Swedish House Mafia & Laidback Luke Featuring Deborah Cox - Leave The World Behind

July 31, 2012 Critic Jonni 0 Comments

Okay so continuing on with my collaboration special, this is the next song, it combines Laidback Luke with Swedish House Mafia. Laidback Luke, real name Lucas Cornelis van Scheppingen, has collaborated a lot with the members of Swedish House Mafia and I'm sure there will be more in the future. This is the third music video I have reviewed from Swedish House Mafia, the first being "Save The World" and the second being "Antidote". The band features 3 DJs who are called Axwell, Sebastian Ingrosso and Steve Angello, they are all from Sweden and have been getting a number of chart hits across the world. However they are about to split up and go their own separate ways, however they are known to collaborate with one another, so their may be future singles they will release together; these are 3 DJs we are never going to get rid of. Deborah Cox provides the vocals for this track, she has released a number of songs getting quite high chart numbers in the USA, however she hasn't impact the UK that well, although people are aware of her name. Will we be seeing more of her? It's doubtful, but we'll have to wait and see.

To be totally honest this doesn't really count as a music video, but it's the closest we're ever going to get to one for this song. The reason being is that there is a lot of talking in this video, making it seem more like a documentary or a interview than anything else. There is various footage shown, possibly from Swedish House Mafia's world wide tours. I used to think it was weird how some people can wear not much during the night time, but since I've been to Turkey I can now relate and totally understand that in various countries around the world, you can have hot nights.

Surprisingly that is all I have to say about this, there's not a lot going on, and there are a few links with the songs such as how they zoomed out of the world, which was quite impressive, giving the effect that they were leaving the world behind. This is a typical House music video, I would've been very surprised if there was a full on narrative. So giving this the benefit of the doubt, this is definitely the rating it deserves.

Example Vs. Laidback Luke - Natural Disaster

July 30, 2012 Critic Jonni 0 Comments

This is the second music video on my Collaboration Special. Example, real name Elliot Gleave, provides the vocals for this song. It also appears on his album "Playing In The Shadows" therefore making this song his, but why is a Vs. used instead of a Featured? This is one question I am unsure of, but the only thing I can come up with is that  Laidback Luke provides the music, therefore he has mixed the track himself. Laidback Luke, real name Lucas Cornelis van Scheppingen, has released a lot of singles most of which are collaborations with various artists. He has released one album thus far, but I bet a second is on it's way soon. This is definitely one artist we are going to hear more and more from.

"Natural Disaster" was written by Example, Laidback Luke and Dipesh Parmar. Again it was expected that the song was written by these two as they are great at what they do. The song charted here, there and everywhere, and it's completely understandable as it is extremely catchy. But it didn't chart that high, which could have been down to the lack of promotion.

It's music video, on the other hand, is amazing. I could watch it again and again. Previously when I was watching the music channels I would skip over this music video purely because I didn't think I'd enjoy it, but how wrong was I? It's both a narrative and a performance piece and takes place in a club, therefore showing what type of music it is.

I like the narrative, the teenager/young adult is played by Josh Dickinson, and he plays the character perfectly. I like how they show that music is like a drug, and that especially Laidback Luke's music is extremely addicting. I do feel sorry for him having parents like that, I don't think it's fair, but then again they know he has a "drug" problem but are unsure of how to handle it, especially since at the end all he needs to do is walk into a club and find the "drug" there. I also like how Example is in the audience, it's common in a lot of music videos but it is usually only a scene, whereas this is a main part of the music video and makes this video stand out from the crowd.

Overall, the song is very catchy, but it's accompanying music video is definitely one of the best, I don't think I have seen anything like it, and unusual videos tends to get the highest ratings. I haven't got a bad thing to say about this music video, I could definitely watch it again and again, so it's definitely worthy of this rating.

New Release: Calvin Harris Featuring Example - We'll Be Coming Back

July 30, 2012 Critic Jonni 0 Comments

Calvin Harris is a rare sight on my blog, but so is Example to be honest. However this song has gripped me, and after hearing it a couple of times, I just had to use it for New Release, which has sparked off an idea for a whole new special. Calvin Harris, real name Adam Wiles, has been creating demos since 1999, but came into fame in 2007 with his first album. He came to my attention when "Acceptable In The 80s" started climbing the charts. I have only mentioned him once on this blog, where he collaborated with Rihanna for "We Found Love", I hope there will be more music videos from Calvin Harris hitting my blog soon. Example features on this song, his real name is Elliot Gleave, this is his second time on my blog, but has also been mentioned as co-writer of The Wanted's "Chasing The Sun". I like how most artists are connected one way or another and they tend to go around in circles.

"We'll Be Coming Back" was written by Calvin Harris and Example, which is to be expected since they know what they're doing, and you can kind of tell that they've wrote it themselves. It is currently number 2 on the iTunes chart, and it will definitely chart high this Sunday, but could it inched in front of Wiley featuring Ms D's "Heatwave"? We'll have to wait and see.

This music video is interesting, I don't quite know how else to describe it, I had to watch it twice and then read about the video to finally understand what is going on. This is clearly narrative based which is surprisingly unexpected from these two artists. They are both robbers and they hide their treasure, but a cop has been on their trail since and have found what they've buried, leaving her badge behind.

I feel that there is more emphasis on what cars their driving and their speed racing rather than the story overall, therefore people don't quite see that there is a narrative. This would be usually not so good, but they have used great footage such as showing another car coming up to them in their sunglasses (right at the start), and seeing the cop behind perfectly. A lot of different camera shots are used to display the races and the chasing, which makes this video a little more interesting.

Overall the song is definitely one that grows on people, and before you know it, it's stuck in your head, but the accompanying music video is lacking to some respect. However the main focus of the video is to make Calvin Harris and Example look "cool" (their words not mine), and that is exactly what they manage to do, but there is various ways they could have made this better, especially by showing the story a little bit more.

Buy on iTunes

Alanis Morissette - You Oughta Know

July 29, 2012 Critic Jonni 0 Comments

Alanis Morissette becomes my Sunday Revisit, purely because I don't think I'll have the chance to return to this great artist, I might decide to do "Guardian" soon, maybe around when it is released, which might spawn off another Sunday Revisit... But that is really it to be honest, and she was definitely very popular in the 90's. Miss Moirae was the person who introduced me to this music which is like nothing I've ever come across, I don't think you can write a song anything similar to Alanis Morissette, and there is definitely no point covering her songs, you just can't beat them.

"You Oughta Know" was released in 1995, when CamCam was born! I think this is such a great song, it's more of a break-up song, one of those ones that you can shout your head off to because nothing is your fault and it's always the other person, it sounds much like a punchbag, but you exercise your throat instead of punching something physical. It was written by Alanis Morissette (obviously) and Glen Ballard who wrote most of "Jagged Little Pill" which is the album this single is from, including "Ironic".

I don't know what I feel about this music video, I like it but then I don't, I have a lot of pet-hates with this one. It has both a narrative and a performance piece which tends to do well with my ratings, but it hasn't exactly worked with this one. I like the emotion that you can see in the narrative side of this video, where she is rolling in the sand and lying on the bench, she looks like she's in dispair and has all this energy to give out and only then flat plains to dish it out to.

But really that is all I like about it... I hate all the different camera angles and the different shots, do we really need the telescope shot? And all the others? It's like they were experimenting and thought it made the video look better, and I am aware that it was made in 1995 but I'm sure not all videos from that era is like that...

Overall a great song that definitely lifts your spirits if you're down, it may lift them higher if you're already on cloud nine, I should test that out sometime! The colour is a bit on the off side, however due to the time period I'll allow it and disreguard it. However there could've been much better ideas people could come up with to make this music video top notch, just look at "Ironic" the video is great and it's surprising they managed to come up with that idea during that time period. So taking everything into consideration this is definitely what this video deserves, sorry if others think it deserves more stars.

Basshunter - Angel In The Night

July 26, 2012 Critic Jonni 0 Comments

It's been ages since Basshunter has released a single, but finally after a record label change, he is back with "Northern Light", and guess what... It follows on the storyline! Which also means I have to catch up on reviewing the music videos in order, so that I can review it when it starts to hit the charts. His real name is Jonas Altburg and he has been a big hit in the UK, his first single in the UK got to number one along with his album both called "Now You're Gone", his second single "All I Ever Wanted" got to number 2, since then he has failed to crack the UK Top 10, let's hope he'll crack it with his new single. Especially since he is now on All Around The World Records who also front Cascada, Tulisa, September and more, will it be the right move, I sure hope so.

"Angel In The Night" was released on Hard2beat records, which later became Dance Nation Records. It was written by Jonas Altberg, which explains why you can feel the emotions he is singing. his song was almost his fourth single as "Please Don't Go" was released earlier in Sweden, therefore suggesting that it would be his next single, however they changed it and this was released instead. This is his 3rd highest charting position, at number 14, let's hope his next single does much better!

This music video follows what happened in the previous 2 singles. Let's do a RECAP! So "Now You're Gone" showed us Aylar Lie and Lucas Thorheim breaking up over text messaging, their friends invite them out and they end up going to the same night club; there they get back together. "All I Ever Wanted" told us about them going away to Spain and having a bit of fun, but it all goes wrong when they go clubbing and Lucas ends up talking to another girl, apparently it was a mate's cousin, but did she really buy that? (Follow the links to the respected songs to find the videos and also my reviews).

This one Aylar breaks up with Lucas saying in a text: "Lucas it's over. I know you have been cheating" while she is working as a waitress. There she meets Jonas Altberg (who happens to also feature as the DJ in the other two videos), he invites her to this street race in which he is competing in. She turns up but has affections from another guy (name unknown anyone know it comment below please!) He is racing against Jonas, but Jonas wins. At the end Jonas impresses Aylar by singing at a party, there they kiss and sparks off the thought they will get together, where Lucas is forgotten...

I like a lot of things about this music video, I like how much a great couple Aylar and Jonas make, and I really enjoyed the street race the first time I watched it, now I know what happens it's less interesting. I cannot help but laugh at the start when you can see that chemistry flit between them in that café.

Overall how can I not give this a full rating? It clearly deserves it and I like how it also interests other people, especially with the car racing, which kind of reminds me of Rihanna's "Shut Up And Drive". The song's great and should have charted higher, and I cannot wait for "Northern Light" to be released.

Skyla - Ayo Technology

July 25, 2012 Critic Jonni 1 Comments

Skyla, real name Lucy Batty, has been going for a few years, first signed up with 3beat records and All Around The World Records (who are known for Inna, Alexandra Stan and various other artists), but now it looks like she has a new record company under the name of nine planet records. Could it be the right move, or the wrong move? We'll have to wait and see, she has a new single coming out called "Disco Drum", and it's been on YouTube for way too long, and the music channels haven't picked up either, however I did hear it in Turkey a couple of times, maybe more. But will it be released? Hopefully it'll get the credibility it deserves. This song is probably her most known song, 2nd being a cover version of High School Musical's "Breaking Free".

This song is also a cover version. It's originally a hip hop song sung by 50 Cent, Justin Timberlake and Timbaland. It has been covered a couple of times, the covers include Milow who got successful number ones all over Europe, but never brought the version to the UK, and Belgium singer Katerine Avgoustakis who made the song well known in Poland. Skyla's version is well known in the dance genre, and it was set out to be a hit, but it didn't chart at all in the UK. The song was written by Curtis Jackson (50 Cent), Justin Timberlake, Timothy Mosely (Timbaland) and Nathaniel Hills (Danja). The latter being a record producer who has produced a whole range of songs, from Britney to JoJo. This song confused me when Skyla sang it, and it still confuses me, why is she thinking of sexual fantasies with a girl? Lyrics such as: "She Wants it, I got to give it to her" implies that she is lusting after a girl. However a few lyric changes will make it sound like she's singing to the guy who lusted after some other girl, which would have made this song more pleasant to hear... So why did she and her team not change the lyrics? Who knows...?

This music video is quite sexy, it reminds me of Inna's "Amazing" because of the beach and the surfing, but I like how it's very different as well. There are a lot of different references that match with the song, such as sexual references like the bed on the beach, along with the clubbing as the song does mention a club. And what about the social networking references, she's using technology which she is tired of when someone sits on top of her, according to the lyrics.

I like this music video, of course I do. But it's not just that... It links in well with the dance genre, it's not a copycat from Inna, who, might I add, has had a successful career being sexy, and this is why it also appeals to a lot of Europeans, and it's exactly where some of the 2 million hits on YouTube are coming from. I like how, at the end, she is the one who finishes watching the video, it makes it feel like she is watching it with us which makes it feel more personal.

Overall it's a very catchy song, and I really do like this version. The music video links in pretty surprisingly, I'm glad they didn't go too far and make the songs lyrics literal; I would've had a problem then. So I'm in two minds with the rating, it is quite a performance piece, with a little bit of a narrative to it, however I have nothing bad to say about it, except that when this was being shown on the music channels, they would block out something in the chorus, which I never understood, there's no swearwords or anything that offensive... Anyone know? If so please comment below.

The Fray - How To Save A Life

July 24, 2012 Critic Jonni 0 Comments

This is the first time The Fray have appeared on my blog, but will it be their last? To be honest I'm not much into their music, I only like this one song because it's stuck in my head, and has been since Nathan James sang it on Superstar, for those of you who don't know what that is, it's a TV show in the UK that is looking for a someone to play the lead role in the Andrew Lloyd Webber production of Jesus Christ Superstar.

The Fray are a four-piece band consisting of Isaac Slade, Joe King, Dave Welsh and Ben Wysocki. They come from America and have been getting a few chart hits over the years, however they have stopped charting in the UK, and this song is definitely their signature song, I doubt that they'll ever come back into the limelight, however I would've said the same things about Maroon 5, so there's always a possibility.

"How To Save A Life" was written by Isaac Slade and Joe King, this explains why this song feels so emotional, because they are singing about something precious to them. According to the band, the song's meaning is about going to this camp for troubled teens that's called Shelterwood and Isaac Slade was a mentor there. There was this one boy there where no one could get through to him, and no body knew how to save him, there were all these theories and none of them worked. And that is where the song came from.

The music video is extremely clever and connects with the song perfectly, however it's one of those music videos you'd probably watch a couple of times and no more. I know what happens and it doesn't hook me, it kind of reminds me of The All-American Rejects' song "Dirty Little Secret", there are 3 different music videos for this song, this is version 3, which is the most known.

This video contains quite a few teenagers all upset over losing someone, they scream, shout and cry and grieve for the person they've lost. There are various numbered words shown going from "1. Love" to "99. Say Goodbye", these are steps that people probably take to save a life, but they get on my nerves, there are obviously 99 steps, maybe more, except we are shown what? Like 15? Why do they have to have random numbers by them? It just suggests that there is a lot of steps people have to go through yet we aren't allowed to know them all.

Okay so this is a very emotional song with a good emotional music video, but it's not gripping enough, I'm not drawn to watch it again and again, and it kind of makes me feel sorry for these teenagers, and I think that is the desired effect. But they find closure at the end yet why would I want to put myself through all that again, I've watched it twice now and I can't watch it again.

Alanis Morissette - Ironic

July 23, 2012 Critic Jonni 0 Comments

After hearing that Alanis Morissette will be releasing a new song in a couple of months called "Guardian" I got all excited. I have also been playing SongPop recently and in the Ultimate 90's collection this song pops up every now and then and it's stuck n my head today. I first stumbled across this perfect singer thanks to Miss Moirae, we used to see each other everyday, and she brought over "Jagged Little Pill" and we listened to that album again and again, and the songs never got boring. Whenever I hear this song and "You Ought To Know" I can't help but think of those days and how much I miss them, having no responsibility and just enjoying my time with friends with great music.

Alanis Morissette is Canadian (as a lot of great singers are...), she has been going since 1987, and she has had a number of hits, let's hope her new single "Guardian" gets a good charting position. "Ironic" was written by Alanis Morissette and Glen Ballard, the latter having produced, co-written and sung many, many songs; but this is the first time he has been mentioned on my blog, surely it will not be the last. As I always say, I love it when the artist writes their own songs, you feel like you've walked into their life and they're telling you a secret. This is what makes this song so perfect, she means every single word, and you can't help but enjoy it, and sing-a-long.

This music video wasn't what I expected at all. I kind of was expecting similar ironic things that is in the lyrics, instead we get an Alanis Morissette band which has 4 Alanis Morissettes singing together. It's editing perfection especially for the time era. I find it extremely different to what is about, and kind of reminds me of Britney Spears' "Lucky".

The different Alanis Morissettes are all wearing different clothes and all have different personalities. First off you have the original Alanis Morissette driving, she is focused on driving and so hasn't got time to relax. The next girl is very expressive a little ditzy but she wants to let rip all these emotions. The next Alanis Morissette has dreadlocks and is quite humble but she's also a muncher and manages to sing and eat at the same time. The last Alanis Morissette is in the passenger seat, she's a bit crazy and she goes out the window and jumps back in just before the car goes under a bridge, and then she laughs afterwards.

I love this, wouldn't it just be amazing to have friends who are actually you but with different personalities? It's a weird one, because people say that we are all different and if there was a world where you were the exact same as everyone else, it'll be plain boring... But would it? I'm not sure, but there would always be ironic things going on in that world.

This song is amazing and I hear it quite a lot on the radio and I always think of Miss Moirae when I hear this. It's accompanying music video is great and it was nominated for a lot of music video awards. I like the ironic ending; as at the very start she is at a petrol station/gas station, and then at the end, the car slows down and stops suggesting it's ran out of fuel... This is a great music video with a great song too.

New Release: Cascada - Summer Of Love

July 23, 2012 Critic Jonni 0 Comments

So last week I stopped blog posting, unfortunately I got the cold that everyone else in my house has got, so I'm kind of not happy about that, I am feeling better now, well sort of, but not fully 100% yet. However nothing was going to stop me reviewing Cascada's Summer Of Love, and hopefully promote this song, and get a couple more sales for it, as this song is definitely chart worthy. I bought it yesterday and I cannot get enough of it!

Cascada is a dance band from Germany, I have reviewed their music videos again and again, so you can probably guess that I'm a fan. The band consists of Natalie Horler, Manian (real name Manuel Reuter) and Yanou (real name Yann Peifer). They have had quite a few successful hits in the UK, and managing to score those all-important number ones a few times. They have released quite a few new singles over the past couple of years, but they have failed to chart, or they charted low. The reason being is little promotion in the UK, and this is usually extremely important, since some radio stations aren't giving this song airtime, and so all this song has to go on is the music channels playing the music video, and although I have seen it a couple of times, I just don't think it'll be enough to help this perfect song. Will it chart? Well it's climbing up the iTunes chart it's currently at number 422 & 888 at this current moment.... Let's hope it climbs much higher in the following days.

"Summer of Love" is probably one of my favourite songs by this band (I bet I say that about every song of theirs), but I find it uniquely different to what is about at the moment, but it also keeps the Cascada sound and you can't prevent yourself from enjoying it. I just don't think enough UK people know about it, and I'm fearing that the song will not chart and instead be known as their fourth song to not make the UK chart. Fingers crossed that it will gain a lot of sales in the next few days.

This music video is pretty interesting. Again it's different, which links in well with the song. It is performance based, but also has a narrative side to things. It also has scenes where Natalie Horler is dancing, now hide that shocked face! She has danced in previous music videos, but this one seems more relaxed as if she danced unintentionally, which makes it all the more perfect.

Some of the dancers and the dancing in this music video makes you go WOW. There's 2 guys throughout who do amazing back flips. There's also a lot of choreography along with many other dance moves I can't even name, I love some of the vivid images you get from them too, there's one which I can only describe as the "butterfly" that looks quite tranquil. But I do have one bug-bear... Natalie Horler, right at the end, does "heart hands" I know they look good now, but 10 years from now we would have stopped doing it, and we'll look back on it and think "oh no".

Overall, an amazing song, and it's remixes are even better, so what are you waiting for UK people, go and buy it now! The music video is great, got lots going for it and it leaves you amazed. My favourite bit is when Natalie Horler texts: "Free drinks at La Caleta!" so that they can skip the queue, hahahaha it always makes me laugh. This is a great music video with scenes reminiscent of "San Fransisco" and DJ Fresh Featuring Rita Ora's "Hot Right Now". I just hope this song charts on Sunday!

Buy on iTunes

JoJo - Disaster

July 17, 2012 Critic Jonni 0 Comments

JoJo, JoJo, JoJo. Real name Joanna Levesque, JoJo was at the height of her career back in 2006, with hits like "Leave (Get Out)", "Baby It's You", and "Too Little Too Late", how could she possibly have disappeared? But of course it's down to record label, just like previous artists Avril Lavigne and September. Now JoJo is back, or so we are told, but so far in the UK, no sign of any new releases... She has released this song in the US and mainly all around the world, but has she forgotten that she has a big fan-base in the UK? Or is it, once again, down to the record label? I have been waiting for this release since Demi Lovato's "Skyscraper", and this single even got a remix EP which I was expecting to be released in the UK, but how wrong can I be... Will it ever be released? Or will the UK be waiting endlessly for the JoJo comeback that might never happen here?

"Disaster" is definitely one of my favourite songs at the moment... But I think I've been saying that for the past 8-9 months. It was written by Joanna Levesque, Gino Barletta, Mario Marchetti and Marc Himmel. Again another artist who has written most of the song, making it personal to her. This also explains why the song is so emotionally based and is another reason why I like it so much. However it hasn't impacted the world the way JoJo wanted it to, although would it do well in the UK? Well JoJo will never know until it gets released... With the right amount of promotion, it could chart quite high. The song has been spotted a number of times on UK music channels, and some rumoured release dates have been popping up in the last 6 months, but still no sign of this song on iTunes or anywhere at the moment, I will keep hoping for a release date soon!

Rant over, now to the music video. It links in emotionally well with the song, you can tell how strongly she feels about the song, which is exactly what we need in the performance based side of this music video. The narrative side is top-notch too, it has Rafi Gavron in, I know him mostly as Bug from Life Unexpected, but he has been in Inkheart, Nick & Norah's Infinite Playlist and many other films and TV series. JoJo and Rafi build a great emotional relationship that ends up as a disaster which is exactly what they wanted to portray. Their acting skills are amazing to watch, and shows that JoJo is a triple threat, great singer, great actor and great songwriter.

Overall this music video has everything we need. JoJo used to be very innocent when she was younger, and I remember she was the talk of me and all my mates, now as we've grown older and she's grown older, she has a sultry, sexy, confident look, and it's great how she's grown up and her music has grown with her, it's rare to find an artist like that. The video is amazing and I haven't got one bad thing to say about it. Apparently there was meant to be a bike crash that Rafi Gavron is in, but obviously they cut that scene out, and I'm glad they did, it keeps it simple, neat, and all-so-perfect.

Not released in the UK

Maroon 5 Featuring Wiz Khalifa - Payphone

July 16, 2012 Critic Jonni 0 Comments

Maroon 5 has quickly become an international famous band, but a lot of people knew who they were before hand with songs like "She Will Be Loved" and "This Love". They disappeared off the radar with their second album, but thanks to the likes of The Voice (US), Maroon 5 is once again at the top of their game, and I very much doubt they'll ever come down again. The band used to be called Kara's Flowers, which isn't exactly a great name, so I'm glad they changed it before becoming famous (however would we be saying that if they did make it under that name?) The band consists of Adam Levine, Jesse Carmichael, Michael Madden, James Valentine and Matt Flynn. This song is their second number one in the UK in a row, this band will be around for a long time. Wiz Khalifa features on this song, he's real name is Cameron Thomaz. He is an American rapper, who has had a number of hit singles, both solo and featured. I feel like he is one of these artists who is trying to make an impression on the UK chart and just isn't quite getting there.

"Payphone" is the first single from Maroon 5's album Overexposed. The song was written by Adam Levine, Benjamin Levin, Ammar Malik, Dan Omelio, Shellback and Cameron Thomaz. Most of these songwriters have appeared on my blog before, and it's quite a collaborative effort, no wonder the song got to number one in the UK. This song will be remembered if not for the catchy tune, definitely for the cover version entering the top ten. Precision Tunes, who tend to do covers of songs and release them on iTunes before the original song gets released, did a cover of this song, it was released early, and managed to peak at number 9 on the UK chart the week before the original got released. Will this happen again in the future? It seems unlikely, however there are a lot of songs that aren't released until later on in the year, and we're already seeing a few cover versions already making the top 100, so I presume it's always possible.

This music video is extremely high budget, it's the only words I can come up for describing it, it is reminiscent of a James Bond movie, and if given a few more minutes I reckon this would have been a great video, however continuity errors really gets on my nerves in music videos, it happens a lot of the time, but this one really shows them off, and is something a lot of people have already picked up on.

I like the overall storyline, of how there's a robbery at the place where Adam Levine works, but then I feel like everything goes out of proportion. First up, he steals a gun, like that would help him much, and then instead of firing he runs away, and somehow he's quick enough to dodge the bullets... Instead of running to the police he runs down the street, and loses the cops, but then he steals a car for no reason, why do such a thing? And then when loads of cops and helicopters are chasing him, he manages to make 2 or 3 police cars crash, and somehow that gets rid of all the vehicles chasing him, and then furthermore he parks the car (going straight past a guy who's standing on the walkway, what that guy is doing there? Who knows), and walks away from the car and then it blows up, and he doesn't get hurt by the explosion... This just doesn't all add up that well does it?

However I'm going to give it the benefit of the doubt, this should be 8-9 minutes long, instead it's cut short into 4-5 minutes, so continuity errors are expected. However they could've have made them less obvious. The song is really catchy and this music video does shine out of the crowd, so it is definitely worthy of this rating.

New Release: Misha B - Home Run

July 16, 2012 Critic Jonni 0 Comments

Well, I was going to do Lady Antebellum's "Wanted You More" for my new release, as some sources have announced it was to be released this week, however after looking on iTunes and other downloadable sites, this isn't the case. So yet again I am doing another X Factor star for my New Release, but that's okay since Misha B is climbing the charts, I don't blame the British public for buying this single as it is simply quite catchy (after a while).

Misha B, real name Misha Bryan, first found fame on The X Factor UK 2011. That year had a lot of talent and I bet a lot more of those finalists will be popping up here there and everywhere. At the minute we have: Little Mix (Winners), Marcus Collins (Second), Amelia Lily (Third), Misha B (Fourth) and 2 Shoes (Thirteenth). But I bet there will be more to come. I have to admit I didn't think much of Misha B, I believed she didn't have a strong enough voice for the songs she was given, however now, with her own releases; we might get the real Misha B.

Home Run is her first solo single release, it was written by Misha Bryan and MNEK. This is exactly what we wanted, we don't know enough about Misha B as we could, and songs written by the artist who performs it, is so personal that we are able to understand that artist.

This music video is an expected first music video, it isn't WOW, but it's not rubbish either, and it's usually what artists release as their first music video, it's typical because they want a good reaction, rather than trying to push the boat out. As for this music video it's intricately great, and kind of reminds me of a Nicki Minaj music video... I very much doubt Misha B will shake that comparison any time soon; she definitely is a young British Nicki Minaj, and a pretty good answer to be honest...

I like the use of silhouettes at the beginning and at the end, and the neon paint is extremely clever, however I think the colourful images on her face allows the Nicki Minaj comparisons as it is a little over the top, and I really don't see how it links in with the song, although it could be a way to interest the younger audience into buying the single...

Overall a great song that took it's time to grow on me, it's accompanying music video is a bit on the safe side, and is missing a few things, however it's a good first music video and I can see this single performing well on the UK chart. I can also see Misha B becoming an international star sometime in the future; I can't wait to see where her career will take her.

Don Omar Featuring Lucenzo - Danza Kuduro

July 09, 2012 Critic Jonni 0 Comments

As most of you probably know, I was on holiday last week in Turkey. In our hotel from about 10am our entertainer guy for the hotel would play song after song after song, so people don't fall asleep on the sun beds. My brother (CamCam) was complaining at the fact that it was all dance music songs with no rap songs at all, and very little British artists. This song was played almost every day, and it's easily very catchy, it's a worldwide hit, and probably the only song from these 2 artists that will hit the UK. Don Omar, real name William Riveria, also goes under the name of El Ray, as he does in this video, has been releasing songs since 2003 but this is his first single to chart in the UK. Will he try and chart here again? It's possible but it depends if the song is catchy enough. This song features Lucenzo, real name Luís Oliveira, who has been about since 2008, he seems to be one of these artists that will be around for quite some time, and will be trying his best to become a worldwide hit.

"Danza Kudro" is the most known version of this song... A lot of people believe it is the original but they aren't quite right... There have been 3 versions of this song. The original is sung by Lucenzo Featuring Big Ali and it is called "Vem Dançar Kuduro", the video can be found below on the left side. Then this song was created by Don Omar featuring Lucenzo. Then the song gets developed again... This time by Qwote Featuring Lucenzo and Pitbull this final version was sung in English and released in the UK as "Danza Kuduro (Throw Your Hands Up)" this video can also be found at the bottom, but on the right side. Personally, I prefer this version, I think the reason is because I've heard it so many times. The 3rd version's lyrics seems rushed as if they don't quite fit with the song. And as for the original... I'm not sure I like the inclusion of Big Ali. But what do you guys think? I can understand how people have jumped on to the bandwagon of this amazing song, and have made it that little bit better and more marketable for specific countries. Danza and Kuduro are two types of genre of music hence where the name comes from. This song was written by Don Omar, Lucenzo, Faouze Barkati and Fabrice Toigo.

The music video is your usual up-beat dance music video, it's what you used to expect before the likes of Basshunter and Cascada. And I'm not quite sure if I'm into this music video. I'm sure I could go on to YouTube and find quite a few similar videos, which makes this typical dance music video quite boring.

The video shows Don Omar and Lucenzo as millionaires with girls dancing around them. At one point the girls are dancing to a set of choreography on the beach, the dance is similar to the big choreography shown in the music video of the original song: "Vam Dançar Kuduro".

This video is extremely lacking, it is showing off wealth of some people, and this can be shown as arrogant. The song is extremely catchy, and that is why I may be willing to let the video off. But I don't see how it links in with the song, With inclusions of a big yacht and a mansion and an expensive car... I just don't see the need for it. The original song's music video is definitely my favourite music video, whereas the third music video is more of an adaption of this one.

New Release: Inna - Endless

July 09, 2012 Critic Jonni 2 Comments

Hi all, I AM BACK! I've been away from this blog for quite some time due to revision for exams, then straight after that I went on holiday to Turkey. But I am back with plenty of ideas, and ready to get blogging. I come off holiday and I check when my favourite songs are going to be released, I noticed the date for Inna's song "Endless" was this week, but I had to double check on iTunes, and sure enough this single is now ready to buy! But it's not on the iTunes top 100 yet, the reason being is that not enough people in the UK realises she has a new single. Look at when "Sun Is Up" was released, the music video was circling on the music channels for a good 3 months beforehand, and the same goes with the radio. However this video is rarely shown and I have very little faith in hearing it on the radio. I had a few problems with Inna's releasing recently as quite a few singles have popped up on iTunes under the label Roton Romania. However I've managed to understand why. They were purely promotional singles that were released world wide (apparently; I have very little sources to back that up). However she is still under 3beat records and this is her new single... By the looks of things "Club Rocker" got dropped, as 3beat did plan on releasing it, and I'm sure I saw it pop up on a music channel, but clearly they swapped singles, however Club Rocker may be released in the UK in the future.

I am a big Inna fan, her real name is Elena Apostoleanu, I just wish she would do more promotion in the UK, and get those chart topping hits she clearly deserves. "Endless" is her new single, I wasn't sure about the song when I first heard it, but it's grown on me a lot, also I heard the song a lot in Turkey, they are pretty obsessed with Inna, I couldn't go a complete day without hearing one of her songs. Endless was written by Sebastian Barac, Marcel Botezan and Radu Bolfea (also known as Play & Win who are a production group who have also released a few songs and remixes). This is definitely the sort of song that would appeal to the UK; however I'm sure "Club Rocker" would have appealed more, but guess we won't know until they are both release. Will this song chart? It's doubtful, with next to no promotion, and very little music chart play, I don't see it getting very far, but I'm sure her fans will be doing everything they can to get the single all the sales it needs, I am hoping it does get onto the UK top 100 at least.

This music video is quite surprising, at first glance it's one of the videos you put to the side, but it's not until your second watch you realise that there's more behind it than what you think and there is a lot to like about this specific video. It basically sticks up for women and how some relationships can become aggressive, maybe not physically but definitely verbally abusive at times.

Inna shows how something can be done about it, and that sometimes identifying something is wrong is usually the first step. I love how they've portrayed it, it's like Inna is reflecting over the relationship with the male actor (who, yet again I have no clue who he is, he must have a name, but I can't find it on the Internet, this is the second music video of Inna's that I don't know who the guy is, the other one being "Amazing"). They show clips of the good times and the bad times. And at the end she ends the relationship. It's nice to know that she is showing what problems can occur, and that there is ways of getting out of it.

So without being biased I shall decide on my rating, the storyline isn't shown that clearly, but then again I like how it's implicit. The song really shows off her vocals, and it becomes catchy after a while. There isn't a lot going on but there doesn't need to be. So this is the rating I think it deserves and I'm hoping more people will download this song!