GWEN STEFANI is back with her first single in the UK in seven years, and what a catchy song, better yet an uncomfortable awkward video. Full of passion and emotion, you can't help but feel for her. I want to jump through my computer screen and hug her until she feels better. Quite the comeback in the UK, but will it chart?
Gwen Stefani is the lead vocalist of band No Doubt, who seem to be on a hiatus as she continues to follow her solo success. She's hit the UK big in the past, and we are used to her outrageousness. It's not as sexualised as other stars are now, but we usually expect something quirky from her, and we can't help but love her for that.
However this video flips what we expect. Directed by Sophie Muller, the video displays a stripped back version of Gwen Stefani, putting her entire emotions into the song, and singing a couple of lines.
Something so easy and low-budget comes across perfectly, it's exactly what is missing from music channels and yet it's not something someone wants to watch again and again. It's clever.
Difficult to rate, as it will receive mixed views. I personally think it's great, and yet even I don't want to watch it over and over again. Awkward, uncomfortable, and sensitive, yet clever, amazing and surprising.
Why are so many artists releasing singles without music videos? Music videos circulating on music channels, is promotion, and yet many this week have released relying on radio play and their fans, such as One Direction with "Perfect", Diplo & Sleepy Tom with "Be Right There" and Ben Haenow Featuring Kelly Clarkson with "Second Hand Heart". Then there's Taylor Swift who has released a remix version of "Wildest Dreams" instead of an official single. So here I am stuck with Alesha Dixon's new one. Powerful and entertaining, Alesha Dixon shows us what Britain's Got Talent has shown her: failure and how to get buzzed.
Alesha Dixon was one third of Mis-Teeq. She soon launched her solo career, and became notable for single "The Boy Does Nothing". Although her highest charting position is with "Breathe Slow". She has only recently released her fourth album, which this is her second single, after "The Way We Are". These two singles, she has released, are unable to chart in the UK, at her own request. She didn't want to define her album by the singles she releases. Yet I guess this is the reason why the album charted at 81. Is she just a failed artist now? She's clearly not making the cut is she?
The song is written by Alesha Dixon, Alex James and Harry Sommerdahl. Catchy and energetic, I had it stuck in my head for all of three minutes, at which point I played Little Mix's new release "Weird People", which I'm currently in love with!
Alesha Dixon is known for her dancing, she won Strictly Come Dancing, which kick-started her comeback, and yet where is the dancing in this bubbly song? And did she really do the robot? Are we sure this is a 2015 video right? It seems so dated.
Donning killer heels, and amazing fashion statements, you can see where the budget for this video has been blown, and yet it hasn't helped at all, compared to Inna's "Bop Bop". I'm bored, and uninterested in what she is wearing. Not only does she not look good, but she looks confused as to what she should be wearing, how to wear it and who she is as a person. Does this reflect in her music? Is she at her standstill where she's just releasing music because she wants to, and not taking a key interest in what she's releasing. She needs another hit, which charts high. Otherwise, she's not going to do as well as she thinks she should.
I was going to review the only other JoJo single to chart here in the UK, only "Anything" never got an official music video, and so, by elimination, there was just two more music videos to choose from. This song takes JoJo to the R&B roots we're used to, and it proves how much she has changed. Her Tringle she released, which includes "When Love Hurts", "Save My Soul" and "Say Love", are much more modern. However Not That Kinda Girl was released when R&B was hitting the charts hard. The video relates to the song perfectly. Edgy and full of depth, JoJo announces she's not the usual type of singer, and she won't be controlled either.
JoJo, real name Joanna Levesque, has just made a return to music with a short snapshot of her new album. The Tringle is amazing, and I cannot wait for the other videos. It's good to see her back, after such an awful dispute with her label, where she ended up suing them. Finally she got out of the contract and signed a new one with a new record label and can now release new music. This song was written by Neely Dinkins, B. Cola Pietro, Balewa Muhammad and Sylvester Jordan, Jr. Catchy and full of R&B vibes, her voice is deep and soulful.
It was directed by Fat Cats, who consist of Eric Williams and Randy Marshall. It also features cameos from Laurie Ann Gibson, Vincent Herbert, Da Internz, Tool and Maynard James Keenan.
It's almost as if JoJo is being two different people, this star singer who is photographed, who is dancing on stage, who has bodyguards everywhere. And then this normal girl getting on a bus, with her album advertised on the side of it. She's proving that she is a normal down to Earth girl, and that she will not become what they want her to be.
Her dancing is in sync, and I hope that in a future music video she has full choreography like this one. I know "When Love Hurts" has choreography, but it's mainly vogue and finger tutting, and I really would like to see something much bigger.
Overall, perfect video to match a perfect song. I have no problem with this video at all, and now the song is stuck in my head.
After reviewing JoJo's "When Love Hurts", I just had to review this next. Also set in a warehouse, Nick Jonas has never looked his sexiest. Seductive, engaging and lustful, this video is hard not to watch for many reasons.
Nick Jonas was one third of the band The Jonas Brothers. Another Disney based group. However I don't understand how figures like Miley Cyrus, Demi Lovato and Selena Gomez get criticize for no longer being the sweet innocent girls they used to be, where as guys like Nick Jonas doesn't get anything as so bad. This music video is more than sexy, it even includes a sledgehammer as a sexualised object, which we've seen in Miley Cyrus' "Wrecking Ball", so why is this considered okay when it comes to Nick Jonas, especially since he has also appeared in a Calvin Klein inspired photo shoot as well as other media in a sexualised manner. Yes sex sells, and people have no problem when it comes to Disney male actors, but when it comes to Disney's female actresses, it's a totally different story. However I guess the artists prove themselves by getting their high charting hits. Any press is good press right?
Sultry and provocative, this isn't exactly a surprise when you notice the director is Colin Tilley, who has done a very good job of making Nick Jonas the centre of attention.
The dancers are getting a few comments, but when you have a song like this, which is not only catchy but also quite sexy in itself, you instantly think of this sort of video. The song was written by Sean Douglas, Stefan Johnson, Marcus Lomax, Ian Kirkpatrick, Sam Martin, Talay Riley and Jordan Johnson.
Performance wise, Nick Jonas is on point, and definitely making me eager to see him live. The editing is amazing, clearly a lot of work went into it, and I definitely can't fault it. I can't stop watching either.
JoJo, real name Joanna Levesque, is finally back, and I am more than excited. She was an icon when I was younger, and everyone was talking about her when "Leave (Get Out)" was release. After an issue with her record label, who wouldn't let her release any new music, hence the two mixtapes "Can't Take That Away From Me" and "Agápē", she got out of her contract. Now with a new record label, she has released this tringle as a sample of her new album. If this is what her tringle gives us, I am excited to see what else is to come.
I was going to review this song when it was released, however there was no music video at the time so Rachel Platten's "Fight Song" was reviewed instead. Finally this video got released, it's stunning, effortless and engaging, JoJo really stands out proving why we all loved her from the start, and proves to us how she is older, stronger, sexier and vocally much talented. She has already got people talking about her comeback, which is going to hit the charts hard globally.
Written by Ammar Malik, Benjamin Levin, Jason Evigan, Daniel Omelio and Ryn Weaver. The song talks about how love hurts and how strong that emotion is. It is a powerful song, and everyone can relate, to some degree, even if you haven't exactly been in love. The video was directed by Patrick "Embryo" Tapu.
It reminds me a lot of Inna's "Bop Bop", maybe it's because JoJo is seen as a stylish performer, and the vogue dancing and the finger tutting. She's centre stage, being confident and in sync with her dancers.
This is a perfect performance piece, showcasing not only her album, but her future singles, her gigs and the tour she'll be soon be on. Not quite relatable to the song, but it still stands out and it's more than what I was expecting from her comeback music video. Although not quite as hot as Nick Jonas' "Levels" which has a similar setting.
