Okay, so this isn't a music video, and wasn't released to music channels, BUT it sort of counts, it was shown on a TV channel, it has music, it has artists singing, and is definitely the best advertisement for Big Brother, so it sort of counts. To be totally honest I got a little scared as I couldn't find another music video and I was desperate to get a video shown today. For the purposes of this blog, I am going to rate and review this "advert" as a music video, even though technically it isn't.
Now this music video features a lot of ex-housemates, I think they must have gotten most of them, if not all of them. So many go past that sometimes I can't even count them all let alone name them all, and I know they aren't all extras and that they all were actually in the house. The only disappointing thing about that is the song wasn't recorded, they just used Kelly Rowland and David Guetta's recording of "When Love Takes Over", although I reckon it would have been better if all the ex-housemates have sung the song in the studio (with the producers changing the voices so they all could sing), and sung "When Bruv Takes Over", rather than dubbing "Love".
This music video is amazing, At the start we see Makosi being a secretary and then Anthony Hutton starting to mouth the words to "When Love Takes Over", then various other housemates appear, including H (from Steps), Samanda, Michelle Bass, Nadia Almada, Brian Dowling, Pete Bennett, Josie Gibson, Brian Belo and Nikki Grahame amongst a tonne of others. I think it was an extremely great idea and shows how happy the ex-housemates are that Big Brother had returned to our screens.
I like the use of the aeroplanes and the smoke and the balloons, I couldn't help but laugh at Jodie Marsh's scene, it's like she has a group of dancers with her. The signs are clever and it represents the live show audience since they have lots and lots of signs that they hold up. And the use of Brian Dowling (our new host) being in front of everyone is a really good idea.
Overall I loved this advert, and wished they had recorded it and then released it on iTunes, as we all know it would have made the chart. I feel a little upset that Channel 5 didn't change Big Brother all that much and kept it roughly the same, which was probably the reason why it lost quite a few viewers, but hopefully they'll realise what they did wrong and re-vamp it for next year. If this advert were a music video, it would definitely have deserved this rating.
Nadia Almada won Big Brother series 5, and she will always be remembered for her big laugh and her big heart. BUT after returning for Ultimate Big Brother, everyone turned against her and she was evicted quite early with a lot of boos. This song was released not long after she won and I have to admit that I agree with some of the comments, it's so bad that it's good. Nadia is from Madeira and she is a transvestite, who was born as Jorge Leodoro.
As far as I can tell this song is an original song, believe it or not. I could have sworn it was a cover, but if it was I cannot find the original version anywhere. Nadia's song actually did well on the chart, getting to number 27, which is quite an achievement for an ex-housemate, but there was no second single or album that followed which is a little disappointing since this single charted so high. Personally I very much doubt Nadia helped with the songwriting, although I cannot even find songwriting credits for this song. Her voice is bad, she can't sing, and she can't dance and obviously not even changing her voice in the studio could do anything. But I have to admit this song is very catchy and after only one listen it is stuck in my head. It's so wrong that it's right.
The music video is once again dire. But I think it is not as bad as previous ex-housemates. There is no narrative storyline, which kind of upsets me a little as it may have made this music video a lot better, and the performance side of things is just as bad. This could have been a lot better, but then again if it were low budget (which it looks like it) then they must have paid a lot to those dancers therefore leaving not much left to the imagination.
I like quite a few things about this music video, the dancers is a very clever technique to use, and I like the fact that the camera is more focused on them than on Nadia, which is really clever, because clearly Nadia can't dance that well, and so instead we only get a few snapshots of her. Sometimes I think anyone can dance, if taught and given the right choreography, but it's times like these when I see someone who will never be able to dance, and I take back what I have said.
I like some of the scenes, but some of them just doesn't work with Nadia, especially when she's lying down on the sofa/chair and trying to be sexy, it seriously doesn't work. Other scenes, have little choreography and she doesn't pull it off that fluently, so it just looks like a complete mess.
Overall I really like the song, it's quite catchy, but she cannot sing very well. The music video is okay, but i would be suited for someone else, it kind of reminds me of Shabnam's music video, but this is a little bit better. My rating is once again low, but the video deserves it, Although I think the song would have rated a little bit higher if it was just on it's own.
I know what you're thinking, you are wondering why I'm reviewing this music video for, but to be honest, Samanda is in our Big Brother history, and will do until someone overrides them, because Samanda is the only ex-housemate to release more than one single, and although no album has been released, and their third single has been waiting for it's release for 3 years now, they have managed to get two charted hits, so they are officially the closest ex-housemate to become an artist.
Samanda came second in Big Brother series 8, they were the bookies favourite to win, and mine too. The entered at Day 1 and manage to last all the way, they were picked at the post by Brian Belo, who wasn't in the Big Brother house for long, so in theory Samanda were the winners, and in celebrity status they are definitely above Brian, in my opinion. Their most memorable task was the twin task, where they were separated and they both had to draw a 3 pictures and they actually drew the same pictures.
The song is a cover of Aqua's sensational hit "Barbie Girl". Aqua has recently reformed although they've done not-so-well here in the UK, and totally suspect they won't be around much longer. There is some good bits to the song, but the bit I really hate is ken's robotic voice, seriously did they run out of money or something? Their voices are changed slightly, but they have sung this song live a few times and as we know from the Big Brother house, they can actually sing, which could be the reason they managed to chart so high with this song, managing to get to number 26, which is a Big Brother record for ex-housemates. I also think the music video was one of the main influences in getting this single so high up on the chart. Will Samanda come back to music or TV? They've been missing for almost 3 years now, only popping up for special Big Brother advertisements. I am hoping they do come back and finally release "Whistle For A Hottie" at least. Let's all keep our fingers crossed, as Samanda could be our first ever recording artist from Big Brother.
The music video is low budget, everyone can see that, and it's nothing like Aqua's narrative music video, which could be both good and bad, but this clearly is a notch above the other ex-housemates' music videos. I think it's a little bland and boring, with no connection to the song, but sometimes that's okay.
I like the dance routine they've got going on, they did that exact choreography in the house, so maybe this music video is supposed to show them as who they are, or how they were in the house (if there's a difference). And I like it when they laugh, it's not because they are faking it but they actually do something and laugh, which kind of lightens up this music video. I like all the bright lights and all the different scenes, but it just feels like there is something missing, which could be the narrative story line.
Overall it's quite a good cover (minus the robotic Ken), but I don't think the music video is as good as it could have been, and I know it was low budget, and it could possibly be one of the best ex-housemate music videos we'll ever get to see, but I just feel that it isn't worthy of a high rating, because compared to other high rating music videos, this is bland, boring and not that great. I cannot believe I'm giving it the same rating as Chanelle Hayes but it kind of deserves it. I bet children will find this music video a lot more appealing.
Okay, so I'm bending the rules a little bit, because she released this song before going into the Big Brother house, however I'm including it because I think it'll probably be one of the better videos I review, and I don't want this whole week to have low ratings.
Louise Cliffe is currently in Big Brother at the moment, she hasn't done anything memorable and although I think she'll be one of these ex-housemates who stay in the limelight, I reckon people won't remember her being in the house.
The song is about social networks, which kind of goes alongside with the artist she collaborated with and the music video. She isn't the best of singers, but she certainly isn't terrible, as we all know from her rarely singing in the Big Brother House. You can tell they've edited her voice with this song. It didn't make the UK chart, but that was down to no promoting whatsoever, and I didn't see this video at all on the music channels, so maybe that was the reason it didn't go anywhere. Will she win this year's Big Brother? I doubt it, and I reckon she'll get 4th or maybe 3rd if she's lucky. This is why I decided to review this music video today.
Now, this music video could possibly be the cream of the crop, this week, but that doesn't mean that this video is any good. I wouldn't say it's dreadful, but they could have done a lot more. Obviously it was a low budget music video, and it does look very cheap, I have to admit I've seen better low budget music videos. To be honest I can definitely understand why this didn't appear on any music channels while I was watching them.
You can sort of tell that they only filmed so much of Louise Cliffe, and that at times she was re-used again and again, this annoyed me a bit because obviously not a lot was going on so you just had to watch repeat after repeat, and I definitely won't be watching this again. She reminds me of Aylar Lie, although they are very different, I think they are similar because of their career paths.
I have to laugh when she is "playing" the guitar, if you can even call it that, she's not even strumming it, and I doubt it made much of a noise when that bit was filmed. I have to admit I liked the things that appeared behind her, like the links and the chat messages, it made it look more like a website rather than the usual. But it also annoyed me that when all 5 different characters were at the bottom of the screen, they kept bumping into one another, but instead of bumping, they went through one another, this totally brought the video down even more for me. Maybe this video isn't cream of the crop as I first thought it might have been.
Overall I totally advise Louise Cliffe to stay away from music when she comes out, because as we have witnessed before ex-housemates who embark on a singing career always fail. I do see her being in our faces for quite a while though, so it'll be interesting to see what happens to these finalists in the future.
Chanelle Hayes was a housemate in Big Brother series 8. People remember her as being the wannabe Victoria Beckham, and she'd walk the streets until someone thought she was Victoria. If Victoria Beckham changed her hair, Chanelle did too. Chanelle had quite a few arguments in the house but she was probably one of the most loved. She had arguments with Ziggy Lichman (who was an ex Northern Line boy band member before entering the house), and Charley Uchea. Chanelle walked gaining making her 13th in the competition, on the results show, I specifically remember Davina McCall having to re-call Chanelle's name because the audience thought she missed her out. Personally, I thought she had a really big chance of winning that series of Big Brother, and if she didn't, I had expected Samanda to win. But I was shocked that Brian Belo won. Chanelle was singing quite a few times in the house, and she was an amazing singer, but yet again another ex-housemate has failed to make a music career. I think she deserves a second chance, she wasn't happy with the music video, but she wanted a shot at being an artist, she had it but people didn't promote her well, adding to the number big brother music failures. Recently she has had a baby, and still appears in Lad Mags, is this the thing she'll be doing for the rest of her life? Or is a musical comeback still on the cards? I have my fingers-crossed.
I have to congratulate the song based on the fact that it wasn't a cover, this kind of brings the standards up a little bit, but then the video lets it down totally. The song was written by Ben Ofoedu and Jack Lucien, both are aspiring singers, with a chart hit here and there, but it looks like they won't make it and probably follow the footsteps of Chanelle, without a very sexualised video. I have to admit I did buy this single and I still have it (I just checked). The song is very catchy, and catchy songs tend to do well no matter what the song is about. However, Radio 1 refused to add the song to their playlists, even though they interviewed her, which probably was the reason behind it only charting at number 63. Her voice is good on this track, but you can tell they've edited it, if you watch her singing from the house, you will realise she has a much better voice. DJ's enjoyed mixing this track and it featured in a lot of their sets. I want Chanelle to return to music, with a much better record label behind her, but until then she is one of a few ex-Big Brother housemates who've made the chart.
This music video is terrible, it's the only word I can use for it and it's not at all Chanelle's fault, she did express her concern about it's sexualised theme. I do remember watching it on the music channels, and I must have been missing something back then as I don't remember it being this erotic. I don't really know how this video was allowed to be shown, but it was... I bet the director and the producer and whoever else was involved, including camera men and the like, totally enjoyed making this video, and I'm not saying their immoral or anything, I'm just saying they'd be nothing like photographers, who are generally nice and usually don't exploit you. Sometimes this video makes me think that Chanelle was pressured into making this video and sometimes in life that sort of happens.
Ignoring all the obvious stuff that certain people will totally mention on, I'm kind of wondering (no jealousy here, honestly) why she has 3 men with her, in different scenes there are 3 different guys. First you have the guy who's in her bedroom with her, he has hair and looks a bit like Jason Flemying, but I don't think it is. Then there's this guy in a lap dancing club (which I'd understand if that was Chanelle's character's job). And lastly, we're back in her bedroom with a whole new guy, which totally confuses me. Are they portraying Chanelle as some Godess or something? Anyway, this video didn't do her any favours.
Overall, it is quite a good song, and to be honest I think it would still make the chart today, with the help of some radios deciding to pick it up. However it's music video didn't help one bit, and although a lot of people (mainly guys, but girls too) who enjoyed it, they didn't help it's performance on the chart, and there were far more people who disliked it. I hope she makes a musical return at some point, as she has the voice for it, but I don't have my hopes up, this music video has ended any music career she wished to have.
