So I have watched quite a few different music videos today, and they are all mixed up and stuck in my head. So I looked at what could potentially be my New Releases in the coming weeks, and saw which ones clashed with which. And so I narrowed it down to two. It was Alexandra Burke's "Let It Go" Vs. Cheryl's "Call My Name". Contestant Vs. Judge. And Alexandra won. But only because I think Cheryl's song will be a big hit and I would rather review it near the release date.
Alexandra Burke won The X Factor UK back in 2008, Cheryl Cole was her mentor/judge. 2008 was a big year for The X Factor UK, and many of the finalists became artists. They are: Alexandra Burke (winner), JLS (second), Eoghan Quinn (third), Diana Vickers (fourth), Ruth Lorenzo (fifth), Rachel Hylton (sixth), Daniel Evans (seventh), Laura White (eighth) and Scott Bruton (tenth). There is a possibility there may be more in the future. The X Factor is obviously one of the best shows to get noticed, and the people coming away from that show is doing amazing things.
This song was written by Belle Humble, Mick Hansen (Cutfather) and Jason Gill. I'm pretty surprised there's no sign of Alexandra Burke's name in the songwriting credits. She helped wrote "Elephant". Anyway, Mick Hansen also known as Cutfather has been songwriting for quite some time and has had many hits, the others are not so well known. The song is definitely one that will be played in the clubs, and it's definitely very catchy.
This music video is good but then it's lacking something. Again it's a big performance piece and I love the start where you hear Alexandra's previous single "Elephant". And it looks like we might get a narrative storyline, but that isn't the case. I like performance pieces, but it's rare for me to give 5*'s to them as they still need to portray something across, and that thing is seriously missing here.
She is an amazing dancer, kind of reminds me of Britney Spears, a bit, as Britney tends to do big choreography. However this video looks cheap, the set is simple, and they aren't even in the real places. Apparently a security guy came up to her and told her she didn't have the rights to film in the London Underground. But wherever that article came from it was later proven false as they filmed in a set.
If you notice any of the dancers, you may find BB dancing, he was in "Dirty Sexy Things", and ended up choosing his dancing career over his modelling career. There may be others you might know from other places, if you spot someone please comment below.
Overall, this is definitely missing something, but what that something is I'm not sure, it was missing in "Elephant" and it's missing in this. Her music videos just aren't as good as previous ones, they are all too similar, and they don't really stand out. I want to go WOW at one of her music videos, but I just can't.
Believe it or not, but you are definitely hearing this right! For the first time EVER, Demi Lovato has released a second single from an album in the UK. Her previous two albums only spawned one single release in the UK, so after I got excited at seeing "Skyscraper" finally released in the UK, I was expecting another long wait (about a year or two) until another single release. But a second single has finally come off her third album, but will it get the great charting position it needs? Or will it dwindle, especially with the stiff competition of new releases: Jessie J's "Laserlight", The Saturdays' "30 Days" and the already charted: Tulisa's "Young", Rita Ora's "R.I.P." and Carly Rae Jepsen's "Call Me Maybe". Will she get to number one, it's extremely doubtful, as there is no sign of her on the top 200 iTunes chart, all we can ask is that it gains some sort of charting position, otherwise second singles from future albums will be a thing of the past.
This song was written by Josh Alexander and Billy Steinberg. Yet again Demi locks onto this song and makes it her own, it's so personal you believe she is going through this right now, and I'm quite surprised she didn't help pen the track. Hopefully one will soon come up. I recently watch "La La Land" music video and I hardly recognised her. She looks much more healthy now, and much more beautiful, and the people who are slagging her off are purely jealous of her.
This music video is definitely one of my favourites, it's a great narrative, that I love to watch over and over again. And the ending is so amazing, but do those photos actually make that picture? I know that other people have done it in the past, such as Taylor Swift who got fans to send in a photo, and then in the CD single there was people's photos all joined together and it made the picture of Taylor Swift. But with this, I feel that a projector might have been used...
The onscreen boyfriend is Alex Bechet, he looks a little bit like Siva Kaneswaran from The Wanted. I'd love to be able to make a collage like that one, it's really clever. I also like the fact that we see clips of when they were together, and Demi Lovato explains where it's gone wrong and why they need a break in the song.
Overall I love this song, and it's accompanying music video is amazing to watch. I have nothing bad to say about this music video. And I so hope enough interest is built up so that this song manages to chart, as it is really catchy. I have yet to download the digital download. But I shall be doing it this week. I hope others will do the same.
Rita Ora is definitely one of my favourite new artists, she sings so clearly and effectively I don't understand how some people don't like her. She was born in Yugoslavia (now known as Kosovo) but was brought up in Britain. She got to number one already in the UK on DJ Fresh's track "Hot Right Now", and this is her first single and it looks like it could go straight to number one. But with competition from Tulisa's "Young" (could be number one this Sunday) and Carly Rae Jepsen's "Call Me Maybe", Rita Ora has a fight on her hands. To help boost sales, this song also features Tinie Tempah, real name Patrick Okogwu. He is someone I'm not too fond of, but I do like some of his songs. This is the first time he has appeared on my blog, but I'm sure it will not be his last.
"R.I.P." was written by a load of people which is extremely surprising, so get ready for all the songwriters... Aubrey Graham (Drake), Farhad Samadzada, Mikkel Eriksen & Tor Hermansen (Stargate production team), Nneka Egbuna, Renee Wisdom and Saul Milton & Will Kennard (Chase & Status). So a very big collaborative effort. Drake made the song initially for Rihanna, but she didn't take to the song, but Rita Ora took an interest to it, and that's how Rita Ora got it. Not only that but it may also be the reason why Rita Ora is being compared to Rihanna a lot lately. The song is about being better than your boyfriend's ex. It's definitely the sort of song you expect Rita Ora to sing.
This music video is only a performance piece, but this is what makes it so strong, you can imagine the camera as Rita's boyfriend, and it's like she's singing right at you. As for Tinie Tempah, I love his rap it fits perfectly with the song and it's like the other side of the storyline.
There isn't a lot to comment on, there's a car that looks like it's crashed into the ground, suggesting that car is over like his ex... I also like how she is dancing above the car and it's quite an open space as well.
Some of the things she is wearing though is quite surprising, to be honest I don't think you'll see anyone wearing some of those things on the high street, but for the music video, it kind of fits in.
Overall a great song that could be going straight to number one. But the video is lacking something, I think the fact that there isn't a lot going on and that there is no narrative, it just leaves you feeling disappointed, as if you expected a little more. However this is definitely worth this rating.
Nicki Minaj, real name Onika Maraj, has appeared on my blog a few times, and will probably frequent it more in the future. She is definitely at the height of her career at the moment, and I think she'll go higher and higher. She is going to be one of the world's biggest stars in the future.
"Starships" was written by Nicki Minaj, RedOne, Carl Falk, Rami Yacoub and Wayne Hector. All are well known, so it's quite a writing team to be honest. Most of them have been included in my blog, RedOne is extremely well-known and has worked with Lady GaGa lots, Carl Falk and Rami Yacoub have both worked with One Direction, but the latter has also worked with Britney Spears. Wayne Hector is the odd one out, he has worked with lots of well known artists but I have yet to include him in any of my reviews. This is definitely one of my favourite songs from Nicki Minaj but the video just doesn't work out.
The music video probably sounded perfect on paper, I love the idea of bringing a star ship into the video. And sort of makes us all understand why Nicki Minaj is so different, and that's because she's an alien... This is very much a performance piece, but can be considered as narrative to an extent.
This video is currently getting a lot of stick. Nicki Minaj tends to look pretty in most videos, especially in "Turn Me On", but in this one she doesn't fit in, most people are saying that this video makes her look unattractive, and it's true. She's alright about half-way through when she's dancing in the field and on top of that black box while flames are going on around her. But all the other scenes you kind of feel sorry for her, it's like the director wanted to see more than he's used to, and maybe he did... Especially at the end, Nicki Minaj makes me laugh as when she jumps she has to hold everything in place, but you'll have to look for it, they've tried their best at cutting it out, so watch closely.
Overall this is probably one of her best songs, and I also don't get why this video took so long to be released. However the video doesn't match up the way we wanted it to, it reminds me of the video for "Stupid Hoe". We were all expecting a great music video to go with a great song, but it just looks like a sleazy first music video, and they never really pull it off great.
So today the US version of Cher Lloyd's "Want U Back" music video got released today. And after watching it, I knew I was going to have to review it on my blog. I have previously reviewed the UK version of "Want U Back" which featured Astro from The X Factor US, so I don't know why he wasn't included on the US version especially since some Americans would have heard of him, unlike the UK. This is Cher Lloyd's first single in the US, and I'm interested in how well it will do. She came from the same series of the X Factor UK as One Direction, so will Cher Lloyd get the same amount of fame over there? Or will she be left on the sidelines?
This song was written by Shellback and Savan Kotecha, who are frequent song writers who appear on this blog. The UK version also contains lyrics written by Astro, however since they have taken him out for the US version for reasons unknown, his lyrics have also been taken out. Surprisingly this song only got to number 25 in the UK, but has done well in many other countries. I can see this being a big hit in the US also. Furthermore, for the US version there is supposedly going to be a remix version which features Snoop Dogg, which has yet to be released.
The music video is different from the UK version. This one is more narrative whereas the UK version is more performance. This can be considered as a completely different music video, and therefore that is how I'm going to treat it, so no more comparisons from now on.
I find this music video pretty funny at times, you can't help but laugh at that milkshake going over the blonde girl. But also wouldn't the guy have got wet too when the tray almost goes over him? His seat certainly gets wet.
A few extra things to note... The American diner in which most of the music video is performed in is also the place where Cee Lo Green's "Forget You" music video was filmed. Not only that but a lot of people have commented on what Cher Lloyd is wearing, and to be honest I am a little on the shocked side, since no one would have thought that she'd be wearing that in the future, especially after the first episode of The X Factor UK which is where she first started.
The only thing I don't get is why the police come in... Is it a criminal defence to push someone who spills milkshake over a girl? Or is it a criminal defence to climb on tables or write words from the tomato sauce bottle? It isn't in the UK and I'm sure it isn't in the US either... So why does she get arrested?
Overall, this is a great music video, and not as different from the UK version as one might have first thought. But which ones better? I'm sorry I'll have to say the UK version, as Cher Lloyd does far more worse things, and it's all done through photographs. But this is not a comparison review, and therefore I have nothing against this music video, and the helicopter bit at the end actually fits in, so therefore this rating is definitely well deserved.
