It's Monday which means it's Chart Mondays, and with James Arthur reigning supreme at the top of the UK singles chart with "Say You Won't Let Go", it opens the Top 10 to my Chart Mondays review. In this case, it leaves me with no choice but to review this music video as I have either reviewed all the other music videos in the UK top 10 singles chart, or they don't have an official music video. Therefore I am reviewing this one which is currently at number two on the chart. The Weeknd kills his previous self and smashes his apartment up before jumping in a car with a cat that transforms into a panther. He is definitely a "Starboy", look what you've done.
The Weeknd, real name Abel Tesfaye, has really come into his own in the past few years. Having done all right when he first hit the music scene, he has definitely built his name and had batted out hits left, right and centre. This one just proves how far he has come, and how much more he has to give. Recently he has changed his hair style, which definitely goes well with this whole new direction. Featured on the track is Daft Punk, an electronic music duo consisting of Thomas Bangalter and Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo. They have been going for years and years and have many hits. Most recently "Get Lucky" brought them back into the public eye and since then they have released hit song after hit song. They'll always be popular. This song has had international success and was written by Abel Tesfaye, Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo, Thomas Bangalter, Martin McKinney and Henry Walter.
Directed by Grant Singer, this video is The Weeknd reinventing himself. With a new album a new sound and this is definitely the start of something new, so why not say goodbye to the previous era and start a whole new one. He has changed his hairstyle, killed his previous self and smashed everything in his apartment that was a part of the previous era.
The narrative is interesting, watching him kill his former self through asphyxiation using a plastic bag; it's definitely surprising. He finds a pink neon cross which he uses to smash the place, before setting alight his wardrobe. It all a part of the previous album, saying goodbye to it.
He next goes to the garage and chooses a car and rides off into the night with a black cat in the passenger seat, which soon transforms into a panther. The entire video says goodbye to his previous album and the music that definitely made him popular.
It's clear The Weeknd likes his cars, his choices in the garage are the Lamborghini Aventador SV Roadster, a Bentley Mulsanne and the McLaren P1. The latter is actually owned by The Weeknd himself, which is the one he chooses to drive away in.
Daft Punk appears only in a portrait of themselves which is hung on the wall. Otherwise, they are nowhere to be seen, which isn't really surprising. This usually is the case when DJs and producers are featured on a track.
Overall, this is a well-planned music video that is fully in-depth. It has a performance and a narrative built in one. The Weeknd pulls both off at the same time perfectly, while also killing his previous self. His performance vibes pour from him, and boy can he put on a show!
Leah McFall made quite the impact on this song, having bided her time for the past few years, she's back now and wow does her voice still astonish us since the first time we heard it. Her voice is amazing and it's surprising she didn't win The Voice UK, but then again neither did Becky Hill and look how far she has got now. Leah McFall will definitely become just as amazing as Becky Hill, mark my words. Leah McFall gives a powerful performance to the viewers in this music video for her most recent single "Wolf Den".
Leah McFall was the runner-up in the second series of The Voice UK. She was mentored by will.i.am who went on to record debut single "Home" with her coach. Unfortunately, the song didn't do so well on the UK chart and she was later dropped by Capitol Records. After years of wondering where she's been, Leah McFall made a comeback with this gorgeous soulful song. Released independently, it's no wonder it didn't chart, but that doesn't mean it was a bad song, it just means that promotion for the single wasn't possible. She stated it was a gift to all who have supported her. Hopefully, an album is on the horizon, as we need a lot more tracks with her amazing voice on.
Directed by Phil Harrison, The clip is a pure performance piece where Leah McFall shines throughout.
She puts her all in performing this piece, and you can see this song is close to her heart. Emotion runs out through her pores of her skin. No one can deny that this song is powerful. It's clear that she was born to sing and born to perform, Leah McFall proves why she should've won The Voice UK series two.
There's not a lot to this music video, no narrative, no storyline; just Leah McFall and this song. Yet she still manages to stun us. Who needs all the theatrics when you have her performance presence and her astonishing vocals?
As you all already know, I'm obsessed with Inna, and I'm excited to announce that I will be going to see her live in Dublin, Ireland for the first time and I literally cannot wait... She released this song and music video recently and I knew I'll end up reviewing it soon. Having already covered it for CelebMix, there's not a lot more I can comment on, although I will certainly make this review more of an opinion piece, like many of my reviews on here. Inna flaunts in this promotional online music video for "Say It With Your Body" and that is definitely what Inna and her love interest are doing.
Inna, real name Elena Apostoleanu, is one of the biggest Romanian female singers in the world. She launched onto the scene with debut single "Hot" which definitely gave her international success, since then she has gone from strength to strength, and this is the latest song from her next album. This follows the amazingly catchy single "Heaven", and both tracks are cut from her fifth studio album. Released under Global Records.
The music video is definitely sexy and sultry, but we expect nothing less from Inna. There is also a love interest, but the male actor is unknown unless someone knows who he is (comment below or message me on Twitter).
In one of the rooms, Inna is in, there is writing on the walls. They are lyrics from her previous album, check out my CelebMix article to find out more.
Inna gets all wet in what seems like shower rooms, whilst her love interest walks around her. She is clearly the central focus and the love interest is more background eye candy.
There's another scene where she's dancing, slightly, to the song in what could be a bedroom. It really looks like it belongs in the "Endless" music video if I'm honest, and although it does relate to the song, it just seems less inviting than the rest of the scenes. It feels out of place; on the other hand, it definitely breaks up the other scenes.
Overall, as a music video, this doesn't quite work, but since it is a promotional online video for a promotional song, we can give it some slack. It's relatable and there is a love interest. Inna is looking gorgeous as always and the song is another grower to add to her collection.
If there are two DJs we want to collaborate again and again it's Kaskade and deadmou5. Yet what makes this collaboration even better is the featured artist Skylar Grey, what more do we want? The last time deadmou5 collaborated with Kaskade, their track "I Remember" charted, could this happen again with this song? It's quite doubtful. Slow song and video, we watch as Skylar Grey emerges from a wrecked car and heads towards a light, but with a twist of an ending, do we really know what happened?
Kaskade, real name Ryan Raddon, was one of the hottest American DJs back in 2008-2009, hitting out amazing songs that even managed to chart around the world. He has gone on to work with some of the biggest stars as he continues to release amazing songs we can't quite get out of our heads. This collaboration with deadmou5 is surely one of them. deadmou5, real name Joel Zimmerman, is a name everyone pretty much knows. He was one of the most influential DJs back in 2008, with his song "Ghosts 'n' Stuff" even managing to hit number 12 on the UK Singles Chart. Various other singles and albums have followed, and he will continue to be one of the biggest DJs around even if he's not a raging chart success. He certainly doesn't need to be. As for Skylar Grey, real name Holly Hafermann; she was originally known as Holly Brook. Her musical career has been up and down with some surprising collaborations and versatile song releases. The track as a whole is hauntingly quirky. one that I could listen to on repeat for sure.
The music video relates to the song well, it's quite a haunting visual to go with the haunting track. It's pretty slow too which is totally in time with the song.
Skylar Grey is in a car crash. The car is upside down, then she comes to, she starts to move and manages to get out of the car. She takes off her heels and heads towards the light. Then a few seconds later the camera returns to the car and her on-screen lover wakes up, rushes to the car and drags a semi-conscious Skylar Grey out of the car. Quite a twist of an ending.
Very slow with not much going on and yet it still manages to confuse. This video would've been perfect for a Halloween release, what with Skylar Grey all bloody and stuff. Guess this is the start of the Halloween music videos.
Overall it's a great interesting visual with an awesome track behind it. Skylar Grey astonishes in this piece, and I can't wait to hear more from her. I'm also happy to see another deadmou5 music video, as it has certainly been too long. This is relatable to the song, but the confusing music video doesn't quite make sense and leaves the viewers to make their own mind up about it.
It's Thursday so it's revisit time, so I picked this one out of Antonia's back catalogue. I definitely prefer her new song "Get Up And Dance"! This comes as a surprise to me as it was released in the UK under 3beat records, which released songs for Inna and Alexandra Stan before focusing their efforts on other artists (and that's me being nice about it). They clearly didn't promote this song because I didn't see this music video whatsoever, which probably explains why the song didn't chart in the UK. Antonia creates an ultimatum for her girlfriend "Morena" in this music video whilst giving a sultry stage performance.
Tom Boxer, real name Cosmin Simionică, is a Romanian DJ who has had a few hit singles namely this one and "Deep In Love". He has released a few more singles here and there, but none has made quite an impact. As for Antonia, full name Antonia Iacobescu, she has continued singing and has released some much better songs, as well as an album. She's going from strength to strength and I can't wait to see what the future brings for her. This song was written by Tom Boxer. It hit number one in Poland and Bulgaria.
There isn't a lot to this music video, focusing solely on the performance side of things rather than anything else. I can't find the original video; this one if from 3beat's YouTube Channel. This record label is known for editing music videos to a 'UK version', they did it plenty of times with Alexandra Stan and Inna, just look at "Get Back (ASAP)"; so I'm guessing this isn't the full video, but it's the only one I can find.
Antonia gives a great sexy performance on stage. Her modelling background really comes to play in this music video. She's in a bar singing to her lover called Morena. She later gets up from her seat and dances around Antonia.
It's not until we near the end of the music video, we realise that it's all a part of a slight narrative. We watch as Antonia storms out of a house and then turns around and talks to Morena. From the words they say, we find out that she caught Morena cheating with a guy, of all people.
Antonia gives Morena an ultimatum and kisses her to help her decide. As she drives away, Morena comes after her and gets in the car. That kiss must have been something so powerful.
Focus on the performance is what makes this video slow and uninteresting, it isn't until the narrative kicks in that it brings the audience back. I'm sure the full video is slightly different and much more engaging, but this one fails to keep the audience attention. The video slightly redeems itself at the end, hence my rating.
Back to my Eurovision Special, I'm so close to finishing off my favourites from Eurovision 2014, before having to launch into my Eurovision 2015 Special. This was Russia's Entrant in the 2014 contest and they came seventh place with 89 points. The performance on the Eurovision stage was memorable because it consisted of a seesaw. The Tolmachevy Sisters received a lot of boos after their performance, but that was mainly because they were representing Russia, and the points and placement proved that the Eurovision Song Contest has nothing to do with politics, otherwise this great sweet song would not have ranked so well. The Tolmachevy Sisters contrast in this video with a black and white filter which gives a classy look for this sweet "Shine" song.
The Tolmachevy Sisters consist of Anastasiya Tolmachevy and Maria Andreyevna Tolmachevy. This isn't the first Eurovision contest they have competed in. They previously represented Russia in the Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2006, where they won with their song "Vesenniy Jazz". Eight years later and they represented Russia again in the Eurovision Song Contest and came seventh. They were chosen through internal selection. The girls released an album after they won the Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2006, but since the 2014 Eurovision Contest, they haven't released anything new internationally. This song was written by Philipp Kirkorov, Dimitris Kontopoulous, John Ballard, Ralph Charlie and Gerard James Borg.
This was directed by Aslan Ahmadov. It is a full-on performance piece. Contrast is used effectively in this black and white video, it helps to distinguish who is who, although we're not told ourselves. It feels classy and has an oldness quality to it.
They use the two separate colours, black and white, dramatically. They kind of separate the sisters, which can be both detrimental and helpful.
The girls are relaxed, they clearly love this song and they love to perform it. They scenes they are in adds a quality to the video, but not much else.
The performance is lacking compared to their Grand Final stage performance. It's entertaining to an extent but seems too old-fashioned, there's hardly anything new and current. The video doesn't exactly show the girls personalities, and then there's nothing to relate to the song. A clear narrative would've worked better than a lifeless performance piece. At times the sisters look lost and confused as to what to do, yet they still attempt to perform.
Anyone who keeps an eye on my articles on CelebMix will know how obsessed I am with Alex & Sierra, this song is just perfect as well as the rest of their album which they released this week. I feel I have exhausted every word I can possibly use for Alex & Sierra because they are that good! I'm just glad they chose this song as the first promotional single because this is their audition song for The X Factor (US). Alex & Sierra are "Toxic" to each other in this music video as they hauntingly twist the song and it's meaning into something sexy, sultry and hypnotising.
Alex & Sierra consist of Alex Kinsey and Sierra Deaton. They won the final season of The X Factor (US), which wasn't at all surprising, even though it was a stiff competition that year, they were clearly a favourite. They went on to release an album and a few singles in America but didn't release internationally, and so this album 'As Seen On TV', without the influence of Simon Cowell, is their first release in the UK, and we are loving it! Soulful throughout, flipping songs we all know on their head and making them sound amazing, totally making them their own and fitting them nicely with original songs, it's an album you need in your life. This song is a cover of Britney Spears' "Toxic" and was written by Cathy Dennis, Christian Karlsson, Pontus Winnberg and Henrik Jonback. Alex Kinsey and Sierra Deaton has additional writers Mikal Blue and Johan Lindbrandt in their version. They have totally transformed this song and made it their own.
This music video was originally released on Yahoo Music but later appeared on YouTube. Even without the music, you can literally tell that they've switched the song because of the slow dance and the whole visual. There's a deeper meaning to this Alex & Sierra version and it's so intricate.
The main performance piece is sweet, it's clear these two know how to perform. They would definitely be amazing to see live, they work the song to their advantage and there's such a beautiful chemistry flitting across the air between them as they sing.
There's a slight narrative as they are dancing. Alex & Sierra start off in white clothes, but as they start to dance they leave black handprints on each other's clothes, which soon intensifies like some sort of poison or toxin.
By the end of the video, they are wearing black clothes, signifying that they have transformed into something else and still love each other. This reminds me of a typical relationship where people fight but become stronger because of it. Even though they may be considered bad for one another, they fight through it and become something so much more and better.
What's not to like about this music video? It shocks and outstands us and we can't help but love it. It is toxic in its own right, it infects me and I just end up loving this new version of this song! There are a few times the song lyrics don't match up in time with Alex & Sierra singing, but it's hardly noticeable. There could've been more of a narrative too, but it's still on point throughout.
I do not support James Arthur whatsoever. But it's Chart Mondays, which means I have to review the music video to the number one single in the UK, It just so happens to be James Arthur at the top spot, and he actually has a music video! This makes a change since for the past few weeks the top spot on the UK singles chart hasn't had a music video. Anyhow, here we are and here James Arthur is, so let's get this done. James Arthur sings "Say You Won't Let Go" in a relaxed performance piece whilst we watch relationships and friendships during the narrative side of the video.
James Arthur, winner of The X Factor series nine, he went on to have a few hits before his attitude ruined everything. Twitter was James Arthur's downfall; after a homophobic comment went viral online he made an official apology on The X Factor stage, but it didn't stop there. There were more Twitter spats which soon had Simon Cowell dropping James Arthur from the Syco label, but in a controversial twist, he has once again been picked up by Syco and this song is at the top of the UK charts now. The song was written by James Arthur, Steven Solomon and Neil Ormandy.
Directed by Felix Urbauer, the music video has a narrative and a performance piece. It is completely in black and white.
The narrative is botched in places making it difficult to follow and difficult to understand, there are so many so-called memories throughout, but the overall picture is showing love and friendship. It's definitely sweet and lovely, very relatable to the song which is also upbeat and cute.
The performance side is lacking. James Arthur puts so much emotion into the song, that he doesn't quite show that emotion in the visual aspect of this music video. The song means a lot to him, you can really tell that in his amazing vocals, and yet he isn't giving the audience anything in the music video.
There's nothing else to really comment on. This just doesn't quite accompany the song the way we had hoped. The narrative is all over the place and totally difficult to follow and understand. The performance aspect isn't entertaining enough whatsoever.
One of the world's much-loved Swedish artists about at the moment is Zara Larsson. Now she's going for a global career and "Ain't My Fault" should be the start of that, she just needs to be careful, because she's at the point in her career where everything can just disappear in a few seconds. It's happened to many artists before her, hit songs are all okay as long as you continue to release one after the other after the other. This song faired well but it's a rocky ledge to be sitting on right now. Zara Larsson entertains in this sexed-up music video for "Ain't My Fault" that is completely polished it hurts. Choreography on point as well as her performance vibes. She's ready for global stardom!
Zara Larsson came to fame globally thanks to MNEK collaborating with her on track "Never Forget You". This launched her around the world, where her previous song "Lush Life" started to gain traction. Next, Tinie Tempah snapped her up for song: "Girls Like" and that was it, she was famous. David Guetta then grabbed a collab on song: "This One's For You", but it didn't do as well as her other songs globally, and now this one isn't proving the success they were hoping for. The reason being is her diversity. Zara Larsson is doing something no one else is doing in the music industry at the moment. Her songs are completely unique, and that is a risky business but one that will surely pay off. Let's be honest, her international album, which she is working on, will be perfection personified. With "Lush Life" and "Ain't My Fault" as lead singles; her album is what we need in our lives right now! This song was written by Uzoechi Emenike (MNEK), Zara Larsson and Markus Sepehrmanesh.
Directed by Emil Nava, the video is a pure performance piece with Zara Larsson really getting into this sexy role. It's definitely a side to her that we've never quite seen before. In her previous videos, it's been natural beauty, this one seems like she's trying too hard; however, she gives as good as she gets and really owns this style in some scenes.
In certain scenes she's relaxed and it works but in others, there's a complete disconnect. This is what loses the audience. On the other hand, her choreography is pulled off perfectly, although simple she's in time with her backing dancers and she's having fun.
There is a potential chance of a narrative as we see an ex-lover tied up and dangling from the ceiling. He soon disappears off-screen and is all but forgotten. Again, Zara Larsson hints at a narrative but doesn't give us one; this happened in "Lush Life".
There's not a lot to say about this, Zara Larsson struggles to adapt to this sexy version of herself. She seems awkward as if she doesn't really know how stunningly beautiful she really is. This video would've worked if she had more confidence; in parts she has it, but in others she's lost. It's a great song but there's just a distance in the music video that fails to keep the attention of the viewers.
When this was released last week, I knew it I'd have to review it at some point. Thing was, when I was able to review it, I was writing up an album review for Outlet Magazine. I was pretty much done reviewing Shawn Mendes by that point and I needed a break, regardless of his amazing vocals and songs, I just couldn't put myself through that. However, now I'm ready and this is definitely one of my favourite songs from his new album! In a split music video between narrative and performance, Shawn Mendes starts to drown inside a car as he struggles to get out. With a great performance piece proving his instrumentality, we're definitely giving him some "Mercy".
Shawn Mendes has really become this magnificent male artist over night. "Stitches" climbed up the chart slowly but surely in one of the most phenomenal climbs in the UK chart history, where he finally reached the top spot. It has been a similar case with a few of his songs, but then again it shows how catchy they really are. This song has "Stitches" elements to it, yet it's much more slower and more of a pop-ballad, yet totally strong. The song was written by Shawn Mendes, Teddy Geiger, Ilsey Juber and Danny Parker.
This music video was directed by Jay Martin, and as I said before, it consists of both a narrative and a performance piece, which usually adds up to an amazing music video, and this is sure as hell what this is.
Although basic and simple, what with Shawn Mendes slowly descending into a sea of water. Obviously, every girl and gay guy are commemorating whoever came up with this idea because a wet Shawn Mendes is an extremely hot Shawn Mendes!
The car symbolises the girl he's singing about, it suggests that he's drowning and she's not giving him mercy and so he can't get out, but finally it gives way and he swims to the surface. Totally relatable to the song, yet so simplistic. It's perfect.
The performance side shows that Shawn Mendes is a one-man band, he can literally play an assortment of instruments whilst singing. But, boy, he's not just singing, he's putting so much emotion into this song and the performance of this song, that as an audience we feel him right in our hearts. He means every single word he is singing, and we can see that. Even in the narrative piece of the video, he sings the song like his life depends on it like his heart is calling out for mercy. He's such an emotional performer and singer it's a gift we're glad to receive both visually and aurally.
This is a faultless video, it may be simple, but who needs chaos in something so authentically good? The song has so much emotion, and Shawn Mendes transcends that right into the music video. There's not a lot else for me to say. I just hope his next music video is just as good because he never fails to knock it out of the park.
Totally cheating using this as my New Release this week since it was released on Tuesday, but still it counts and I am totally in love with this amazing song! I previously reviewed this for CelebMix. This is the first Antonia song I've liked a lot, but I haven't heard many of her others yet. Label mates to my favourite singers in the world, Inna and Alexandra Stan, Antonia is set for big things. Antonia dances through this music video with Achi, she wants everyone to "Get Up And Dance" in this catchy song.
Antonia, full name Antonia Iacobescu, is a Romanian singer, she previously lived in the US and has had a successful modelling career. This is clear in this video because she is looking gorgeous throughout. She made a name for herself on the Tom Boxer hit "Morena" and then later had a solo hit with "Marabou". She hasn't quite made it as big as her label mates, but she's always been there, people know who she is... She just needs a worldwide hit, and the path she's on now with a good solid song like this one could possibly turn her into the worldwide success she deserves. She looks like a star and her voice is magnificent! Here comes Antonia, keep your eyes on her! Featured on the track is Achi, real name Octavian Petre, has previously worked with Marius Moga and is definitely an up-and-coming Romanian singer. This song was written by Lucan Vlad Octavian, Petre Ioachim Octavian, Chiosea Marian Florian and Paul Maracine.
Directed by Spike, this music video is a performance piece with an editing twist that prevents it from being boring. Instead, it makes it much more entertaining and visually amazing.
Antonia is stunning in her three different costume changes, she could literally wear anything and pull it off like it's nothing. She shows her dancing ability and her on-stage presence, imagine seeing Antonia live, now that'll be one heck of a show! She's relaxed in this video; she clearly loves this song.
Achi fares well in the video too, performance vibes bounce off him like this song is his tune. He's also relaxed; also clearly loving this song.
The editing team did an amazing job on this. It's stylish, current and it's entertaining. This is flawless in a performance-piece styled video. This is how they should all turn out!
What more can I say or comment on? This is a great complete package, it's simple but amazing to watch. This song is a banger of a tune that will totally be played at any parties I hold. Although I don't approve of the Lipton advertising, totally out of place!
Can you believe it's been five years since Ariana Grande released her first ever song and music video? This means she can appear on my blog again this week for my Thursday Revisit. This is the song a video Ariana Grande hates, she calls it the worst moment of her life, and you can definitely see why. Ariana Grande asks you to "Put Your Hearts Up" in the air, whilst doing heart hands and turning the street into a musical. Totally over the top and way too cheesy.
Ariana Grande became well known for playing Cat Valentine on Victorious, which then lead to a spin-off show called Sam & Cat. This was her debut single, back in 2011, and many fans have said that this reminds them of Cat Valentine and that she was just acting in this entire music video. It is extremely cheesy. Ariana Grande has described it as 'bubblegum pop' and that that genre is not her. Personally, it's more 'cheesy pop' than anything else since 'bubblegum pop' has come a long way compared to what it was, just check out Alexandra Stan's "Cherry Pop". This 'cheesy pop' song has been taken off Ariana Grande's Vevo account as she hates it so much! This was supposed to be the lead single from her debut album, but "The Way" replaced it and this song is all but forgotten about now. This song samples 4 Non Blondes' "What's Up?". It was written by Linda Perry, Martin Johnson and Matt Squire.
Directed by Meiert Avis and Jeremy Alter, the music video feels like it's straight out of 'Hairspray'. It's over the top cheese, with extra on top, just to make sure. No wonder Ariana Grande hates this.
There's a full choreography part, that Ariana Grande pulls off like we totally expect her to, although the ending clips show that she did actually mess it up a little bit. Totally in sync with the dancers, who totally bat out this dance sequence like it was made for them.
It's quite cute as a complete package, but there's not a lot to comment on, and Ariana Grande does not suit this pink dress whatsoever. This is not great to watch compared to how far she's come and how polished her music videos are right now.
One of my favourites from the Eurovision Song Contest 2014, but that is mainly because I've supported Ruth Lorenzo since she appeared on The X Factor in 2008. She scored 74 points for Spain in Eurovision 2014, where she placed 10th. I have and will continue to support Ruth Lorenzo, and I hope that new music will be on the way soon. In this video, Ruth Lorenzo gives a great performance piece as well as showing off her skills in "Dancing In The Rain" with Giuseppe Di Bella.
Ruth Lorenzo was a part of the fifth series of The X Factor, where she placed fifth overall. She competed in Mira quién va a Eurovisión, Spain's national selection process. She came joint first with Brequette who sung "Más (Run)", but Ruth Lorenzo won overall because of the public vote, which prevails over the jury vote if there is a tie. She went on to release her album Planeta Azul, which was then re-released as a special edition with additional tracks. She later took part in Tu Cara Me Suena (the Spanish version of Your Face Sounds Familiar) which she won. Hopefully, new music is being created and a new album will be out soon, well that's what I'm hoping for. This song was written by Ruth Lorenzo, Jim Irvin and Julian Emery.
Directed by Paloma Zapata, the video is a pure performance piece, showing how amazing Ruth Lorenzo is live; if only I got the chance to see her again on stage. I last saw her at The X Factor tour, but I was very far away from the stage.
This song shows off her powerful voice, yet the music video doesn't quite portray the amazingness of her vocal cords. On the other hand, it does show off her dancing ability.
Giuseppe Di Bella and Ruth Lorenzo shine in the dance scene. They pull off the choreography flawlessly, which definitely isn't easy when they are dancing in water with spray coming down on them. Ruth Lorenzo is clearly having a ball of a time, getting soaked with Giuseppe Di Bella.
As a complete package, this video is stunning in its own way. However, it lacks engagement from the viewers, with nothing to keep us interested, as such. It's not something we'd particularly repeatedly watch. Therefore it comes off average, yet the song is amazing and deserved better than 10th place, although the 2014 Eurovision Contest was extremely competitive.
First off, Justin Timberlake is the thumbnail for no reason whatsoever, this needs to be corrected, although I suppose it's giving this already popular song more hits than usual, but still it's misleading. THIS IS NOT A JUSTIN TIMBERLAKE MUSIC VIDEO! Just wanted to clarify that. This is a James Morrison and Nelly Furtado song and is still being played on the radio today. James Morrison sings in a room whilst Nelly Furtado watches through a one-way mirror before their amazing electric voices blow objects up in the room; breaking guitar strings and heart strings.
James Morrison, real name James Morrison Catchpole, was one of the biggest British male singers back in the mid-00's, having a hit with "You Give Me Something" before this one became his bestselling hit. He has a Brit award and he has sung with the likes of Jessie J and Jason Mraz. He's still releasing music, but he's fairing much better in the Netherlands than in the UK. Featured on this track is the stunningly beautiful Nelly Furtado, who was also at the height of her career in the mid-00's. This song was the Olly Murs & Demi Lovato's "Up" of the mid-00's... Nelly Furtado is also still releasing music to this day but has yet to have another global hit after the amazing "Maneater". Yet with those vocals and her gorgeous style, I bet she could easily make a comeback. This song hit number two in the UK, beaten to the top spot by Lady Gaga's "Just Dance". Itwas written by James Morrison, Fraser T Smith and Nina Woodford.
This music video was directed by Micah Meisner. Fully relatable to the song, the video is mainly a performance piece with a narrative built within. It reminds me of a cross between Nickelback's "How You Remind Me" and every video that has a wall to separate artists (there's been a lot of them so I won't type them all down).
James Morrison starts the song off in his room with his guitar. He's singing to himself in the mirror, as if he can imagine Nelly Furtado on the other side, maybe she is actually there or it's just his imagination.
Nelly Furtado jumps in with her amazing vocals, and their hands are touching on the one-way mirror. FUN COMPETITION: Nelly Furtado swaps hands for one short snapshot before switching to the original hand. Find it and either Tweet, Facebook, Instagram me or comment below the time or a photo.
This inconsistency is surprisingly annoying. Like seriously? How do you miss that? It's not okay, it really isn't.
Luckily we're distracted by the amazing song. Objects blow up in James Morrison's room as they are connecting hands on the one-way mirror. Towards the end, they fix themselves and the room is just normal again. Nelly Furtado is gone for good. It's the same as heart strings when they are broken, they learn to fix themselves and the heart heals; it becomes stronger.
This song is completely powerful, yet the video is just as powerful. Back then this was a strong music video, and it completely relates to the song. Usually, that inconsistency would knock a star off my rating, but I can't bring myself to do it because this video is amazing!
I've been waiting for this one, seeing it rise on the UK Chart, and just hoping it would appear in the top ten. There were only two choices for me this week... James Arthur's "Say You Won't Let Go" was the other option. It was beaten to the top spot by The Chainsmokers & Halsey with their song "Closer", which doesn't have a music video. As much as I don't want to review a James Arthur video, I may have to in the next coming weeks if it stays in the top ten, or climbs up to number one. For now, I shall avoid it as much as possible as I am not a fan at all of James Arthur. Luckily, this is my Chart Mondays review. Ariana Grande and Nicki Minaj work "Side To Side" in the sauna of a gym, amongst hot static guys. Ariana Grande even works out in sync on some bikes in this sexed-up music video.
Ariana Grande is the person on everybody's lips, the singer everyone is watching because she's batting out hit after hit after hit. She first appeared as Cat Valentine in Victorious. She has fully left acting behind as she has quickly made her name in the pop world. Now there's no stopping her, the future is bright for Ariana Grande. This song features Nicki Minaj, another solid singer in the music industry. Her real name is Onika Maraj, and practically everyone knows who she is. She labels herself as the 'Queen of Rap' in this song and she pretty much is, let's be honest. These two singers have worked together before, with Jessie J on the song "Bang Bang". This song was written by Max Martin, Savan Kotecha, Alexander Kronlund, Ilya Salmanzadeh, Ariana Grande and Onika Maraj.
Directed by Hannah Lux Davies, it's no surprise that this is a high-quality music video. It's so thought out and extremely suggestive, especially since the song is about soreness after sex, according to Ariana Grande.
We start off with Ariana Grande and her dance troupe on bikes after a slight scene of her staring into the camera. The girls perform on the bikes, pulling off the dance routine in-sync; the choreography is well thought out and is performed to perfection. They have put a lot of effort in preparing to pull this off and it works perfectly.
The other big scene is the sauna room, where Nicki Minaj has her rap. Her and Ariana Grande are stylish and are clearly having fun and a bit of a mess around, these two clearly get along easily. The male dancers are extremely static, and although that pushes all the attention to the two singers, more movement would've been much more interesting.
There's not a lot else to say, the shower room scene is extremely steamy, and Nicki Minaj knows how to capture the attention, but that's nothing new. As a whole, it's solid and relatable and definitely full fire. The song is a massive catchy song, that will no doubt continue to rise on the charts globally.
Still reeling from the party last night, this song was stuck in my head when I woke up this morning, and I had to review the music video. This is another dancefloor filler, that you can't help but sing-a-long to. It's undeniably catchy. I never knew who it was by until I looked it up, and I'm surprised this is another song that hasn't made an impact on the charts worldwide and is yet the song we hope to hear in a club. Beenie Man and Fambo are living it up in a club, clearly drinking rum and Redbull amongst other drinks in the video, and they're totally okay.
Beenie Man, real name Anthony Davis, is a Grammy-award winning Jamaican reggae singer. He is mostly known for his 2004 hit "Dude" that features Ms. Thing and Shawnna, which hit number seven in the UK. Yet, it's this song we want to hear on the dancefloor. At just ten years old, he released his first studio album back in 1983; he has gone on to release 19 more albums and has totally proven himself as a recording artist. This song is the first in a string of singles that aren't part of an album; it was released in 2010. Featured on the track is Fambo, real name Warren Williams, who is mostly known for this hit. He has been in and out of the music industry for a while but has definitely built his career for himself.
Directed by Janelle Dyer, the video is low quality and quite old-fashioned, and yet it's viewable.
The speech bubbles are a total distraction, they don't last long enough on the screen, so it's difficult to read them in time. They don't blend enough with the visual and are totally out of place. Although it may have seemed good on paper, it doesn't work at all and cheapens the whole video.
There's not much else to comment on. There's an amazing dance scene where dancers show off their skills in a circle of bystanders. More focus on this would've been great; instead, the video flits between the club and Beenie Man's performance piece.
The performance piece is filled with energetic vibes, but there's just not enough substance to his performance. He's very relaxed, he's totally made a name for himself and he knows he has. Arrogance comes from him easily but he works it well as he sings the song.
Overall, the video is nowhere near as great as the song is. It's not on the same level at all. It's dodgy, low quality and totally uninteresting. Beenie Man and Fambo do their best to draw the attention back to the video, but their performance pieces aren't enough to keep us engaged.
I've been at a 21st house party today, and this song came on and I knew I was going to review the music video for it. This song is a jam whenever it comes on in a club; clearly, they didn't think it would blow up as big as it did because the budget was definitely low in this music video. Pushing that aside, it has a great storyline and the performance side isn't so bad. Serani tells his girl that he is playing "No Games" as he stands by her after she finds out she's pregnant.
Serani, real name Craig Marsh, has released a bunch of singles and albums, but this song is the one that has really blown up around the world. This song is the dancefloor filler in any club, with everyone singing along to the lyrics, even if they don't actually know them properly. Surprisingly, he hasn't hit the UK chart with this song, regardless of its popularity, and hasn't hit the Billboard chart in America either, instead settling on other charts in America, such as Billboard's Heatseekers chart, where he got to number 46. It's disappointing to see a very popular song not hit the big time on the charts, but all it takes is someone to cover it on a TV show to boost it up the chart, that's going to happen sometime. This song was written by Dave Antony Kelly and Craig Marsh.
The music video is definitely low budget, but it has a strong narrative with a pretty solid performance piece. If only it were more of a higher quality.
The narrative is completely relatable to the song, and although it is extremely basic, it's easy to get caught up in the storyline. I love how she panics when she finds out she's pregnant, and she runs away, but he doesn't mind. It doesn't bother him because he truly loves her. How he found out where she was staying, though, I have no idea.
The performance side is energetic. It's clear he means every word he is singing; the song is catchy and I can't help but sing-a-long; after all, it is the dancefloor filler we all know and love.
Overall, if this video was of a higher quality then this would look so much better. The narrative is simplistic but completely relatable to the song. Serani gives out great performance vibes that entertain the viewers. What more can we possibly ask for?
Another single off Aston Merrygold after many push-back dates from his album. This JLS singer isn't having the best solo career, but with this killer song he may have had the breakthrough he's been hoping for. This former JLS member shows us his dancing skills in his new music video for "I Ain't Missing You". Aston Merrygold is ready, are you?
Aston Merrygold, mostly known for his time in the boy band JLS from The X Factor, was the guy who always took the lead vocals in many of The X Factor performances, but it wasn't until the group started to release their own music that they really found their sound. JLS were the runner-up to Alexandra Burke in the fifth series of The X Factor. They went on to achieve five UK number one singles and their three studio albums were in the top three, their debut album hit number one. Ever since the split, Aston Merrygold's solo career has been hyped to the max, but soon dissipated as his singles didn't achieve the success that was anticipated. Now this song may out-do his previous attempts, especially with his album just around the corner, that's if it doesn't get pushed back again. The featured artist is LDN Noise, a producing and songwriting duo consisting of Greg Bonnick and Hayden Chapman, they are definitely making a name for themselves in the music industry and are definitely ones to watch.
This music video is a full performance piece with a slightly undeveloped narrative at the start, that sees Aston Merrygold step out of a car and strike a match before dropping it on a bag of things, presumedly things of the woman he's singing about. He's saying goodbye, because he ain't missing her.
The performance part then kicks in, and it is LIT! Seriously, I knew Aston Merrygold could move, but wow! He pulls off that choreography like it's nothing, along with his backing dancers. Fully in-sync and totally on-point, it's pretty magical.
The scene is filmed awkwardly as the camera pans in and out during the dance scene, making a less enjoyable viewing, however, it can be ignored as you see these amazing dancers perform.
Overall, it's good, but Aston Merrygold has always had a slight arrogance in the way he comes across, you can see this when he's dancing, ready to show the world what he's got and be slightly cocky with it. However, I can't blame him for that, because although the narrative is more suggestive than developed, and the performance is a bit on the cocky side; this dance sequence is perfection. I just need to learn the choreography now!
What have I just watched? Apparently, they're daggering, which is a Jamaican style of dance, but still, this is not what I expected when I clicked on this song. Chosen for my Thursday Revisit review, because I didn't have much choice, and I actually wanted to see what Major Lazer was like over five years ago. This is definitely far from their number one single "Cold Water". However, Beyoncé did sample this song, therefore making it famous, for her "Run The World (Girls)". The video is quite shocking. The dancers show a Jamaican dance form initiated in Jamaican dance halls which has recently been named daggering. "Pon De Floor" takes it to the extreme in this music video by Major Lazer.
Major Lazer were a duo back in 2009 consisting of American DJ Diplo and British DJ Switch. This single is the only song that charted when they were a duo, managing to get on the UK chart. Definitely different now as a trio, their more recent music is much more popular. This song features vocals from Vybz Kartel and producing credits from Afrojack. This song was written by Thomas Pentz, David Taylor and Nick van de Wall.
Directed by Eric Wareheim, this video is extremely surprising and I certainly wasn't expecting to see over-the-top daggering. People complain about seeing twerking, but once you have seen this, twerking will be a distant memory.
Performed in a cartoon suburbia, in amongst a cartoon house, it's quite cleverly done, but it's not something I would like to see again.
Even though this dance move isn't a Jamaican tradition, the concept came from Jamaica and the song has a daggering feel to it and therefore relating to the song somewhat.
However, this is totally over the top, it's too much at times, and can be considered tongue-in-cheek and yet it looks quite degrading.
All in all, the video has a narrative although it doesn't make sense at all... The dancing is relatable to the music video but it isn't that great to watch and not something I recommend watching on repeat.
Finland brought a bit of rock back to the Eurovision Song Contest again in 2014. Finland is renowned for their rock contributions to the Eurovision Song Contest, after all, Lordi did win with "Hard Rock Hallelujah" for Finland back in 2006. Softengine managed to get 72 points, placing Finland 11th in the Grand Final, just missing out on the top ten, but as I've said time and time again, 2014 was a competitive year. A pure performance based music video for "Something Better" from Softengine, showing the energy they have on stage.
Softengine were a five piece rock band at the time of this music video, consisting of Topi Latukka, Ossi Mäkelä, Henri Oskár, Tuomo Alarinta and Eero Keskinen. The band is currently a four-piece rock band, as Eero Keskinen left the group to follow his career as a lighting technician. As a four-piece, they have gone on to release an EP and some new singles; apparently, album number two is just around the corner. This song was well received at Eurovision 2014. It was written by Topi Latukka and Henri Oskár. The band competed in Uuden Musiikin Kilpailu 2014, the national selection for Finland's entrant into the Eurovision Song Contest 2014, and they easily won.
The music video is a pure performance piece. I don't usually have a problem with these sorts of videos, as long as they're good, but Softengine fails to excite the viewers. Considering they would perform on the Eurovision stage, a pure performance-based video isn't exactly great promotion for the song.
There's not an awful lot to say about this video. The band seem quite static as the camera spins around them. The low angles fail to capture the audience in, and doesn't make for a pleasant viewing.
There's nothing else I can comment on. This video doesn't draw the audience in and they performed so much better on the Grand Final and the Semi-Final than they did in this music video. It's just not engaging enough.
Ever since this song was announced as their next single, we've been waiting for a music video, and it's been such a long wait. But the Olympics have finished and here's the video, and it was definitely worth that long wait! A total relief after waiting so long for Major Lazer's "Cold Water" and being disappointed; but Fifth Harmony has made us completely forget about "Cold Water" and totally smashed this video! Fifth Harmony appear in a post-apocalyptic world and attempts to save everyone, whilst performing this strong and empowering track. "That's My Girl" is a true sign of girl power!
Fifth Harmony is one of the biggest girl groups in the entire world at the moment. Formed on The X Factor (US), and much like One Direction, they came third in their season; they have become world renowned. They consist of Normani Kordei, Lauren Jauregui, Dinah Jane Hansen, Camila Cabello and Ally Brooke. They're currently on their 7/27 world tour, promoting their second album. This single is their third single overall, and may be their last from the said album. Girl power and totally empowering, this song is beyond strong. It was written by Tinashe Kachingwe, Alexander Kronlund and Lukas Loules.
Now this music video is FIRE! The director is Hannah Lux Davies; so, of course, it was going to be FIRE! This is one of the best Fifth Harmony music videos I have seen.
Interpreting the lyrics into a whole difference imagination, this music video goes a lot further than we initially thought it would. The song itself is about independence and being strong, encouraging their fans to be determined and do what they want because they can do it and they certainly don't need a man beside them.
So how this song turned into a post-apocalyptic video, about strength and caring, I do not know, but let's be honest this is completely amazing, especially with everything going on in Syria at the moment.
The girls wave white flags in the air in a brilliant dance sequence that they nail, before saving the survivors and rescuing them. They then dance with red flags in amazing choreography, they're totally in-sync throughout.
The girls are perfect throughout. Their performance vibes are totally off the radar, if you've ben lucky enough to see them live like I have, then you'll know how amazing they are, just like they are in this video.
Overall this video has it all, a relatable strong narrative all infused amongst various performance pieces that contain amazing choreography which is performed flawlessly. These girls are already one of the biggest girl groups in the whole world, but this song and video just enforces that even more!
Finally, it's released and it's still in the top ten. Currently at number one is The Chainsmokers and Halsey with "Closer" which doesn't have a music video as of yet, so it's opened the top ten of the UK chart for my Chart Mondays review, and this time I've chosen this former number one. Four women dance in different serene locations along to "Cold Water", unfortunately, Major Lazer, Justin Bieber and MØ do not appear.
Major Lazer are an electronic trio consisting of Diplo, Jillionaire and Walshy Fire. Originally founded by Diplo and Switch, the latter left in 2011. Now Major Lazer is one of the biggest names in the electronic genre. Having worked with a number of prolific stars, there is no stopping this trio. Featured is the unstoppable Justin Bieber, who's new music got the world turning into fans. He dominated the UK chart, and he did it once again with his collaborations. As for MØ, real name Karen Marie Ørsted, she's been trying to make an impact on the world for a while, but with the help of Major Lazer, she's managed to come into her own. This song was Major Lazers' first and currently only number one, but I'm pretty sure it won't be their last. It was written by Ed Sheeran, Benjamin Levin, Karen Marie Ørsted, Thomas Pentz, Justin Bieber, Jamie Scott, Philip Meckseper and Henry Allen.
Directed by Matt Baron; the video features four dancers who are Helen Gedlu, Jaylene Mendoza, Sara Bivens and Andranita Smith-Shannon. This is a music video we have been waiting months for and this is the outcome? Like, really?
There is nothing to this video, I don't see how it's relatable in any way, the choreography is interesting, and yet doesn't interpret the song the way we hoped it would.
The dancers dance, but there's nothing special about the moves they are doing, the camera fails to draw in close enough to watch them properly, and occasionally the camera angle doesn't do the dancers justice.
Lighting effects are intricate and yet fails to engage the audience. This is not what we were expecting at all, especially when we've been waiting months for this, it totally doesn't make up for the wait.
This music video could be paired with any song and it wouldn't make much of a difference. The song is infectious, but the music video leaves a lot to be desired and although the setting is beautiful, there's nothing to this video.
According to the Official Charts Company, this song was released this week, and so I watched the music video on Friday, prepared to write up a review of the video. Later I find out it was actually released 9 September according to Amazon and iTunes. Instead, I reviewed the VAMPS feat. Chris Motionless "Inside Of Me", and thought I'd review this over the weekend. Ady Suleiman brings a reggae ballad to groove along to as you see his amazing relaxed performance in this "Wait For You" music video. He is definitely one to watch.
Ady Suleiman is a new guy on the scene, he is putting a whole new spin on reggae music, making it popular and interesting again. He's track "Running Away" was well received, and he's only becoming more and more popular. This song is his follow-up single, we hope a full album is within reach. This track is a perfect song to listen to in the car, gentle and honest, it's flooded with emotion.
Directed by Calmatic it is a pure performance piece showing Ady Suleiman's energetic performance vibes, which is so relaxed it makes me want to go to see him live.
This reggae ballad looks like it's reacted well amongst the extras. The audience are clearly loving the song and it's so groovy and catchy you can't help but like it.
The video itself has a filter over it to make it look quite old, definitely respecting the good times when reggae was extremely popular, yet transpiring it into today's era. Ady Suleiman is certainly making it popular all over again.
There's not a lot else to say about this, but it does make Ady Suleiman look genuine and caring, which he no doubt is in real life. The video shows what he is like live, and as a performance piece, it shows him in a good light.
