Once again, I feel like I'm filling up my blog with female solo artists, so I thought I'd choose a male artist to review for this backdated blog, and this one came into my head. I used to be a fan of Justin Timberlake when I was younger, which probably explains why this song popped into my head, but I really don't remember this music video being so bad quality. It's definitely a colourful music video, and I used to adore this song. Watch Justin Timberlake dance and fly and do all sorts of things in this music video for his song "Rock Your Body".
Justin Timberlake was previously in *NSYNC before he became this hot shot male solo artist, who is at the height of his career. He constantly brings out hits after hits, but following in the footsteps of his co-stars in the Mickey Mouse Club - way back when he was a child - Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera, his recent material hasn't bagged him high chart positions globally. Promotion is key nowadays for these big artists, and Justin Timberlake sure knows how to promote, which is why he's done pretty well chart-wise, although not completely brilliantly as he did in the early days of his career; such as this track. This was a global success, giving him his first Australian number one. In the UK it hit number two, and in the US it hit number five. It was written by Justin Timberlake, Chad Hugo, and Pharrell Williams. As for the female vocals, they were provided by Vanessa Marquez.
Directed by Francis Lawrence, this music video is a pure performance visual, that sees him perform in a cube-like room where multi-coloured lights make up the walls; they transition light effects bringing focus on the walls more than Justin Timberlake. It's a total distraction; not only that but the lights transform the artist, to the extent, throwing light in various ways in the shot, making it less appealing.
The dancing is on point in every section of this, which we totally expect from Justin Timberlake. He can dance and totally nail choreography in every way. It's good that he's in-sync with the backing dancers at certain points, and he nails the solos.
What I do not like is the fact that Vanessa Marquez, who provides the female vocals in the song, does not appear in the visual; instead, we have Staci Flood lip-syncing to the lyrics. She's been featured in a few music videos and was once a part of The Pussycat Dolls when they were a burlesque troupe.
Overall, this music video was stylish and cool back in the day. Nowadays, it comes off not-so-great. The dancing is on-point, although I swear we all thought Justin Timberlake was hot back then, but now we're wondering if our judgement was correct. I love the light room and wish there was a club that was fitted with those light walls, that would seriously be a brilliant dancefloor.
I had planned to review this weeks ago, and then I noticed it would appear in the UK Top 10 in the future - no I did not foresee this with some magical power, I've been so far behind on this blog that I've been backdating every post for the past few months and that's how I saw that I would be reviewing this music video as a Chart Mondays review. Currently, Drake is at number one (and has been for many weeks after) with the song "God's Plan", the music video, of which, dropped a few weeks after this backdated date - so expect that music video review in the future. This opened the UK Top 10 to my review, and at number 10 is this song! I have not seen this music video before today and I believe Sigrid does her best with what she is given. Watch Sigrid move and dance around a set that looks like it's for a movie in this music video for her hit single "Strangers".
Sigrid, full name Sigrid Raabe, is a singer-songwriter from Norway. She's been globalising on her career for a few years, allowing her songs and music videos to go viral. She knows how to build up and it's certainly working for her. This song is her biggest hit to date, although her previous track "Don't Kill My Vibe" also managed to gain traction around the world. The big question is whether she'll be able to keep her popularity and release even more hits. This is something that a lot of rising stars are struggling with, and I'm guessing that Sigrid is going to be another one for us to add to that list. This song is written by Sigrid Raabe and Martin Sjølie.
Directed by Ivana Bobic for Riff Raff Films, the music video is a pure performance visual. We watch Sigrid interpret the song for the camera as she moves around a set.
The song mentions something to do with a film, so it feels like she's appearing on a film set and she's just using the props and the camera work for her own music video. It feels really unrelated to the song as a whole.
As for the performance side of things, Sigrid really works as much as she can. She does her best and that's all we can ask of her. However, I'm not sure if it is all that good as a whole. It just feels like it doesn't connect with the audience at home and it's missing some major things. It's just not all that interesting to watch. Kudos to Sigrid, though, because she works with what she's been given.
I know that I keep blaming Fergie for the reason why I'm behind on my blog, and I have to admit that she is no longer the whole reason why I am behind, because I'm like 40 days behind now, and since Fergie doesn't have 40 music videos out, it's not entirely her fault, but she was certainly the start of it. She just happened to keep on releasing more and more music videos which I just had to cover for CelebMix. Not long after, INNA then released a new single a day, and now all the Eurovision news is coming out, it's literally put me so far behind. Add that to the two part-time jobs that I currently have, one of which may go full-time soon, I am flat-out, and it's just put me behind on my blog. Failing to come up with any other music videos to review, I reverted back to Fergie, since she started this downward spiral on my blog, so it's only right that she helps me out. I adore the emotional connotation of this music video, and every subsequent one is just as amazing, as you'll know when I come to review them. Watch Fergie in this black and white music video, lash out at her lover as she spots him on the street which smokes them up into an imaginary universe which dispels him in this music video for "Just Like You".
Fergie, full name Fergie Duhamel and previously Stacy Ferguson, is mostly known for being the female singer in the group The Black Eyed Peas. She has had a successful solo career to date, and took ten years to release her second studio album titled Double Dutchess and gosh was it worth the wait as it is one of my all-time favourite albums that has been released. She also released a music video for every single song on the album - hence why I started being behind on my blog; yes, I did previously write up about this music video on CelebMix. This is a great video although the song is just okay, nothing special. It was written by Fergie Duhamel, Leon "Roccstar" Youngblood, Steve Franks, and Taylor Parks.
The music video was directed by Bruno Ilogti. The opening scene is continued by the ending scene whilst smoke clouds these two characters into an imaginary world which allows Fergie to sing about a guy who broke her heart and where she gets to call him out and make him disappear so she can continue walking down the street.
Now, anyone who has read my music video reviews, know that I hate black and white visuals and again I don't understand why it is in black and white. It does make the smoke more integral to the piece and possibly makes the visual easier, allowing them to be covered in smoke, but I'm pretty sure the concept is still easily conveyed in colour.
The performance piece is slightly lacking too, she's missing her usual energy and it's clear she doesn't enjoy trying to translate this song into a performance visual. The scenes with the guy are amazing - who looks a bit like her husband who she has split from, Josh Duhamel - fully getting into acting. There's just something missing throughout. I just wanted more emotion, more realness in this.
My boyfriend kind of quoted some of the song lyrics to this track to me and when I found out what it was, I told him I was going to review it on my blog, and here it is. He also told me that he's going to get a list together for me so that I don't have to struggle to come up with music videos to review - which is a really good idea since I usually rely on my iTunes or my YouTube Recommendations. After exploring the comments, I now know why my boyfriend likes this song, because it was in Pitch Perfect 3 and sung by Hailee Steinfeld and The Bellas - I still need to watch that film! Watch Daya sit still and look pretty as people choose her clothes for her using an app before she gets up and strips the guys down and lock them in a box in this music video for "Sit Still, Look Pretty".
Daya, real name Grace Tandon, is best known for featuring on The Chainsmokers' track "Don't Let Me Down". This helped to launch her solo career where she has gone on to release a few singles and an album, all of which has managed to chart well around the world. Her voice is off the radar and will certainly help her to become a global star in no time at all. She just needs to maximise on her popularity and get her name out there even more; no doubt, a solo hit will make her into an international sensation pretty soon. Keep an eye on Daya. This song was written by Gino Barletta, Mike Campbell, and Britten Newbill.
Directed by Chán André for VOYEURIZED. It's mainly a narrative piece that is set in the future. Imagine a world where all it takes is an app to change your style - now that's something we all need in our life, no more being overdressed or underdressed for any event.
Most of the video is taken up by establishing that Daya is sitting there, looking pretty, whilst other people choose the outfits she will be wearing. I love the way it's been edited and it's completely engaging from the outset, although none of the outfits are amazing or out of this world. It takes some time for her to rebel and actually move, regardless of the fact that she's been singing about not being someone who sits still and looks pretty.
She grabs at the two bodyguards and strips them from their masks and tops. She then explores and make many of the other men remove their clothes, but only the top-half, exposing their bodies. The ending sees these guys trapped in a box, while Daya escapes.
Overall, this music video does relate to the song, but it's mild for what it is. Her performance piece. that is segmented throughout, is completely forgettable totally not making me want to see her live. The fact that it takes so long for her to rebel is annoying, and why doesn't she use the app on these guys? I understand she probably wants to see them topless but surely if someone has been choosing your outfits for you without your consent surely deserves payback.
There wasn't much choice for this backdated new release so I just went with this as I'm not so impressed with the music video and I'm hoping this doesn't take too much of my time to write up so that I can hurry up and catch up on my blog; on the other hand, I haven't heard of any of these artists so I may have some research to do; regardless, this song is addicting and I love how it sounds. Watch a couple spend time together in various locations in this loving music video for Nikless & BEFORE WE GO's song "Don't Wanna Let It Go" featuring Maurice.
Nikless, real name Roman Gilgen, is a DJ from Switzerland. He has released a few singles but there's not much information on him. He's an upcoming emerging artist who plans to hit the road soon and who would love to release an album in the future, but he is currently focusing on collaborations and singles, for now. He's currently been working with ENV and has more music on the way. This collaboration is with BEFORE WE GO, which is a project by Maury Pozzi who is also known as Maurice - who provided the vocals to this track. As a project, quite a few releases have been released and they have all been addicting, just like this one. I can't wait to see where both these artists go, their futures are bound to be bright. This song was written by Nikless and Maury Pozzi.
Directed by Cutloose London, this music video is a pure narrative visual that doesn't connect with the audience. It shows a loving couple in various locations enjoying their time together, before separating.
The first scene shows them walking across a desert. They then start collecting log-like sticks so they can start a camp-fire. This takes up the majority of the music video, taking the word "flames" from the lyrics and turning it into a central part of the music video.
From the fire, we get the exact opposite in the next scene in a snowy landscape and our couple gets into a snowball fight. It was clearly a memory of their fun time together, and they miss those times. We also watch other memories including them crossing a rickety bridge, having tea in the snow, an overlooking swimming pool, and climbing a rock face.
The ending sees them go their separate ways, leaving the past in the past and breaking up. It's an all right music video and does relate to the song, but it doesn't establish the loving connection all that well with the viewers at home. We're missing the sparks and the passion.
