New Music Releases: New videos from Nicki Minaj, Iggy Azalea and RitaOra, Ariana Grande and Ella Eyre

Nicki Minaj - Anaconda

It's been a few weeks since Nicki Minaj posted the snap of her Anaconda single cover that caused a stir online, but Nicki has now released a lyric video for the song. Sampling Baby Got Back by Sir Mix-a-Lot, Anaconda isn't one of Nicki's best songs (I think I always think back to her verse in Kanye's song 'Monster' when I think of her best). 

The song is all about Nicki knowing guys named Troy and Michael who buy her nice things like Balmain and Alexander McQueen, and then goes back to the chorus as if to emphasise the fact that they buy her these things because they love her 'bunz'. 

With lyrics that when repeated almost sound like they could be from a adult-version of a playground rhyme - "Boy toy named Troy used to live in Detroit" and "This dude named Michael used to ride motorcycles" - Anaconda is a song not to be taken seriously. But I think that's the point Nicki's trying to make. And the Barbs know that Nicki can make songs not to be taken too seriously (eg Pound The Alarm) but will sure to come back with fire power with her next singles.

Ella Eyre - Comeback

Ella Eyre's new video for her latest single 'Comeback' is here, and the video shows Ella showing her fighter side as her boyfriend apologises to her for his sleeping around. 

Smashing plates and destroying the home they had together, Ella sings "We've all been played, we all get hurt. Just take that pain and let that motherf***er burn!"

The song packs a punch, making it a great break-up song. Jazzy and fast-paced, Ella has fun while having pillow fights, destroying the bed and TV - showing any recently broken-hearted viewers that you can still have some fight in you even if your world's been turned upside down! With her big, bouncy curls, red lipstick and soulful voice, Ella is the advocate for the strong and undefeated woman in this video.

Iggy Azalea and Rita Ora - Black Widow

Taking a leaf out of Gaga's and Beyonce's Telephone video, Iggy and Rita take inspiration from film director Quentin Tarantino with the music video for Black Widow. With a Kill Bill-inspired sword wielding Iggy and Rita, the video starts with a diner scene with Iggy as waitress and Rita as the unhappy girlfriend of a bossy grumpy man. Drama unfolds as Iggy takes hold of the samurai sword and the pair fight together against mob men.

Ariana Grande ft Zedd - Break Free

Taking the world by storm with each new single, Ariana does no wrong with new song Break Free. 

The song is accompanied by a video set in space in a futuristic alien world, with Zedd taking control of the spaceship's music decks for an alien party that's filled with people dancing to the upbeat dance track. 

It's also safe to say that Zedd's collaborations are ones to pay attention too, after his smash hit with Stay The Night that featured lead singer of the band Paramore, Hayley Williams.

Ariana and Zedd deliver a great summer track for all those parties in the sun and sunny car rides!

Music collabs that will go down in history:

With my previous music review being single 'Bang Bang' by female pop divas Nicki Minaj, Jessie J and Ariana Grande, I take a look at what could arguably be the best collaborations in the history of music or ones that will at least bring back great memories.

Lady Gaga and Beyoncé: 

The two biggest names in pop came together to release the track Telephone that peaked at number one and sold 7.4 million copies in 2010 WORLDWIDE. This song and its video really stood apart from the rest and is still popular today.

Eminem and Rihanna:

Rapper Eminem and singer Rihanna released Love The Way You Lie, also released in 2010, and was the UK's best selling song of that year. Singing about a love-hate relationship, it was clear that it was all pure love when it came to buying the song. 

Jay-Z and Alicia Keys:

*NEW YOOOORRRRRRKK* Alicia Keys went back to the streets, New York's streets to be exact, when she collaborated with Jay Z for Empire State of Mind way back in 2009. With Alicia's vocals and piano, and Jay Z's lyrics it wasn't hard for this song to become a hit.

Big Sean and Ariana Grande:

When pop princess Ariana Grande and rapper Big Sean released the catchy Right There in 2013, after her success with songs The Way and Baby I, it was clear the two had musical chemistry. The two seem to be great pals, with Ariana rapping Big Sean's track Guap in a radio interview.

Timbaland and Aaliyah:

Timbaland and the sorely missed 'baby girl' Aaliyah worked in numerous musical projects, one of them including Try Again, which was nominated for a Grammy for Best Female R&B Vocal Performance. The song reached Number One in America and Number Five in the UK, also winning two MTV VMAs for its music video.

Avicii and Aloe Blacc:

Mixing country and dance together was a bold move for Avicii when it came to this hit Wake Me Up in 2013, but it paid off when it reached number one in over 20 countries.

Pharrell Williams and Daft Punk:

You couldn't drive anywhere without hearing this hit on the radio. When Get Lucky was released in 2013 its success boomed, winning Best Pop Duo/Group Performance and Record of the Year at the Grammy awards.

What are your favourite music collaborations? Or is there a collab that you wish you could un-hear? Leave a comment below!

New release in music: Jessie J, Ariana Grande and Nicki Minaj pull together for number one single

Bang bang! - look out, three of the biggest female names in popular music have joined forces!

If you follow the three ladies (Jessie J, Ariana Grande and Nicki Minaj) on Instagram you'll have noticed the images and snippets that the girls have been posting in the lead up to the trio's new single 'Bang Bang'.

Now before I sat down to listen to the song, I set up a blank document to jot down any thoughts I had whilst listening to it. Here's what was written:

*Pauses ARTPOP and loads YouTube video of official song 'Bang Bang'*

• Jazzy. Very jazzy.
• I like the clapping. I want to clap tooooo!
• I KNEW Ariana and Jessie would sound amazing. I KNEW IT. AND WHERE IS THE GOSPEL CHOIR COMING FROM?!
• I wish I could sing like Ariana...
• Why did I just imagine the cast of High School Musical singing this in the cafeteria though.
• Nicki just came in saying so many words... I think I made out the word 'slanging' out of all that. Wait she is spelling, what is she spelling... *moment of thought* oh yeah Bang Bang duh #facepalm
• Oh...wait, what, it's over?

Then I took a few minutes for the song to sink in and found that the chorus 'Bang bang doo doo doo dooo' (I can only remember two words of the chorus) was stuck in my head as I was thinking about what I thought of it.

Image taken from @NickiMinaj on Instagram

Now this song is Number 1 in 16 countries around the world (as discovered on Nicki Minaj's instagram), the song is catchy and probably sounds better after the fifth listen. But my first thoughts are the reasoning behind why it's number one.

Think about just how many fans each female artist in this song has. It's undeniable that their loyal fans will purchase the song to support their favourite singer. But listening to the song I didn't feel that it was a Jessie J song, or a Nicki Minaj song, but it definitely had an Ariana Grande feel to it. And after Ariana's recent successes with Iggy Azalea with 'Problem', it's not hard to wonder why they would choose Ariana's style. It's different to most music being released at the moment and harks back to a time where Jazz and ballads where popular, and auto-tune wasn't really invented yet. Ariana herself is probably a happy chick after seeing that Bang Bang, Problem and Break Free (a song she made with Zedd) are in the Top 15 on iTunes in America.

Bang Bang is fun and will definitely have people singing along to the chorus as the gospel sings 'Baanng Baaaanngg' while they're swaying along to the song. And it has the formula of pop-song-then-throw-in-a-verse-of-rap-to-open-up-to-more-listeners, and I always find that a rap in a song helps to change up the pace and feel of the song, which sometimes helps to prevent the song from sounding too repetitious and boring. As do trumpets (at least in my opinion).

Reaching number one in many countries, it's great to see three women topping the charts. Yet although the song has potential, you have to think: if someone else were to sing it, would it still have the same feel to it, the same success? Or would it just be seen as another radio-friendly song that keeps people happy for a few days? I guess only time will tell...

What did you think of the song? Are you a fan? If you agree or disagree with this post, feel free to post a constructive comment below!