andPOP » music video

Beyonce And Lady Gaga Team Up For ‘Video Phone’

Joelle Tomlinson — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 06:44:44 +0000

What do you get when you mix cameras, music, video phones, and two of the biggest divas in the U.S. music industry?

A music video with Beyonce and Lady Gaga, remixing Beyonce’s original “Video Phone” score. In the newly-released video, the two larger-than-life diva’s storm around in trench coats, bathing suits and heels. It opens up with a scintillating scene of Beyonce and her all-male posse marching down a seemingly-deserted alleyway with a purpose in mind.

Gaga and Beyonce are an interesting combination that makes for a unique music video. Azcentral.com says that the director, Hype Williams, “shoots a video in his trademark electrifying colour schemes and high-shine lighting, resulting in a fantastical pop mirage.”

With a combination of Beyonce’s trademark outlandish costume choices- and Gaga’s trademark outlandish behaviour, the new music video is sure to make heads turn. The “Video Phone” collaboration debuted Monday night on MTV and VH-1.

Rihanna’s Risque New Single for ‘Russian Roulette’

Emma Renda — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 16:00:40 +0000

Rihanna’s triumphant return to the industry just got a little more risque with clips of her new video, “Russian Roulette” surfacing online. The video, directed by Anthony Mandler, depicts Rihanna undergoing a collage of violence, including images of her underwater riddled with bulletholes.

Mandler says it’s all a metaphor, but eyebrows are naturally being raised in the wake of the Chris Brown abuse scandal.

“I think that with this song and the meaning of this song and how loaded it all is, no pun intended, how much imagery and perhaps symbolism that is loaded in this song, the only way to do it was to do something that was visually challenging,” Mandler told MTV News.

The video premiered on 20/20, this following a series of public appearances from Rihanna who avoided the spotlight since the February incident. Rihanna appeared in a candid interview with Diane Sawyer, in which she revealed details of the attack and the affect it had on her life. Earlier this month, she was recognized by Glamour Magazine as the Woman of the Year.

“Domestic violence is a big secret,” she told Glamour. “My story was broadcast all over the world for people to see, and they have followed every step of my recovery. The positive thing that has come out of my situation is that people can learn from that. I want to give as much insight as I can to young women, because I feel like I represent a voice that really isn’t heard.”

Rihanna’s new album, Rated R, will be released on Nov. 23.

Chris Brown is also premiering a video today for “Crawl”, a song he tells MTV is not only about Rihanna.

The chorus talks about “crawling back to love”, but Brown says it’s a universal concept.

“When I heard the whole concept and everything I was like, ‘Yo, this is crazy,’ ” Brown told MTV. “So being able to express the feelings, it was like, probably one of the best [records I've done.] But it was more than me trying to do a record that meant crawl to love, crawl back to love. Meaning whether it’s from your negative situations, whether it’s from any problems you’ve dealt with, like anybody’s situation. Mine being my personal situation with shorty, but for anybody, for being inspired as far it being the war or a death in the family, whether it’s anything, anybody just crawl back to love. ‘Cause love conquers everything. Love, at the end of the day, makes everybody happy.”

Brown has frequently told media he thinks the details of his relationship with Rihanna should be private, but he has not shyed away from offering several public apologies.

Chris Brown Debuts New Video ‘Crawl’

Joelle Tomlinson — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 05:58:57 +0000

Would you crawl back to Chris Brown?

In the lyrics to the R&B-singer’s song, “Crawl,” Brown seems to be calling for the return of his ex-girlfriend Rihanna, with whom he has apparently finally split in the aftermath on his assault on her in February,

“So we’ll crawl, until we can walk again,” Brown sings on the tune. “Then we’ll run, until we’re strong enough to jump/Then we’ll fly, until there is no wind/So let’s crawl, crawl, back to love.”

But, according to mtvnews.com, Brown told them that the song isn’t just about his own relationship. He said “Crawl” is more of a universal message dedicated to moving on past any type of heartache. The video debuted on “The Wendy Williams Show” on Friday (November 13).

“When I heard the whole concept and everything I was like, ‘Yo, this is crazy,’ ” Brown said about the track. “So being able to express the feelings, it was like, probably one of the best [records I've done.] But it was more than me trying to do a record that meant crawl to love, crawl back to love. Meaning whether it’s from your negative situations, whether it’s from any problems you’ve dealt with, like anybody’s situation. Mine being my personal situation with shorty, but for anybody, for being inspired as far it being the war or a death in the family, whether it’s anything, anybody just crawl back to love. ‘Cause love conquers everything. Love, at the end of the day, makes everybody happy.”

Britney Spears Debuts New Music Video, ‘3′

Joelle Tomlinson — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 02:14:36 +0000

After a series of sneak peeks and teasers on her Web site and Twitter, Britney Spears officially debuted the music video for her hit single “3″ on Friday (October 30). The sexy, fast-paced clip for the song, which will be included on The Singles Collection when it’s released next month, made its big debut on her site.

According to mtvnews.com, the video, shot by director Diane Martel earlier this month, is a series of glamour shots and dance breaks. The video opens with Britney in a sparkly little black dress, spritzing herself with perfume and putting on mascara. Then it cuts to a shot of her holding her hair up provocatively and singing the song’s sexy opening lines: “1,2,3/ Not only you and me/ Got 180 degrees/ And I’m caught in between.”

The video promotes the sexy side of Britney that she unleashes here and there. Shots of the pop star in black and white, wearing a halter-cut leotard in a steamy room, are cut with images of just her legs in lacy tights walking across the screen.

Dancing is also heavily focused on in the video, especially the close-up shots where you can not fully see Britney’s body. In some sequences she is flanked my male dancers or standing in a lineup of sexy women who do acrobatics on a raised ballerina bar as she flounces around.

Late Thursday, before the video premiered, Britney tweeted, “Can’t wait for y’all to see my new video tomorrow morning. I think you’re really going to like it!”

Diva Alert – Beyonce and Lady Gaga Team Up For ‘Video Phone’

Joelle Tomlinson — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 21:18:33 +0000

Amid fierce rumors that two of the biggest divas in the industry – Beyonce and Lady Gaga- are teaming up, the truth has finally emerged. It has been confirmed that the two singers have joined forces on a super-secret video for Beyonce’s “Video Phone.”

According to mtvnews.com, a spokesperson for director Hype Williams confirmed to MTV that both Beyonce and Gaga appear in the “Video Phone” clip, which Williams shot last weekend in Brooklyn’s Greenpoint neighbourhood.

William’s spokesperson would not confirm any additional tidbits about the shoot, but, according to Life and Style magazine, security on set was very tight, and the video is shaping up to be a fashion bonanza, with Beyonce wearing “a feathered dress” and Gaga sporting “something wild … the fashion is sick and insane.”

Another source posted on Pulse Music Board that the “Video Phone” clip was shot on a “closed set [with] no cameras or video phones” allowed. Apparently, the video version of the song – which is from Beyonce’s 2008 I am…Sasha Fierce album – features Beyonce and Gaga trading up-tempo verses, and sees Gaga adding an extra verse to the tune. The clip also features “lots of choreography” and “more dancers than the two girls [Beyonce is] always with.”

illScarlett – Behind The Scenes At The Making Of Their Video

Jordan Bortolotti — Sat, 03 Oct 2009 04:21:26 +0000

The boys from Mississauga Ontario are back with their fourth studio album – 1-up. We had the privilege of getting a sneak peak of the making of their video for “Take It For Granted”. Really interesting process to watch and it involved a lot of paint (if you have already seen the video you know what we mean)!

Kristinia DeBarge – Big Shoes To Fill

Robert Ostfield — Sun, 30 Aug 2009 03:41:19 +0000

Kristinia is a girl who was destined for stardom. Her father is James DeBarge who is a legendary R&B singer that has groomed his daughter to carry the Debarge name. After the world first heard her on American Juniors, she has released her debut album Exposed. Jenn caught up with Kristinia on a recent stop in Toronto.

Amos The Transparent Work For More Than Lemons

Emma Renda — Sat, 29 Aug 2009 13:56:18 +0000

Note: See the bottom of this article for a free download from Amos The Transparent, plus their new video!

Most bands don’t go from recording their debut in a bona fide studio to tracking the next release in their drummer’s mother’s basement. Or at least not of their own will. But that’s exactly the unlikely order of things Amos the Transparent have chosen, and it’s turning out to lead them along a favourable path.

After hefty studio bills the first time around and struggling under time restraints, the band decided to go easy on themselves for the next record. They split time between lead singer and mastermind Jonathan Chandler’s home and the basement of Chris Wilson’s mother while she was away in Florida, and rather than setting a deadline, they got together sporadically over what ended up being a nine-month period.

And so was born their sophomore EP, My, What Big Teeth You Have.

Chandler credits the laissez-faire approach to a better product, an album worthy to come on the heels of their acclaimed debut, Everything I’ve Forgotten to Forget. And one that has qualified the band for a Verge Artist of the Year nomination against nearly every heavyweight Canadian act out there. (Think: Feist, Tegan and Sara, The Tragically Hip, etc.)

“Honestly, I don’t expect to rank that well. All of our peers are in that list too,” Chandler said. “It’s an honour to be nominated and considered in the same category but we’re not really going to hope for too much. That’s kind of the people we are. It’s a cool nomination but we’re not gonna spend the money before we have it.”

When Chandler says “the people we are”, he means a laid-back group of musicians with full-time jobs and families and lives on the side. Though he insists they treat Amos with as much responsibility as their other jobs, its clear the band is sort of a side project to life.

Based in Ottawa, Amos was born of Chandler’s solo writings outside of his former band, The Architects, and their fan base is a smattering of followers of each member’s prior projects. Chandler credits Wilson for urging him to pursue the solo endeavour, but the music Chandler had in mind necessitated a full band. Hence he recruited Mark Hyne (guitar, synth) and James Nicol (bass), as well as Dan Hay (guitar) and Kate Cooke (percussion, vocals) for this album.

For 2007’s Everything I’ve Forgotten to Forget, Chandler and Wilson helmed the captain’s seat alongside studio engineer Jason Fee (”pretty much the unseen seventh member of the band”, according to Chandler). The album is a lush blend of post-punk angst and folk undertones, and immediately earned praise as a hidden Canadian gem. Having Amy Millan of Stars sing a duet, “After All That, It’s Come to This” probably didn’t hurt either.

“I think it was at Bluesfest two years ago . . . whenever we go to shows, we always try to get backstage I guess,” explains Mark Hyne of their run-in with Millan. “Somehow we were all hammered and Chris wanders off back stage, and then he’s able to get the rest of the band backstage. We drank a bunch of Malajube’s beer, one thing led to another and we got John singing directly to Amy Millan asking her if she wanted to record on the record and it worked out.”

Chandler took a different, more sober approach to piecing together Teeth. Aside from the fluctuating attendance and intermittent recording sessions coming after work, before dinner and on weekends, Chandler said the entire band was more involved in the songwriting aspect.

“The writing process now is becoming a lot more of a six-person collaborative,” said Chandler. “It’s less of me arranging entire songs, like “”I hear this, I want you to play this.”" I have an idea of what I want to hear, but I won’t demo or voice it. I’ll wait and see what the rest of the band wants to offer.”

Having a broader input from all the members led to the selection of “Lemons (aka BigPondLittleFish)” for the first single. It’s a soft, twangy number that allows Chandler’s husky voice to float atop the music carrying his simple poetry to the forefront.

Chandler let another brain in on the action for “Lemons”, production company Digital Henchman who approached the band to put together the music video for the single which premiered on andPOP this week.

“The video was pretty awesome . . . we hadn’t even seen it until the night before the [release] show,” said Hyne. “We were all pretty awestruck. It’s all cartoony, it’s neat to see the animators’ renditions of the band in cartoon form. Dan looks like a character from He-Man. I look pretty much exactly the same . . .”

Teeth won’t be released in full online until Oct. 13, but the band have already been selling hard copies of the album at shows for months. They even put their guitar tabs on their website so fans can learn to play Amos like Amos, and it was also a thrifty way of getting their music out there without giving away downloads.

“It’s really cool to get fans’ perspectives, whether they are good or not, it’s really cool someone would take time to sit there and learn our songs,” said Chandler. “It’s probably one of the biggest compliments you could ever get. I remember growing up learning guitar . . . I would never be like, “Hey, Joe Perry from Aerosmith, I learned how to play your solo.” We want to make it really accesible. Don’t try to learn it, don’t waste your time.”

Hyne laughed that sometimes even the band has to refer to the tabs to get through rehearsal. Because when it comes to balancing a family and a full-time job alongside the formative years of a music career, even the most dextrous musicians need a hand sometimes.

“When I have to take off for a week and a half from work [to go on tour], I get scared. Am I going to have a job when I get back? Am I going to be able to pay my mortgage?” said Hyne. “Pretty much as soon as you get in the van driving down the 401, you forget about everything else.”

CLICK THE DOWNLOAD BUTTON FOR A FREE TRACK FROM AMOS THE TRANSPARENT

New Video For LMFAO – La La La

Robert Ostfield — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 02:01:07 +0000

New video for LMFAO!!! Funny per usual.

Green Day’s Latest Video – Know Your Enemy

Michael Levine — Fri, 24 Apr 2009 22:02:35 +0000

Check out Green Day’s latest video for ‘Know Your Enemy’. The video which was directed by Mathew Cullen (Weezer, Velvet Revolver) can be seen on MTV, VH1, The N, Palladia, MTV2, mtvU, MTV Tr3s, MTV Hits, MTV.com, VH1.com, as well as on MTV and VH1’s international channels, making it the first global cross-channel video premiere for MTV and VH1 networks.