50 Cent, real name Curtis Jackson III, has had a lengthy career gaining hits here there and everywhere, but this is the first time he has appeared on my blog, however probably not the last. He has yet to reach the UK number one spot, but this song seems to have a pretty good chance. And it's no wonder with the people who are featured. Eminem is the rapper on everyone's lips. Real name Marshall Mathers III, has also had a lengthy career, but has only appeared on my blog once because he is a member of Bad Meets Evil which I reviewed "Fast Lane". The other featured guy is Adam Levine, who is famously known as the lead singer from Maroon 5, however he is also known in America as 1 of four coaches on The Voice.
"My Life" was written by Curtis Jackson, Marshall Mathers, Adam Levine, Larry Griffin Jr. and Herb Rooney. The song is about the pressures of fame, and it is clearly identified in the rapping. This is going to be a hit, and 50 Cent knows it, plus there is not much competition this week. Could it possibly be 50 Cent's first UK number one? We'll have to wait and see.
The music video is one of those ones that look like a typical rap music video, but turns out that there is great imagery involved.
The use of the helicopter is very interesting, and at first could be suggested as a waste of the music video budget, but as the song progresses and you hear the rapping, the helicopter is fame with a spotlight, and it's hard to deal with as you can't get away from it. I loved it when Eminem is running away from the helicopter. I couldn't help thinking "you can't out-run a helicopter", just like celebrities can't run away from fame.
However the good imagery stops there. The helicopter is the main focus, leaving us with a typical rap music video that doesn't outshine any of the many others easily found and easily accessible.
Overall, a catchy song that will be charting well this week. But the accompany music video is lacking compared, with the only good bits being the helicopter and the use of lighting.
David Guetta, real name Pierre David Guetta, has definitely become one of the most popular DJ's of all time, and his career in the music industry will, from now on, be endless. However his most recent album has spawned 8 singles, believe it or not, surely we will be seeing a new album soon! This song features unknown Taped Rai. All the info I can get on this duo band is that they are from Sweden and consists of two people. They are new, and if they were spotted by David Guetta, they are clearly great, and they will be a duo that may just become a highlight of 2013. Watch out for them, and by the time they have a big hit on their hands, I should have more information about them, hopefully.
"Just One Last Time" was written by David Guetta, Giorgio Tuinfort, Tom Liljegren and Alexander Ryberg. It's extremely catchy and I'm sure I've heard it a few times in the club. However it's not doing well climbing the iTunes chart, and it makes me question why the UK aren't taking it that well. Personally, I think it's not our sort of thing, on the other hand I really like it, and I hope that radio play will pick up and make this song liked by more people.
This music video is amazing. It's the only word I can use to describe it. I first saw this on the music channels, and at the end I was really upset, luckily I held back tears. But this ending is really not something I expected.
This narrative-based music video is supposed to flow perfectly, but I get confused easily (in case you haven't noticed), and so I don't quite understand the start. Clearly he snuck out of his girlfriend's house to play pool, but when he returns the house is in flames. And his girlfriend is dead. But when he lies down and these robot things enter his ears, he relives his memories, only this time around he goes in and saves her, but ends up dying himself. Has he changed the past, or is this just a dream or a wish?
There's an extra performance piece by David Guetta, I think it's him. And it kind of reminds me of his DJ set of "Where Them Girls At", only with fire instead of bubbles.
Overall, an extremely catchy song that gets better and better the more you listen to it. The accompanying music video is tearful, but confusing too, but has everything I need for a top rating. It just misses out because I don't get the start, and I don't think I ever will.
This took me ages and ages to find. By the looks of things, this is the only single being released this week. I do not believe this, and there probably is more, but I've just spent a whole hour trying to find a song that was released this week and which has a music video. Shame Charlotte Church hasn't released a video for "Glitterbombed", would've reviewed that otherwise.
Gold1 is an artist I have never heard of. His real name is Dwaine and he used to release by that name. Now under a new name, he has released his first single. It features Bruno Mars, real name Peter Hernández, he's career is big, and it's only going to turn into a complete giant soon, if not already. He is what will make this song get the sales it gets. Jaeson Ma is a Chinese actor and musician, he has featured on a few singles, this is just another to add to the collection. I hope that we see more of Gold1 and Jaeson Ma, it will be interesting what the future brings.
The song is catchy, and it's one of those songs that makes me indecisive and unsure of whether I should buy it or not. The vocals of Bruno Mars is amazing, and definitely stands out. The song isn't on the iTunes top 1000 yet, and I doubt it will ever reach it due to no promotion and that hardly anyone knows of the song. I hope that in reviewing it, it may help.
The music video is surprisingly good. I was expecting some hip-hop/rap average music video, but it completely shocked me, and it's different to what I expected, and I wanted to watch it again and again because it's soft and gentle, which sides perfectly with the song.
There are various people holding up signs about what love is. I think this is very clever, as people's perceptions of love is not the same as others. It reminds me of The All-American Rejects' "Dirty Little Secret", because they too are holding up signs.
I like the short narrative that is involved, and I like how they magnify that with scenes of Gold1 performing on a road. It's subtle but it works and it just makes this video all the more better. What grabs my attention the most is the words as the whisp in the air. However they annoy me too as they don't link up with the words the singers are singing, although they are the lyrics of the song.
Overall, an okay song that will get stuck in my head soon. It's accompanying music video is great to watch, and it will be one I'll be watching again and again. I am prepared to overlook the whispy lyrics that don't match with the lyrics being sung at that moment in time. And so I have no choice but to give the video this rating. Look out for Gold1 and Jaeson Ma, they'll be well-known soon, just like Bruno Mars already is.
The Justice Collective is a group of celebrities and artists who have collaborated to create a charity single for the Hillsborough disaster, this has a similar link with Band Aid. The Justice Collective vocalists consists of Andy Brown, Gerry Marsden, Paul Heaton, Glenn Tilbrook, John Power, Robbie Williams, Melanie C, Rebecca Ferguson, Holly Johnson, Beverley Knight, Paloma Faith, Eliza Doolittle, Dave McCabe, Peter Hooton, Ren Harvieu, Jon McClure, Paul McCartney, Shane MacGowan, Bobby Elliott, Tony Hicks, Hollie Cook, Ian Prowse, Alan Hansen, Kenny Dalglish, John Bishop, Steve Rotheram, Peter Reid, Neil Fitzmaurice and LIPA Gospel Choir. Quite a collection of artists and celebrities. This will be the only single from The Justice Collective.
The song is a cover version of The Hollies' "He Ain't Heavy... He's My Brother", two of which sung part of the song in The Justice Collective's version. It was written by Bob Russell and Bobby Scott. This song definitely does remind me of Band Aid's "Do They Know It's Christmas?". And guess what? The videos are quite similar too.
This music video isn't even a performance piece. It is a studio piece, with an extra scene at the end. And yes I do like seeing the artists and celebrities singing the song, but it is missing something to draw me in, the only shocking thing I see in this is the other celebrities that could sing, such as John Bishop, who knew...?
The ending scene is small but definitely significant. The whole idea is amazing, but it still fails to do anything but perk the video up a bit. There were 96 people who died thanks to the Hillsborough Disaster, and that is why the children have the numbers nine and six on the back of their football shirts.
What is missing from this video is images or footage from the Hillsborough Disaster. We've all seen the few images available, but why were they not in the music video? If you had just flipped this over onto the music channels you would have no idea what it is for or who it is for, and this is what has made my decision on the video rating.
Overall the song is great and of course it would get to number one, that was obvious. And if I were reviewing the song it would get full stars. However the video is what is important to me on this blog, and it is just a studio performance piece. No link with the song or the reason they're singing the song (except at the end), leaving me on having to give this rating.
Wham! was a band consisting of four members back in 1981. They were George Michael, Andrew Ridgeley, Pepsi Damacque and Shirlie Holliman. They gained a lot of success, but disbanded in 1986, however their reputation and their hit singles still live on.
"Last Christmas" was written by George Michael. It managed to chart at number two in the UK Singles Chart, being beaten by Band Aid's "Do They Know It's Christmas?" However since 1984 it has charted during various other years. It charted in 1985, 1986, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010 and 2011 at positions of 6, 45, 14, 26, 34, 57 and 26. The song has been covered by a number of artists who have also been included in my blog, these are: Cascada's "Last Christmas" and Joe McElderry's "Last Christmas". I don't doubt that their will be more in the future.
This music video is another top music video, and reminds me a lot of Justin Bieber's "Mistletoe". It has a similar Christmas-esque to them both, which makes them similar.
This is narrative based, with a few performance bits. The story is that George Michael and Andrew Ridgeley meet up at a ski resort with their girlfriends. It becomes evident that Andrew's girlfriend used to be with George and this song is aimed at her.
I like the flashback, it's extremely inventive and shows what happened last Christmas. The backing singers Pepsi Damacque and Shirlie Holliman appear in this video alongside Martin Kemp (who was Shirlie's boyfriend and her future husband).
Overall this is one of my favourite songs. The video isn't my favourite, but I think that is due it being an old music video (older than me). On the other hand I have nothing to complain about and nothing against this video, and so I have no choice but give this top rating, because this video does deserve it.
