Andy Bell has been announced for Birmingham Gay Pride 2016, as a headliner. He was the last act to be announced on 17th March... The original facebook post has been removed, and so I have posted a later post below. Andy Bell is one half of Erasure. This is their biggest hit in the UK, and I mildly prefer it more than "Give A Little Respect", which seems to be their most known song, regardless of the fact that it only charted at number four, compared to this number two hit song. Erasure gives us a full performance, lots of energetic vibes emanate from this group and it works, sometimes.
WE'RE EXCITED! We've got some more exciting artists to announce NEXT WEEK!And with record ticket sales so far - we'...
Posted by Birmingham Pride on Thursday, 31 March 2016
Erasure are a duo consisting of Andy Bell, who will be performing at Birmingham Gay Pride 2016, and Vince Clarke. They are well known in the UK, with Andy Bell officially identified as a gay icon. They had a string of number one albums in the UK in the 80's and their singles from the 80's, 90's and 00's managed to chart respectfully within the top 40; although no number one singles, this duo is undeniably known in the UK. It just goes to show that you don't need a number one to have longevity. This song was written by Vince Clarke & Andy Bell.
The video isn't all that interesting, the duo can definitely perform, that is very clear, and yet no matter how much energy Andy Bell gives to this song, it still fails to entertain me.
The whole thing reminds me of a Daz washing detergent commercial. How to keep your whites clean, even during torrential rain.
There seems to be a hidden eye amongst the clouds in the sky, and it's clear Andy Bell is loving singing while it's raining.
Yet that is all I can really comment on, There's hints at a narrative, but it either didn't work out, or the scenes were just meant to be exactly what they are. Overall it doesn't feel complete, and definitely doesn't keep me interested at all. But if Andy Bell has still got this amount of energy when he performs on the main stage at Birmingham Pride 2016, he will definitely get the crowd going.
Will.I.Am is officially back, with an amazing song he will no doubt perform on The Voice UK tomorrow, hopefully with a special guest... Pia Mia. The song is catchy after a few plays, I don't know what it is about will.i.am, he just ends up releasing hits after hits after hits. Will.I.Am dances in this performance-based music video for Boys & Girls, he manages to really show Pia Mia up completely. Stylish, sexy, incredible dancing and perfect performance vibes, will.i.am wins me over with this song and video.
Will.I.Am, real name William Adams, is the lead band member in The Black Eyed Peas. He is currently a coach on The Voice UK, and has been for a total of five seasons, could he make it six as the show moves channels, from the BBC to ITV? Rumours suggest he might. The feature is Pia Mia, real name Pia Mia Perez, who had an amazing debut single release called "Do It Again", but her follow-up single "Touch" failed to get as popular. Personally, I thought this was the end of Pia Mia, but it seems will.i.am has come to her rescue, and here she is on his new single... However she comes across like she can't sing all that much, totally the wrong song for her, how could her and will.i.am get this so wrong? The song was written by William Adams, Charlotte Aitchison and Jef Martensis.
Directed by Spencer Creigh, the video is a pure performance piece, just like "Scream & Shout". Will.I.Am isn't just looking fresh, he actually looks quite hot! In comparison to "Scream & Shout", will.i.am has the spotlight on himself this time, and it is totally working for him.
I would literally go and watch him in concert right now, a solid performance piece from him. He is dancing in-sync with his dancers, with the highly complex choreography, that may look simple at first glance, but I assure you it's more complicated than you think, and it totally works.
Pia Mia... When she appeared I was expecting a Britney Spears starlight on her, just like Britney in the "Scream & Shout" video, but it didn't happen. Her vocals aren't on point, and her style doesn't scream star potential. She's pretty and looks good, but next to will.i.am, she fades into the background. Could this be the end of her short-lived career in the music industry? Her vocals are much better than this.
Overall, there isn't much to this performance-based music video, but there never is when it's performance-based. Apart from Pia Mia problems, everything is perfect, the performance, the dancing, the visuals, the music, the style. Will.I.Am has got everything right in this video, that I can't fault it whatsoever. I just wish Pia Mia's vocals were much better.
Katy B is my Thursday Revisit today. This was her debut single, that charted at number five here in the UK. Debut music videos are rarely anything special, and this one follows suit, or so we all thought. Katy B shows her performance vibes as Katy is On A Mission, although what mission it is I am not so sure, apart from giving the club-goers an amazing night out.
EXCITED! Katy B stormed the main stage at Birmingham Pride in 2014 - and now she's back for our 20th year as one of...
Posted by Birmingham Pride on Tuesday, 5 April 2016
Katy B, real name Kathleen Brien, is on the verge of releasing a whole new album, that she will more than likely sing some songs from at Birmingham Pride 2016, which she is headlining. Honey is released at the end of April, and is currently being talked about a lot. Whether it will hit number one like her previous album is something we can't possibly foresee... But her singles from the album hasn't really helped to promote it. This was her debut single and was written by Katie Brien, Beni Adejumo and Geeneus.
Directed by Johny Mourgue, the video shows Katy B and her producer for the song, Benga, performing in a London nightclub, called Matter.
A pure performance based music video, with little snippets of a potential narrative, although it could easily be clips of a behind-the-scenes of the concert.
Katy B performs effortlessly, the song clearly means a lot to her and she really wants to show off on her first music video, and it really does pay off. Benga fades into the background, but since this isn't an official collaboration, it makes sense that he does. Although, Katy B swaps clothes at one point, so are we seeing two different performances put together?
The club-goers are clearly having an amazing time. there's scenes in the crowd, which gives the viewers the atmosphere the clubbers received. Other scenes include backstage at the concert; Katy B and Benga being in a car, as well as out of it; and studio time.
Overall, not too bad of a debut music video, we have definitely seen a lot worse than this before. This relates, it shows a close-to-perfect performance piece, as well as giving us a backstage pass... What more could we have asked for, apart from a narrative, yet that would've been much more difficult and would've, no doubt, cost more. A solid, performance-based music video.
As soon as DJ Fresh was announced for Birmingham Pride 2016, this song and "Hot Right Now" both popped into my head, this is an act I cannot miss at pride, even if he's just doing a DJ set, I don't care, he's on the main stage as a headliner, so this song and "Hot Right Now" has to be played, as well as many other hits he has released. DJ Fresh's music video for Louder doesn't feature Sian Evans and in fact just shows a bunch of skateboarders and rollerskaters doing their thing.
WHO'S HOT RIGHT NOW? WE ARE!We're delighted to announce that DJ Fresh will on the Main Stage at Birmingham Pride on...
Posted by Birmingham Pride on Thursday, 17 March 2016
DJ Fresh, real name Daniel Stein, has been a bit of a hit and miss lately, some songs have hit the charts hard, whereas others have dwindled in the very low positions of the charts. No new number ones as of yet, although "Say You Do" came extremely close. Featuring on this track is Sian Evans, mostly known as the front woman for the band Kosheen. She hasn't done much solo work, however she has written a few songs, which also includes the Rita Ora feature on DJ Fresh's track "Hot Right Now". This song hit number one in the UK, and was DJ Fresh's first number one, which he followed up with another number one hit "Hot Right Now". This song was written by Sian Evans and Daniel Stein,
This video was directed by Ben Newman as part of the Lucozade Sport Lite campaign. It is pretty unrelated to the song, although as the song progresses the tricks become more harder as the professionals show off.
The video is purely performance based, it shows how amazing these skateboarders and rollerskaters are. These are pure professionals and they know exactly what they're doing.
There isn't a lot to this video, there is a continuity error, where a skateboarder has a different coloured/flavoured drink that he is holding, as pointed out by a YouTube commenter. There's probably a few others that aren't that noticeable. Overall it's fast-paced much like the song, but that's as far as it goes. We've seen this done plenty of times before, we need someone to bring something new to the table if they're going to record these types of music videos.
I have to admit, I thought there was more to this video than first meet the eye, but let's be honest this is crazily weird, although definitely rinsing and repeating. Riton has been confirmed for Birmingham Pride 2016. This song is currently in the charts and has become his most successful song to date. Kah-Lo is sitting completely still as this video is rinsed and repeated just like the song suggests, with amazing beats in the background thanks to Riton.
RIGHT ON! HERE'S ANOTHER ARTIST ANNOUNCEMENT!We're delighted to announce that Riton will on the Main Stage at...
Posted by Birmingham Pride on Thursday, 17 March 2016
Riton, real name Henry Smithson, has been attempting to hit the music industry with various different names and projects, finally he has released a hit song that charted well here in the UK. Riton is French slang for Henry, hence the name. He has worked with a number of acts and DJ's some of which spawned their own project. Now he's on to a winner with this song, he just needs to follow up with a successful second single. Kah-Lo is the feature. She's probably one of the ones to watch in the coming years, she won't hit it big straight away, but a few more features and she'll blow up the charts. She'll follow in the footsteps of Becky Hill, has a good voice, gets a few hits, but doesn't quite get the solo hits she deserves. Kah-Lo needs to ride this wave, and then take control of it, otherwise she will sink in this industry. This song is catchy for reasons I don't even know why, basic lyrics, a simple upbeat tempo, yet it easily gets stuck in my head.
Directed by Dan Streit and Dillon Moore, it reminds me of exactly what happens in a club. At the start, everyone is at the bar or in the smoking area, but as more and more alcohol is consumed, people become confident and end up on the dancefloor, then the dancing becomes quite wild towards the end of the night.
This is a simple rinse and repeat situation, at first glance we are watching the same scene over and over again, only the characters become more and more wild, apart from Kah-Lo who is very still to say the least.
It's surprising to see the big change. Compare the very first scene to the last one, and you have total different people in this music video. Yet you don't really realise as it gradually builds up, one girl even gets up on the pool table at the end.
The character change shows how alcohol and amazing music can make people confident. Confident people get the things they want out of life because they go for it. But being drunk doesn't make you confident, confidence comes from within, the only reason you get confident when you're drinking is because you start to not care about perspectives.
The video is great for analysing character and people, since it is a true representation of what happens in clubs, however it fails to interest the viewers watching, and it's mainly the song that makes everyone use the replay button. Rinse & Repeat the song all you want, it won't make the music video any better. Relatable to an extent, and technically great, but this just doesn't do anything for the viewers.
