Again, I'm letting my iTunes randomizer choose the music videos I should review. This song came up while I was playing my music on random, I have it as part of a compilation album, and I just had to see if there was a music video because this song is addicting in every way. So, that is how I came across this and it is full of fun and totally relates to the song. Watch Martin Solveig, The Cataracs, and Kyle perform as they set up lights and a paddling pool in this fun and cool music video for "Hey Now".
Martin Solveig, real name Martin Picandet, is one of the biggest DJs in the world, and one I am obsessed with after having the amazing opportunity to interview him for CelebMix. He continues to prove himself in the music industry, his music chart positions come in waves, most of the time it takes time for his songs to go viral and become popular, but as soon as they do, they become chart successes. This one had mild success. It features The Cataracs, who was down to one member at this time who was Niles Hollowell-Dhar, he is now known as KSHMR. As a duo, they scored many successes and song-writing hits; and now, as a soloist, he continues to make splashes in the music industry, which is great to see. The same goes for Kyle, full name Kyle Harvey, who totally went viral a few years later with "iSpy"; it truly shows if you work hard and never give up, you get there in the end! This song charted well in some countries, with it becoming a hit in Ireland at number eight. "Hey Now" was written by Kyle Harvey, Martin Solveig, and Niles Dhar.
This music video is pure fun in every single way, which is totally expected considering the overall joviality of the track. To my surprise, Martin Solveig sings this song. I'm so used to him using a vocalist to sing these songs that I so didn't expect to see him singing - that certainly shocked me from the very start.
The whole theme has a Bob Dylan's "Subterranean Homesick Blues" feel to it, only updated to the max - since that old music video was done way back in 1965. It's all about fun in the summer sunshine as they continue to spread the cheer and create words out of the set they have.
Once again, Martin Solveig proves that he's a DJ and not really a performer whatsoever since there's no energy behind his singing. However, he does try his best and he's much better at being himself and having fun. As for Kyle, on the other hand, he brings it with the energy and really gives the camera what is missing.
This totally works with the song, how this didn't become a hit in the UK or the US, I'll never know. We need more fun songs like this dominating charts all around the world. I also think "Kings Of The Playground" would've been a much better title for the song.
I was just listening to "Only You", and realised I haven't reviewed this music video yet; although to be fair, I'm not so keen on this song "Don't Let Me Be Yours". Why did she not release a music video for "Only You"? - Now, that one is a tune. This song was released before "Only You", it wasn't a success at all, compared to her previous songs. The music video is all right, but the scenes with Zara Larsson has all sorts of lighting problems. Watch Zara Larsson perform to the camera while scenes of a woman racing driver are intercut throughout in this music video for "Don't Let Me Be Yours".
Zara Larsson is the Swedish sensation that went international thanks to a collaboration with MNEK that really sent her global with her solo work. She launched well, especially in the UK where her follow-up singles all did well, and we finally got a debut solo album, although she did previously release a debut album which was restricted to certain countries. We haven't heard anything new from her for a bit of a while, so I'm presuming she's working on new music and is prepared to blow us all away once again. This song was written by Zara Larsson, Steve McCutcheon, Johnny McDaid, and Edward Christopher Sheeran (Ed Sheeran).
Directed by Daniel Kaufman, this music video deserved to have been better. It may have the essentials for a great music video with a performance piece and a narrative piece, but it just doesn't work overall. It does have a sense of girl power throughout though.
The narration starts the video off, as we watch a woman head towards a smashed up car in the junkyard. She finds what she needs and takes it back to her racing car so she can compete. At the end, she wins a trophy, which makes the whole thing worthwhile and proves that anything is possible if you fight for it.
I have a total problem with lighting in the music video during Zara Larsson's performance piece. It's clear the person behind the camera didn't take in the sun and the background lighting, causing some really bright shots that swallow Zara Larsson up in light - at times we can't see her at all. Regardless she still brings energy, which we expect. It's clear this song means a lot to her, yet it doesn't work out the way we had hoped.
Overall, this music video isn't memorable at all. It barely relates to the song, apart from the fact that our main character isn't bothered about looking her best, and instead focused on making her dream come true - which isn't really what the song is about, since Zara Larsson sings about a guy who may not like her in the morning when she doesn't look perfect and he has sobered up. Her performance piece would be good if the sunlight didn't get in the way. She makes up for it at night with the burning car, though.
I was trying my best to find a music video to review for this backdated date, but all that was coming up was this specific music video. Annoyingly, it is claimed to have been released on 29 December 2017; however, the video itself states that it was released on 4 January 2018. According to reports, it was first made available on Tidal before making its way onto YouTube. Either way, I'm not spending any more time trying to find another music video to review, as I don't think any others were released. The song isn't to my liking, yet Beyoncé's riffs are certainly perfection - nothing new there. Watch events unfold from 2444 before going into the past, through generations, to present day where Jay-Z, Beyoncé, and Blue Ivy spend time in a church together in this music video for "Family Feud".
Jay-Z, real name Shawn Carter, is an internationally known rapper. Everyone practically knows who he is and the ones who don't, certainly knows his wife, Beyoncé; she is also the featured singer on this specific song. He is one of the best-selling musicians of all time and has been following a career in music for decades. This song is taken from his 13th studio album titled 4:44. The album was released on 30 June 2017, so technically this isn't a new song; however, the music video is new, hence why I'm using it as my new release blog review. "Family Feud" was written by Shawn Carter, Dion Wilson, Beyoncé Knowles, and Elbernita Clark.
Directed by Ava DuVernay, the music video starts off in the future and then goes back in time to present day. It's quite a unique idea, although I bet others have thought of it before him. It has an all-star cast consisting of Trevante Rhodes, Janet Mock, Rashida Jones, Michael B. Jordan, Mindy Kaling, Omari Hardwick, Jessica Chastain, Thandie Newton, Emayatzy Corinealdi, David Oyelowo, America Ferrera, Storm Reid, Brie Larson, Rosario Dawson, Constance Wu, Niecy Nash, Susan Kelechi Watson, Henry Sanders, and Irene Bedard.
It spans almost eight minutes long and starts off with a quote from James Baldwin before starting a narrative in 2444. The score is by Flying Lotus. We watch a man, played by Michael B. Jordan, walk up a flight of stairs, storming into a woman's bedroom, played by Thandie Newton. We presume she is his sister; she's the face of the family and she's still in bed. Micheal B. Jordan's character thinks he should be the face of the family. She's lying in bed with a guy, played by Trevante Rhodes, who gets out and strangles her brother before she stabs him in the side with a knife.
The next scene sees two co-presidents, played by Irene Bedard and Omari Hardwick, being confronted formally about a murder in the family that led to his ascent that refutes his claim for peace. The two co-presidents push back, saying that everyone is family and throughout generations, they've worked together. Omari Hardwick goes on to narrate the rest of the story as we go back in time.
The next scene is almost 300 years ago, in 2148, where we see two protectors keeping watch over a disturbance that hasn't happened in centuries; which they then solve themselves. Back again we go to 2096 where the narrator states: "My family has fought for the law." The clip suggests that in 78 years time a fight will take place that is reminiscent of the cavemen days. America Ferrera appears in this scene. This is followed up by a scene in 2050 which sees a diverse group of women debating. Susan Kelechi Watson plays the adult Blue Ivy Carter, claiming she's one of America's founding mothers. They debate the second amendment - and Susan Kelechi Watson links it to the 13th amendment, which is what the director's Oscar-nominated documentary "13th" is about.
This is where Susan Kelechi Watson takes on a bit of a narrative, introducing us to the present day's scene. She states: "It's like I remember my father saying when I was a little girl. Nobody wins when the family feuds." This is when the actual song finally arrives. Jay-Z can be seen confessing in the church to his wife Beyoncé. She gives some amazing riffs that are added to the backing track. They're both stylish and on-point, fully giving us power-couple vibes in every way.
Overall, this music video focuses more on the film side of this and the story rather than the short song and the clips that go with it. It's cleverly put together but certainly feels long-winded. A long intro before the actual song and the specific clips have been something we've seen many times before, and these sort of music videos come around every few years. It's interesting and engaging, yet there's not enough focusing and understanding going on. Music videos are too short to be turned into films unless done correctly. This just feels like they've tried to compact too much in.
There wasn't much choice for my Thursday Revisit, I had planned to do a donkeyboy music video review, but they're all meaningful which will mean I'd have to go into great detail; and, since I am on a catch-up spree for this blog, I need easy visuals to review. So, taking that on board, I chose "SOS" by Rihanna as it isn't really a memorable music video, and certainly one that allows me to keep detail to a minimum. Watch Rihanna dance through these visuals as she acts sexily in some of the scenes in this music video for her song "SOS".
Rihanna, real name Robyn Fenty, launched on the scene in 2005. This song was her first single from her second studio album in 2006. It charted well globally and continued her success. She's now one of the top female artists in the industry with a whole host of chart hits, notable singles, incredible albums, and amazing awards; she truly is unstoppable. This song is such a jam now, still to this day, which shows that she really can release some incredible tracks. The song contains a sample of "Tainted Love", which was written by Ed Cobb, and was made famous by Soft Cell. It was originally given to Christina Milian, who turned it down, so it was later given to Rihanna. "SOS" was written by J.R. Rotem, E. Kidd Bogart, and Ed Cobb.
Directed by Chris Applebaum, the music video is a pure performance visual, which showcases Rihanna in various scenes and locations. She certainly knows how to give fuel to the song in the visual, giving an infectious energy that was definitely needed for the song.
We start off with her in a low-cut green dress that matches the tropical plants behind her. This scene later becomes iconic from Rihanna's back-catalogue of music videos - everyone remembers what she wore. The other scenes get lost, there's the one where she's wearing a glittered skirt and a ripped white vest as she dances flirtatiously with a man.
Then there's the mirrored room, which was certainly all-the-range back then. In this scene, Rihanna gives legs for days. Mirrored rooms have been used so many times in the past, it's no surprise to see it in one of Rihanna's videos. There are also other dance scenes that show that she can really move and follow choreography perfectly, yet there isn't enough emphasis on those scenes since they're short and sweet. Clearly, they decided to show off her sexy shots more than her dance technical ability.
Overall, the music video isn't all that memorable apart from the green dress scene. It could have been so much better. I can't help but laugh at the Nokia 3250 that she uses - why did I not know about that phone? And, why did I not have one of those when I was younger? I thought I had seen it all, but I was not expecting Rihanna to twist the bottom - I so would've had this as a child if I had known about it. Still, it's an okay music video, but I expected something so much better.
When I'm struggling to choose a music video to review, I always resort to Fergie as she is the first reason I am so behind on my blog. She released a music video for each of her songs on the Double Duchessalbum, which I covered for CelebMix, every single one of them, including this one. If that wasn't bad enough, as I was catching up, INNA decided to drop a new single a day in promotion of her album Nirvana. I have been playing catch-up ever since - and I will catch up. This song has actually had two music videos, the first one was taken down due to, we believe, explicit content; so this version was released instead. Watch skateboarders have a wild time riding the streets; as the ending draws near, Joanne The Scammer helps out the female skater in this music video for Fergie's "Tension".
Fergie, real name Fergie Duhamel and previously Stacy Ferguson, recently came back with an iconic second studio album, titled Double Duchess. It's one of my favourite albums of 2017 and certainly underrated in a whole host of ways. It really shows Fergie off as a brilliant versatile artist. This is one of my favourites from the album; actually, I love all of the tracks on their own - they all are really that good. This one is rhythmically catchy and one I could see DJs picking up and remixing brilliantly. It was written by Fergie Duhamel, Justin Tranter, Diana Gordon (Wynter Gordon), and Alessandro Lindblad (Alesso).
Directed by Fatima Robinson, this music video doesn't have a lot going for it. To be fair, I much prefer this one over the first music video. The first one was following three women as they attended a festival, and although the song is perfect for festival season, this one is more interesting to viewers.
We watch a female skater walk into a skate shop and buy a skateboard. She then launches out on to the road, rolling away. Soon enough, she starts doing foot dance moves while the board is moving; keeping us entertained throughout.
As the video continues, we jump over to a male skater, who is doing the same thing on his skateboard. They meet up and continue to do dance-like moves on the skateboards, together. They reach a hill, and he passes her a helmet, prepared to do some speed skating. She starts to go really fast but hits something and goes flying off - what she hits, we do not know, but if we slow down the video we can see a man dressed in black sitting on the road just slightly back from the skateboard. How did she not see him?
This is where Joanne The Scammer comes out and makes sure she is okay, proclaiming that if it wasn't for her lunch with Fergie she would show her how to 'bomb this hill'. She encourages the skater to get back on the skateboard and drive. The ending watches Joanne The Scammer walk up the hill.
Overall, it's a nice gentle music video, one I find much better than the first music video. However, it also has no substance to it and although I absolutely adore the song, I feel the music video just doesn't relate or work with the track itself. It is entertaining and Joanne The Scammer adds some great comedy towards the end, but it could've been a better visual.
This song came up on my iTunes which I always have on random, and I just had to review it; it was on one of my compilation albums that I own. To my surprise, Kiesza is an uncredited vocalist and even appears in the music video; I certainly was not expecting that. Even though I was aware that she had uncredited vocals on a track, I didn't identify which one it was exactly - and here she is. This was definitely a great collaboration, that deserves so much more attention, although I don't really get this music video. Watch Kiesza walk amongst the streets of London and strike dance poses at the frontman of donkeyboy, Cato Sundberg, in this music video for "Triggerfinger".
donkeyboy is a Norwegian synth-pop band consisting of Cato Sundberg, Karl Sundberg, Peter Michelsen, and Thomas Drabløs. Their debut album "Caught In A Life" charted well in their home country as well as in the Nordic countries. Their singles hit it big in Norway, from their debut "Ambitions", which hit number one, to "City Boy" in 2011 which also hit the top spot. Their following singles haven't done quite so well, but their recent album "Lost" which was released in 2016 managed Top 20 in Norway, so they're still a band who are on form and current, with the potential of huge success - it only takes one song, as we know. Uncredited as a vocalist is Canadian singer-songwriter Kiesza, real name Kiesa Ellestad. She hit it big around the world with debut single "Hideaway" a year later. Her follow-up singles did well in the UK and Belgium, with her debut album charting all around the world. She's recently collaborated with Pitbull, and is apparently working on a new album; I sure hope so as I'm desperate for new music from her. The song was written by Kiesa Rae Ellestad, Kent Sundberg, Carlo Sundberg, Espen Berg, and Simen Eriksrud.
Directed by Bjørn Opsahl, the music video was filmed in London, and it's definitely on the weird side. It is a performance piece set within a narrative. The song opens up with an infectious beat and Cato Sundberg's amazing vocals while he is sitting in a taxi cab.
That's when we spot Kiesza, sometimes she's behind draped curtains, but she's mainly spotted on the London streets. Everything's fine until she strikes a dance pose for no apparent reason. We also see the frontman of donkeyboy on the phone in a telephone box.
Overall, this music video doesn't go anywhere. At the end, we see both of them on the same street, in one shot they are both leaning on the same traffic-light post, but Kiesza soon disappears again, with a final shot on her balcony. Their performance side of things really prevents this visual from getting one star.
Looking at the chart for this backdated date - which is 25 December 2017 Christmas Day - Ed Sheeran is still at number one with "Perfect". This opens the top ten of the UK Singles Chart to my Chart Mondays review. I was planning on doing Rak-Su's "Dimelo" featuring Wyclef Jean & Naughty Boy, but the song doesn't have an official music video, which leaves me with a couple of choices. I decided on this one, purely because it has the less amount of hits on YouTube; who knows what that means in coming weeks, but I look forward to seeing what happens to the UK Chart. Music videos rarely make me cry, but this one certainly did, following in the footsteps of P!nk's "What About Us"; I swear I'm becoming an emotional wreck when it comes to personal emotional music videos. Watch an old man watching his son, NF, drown and then burn in a fire, then look down on him in a coffin, feeling sad he was never proud of him, with a mighty twist at the end in the music video for hit single "Let You Down".
NF, real name Nathan Feuerstein, is an American Christian hip-hop artist who has a total of four album releases to date. All of his singles have charted on the US Billboard Christan Songs chart, but this is the one that has truly given NF a massive international hit. It's true, it really does take just one song, and this is the one. I'm pretty sure this is the start of NF releasing chart hit after chart hit as more and more people discover his music. This song peaked at number two in Sweden and Norway, number four in Ireland, and number six in Finland and the UK. "Let You Down" was written by Nathan Feuerstein.
Directed by Nathan Feuerstein and Patrick Tohill, this music video hits every viewer in the heart; if the song wasn't emotional enough, paired with this music video it truly gives us all, all sorts of feels. It has one twist of an ending too.
The opening scene sees an old man walk down to a dock on a lake. As soon as the chorus finishes and NF's rap launches in, a young man is seen flailing around in the water, fully-clothed, drowning. The old man does nothing, as he watches his son, played by NF, die in the water. As the chorus returns, the older guy lip-syncs to the song, as if the chorus is words from himself.
The second verse kicks in and we're transported to a field where a car is surrounded by flames. Inside is NF, once again, as his father watches on - once again. The chorus comes back as the car lights up and burns completely. The final verse comes in as we see a coffin in an open grave, the old man opens the lid and reveals his son lying there; he's in shock and dismayed at himself.
We return to the drowning scene as we near the end of the video. This is where the full-on twist comes in. We see a close-up of the father's face, then a close-up of his arm, which displays a tattoo of a word starting with R-E-A - which we can presume is the same tattoo NF has which actually says "Real Music"; and, the shocker of them all, the old man's wife, we presume, comes out and says "Nathan?" as if that's his name. Meaning the whole video is an old man looking back on his younger self, proclaiming that he let himself down. It's such a shocking but interesting twist.
Most people are running with the father-son idea though, and let's just presume they had the same name and matching tattoos. This made me cry because this is something very real in my life, as well as many other people's lives. All I want to do is make my parents proud, and all that I have achieved to date is something I am proud of, myself; and I know I'm going to achieve so much more, but my father is always putting me down and it does make me want to give up sometimes. This music video is beyond personal, and so is the song. NF has created a masterpiece, one we all need to watch and listen to! He's certainly has become my new favourite rapper, singing about real things and real life.
I recently heard this song in a movie trailer, the film in question is titled "Breaking In" (which just goes to show that this blog is backdated, since the trailer, which can be viewed here, was released on 11 January 2018, and this blog is backdated to 24 December 2017). It has been stuck in my head ever since, and to be fair, so has the visuals from the movie - since that film does look epic! In comparison to this music video, this visual certainly falls short. What I wasn't expecting was the military couture, Rihanna's style is on point throughout and she certainly knows how to work these outfits! Watch Rihanna commanding her troops as she brings high-fashion to the military and the desert while Jeezy raps a segment in this music video for "Hard".
Rihanna, real name Robyn Fenty, has definitely established herself as one of the top female artists in the music industry. She has had a number of hits although my favourite era was certainly the Good Girl Gone Bad era and I still consider "Don't Stop The Music" a total jam. Her recent releases haven't quite hit their mark single wise, and it'll be interesting to see where she goes from there. She is currently working on her ninth studio album, so expect new music from her pretty soon. The song features Jeezy, real name Jay Jenkins, who was previously known as Young Jeezy. He was in rap group Boyz n da Hood, and has gone on to have quite a few hits, his biggest solo hit to date is "Soul Survivor". The song was written by Terius Nash, Christopher Stewart, Robyn Fenty, and Jay Jenkins.
Directed by Melina Matsoukas, this music video is a pure performance piece set in the desert, drawing inspiration from high fashion and combining it with the military.
As I previously stated, Rihanna totally works all the fashion items, to the extent where she really put her own stamp on the fashion industry with her military couture. Some of the clothes aren't typical, yet she works them as if they are everyday wear. Her spiked-shoulder tight-fitting dress became an iconic look for her and this video really established that.
The theme relates greatly to the song because the song is all about being strong and fierce - hard, for lack of a better word - and Rihanna styles that out with the theme and her confidence. Jeezy doesn't add much to the visual, but his words are needed to break up the song.
Overall, this is a completely unforgettable music video - there's even a bright pink tank, which is pretty memorable. Rihanna brings it and her gladiator look is totally on-point, well until she decides to get muddy. With this female singer being strong and powerful, Jeezy kind-of falls short.
This is completely random, I literally typed Lucy into YouTube and saw Lucy Hale's name and decided to finally review one of her music videos on my blog; to be fair, I am a fan of her music, so I'm glad that I've chosen this one, with the help of YouTube. Her debut album "Road Between" is certainly worth a listen and she really managed to establish herself as a country music artist, it's just a shame she hasn't continued music, although her acting career has certainly taken off. Watch Lucy Hale perform at the Grand Ole Opry House in Nashville, Tennessee while snippets of her having fun with friends and being carefree are cut between in this music video for "Lie A Little Better".
Lucy Hale is pretty well known as an actress, she's massively known for playing Aria Montgomery in Pretty Little Liars although she's been in a whole range of TV shows including loved but short-lived Privileged as Rose Baker and the equally loved but also short-lived refresh TV series of Bionic Woman as Becca Sommers; she also won American Juniors with five other children which made up the group of the same name. In 2014, she returned to music, releasing two singles and an album with moderate success. This was the second single and I love this track so much, I just wish it had charted better and helped her kickstart her music career. The song was written by Mike Daly, Chris DeStefano, and Melissa Peirce.
Directed by Philip Andelman, the music video must have been a dream come true as we watch Lucy Hale perform at the Grand Ole Opry House in Nashville, Tennessee. She really manages to own the stage and her sense of inclusiveness to her backing band is heart-warming, to say the least.
It's nice to see Lucy Hale be herself and full on go for it on that stage. She is clearly meant to be on stages all around the world and I sure hope she comes back to music at a later point and goes on a world tour as I can just imagine the energy she gives out when she performs. Please come to the UK for a gig so I can come and see you, Lucy Hale. This video paints her in a perfect light making us all wish we could go an see her.
As for the fun-clips, they're full carefree moments with friends, something that we've all felt but wish we had more of. They're moments that you miss, but in those current moments, it's just you and your friends being yourself and doing your thing. It's cute, but unfortunately unrelatable to the song - if only this struck up a slight narrative, it would be getting the top rating from me, but these clips just make it fall short.
Usually, I hate this specific week of the whole entire year and the week after, purely because most artists don't release new music, let alone music videos. Luckily, for me, Loïc Nottet has come through (this blog post is backdated if you haven't already guessed). It is a Christmas-spirited music video and song, with it being a full-out piano ballad. This is certainly one of those songs that will grow on me, I automatically like every single Loïc Nottet song, but this just feels average compared to his previous tracks. Watch Loïc Nottet and Justine Vercleven dance together while the former sings at what looks like a piano in this music video for his song "Go To Sleep".
Loïc Nottet is mainly known internationally for coming fourth in the Eurovision Song Contest 2015, where he represented his home country of Belgium with the song "Rhythm Inside"; he scored 217 points. Previously, he came second in the third season of The Voice Belgique. That's not the only talent shows he has been on, after Eurovision, he went on to win the sixth series of Danse avec les stars (the French version of Dancing With The Stars / Strictly Come Dancing). He released his debut album last year, titled "Selfocracy" and I chose it as my favourite album of 2017 for CelebMix - make sure you check out what other albums made the CelebMix Top 2017 Albums, the article I wrote up. I can only hope that the release of this single suggests he's working on new music for 2018. This song was written by Loïc Nottet and Eric Chevet.
Directed by Sidney Van Wichelen, this music video is displayed almost like a vertical music video, containing the imagery into a box, reminding us of when TVs used to be square.
There is a performance piece and a narrative going on. The performance side of things see Loïc Nottet singing into a camera, we can presume he is sitting at a piano, playing the song, with the camera propped up on the piano so we just see him. It's quite a different performance piece but allows focus on the dance narrative being displayed.
Together, Loïc Nottet and Justine Vercleven work brilliantly as a dance duo. They have been in a romantic relationship for years, and their passion for each other is very clear. They perform on a bench in front of a Christmas tree. The choreography is flat out amazing and totally on point, although eagle-eyed fans did notice that it was a similar dance choreography that they performed previously in a video to Elvis Presley's "Can't Help Falling In Love".
Overall, this music video is completely loving and perfect for Christmas time. I like how the song isn't a typical Christmas song, and instead brings something lovely to the table. The music video is all right, but nothing as epic as what Loïc Nottet has previously released! I don't get why it's a square music video. This is nowhere near as great as "Million Eyes" or "Mud Blood", even "Doctor" is better than this; but this certainly is love-filled.
