson and Marshmello.
This music video is mainly a performance piece with a narrative set within. We watch Khalid leave a building and get on his bicycle before the song starts. He has a subtle stage presence as he sings whilst sitting on the bike, backed up by four other cyclists and Marshmello on his own bicycle.
Their bicycles certainly draw the audience in as they have lights wrapped around the wheels - why did we not have them as children? Such a great idea! The narrative shows a bunch of people who aren't having the best of days being cheered up by Khalid and Marshmello and the rest of their group with their neon lights.
As for the performance side of things, Marshmello comes off more as an unanimated mascot for Khalid and the song, rather than displaying what he does best - where are those DJ decks? As for Khalid, he has this relaxed style of performing that doesn't release any energy or inspiring vibes; it's certainly his voice that makes us enjoy this song because he doesn't bring anything addicting to the visual itself.
Overall, I so expected this to be a lot better. More focus on the characters within the narrative would've allowed this music video to be more gripping and engaging for the audience. Instead, we're left with Khalid and Marshmello, not really living up to their incredible artistry; maybe they were just too tired from cycling everywhere and pouring their energy into creating the track; leaving the video to not meet our expectations. The narrative saves this from being a total disaster.
I forget that Alexandra Burke has collaborated with Pitbull, mainly because, this song and music video, collectively, isn't that memorable. I remember really not liking this visual and purposely avoiding it on the music channels, way back when. I just feel this is a low-budget and annoying concept that they came up with to film a party music video. Kudos for it being different, but it's certainly not to my liking. Watch Alexandra Burke party the night away all night long with a bunch of friends as the footage is taken from 50 cameras filmed by the party-goers in this music video for "All Night Long" featuring Pitbull.
Alexandra Burke is best known for winning the fifth series of The X Factor in the UK back in 2008. She has had a number of hit singles, including this one and has gone on to have a great career. She's gearing up to release her third studio album in the next couple of months, so I'm more than excited about that. She has recently been promoting herself by taking part in Strictly Come Dancing, where she came second; and, previously, she played the lead role, Rachel Marron, in The Bodyguard UK Tour. I'm sure with some great promotion behind her, she will make an epic comeback to music, with her third studio album. Featuring on the track is Pitbull, real name Armando Pérez, who is an American rapper who everybody pretty much knows. He has established his name in the music industry and continues to collaborate with the biggest and the hottest rising stars in the industry. This song did pretty well when it comes to chart success, all around the world, but didn't bring in quite the high numbers compared to previous singles. The song is undeniably catchy, but I have to admit, I'd rather not see that music video ever again. "All Night Long" was written by Richard Butler, James Scheffer, Louis Biancaniello, and Sam Watters.
The music video was directed by Dale Resteghini. To film this video, Alexandra Burke asked her family and friends to record the actions of this all night long pool party on pocket video cameras. The video opens explaining this in a few short words.
This concept is so stupid. It totally loses the audience, in my opinion. If I'm going to watch a party music video, I want to see something I admire, a great sense of performance energy from the artist, and something totally different and unexpected. It is a unique concept and something different, but I certainly don't mean that in a good way.
There's literally nothing entertaining going on in this music video. The cameras are moving too much, so much so that the viewers find it difficult to focus, and Alexandra Burke comes off more like an empowering dominant female who everyone follows orders from.
As for the Pitbull segment, it's clever he appears on the TV however he doesn't save this video at all. In fact, he just brings his typical Pitbull appearance to this scene and correlates his scene with the rest of the music video, with the dodgy filming. This is something I hope I never get to see again. On the other hand, I adore the song and will continue to hear it on my iTunes.
I know! I know! I know! I'm so far behind on my blog, it seriously looks like I'm never going to catch up, but you have no idea how hard I work and I am on a focused catch-up spree for the next few weeks, so expect music video review after music video review. I only know Becky G from her collaboration with Cher Lloyd on "Oath" so it'll be interesting to see what her biggest song of her career, to date, is like. It is quite a cheesy pop number but one that is crazily addictive and definitely lovely. Watch Becky G lounge around at her house/pool party whilst sexily singing in the shower fully-clothed in this music video for her hit single "Shower".
Becky G, real name Rebbeca Gomez, has really come into her own, recently, especially since she played the Yellow Ranger, Trini, in the 2017 film, Power Rangers. This could certainly skyrocket her as an artist with her getting more attention, which she certainly deserves if this song is anything to go by. She rose to fame after one of her videos caught the attention of Dr. Luke, who quickly signed her to his record label Kesombe Records. As Kesha's lawsuit is still ongoing, who knows what the outcome will be, let alone what will happen to the artists on the label, regardless, this song went viral and charted well in the US, although it didn't do so well in the UK, although number 80 is nothing to be snubbed at since the UK Chart rules isn't exactly helping new artists hit the scene. The song was written by Rebbeca Marie Gomez, Lukasz Gottwald, Henry Walter, Theron Thomas, and Timothy Thomas.
Directed by Tim Nackashi, this music video is pretty basic. It is totally a typical party music video, with some cool editing techniques and Becky G fully going for it with the fully-clothed shower which shows that she's prepared to try things to make the visual link with the song.
There's not a lot else to say about this music video because it really is simple, with some of the lyrics transcending right into the visual. Not only that but before the song even starts there are product placement and promotion, which definitely reminds me of an Avril Lavigne music video such as "What The Hell" or "Rock N Roll".
The pure performance music video certainly puts Becky G in a brilliant spotlight, showcasing her energy in every way. This is certainly something I can't fault her on, and she sure makes this video good; unfortunately, it's not memorable because it has been done so many times before.
