Natalie Bassingthwaighte “1000 Stars” New Single + Video Review

The 1000 Stars Single Cover

After a number 1 debut for her debut solo effort “1000 Stars”, a platinum single “Alive”, and a gold single “Someday Soon”, Natalie is now releasing her third single from the album, the title track “1000 Stars”.

This inspirational song, is set to top the charts, with a killer music video as well as a physical and digital release on May 2nd. Signed copies of the single “1000 Stars” are available for pre-order on JB Hifi currently, I highly reccomend this to anybody who enjoys the song, it will come with remixes, an acoustic version, and a new b-side from Natalie.

CLICK HERE TO PREORDER “1000 Stars”

Enough of the technical crap! The music video is fantastic, it definetly stands out compared to her previous two videos which both had her with a Macy Gray Style wig, and fake tan to boot! Problem was it did not suit her one bit.  However in this video we see a more natural Natalie, showcasing her beauty, on a beach.

1000 Stars The Album

Whilst this may sound benign, there are three different looks, in the first Natalie writhes in the sunlight on the beach in a way reminiscent of Kylie Minogue’s “Slow” video, this is Natalie, without makeup or hairstyling, and she looks incredible. Then we diverge to her second look which is on the album art for the single, it’s almost like they are trying to make her look extremely old and almost bald, it’s very elegant, but at times it is too… antique.

Finally we see the dressed up Natalie in hot pants, she once again looks great, only problem is the timing of the vocals in the chorus at the end seems a little bit off.

Overall the video deserves a rating of 3 and a half stars, it needs either much brighter blue colours to match her album cover, or it needs a storyline. Either way a music video doesn’t need a storyline but if that is overlooked then it is very important to make the video spectacular and captivating in terms of the colour and the editing, they just didn’t perfect the colour.

Take a listen to 1000 Stars being performed Live in Melbourne at the Crown Casino. And below this you can watch the video!

1000 Stars Performed Live

Lady Gaga’s… “Unique” Performance on Friday Night Live With Jonothan Ross

Gaga's new single "Love Game"

If you are a regular on the Just Add Water Modern Music Blog, then you will certainly know that I have had mostly enourmous praise for her. In the review of her album “The Fame”, I pointed out that the songs “Again Again” and “Brown Eyes” were like commercial breaks, where she’s certainly lost the plot and blindly sung her way into a tangent of irrelavence.

There have been a few occasions where Lady Gaga has misunderstood the whole idea of being a
mystical” and “multidimensional” artist, she has deviated in her performances especially this one, which was preceded by an equally awkward interview on Friday Night Live with Jonothan Ross (A popular “Late” show in Britain)

Her performance was ridiculous and went from being sort of innovative too unbelieveably scary, and not in a theatrical way. She performed “Poker Face”, or should I say “Slaughtered” it, she sounded out of breath and like an overexcited nasal Japanese Businessman who had drunk way too much rice wine.

There was a distinct lack of actual singing in the performance, it was mostly talking, and by no means am I commenting on her ability to sing, which she definetly has.  She tried to make it some kind of Metal interpretation of Poker Face, there was no rhythm to the performance, she seriously butchered it, it was like she was having some kind of epileptic fit. Nobody wants to see this, and what Lady Gaga might not understand is, this is a huge mistake, she always appears borderline wasted, especially the way she does her eye makeup, which would be ok if her eyes didn’t appear to be rolling into the back of her head while she screeches (yes… screeches) whilst innocently misplacing the lyrics as if they were an annoying child in a supermarket that you had almost given up on.

Gwen Stefani Sweet Escape Anybody?

This performance was uncomforting for a fan to watch, as well as for regular viewers, only the most diehard fan could come up with some excuse for this seemingly drug induced trip she did on stage, like “It’s her way of expressing…. (insert lame reason here).

She has definetly tipped over the limit of being able to justify her prententious nature, especially when claiming she gets her inspiration from nobody? Who can seriously say that, how egotistical, I’m sure any person with any idea of any facet of pop culture in the last 40 years would be able to conjure up some undeniable similarities in her look and sound, on of the biggest would be Gwen Stefani.

Lady Gaga is a spectacular performer, and she needs to understand that she is no longer in a dingey nightclub in New York, the majority of her audience has shifted from people either inebriated, on drugs (or a combination of the two) to a diverse range of age groups from 8 onwards.

What she needs to accept is that she can no longer put on a drag show when she feels like it, she needs to step up her game and express herself without becoming deluded as to the reaction from the general public.

Perhaps she has just become engulfed by a whirlwind fame (and who could blame her!) but either way she has talent, and she should stop trying to be the “Lady” (no pun intended) who always tries to give a surprise to her audience, because more often than not they turn out to be unpleasant ones. She should instead grasp the oppourtunity which the stage and the microphone offer her to not treat the audience like they don’t exist, but to give a coherent performance. She is at the crossroads in her blossoming career where she can either take the route of a talented and succesful artist, or to simply fall into the abyss of self-obsession.

Checkout the video here, judge for yourself and leave a comment!

NO DOUBT – NEW SINGLE “Stand and Deliver”

 

They're Back!

No Doubt are finally back!  Just before their tour rockets around the United States, they have released a cover single for “Fans” who purchased the tickets, unsurprisingly it spread all over the internet like Bai Lings Legs.

 

The song is… quirky,and that makes it true to the original (thank god she didn’t try a British accent!) they did a great job, and Gwen’s Vocals are fantastic. Keep in mind this is just a cover song of Adam and the Ants 1981 single “Stand and Deliver”, it wont be on their new album, in which case the song is not the be all and end all but it’s a very nice song!

The best part is, it completely draws you back to their yesteryears of raw ska and new wave music, like their independent album “Beacon Street Collection” .  I think it helps bridge the gap between Gwen’s iconic solo career and her roots with No Doubt. It’s a way of saying, we’re the same as always, and we haven’t changed.

All I can say is that their cover captures a more feel-good essence than the original, and I give it Three stars, and wait with baited breath for some original material from this talented band.

Check out No Doubt, May 1st Live on the Today Show (America) and also (If you watch it) They will be performing a cameo in Gossip Girl with “Stand and Deliver” on the episode airing 11th May.

To listen to the song simply google the song name and you’ll find a link from somewhere, it’s everywhere at the moment so you won’t have much trouble, unfortunately Youtube is trying to turn all Big Brother on us so they are deleting videos, restricting people not from the United States from watching a lot of videos. Don’t bother with Youtube. They are just hindering the publicity that artists deserve.

Britney Spears – Why are fans calling her fat?

It doesn’t take a detective to discover that there are some hardcore Britney Spears fans which are repeatedly calling her “Fat”. They usually range between the ages of 8-13 years. Britney Spears now surprisingly promotes quite a healthy body image in comparison to her yester-years. She isn’t bony, and she looks incredible. Simply compare these two images, the first, a photo from her 2004 Greatest Hits Album ‘My (Sorry, Bobby’s) Prerogative, where her legs look like twigs.

Yet when you get to the second image, a recent shot of her modelling for one of her new endorsement deals, she looks real (by Hollywood standards at least) She’s still skinny, but she has shape, and confidence, not just ratty greased up sexuality.

Britney Spears has made a change for the better, she’s had two children, and now she has a more natural looking frame. She’s more mature, and she’s more real, and as soon as she is out of her conservatorship expect to see her doing some very interesting interviews where we can all hear her own side of the story. Britney has made the transformation from a glitter teenager to a mature, and intruiging woman, this is the key to her success with Blackout and Circus, she still has the same fanbase, however the horde of mindless tweens have migrated to leech off of Miley Cyrus and the Jonas Brothers. But what has given a new life to her music is that adults, both male and female, can all enjoy some part of it, whether it be the vocals, the beats, or the fun lyrics. That is more important in music, to be able to create something people enjoy, rather than perportrating to a core demographic.

Britney Spears is almost a product of the media, they brought her down, and then they brought her back up, now she has to take control because unless she says “Fuck You” to the media and the people around her, then she is going to be brought back down again. It’s a cycle that she has the oppourtunity to rise above of.

Black Eyed Peas – Boom Boom Pow – Single Review

The Black Eyed Peas, Dressed in Black.

So due to overwhelming demand from not just fans, but radio stations in Australia, America, and let alone the general public, the released was significantly pushed forward to 30th of March. GOOD MOVE. This is easily one of the main reasons that the song has shot straight to the top slot of the iTunes charts in America, and the top 5 in Australia. The song is currently sitting on three times the sales of the next biggest selling single “Poker Face”, which is definetly a sign of phenomenal sales, given Lady Gaga’s popularity of late.

To the song, I’m no huge fan of Fergie these days, I was definetly into her solo stuff and work with the Black Eyed Peas, except when I noticed how much she was completely ripping off Gwen Stefani she lost a little bit of credibility. Not to mention the simply ear-bleedingly good ‘Labels or Love’, living proof that 80% of women(and some men) will consume anything affiliated with Sex In The City, no matter how vapid and dull.

The song incorporates simply incredible beats, fantastic, and that is what the songs about, without a doubt. There are a few similarities to Kayne West (Not in a good way) and Lady Gaga, first of all, the use of autotune makes Fergie sound like a tween chipmunk, and it doesn’t sound very original when Will I Am sings “Stronger better Faster” under the influence of autotune, it’s a ripoff of a song that is a ripoff (Kanye West’s “Stronger” which stole the entire song off Daft Punk), it’s like ‘meta-plagarism’.

But after a while you look past the abhorrently shrill and misplaced vocals, and you begin to see that behind all the stupid and predictable “rap battle-isms” like “We So 3008 you so 2000 and late” (Snap Fergie) is what the Pea’s really stand for, Hot beats, a vocal diversity that is unmistakable even with autotune, and an energy in the delivery of their songs. Which leaves little to be argued about their fifth album, which I love because it is “The E.N.D” which just works up their hardcore fans into thinking they are breaking up, when it really means Energy Never Dies.

Now I will refer to exhibit A, this encapsulates the core problem I have with the lyrics in the song.

“Beats so big I’m steppin on Leprechauns, shittin all ya’ll with the boom boom”

Will.I.Am is effectively stating, that he is squashing leprechauns while defacating on the listeners, what makes it worse is that it’s not even said in jest, he just…declares it. What happened to the lyrical style of “Where is the Love”?

So let’s just ignore the fact that the lyrics make Soulja Boy sound like a 47 year old Arts Graduate, and accept that the song is great, it’s not as invigorating as “Don’t Phunk With My Heart”, but they are being smart by choosing to take the direction of captivating and strong beats, fast pace nonsensical bullshit is the new thing, and there is nothing wrong with listening to this song, so long as you don’t draw some emotional meaning from it. (Unless you have something against leprechauns)

My Final rating is possibly misleading, so let me explain it

Beats: 5 Star

Tempo: 5 Star

Lyrics: 0 Stars

Vocals: 1 Star (The autotune on one hand is horrible, but on the other isn’t altogether unbearable)

Final Rating: 3 Stars – this song is good, but the Black Eyed Peas could’ve done the same song with decent lyrics, the lyrics in it aren’t really interesting, they don’t add anything to the song as a whole. Still I just love that the Black Eyed Peas are back.