New Found Glory - My Friends Over You

When I chose to do a review on this music video, I hadn't realised that I had seen it before on the music channels. I chose it simply at random knowing that it was older than 2007, and was the highest charting song New Found Glory has ever played. It managed to get to No. 30, which, I have to say, is pretty good for a rock band, and I believe that was thanks to the music video rather than the actual song, and even though a lot of people can relate to the song, I really don't think that they managed to sell enough records based on the song. It was pretty rare for a rock band to make it into the UK Top 40, there were a few bands managing from Evanescence to My Chemical Romance, but it really was rare to see a rock band inside the top 40, but with the amount of rock bands out now who are easily managing this, it'll be quite the battle to attempt to get inside the top 10.

This is my second New Found Glory music video review, so some things I say will be similar.
New Found Glory is a 5-piece American rock band, who have released a number of singles, and a number of albums all of which haven't done that well on the chart compared to Paramore and other well-known American rock bands. The band consists of Jordan Pundik, Chad Gilbert, Steve Klein, Ian Grushka and Cyrus Bolooki. who all appear in this music video. They have a new album on it's way out, and I really hope the music channels take to whatever song they release, as they have been going for quite a few years now and have yet to have a major hit, so I'm really hoping that soon they will gather the success they clearly deserve.

This song is called "My Friends Over You". It was their first single to be released from their second album "Sticks and Stones" and third single overall. The song is about being with a girl, but once they find out about their personality they aren't interested hence the start of the chorus: "You were everything I wanted, but I just can't finish what I started". Also they seem to be only interested in the girl's looks, this is proved in the lyrics by: "I'm drunk off your kiss, for another night in a row" and "Please tell me everything, that you think that I should know". This girl is nothing compared to his mates, and that he likes his mates because of their personalities, whereas he only likes this girl because of her looks. There is a lot that could be done with this video, but did they do it right?

This video I have seen quite a few times, however personally it's not that memorable, if you would have shown this to me about 6 months ago with the band name blurred out, I would definitely not have a clue who this was, and that sounds really bad since I went to the Paramore concert back in 2008 with my cousin Tink09 and a friend Hollagram Star, and this band was one of the support acts, which seems weird since New Found Glory has been going for well over a decade, whereas Paramore has only been going for about half the time.

I really do think this is a unique idea and how his friends have their own weird problems, from frantic legs to bloating heads, from a very fast guitar solo to freaky hairy legs. He would still prefer his friends over her. Furthermore, there is a lot to laugh about in this music video, lots of little funny jokes, from "typical video girls" who are attacked by a blow-up caterpillar who are then replaced by three guys "look at us" who are attacked by a cute, blue, blow-up dolphin; to the Gothic choir singing that is an instrumental about a third of the way through, which is so dreadfully weird it is amazingly funny.

This is another video where it's spot the famous faces, according to Wikipedia you can find 4 famous faces, who are the three people from the "Transplants" (Travis Barker (from Blink-182 and +44), Tim Armstrong (from Rancid) & Rob Aston) and also Brody Dalle (From The Distillers), all of which I don't really know, if you showed me a picture I'd probably recognise each of them, but I have no clue where they are in the music video, although I recon they are the most obvious and probably have a 3 - 5 second clip each, so if you know who they are please tell me where they are hidden, or not hidden.

Overall I really like this music video, it gives an essence of what the band is like on stage, but also suggests a uniqueness that some bands are unable to capture. This music video is pretty out of the ordinary, however it is very easy to forget who the band is, if you haven't seen the music video in a while. Also they could have done a lot more, such as including a love interest for a member of the band, presumably Jordan since he is singing the song. But maybe they had already stretched their budget too far. I'm looking forward for new releases from these guys, and I really hope they manage to do really well with whatever single they choose to release next.

Billie Piper - Because We Want To

I have been a fan of Billie Piper ever since she first came out in 1998. The first time I ever heard of her, was when I was sitting infront of the TV (only a kid back then) and I was watching the music channels. It was probably the first time I had ever watched a music channel, and I remember this coming up, it was shown straight after Britney Spears' "... Baby One More Time", and I loved it straight away. And to be honest I still love it now!

Billie Piper was first a singer back in the late 1990's/early 2000's, but shot to fame with her acting when she came into the new revised series of Doctor Who, where she played Rose Tyler. But when this song was first released it went straight to No.1 in the UK charts, and she holds the record for the youngest ever solo female artist to have a UK No.1 hit, and it doesn't look like anyone will beat that record in the next few years. Could she still be holding that title after she's gone from this world? Who knows? With the amount of young singers nowadays, she may not hold the record for much longer. The only other female artist I can think of who ever came this close to beating Billie Piper was JoJo, who managed to get to No.2 with Leave (Get Out). Not long after her greatest hits album, she disappeared from the world of music, and years later appeared on our screens as the new Doctor's Assistant, in the new series of Doctor Who. She became a character everyone loved, and a character that, when appears in a one-off episode, gains a hell of a lot of ratings to the BBC drama series.

She has been in many films since she's left music, and although she was never passionate about music, there is still a slot for her in our charts. She will probably be lost to music for the rest of her life, and music will miss her so much, but if her heart is in acting, then go for it, but she will sadly be missed, as Chris Moyles proved one day, when he tried to interest listeners into downloading "Honey To The Bee", back in 2007, and guess what? She managed to get to No.17, which is such a surprise, and totally proves that the music industry has a slot still for her, and her fans will help her in anyway possible. She could easily become an actor & singer, many American artists and Actors do it so it's about time Britain started, and Billie could definitely prove herself.

This song is the cheesy sort of pop that I was brought up on. It was very common in the late 90's to have this sort of music playing. The song is about freedom and doing the things you want to do hence "because we want to". It is definitely cheesy, but it's good in the way that is interesting,

The music video is imaginative and clever and links a lot with Doctor Who, many fans reckon there is a lot of links, from an early Cyberman to a Judoon, she was obviously destined to appear in Doctor Who, only then no one could have possibly have known. I like how Billie has "super powers", she came from a UFO, which definitely is Doctor Who like, and at just 15 she loved throwing her names on things, such the billboard poster.

I definitely like the dance routines, it was very common then as kids liked to copy the dance moves and try to imitate them, and yes, I did do that back then too. But it was how it was, now, about a decade later it is starting all over again, you'll getting a lot of girl groups, boy bands, and mix groups coming up with dance moves that kids are likely to copy, and with the added use of the fact that bands from the 90's are re-forming, cheesy pop could be making a return in a whole new style and format. Could this be the perfect time for Billie to come back to the music world? I really hope so.

The camera is a little on the jumpy side, but that is to be expected, and the graphics are not the best, however I remember thinking WOW at the time as back then they were pretty good, however if the music video was ever re-done it would definitely be improved a hell of a lot.

Overall I am giving it a reasonable rating, because I think the camera could have focused more on the dancing, as I remember having to watch the music channels a hell of a lot of times waiting and waiting for this song to come on so I could perfect my dance moves, that is my only problem, but otherwise it's been interesting rating a music video which is over 10 years old.

JLS Featuring Dev - She Makes Me Wanna

I have been aware of JLS (Jack the Lad Swing), ever since they appeared on the X Factor, since coming second (Alexandra Burke won the show back in 2008), they have had all of their singles, 6 of them, set inside the UK top ten (four of which has managed to get to the top spot, No.1). This is another single that is sure to make an impact on the charts, and with a successful world-wide featuring artist: Dev, on this track too, could they possibly go worldwide? We'll just have to wait and see.

Back in 2008, JLS hit the TV screens appearing on the X Factor, they had a lot of competition against new and up-coming artists, who are just starting their break-through right now. To be honest, I wasn't a big fan of JLS, especially since Louis Walsh was mentoring them and Aston Merrygold was the lead singer, and the other three people in the band were like back-up singers, this didn't fair well with me since they are a young band, and so trying to pull off a Westlife/Boyzone similarity didn't really work with them. After the X Factor, they have grown on me, now that there is no frontal singer, and each of the band members get to sing their own part, which makes them to the similar young boy bands such as The Wanted.

JLS consists of Aston Merrygold, Marvin Humes, Jonathan Benjamin "JB" Gill and Oritsé Williams. They have teamed up with Dev (real name Devin Tailes), who is an upcoming American Artist who has already had big hits world-wide, which suggests that this song by JLS might help them make the US chart, however there is nothing confirming this just yet, although I am interested in how well they would do over there. Will they ever make it global? We may never find out, but if they ever do, they will be the first artists from the X Factor who have not won, but have become world-wide stars, but we'll have to wait and see, before we put that label on them.

This song is very catchy and you can imagine it being played a hell of a lot in the clubs. The fact that they sing "Direct me to the floor", definitely suggests clubbing, and it's such a feel-good tune. The lyrics represents going out clubbing and meeting a girl who they'd do anything for. This is where Dev comes in and sings/raps about what they would do while together such as "getting icies", which I think are ice lollies/Popsicles. I definitely like this track and I'll be surprised if it doesn't reach No.1 as it's clearly going to make an impact on the charts.

The music video, again, is an eye-candy piece for both guys and girls. It goes with all the summery tunes that are coming about now and show that this is definitely a summer song. I think the lyrics are not taken into account much, except for the "L.A. to Africa" and "London to Jamaica" as there are planes flying in the background which are obviously computer effects as it would be awkward to get that many planes to fly over them and shot it perfectly, besides they are also quite low.

Dev has many costumes she wears when she sings her bit and it works well with the song even though it doesn't really relate to the lyrics. I also like the amount of people jumping up and down while they are around JLS. Furthermore I like how this video could appeal to kids as JLS are doing some dance-moves that kids will probably try to imitate, and this will influence them into liking the song even more, and they could pretend they were JLS while they are doing the dance moves.

Although, there is not a lot to this music video and there is only a little amount one could comment on, it is definitely a feel-good song and one that will be stuck in someone's head for a few hours before they hear another catchy song. However the music video doesn't really link in with the song lyrics, and that explains why I have given it the rating I think it deserves.
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New Found Glory - Kiss Me

This is such a feel-good video, I don't know how some one could dislike it. Anyhow, this song is sung by New Found Glory, whose songs never ever appealed to me until I went to see Paramore live, with Tink09 and Hollagram Star and New Found Glory were one of 2 support acts for them. I didn't know any of their songs but quickly learnt that I'm going to have to listen to them more often, as they were amazing live. As one of their last songs before Paramore came on, they sang this very song, which had only just been released, although it wasn't promoted enough, and everyone sang a long, and it just felt like magic. Come on this was my first ever standing up concert, and also you can't possibly tell me you don't know the lyrics to this song, and you must have been singing-a-long when you played this video. If you comment this telling me you didn't, well then you're just plain well lying, as you can't but help sing-a-long to this amazing song, even if it has been adapted into a more rock kind of version.

I have only found out that the original version was sung by a band called "Sixpence None The Richer", I have no clue who this band is and apparently they reformed back in 2008 but with no new release material, doubt they'd do better than "Kiss Me", I'm sorry but I'm being frank. This song has been covered lots of times, but most notably Avril Lavigne tends to sing this song whilst on tours, and although she has never released this as a song, she rocks it on stage and she definitely knows how to sing it well. However I don't think anyone would be able to beat this version from New Found Glory, and although it never got high on the charts it will forever be remembered as a cover that rocked.

New Found Glory is a 5-piece American rock band, who have released a number of singles, and a number of albums all of which haven't done that well on the chart compared to Paramore and other well-known American rock bands. The band consists of Jordan Pundik, Chad Gilbert, Steve Klein, Ian Grushka and Cyrus Bolooki. who all appear in this music video. They have a new album on it's way out, and I really hope the music channels take to whatever song they release, as they have been going for quite a few years now and have yet to have a major hit, so I'm really hoping that soon they will gather the success they clearly deserve.

The song is about being in love with someone and kissing them a hell of a lot, it suggests a cry out to someone they hold dear but who doesn't quite know it yet. It was originally thought that the lead vocalist of "Sixpence None The Richer", was singing to a girl since she sings "bring your flowered hat", therefore suggesting a Lesbian relationship, which sounds probable and also reasonable, it also makes sense since kissing someone of the same sex is usually frowned upon so she may be crying out her frustration of wanting to kiss the person she likes when she wants to. New Found Glory puts their own spin on it suggesting that they want to kiss this person but have yet to make a move, and maybe wanting for her to make the first move?

I like how the music video is full of FUN. Everyone on the set had a great time, I like the idea of attempting to link in with same-sex relationship, especially when Chase (the boy with the tally on his arm) almost kisses a guy, I can't help but laugh at that. I love the tree house, if there was anyway of doing that when I was a kid (or even now) I'd take that chance, it's a place of FUN, and I really don't think anyone would get bored of it, or even if they did, the next generation would come a long, and so it kind of makes it into an adventure playground.

I definitely like how you can find people in the music video who are quite possibly more famous than the band members. There's the obvious 2 people, who are Chase Dodds (drummer of Classic Addict) and Hayley Williams (vocalist of Paramore), however there are many more, including the rest of Paramore (well the band members who was in the band at the time: Taylor York, Josh Farro and Zac Farro) which you may only glimpse, but they are there. And guess who else...... Cassadee Pope (vocalist of Hey Monday), makes an appearance, although back then there was no Hey Monday, so she just happened to be there. I won't tell you where they pop up because that will give our little game away, see if you can spot them. No cheating people! There are probably a few more, if you spot anyone else please comment, I want to see if I can find them too.

I like how the video shows how much fun the band has, and if you go to one of their gigs (even of they are just supporting) you will totally understand why this video is full of fun. I am very much fond of the narrative story side, I like how they combine the band to the narrative right from the start. And I cannot believe Chase would kiss 8 girls before seeing Hayley Williams tut tut tut, clearly he thought the women (and a potential man) was better looking than Hayley, so glad she gave him a right slap. But then again people could look at this the other way and wonder why he only got 8, were they short of girls? Or did people really not want to kiss him?

Girls would probably be fans of the ending, especially how they take his shirt off, in my opinion aren't they giving him exactly what he wanted in the first place? Guys don't tend to just want a kiss, if this is true it would explain the reason why he only had a tally of 8, could he have been doing other things? I also like the bit where people jump off the top and land on the mattress, keep a close eye on that........

Overall this feel-good anthem has turned into the most fun song ever, and although the music video reflects the song to a moderate extent, if they had done it as exactly as possible wouldn't they have been copying Sixpence None The Richer? Anyhow, as it's a cover I'll let a few things slide by, and since it's put me in a great mood, I have no choice but to give it the rating I think it deserves.

Nicola Roberts - Beat of My Drum



This is the debut single from Nicola Roberts, one of five members of Girls Aloud (other members are: Kimberley Walsh, Cheryl Cole, Sarah Harding & Nadine Coyle). I have supported Nicola ever since I was young, and first saw her on Popstars: The Rivals. I remember sitting in front of the TV, hoping she would get into the band, and I was happy when she did. She is the youngest band member in "Girls Aloud", at just 16 she became part of the band, and the other girls sort of protected her (according to Kimberley Walsh), which kind of explains why she was more of a background person, within the group. However over the past few years she has proven herself that she belongs in the band, after many critics saying she is hardly there. She managed to sing some of the verses in the recently released Girls Aloud singles, and the critics have taken back what they initially said. Now she is hitting it big style, and attempting to fit her electro-pop music into our chart, and it's making the perfect impact she wants.

The song was written by Nicola Roberts, along with a few other people who would have helped her craft what she wanted, into lyrics. The use of "Baby in the corner" can link in with two things, one thing is that she was the youngest member of Girls Aloud, but also it links in with "Dirty Dancing" as it's one of the most commonly used well-known lines from the film, and people can't help but say that specific line in an attempt to copy Patrick Swayze's voice. I also like how she hits back at all the critics who said she doesn't deserve to be in Girls Aloud "Leader of the pack get on that track, swing your back and don't look back" which tells them that she's making the music she wants and it's making an impact on the chart, it also shows that she has come a long way from where she first was in Girls Aloud. And she is no longer the baby in the corner.

There is a lot of ways the lyrics could be moulded into an amazing video, however a lot of the lyrics come from very different sides. You could, supposedly, follow the dirty dancing theme that appears in the first verse, however the second verse is different singing about a "captain attending" and "I put on my marchin' boots". It shows she's grown up a lot and she is confident now because she loves the way her music has turned her into the person she always wanted to be. So instead of trying to create a narrative, they decide to do a typical electro-pop music video that is so good you can't help but watch it over and over again.

At he start you have two freestyle-dancers who dance to the beats of the song, which totally engages us right from the start, and you are aware that this song is definitely good. We then see Nicola up on a stage singing her song at quite a quick tempo, with speakers piled up behind her, this represents her and shows that she is a good singer. We see the letters "D-R-U-M" flash quickly by on the screen which gives the music video a different feel to it, as if there is more to it than meets the eye.

I like how in the second verse, when she sings "I put on my marchin' boots" she is walking a certain path, and she "marches" to an extent. And I like the showing of the drums, it also reflects in with the "marchin'" as it's a marching band. I think this is a clever idea and works really well with the song.

When we come near the end of the music video, Nicola has her hair up, I sometimes I have to do a double take just to make sure it's actually her. I also like the use of the cheerleader's pom-poms to make the letters of "L-O-V-E" and the use of Nicola as part of each letter is a great idea.

Overall, even though it is simplistic and doesn't look like it took a lot to make, there are a lot of intricate detail that you probably miss the first time around and some bits must have been really difficult to film, and although it doesn't follow the lyrics really well (which would've been difficult to do in the first place), it is a really good video, so I hope you all agree that my rating is fair.
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