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Friday, February 28, 2014

5 Seconds Of Summer | "She Looks So Perfect"

5 Seconds Of Summer arrive and bring out people's wild sides in their new and very "cheeky" music video for their breakthrough song "She Looks So Perfect." Formed in December 2011 from the western suburbs of Sydney, the Australian four-piece pop-rockers - comprising vocalist Luke Hemmings, guitarist Michael Clifford, bassist Calum Hood and drummer Ashton Irwin - who recently signed a deal with US label Capitol Records, is releasing this upbeat breakthrough song as the "worldwide first single" from their upcoming debut album, that will be released later this year.
The quartet having only been together for around several months, they have managed to summon a loyal fan base. The four teenagers may not have known what was in store for them when they started out in their bedrooms individually, only a few years ago, however, their current success is undeniable, and it's more than logical to expect greater things to come as the band break the local music scene into international success. 5 Seconds Of Summer staked their claim as pop's next big boy band this week by landing in the iTunes top five with new EP "She Looks So Perfect."
The title track is a great introduction to boys. The catchy punk-pop anthem covers the always popular topic of young love and boasts an instantly catchy chorus. The Australian foursome has built up a steady online following over the past couple of years but exploded in popularity after supporting One Direction on their 'Take Me Home' tour. Temperatures must be pretty high in Australia considering what we see in their new video for "She Looks So Perfect." What's the plot of the video? Pretty much that people in Australia feel so hot right now that they cannot help to remove their clothes when they hear 5 Seconds Of Summer's "She Looks So Perfect."
Directed by Frank Borin, the clip opens with the Australian boy band performing the anthemic pop/rock track in an alleyway as tens of garments fall from the sky with scenes of small-town boredom: disinterested kids in class, people eating alone at a diner, dudes in a jail yard, an uninspired grocery store cashier. Luckily they all heed 5 Seconds Of Summer's call, losing their inhibitions and stripping down to their underwear, and dance. The boys themselves even tease whipping off their clothes during the final seconds of the video, but you'll have to watch it to find out if they follow through!

Thursday, February 27, 2014

Coldplay ambling through a forest in "Midnight"

Coldplay has unveiled a haunting black-and-white music video for chilly new track "Midnight," an atmospheric track absent of the anthemic rock elements of earlier chart-toppers, but overflowing with hints that frontman Chris Martin and company have been spinning Bon Iver records pretty hard as they prep a sixth studio album, their first album since 2011's "Mylo Xyloto," which heard them sprinkle pop electronics over their soaring serenades, but the first teaser from upcoming album No.6 strays much further beyond that. It's subdued, murky, twinkling, but definitely not lead single material on first listen.
The ethereal track's desolate feel and heavy use of vocal overdubs, along with what sounds like a vocoder, feels more Bon Iver or The Knife-like rather than U2 and Radiohead, the group's traditional targets of comparison. A far cry from the anthemic chorus of their most recent track, "Atlas," which doubled as their contribution to the Hunger Games: Catching Fire soundtrack, "Midnight" is one of the group's most understated singles. For five minutes, the British rock band maintains a slow pulse highlighted by shimmering synthesizers that have more in common with downtempo EDM than Coldplay's piano rock. It's the band at their most spacious and ambient, stripped down to a ghostly essence.
What hit us the hardest is Martin's plaintive, thoroughly treated vocals. The frontman's tone has become ubiquitous in modern soft rock, but "Midnight" hears it distorted, with any hint of recognition gently drifting away further into the darkness. Martin intones heavily affected vocals that, at times, resemble early Nineties Peter Gabriel as he sings about darkness, while the synths build throughout the track before a skittery, rave-like keyboard line flits about noisy static. The track closes with Martin asking that a light be left on. Maybe somewhere deep within the effects-heavy murk of his more incoherent lyrics is something that explains just why the song came out at a time local to Ulaanbaatar, the capital of Mongolia.
The Mary Wigmore-directed atmospheric clip, matches the mood of the tune, is dark and chilly, full of black-and-white photo-negative images and what looks like heat-sensitive silhouettes of Coldplay's members ambling through some sort of parallel universe X-ray forest. Set primarily in a wooded area and shot in negative exposure, the trippy "Midnight" clip follows the band as they dance around to an airy electro-pop arrangement. You also get glimpses of a wandering wolf along with sped-up cityscapes. What Martin and his Auto-Tune will sound like when morning comes and they're out of the woods, we'll have to wait and see. Enjoy its subtle spookiness below.

Wednesday, February 26, 2014

Beyoncé gives ultimate sexy show in "Partition"

Beyoncé, following up to her sexually-charged performance of "Drunk in Love" with her husband Jay-Z at this year's GRAMMY Awards, unleashed the elegant, magnificent and eye-popping video for her next single "Partition," which was co-penned by Justin Timberlake as third single on the R&B star's self-titled fifth album. Beyoncé explained in videos for the album that she is very much aware that she is showing off her body; she wants to prove to women that you can have children and still have an amazing body. The "XO" singer and Rise Fragrance creator wasn't singing much about love, but served up sex for the latest clip.
"Partition" is a sexy urban song, that Beyoncé wrote inspired by the thoughts she had on her mind the night she got engaged to Jay-Z. The track opens with the call-and-response that Beyoncé pumps the crowd with before going to "Get Me Bodied" every night on tour. It contains explicit lyrics that describes Beyoncé making love in a limousine. She sings in French on the bridge, where she criticizes those who believe feminists are not interested in sex. And the steamy track gives gawkers a peek into the intimate side of Beyoncé's marriage to Jay-Z. If you thought their Grammy performance was too hot to handle, you'll want to take a cold shower in Siberia after watching this video, which features Beyoncé performing a striptease on a piano and giving viewers a whole new way to think about the word "peaches."
Directed by Jake Nava, the sexy, extravagant and scintillating clip was inspired by Beyoncé's desire to prove that women can maintain their personal sexy even after childbirth, and a trip to the famous Crazy Horse strip club in Paris. "The day I got engaged was my husband's birthday and I took him to Crazy Horse and I remember thinking, 'Damn, these girls are fly.' And I just thought it was the ultimate sexy show: 'I wish I was up there, I wish I could perform that for my man...' so that's what I did for my video," said Beyoncé.
"It takes me back to when me and my husband first meet and he's trying to scoop me and he thinks I'm the hottest thing in the world," she explained. "I kinda had this whole fantasy of being in the car and this whole movie played in my head." Opening with Beyoncé staring down her man at the breakfast table while drinking tea, the clip dives down a rabbit hole of burlesque shows, strip teases and backseat canoodling as the Beyoncé danced suggestively, showcasing her famous assets and teases Jay-Z, who makes another classic, cigar-smoking cameo with an array of outfits and head-spinning dance moves. The clip suddenly cuts back to the breakfast table at the very end in classic it-was-all-a-dream fashion.

Tuesday, February 25, 2014

Angel Haze conquers her demons in "Battle Cry"

Angel Haze makes a major leap forward with an emotional video for her Sia-assisted inspirational anthem "Battle Cry," arguably the strongest track on her debut album, "Dirty Gold," which was released in December of 2013 in frustration at her record company delaying the album multiple times. She said that "music is all I fucking have." Whatever your opinion is on Haze leaking her debut album to pressure her label to push up its release date, you've got to respect how driven she is. And, in Haze's extremely personal new video for "Battle Cry," you really get a sense of how she got that drive.
Raised in poor, sapped Detroit and now a resident of prospering New York, the 22-year-old rapper produces hip hop that's remarkable for its crunching collision of tones. Lyrics express sorrow as often as swank. The powerful track was produced by big time pop player Greg Kurstin and features "Dirty Gold"'s only guest, Sia, who handles chorus duties, so it's no surprise it's the rapper's most radio-friendly song to date. "Battle Cry" is sickly sweet and uplifting and it's an extremely personal song that sheds light on overcoming a tumultuous childhood, which she uses as motivation to be the best she can be.
"Battle Cry" highlight has a mighty message to begin with - overcoming a painful past to achieve a more perfect version of human imperfection - but Frank Borin's beautifully shot visual gives the music extra poignancy. Filmed near Joshua Tree National Park, the haunting clip shows Haze battling her demons and illustrates this back story and recounts Haze's journey from childhood to burgeoning "It" girl status on the music scene. Nevertheless, seeing Haze's trying journey underscores why she'd risk anything to get her message out there, perhaps best summed up by the lyric: "'Cause you only get one moment in this life to be great/ And you can give it your all despite what it takes."
We first find Haze alone on a desert highway as she walks down a long, abandoned road, but soon she relives episodes of her own troubled childhood experience with various forms, including being raised in a cult, suffering sexual abuse and attempting suicide. We see her progression from a wrist-cutting teen to the artist she's become, with vivid imagery to accompany the lyrics: "I been there, I'm still here, and I know how you feel." The video ends with her playing piano on the road, showing the effect music has had in empowering her. Watch the inspiring and powerful video below.

Monday, February 24, 2014

Cassadee Pope "I Wish I Could Break Your Heart"

Cassadee Pope breaks literal hearts in her Valentine's Day-themed visual for "I Wish I Could Break Your Heart," the second single and the follow-up to her breakthrough debut single "Wasting All These Tears," off her solo debut album "Frame by Frame." While "Wasting All These Tears" was a somber, country-pop ballad, Pope's latest subject matter isn't much happier and is another catchy pop/rocker right in Pope's wheelhouse. In this song, she's frustrated she can't return the hurt a lover bestows upon her, but she sounds much peppier.
In this country-rock mid-tempo, the former Hey Monday frontwoman laments she just can't be a bad girl. She's too sweet as she sings on the chorus "Well the truth is that I never ever wanna hurt you baby, but it'd be nice to know that I could... I wish I could break, I wish I could break your heart." In an interview with Radio.com earlier this year, Pope explained why she first gravitated to the song, co-penned by country songstress  Gordie Sampson, Ashley Monroe and Jon Green. "It's a positive song but its kind of got this snarky, interesting negative side. It's not make or break. It's not a heartbroken song where the world's going to end but it's a song about loving somebody."
"It's a great relationship; you're happy but you know that they could break you so easily and you feel so vulnerable. And you feel too weak compared to them and you wish if you could see if you could break them if they would fall apart. If they would fall to pieces. I think that's a really cool and honest lyric. It's an outside song and I just love what it says." Pope said the song is very similar to Faith Hill's 2002 hit, "Cry." "You just wish that that other person would feel a little more and you wish that you could almost make them cry, just to know that you have that power over them," she explained. "But, it's overall a very happy song. I love the silly, playful undertone that that song has."
In the Wes Edwards-directed video, 'The Voice' Season 3 champ looks beautiful in a variety of outfits while surrounded by glass hearts as she shakes things up channeling her inner Faith Hill with elegant costumes and the desire to make you cry. Pope gets her titular wish in the video that sees the Florida stunner singing in a series of Valentine's Day-themed sets. She even sings inside a jumbo electronic heart that looks like the type of thing Cher would pop out of on tour. By the video's end, she breaks an actual heart even though it's a dinky little glowing thing that shatters under her heel. Watch Pope wailing in a wedding dress below!

Sunday, February 23, 2014

Karmin return with retro disco-pop 'I Want It All'

Break out the disco balls and roller skates. Karmin catches disco fever in the retro-inspired video for their new disco-pop single "I Want It All," the second single off of their upcoming full-length debut record, "Pulses," is due March 25 and featuring a mix of pop, hip-hop, and reggae vibes, which they describe as "retro-future." The pop duo, consisting of engaged couple Amy Heidemann and Nick Noonan, found their fame on YouTube covering hit songs. After their rendition of Chris Brown's "Look at me Now" skyrocketed them to stardom, they signed with L.A. Reid at Epic Records in 2011.
Co-written by the duo with songwriter Ester Dean, this Disco-tinged Pop tune is a disco and funk inspired song which features a fun and groovy disco-inspired vibe and offers enough glittery, '70s-disco-domination eye candy to totally tide us over until then. The catchy lyrics taking listeners back to the 70's disco era. "We were listening to a lot of Missy Elliott and Pharrell and old No Doubt when we were recording it and writing it and it definitely rubbed off," Karmin told MTV Australia. "It's got kind of a '90s feel and all the visuals are monochrome."
Karmin switched up their perky pop sound on their previous hit single, "Acapella" - opting for hip-hop beats and minimal production. It was an interesting departure but the duo find a more satisfying middle ground on "I Want It All," which has a fresh vibe." The track is a fun and catchy song, but is most notable for the lack of rapping, which is a common trait in most of their other work. Karmin has cornered the market on what they've coined "swag pop," that interesting blend of pop music and hip-hop that can’t really be called one or the other, but a mix of both.
The colorful video is a perfect fit with song. Heidemann struts and vamps like the best of the cool dancefloor divas throughout the colorful clip, as the frenetic high energy of the solid tune chugs along in all its funky glory. The real life couple hits up a skating rink, as Heidemann shows off some pretty impressive moves on wheels and Noonan plays the trombone before turning the place into a giant party in a type of nightclub. The clip not only reminds us that we just don't get enough sequined wall-caressing, glowing microphones, and roller skating in our lives. It also makes a very historically significant statement: Disco is not dead. It will never die.

Saturday, February 22, 2014

Katy Perry debuts Egyptian-themed "Dark Horse"

Katy Perry channels her inner Cleopatra in the Egyptian-themed colorful fantasy video for her latest song "Dark Horse," the third single off of her third studio "Prism" album, and it's quite a magical spectacle. The trap and hip-hop infused pop song, featuring Memphis rapper Juicy J, is pop star's latest single to go No.1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, her 9th to do so. "This No.1 is the most unexpected one I've ever had," said the singer. "'Dark Horse' has been a dark horse of a song, since August when the KatyCats voted to release it early on iTunes, before 'Prism"' even came out."
This Dr. Luke produced ballad finds Perry with her sights set on a guy, and she won't take no for an answer. It was selected as a promotional single from "Prism" after the singer asked fans to choose between this song or the dance club heavy "Walking On Air." Perry revealed at a special album release party that the song was inspired by the 1996 movie "The Craft," which is, "about warning a guy that if you're going to fall in love with me, make sure you're sure because if not, it's gonna be your last."
The upbeat track finds Perry playing seductress and putting a potential lover under her spell. She described the lyrics to MTV News as "kind of witchy and dark, as if I was a witch warning this man not to fall in love with me, and if you do know I'm going to be your last." Perry went on to describe the tune as having a "witchy, spell-y kind of black magic-y idea." Along with Juicy J, Perry performed this song at the Grammy awards. She went with a witchcraft/enchanted forest theme, staging an elaborate spectacle where she emerged from a giant crystal ball and sang to an anthropomorphic horse. Those who believe in Illuminati found lots of evidence of Perry's involvement with the group in her performance.
Set in a surreal Ancient Egyptian landscape, the Matthew Cullen-directed whimsical clip begins with the message "Memphis, Egypt...a crazy long time ago," and features the 29-year-old as her latest alter ego, Queen Katy-Patra, clad in a platinum blond bob wig with blue hieroglyph detail, spreading her wings, sitting on her throne and floating down the Nile on a dazzling boat, and haughtily looking on as different suitors try to win her over with gifts ranging from a huge diamond to an adorable puppy. But when those men don't make the cut, Perry unleashes her goddess-like blasting super powers to turn them into sand.

Friday, February 21, 2014

Natalia Kills fights her demons in gritty "Trouble"

Natalia Kills find love in a hopeless place in the gritty music video for her dance-pop pantomime "Trouble," the title track and third official single from the English singer-songwriter's underrated sophomore studio album. Kills played up her bad girl image in the music video for "Problem" and took us on a trip through her troubled childhood in "Saturday Night," but in the video for her latest single, "Trouble," the 27-year-old takes things one step further, giving us an inside look at a destructive relationship fueled by drugs, sex, and violence.
Her new album presents a hypnotic, 53-minute retrospective of her various life troubles over dark, swirling pop production. "The album is like a collage of all of the worst memories and worst mistakes I've ever made," Kills tells Billboard. Lyrically, "Trouble" touches upon the deeply personal themes of Kills' the singer’s troubled childhood and adult life, exploring her family's dysfunction, her lost loves, the chaos of her old neighborhood, the chaotic yet vulnerable, and everything in between, which are approached in greater detail than in her 2011 debut album "Perfectionist."
It's dark and gritty stuff; yet, it is filled with plenty of catchy melodies that demand you sing along, or at the very least mouth the words. The closing and title track "Trouble," co-written by herself in collaboration of Jeff Bhasker, ends the album on a loud note that she is, indeed, trouble. Casually dropping lines such as "I'm gonna burn down the house tonight" while pleading for a friend and alibi, it's the perfect ending to represent the album's entire theme of badass, rawness, honesty and still being fucking awesome. The song is definitely an excellent production with many percussion and quite catchy.
The dark and intense clip follows the ups and downs of the English singer's toxic relationship with her boyfriend, played by British actor/model River Hawkins. After watching the doomed lovers fight their way through bad trips, nightclub fisticuffs, and backseat sex, Kills finally puts an end to the madness by setting her house on fire. The visually arresting video can only help Kills' cause. It documents the adventures of doomed lovers as they spiral out of control in a blaze of sex, drugs and violence. Kills is known for gloomy videos, but this could be her most fully realized visual yet. Watch the criminally underrated diva in action up below.

Thursday, February 20, 2014

The Saturdays are about "Not Giving Up" on love

English-Irish girl group The Saturdays strike back and dance around in black PVC outfits with huge glow sticks in racy video for new track "Not Giving Up" and, inspired by Darth Vader, it involves lots of Lightsaber-esque batons. The Pop quad have stretched the campaign for their latest album "Living For The Weekend" all the way out, serving up first single "What About Us" in 2012, and today the video for new release "Not Giving Up," a dynamo dance-floor jam, serves as the fifth cut to be lifted from "Living" and the first since band-member Frankie Sandford gave birth.
"Not Giving Up" is amazing for a variety of reasons: For one thing, it's about not giving up on love. Persistence is inspiring! But then, the actual song's fantastic too. Actually, it's stupid good. The uptempo club-pop stormer is utterly relentless and very much 'The Saturdays,' powering through the speakers much in the same way as "All Fired Up," the best single on Irish beauty's last album "On Your Radar," as well as "White Lies" and "Get Ready, Get Set," the best non-singles on their last album.
The pre-chorus build is a major earworm of a melody, the chorus was clearly divined by dance-pop angels from above and the post-chorus is a quick talking, tongue-tying moment of serious pop pleasure. It's made for some serious shufflin' the club. Once again, in true The Saturdays fashion, there's next to nothing actually happening here. However, as any a seasoned follower of the group with agree, they're best when playing it simple. The band's label Fascination recently confirmed that a "radio remix" version of the song will be released as the single, while the EP contains three remixes and new B-side "Bigger."
The "What About Us" hitmakers clearly decided to go down the same route and strutting a string of risque moves when they created the clip for new single "Not Giving Up." The simplistic yet sexy video sees the fivesome - Una Healy, Mollie King, Frankie Sandford, Rochelle Humes and Vanessa White - are each seen working their magic with lightsaber-esque tubes and dressed all in black racy tight leather PVC outfits as they pull out a range of various dance moves in a dimly-lit room while belting out the song and performing sexy dance routines with huge glow sticks.

Wednesday, February 19, 2014

Kat Dahlia being madly in love with "Crazy"

Love will make you crazy. Vested in Culture/Epic Records signee Kat Dahlia returns today and trades "Gangsta" for glamour in the slick and stylish new music video for her latest single "Crazy," as she contemplates what may or may not be crazy concerning an ex-lover. The new song will appear on Cuban-American singer-songwriter and rapper's upcoming debut album, "My Garden," which features rap, hip hop and soul songs styles, and will be released come May.
The 23-year-old up-and-coming hip-hop artist, is known for her razor sharp lyrics and her unique, aggressive flow, has lots things in the pipeline for the first few months of 2014. The Glass John-produced track is far cry from her disturbing, yet socially conscious video “The High,” which highlighted the 4.8 million domestic abuse cases that plague the United States. And also we last saw Dahlia in an upbeat mood for her "Happy and I Know It" video, but that sentiment has pushed into more obsessive territory on her new song, "Crazy."
The Cuban songstress sings melodious lines about intense feelings being madly in love for someone who's just walked into her life and questions if her actions are insane. She sounds passionate about it, too. "Tell me what's going on I need to know," she delivers. "Cause I'm not trying to lose myself or lose control." It's a feeling that's been articulated for decades, so performing over a throwback instrumental isn't too left-field of an idea. The sly, clean guitar strums call back the R&B sounds of decades prior, as the descending piano keys slip into the hook to add a sense of soul.
Dahlia said in an interview about what can fans expect from new video: "The video we shot out in London. It was a great collaboration with [director] Rankin. The song is about a girl that's feeling vulnerable about liking a guy and trying to cope with her emotions, so we kind of captured that on-screen. I'm excited about it." In the fashionable clip, Dahlia showcases various emotions on why she's "crazy," and sings at a photo shoot mixed in with black and white shots of herself while showing off her affinity for fashion as she models glittery vintage dresses and dainty couture pieces on the streets and in a studio.

Tuesday, February 18, 2014

Tiësto get caught up in all the "Red Lights"

Tiësto is full of surprises these days, has released an energetic new music video to accompany his new track "Red Lights," the first taste of the Dutch DJ's upcoming as-yet untitled fifth full-length artist album, and it mark a departure from 45-year-old Tiësto's traditional trance sound. The track that perfectly blends the best elements of high energy house music and powerfully catchy pop, gives a great first look into what Tiësto is cooking up, a definite road trip anthem with a "drive fast and don't look back" mentality all wrapped up in a melodically light, happy-go-lucky package.
Tiësto has always been at the forefront of dance music, constantly staying ahead of the curve in the ever-changing and growing electronic music industry. Having recently partnered with Casablanca Records and Republic Records, Tiësto teases at his next big music move with "Red Lights," a reference to traffic markers, not another element popular in producer's homeland of the Netherlands. Always the trendsetter, icon DJ-producer sets the pace for the new sound of dance music with his "Red Lights," which is a let's-escape-the-world floor shaker and a mash up of house and pop. Th track certainly has the melodic hooks and riffs necessary to see similar success.
The beautiful blend of melodic harmonies, combined with the gritty, yet touching tone of the vocalist as he sings along, put together with the acoustic guitar riffs makes "Red Light" stand out on its own. No word on who the male vocalist featured on "Red Lights" is. The combination of both acoustic and electronic sounds combine to make this track unique and different. "Red Lights" is definitely a change of pace as one of electronic music's greats adjust to mainstream EDM. And this song is super infectious and catchy, as he derives rapturous results from candy-coated choruses, big builds, and glistening beats.
Instead of complaining about sound-alike tracks and pop music disguising itself as dance music, Tiësto and director Skinny have crafted a sexy Americana road trip with enough skin, tousled hair and euphoric nightlife energy to show EDM newbies how it's really done. The clip tells a story of two girls leaving their boring lives behind in favour of an epic spontaneous road trip that sees them hitch hike across the states, making it all the way by any means necessary to Las Vegas just in time for a Tiësto's gig at Hakkasan and they even manage to visit Grandma on the way.

Monday, February 17, 2014

The Pretty Reckless go to hell in "Heaven Knows"

The Pretty Reckless have been climbing the charts with their single "Heaven Knows" and there's now a corresponding and very attention-grabbing "dark" visual for the song, which is the second single featured on alternative metal/hard rock band's imminent sophomore album "Going to Hell," due in stores on March 18. Considering the titles of the songs on the album, the journey to hell appears to be something The Pretty Reckless are spent a lot of time pondering. And hey, it might be kinda fun to go along for the ride.
The first single and title track from "Going to Hell" was hardcore rock music, and for the follow-up, frontwoman Taylor Momsen and The Pretty Reckless slow it down a bit and add a little soul, continues where the first hardcore rock "Going To Hell" left off. Shocking, lurid antics are sort of the point of the "Heaven Knows," so we're not being entirely gutter-brained. The song rocks a powerful rhythmic guitar with a striking refrain that Momsen delivers dead-on: "Oh no, heaven knows, we belong way down below." Once again considering spiritual matters of sin, redemption, the afterlife, and all of the attendant rock-and-roll tropes that come with the territory.
Shot on location in Miami, the Jon J and Momsen-co-directed striking clip, sees 20-year-old Momsen as a rock n' roll savior strutting down the halls of a school in a black robe until entering one of the smoke-filled darkened classrooms where a group of innocent children are being fed subliminal messages on multiple television screens, and some not-so-innocent-looking adults to illustrate drug use and eternal damnation and play out the concept of how a culture becomes brainwashed by sex and violence. But what will have viewers buzzing is later Momsen pulls back her robes to reveal she is wearing nothing but the band's customized Gothic black cross logo on her body.
Momsen says of the video and track's inspiration, "How do you sum up a song that is metaphorically speaking about everyone's life from any general perspective on video? You understate it. We decided to film variations of all of the issues we as a people are facing, whether personal, political or social. We took a lot of shots, each representing some social constant or emotional struggle. Some overt, some subtle, but it's all in there. Everything is thrown at you from the day you're born, you're only chance is to think for yourself... which is not as simple as it sounds." Simple, no, but Momsen does seem to have focused on doing exactly that.

Sunday, February 16, 2014

Nicki Minaj takes shots at "Lookin Ass N*gga"

Nicki Minaj is back with a vengeance as she's dropped a black and white music video for her script-flipping new single, "Lookin Ass N*gga," is reported to be the first taste featured on her own upcoming third studio album, "The Pink Print," and also appear on upcoming Young Money/Cash Money compilation, "Rise of An Empire," due out in March 11. The new video for Minaj's sneering put-down "Lookin Ass N*gga" marries K-pop excess to vast Anton Corbijn-style lonely desert minimalism and diamond-dipped Hype Williams fetishism, and it is amazing.
"Lookin Ass N*gga" is a hip hop song and it commences with a persistent piano thump and auto-tuned wail, after which Minaj begins rapping about her criticisms of the male gender, which are referred to as "lookin ass niggas." Her verses highlight particular distastes of men fixating over her buttocks, embellishing their financial stability, and overemphasize their connections with drug-dealing. Minaj feverishly protects her rap crown spitting a furious flow of angry bars as she followed a similar rhyme pattern throughout and stacked multisyllabic bars ending each bar with the controversial N-word.
The track, which owes a bit to Mos Def and Q-Tip's 1999 cut "Mr. Nigga," finds our lithe-tongued heroine tilting all the way toward one end of her internal spectrum. It's a no-holds-barred attack on lame dudes, complete with double assault rifles. The track is a remarkable display of personality: when Minaj turns her gaze to the camera, a single arched eyebrow or touch of her hair conveys a powerful disdain that seeps into your skin. When gestures packing that much force are coupled to wickedly spat put-downs and punch-lines, it's fearsome to behold. The message is clear: this is not someone to trifle with. If the song is a sign of things to come from Minaj in 2014, we're in for an exciting year.
The monochrome video takes places in a vacant section of land near a mountain range. Dressed in a black see-through leotard and star-shaped nipple covers, the fiery femcee gets back to her rhyme-spitting roots, is seen suggestively posing throughout the Nabil Elderkin-directed clip, taking aim at fake and lying dudes literally, and holding an assault rifle, shooting gigantic guns into the air when not straddling a tastefully minimal chair. Close-up footage of a man staring at her is interspersed throughout the clip and Minaj shoots at him at the end of the video.

Saturday, February 15, 2014

Avicii unveiled lesbian-themed "Addicted to You"

Anybody can give flowers and chocolate, Avicii's gift this Valentine's Day is much more unique. Just in time for February 14, the Swedish hitmaker has released the official music video exclusive on Us Weekly for his new single, "Addicted to You," the fourth single off of Swedish producer and deejay's debut hit album "True," which reached number two in the UK and five in the US upon its release back in September. Like a movie trailer, the video is packed with nudity, gun violence and romance between two women.
The 24-year-old Avicii wrote this song with the 71-year-old songwriter Mac Davis, who is a member of the Songwriters Hall of Fame thanks to his Elvis Presley compositions, which include "In The Ghetto" and "A Little Less Conversation." Davis lent a timeless story to the song, comparing his unconditional love for a girl to a drug addiction. It's a storyline that has permeated many hits, including '80s classics by Robert Palmer and Huey Lewis & the News. Davis said that he wrote this song the way he always does: sitting for hours with his guitar on his lap. He said in Rolling Stone that Avicii is like "a mad scientist, with his computer and his focus," adding, "I may be an old fart, but I love EDM."
The song, which features uncredited vocals by the Adele-esque American folk singer Audra Mae from Oklahoma, is a foot-stomping anthem about passionate, obsessive love and Avicii's sexy, action-packed video reflects that. Conceived and directed by Sebastian Ringler and filmed over six days in December and January, taking winter as the backdrop, the clip plays like a movie trailer for a Bonnie and Clyde-inspired period piece, but with the crime life of two girls as the trouble-making lovebirds. Armed with both guns and sex appeal, the femme fatales wreak havoc all over the country to a soulful, synth melody.
The video begins with a waitress, played by Swedish actress Madeleine Martin, waiting for her partner, played by fellow Swedish actress Hedda Stiernstedt, to give the cue. The couple then robbed the diner, and at night time, they intend to steal the cash stored in the vault of a bank. The girls are about to nail the mission until the police comes in. A sniper shoots down one of the girls. The surviving lover holds her girlfriend until she bleeds out to her death. In a shocking ending, the brunette puts a bomb in her bag, runs towards the police and makes it explode killing everyone in the scene, including her. Revenge was served!

Friday, February 14, 2014

Mariah Carey released "You're Mine (Eternal)"

Need a special song to make your Valentine's Day date great? Mariah Carey is back, timed the release perfectly and brings the sexy to Valentine's Day with all her diva glory in the breathtaking music video for her new love-themed single "You're Mine (Eternal)," and it just in time for the holiday of love. Perfectly crafted Valentine's Day treat, the understated love ballad is the third single to be released ahead of her upcoming album, "The Art of Letting Go," her first album in five years, out May 6.
"We wanted to make a modern classic that made you have an emotional response and yet was still something that could play on radio now," Carey told MTV's Sway of the ballad, which she wrote and produced with Rodney "Darkchild" Jerkins. The mid-tempo tune is a breathless, throbbing quiet storm of a song that relies more on its hypnotic charm than Carey’s vocal pyrotechnics. Instead, she's fairly subdued throughout much of the song relying on a very deliberate delivery to draw in the listener. Listen carefully the impressive whistle at the end of the song. This is a reminder that no one can outrun the supremacy of Mariah Carey in the high notes.
It's a gaseous, breathy, enjoyably straightforward fluffy ballad that feels like a direct descendent of the song that rang in her mid-career renaissance, 2005's mega-hit "We Belong Together:" plinking piano melodies, a typically fluttering Carey vocal take, and a very similar beat. It also fits right alongside the effortlessness of "Beautiful." While not as immediately catchy as that song, this one's got a nice, lilting beat and should keep fans satisfied about the direction she's going in for this latest era. The 43-year-old R&B songstress proves why she's still the fiercest diva in the game.
The Indrani-directed clip finds a topless and glitter-covered Carey embracing the outdoors and lounging near a waterfall in the Puerto Rican rainforest. Whether it's straddling a rock alongside a babbling brook, taking a dip in brilliant blue water or sitting beside an abundance of foliage, fog swirling behind her, Carey travels all across the terrain to sing the praises of her lost lover, played by a shirtless Trey Songz, who is posing for a photo shoot back in New York City, and only looks mildly happy about life, clearly missing his Carey. At night, Songz goes to bed alone. "I want you to take away from this any romantic moments you're having this Valentine's Day and eternity," she said about the video.

Thursday, February 13, 2014

U2 rock about leaving one's home in "Invisible"

After teaming up with RED and Bank of America to debut new song "Invisible" as a free charitable download with a high-profile spot during Super Bowl XLVIII, Irish rockers U2 have released the song's black and white performance music video. This anthemic number about leaving one's hometown, is typical of the band's joyous, soaring and inspiring anthems. Goosed by a motorik beat and piled high with Edge's otherworldly guitar spasms, the tune functions as both a love song and a universal call for harmony as the rock band's charismatic frontman, Bono soulfully intones, "There is no them, there's only us."
"Invisible" is an electro-tinged rock anthem with features lyrics harnessing notions of self-respect, both the personal kind and the universal-struggle kind. According to Bono, "Invisible" is a song about him "leaving home with just enough rage to see it through and this feeling of arriving in London, sleeping in the station and coming out into the punk rock explosion that was happening." In an interview with BBC Radio 1, he explained that "there were really wild extraordinary people and then you feel deeply not extraordinary. You feel invisible and you're screaming to be seen and you've got your band and this is your whole life. It's that feeling of getting out of town."
While Bono has claimed recently that "Invisible," is not the first single from U2's upcoming Danger Mouse-produced 13th studio album (tentatively scheduled for a summer release), "We have another song we're excited about to kick off the album, ('Invisible') is just sort of a sneak preview - to remind people we exist," adding that "it's the first one we finished" and that the group will continue working on the full-length "for a couple of months." The song has received all of the trappings of a single, like this splashy black and white performance video.
Shot in a Santa Monica airport hangar over three days last month, the Mark Romanek-directed visual clip - a dynamic live performance - finds the Irish quartet performing the new tune against a massive tri-panel screen with multiple video effects in front of a captive audience of exuberant fans, Bono crooning the song from a circular hangdown microphone while the rest of the band riffs away in front of a screen of multiple video effects. It's no "Where The Streets Have No Name," but it's better than "Red Hill Mining Town." Bono crowdsurfs in it.

Wednesday, February 12, 2014

SoMo embracing his sexy, romantic side in "Ride"

Joseph Somers-Morales better known by his stage name as "SoMo" has released a new sexy video for his hit "Ride," the lead single from his upcoming self-titled major label debut album. The up-and-coming R&B and pop artist became popular thanks to excellent versions of popular songs uploading videos on Youtube. The new clip is an extremely well put together video helps the song come together nicely. Ladies, grab a glass of water and sit down because you are about to see something hella sexy.
His online popularity, perfectly crafted and his efforts in the studio yielded the independent debut mixtape, "My Life," a powerful, palpable, and passionate collection, it merged R&B spirit with pop soul, showcasing his dynamic voice and songwriting prowess. "My Life" spawned SoMo's first hit "Ride," and that sexual, romantic side of him comes out in the lyrics of "Ride." He reveals the song was written during a time when he was really in love. "I was really in love with this girl about three years ago," he remembered. "It just happened one night. A girl came over, and I was drinking some red wine. I started playing the piano, and I hit my favorite chord. I wrote the hook right away. I was deeply in love with this girl and the song essentially says, 'I'm going to ride. I'd die for you. My love is forever.'"
The 26-year-old feels as if his generation doesn't appreciate the difference between sex and love, both of which are focal points in "Ride." "But I feel like our generation lacks in that sensitivity about love and lovemaking,” SoMo states. "And people want to label our generation as sex fiends who just listen to rap music that's just degrading to women or whatever. But that song to me is the emotional transcendence of being in love and the physical part, which I don't think is a bad thing. There's nothing wrong to be in love and to make love." His ability to pull from real life events and display them for an audience with a sense of honesty, along with his undeniable appeal to female audiences comes to a climax in "Ride."
With SoMo's newfound success, 2014 kicks off with a fresh new visual for "Ride" that features a new video girl, and from the bedroom to the shower, the word "steamy" is an understatement. The sexy serenade showcases SoMo at his best, as he details a sultry evening of lovemaking using his signature catchy writing style. The newly signed Republic Records artist seems poised to take listeners by storm. His tempting vocals will entice you with low melodies and then excite you every time he slips into falsetto. No wonder the equally sexy video has garnered over three million views.

Tuesday, February 11, 2014

Within Temptation | "Whole World is Watching"

Within Temptation has released the new video for new softer song "Whole World Is Watching," the third single and closing track from Dutch symphonic metal rockers' latest sixth studio album, "Hydra," features a guest appearance by the golden-voiced frontman of US alternative rock band Soul Asylum Dave Pirner. It is is a basically a very power hard rock duet ballad about facing and conquering your fears. It's very different to the other tracks from "Hydra," but actually a really nice way to end an album, which is a very enjoyable dose of what one could call "symphonic metal for the masses."
According to both music critics and lead vocalist Sharon den Adel, the song is the slowest one on "Hydra." Before the song was finished, the band was already considering inviting Pirner to provide his vocals on the track by its "captivating" voice, turning the final result as the band thought that it should be. Den Adel's and Pirner's vocals follow the ups and downs of life: dreams, pain when life shatters your sureties, and finally building hope that's stronger than your greenhorn confidence ever was, precisely because you've already taken some hits. Living isn't about not falling - we can't always help that - it's about getting up.
"I remember when I first heard the song 'Runaway Train',” recalls Den Adel. "I was traveling through India and I saw the video on MTV Asia. Dave's voice and lyrics just blew me away! The impact of that song combined with the images of India never left me. When we wrote 'Whole World Is Watching,' Dave was at the very top of our list. He has such a captivating voice: it made the song exactly how it needed to be. This track is about overcoming setbacks in life after all, those setbacks are what create you. It feels as if the whole world is with you when these things happen. It's an optimistic song, but dramatic at the same time."
The Patric Ullaeus-directed video, features Den Adel and Pirner Singing from the rooftops in the red glow of a stormy sunset with the band appearing periodically, follows the story of a young biker who wants to leave the past and start anew following the incident he got into after riding his motorbike while drinking. He is later seen spending his time in a wheelchair before deciding to start anew by cutting his long hair, shaving his beard and trying to walk again. He's eventually recovered and literally throws his old life into a dumpster and sets it on fire, ready to put his demons behind him. And at the very end of the video, you realize that it wasn't sunset after all. It was sunrise.

Monday, February 10, 2014

Foster the People feel 80s life in 'Coming of Age'

The boys from Foster the People have premiered the '80s-inspired music video for their brand-new song "Coming of Age," the lead single from indie pop band's forthcoming sophomore studio album, "Supermodel" (out March 14th via Columbia), the follow-up to their 2011 smash debut "Torches." The band also created a time-lapse video of the mural's construction using "Coming of Age" as the music, as they telling stories of California kids struggling to fit in. From the Flock of Seagulls-like chiming guitars to the neon geometric shapes and dramatic motorcycle-ride-on-the-coast shots, the video looks and feels like a lost 1980s teen romance.
Formed in Los Angeles in 2009, The group is composed of Mark Foster, Cubbie Fink, and Mark Pontius. Their music was described as melodic dance-infused pop and rock, spans many genres. Co-written and co-produced by British music producer Paul Epworth, who worked with Adele on "Rolling In The Deep," "Coming of Age" was written with frontman Mark's social life as a background to the song, and finds Mark singing about a girl he has moved on from but just can't seem to do without: "I see you standing there like a rabid dog/ And you got those crying eyes/ Makes it want to surrender/ And wrap you in my arms."
Mark stated to XFM London: "Lyrically it is almost a confession. It is about a moment of clarity, having a moment of clarity and I think for me this year, being home, was that quiet after the storm of touring for two years and my life drastically changing. It was kind of the first breath I had to really look around and see that there were some things that happened during that period with my friends and with my loved ones, with the people that are close to me and with myself as well. It is the first time that I got a clear look on those things and that's kind of what the song is about. It's about growing up."
Directed by Vern Moen and Zachary Rockwood, the video showcases the LA Freewalls project and features time-lapse footage depicting the creation of a mural of the "Supermodel" cover. "We wanted to kind of capture the staple American past times, like classic Steve McQueen," Mark expressed to VH1. "The staple moments in the 70s and 80s that we thought kind of captured what America was in cinema. Those moments made us feel nostalgic about life." In clip, the band hone in on a distinct 80s vibe, the golden era for coming-of-age teen films. It splices together washed-out scenes of Mark and crew playing on a nondescript stage with various characters having a rough time. It's all stuff we can relate to in a very John Hughes way.

Sunday, February 9, 2014

Kylie Minogue offers ultra-stylish "Into The Blue"

Just one week after unveiling the official audio and lyric video of her great new single "Into The Blue," Kylie Minogue has already released its dreamy slick video, co-starring dashing French actor Clément Sibony. The uplifting new track serves as the lead single off Kylie's upcoming twelfth studio album "Kiss Me Once," which is set to hit stores on March 18. The 45-year-old retaining her classic image with "Into The Blue," a winner of a pop song which has a damn catchy, lightly brushed with electronic dance music sound that deep down is pretty much a classic Kylie pop tune.
After Kylie inked an unexpected contract with Jay Z's Roc Nation last year, the sphere has been at anticipation as to what kind of tone her music will take. Staying true to her electro-pop roots, her latest single "Into the Blue" proves her ability to consistently deliver a catchy dance tune as she dons the track with her notable angelic vocals. The song was penned by Los Angeles songwriter Kelly Sheehan, Musically, "Into the Blue" is an electronic dance song that features instrumentation of synthesizers, keyboards and strings. The alluring and life-affirming pop song filled with uplifting lyrics that talk about being free and happy.
The Australian said about this euphoric dance-floor banger: "2013 was a year of big change, planning and preparation for me and I'm so excited that 2014 is finally here so I can share this new music. 'Into The Blue' is really special to me as it encapsulates a lot of what I've been feeling - I can't wait for it to be out there." The goddess of pop trying something modern yet classy, while launched by piano chords and a wash of strings, "Into the Blue" truly takes off at the seismic hook, where Kylie's crystalline voice soars over an arena-ready dance breakdown. She sounds optimistic, if not in total bliss.
Filmed in London by director Dawn Shadforth, Kylie's latest visual in unapologetically glamorous, with the pop star and her on-screen boyfriend having fun fooling around and mixing lavish party life with bedroom-bound alone time and technicolor with black-and-white. "It's a man and a woman who are having one of those long-lost weekends where things go really great and things get really emotional," Kylie explained. But, most of these moments are flashbacks to a time long ago when she had a love of her own. Now it seems that the petite star is just trying to move on, and maybe make her ex a little jealous, showing off her gams in a tiny, tiny gold dress as she throws back another gin and tonic.

Saturday, February 8, 2014

Lily Allen escaping reality in sunny "Air Balloon"

If you're looking for an escape from the endless winter, step right this way and let Lily Allen serve as your tour guide. The U.K. songstress experiences some equally surreal trips as in, she looks to be at one with the wildlife and hangs out with a zebra, straddles a cheetah and floats in space in a bizarre-but-really-fun video for her new sugar-sweet fun track "Air Balloon," the third single taken from Allen's upcoming third album, and serves as a follow up to her No.1 single "Somewhere Only We Know" and top 10 hit "Hard Out Here."
This tongue-in-cheek bubblegum pop tune is more of a loopy lullaby than a slice of social commentary with a nonchalant Allen singing, "Come meet me in the sky, I'll be waiting for you/ And we can't hear what they say/ Up in my air balloon, air balloon, air balloon." The sunny track, finds Allen singing about escaping reality over a toy piano arrangement, creaseless beat and offbeat Kurt Cobain shout-out partially from Swedish hitmaker Johann Shellback. The song has a distinctly summery vibe thanks to the outdoor setting and attire worn by the 28-year-old British star.
Speaking to Capital FM about the song, Allen said: "I suppose it's about escapism really, and daydreaming in a lot of ways. My husband is constantly infuriated with me, because he'll be talking to me when we're sitting down having dinner or something, and I'm looking at him, but I'm totally not paying any attention at all." The colorful number has that signature Allen "style" all of her songs have, a small dose of sarcasm. "If you thought the Bear and Hare was annoying, you won't want to watch this," the London singer also tweeted of the song, referring to her recent cover of Keane's "Somewhere Only We Know" for the John Lewis Christmas advert.
Filmed in Cape Town, South Africa, the That Go-directed video provides a perfect accompaniment to Allen's head-bobbing pop song with its snap-along beat. Allen doesn't actually take a ride in an air balloon, but the outspoken singer looking like a Coachella rave girl, is presented as a carefree hippy in the middle of an open grass field, singing the summery song, consists of rolling around in the wildlife and taking selfies with some local cheetahs, zebras and a few hippy people in vests. Soon, though, the singer is surrounded by giant magic mushrooms before floating through outer space with a huge crucifix.

Friday, February 7, 2014

Skylar Grey shares intimate 'Coming Home, Pt. II'

Bruno Mars isn't the only artist getting a post-Super Bowl sales boost. A Budweiser commercial has revived Skylar Grey's "Coming Home, Part. II" - a solo version and the remake of Diddy-Dirty Money's 2010 hit, which appears on her sadly overlooked "Don't Look Down" LP as a bonus track. The heartfelt touching commercial tells the story of an American soldier - Lieutenant Chuck Nadd - returning home to Winter Park, Florida after his tour of duty for serving in Afghanistan. Nadd was told that he would be part of a documentary, but was surprised to find that a parade was being held in his honor.
The 27-year-old five-time GRAMMY-nominated singer is such an underrated force in pop, and her dark yet infectious melodies stem from such an honest and gloomy place that is rarely seen in mainstream pop and display the true capacity of Grey's brillance. The songstress co-wrote the incredibly catchy hook with Jay-Z and also sung the intro for Diddy-Dirty Money's original "Coming Home." The tune finds Diddy doing some soul-searching as the chorus echoes his need for salvation. Her contribution was significant enough to make it listenable.
People have been crying out for her to create an extended version of "Coming Home," the same way that she did with "Love The Way You Lie"(Eminem and Rihanna), and thankfully she has seen sense by finally coming up with the goods. The chorus by Grey was the most memorable part of the song, so much so that she has just debuted her own solo acoustic version as the second part under the same name, "Coming Home Part. II," along with an accompanying new visual. Emotions run high in Grey's new music video for the piano ballad, which was directed by Peter Harding.
The heartwarming clip was featured in a Budweiser commercial during Super Bowl XLVIII that was a heartbreaking show of support for our troops, and a tribute to recent announcement from President Obama revealing nearly 34,000 U.S. troops and service members will be returning home. It's a simple affair as Grey shares intimate and performs the ballad at her piano with a couple of candles to set the mood while soldiers reunite with their families, but the no-fuss visual suits the song's stripped back sound and introspective lyrics. Watch the emotional homecoming below.

Thursday, February 6, 2014

St. Vincent searches for hope in 'Digital Witness'

St. Vincent (also known as Annie Clark) strikes out against conformity in her dystopian new video for "Digital Witness," the second single from her forthcoming self-titled fourth album, arrives on February 25th and the same day she kicks off an extensive U.S. tour at New York's Terminal 5. "The video shows St. Vincent commanding a surreal and futuristic world in which action is synchronized, replicated and repeated," according to a press release. It's a stylish, bizarre, cool video befitting the stylish, bizarre, cool song.
Annie Clark has always been a quirky character, so imagine what life would be like if St. Vincent were running it, and her new video offered a vaguely dystopian glimpse at just such a world. But the singer-songwriter-guitarist is another rare artist with the savvy and poise to pull such a move off. Apparently, St. Vincent likes everything nice and matchy-matchy, with flat tones and simple lines consuming the landscape and interiors. If the color scheme isn't unnerving enough, Clark's unflinching stillness and her Dr. Seuss-styled hairdo make you wonder when exactly she's going to snap.
"Digital Witness" questions the concept of identity in the selfie era. "I wanted to make a party record you could play at a funeral," Clark said last year. You'll fall in love, and you'll be staring at a screen. The brassy, dance-y track very much reflected the ample time Clark has recently spent collaborating with David Byrne. Lockstep drudgery meets bright colors in Brooklyn musician's latest video, which looks just like a window into Clark's anxious vision, all conformist synchronization and dystopian austerity. The result is a layer of optimism, in tune with the song's funky horn riffs, amid Clark's surreal future world.
Clark teamed up with director Chino Moya to update Fritz Lang's classic silent film "Metropolis." The new video builds off of that jittery anxiety with a fleshed-out narrative that positions St. Vincent as the unblinking, truth-telling, shock-haired madwoman in a land of conformity while singing over the deceptively joyous horn blasts, glossing over the song's creeping paranoia. But where Lang's world is all moody black-and-white, Clark and Moya paint a surreal, pastel-hued future soundtracked by St. Vincent's funky, horn-infused dancey track. Watch St. Vincent's gloriously coiffed "Digital Witness" dystopia below.

Wednesday, February 5, 2014

Enrique Iglesias/Pitbull party hard in 'I'm a freak'

Living in the average man's fantasy world, Enrique Iglesias and Pitbull throw a wild massive party and, of course, craziness ensues, and get positively down and dirty with scantily-clad ladies in their new eye-popping music video for the club-ready anthem "I'm a Freak,"  the third English language, and fifth overall, single featuring Pitbull from Iglesias' upcoming album "Sex + Love," scheduled for release on March 18. This time, Iglesias is getting freaky and he is not ashamed to show it.
Unlike recent teaser "El Perdedor," which saw the 38-year-old Spanish heartthrob return to his Latin pop roots, "I'm A Freak" is an unsurprisingly pure party anthem and a decent dance-pop/electro house track featuring a typically hedonistic production from The Cataracs. Despite its wave of EDM bleeps, pulsing beats and suggestive and provocative lyrics, the song is a little more melodic and a little less bombastic than recent club bangers "Turn The Night Up" and "Finally Found You." The song still oozes enough party mojo that would probably be a crowd-pleaser and get any party animal crazy on the dance floor.
"I'm A Freak," about being a sex addict, follows in the age-old music tradition of objectifying women as male performers boast about their sexual prowess. It's actually a testament to how little the basic music video format has changed at all since the 90s - it's like if Hollywood had never stopped making "Die Hard" movies. The thing is, your initial reaction to this might be that it's a terrible load of misogynistic horseshit that to any sensible onlooker accidentally demeans the song's male participants just as much as it deliberately demeans the video's female stars. And you would probably be right.
Now the pair have hooked up for the fifth time on their newest collab "I'm a Freak," and in a house filled with women partying, the Collin Tilley-directed clip pans throughout the wild and crazy pool party with the hypnotic dance beat of "I'm A Freak," as Iglesias sings and Pitbull raps about their sexual proclivities, while being surrounded by the girls, who dance, twerk to the song and try to seduce them. The end result feels a lot like 2013's "The Internship." It marks the return of a dynamic duo (Owen Wilson and Vince Vaughn), being exactly where they shouldn't be, only in a scenario that somehow feels three times as bizarre and long. It's kind of a headache, but as the viewing public will likely say, "Life's a party. Crash It."

Tuesday, February 4, 2014

Paramore shatter world records in "Ain't it Fun"

Three months after Paramore announced they'd ditched the idea and scrapped the video for their self-titled album's sixth track "Ain't It Fun," they've returned with an actual, completed clip and it's a gem. Most music superstars want to smash sales records with their songs. So it may come as no surprise to see a rock trio go on a quest to try it literally with a million LP discs. However, Hayley Williams and her gang have now returned in spectacular fashion with a four minute promo for the new song in which it looks like they had an enormous amount of fun with their antics.
Paramore try on a bunch of new styles, from new wave to pop-funk, and Williams even busts out the uke for a couple of confessional interludes. While a rock song, "Ain't It Fun" includes influences from funk, soul, new jack swing and gospel, genres that Paramore are typically not associated with. Paramore is having fun living in the real world with the song's sarcastic lyrics. "Ain't It Fun" absolutely steals the show - a perfect blend of funk, early '90s pop and swing team with an insanely catchy melody, awesome scat section and pristine production to create one of the year's best songs.
Directed by Sophia Peer, this re-shot version of "Ain't It Fun" follows Paramore as they attempt to set a series of increasingly ridiculous world records - everything from "fastest time to smash 30 clocks with guitars" and "most feathers caught in 30 seconds" to "most cartwheels in 20 seconds while wearing boots" and, of course, "fastest time to run backwards holding stuffed animals while blindfolded for 30 feet" - with the ultimate goal of breaking more records in a single music video than any other band.
Who previously held that record? Who knows? Probably no one and that's not really the point. Like its title (sarcastically) implies, "Ain't It Fun" is very much about joy, camaraderie, silliness and reckless abandon. It doesn't really matter if Paramore end up breaking the most records, or even if their record holds up in a rather brilliant interactive move, they're actively encouraging fans to make records of their own through RecordSetter.com. This one's all about inclusion. "Ain't It Fun" is blissed out and buzzy, born of a brilliant concept, and an absolute blast to watch. It may have taken a while for Paramore to get it made, but no one ever said having fun was supposed to be easy.

Monday, February 3, 2014

One Direction having fun in "Midnight Memories"

All those late nights filming in London have paid off for One Direction fans, as the English-Irish boy band has finally unveiled its official hilarious video for brand new single "Midnight Memories," the third single and title track off their third album, which was the UK's biggest-selling album of 2013, despite only being released at the end of November, and saw One Direction become the first band ever to have their first three albums debut at No.1 in the US Billboard chart. The video shows how the fivesome upgrades from a boring house party to adventures around London and having fun.
There's always been rock influence in One Direction's music, but it really comes to the forefront on "Midnight Memories," is an ode to the quintet's life on tour and sees the band at their most exuberant and energetic. Co-written by John Ryan, Jamie Scott, Liam Payne, Louis Tomlinson and Julian Bunetta and produced by Bunetta, the song reflects the band's growing maturity. Payne told Ryan Seacrest during a pre-release Q&A that this track is the most significant part of Midnight Memories. "This was the first song we wrote on the new album and it set us on course of what writing the rest of this album was going to be. It set the tone," he explained.
Bunetta told MTV News the song personifies the five guys' lifestyle. "It's the title of the album and it just happens to fall in line with Up All Night, Take Me Home, it's all references to in the evening," he said. "And midnight memories are where most of the memories of this record were made," the producer continued. "[It] was between midnight and 5 in the morning. We have so many memories of just being in the studio or being after a show or being in the back of the bus or going to one of the guys' places and hanging and writing. Or, [it's also] just when you're young and that's when you kind of have all your experiences."
The Ben Winston-directed video starts with the Brit boy-banders at a "weird cast party with a crowded kitchen," as the lyrics say. As the boys getting uncharacteristically rebuffed by boring house party guests who couldn't care less, they decide to make a quick exit from the party to beginning of a much better time as the song kicks into gear. The quintet roams around London creating havoc - from stealing a police boat to jumping restaurant counters. They even find some elderly fans in electric scooters and rock out with them as sparklers go off in the street before singing their hearts out while harnessed on top of Tower Bridge.

Sunday, February 2, 2014

Jennifer Lopez goes back to roots in "Same Girl"

Jennifer Lopez go back to her roots and reminds us she's the "Same Girl" in her new nostalgic music video which was first premiered on American Idol. The new ballad will be featured in her upcoming 10th studio album rumored to be titled "The Bronx," scheduled for release this Spring. In 2002, Lopez reminded she was still 'Jenny From the Block' despite having chart-topping success and fame. That still applies over a decade later. She returns to her hometown of the Bronx, New York for her new video "Same Girl," and where she aims to prove she hasn't changed.
The songstress is not only back on American Idol, but back with new music as well! Co-written by Lopez in collaboration with Chris Brown and produced by Amadeus and Cory Rooney, the 44-year-old entertainer shared about new song: "This was just something I was doing for the fans. It's not a first single or anything like that. But the song is about getting back to your roots and remembering where you're from and I think we captured that in the video too." It's sounding like this tender ballad looking back to the star's roots on the streets of Brooklyn.
The video for "Same Girl," is an homage to the Nuyorican's roots as Lopez re-visited to her Castle Hill neighborhood in the Bronx, NY last December and filmed video with director Steven Gomillion & Dennis Leupold in the borough's Andrew Freedman Home. "I had this idea like, oh, when I do the video for [Same Girl], if I ever do a video for this, I'm gonna go back to my old neighborhood in the Bronx," Lopez said on The Tonight Show. "I'm gonna go back to Castle Hill, I'm gonna get on the train from Manhattan, I'm just gonna film the hole thing. So we did!"
Flaunting her most famous asset in tight jeans, and also wears stiletto ankle boots, a black leather jacket with a fur collar and a Yankees cap for a casual look, the judge of "American Idol" braves the rain in a deep gaze while waiting for a ride at a subway station for the 6 train, dancing in the rain underneath a subway platform and mugging in front of Bronx graffiti. And just to really make sure we see how authentic she is, Lopez sings, "'Cause I'm on the same grind, no I never changed, I'm loving everyday, I know that I'm the same Jenny from around the way now." Message received.

Saturday, February 1, 2014

Shakira, Rihanna 'Can't remember to forget you'

The Colombian stunner Shakira is back with a brand new steamy music video for the provocative "Can't Remember To Forget You," and this time the Bajan beauty Rihanna has also come along for the ride. In spite of the song's title, the Caribbean ladies get up close and personal, and make for a sizzling combination, and, naturally, it is hot and fierce! The post-breakup duet is the first single from off of the "Voice" coach's upcoming self-titled inaugural album with Sony label RCA, her first since 2010, hits shelves March 25.
Co-written by the singers with Swedish singer-songwriter Erik Hassle, "Can't Remember To Forget You,"  is an uptempo New Wave track with Ska elements, finds the two stars lamenting on their inability to forget lovers who are bad for them. "Working with Rihanna was utopia. She's the sexiest woman on the planet," the 36-year-old Colombian singer said in Glamour magazine. "And at the end of the day, we're both just basically Caribbean girls. The chemistry was so good and so real. She taught me dance moves. She was a sweet teacher."
Shakira's relationship with Spanish soccer player Gerard Pique, was definitely not an inspiration for the track. She told Ryan Seacrest: "I'm going through a completely different experience right in relation to the song. The song is about that guy that just gets under your skin and you can't leave alone. I think every woman has been through that. This song is not exactly a reflection of my personal life right now." She also noted working with Rihanna, "You know, we're both from the Caribbean so I always thought we had that common ground, but this song is pretty Reggae. I honestly thought it would never happen... She heard the record and she loved it and she said she was onboard and I was the happiest girl alive."
Shot in a Los Angeles mansion, the Joseph Kahn-directed clip begins with Shakira romping around on a bed as she sings about the mistakes she's made in love before the 25-year-old Rihanna even makes her appearance. The duo then cozy up, smoke cigars, cuddling, make smoldering facial expressions and writhe around together on a bed in revealing outfits as they sing of a post-breakup longing and their mutual addiction to a man who is no good for them, they indulge in a dance off, with a wall separating them, showing off their coordinating choreography which gets progressively raunchier. Things heat up as they return to the cabana by the pool and caress each other with Rihanna placing her hand on Shakira's pert posterior.