Dev - In The Dark


In the Dark - Dev |

I woke up with this song in my head... Whatever happened to Dev? That was the question I was wondering as I was singing this song during my morning routine. This song charted all right globally, but it was the start of her music career slowing down. This song is catchy for reasons we don't know, probably because of the beat behind it. Watch Dev be all sexy and suggestive of dancing "In The Dark" during this music video, although there's not a lot of dancing going on, just a lot of freaky hands.

Dev, real name Devin Tailes, apparently has a second studio album set to be released soon, although the lead single of which "#1" was released a whole year ago. Has promotion of this said album just ceased? Where is the comeback of Dev? Her sexually induced vocals are what makes this track lit, along with all her other songs, from the features to her solos. What's surprising is that she hasn't held on to her fame, she was all the range back in 2011/2012, with the possibility to become one of the leading female artists, but she didn't keep her momentum and soon fell. Yet, all it takes is one new hit song, and she'll be back once again. This song was written by Devin Tailes, Niles Hollowell-Dhar, and David Singer-Vine.

Directed by Ethan Lader, the music video incorporates a sexy vibe with a dark and mysterious feel to it all. It's a pure performance piece with Dev looking as hot as she can be.

It comes off really weird, in my opinion. It has a club energetic feel to it, and there are scenes where she's on the dancefloor clubbing away. They are dancing in the dark, but I'm expecting a full-out choreographed scene and that is nowhere in sight,

On the other hand, or should that be on the scary hand? Dev brings it during the performance, being sultry throughout and relating to the sexy tone of her voice. Yet there's something majorly missing and the video doesn't come off the way we all think it should.

There's just too much light and shade with it not directly linking in with the song all that much. Dev isn't really doing mush during the visual and that fails to keep the audience interested. It would be stunning if it were a photoshoot, but it's a music video, and it doesn't quite work.
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Amy Lee - Speak To Me


Speak to Me - Amy Lee |

This is beyond beautiful; this is beyond stunning; this is beyond anything we've ever seen from her yet. The frontwoman of Evanescence has this amazing music video for her new single "Speak To Me" and Amy Lee totally brings it like you wouldn't believe. This came up in my YouTube recommendations, and I have actually been waiting for this, so I clicked on this straight away and just had to review it for my blog. I almost cried, almost. Watch Amy Lee, the frontwoman of Evanescence, deliver a gorgeous visual for her song "Speak To Me" that is a soundtrack theme song for the film "Voice From The Stone".

Amy Lee is best known for being the frontwoman of the band Evanescence, who are supposed to be returning to music soon. For the time being, she has been focusing on her solo career as well as looking after her son. This song proves that Amy Lee can really truly sing. You may know her for her rock songs, and undeniably she can sing rock really well. Evanescence would not have gained a number one single with "Bring Me To Life" if it wasn't for her amazing vocals, but this song right here shows her vocal range, shows her versatility, and also shows her ability to flood a song with raw emotion. Amy Lee deserves so much more credit than what she has, and if there's one singer that is underrated and underestimated, it's her. This song is intricately stunning, it's perfection. This should be a global hit. It was written by Amy Lee and Michael Wandmacher.

The music video was directed by Eric D. Howell, It shows Amy Lee in a stunning dress, that she designed herself along with Anna Lombardi, whilst playing the piano. There are short narrative scenes that show her watching over a child.

The child looks a lot like her son Jack Lion Hartzler (it's not, though; instead, it's the director's son), and he goes around the grounds of a castle, throwing stones in the water, playing with toy trucks, running about. Throughout, Amy Lee is following, as if she's a ghost.

The narrative continues as we see short clips of Amy Lee and the child spending time together, she is wearing something different and it has a feeling that it's part of their past. Throughout, there's a hidden meaning, suggesting that Amy Lee has passed away, hence why she is looking over the boy as if she is a ghost. Then we watch the rest of the performance piece.

Emotions run wild in the performance piece, enough to break all our hearts. This song means a lot to her and she's put that in the song and the music video. There's a lot of yearning for her child in this music video, and Amy Lee easily displays that emotion to us. She makes us want to cry.

Many fans have noticed some scenes are similar to previous Evanescence videos, perhaps an ode to her previous visuals; such as the black and white visual where she is floating in the water, is very reminiscent of "My Immortal", although she has been in the water since "Going Under". Then there's the angel scene, which we can all presume has a very tiny link to the album artwork of Evanescence's first self-titled EP, from way back in 1998.

Overall, this music video is completely stunning along with the song. She has proven herself as an artist, as a singer, and as a songwriter. This song deserves a lot more recognition. As for the music video, it relates to the song perfectly, and will probably work amazingly with the film "Voice From The Stone" that will be released soon. I've been battling with the rating all day, but due to the fact that the whole narrative isn't fully displayed, with the viewers having to gather what is going on, I have dropped a star. But this is a video I can't stop watching! Bring on more stunning visuals Amy Lee!
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New Release: Iggy Azalea - Mo Bounce


Mo Bounce - Iggy Azalea |

She's back! The follow-up to "Team" is finally here and it has an interesting title. I must warn you not to confuse this with her previous single "Bounce", she must really like that word, or maybe this is her sequel to that previous song? Whatever the reason, this song is here and it is full-on catchy. There isn't a lot of lyrics to this song, but who cares, it's less to learn as you sing along to it. Watch Iggy Azalea twerk and dance with a bunch of women in her music video for "Mo Bounce".

Iggy Azalea, real name Amethyst Kelly, has been working hard in the studio on a new range of songs for her second studio album, this is her second song to be released from the said album which will be titled "Digital Distortion". This song is different to "Team" that was released last year, and so it's intriguing to see the direction she has taken for her new album. This song is catchy, but with Ed Sheeran dominating the charts at the moment, I doubt she'll get a look-in with this song. It was written by Amethyst Kelly, Jonathan Yip, Jeremy Reeves, Ray Romulus, Ray McCullough, Maurice Simmonds, Kevin Nishimura, James Roh, and Virman Coquia.

Directed by Lil Internet the music video was filmed in Hong Kong. It was teased by Iggy Azalea by a series of gifs that she has been posting over the past few days.

She has always claimed that she isn't a dancer, but she could've fooled us all because that girl can twerk! She follows some sort of choreography with various other women, totally bringing it with confidence; she's fierce throughout.

There's not much else for me to talk about, the music video isn't appealing to me personally but would probably appeal to men who are interested in Iggy Azalea. I feel like she channelled Nicki Minaj for this music video. It's not something I would watch on repeat, but I guess it relates to the song.
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Rascal Flatts - Here Comes Goodbye


Here Comes Goodbye - Rascal Flatts |

I thought I'd stick with the country theme this week, and choose Rascal Flatts as my Thursday Revisit after I reviewed their latest music video "Yours If You Want It". This was one of their most-watched music videos, after "What Hurts The Most", obviously. This one is highly emotional and follows the same style as their other videos. Watch Rascal Flatts perform in the music video to "Here Comes Goodbye" whilst we watch a narrative about a woman grieving over the loss of her son, who is buried next to her father.

The Rascal Flatts are a country music trio consisting of Gary LeVox, Jay DeMarcus, and Joe Don Rooney. They are big in the United States of America, hitting the country charts hard constantly; but, as per usual, they don't even make a mark here in the UK. Country music just doesn't do well over here, and it's disappointing to see since there are some amazing acts in that genre, and the Rascal Flatts are one of them. This charted well in the states and deserved to have been a worldwide hit, maybe they'll have one in the future, we can only hope. This song was written by Clint Lagerberg and Chris Sligh.

Directed by Shaun Silva, this wintry music video is full of emotion from start to finish, with frontman vocalist Gary LeVox shining throughout the performance visual, whilst the actors in the music video portray a heart-wrenching narrative.

The storyline isn't clear from the start, as we see a little boy playing with toy trucks whilst an old man talks about the time he was that age. The narrative continues as we watch two women grieving, they then walk out through the snow to two graves. We watch on, intrigued to work it all out, and then discovering that the woman is grieving for her son, who has sadly passed away, and his grandfather has come to take him up to heaven.

The performance piece is typical Rascal Flatts, adding all the right emotion, whilst adding energetic vibes making us all want to see them live. At least they guarantee that regardless of the song they will be singing, the Rascal Flatts will give you a show to remember.

Overall, it's another solid music video from these guys. The narrative could've been a bit more explanatory; however, it's relatable to the song as it is time to say goodbye to the lost loved ones. I hope the Rascal Flatts return with a killer album that we are all going to love, bring on their future releases.
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Neon Trees - Songs I Can't Listen To


Songs I Can't Listen To - Neon Trees |

Back to YouTube recommendations and the thumbnail made me pick this one, obviously. Neon Trees has always been a band we are all aware of, but they haven't quite had a hit. This song is full of emotion and it really does make you think. It's so sad it didn't become the hit we all needed. The music video is cute and just as emotional, although it doesn't come off real instead it's quite awkward. Watch Neon Trees perform, as frontman, Tyler Glenn, takes on one of the lead roles in the narrative storyline about a gay relationship that falls apart, in the music video for "Songs I Can't Listen To".

Neon Trees are a four-piece American rock band consisting of Tyler Glenn, Chris Allen, Branden Campbell, and Elaine Bradley. The band dropped their debut single "Animal" back in 2010 and it has been one of their biggest singles to date, as well as "Everybody Talks". This song is their most recently released single, which was a non-album single, way back in mid-2015, so I guess it's good to presume that they have plans to release a new single and album soon, if not this year then surely next year. This song was written by Tyler Glenn.

Directed by Rebecca Thomas and co-starring actor and model Dustin Lance Black as the love interest, the music video has both a narrative and a performance piece shown throughout. We watch Tyler Glenn sing this song, thinking about the past memories, the ones shared with Dustin Lance Black and the ones where he's single and alone.

The narrative shows Dustin Lance Black and Tyler Glenn listening to a song together, then shots of their loving relationship unfolds between our eyes, then the fights and the arguments follow towards the end of the video, and we can see that Tyler Glenn is singing this song because he's thinking of Dustin Lance Black, knowing that he can't listen to the songs they listened to together as it reminds him of their time as a couple.

Luckily, I haven't been able to hold a boyfriend long enough for this to happen to me, and I'm dreading the day that it does. Occasionally Tove Lo's "Talking Body" makes me think of boyfriend number one, and any song of Tulisa's, mainly "Sight of You", makes me think of boyfriend number two, but it's not to the extent where I'll stop listening to them because of it. It's just a slight reminder, but I don't feel loss at all, I am better off without them, and they only lasted a week and a half each so it wasn't a big impact on me. I shall continue to listen to those songs, and I do.

My problem with this narrative is that we don't see them kiss, it's not even properly implied, with it being cut here and there. It's always awkward when they draw in close, and I feel like it comes across as bad acting because it doesn't feel real whatsoever. Many people believe the reason is because Dustin Lance Black is the fiancé to Tom Daley. Yet, I feel the music video lacks integrity because of it.

Then there's the performance piece, which Neon Trees totally smash. Tyler Glenn is quite the performer and anyone is lucky to see them live in concert. The rest of the band is just as energetic, channelling the vibes coming from Tyler Glenn and releasing them on the instruments. This is one of the best performance pieces in a rock music video, for sure.

Overall, the video on paper should be amazing, it relates to the song perfectly and keeps the viewers entertained from start to finish. In visual, this is not entirely the case due to the plenty of awkward scenes between Tyler Glenn and Dustin Lance Black. This should've been a perfectly polished music video, but it just falls short. I also don't get the moment when they lose gravity and are suspended in air, did the soundwaves from the record really fling them into the air? That's a confusing scene for sure.
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Greta Salóme - My Blues


My Blues - Greta Salome |

She's back with a brand new music video that features The Mountain. This is exactly what we needed and it's completely catchy. Although, I was kind of expecting The Mountain to break out in song throughout. Regardless, Greta Salóme totally makes up for it with her fired-up vocals. Watch Greta Salóme work out with The Mountain, showing that her vocals aren't the only fierce thing about her in this music video for "My Blues".

Greta Salóme, full name Greta Salóme Stefánsdóttir, first came to my attention at Eurovision 2016, when she, unfortunately, didn't make it into the Grand Final with "Hear Them Calling" whilst she represented Iceland. I'm not sure what went wrong as that song is a killer. Regardless, she has continued to release music and she is constantly proving that her vocals are intricately amazing. She also, previously, represented Iceland in the Eurovision Song Contest 2012 alongside Jónsi with the song "Never Forget", she did much better back then, placing 20th in the Grand Final. This song is her most recent release and is probably my favourite song from her ever; it's infinitely catchy and seriously tests her vocals, which she nails throughout.

Directed by Ásgeir Helgi Magnússon with Nazar Davidoff acting as director of photography. The video features The Mountain from Game of Thrones, who is played by Hafþór Júlíus Björnsson. It is set in a gym, as we watch The Mountain and Greta Salóme train together.

We see them work out on a few things, including chin-ups or pull-ups, weight lifting, sledgehammer training, and tyre flipping. The best is the push-ups where Greta Salóme can be seen doing push-ups on The Mountain's back as he does push-ups at the same time - you can see his strength as she attempts to stay on his back. The ending is hilarious.

There's not a lot else I can comment on with this video, although it's intense throughout and gripping as a viewer. It's interesting to watch them work out together and watch their relationship unfold in the video, they get on so well.
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Chart Mondays: Ed Sheeran Continues To Dominate The UK's Top 10 Singles Chart 17th March 2017 - 23rd March 2016

Ed Sheeran is still obliterating the UK chart, two weeks on the trot. It's all because he released his new album almost three weeks ago, yet it's still dominating the UK Singles Chart, with nine songs in the top 10.

As I explained last week, the inclusion of streams into the UK charts has become the most annoying this about the chart, since the top 10 rarely changes week on week, with some prolific stars not getting a look in at all. This has ruined the chart recently, and they really need to decide what they are going to do about it, as they can't keep going on as it is.

Ed Sheeran's Facebook Cover Picture

I reviewed the album for Outlet Magazine, adding my own streams to this chart, but my one stream of each track clearly combined with everyone else's which made this impressive album get an equally impressive chart record.

Here's the current UK Top 10 Singles Chart:

2) Ed Sheeran - Galway Girl
4) The Chainsmokers & Coldplay - Something Just Like This
5) Ed Sheeran - Perfect
6) Ed Sheeran - New Man
7) Ed Sheeran - Happier
8) Ed Sheeran - Supermarket Flowers
9) Ed Sheeran - What Do I Know
10) Ed Sheeran - Dive

Canaan Smith - Love You Like That


Love You Like That - Canaan Smith |

I've had quite the country music listening weekend this week, and my iTunes decided to play this song randomly from one of my many owned country compilation albums, and I'm so glad it did because it's one of those effortlessly catchy country songs that we'll never forget. On first watch of the music video it made me cry, I want someone to love me like that, someone who will make me pack up and leave for good without a care in the world; I think we all want a guy like that, right? Watch super hot country music artist Canaan Smith serenade a city girl in this music video for "Love You Like That", that inspires her to actually stick around.

Canaan Smith is a Nashville, Tennessee male country music artist, who has only recently came into prominence. This song is his biggest hit to date. In 2009, before he became a country singer, he took part in the 15th season of The Amazing Race, where he and his 'newly dating' girlfriend - Mika, came seventh. He broke up with Mika at the Elimnation Station and went on to marry Christy Hardesty. He went on to release a debut album in 2015. Canaan Smith is currently on his Back For More tour in the UK, but his already performed in my home city and I didn't even know. I'll have to try and catch him the next time he visits, because I need to hear this song live. I hope he is planning on releasing new music soon, and I'm sure a bigger hit than this one is prepared to be released in the future. This one was written by Canaan Smith, Brett Beavers, and Jim Beavers.

Directed by Marc Klasfeld, this music video shows Canaan Smith's loving marriage between him and Christy Hardesty. That's right, his real life wife plays the love interest in this music video; no wonder their passion for each other is astronomical - enough to make us all jealous.

A performance piece and a narrative combined together, this music video has it all. Canaan Smith is proving that a country boy can be so much more romantic than any pretty city boy.

It's clear that Cristy Hardesty is visiting him, and he shows her around, whilst spending intimate moments with each other. At the end, tears did fall from my eyes due to the overall sweetness of the cute ending; as if, she decides to put her car up for sale and stay with Canaan Smith. Although, we totally don't blame her, we would be doing the exact same.

As for the performance scene, Canaan Smith shows why he is worthy of being on a stage. He gives off perfect country energetic vibes, and it's clear this song is close to his heart. I'm excited for any new music he might release, but for the time being I shall explore his other songs and start to listen to him more.
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Rascal Flatts - Yours If You Want It


Yours If You Want It - Rascal Flatts |

Taking me back to the days when I used to work for a well-known fast food restaurant, the Rascal Flatts' new music video for their most-recently released single is a very loved-up cute visual. This is exactly what we needed to see to restore humanity's ideology on love. It's quite the flip to the song I've had stuck in my head all day, which was Cassadee Pope's "Piano", but since she never released a music video for it, I came across this other country song instead, and I honestly like the Rascal Flatts' a lot, so this was the next best thing. Watch the Rascal Flatts' perform in an American diner, while we watch a loving relationship visual play out in the "Yours If You Want It" music video.

The Rascal Flatts are a country trio consisting of Gary LeVox, Jay DeMarcus, and Joe Don Rooney. They are one of the biggest country music acts in America, who has had occasional success internationally, notably with "Bless The Broken Road", "What Hurts The Most" (a cover of Jo O'Meara's "What Hurts The Most", later covered by Cascada, also titled "What Hurts The Most"), and "Backwards". They need a massive international hit, but it's hard to send country music outside of America and Canada, it's not impossible, but it's just completely rare. If others can do it, then the Rascal Flatts can too, it's only a matter of a time. This song is completely lovely, but it's just that. It's the first cut from their new album titled "Back To Us", which sounds like the album we all cannot wait to hear. The song was written by Andrew Dorff and Jonathan Singleton.

This song and music video is in honour of country music songwriter Andrew Dorff, the co-writer of this song, who passed away last year. The song is full-on country, just the way we like it, allowing Andrew Dorff's legacy live on, as Jay DeMarcus stated in a Rolling Stone interview.

The video was directed by Billy Zabka and has two parts, a full-out narrative and an energetic performance piece. The narrative stars are actor Kevin Farley and actress Kristy Swanson. Kevin Farley plays a customer at an American diner, whereas Kristy Swanson plays a waitress in the said American diner. Both stars are well known from various films and TV shows, hence why you may recognise them.

The narrative unfolds seeing Kevin Farley asking Kristy Swanson out on a date after her shift. The story continues with some incredibly cute loved-up moments, some we'd love to have ourselves one day. We even see him propose to her. All before returning to the American diner, finding out that it was all a daydream.

Luckily, that isn't how the narrative completely ends. Kevin Farley's current girlfriend tells him to hurry up, and Kristy Swanson gives him her number, letting him know that she is actually interested in him. Could that so-called daydream have been a premonition of what is to come?

As for the Rascal Flatts' performance, it links in perfectly with the narrative, as the trio are acting as the part of the restaurant's staff. Gary LeVox, the vocalist and frontman, can be seen flipping burgers and singing the song under his breath. Jay DeMarcus and Joe Don Rooney also take part in the narrative as well, with individual slight scenes.

Their performance of the song, is completely energetic, as usual, with their constant positive vibes. Imagine seeing this trio live on stage - that would definitely be one night we would never forget. However, there is too much focus on the narrative and not enough showcasing the performance piece. There is much more that could've been done with this music video, and it's just missing that oomph, that special something that can be seen within most music videos.
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New Release: Clean Bandit Featuring Zara Larsson - Symphony


Symphony (feat. Zara Larsson) - Clean Bandit |

Well, I wasn't expecting this when I chose my New Release music video review; to be fair, I wasn't expecting there to be one for this song. You have no idea how happy I am that Zara Larsson actually appears in this featured music video, especially after the disastrous "Girls Like" by Tinie Tempah. Yet, here she is, with Clean Bandit, as it should always be when there is a featured star. This song isn't really my sort of song, although it is highly emotional, I just don't think it's either of the artists' best song, and I think they could've created something much better; regardless, this is what we've got. Watch Clean Bandit perform as part of an orchestra, whilst Zara Larsson fronts it with the vocals, all the while a heart-breaking gay narrative plays out in the LGBT+ pro "Symphony" music video.

Clean Bandit are a trio consisting of Grace Chatto, Jack Patterson, and Luke Patterson. They are one of the most defining British electronic music groups around at the moment, with a tonne of hits behind them. They made their name known, when they collaborated with Jess Glynne on the song "Rather Be", the rest is pure history. The group will continue to dominate charts around the world. This new collaboration is with Zara Larsson, the Swedish female sensation who has released her international debut album this week. She gained fame when she won the second season of Talang, the Swedish version of Got Talent, in 2008. She gained success in collaboration with MNEK on the song "Never Forget You", which then launched "Lush Life" into international success. This song will, no doubt, storm the charts globally again. It was written by Jack Patterson, Ina Wroldsen, Steve McCutcheon, and Ammar Malik.

Directed by Grace Chatto & Jack Patterson, this music video is engaging from start to finish, much like Clean Bandit's other music videos. They are including in every video that they create, and considerably consider everything and how to properly represent their song in a visual aspect. It's admiring how much thought they put into it. The conductor is played by actor Michael Akinsulire, whilst the love-interest and cyclist are played by actor Josias Bertrand.

There are two parts of this music video, a narrative and a performance. The performance shows Clean Bandit and Zara Larsson at the front of an orchestra with Michael Akinsulire acting as the conductor. He takes up a lead role in the story, therefore linking the performance and the narrative together.

The performance piece isn't all that impressive. There's only so much an orchestra can give, along with a conductor. You would think Zara Larsson would channel her amazing performance vibes, but they're just not there. Clean Bandit brings their usual energetic vibe, but they're definitely lacking something. Maybe performing with an orchestra overwhelmed the performance aspect as a whole.

Regardless, the pro-LGBT+ narrative definitely makes up for whatever is not there in the performance scenes. We watch a cyclist, played by Josias Bertrand, have a traffic accident, that clearly leads to him passing away. We then watch a very upset Michael Akinsulire, grieving for his boyfriend. We watch scenes of them two together as if Michael Akinsulire is reminiscing over the lovely moments the gay couple shared.

These scenes are lovely to watch and we see how Michael Akinsulire goes on to become a conductor, channelling the upsetting energy into his passion. The ending scene sees Josias Bertrand sitting in the audience, watching the orchestra.

What a lovely music video. Once again, Clean Bandit has smashed it out of the arena; another great music video and a perfect one to follow on from "Rockabye" which featured Sean Paul & Anne-Marie; yet didn't quite top it. This is completely emotional and heart-breaking and inspiring, but it's all down to the narrative. Just wish the performance was to my liking to give this a full rating, but I can't justify it so it'll have to settle just short. Great video nonetheless, though.
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