Diplo & Sleepy Tom - Be Right There



Is this a serious music video? I'm like stunned right now after watching this. This video definitely has the 90's feel, but does anyone else get the feeling they are watching the visualisations on Windows Media Player? It definitely has that feel, and if you still use Windows Media Player to listen to music, you seriously need to upgrade to a better music platform! Diplo & Sleepy Tom bring back a 90's classic, remix it and make it sound amazing, the video relies heavily on the 90's background and yet switches up the choreography to prove it's new.

Diplo, real name Thomas Pentz, is from America. He is a DJ, producer, rapper, songwriter, the list will probably go on and on. He has been a part of many side projects, which too will probably feature on this blog at some point, because Diplo is releasing hits across the world right now. DJs have definitely come into prominence in recent years, and with club bangers like this one, they're going to be setting the charts alight if they haven't done so already. All Diplo now needs is a number one, and at the rate he is going, he'll get one soon, all by himself. He has already got a number one with Skrillex in the duo Jack Ü called "Where Are Ü Now" which features Justin Bieber. Sleepy Tom, real name Cameron Tatham, is a DJ and producer from Canada. He is just setting off, but if this is anything to go by, this won't be the last we've heard of him. The song is written by Vassal Benford, Ron Spearman, Thomas Pentz and Cameron Tatham. It infuses Jade's "Don't Walk Away", with Kool & The Gang's "Jungle Jazz" and Stevie Wonder's "That Girl". I wish Jade had reformed just to lay new vocals on this track, or they could've used Javine, since she released a cover version of "Don't Walk Away", she seems to be free lately. Instead they used the vocals from Jade's single release.

This video was directed by Dan Streit and Sean Lopez. There's not a lot going on, they have gone for the 90's theme, due to the Jade song, which was definitely a big hit for the band.

The choreography isn't exciting or entertaining. There is a lot of '90 influence in the dance sequences, which definitely goes a long with the whole vibe. Three dancers were used in the filming of the video, these dancers are Fulani Bahati, Asako Hara and Helen Gedlu.

When the music changes so does the choreography, and this really works with this piece. However there isn't a lot to say. At times it makes my eyes go weird.

Overall a banging club tune, that will definitely go down as a classic, one I want to hear in the clubs for the next few years. However a very uninteresting, unexciting and quite bland music video, that fails to keep us entertained and engaged. It relates to the song extremely slightly due to decade the original was released, however it fails to relate to the lyrics or the actual beat behind. This is just dated, and not something I would want to watch.
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Sigma & Rita Ora - Coming Home



This video was released on bonfire night, perfect celebratory release as we released fireworks into the night sky for Guy Fawkes Day. Here's a little UK history lesson for you all. The tradition started because on 5th November 1605, a member of the Gunpowder Plot, Guy Fawkes, was found with explosives under the House of Lords. It's celebrated because he was found, and King James I, had survived the attempt on his life. People lit bonfires around London to celebrate, and since then the tradition was born. Rita Ora looks stunning in this Sigma produced track, on her way home, perhaps for the Christmas Holidays? Sigma and Rita Ora spend time with friends, in the place they call home.

Sigma are a duo consisting of Cameron Edwards and Joe Lenzie. Signing with 3 Beat Records was the best thing they could've done. Even though I am not a fan of their record label and how they managed ex-acts, I have to admit, they are vastly becoming a hit record label, especially with the artists they have behind them, it is how they manage and promote them to the best of their ability as to why the singers and acts are on form, lately. Sigma has had hit after hit since signing with this record label, and they are not going to stop, that much is clear. As for Rita Ora, she needs another number one hit to pull out of the bag. She was raking them in, in her early days, but recently, she hasn't been quite hitting the mark. Her second studio album should be released soon, however she has recently filed a law suit to be released from her contract, and so her recorded album may never see the light of day, and her singles "I Will Never Let You Down", "Poison" and "Body On Me", may all end up as non-album singles. Rita Ora, you NEED another number one! This song was written by Wayne Hector, Tom Barnes, Ben Kohn and Pete Kelleher.

Directed by Georgia Hudson, this video shows Rita Ora returning home after pursuing her dreams and becoming the well known singer we all know her as.

I have to give kudos, straight up, to Kyle De Volle for Rita Ora's stunning clothes. Perfect outfits that make her look gorgeous without showing too much flesh, I especially like her coat in the taxi, which Jojo Copeman totally combined perfectly with purple lipstick to match. Rita Ora looks stunning! She totally outshines Sigma, almost to the extent that Britney Spears did in the Will.I.Am song "Scream & Shout".

Rita Ora never fails to disappoint, her performance glows out to us as an audience, and yet this song is not perfect for her vocal range, and yet she does her best, and gives us the energy vibes we truly need.

Sigma is just having fun, being at home with friends, and in the presence of Rita Ora, and can we really blame them? Cool, calm and relaxed, Sigma proves that the track is theirs as they don't need to do a single thing, just have a bit of a laugh and have fun.

The song is extremely catchy, and yet not one I would personally play on repeat... It gets too repetitive after the third listen, if that. The music video is beautifully stunning, Rita Ora is centre stage, and works it to the full, giving us exactly what we need, and she definitely means every word she is singing.
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New Release: Nero - Into The Night



Nero have come a long way from when they first started, and yet I still feel that they're trailing behind. They have had one or two hits here in the UK, "Promises" was definitely massive for it's time, with their song "Guilt" just as popular, and yet they've died down since and didn't really push themselves when they were at the top of the charts. This isn't their fault and many other bands and singers have followed both before and after them. But this is where the charts are at, and it just takes one song, as usual, to become a worldwide hit. "Promises" may have been their song, but many will follow if they keep at it. Nero transports itself into the anime world, a narrative and a performance piece set in a fictional graphic story.

Nero is a three-piece band consisting of Daniel Stephens, Joseph Ray and Alana Watson. They are from the UK, and have released a string of singles from their first album with "Promises" and "Guilt" being their biggest hits, and "Me & You" charting just outside the top 10. Lately, their singles from their second album have not charted so well. As for the album overall, it too underperformed. This can't be the end of Nero, definitely not. This is a band who doesn't give up, so they will definitely come back fighting.

This was directed by Markus Lundqvist and co-directed by Daniel Stephens. The animation was done by Red Knuckles, who have actually done quite a few things, including the animation for Britain's Got Talent 2015 commercial. This studio might just do some more in the future, that we will all be aware of.

This one is done good, you can feel for each of the characters. The story line is interesting. The guy and the girl wants to run away together, into the night, but they need money to do so. So, he kind of gets some drugs and delivers them to some big fat crazy guy, who owns a club called Satisfy (possibly a connection with their song "Satisfy" which they released as the first single from their second album), who then gives our main character a case with no money in.

He's been made a fool of, and gets shot at, luckily missing every bullet, as well as surviving a grenade, that practically blew up in his face. He calls his girl, who gets upset and seeks out to find him. Then they have a street race together for fun.

As for the performance side of things, Nero looks good as anime characters, and Alana is pulling of the swish moves, as I call it. Which we definitely see a lot of, but no more so than in Caramell's "Caramelldansen"/"Caramelldancing".

This isn't the only link, Britney Spears famously became an animated character in "Break The Ice". Which this video definitely reminds me of.

However there is an error, as one YouTuber pointed out... There are six vials in the first clip, when the case is first opened, but when the robot takes two out for the evil monster, there is only five. Continuity errors are extremely important, even if this is anime. A simple vial cannot go missing!

Overall, great song and a perfect relatable music video. One that I will remember but still not quite understand, there's no background on this thing, where did the vials come from? How did our main character get involved in this? Why is it so important? And where did vial number six disappear to? The questions are left unanswered, and that is the way it's supposed to be.
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Christina Milian - Dip It Low



Okay, someone please tell me what I have just watched? This is quite embarrassing, I didn't even realise they had switched Christina Milian into this sexed up woman. This is someone I've always remembered as being sweet and innocent in "Am To Pm". This isn't even done good, although it is the switch we've seen plenty of times, Britney Spears, Chritina Aguilera, Miley Cyrus and Demi Lovato, to name a few, yet their switch videos aren't this badly done. Christina Milian attempts to sex up her music videos in this extremely sexualised song, that has a long suing story to go with it.

Christina Milian has ventured into other markets such as acting, releasing her own set of wines, setting up her own company, and releasing her own clothing range. She recently returned to music with an EP. She needs a hit that will chart globally, her vocals are stunning, yet she can't be done with music and have this as her biggest hit. Dip It Low was written by Poli Paul, Teedra Moses and John Jackson. Although very catchy, it samples a track called "La Sirena" by Thomas Turino, Larry Crook and Dan Dickey, which put Christina Milian in the middle of one chaotic law suit. It seems everyone sued everyone over this single.

The music video was directed by Matthew Rolston. I totally understand that Christina Milian wanted to sex up her image, she didn't want to be seen as the sweet and innocent "Am To Pm" girl. Yet what this is, is not what should've been. This is just too much.

However, let's start off with the good points... Although I'm not impressed by the sequences, the choreography is performed to perfection, this girl can dance, and boy does she prove it!

That is all the good points I can draw from this though. Kim Kardashian makes her debut in a music video, by being an extra. I didn't even see her during the second watch of this video. A claim to fame for anyone in that video, right?

Anyhow, the black sticky tar / black paint made this video so bad, I hate how she is spun by guys, it's so suggestive of the music industry and how people are being controlled, even though she wanted to sex up her image.

As for the performance side of things, Christina Milian does her best to perform. She shows her sultry sexy side, and yet doesn't really get into the role. She looks uncomfortable and unsure of herself.

Overall, a video I do not want to watch again, but a song that is on my iTunes and does get randomly played now and again, and one I love hearing again and again. However her new songs are so much better, and I hope she releases more in the future. I am hoping for a chart hit in the near future, so she can leave this awful music video behind her. However, kudos for making the video relate to the song, at least, but I don't get the lights on her towards the end of the video when she is dancing, is she some sort of hologram?
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The 1975 - UGH!



Another suggestion from work. I still don't get the obsession with The 1975, although I have to admit, this is probably the first song by them I actually like, so I guess they are doing something right, even though this hasn't exactly charted well. This is the follow-up to "Love Me". A pure performance piece, sending out electric vibes in an 80's style, The 1975 proves that you surely won't be disappointed if you saw them live.

Sometimes all you need is good stage presence, and this is what these guys have. The 1975 consists of Matthew Healy, Ross MacDonald, Adam Hann and George Daniel. This song is the second single off their new album titled: I Like It When You Sleep, For You Are So Beautiful Yet So Unaware Of It. It charted at number 42, although it deserved to be a bigger hit for them. I am guessing they will release a third single to coincide with the February release of the album, in the hope it charts better.

Directed by Adam Powell, the video has the same style and feel as "Love Me", especially with Matthew Healy topless. Although this time, it's more appealing, he isn't being quite as wild, and is definitely focused on performing the song.

Since the song is about his cocaine addiction, you would expect a narrative video with a droning depressing song, instead we have an appealing video that is full of colour, light and stage presence, and an uplifting catchy song.

It works well, no gimmicks, no belittling other artists, just The 1975 performing. Along with amazing lighting and production by Tobias Rylander. Although, not a video I would be inclined to watch again and again, it's something I wouldn't skip over on the music channels.
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