One Direction debuts "Best Song Ever" video

The members of the British-Irish boy band One Direction are taking their career in another direction - acting in their just-released brand-new video for the memorable modern-pop classic, "Best Song Ever," the lead single of the group's upcoming third studio album, "Where We Are," and it also will be featured in the group's"This Is Us" 3D biopic, which will hit theaters on August 30. The video, which the band has been hyping on social media, is characteristically goofy, and it looks like they aren't quite themselves.
The five guys of One Direction serve up some serious attitude on pop-rock anthem about one epic evening. "Best Song Ever" is a straight up pop-rock affair with a heavy emphasis on guitars, expectedly cheeky lines and progressively layered synth intro reminiscent of The Who's "Baba O'Riley." The song is another impossibly catchy tune to add into One Direction's arsenal, although with lyrics more nostalgic than the group's previous singles. It may not be the best song ever, but One Direction's latest single is a youthful celebration with flirty, fluffy, fun and certainly a contender for one of the year's more exciting releases.
The video's director, Ben Winston, says the video is really about something else - celebrating who the guys are, while also paying homage to their new film: "The film that we've made 'This Is Us' is really the boys' story, and it's not trying to make them anything they're not. And that's what's incredible about One Direction, I think, is that they are a boy band that break all the rules and always do what they want to do," Winston told MTV News on Monday (July 22), the same day that the video premiered, which takes fans inside a terrible pitch meeting with the fivesome, where they face off against their Hollywood-based alter egos.
In the highly anticipated video, the boys rise to the challenge as they mess up their hairdos with funny costumes and over-the-top characters a la Eddie Murphy in The Nutty Professor. Although the video eventually breaks into the sharply choreographed, colorful clip that fans probably expected, a good three-fourths of it takes place in a slick Hollywood movie studio office. Niall Horan and Louis Tomlinson play slimy executives while Zayn Malik plays a sexy lady, Harry Styles plays it up as a marketing guy and Liam Payne as a zany choreographer named Leeroy.

Colbie Caillat & Gavin DeGraw | "We Both Know"

Watch pop-rock artist Colbie Calliat teams up with Gavin DeGraw released the official music video for their duet song "We Both Know," to be featured in the closing credits of the upcoming Nicholas Sparks movie, "Safe Haven." The film, about a woman who is forced out of her shell and troubled past, costarring Josh Duhamel and Julianne Hough, hits theaters on Valentine's Day.
While touring together this summer, Caillat and DeGraw wrote the ballad on a bus ride to Nashville. "It was an overnight drive on the bus and it all just kind of happened. It was awesome. It was magical, it was [sings] this magic moment," explained DeGraw to Billboard magazine. Caillat explained the song's meaning to CBS Local: "It's a song about a relationship where you need time apart and you get perspective on who you are as a person and who you are in the relationship," she said. "It's a beautiful ballad."
DeGraw knows meaningful lyrics and Caillat knows romantic lyrics. Their respective music is thought-provoking, and they sing what we all feel. They each have this unusual tendency to manifest the feelings of our hearts into words, and words into art. Their passion overflowed into these lyrics, giving them depth. This musical match is blissful. And this track is the musical equivalent of The Notebook. "We Both Know" hasn't been set for either artist's upcoming album yet, but both say they would like to see it on their respective future releases.
Shot in Nashville, the music video for their beautiful and soulful track "We Both Know," beautifully weaves in romantic scenes from the film as well as scenes of Caillat and DeGraw. Ths clip shows Caillat on set, sitting on a wooden floor in an off-white dress next to a can of yellow paint and a paintbrush. There's also a heart, which has been painted on the floor. DeGraw, meanwhile, showing him standing on what looks like a wooden pier.

Gabriella Cilmi Disco-inspired "Hearts Don't Lie"

After the top 10 UK success of her brilliant single "On A Mission," Australian singer Gabriela Cilmi is now back for a second serving and re-team with English pop production house Xenomania for "Hearts Don't Lie" from her latest disco drenched sophomore album "Ten," which Cilmi describes as "lots of uptempo funk and disco-inspired numbers designed to make people groove." The album is preceded by the single "On a Mission" and marks Cilmi's foray into more 1980s inspired music.
"Hearts Don't Lie" which she likens to a Bee Gees song, doesn't escape the 1980's sound Cilmi's trying to achieve. It's more of a soul-dance-jazz fusion. The track is got a touch of funk bass, a great disco beat and has one very big chorus. Clearly Cilmi's intent on conquering dancefloors across the world with this new sound. Another great 70's-inspired pop song, and I still love her new direction, which is absolutely spectacular and I can definitely see a future for her.
While everyone seems to be droppin' their draws left right and center, Aussie pop princess is bucking the trend and keepings things fun and flirty in her new video, which which was heavily inspired by seventies/eighties disco, Blondie and the gays. In the Studio 54 inspired video, Cilmi transforms herself into a modern day disco diva to get down to the sounds of the seventies, showing that it's easy to be utterly drop dead sexy and completely classy at the same time. It's important to enjoy the music for what it really is, meaningful and entertaining art.
Two years after she was catapulted from obscurity into the charts with breakthrough pop hit "Sweet About Me," Cilmi is channeling a more mature look for her new album. Having turned 18, and now based in England, the Melbourne-raised star has put her teen pop days behind her for a sexy new style. Promoting her new single "Hearts Don't Lie," Cilmi strikes a sultry pose in a skimpy yellow swimsuit. As part of her new disco diva image for her new album "Ten," Cilmi shows off her dancing skills in variety of colorful dresses in the fast-paced video for "Heart's Don't Lie."

Jordin Sparks | "Battlefield" (Sophomore Album)

The American Idol Season 6 winner, Jordin Sparks' 2nd studio album "Battlefield" hit stores today. Most reviewers agree Sparks' 2nd attempt trumps her 1st. Hear the album on AOL Music's Free Full CD Listening Party (Please note this listening party expires July 26th). You can also listen to select songs off the album on AOL Radio's Fresh 40 Station! The 19-year-old does prove why she deserved the 2007 "American Idol" crown. The 12-track set album named after the 1st single "Battlefield" because it was central to the themes and other recordings for the album, which is a mixture of contemporary R&B and pop although many critics have cited dance-pop and pop-rock influences. The majority of the songs are sad love ballads, but Jordin fails to make listeners emotionally connect.

The youngest-ever winner of American Idol said that "To me, the title 'Battlefield' is about strength and perseverance, things can go from good to bad in an instant, it could be family, friendship or work; and my favorite line in the song is, 'you better go and get your armor,' because it's telling you to be prepared for that time so that you can overcome it."

Christina Aguilera | "Hurt" (Video)

Christina Aguilera was born December 18, 1980 in New York. She has become one of the most successful recording artists of the decade, selling more than 42 million albums worldwide. "Hurt" is a pop ballad song, and the 2nd single from her 3rd studio album, "Back to Basics" in 2006. The song's lyrical content describes how one deals with the loss of a loved one, and it has received praise from pop music critics.

The circus-themed video for "Hurt" was shot over five days in September and the video premiered yesterday on TRL. It is the first video Aguilera has directed. The video begins with the ending instrumental to "Enter the circus"/"Welcome", over which a carnival barker introduces a spectacular circus, and begins in black and white, and ends with a shot of Aguilera sitting on a circus box, singing and crying, before fading out to Aguilera's grief-stricken form on the ground outside the circus tent.
My favorite singles from Aguilera: "Beautiful", "Genie In A Bottle" and "I Turn To You".