Fancy (no pun intended) a song that's different to the pop songs that we hear on the radio? Charli XCX delivers with her latest release Break The Rules from her album Sucker, which will be released October 21st. 2014 has been a good year for Charli XCX, who had hits with Boom Clap and Fancy, an Iggy Azalea smash song that Charli was featured on and co-wrote. Now she delivers a bass-filled synth song that reeks of rebellion and partying hard.
Break The Rules has a Kasabian-feel to it (almost similar to their single eez-eh) as it has a punch with the chorus but still manages to be sultry and smooth in its verses. Charli states "I don't wanna go to school, I just wanna break the rules" and "getting higher, getting wrecked". You can almost imagine the music video being filled with shots of fire explosions and cars spinning circles in a car park. Take a listen to the song below and prepare to be enlightened by Charli XCX's "I don't give an f*@!" attitude.
Twitter blew up a storm yesterday when Taylor Swift revealed a new song Shake It Off, a single from her new album 1989 (which is due to be released on October 27th). Making the announcement at a Yahoo live stream event, the singer gave her fans the song through the music video that was released.
A catchy pop song that has the lines "haters gonna hate" and "fakers gonna fake", Taylor hits back to "what people say" using her best strength: her music. Swift shares that she just "shake(s) it off", a motto that her fans are sure to follow (it would be interesting to see if it has the same effect as Drake's YOLO motto...).
The song doesn't really have Taylor's usual stamp on it - the lack of country and the heartbroken lyrics that are missing (which tend to be a part of the Swift-song-formula) mean that Taylor delivers a fun song much like her single 22. The verses and the chorus are simple, which means that we can learn the song faster and sing it incessantly! The only thing that I didn't enjoy was the bridge: My ex-man bought his new girlfriend She’s like “oh my God”, but I’m just gonna shake it And to the fella over there with the hella good hair Won’t you come on over, baby, we can shake, shake, shake To me it seemed to be lyrics that were just written to fill out the song. But apart from that, the song is easy on the ear, fun to dance to and with Taylor's advice in our minds maybe we can all just 'shake off' our problems (at least while the song is playing). The video itself is also simple enough - it shows Taylor taking up different personas: hip-hop twerk-er, Black Swan ballerina, a boom box-wielding poser, and a preppy cheerleader to name a few. See what you think yourself!
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!
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!
Abel Tesfaye has released a video to his new single Belong To The World! It's been a year since the release of his album Trilogy, an album that helped to further spread Abel's popularity and grow his fanbase since the release of his three mixtapes. The song comes from The Weeknd's new album Kiss Land, which will be released this summer on August 27th. Belong To The World emanates The Weeknd's style which consists of echoes of Abel's slow and soft voice mixed to a beat which when heard creates a dream-like experience. The song, as like much of The Weeknd's work, is centred on love but also has the ability to create a dark, saddening element to it with lyrics such as 'I'm not a fool I just love that you're dead inside,I'm not a fool, I'm just lifeless too'. With the song being the first to be released and heard from the new album Kiss Land it gives us new music from Abel to treat our ears to and gives the excited fanbase of The Weeknd wondering what will be next.
♡The video was released on July 16, 2013. You can hear the song and watch Abel in the video directed by Anthony Mandler by clicking here.
Jay Z - Holy Grail ft Justin Timberlake
After the release of Kanye West's eagerly awaited album Yeezus and the release of HOVA's new album Magna Carta Holy Grail, it felt like the two biggest names in hip hop were out to show the world how it should be done. With Yeezus' fresh and innovative beats, Jay Z had a lot to follow on the release of M.C.H.G. Released on July 4th, just over two weeks since Ye's album release, Magna Carta... opens with the song Holy Grail. Featuring Justin Timberlake, the song is arguably the best song on the album and will most likely get the most airplay on the radio, with JT being the highlight of the song with his verse's and chorus. Jay Z makes reference to Mike Tyson, Kurt Cobain (and adding the lines 'And we all just entertainers, And we're stupid and contagious, And we all just entertainers' from the popular Nirvana song 'Smells Like Teen Spirit') and Michael Jackson. Magna Carta Holy Grail is definitely an album to buy to join your collection of albums that top the rest. But with this being Jay Z's sixteenth studio album, it does make you wonder if he will ever run out of things to rap about. But then you have to remind yourself that Jay Z has been in the game since 1986, and won't be going anywhere for a very long time(hopefully).
♡The album was released on July 4, 2013 for those on Samsung phones. For those without, the album could be heard from July 8, 2013. You can hear the album on Spotify and or watch a video uploaded for 'Holy Grail' here.
What do you think about The Weeknd's new song? Who's album is better - Jay Z's or Kanye's? Leave a comment below.
The English rapper is back with a new song called 'Trampoline' and it's definitely one to jump around to. Featuring the American rapper 2 Chainz, the song is definitely one that is aiming to be heard worldwide. With lyrics such as 'Sydney, what's going down. New York, what's going down. LA, what's going down. Vegas, what's going down...', it is clear to see that Tinie wants people all over the world to be dancing to this track.
With hits like 'Pass Out' and 'Written in the Stars' it has been 3 years since his first major album 'Disc-overy' was released. 'Trampoline' doesn't disappoint, and Tempah's catchy lyrics, which made him the star that he is today, are heard with the hook repeating 'Shake' and 'Jump'. And his cheeky style is evident with 'I'm high end, you're high street'. 2 Chainz enters the song with his usual announcement '2 Chaaainz' and begins his verse with 'First of all I'm swagging'. Produced by Diplo, this beat is definitely one that you'll be hearing in the club.
♡The lyric video was released on July 2, 2013. You can hear the song for yourself and watch Tinie jumping on a trampoline in the slick black and white video by clicking here.
Mario - Somebody Else ft. Nicki Minaj
It's been a while since we have had an album from Mario, but his new album 'Restoration' will be released in September of this year. To give us a taste of his sound, he released the video to 'Somebody Else' which features Nicki Minaj. The first we see of Mario is when he is lying on the top of a smashed car, and Nicki is introduced to us on the balcony of a building with lightning flashing in the background. Put two and two together, and it seems Nicki and Mario have had a huge bust-up and she pushed him from the balcony to land on the car, all because she met Somebody Else.
Nicki plays the girlfriend of Mario and her verse lets him know just how angry she is with him for the way he has treated her in the video. Spitting lines like 'But I let you get mad disrespectful, huh. You couldn't be serious, was you? Looking at my new man, wish it was you?But you're dead now', it's clear to see Nicki is one unhappy girl.
With Mario's smooth vocals and Nicki's hard-hitting verse, this song leaves you waiting for the album's release: especially when you remember that the next song to be released will feature J. Cole.
♡ The video was released on July, 9 2013. You can watch the video here.
What do you think of the songs? Are there any newly released songs that you think top these? Leave a comment below.
