Charlie Puth's music has always been hit or miss for me, like, some of his songs are incredible and I love them a lot, some have grown on me and I like now purely because I've heard them so often, and then other tracks just aren't to my liking, and "Mother" is one of those songs - although I have a feeling it will grow on me, considering I only heard it yesterday. It jumped out at me as I saw it on TV as my brother was on the YouTube app, and I barely even recognised Charlie Puth with his shaved head, yet it so suits him and he looks damn fine in this visual. It was released just over a year ago and I'm surprised it didn't become an international hit, but it's gaining traction again and I have a feeling this will become a sleeper hit, or it'll forever be underrated.
Directed by Dawit N.M with COUSCOUS acting as the production company, this accompanying music video fits in perfectly with the song itself. It has a slight throwback to Christina Milian's "Am to Pm" to it due to the main female character sneaking out of the house, but overall gives a good narrative and Charlie Puth's relaxed performance vibe is stellar. The story follows a group of young adults spending time together by jumping in neighbours swimming pools and going for drives, with the ending scene showing our main character sneaking back into her home and getting under the bed covers just before her mother opens the bedroom door to check up on her. It's a great storyline that will never get old but this one has some unique camera shots that really transforms the narrative and Charlie Puth performs the song within the narrative as if he's both a part of the group and not a part of the group. It's clever, interesting, and engaging. It's another brilliant music video from Charlie Puth.
Released today through Global Records - which is one of my favourite record labels at the moment as they have some amazing artists signed and consistently release awesome music - Gino Manzotti & MAXX are here with an addicting tune, titled "Matado". The song got me hooked the second I heard it and seeing that a music video was also released to accompany the track, I knew I was just going to have to review it today. Gino Manzotti & MAXX have had massive hits in the past under the group DJ Project which included the vocalist Elena Baltagan, where they've worked with the likes of Elena, AMI, Deepside Deejays, and Mira. Now releasing under their own names as a duo, I'm excited to see where this new project takes them. "Matado" is an awesome song that follows up their previous single "Arabian Story". It's got a lot of Eastern European and Asian beats and melodies mixed in with the high dance energy with hints of progressive house. The uncredited vocalist has an incredible voice that really lays out the lyrics of the song.
As for the accompanying music video, directed by Alex Ceausu, I am kind of unimpressed. There's a big dance number that has great choreography, and it's clear that social distancing was important to them so it's great to see that they did this during the pandemic, but the narrative doesn't really go anywhere apart from a briefcase being handed over. There are extra performance shots of pole dancing and of Gino Manzotti & MAXX, but these scenes do not bring the audience back into the visual. This is such a brilliant song and I can see it going viral, but the video doesn't live up to the song itself.
After reviewing Dami Im's newly released single and music video last Friday, titled "Paper Dragon", I just had to review one of her first few music videos for my Thursday Revisit! "Gladiator" is one of my favourite songs from her, but I've never seen the music video before today, so I was excited to see what the visual would be like. The song was the second single from her third studio album, Heart Beats, and charted in Australia at number 11. "Gladiator" explores female empowerment and is suggestive of fighting for oneself and loving who you are as well as fighting for what you want and love. It's an incredible song that always makes me feel like I can do more and it certainly helps me to focus.
The music video opens with a passage that states, "The ancient scrolls tell of a legend, that the one who is pure of heart would someday reunite the pieces of the sacred medallion, rescue the princess and vanquish evil from the kingdom. A true warrior. A Gladiator." Then we see both a performance piece and a narrative intercut throughout. Dami Im looks stunning in her performance visual as she throws her heart into this song and you can tell how much this song means to her. In the narrative, we watch a young female warrior training and continuing to do so when she grows into an adult. She goes on to battle against evil and reunites the pieces of the medallion. It's a brilliant music video that has the viewer hooked from the first few seconds, so much so that we want to know what happens next after every scene. It's not surprising that the video is her most-watched music video to-date with over 3.9 million YouTube views, on her channel, with "Sound Of Silence" being her most-viewed video overall.
I've literally just been listening to Bea Miller's new EP, titled sad boy hour, which was dropped this week and includes this very song as one of its four tracks. Since I've never watched the music video, I thought I might as well review it today. The song is literally one of my favourites and I can highly relate to it, especially after going through a break-up, since I definitely don't feel like a person at the moment and I'm struggling to feel anything, think I just feel really numb and I need some good things to go my way! I have been a fan of Bea Miller since The X Factor US days where she placed ninth on season two. I just adore her voice and her music and I loved "Feel Something" when it was initially released, and it has now become a sleeper hit due to a resurgence of the song on TikTok. The song is about not feeling anything, feeling numb, and how that is worse than feeling pain or anything else. It's a clever and beautifully written song.
In the music video, directed by Pilar Zeta, Bea Miller plays an astronaut as she goes to what looks like an alien hospital where their patients are numb and aren't feeling anything. Bea Miller is examined and tested on and the occasional emotion will come through but only for a split-second. She has really encompassed the whole feel nothing feel of this music video and it really works well in this alien-like setting. Towards the end, Bea Miller escapes the examining room and comes across a portal door which takes her into a forest on Earth and her feelings slightly return but even that doesn't help and she ends up back at the alien hospital where she takes her seat again, alongside the other patients and they all display a fake smile for a split second. Such a brilliant music video with a great concept. Bea Miller is an absolute star, how she's not a global success yet, I'll never know.
After reviewing the total club hit, "Dirty Talk", by Wynter Gordon, I just had to look at her latest releases, which she's releasing under her real name, Diana Gordon. "Kool Aid" is currently her most viewed music video on her channel, so I thought I'd review this for today. Rhythmically addicting, this track has a lot of indie vibes running throughout with Diana Gordon fully putting her dance music behind her. "Kool Aid" is one of those tracks that will grow on you whilst also getting stuck in your head.
The music video is a performance-based visual that is full of relaxing vibes that Diana Gordon releases as she sings the song. She certainly has star quality in the clips as she performs, easily intriguing the viewers. There's s many cool clips throughout, especially the grass guitar, although I don't have any idea how the opening scene with the turtles links in with the whole concept. Children can be seen throughout, having a good time on set in various costumes and playing with props. It's a good video, just isn't all that memorable and doesn't link in with the song itself all that much.
