Surely this was obvious. Of course, I was going to review Bronnie's "Modern Day Christmas" music video for my Christmas Special 2016. She was a part of my Halloween Special 2016, and now she's a part of my Christmas Special 2016. She's one of my favourite new artists on the scene. This was her first single and it's totally original and authentic; definitely, a Christmas song more people need to hear. Watch Bronnie bring some festive Christmas spirit to us all with this "Modern Day Christmas" music video, where she dresses up as Santa and wishes for an alien.
Bronnie, full name Bronnie Hughes, is an aspiring singer/songwriter, who has gone on to support Josh Taylor and Over Atlantic. She is currently finishing off the Alstar Xmas Party Tour 2016. This is her debut single which she released last year for Christmas. She has followed this up with two more singles that she released this year "High School Sucks" and "Scared Much". This pop/rock Christmas song is passionate and intricate. It was written by Bronnie Hughes.
The music video is mainly a performance piece, with Bronnie adding comedic snapshots of her dressed up as Santa or her admiring the decorations on the tree.
The video is a personal one where she interacts with her viewers throughout. It's an upbeat modern Christmas song, that is easily one of my faves.
It's fun, it's interesting and full of enthusiasm. It shows how far Bronnie has come since she first released this song. She's been building momentum and 2017 is around the corner; no doubt she has big plans for next year and she's one to keep an eye on, for sure.
This was the only thing I can find for New Release this week, which is slightly disappointing, especially since I'm starting my Halloween Special this week, and although aliens can sort of be considered as a supernatural scary monster, I'm not quite sure it actually counts. Instead, I'm going to type up two reviews today so that I can fully flesh out my Halloween Special. Pretty Sister collaborates with Dragonette and Tobtok creating a catchy song. The music video definitely has "Galactic Appeal" as we watch an alien party and live it large with other people.
This is a major DJ collaboration! Pretty Sister is a solo project from Zak Waters who has previously released albums under his real name as well as EPs and singles. He has made quite the name for himself online, although before then he released two EPs with his pop/rock band Blueskyreality, who later disbanded. For now, he's Pretty Sister, who is definitely making electronic waves in the music industry. Dragonette are a well known electronic music trio band consisting of Martina Sorbara, Dan Kurtz and Joel Stouffer. They hit international fame on the collaborative hit "Hello" with Martin Solveig, but didn't quite keep a hold of the fame, and so follow-up singles didn't quite hit the mark. Regardless, they are still known throughout the world, although people may not quite know why at first. Tobtok is a Swedish DJ, real name Tobias Karlsson. He has remixed some of the biggest hits, as well as many unknowns. He previously remixed Zak Waters' song "Out Of My Head", which probably ignited this collaboration.
Directed by Anthony Chirco, the music video starts off extremely cheesy, totally set in the past and in black and white. But it soon turns to colour and all old theme vanishes as we watch an alien transform into a human. Possibly referencing the Roswell alien crash landing?
The alien walks along the road, where she's picked up by two strangers in a car. These two are Martina Sorbara, from Dragonette, and Zak Waters (well, Pretty Sister); who take her to their house/pool party.
This alien doesn't quite understand what is going on until Zak Waters comes up behind her and pushes her into the pool. That's when the party truly starts and this alien learns to have some fun and lets loose.
Martina Sorbara and Zak Waters really know how to host a party, where was my invite guys? Their hypnotic voices work well together, although their harmonies are slightly too soft for my liking, but their voices compliment each other's well. The ending shows the alien flipping through a book by the pool.
This is a great narrative with a side performance piece. Energetic and relatable, although the story isn't quite fleshed out fully. This alien doesn't quite have galactic appeal, she needed to be more quirky and different, rather than trying to blend in. But totally fun and definitely upbeat.
It's Thursday Revisit day, so, of course, I wasn't going to miss out on my chance to review an old Melanie C song... As soon as I saw this title amongst her discography I just had to sing the song and therefore had to review it. It may not be the power club ballad that I remember, but nowadays the remix is played rather than this original song. Melanie C acts weirdly and scarily in this music video, her dancing is definitely not on point, but "I Turn To You" will continue to be a tune!
Melanie C, full name Melanie Chisholm, has come a long way from her Spice Girls days. Leaving Sporty Spice far back in the past, she has built up quite the career for herself, and her latest albums prove her vocal ability and range. This song may be her most recent number one, all the way back in 2000, but when you're an ex-Spice Girl, you don't need another number one behind you, all you need is to release music you love, and that is exactly what Melanie C is doing now. This isn't her only UK number one, she managed to get to the top of the UK Charts with her previous single "Never Be The Same Again" which was a collaboration with Lisa "Left Eye" Lopes. This song was written by Melanie Chisholm, Rick Nowels and Billy Steinberg.
This music video was directed by Cameron Casey and was set in Ibiza. She dances in a club as well as on top of a cliff face. That is really the whole video.
Not a lot to this performance-based video. Melanie C doesn't look all that comfortable dancing to her own song, with repetitive dance moves, it's clear she's unsure of what to do and how to perform this song.
Clearly, no dance choreography was given to her, so this is Melanie C freestyling. This is where the video fails as a whole because she isn't given any direction.
The club is quite freaky as if she's dancing above an alien spaceship. Some of the scenes are reminiscent of the Roswell TV series, so much so that the clips from the show could have easily appeared in this music video. But the song isn't a soundtrack song for Roswell; the song, in fact, appeared in the Bend It Like Beckham film.
Overall, there is a clear potential for a narrative that just doesn't follow through. Some clips look awkward and out of place, Melanie C doesn't look comfortable at all. It looks like a complete mess, however, it's edited well and the idea is thought out just not shown fully or followed through properly.
The video and song everyone is talking about, this is the lead song from the Star Trek Beyond soundtrack. Rihanna has been working on it for at least two years as far as we know, and this is the outcome. She claims to have been a fan of the Star Trek franchise since she was a child and it's a part of her childhood, so it's no wonder that she would want to become involved in the new film in one way or another. Rihanna becomes an alien or extraterrestrial up in her own planet, creating small magic that has us wishing we had her powers. This hypnotic music video for Sledgehammer puts us all in a trance-like state.
The film hasn't even been released yet and this music video is out, but Rihanna, real name Robyn Fenty, as ever, surprises us all. The film is expected to be released at the end of this month, which is when I expect this song will rise quickly in the charts, much like P!nk's soundtrack single "Just Like Fire" did when Alice Through The Looking Glass got released. Rihanna's new single doesn't interest me all that much, she has stepped away from the style of music I loved from her, "Don't Stop The Music", "Umbrella" and "Shut Up And Drive" seem like light-years away, especially in comparison to this which definitely has a Beyoncé 2016 feel to it. It was written by Robyn Fenty, Sia Furler and Jesse Shatkin.
Directed by Floria Sigismondi, the video really captures the loneliness of a person on a planet all by themselves. It was shot through IMAX cameras, the first music video to entirely be shot using these cameras, it probably looked amazing at IMAX cinemas and theatres.
Rihanna transforms herself into some sort of alien, some out of this world being that has magical powers that I'm pretty sure we would all die for. However, she isn't looking all that appealing, but I guess we're used to that with anything from Star Trek, it's more geeky than sexy, and Rihanna pulls it off perfectly.
There isn't much else to add to my review of this music video, there are some magnificent visual concepts and scenes, but none defining or developed enough for us to fully embrace it. This is one of those videos that you will either love or hate, and it totally relates to Star Trek, something I've never managed to get my head around.
We all know what Ariana Grande wanted to be when she was older, an intergalactic warrior princess. Video set in space on a fictional planet, inspired by Barbarella and Star Wars. Takes me back to the TV series such as Doctor Who, Firefly and Atomic Betty. Childish, yet sexual and provocative. Ariana Grande is no longer the cute, innocent nickelodeon teen idol... Pretty sure we've said similar things about Miley Cyrus, Demi Lovato, Selena Gomez, Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera... The list is endless.
Ariana Grande shot to fame in Nickelodeon show Victorious, playing Cat Valentine. She continued her role into spin off series Sam & Cat. She next went into singing, and although her album hit number 7 in the UK charts, her singles from her first album rarely made the top 100. Her Christmas album didn't help either. She shot to fame in the UK thanks to featured artist Iggy Azalea on song "Problem" which scored her first top 40 single, as well as her first number one. Since then she hasn't stopped impacting the UK chart in a major way. 2014 was definitely her year, and I'm sure she will have continued success.
This song, written by Anton Zaslavski, Max Martin and Savan Kotecha, is definitely my TUNE! When this comes on in the clubs, I just have to dance, I just can't help it. Not really a surprise since it's written by some great song writers. The song features Zedd, DJ and music producer, who has yet had a number one single, but came close when he collaborated with Hayley Williams on "Stay the Night", which charted at number 2 here in the UK. Could 2015 be his year to dominate the UK charts?
The music video surprised me when I first saw it. This was just not what I expected from Ariana Grande. However she is 21 years old (same age as me), and as we all know, children TV stars have so many restrictions that when they become of age they do branch out and show they aren't so innocent. It worked for Miley Cyrus, she scored number ones here in the UK, after trying so hard innocently. And it worked for Britney and Christina, they definitely wouldn't be around if they had kept up their innocent acts. I've said it before and I'll say it again, these things need to happen, regardless of parents views. As much as we all want to, we can't be sweet and innocent for our entire lives.
The video disappointed me as the monsters wasn't quite so thought out. They weren't quite so scary. However she did get captured, and she broke free. Zedd rescues everyone through a spaceship, and there is a cute baby elephant hybrid thing in the spaceship too, I want one of those!
Eiffel 65 were a three piece Italian dance band consisting of Jeffrey Jey (real name Gianfranco Randone), Maurizio Lobina and Gabry Ponte (real name Gabriele Ponte). They were active in 1998 till 2005, as well as a reformation in 2010 apparently they are working on a new album, but it now seems unlikely since three years have passed. They were well known for this hit, however they also managed a second hit with "Move Your Body" which got to number three here in the UK, followed by the album 'Europop' at number 12. So where did this band go wrong? Personally I think no promotion for global success was made. And the only reason people remember this song is because it's catchy and has the blue men in it, and the music channels really picked it up and kept playing the music video. Whereas the other videos wasn't picked up enough to make such an impact.
"Blue (Da Ba Dee)" was written by Jeffrey Jey, Maurizio Lobina and Massimo Gabutti. The song is about a guy who is 'Blue inside and outside' and he and everyone else is blue, suggesting it's a state of mind, as well as various objects he owns are blue as well. Guess this is where 'I'm feeling a bit blue' comes from. The song had massive success (most likely down to the video being memorable). Hitting number one here in the UK, this definitely put this band on to the rail road to global success, yet they didn't make it. This reminds me of Infernal, and I'm worried other acts will be following in these bands footsteps soon enough.
The music video has been listed in NME's '50 Worst Music Videos', however I do not agree with that at all, and even though it isn't exactly amazing compared to recent animation music videos such as Mat Zo & Porter Robinson's "Easy" and Britney Spears' "Break the Ice"; at the time it was so great, and even now people are watching it. What with 39,000,000 YouTube hits so far and it was uploaded in 2009, it shows it is still popular. The song appeared in the film 'Iron Man 3', and managed to chart at number 40 in the UK on 6th May 2013. It just goes to show that people still likes this song and it's definitely one of the classics in dance history.
The music video has much going on in the narrative. The two main blue aliens have even got names, they're called Zorotl and Sayok6. Not only that but their planet has a name which is Tukon4 and the blue martian aliens are collectively called Tukonians. This is a whole new world, and although they aren't quite cute I still want to go there and see their world.
Zorotl and Sayok6 abducts Jeffrey Jey from a music gig and deposits him in a similar gig only on their planet, while at the same time Maurizio Lobina and Gabry Ponte go in their own star ship to save their band mate. I have to say that I think Maurizio Lobina looks a lot like H. P. Baxxter from Scooter. Anyhow, they fight with the Tukonians to rescue Jeffrey Jey. They find him, take him back, but the Tukonians ask for them to return and so they do to perform for them.
Overall a song that will probably chart again in the next few years, it's one of those songs that will not stop being stuck in peoples heads. As for the music video, I have to disagree with NME, it is definitely not a bad video, it's probably one of the best from that year, although compared to 2013 music videos it isn't as good, it's still something I would go out of my way to watch. So in total contradiction to NME's '50 Worst Music Videos', here is my rating...
Nicki Minaj, real name Onika Maraj, has appeared on my blog a few times, and will probably frequent it more in the future. She is definitely at the height of her career at the moment, and I think she'll go higher and higher. She is going to be one of the world's biggest stars in the future.
"Starships" was written by Nicki Minaj, RedOne, Carl Falk, Rami Yacoub and Wayne Hector. All are well known, so it's quite a writing team to be honest. Most of them have been included in my blog, RedOne is extremely well-known and has worked with Lady GaGa lots, Carl Falk and Rami Yacoub have both worked with One Direction, but the latter has also worked with Britney Spears. Wayne Hector is the odd one out, he has worked with lots of well known artists but I have yet to include him in any of my reviews. This is definitely one of my favourite songs from Nicki Minaj but the video just doesn't work out.
The music video probably sounded perfect on paper, I love the idea of bringing a star ship into the video. And sort of makes us all understand why Nicki Minaj is so different, and that's because she's an alien... This is very much a performance piece, but can be considered as narrative to an extent.
This video is currently getting a lot of stick. Nicki Minaj tends to look pretty in most videos, especially in "Turn Me On", but in this one she doesn't fit in, most people are saying that this video makes her look unattractive, and it's true. She's alright about half-way through when she's dancing in the field and on top of that black box while flames are going on around her. But all the other scenes you kind of feel sorry for her, it's like the director wanted to see more than he's used to, and maybe he did... Especially at the end, Nicki Minaj makes me laugh as when she jumps she has to hold everything in place, but you'll have to look for it, they've tried their best at cutting it out, so watch closely.
Overall this is probably one of her best songs, and I also don't get why this video took so long to be released. However the video doesn't match up the way we wanted it to, it reminds me of the video for "Stupid Hoe". We were all expecting a great music video to go with a great song, but it just looks like a sleazy first music video, and they never really pull it off great.
I have been a fan of Billie Piper ever since she first came out in 1998. The first time I ever heard of her, was when I was sitting infront of the TV (only a kid back then) and I was watching the music channels. It was probably the first time I had ever watched a music channel, and I remember this coming up, it was shown straight after Britney Spears' "... Baby One More Time", and I loved it straight away. And to be honest I still love it now!
Billie Piper was first a singer back in the late 1990's/early 2000's, but shot to fame with her acting when she came into the new revised series of Doctor Who, where she played Rose Tyler. But when this song was first released it went straight to No.1 in the UK charts, and she holds the record for the youngest ever solo female artist to have a UK No.1 hit, and it doesn't look like anyone will beat that record in the next few years. Could she still be holding that title after she's gone from this world? Who knows? With the amount of young singers nowadays, she may not hold the record for much longer. The only other female artist I can think of who ever came this close to beating Billie Piper was JoJo, who managed to get to No.2 with Leave (Get Out). Not long after her greatest hits album, she disappeared from the world of music, and years later appeared on our screens as the new Doctor's Assistant, in the new series of Doctor Who. She became a character everyone loved, and a character that, when appears in a one-off episode, gains a hell of a lot of ratings to the BBC drama series.
She has been in many films since she's left music, and although she was never passionate about music, there is still a slot for her in our charts. She will probably be lost to music for the rest of her life, and music will miss her so much, but if her heart is in acting, then go for it, but she will sadly be missed, as Chris Moyles proved one day, when he tried to interest listeners into downloading "Honey To The Bee", back in 2007, and guess what? She managed to get to No.17, which is such a surprise, and totally proves that the music industry has a slot still for her, and her fans will help her in anyway possible. She could easily become an actor & singer, many American artists and Actors do it so it's about time Britain started, and Billie could definitely prove herself.
This song is the cheesy sort of pop that I was brought up on. It was very common in the late 90's to have this sort of music playing. The song is about freedom and doing the things you want to do hence "because we want to". It is definitely cheesy, but it's good in the way that is interesting,
The music video is imaginative and clever and links a lot with Doctor Who, many fans reckon there is a lot of links, from an early Cyberman to a Judoon, she was obviously destined to appear in Doctor Who, only then no one could have possibly have known. I like how Billie has "super powers", she came from a UFO, which definitely is Doctor Who like, and at just 15 she loved throwing her names on things, such the billboard poster.
I definitely like the dance routines, it was very common then as kids liked to copy the dance moves and try to imitate them, and yes, I did do that back then too. But it was how it was, now, about a decade later it is starting all over again, you'll getting a lot of girl groups, boy bands, and mix groups coming up with dance moves that kids are likely to copy, and with the added use of the fact that bands from the 90's are re-forming, cheesy pop could be making a return in a whole new style and format. Could this be the perfect time for Billie to come back to the music world? I really hope so.
The camera is a little on the jumpy side, but that is to be expected, and the graphics are not the best, however I remember thinking WOW at the time as back then they were pretty good, however if the music video was ever re-done it would definitely be improved a hell of a lot.
Overall I am giving it a reasonable rating, because I think the camera could have focused more on the dancing, as I remember having to watch the music channels a hell of a lot of times waiting and waiting for this song to come on so I could perfect my dance moves, that is my only problem, but otherwise it's been interesting rating a music video which is over 10 years old.
