Ed Sheeran - You Need Me, I Don't Need You

February 29, 2012 Critic Jonni 0 Comments

Ed Sheeran is this big UK artist that has just came out of nowhere and hit us all by storm. This song is his second single after "The A Team", and got quite high in the charts. I have to admit, I think this is my favourite song by him, and I also like "Drunk", but I'm not a big fan.

"You Need Me, I Don't Need You", is such a great title, and personally, if all his songs were like this one, I'd have bought the album and the singles and fully supported him, however certain songs put me off, and I now decide to use YouTube for his songs. At the end of the day he does sing: "And I won't be a product of my genre". He wrote this song himself, and his voice is perfect for it, I really want him to do more rapping in the future, it's a very unique voice that he has and it surprises me, because in his other songs, you wouldn't expect this sort of voice. I also love the lyrics how can you not?

The music video is extremely different and totally stands out from the crowd. I can totally see why Dolly is obsessed with this music video she is passionate about the song and the music video: "He is a very talented musician, it's a song about how people see him and he sees himself. The lad doing sign language is extremely skilled". And I totally agree, you can tell he means every single word he is saying, and it's like he is showing the world that he's made it just like he hoped he would, when others were knocking him down.

This song is now stuck in my head... The sign-language actor is Matthew Morgan and I have to say I'm really impressed, whether he did it slowly and then they sped it up through editing, or whether he did it that quick there and then, it's just mind-blowing, and I could watch it again and again, and maybe learn a bit of sign language along the way.

I like the use of the dancers as well it prevents the video from getting boring, and gives us more to see. The black and white effect is a bit different, but it's used in a good way, and announcing not everything is black & white, which links in with the song amazingly as Ed Sheeran wanted a music career, and that's exactly what he has got. But it took him a long time and the personal battles that he went through shows how much he wanted it. For everyone, the sky's the limit, but people go further than the sky, and here's just one example.

The music video is different but in a fascinating way. The song is so inspirational and breath-taking, as he means everything he raps and it gives us this new voice from Ed Sheeran, that we want to hear more from, cannot wait for his future releases. As for this song, I'm disappointed it didn't get to number one but number four is still pretty good.

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David Guetta Vs. The Egg - Love Don't Let Me Go (Walking Away)

February 28, 2012 Critic Jonni 0 Comments

David Guetta is now a really big, well-known DJ, and this is one of his early works. A lot of people prefer him doing this sort of thing, however this song reminds me of "Getting Over You", I think it has a similar musical background, or I could be totally wrong. But what I'm saying is that David Guetta is getting better, but he's still in touch with his older music, which everyone still loves. The Egg on the other hand is a British electro/dance music band consisting of Ned Scott, Maff Scott, Ben Cullum and Matt White. This is their highest charting position, and since 2007 no new singles have been released...

"Love Don't Let Me Go (Walking Away)" is an amazing song, it has vocals by Chris Willis, and after much comparison with "Getting Over You" I have come to the conclusion that, yes they are extremely similar. I like looking at the writing credits (there is a lot of them) so here goes... David Guetta, Ned Scott, Benji Vaughan, Chris Willis, Jean-Charles Carré, Joachim Garraud, Maff Scott and Matt White. The song was also used for the Citroën C4 advert.

The music video is technically really good, and it's pretty much narrative, but in an interpretable dance kind of way, that really makes everything work out fine. I love the use of The Energy being passed from one person to another, although, there are a few flaws. The dancing used is breakdancing and Parkour (also known as PK).

I like how it all starts, with the connection of two people, The Energy then gets passed between people, and once it's passed the person who had it before stops dancing all together, however there's one flaw found near the end when they give The Energy back to the original starters, the topless person who had it before keeps dancing (as far as I'm aware of). Also at the start where the originals pass on The Energy to the person who had a basketball, what happened to The Energy in the original girl?

Anyway, analysing over... I think it's clever, and it sort of makes me jealous, I want to be able to do that stuff. Pass The Energy my way please. I also like the fact that the car in the Citroën advert also breakdances, I reckon they pulled ideas from this music video for their advert.

That's really is it to this music video, I could watch it again and again, but I reckon it would get tedious. I don't think it's fantastic and wouldn't go out of my way to watch it, but it's technically good, so that is why my rating is so high.
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Anjulie - Brand New Bitch

February 27, 2012 Critic Jonni 0 Comments

Anjulie is a Canadian recording artist, and I've only just heard of her. Her name is the stage name of Anjulie Persaud, and I was quite surprised it's her actual name. I don't know how many times she has attempted to become an international star, this video (along with "Boom"), has been in the UK and Europe for a while but she has yet to hit the charts, but this type of music is in at the moment, so she has a big chance at this current time of year. Her writing credits are surprising, since she has worked with quite a few people, I'd like to say watch out for this girl, but I'm questioning whether she'll be popular here. At the end of the day she needs to be promoting her singles, or they'll get nowhere.

This song "Brand New Bitch" is not played on the music channels, instead it's the clean version "Brand New Chick", that rhymes so much better, however I couldn't find the clean version on YouTube, so we'll have to deal with this one. It sounds a lot like David Guetta Featuring Nicki Minaj's "Turn Me On", and if anyone decided to mix them together, I could see them fitting nicely.

The music video is also pretty similar to "Turn Me On", with the table that she's on and the use of the doll with it's head off. It's quite interesting how they match up. Personally I don't see much connection to this song, although the dancing is a bit raunchy which links in with the raunchy song, but that's really it, and the bit in the bridge, presuming he's the guy who left.

I really don't have a lot to say about this music video, it's below average, there could have been a perfect narrative, but whether budget made it not so good... I don't know. I have to admit I think she resembles Anjli Mohindra, and I really thought it was her when I saw it this morning, don't you agree?

This music video could have been good, but it's lacking an easy-to-follow storyline, whether that's to do with the budget, or the editing, or the camera shots... I don't know. The song is definitely the sort of song that's making the charts at the moment, and due to not promoting the song here in the UK, she failed to make the chart. If there was promoting going on she would have gained high charting position.

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New Release: Demi Lovato - Skyscraper

February 27, 2012 Critic Jonni 0 Comments

Finally this song has been released this week, here in the UK. I've been waiting for it for ages, and it's already climbing up the charts after just one day, I so hope it gets the charting position it clearly deserves, it is going to be Demi's biggest UK hit. Now all I'm waiting for is JoJo's "Disaster" (which has made UK music channels) and all will be good.

Demi Lovato first heightened my interest when I watched Camp Rock, and since then she's embarked on both a music and film career, I have been a fan of hers since then, and I have to admit, this song seems so personal to her that you know she means every single word. She has been in rehab lately, and has just become well enough to continue with her career. She has decided to take it easy, and so therefore has decided to focus solely on her musical career until she feels ready to branch out into film again. Her personal battles is probably what connected this song to her and that's why it's amazing to listen to, you can definitely feel her hurt.

The song was written by Toby Gad, Kerli Kõiv and Lindy Robbins. Toby and Lindy are pretty well known songwriters with a lot of credits behind them. Kerli is a Estonian artist and is trying to become international, and doing a pretty good job of it so far. What surprised me is that Demi Lovato hadn't had any input with the lyrics, however she obviously gained a strong emotional link with the song as I doubt many other artists can pull off the passion in which Demi Lovato does with this song.

The music video is stripped back, but oh so emotionally raw, every time I watch it I get goosebumps as you can tell she means every single word she's singing. Apparently the recording was before she went to rehab, and when she recorded it, it meant so much to her that she felt personally connected, and after rehab, she rerecorded it and it didn't feel as empowering, so they kept the original. Jordin Sparks provides backing vocals (apparently, it's possible she originally recorded it but it didn't make the final cut, luckily). Demi Lovato was perfect for this song.

The video takes place in the middle of Bonneville Salt Flats desert, in Utah, US. it's the perfect place for her, and I really like the heart shape in the box that gets smashed and the walking on glass and the black fabric. The sun suggests she's seen the light at the end of the tunnel and it's right there with her, so it's just perfect.

This song and it's music video shows how strong of an artist she has become and you can tell she's over all her problems, and she's ready to be that last skyscraper in the apocalypse. She is over her problems now and we can all see that, and I just have this feeling she is going to be stronger than she ever has.

The song and the music video is extremely emotional. It's rare for me to come across a song so emotional, there are only a few that makes me feel this way, none of those have released the song as a single, let alone done a music video for it, and I think this is why this one is very special. I know not a lot of people will agree with this rating, and I totally understand their reasons, but for me, this is a magical music video, I never thought I'd give this rating to a performance-based music video but this clearly deserves it.
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Madonna Featuring Justin Timberlake and Timbaland - 4 Minutes

February 22, 2012 Critic Jonni 0 Comments



Madonna is such a big star, it's unbelievable how long she has been going of, and I cannot believe I actually haven't reviewed any of her music videos yet, but I think the reason may just be that YouTube have restricted embedding Madonna videos and so that may have been the main reason. I like how she is always in the now, and perfect for music, she updates her image and keeps up with what's charting, it makes sense why she is such a great artist. Not only that but this single is her latest number one, all the way back in 2008, 4 years from the top spot, will she do it again? Or forever be trying to with the likes of Britney and Avril. She has collaborated with Britney in the past and so many others, in this song and music video she collaborates with Britney's ex Justin Timberlake, who first found fame in *NSYNC, but is now a major actor as well as singer and dancer. Timbaland (also known as Tim Mosley) also contributes his vocals.

This song is about saving the world, according to Madonna. Apparently it's about winding down the CO2 emissions and everything else that is affecting the world. It was written by Madonna, Tim Mosley, Justin Timberlake and Nate Hills. The one thing that makes me laugh is that the song is actually 4 minutes 6 seconds, so actually you have an added 6 seconds to save the world.

This music video is really good and clever, and it's possible that it helped to get the song to number one here in the UK, as the music channels were showing this video a lot. I really like the 4 minutes behind them as it's counting down, although I would think it would have been better if you could see that all the time (like in the corner or something).

The video links in with the song, as the cars are not moving and everything that would cause pollution is getting gobbled up. I also like the choreography, I like the fact that Justin and Madonna mirror each other at times, and this really shows how good they are at dancing. I also like the fact that people have commented on the video by saying something along the lines of: You have 4 minutes and 6 seconds to save the world, and all you do is dance?

There really aren't a lot of things going on in this video. So there's not a lot I can comment on. I think it's clever and a catchy song, I like how well the video goes with the song, but there's just not a lot going on. I like how one commenter said: "We should put this song 4 minutes before the end of 2012", now I doubt the world will end before 2013 starts, or as it starts, but I do like the fact that it fits in nicely.

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Eric Prydz - Pjanoo

February 21, 2012 Critic Jonni 0 Comments

Eric Prydz is a Swedish DJ, I only just found that out today, and it adds to the amount of dance music coming from Sweden at the moment, they're definitely ones to watch along with Romania. He has released 4 singles thus far, all of which have charted on the UK top 75 chart. However no sight of an album so far. Apparently it was ready for a 2007 release but complications with the record label pushed it back, and it was eventually cancelled. According to multiple social networking sites, it's ready to be released as of 2009... But will it? We'll have to wait and see.

This song is pure music, it's so catchy that it kind of surprises me that I'm actually into it, especially since there is no lyrics and so there's not a lot I can talk about. However in these sorts of songs (much like Avicii's "Levels") it allows any sort of music video, which usually is what makes them the best. As expected Eric Prydz was the one to write the song.

This music video is really good, it links in with the song pretty well, and is just as catchy as the song, I could easily watch it over and over again (if I haven't done so already). Although some of the images such as the skull of the moose (is it a moose?) doesn't make any sense at all. Whether they are calling the robber a moose? A thick-headed one? Since a skull doesn't have a brain... I just don't know, but it has to relate to the robber at the end of the day.

The narrative is amazing, I like it and understand it whereas others have said that they don't. Basically a robbery has taken place and he's ran off with the money, using the train as a means of escape, and then getting off. He needs water to stay alive and he is extremely thirsty. So he finds an old barn, that used to be a bar, but there's no water and nothing in the bottles behind the bar either.

Then the piano starts playing at it's own accord and the robber gets a freight. Then he realises no one's there, except for a small man doing a dance to the music, and then directs the dance to a girl on the other side of the room, who then decides to dance. It is edited well, and we could call this dance a rain dance.

Water starts streaming out the tap, and the robber gets a much needed refreshment, while we see pictures of the moose's skull and the rain dance people dancing in potential rain storm (that's all hypothetical, really). And then the robber runs off again with the money in tow. Personally I would have grabbed one of the empty bottles behind the bar and top it up with water to keep you going, otherwise he's going to become parched again...

My favourite bit is definitely the end where you see the girl shuffles up to the rain dance guy, suggests that they're just friends but thanks to the rain dance, it could be more?

Love this music video, as per usual with pure music-music videos I haven't got a bad thing to say about this. It's clever, witty and got the most perfect storyline. My only concern is to moose skull, but maybe I have worked out it's meaning. I hope Eric Prydz release more in the future, it's definitely the time for DJs to shine again.

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David Guetta Featuring Nicki Minaj - Turn Me On

February 20, 2012 Critic Jonni 3 Comments

David Guetta, real name Pierre David Guetta, is a DJ. I'm not the sort of person who enjoys he's music but I can't help liking and appreciating it for what it is. Many people reckon his songs tend to sound the same, and I can understand where people are getting this idea from, but then again, they stand alone so well. He has collaborated with Nicki Minaj in the past on "Where Them Girls At". Nicki Minaj, real name Onika Tanya Maraj, has released a number of singles and managed to hit the UK by storm in a matter of a few years, no UK number ones yet, but I'm sure they're just round the corner for her.

Now I have to admit, I heard this song on the radio and I had no idea who was singing it, I would have placed bets on some new upcoming artist, but I couldn't have been more wrong. Today when I switched on the music channels and I was flipping through, I saw that this collaboration was going to be on next, and I flipped it over presuming it'll be another rap collaboration. Luckily there was nothing better on the other music channels, so I switched back, and I'm sure my mouth hit the floor when I heard the song. I just wouldn't have paired the voice in this song with Nicki Minaj, no way.

The song writing credits are Ester Dean, David Guetta, Giorgio Tuinfort and Onika Maraj. Ester Dean has written a lot of songs, and most of them you may know, she has written for the likes of Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera, Rihanna and many many more, she is set out for a solo career, so watch out. David Guetta usually has participation in his records, and Giorgio Tuinfort has helped David Guetta out with his album. As for Onika Maraj (or should I say Nicki Minaj?), maybe she wrote her rap verse? The person who's last on the writing credits TENDS to be the person who had minimal input, but this is not always the case. She has a cracking voice and this shows it, even if it is auto-tuned here and there.

The music video is extremely clever, since the song has two meanings, first one being sexual (which is probably where the songwriting came into it), but the other one is robotics and that is exactly what the music video has decided to link in with however also combining the former meaning too.

I like the fact that we don't even see Nicki Minaj at the start, instead we see some mad scientist constructing a robot, who has pure white lips and is singing along to Nicki Minaj's lyrics. I like how step by step we're revealed who she is and who the mad scientist is (obviously David Guetta). Which could be a reference to Mary Shelley's Frankenstein. I also like the whole narrative with the jealousy and had to laugh at the fact that David Guetta is really a man made out of chain mail... And it's probably got people guessing, is he really that toned?

I like how the dolls are naked, but not totally and so, for some reason, the UK have allowed the video to be shown during day time, oh the horror... Makes a change to switch on a music channel and see dolls... I'm not sure if I like her rap, some people may say that it spoils the whole song, but then again I'm not sure if it does. We know Nicki Minaj as this rap artist, and why can't she include her own little spin to the song?

I like Nicki Minaj's style, the fact that she's confident and is made out to look prim and proper. And it works, surprisingly, since she has bright pink hair, that actually suits her perfectly. I think Nicki Minaj is becoming a superstar, and I know that a number one in the UK is just around the corner for her, and it may be this very song that does it.

I love this music video, I don't think there's anything wrong with it, apart from the fact that it may be misleading children, and it could be considered scary, to a slight degree. But, as if that will make me lose a star on this narrative filled music video. I hope it does well on the chart, whenever it gets released.
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3 comments:

New Release: Cher Lloyd Featuring Astro - Want U Back

February 20, 2012 Critic Jonni 0 Comments

Cher Lloyd has changed within a year and a half. She appeared on the X Factor Series Seven, and has already done really well for herself. Now she's teamed up with Astro for her latest single.

The Seventh series of the UK X factor has given us quite a few stars so far such as: Matt Cardle (Winner), Rebecca Ferguson (2nd), One Direction (3rd), Cher Lloyd (4th), Mary Byrne (5th), Katie Waissel (7th), Aiden Grimshaw (9th), Treyc Cohen (10th), Belle Amie (11th), Storm Lee (13th) and Nicolò Festa (16th). It's definitely was the year with the most success I reckon, so I'm interested where the stars of the Eighth series, will end up... As for Astro, who's real name is Brian Bradley, ended up 7th in the first series of the US X Factor. But will he go far? We'll have to wait and see.

"Want U Back" was written by Shellback, Savan Kotecha and Astro. Again Shellback and Savan Kotecha have collaborated creating such another fantastic song, they have been featured on this blog a number of times. As for Astro, I reckon he wrote his little rap, and to be honest I am quite surprised, for a 15 year old to write something so personal and sing it from the heart, is just really surprising, he's younger than CamCam... The song is released this week, in DIRECT competition with label mate and ex-winner of The X Factor: Matt Cardle with "Amazing"... I wonder who will win this time around. "Want U Back" is about splitting from your relationship and the jealousy that sparks when you see you're ex out with another person, doing the exact same things that you used to do together. It's a great song, so catchy, and suits Cher Lloyd perfectly, can definitely see this being a big song. BUT where does the ending link in with it? "Does this sound like a helicopter? Brrrrrrrrr"... According to most people, not really...

This music video is fun and creative and clever, I loved watching behind the scenes, and although it isn't as great as other behind the scenes videos it confirmed something to me, that makes me laugh. Those actors that were put in for this music video are definitely amazing.

I love the idea of the Polaroid pictures on the bed (reminds me of Inna's "Un Momento", don't you think?) I also like the magazine, I'd definitely subscribe to any magazine that has moving pictures. I like the idea of Cher going into the pictures and changing them to suit her, like the throwing of water and popcorn, and the skater and definitely loved the tattoo scene, that is quite evil...

Personally I think it's set in an alternative reality, as if she's dreaming or something, or it's set majorly in the future, choose your pick... MAYBE it's just the technology of America? I like a lot about this and Astro adds he's own spin on the song, giving a reply to Cher, that's quite interesting, and makes the song interact more with the people who are watching, but I feel like something is missing.

This music video is fun, energetic and exciting, but it's missing something, maybe it's the helicopter at the end that puts me off... I just don't know. I can see this song charting very high this week, as it's really catchy. But I think the music video is just missing that little something, it may be the fact that we can't see a spark between Cher and the guy, or maybe it's the way Astro is involved... I just don't know but something is holding it back.

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Kelly Clarkson - Miss Independent

February 12, 2012 Critic Jonni 0 Comments

Kelly Clarkson was the first ever winner of American Idol, and this is her first ever international single (second in America & Canada after "Before Your Love / A Moment Like This"). Since then she has dominated charts worldwide and she has quite a few UK fans.

This song has some quite surprising writing credits, they are Rhett Lawrence, Kelly Clarkson, Christina Aguilera and Matt Morris. This song was originally written for Christina Aguilera, which is understandable as this song would have suited her. But they never finished writing it and so gave it over to Kelly Clarkson, who added to the lyrics and put her own unique spin onto the song. The song is about letting down your emotional barriers to fall in love, but does the music video really reference that?

When I first saw this music video I was young, I got excited when I started watching World Idol and I backed Kelly Clarkson all the way. Now I look back and realise this music video isn't as good as I initially thought it was, but I think it is clever the way it's been created and I kind of wish I was there. It's the sort of party that you wish you had but you don't want the clean up afterwards.

I like the fact that people jump in the pool fully clothed, although I'm surprised Kelly Clarkson resisted the urge to jump in, or rather she did and it was edited out? I like the fact that some bits are during the morning after and at other times there's footage from the night before. I also find the karaoke clever and interesting, and quite similar to various other music videos that are about.

Overall there really isn't much to comment on, but at the end of the day, it's edited good and it's really interesting, I cannot believe this song only got to number 6 here in the UK. I also like the fact that it links in with the song slightly and I like seeing how much she has changed over the years, not a dramatic difference as you can tell who she is, but she's definitely grown up a lot.

0 comments:

Evarose - Best Left Alone

February 11, 2012 Critic Jonni 0 Comments

Evarose is a band I've recently started following. They plan to put a new riff into the whole world of rock music by being an all female rock band, and they are quickly becoming more and more known. They consist of Dannika Webber, Imogen Leslie, Connie Raitt and Robyn Griffith. I have only seen their music video for "Cough It Up", and I reviewed it on this blog, I found it surprising, but will their other music videos do the same or leave me wanting more?

I have to admit, on first play, you can believe they haven't really got much to themselves, it's not powerful and not as catchy as their other songs. But once it finishes and you wait a few seconds, you realise you've already clicked the replay button. It's one of those sneaky songs that you don't think you will enjoy and you aren't sure if you do after one play but then you realise it's stuck in your head anyway so you might as well keep on playing it. These girls are good and infectious and I believe it won't be long before chart success comes knocking at their doors.

The music video, in comparison to Cough It Up, is not surprising at all, and doesn't have an ending that leaves you shocked. But at the end of the day, they can't do that with every music video, otherwise it becomes repetitive. This one is simple and basic, with not a lot going on.

This music video looks like your typical third or fourth single that would be released, it doesn't have a lot going for it, but you can see the emotional side of everything that's happening, but I wouldn't stop to watch unless there is nothing better on.

Evarose is a brilliant band, but this music video is missing something, it's plain but emotive, it's good and then it's not, I like the forest aspect and the fact that Dannika is alone and it looks like she's probably found something out and she's angry and upset, which is where the "throwing the stones in the water" comes from, and sitting down by the water. But we don't really know why she's doing that, which could also suggest some blanks we're supposed to fill in.

I like this band, they're new, upcoming and exciting, but after a brilliant music video "Cough It Up", this one lacks in comparison. However it is emotive and drawing, and we want to know more but in a good way. I have mixed feelings about this one, but it's good, however there could have been more to it.

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30 Seconds To Mars - Kings and Queens

February 10, 2012 Critic Jonni 0 Comments

30 Seconds To Mars are one of my all time favourite bands, their music is such an inspiration to us and Jared Leto's voice is amazing, and this song just proves that. The band consists of Jard Leto, Shannon Leto and Tomo Miličević. They have recently beaten a Guinness World record, as I mentioned in my most recent 30 Seconds To Mars review. But they haven't released a single since two years ago, could this mean that their new songs will be the best they've ever released? We're all hoping so, but how they will beat a single like this, I'm not sure.

As expected Jared Leto wrote this song, and you can really tell that he thinks strongly about this song, it has a musicality that is both amazing and brilliant and his voice... It's definitely one of those song that when you listen to it, you can shut your eyes and just think it's bliss. As far as I can work out (thanks to the lyrics) the song is about going down your own path... The way I worked this out was "We were the Kings and Queens of promise" which suggests what your parents believe you can be anything once you are born. "Maybe the children of a lesser God. Between Heaven and Hell." Suggests a kinder God, one who will protect us and prevent us from prejudicing everyone. However the verses tell us something different. 1st verse tells us that we've changed we are who we've become and we have started judging people just like God tells us to do. 2nd verse could be reference to our parents, we took our lives into our own hands and decided to lead our life the way we want to. The bridge suggests that we will never be sure what's right or wrong until we've done it, and darkness descends, we learn our 1st lesson of many to come and will learn from it and become better people because of it. This song is so inspirational, and this is what I get out of it. However if you were to look at the lyrics you may come up with some other meaning. This song touches people in different ways and it's one of those songs that is inspirational and means something different to everyone but in a positive light. It's also a song people learn from, one that makes people become inspired. And this is what makes a song, the most perfect song. I could imagine this song live and it would be the epiphany of perfection

Putting the song aside and focusing on the music video... It fits in perfect and I'll always watch it whenever I find it on the music channels, as soon as I see it on a music channel I stop flicking through and watch it. Again it has narrative and performance which is what we usually expect from a band and it links in just right, although if you had heard the song and not watched the music video you really wouldn't have thought this would have been the music video.

The narrative side is the biking, they start from downtown Los Angeles and go all the way to Santa Monica Pier, there are quite a few artistic forms in this music video, and some bits are shocking. I like the man who's riding the big bike, it's really hard to miss him, and it makes me eager to have a go. I like the different places they ride, such as the tunnel, and the spiral they create in the middle of the road. Some people find the horse a little weird but it relates to Los Angeles. When the bike gets hit by the car it scares me every single time, because I never quite know when it's coming up and it just happens out of nowhere.

The performance side of things is filmed on top of a cliff edge in Griffith Park that overlooks the city.I like the use of the sunset which casts shadows of 30 Seconds to Mars, and gives the music video this feel of motivation.

Overall, I would normally give this song 5 stars purely because it's emotional and I can feel every word Jared Leto is singing. However this is a music video review, but I haven't got a bad this to say about it, it's interesting and easily watchable. It has everything you need and more so how can I not put this rating?

0 comments:

Cover Drive - Twilight

February 08, 2012 Critic Jonni 2 Comments

Cover Drive are a new band, they have so far released two singles, this one being their second and it actually made number one here in the UK, and what do you expect from such a great song and vocalist? They are a 4-piece R&B group from Barbados and consists of Amanda Reifer (real name Karen Amanda Reifer), Thomas-Ray 'T-Ray' Armstrong, Barry 'Bar-Man' Hill and Jamar Harding. They are signed to Polydor Records UK, who have so many artists to their label, I just wonder how far this band will go... I hope they get far, but it'll be one of those things that they either will or they won't, I have my fingers crossed that there are more songs like this one.

I first heard "Twilight" on the radio, and I really wasn't expecting Cover Drive to be the people who sung it, especially after their first song "Lick Ya Down". I was also expecting it to be on the Twilight Sega: Breaking Dawn soundtrack, so I was shocked to find it wasn't. The song was written by Andreas Romdhane, Josef Larossi, Ina Wroldsen, Karen Reifer, Thomas-Ray Armstrong and Jamar Harding. The first two make up the production team "Quiz & Larossi", who have has a number of successes. Ina is best known for quite a lot of "The Saturdays" songs but has also been mentioned on my blog a few times as writing credits, definitely one to look out for. And the last three are in Cover Drive as Karen is Amanda's real name. So they can connect with the song a bit, but I think the fact that the song is so catchy is what made it get to number one in the first place. But people will be looking out for Cover Drive from now on.

To be honest the music video is simple, there really hasn't been much thought put into it, and it is expected of a band's first few singles, however I would become worried if they ended up releasing music videos like this in the future. By listening to the song on it's own, you wouldn't have thought this music video would be like this, although it does have a weak link with the song.

The music video shows fun at it's best, you can see the friendship of the band and how comfortable they are with one another. I am in love with the last scene where they are performing, as twilight is setting in. It's such an amazing scene and fits in with song perfectly, and makes you feel calm, and eager to watch it again.

I reckon many people were expecting a music video about two people being in their first few stages of a relationship, however instead we get to see the bond within the band, and how they are becoming connected. Their friendship is sweet to watch, and probably makes some people envious. Cover Drive will become big, and it looks like they'll be able to keep their friendship within the band.

There isn't a lot to say about this, but there are some great scenes to watch, and I have a feeling artists are going to have to be careful when releasing music, as they are going to have to stay out of the way of Cover Drive, because if the rest of their music turns out like this, they're going to be unstoppable. I've dropped a star purely because I sort of prefer a mixture of performance and a narrative that links in well with the song, but really, if I were able to, I would only drop half a star.
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Bad Meets Evil Featuring Supa Dubs, JG and Pyper - Fast Lane

February 07, 2012 Critic Jonni 0 Comments

Bad Meets Evil is a hip hop band consisting of Royce da 5'9'' (real name Ryan Montgomery) and Eminem (real name Marshall Mathers III). They formed in 1998, where they were introduced to one another. They released two singles before splitting due to Eminem reforming with his childhood band: D12. There was conflict between D12 and Royce da 5'9'', they went as far as hitting out at one another through their own release material. However they both had a mutual friend, the now late rapper, "Proof". Who was trying to get Bad Meets Evil back together. Soon after his death, D12 and Royce da 5'9'' settled their differences and have even collaborated together a few times. Now Bad Meets Evil are back and they are gaining quite high chart positions.

The song was written by a number of people... Here are the writing credits Marshall Mathers (Eminem), Ryan Montgomery (Royce da 5'9''), Luis Resto, Sly Jordan (Pyper), Dwayne Chin-Quee (Supa Dubs) and Jason Gilbert (JG). Pyper sings the chorus of the song, with additional vocals from Supa Dubs and JG. Eminem and Royce da 5'9'' sing the verses. The song is a big collaborative effort, and the people involved were happy to have taken part in the project. I'm not into hip hop/rap music, I can appreciate it but I wouldn't personally listen to it on a regular basis, however on the other hand CamCam is obsessed with this genre at the moment, and clearly can't get enough. I received a suggestion to write a review for this music video, which makes me think that Cam Cam was the one to post the suggestion...

The music video is pretty good, I was a little nervous to watch it as this is not my sort of music, but I am aware of the song, and have heard it numerous times on the radio. To be honest I am happy someone suggested it, as I very much doubt I would have seen this music video otherwise.

There isn't much narrative going on, and one may say it's all performance, however the animated objects give us some storyline. To be honest you would expect something like this in a low-budget music video, however we know that this couldn't possibly be the case, and so therefore it shows originality and links in with the song accurately.

Aside from the animation there are also memorable lyrics shown as they rap. Personally I think there's too many words, and you end up reading them instead of keeping your eyes on the rappers, however there isn't a lot going on, and I think they had to choose between another animation and some of the lyrics. These lyrics manage to show that this is a rap music video, you can tell this if there wasn't any music playing as it is quite common in hip hop music videos.

Overall I have to admit that this music video isn't too bad, I'm just not a fan of the song, however the song is catchy and identifiable as "Bad Meets Evil", you certainly wouldn't mistake it for anything else. I'm surprised it only got to number 66 on the UK chart, but it'll be interesting what songs they are going to release in the future.

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Selena Gomez & The Scene - Hit The Lights

February 06, 2012 Critic Jonni 0 Comments

Selena Gomez is definitely one of these Disney stars that are trying to reach fame... We've already had Miley Cyrus, so now it's a competition between Demi Lovato and Selena Gomez, who are both friends and appeared in a TV show and a film together. Demi, has managed to blow us all away with her most recent single "Skyscraper", and Selena Gomez is trying her best to compete... And here is the best song she's ever sung and I really do like this song. She is currently dating popstar Justin Bieber, as most people already know.

Selena Gomez & The Scene is a pop band, that has also dabbled in Electro... The band consists of Selena Gomez, Greg Garman, Joey Clement, Ethan Roberts and Dane Forrest. This song is definitely going to be a hit, but with Selena Gomez & The Scene's track record on the UK chart, can they pull it back, or will this be another song not to chart so high?

The song was written by Leah Haywood, Daniel James and Tony Nilsson. Which quite surprises me since I was expecting that the band or at least Selena Gomez had put some of the lyrics in, as she looks like she is passionate about every single word she sings in this music video. The song's all about letting loose, having fun and being in the moment, and the music video portrays exactly that.

The music video is inspirational, it's quick short scenes and there is a lot going on, but it matches the song amazingly and it's really clever, but there is a continuity error, I wonder if anyone else has spotted it...

We have various scenes, we have a cornfield where it looks like it goes on and on and on, and the corn are taller than Selena Gomez, you could potentially hide forever amongst the corn. You also have big bouncing balloons that Selena and her friends are trying to prevent touching the ground, apparently (according to behind the scenes) the balloons kept on popping. Then you have the pumpkin patch where they attempt to play baseball with fruit, then they travel on the back of a truck eating watermelons and they disappear into the smoke. Next it's night and they're walking down a street with big flashlights and torches, I so wish I was there, it looks like fun. Then a house party, and a forest filled with disco balls, that looks like the place to be. Selena Gomez is in a room filled with pink balloons, another dream where everyone wants to be. And jumping into a pool, and fireworks go off while dancing in the street, and so much more.

There's so much to see and watch that you have to concentrate really hard, and it's not easy to capture everything first time around. I think I've watched it 5 times now and I'm still finding out new things. This is what makes a music video, it makes you watch it again and again. The continuity error, is the fact that she's had her hair cut half-way through filming (revealed in Behind The Scenes) and it's noticeable if you look out for it, but it is edited well and not evident all that much.

I think this reminds me of Alex Saidac's music video "We Shine", because of the lights, I think this is more relatable and I can't fault this music video, and I'm going to have to say this... I think it's the band's best music video ever. I love it and will watch it 100 more times if I have to, I doubt I'll ever find it tiring, and I hope this is their biggest hit, and I'll be surprised if it doesn't make top 10 here in the UK. It's one of the songs that will definitely be played in the clubs and I am shocked it hasn't been remixed by more DJs. People may dislike it due to flash warning, but to be honest what do expect from a song called "Hit The Lights"?

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New Release: Kelly Clarkson - Stronger (What Doesn't Kill You)

February 06, 2012 Critic Jonni 0 Comments

Kelly Clarkson has been going since she won the first ever American Idol, now she is at the peak of her fame and she is staying up there, ready to tackle high chart-toppers and beat them all to number one, and this is definitely the song that could do it. This is her second single from her most recent album "Stronger" , and due to album downloads only, it has already reached number 8 here in the UK, and this week it's set to chart higher, I guarantee it.

The song was written by Jörgen Elofsson, Ali Tamposi, David Gamson and Greg Kurstin. Most of these have written for Britney Spears, Ke$ha and many other well-known singers, but what I'm surprised about is that none of Kelly Clarkson's most recent singles were written by her, and although she has a fantastic voice and connects with the song perfectly, you can hear something missing, and I think it's because none of her own material is released yet, there are tracks on the album that has been written by her, it's just getting them released as a single.

This music video is one of those videos you really aren't supposed to like, but actually you fall in love with it because of the song. There is not a lot to say about this music video, except it is very well edited as this could have easily become the worst music video out, however it was saved, so well done to the people who edited it.

The choreography plays a major part in this music video. Kelly asked fans on her website to apply to be in her music video, they had to download the dance moves and then record themselves dancing in a memorable part of where they lived. This is quite clever since there are a bunch of people doing these choreographed steps... However they aren't the best dance moves out and it's aimed for younger people so that they can copy the dance moves, but it kind of looks a mess and doesn't quite fit all that well. The only bit I enjoyed about the choreography is at the end where there is loads of people doing the moves and Kelly Clarkson is also doing them too, and they're all in sync and it just looks neater and better.

I like the various videos from the fans, and it looks like Mermaids have heard about Kelly Clarkson as there are people doing the dance moves in the water, I like how you also hear Kelly Clarkson laughing at a little boy, did the editors miss that bit or did they leave it in on purpose?

There really isn't much else I can say about this music video... I can see the song getting to number one this week if it receives enough radio and music channel play, and I know it definitely is, but there are some big songs at the top and I think Kelly Clarkson might have a battle on her hands. As for the music video, I like it but then I also don't, and I think they kind of cancel each other out. As various people have said, you'd have expected a different music video if you heard the song by itself, instead it's unexpected and totally a surprise, but would it have been better to have a narrative, rather than a totally performance only music video? Maybe we'll find her next music video to be exciting and magical, or maybe not...
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