Star Sparkle Blog

Today's video is MOVE ON, the new single by Kosovar (Kosovo Albanian) singer Era Istrefi . It came out on 8th March ( International Women's Day ) and is her first release of 2026. MOVE ON was written by Era herself and is a mostly Albanian language song, with the occasional English line. It's in the style of her signature brand of pop and dance with reggae influences.      Want more Era? Check out this post:  Music video for AMA DO LOVE X HADJE (released last October), plus links to more music:  https://starsparklex.blogspot.com/2025/10/weekly-music-video_22.html

Jennifer Lopez (one of my favourite singers) has been celebrating the 25th anniversary of her 2nd studio album J.Lo. It was released on 16th January 2001 in the US (22nd January in the UK) and is one of her most successful albums to date. I'm a bit behind with this post about it but never mind! :)  This has turned into quite a long post, so I'm splitting it up into two parts. Here is Part 1! :)   The anniversary comes after her other album milestones- the  20th anniversay of her 3rd album This Is Me...Then in November 2022 and the 20th anniversary of her 4th album Rebirth  in March 2025. To celebrate the J.Lo anniversary, Jennifer released a 25th anniversary edition which features one new song (Crazy (Nobody Else), exclusive tracks only previously available on international editions and a new remix of Play (Trixie Mattel Remix). The album's title is a reference to Jennifer's nickname J.Lo, given to her by fans. Its music style is  primarily dance-pop, La...

This week's video is Lullaby Remix by  JayDon and featuring Paradise , Jay Park and LOUIS of LNGSHOT . American singer JayDon released the original Lullaby (a smooth R'n'B song) in February 2025 as the lead single from his debut mixtape Me My Songs & I, which came out in October 2025. Other singles from the mixtape are I'll Be Good, The Way You Move and Jealous Of The Moon. JayDon's latest single is FLAMED UP (a stand-alone single) which was released last month. For the Lullaby remix, JayDon and singer Paradise (who is the son of American record producer L.A. Reid ) teamed up with American rapper and singer Jay (who has Korean heritage and is a K-pop turned K-R'n'B and hip hop artist) and LOUIS from Korean boyband LNGSHOT. So it's an American/Korean collaboration, which is cool! :)  Lullaby Remix was released last November. Another remix called Lullaby (mega remix) followed in December. It features singer Usher , who co-owns JayDon's record ...

This week's video is by Homewrecker by American singer sombr . It's his latest single and was released on 5th February.  Homewrecker is described as an upbeat pop song about an emotionally unavailable love interest . It's a stand-alone single, not from his debut album I Barely Know Her (released last August). The music video features sombr, American influencer/social media star and model Quenlin Blackwell and American actor Milo Manheim (the son of actress Camryn Manheim ).            

Sorry the 2nd post is later this week; I didn't manage to get it finished yesterday. :) 2026 is shaping up to be the year of K-pop  comebacks, with several popular groups reuniting (including two of the biggest internationally known groups BLACKPINK and BTS , so I thought I'd feature them in a miniseries. :)   First up is girl group  BLACKPINK . Since debuting in 2016, the 4-member group (made up of JENNIE, LISA, JISOO and  ROSÉ) has been very successful, both in Korea and around the world. In recent years the girls have concentrated on their solo careers . Their individual contracts with YG Entertainment (one of the biggest South Korean entertainment companies/record labels) expired but they  continued to work with YG for group activities and embarked on the <DEADLINE> world tour last summer, which lasted until this January.  Now the members have reunited for their first release since 2022's BORN PINK (their second studio album), an EP also c...

This week's video is Blink by Corbyn Besson and TZUYU (of  TWICE ).  Corbyn is a solo singer and former member of American boyband Why Don't We , who officially disbanded last year. He started out by sharing music online and after his popularity grew, he released his debut solo single The Only One in December 2014. His second single Marathons followed in 2015. He joined Why Don't We in 2016. Corbyn's other singles include Love Me Better, Don't Run, Tied Up and SUMMER with American singer Jeremih . He just released his debut EP HEAD FIRST on 16th January. TZUYU (full name Chou Tzu-yu or Tzu-yu Chou in Western terms) is a member of Korean girl group TWICE . She is originally from Taiwan but moved to Korea in 2012 to train as a K-pop idol and went on to join the group. TZUYU made her solo debut in September 2024 with the EP abouTZU. The lead single Run Away was her first No. 1 single on the Billboard Taiwan Songs chart. Blink is an electronic R'n'B funk son...

Time for the first C-pop Saturday post of the year. If you're new to Star Sparkle, it's my semi-regular series (which I started in 2018 ) sharing Chinese music. Today I'm sharing a selection of pop and R'n'B songs released in the past few months. :)    DOLLA feat. Elva Suyan- MWAH! Malaysian girl group DOLLA teamed up with Malaysian rapper Elva Suyan for the Chinese version of their single MWA! The original single was released in May 2024 and is a mixture of Malay and English lyrics. The Chinese version came out last November. This is the official lyric video. It's a mixture of Chinese and English lyrics, and the Chinese lyrics were co-written by Elva.      Watch the music video for MWA! here:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Q_OrWI2egA And I also featured a live performance of the song in my recent Asian Girl Groups' Live Performances post:  https://starsparklex.blogspot.com/2026/01/asian-girl-groups-live-performances.html     WayV- Eter...

Today's video is break   by American singer  Jhené Aiko . It's her most recent single and was released last November. break is a gentle R'n'B song with chilled vibes. The video is relaxing too.    Jhené is also set to release a new version of her 2nd album Trip (originally released in 2018) on 18th April, as part of Record Store Day. It will be coming out on picture disc for the first time.   Want more Jhené? Check out this post: Visualiser/audio for guidance (2024):  https://starsparklex.blogspot.com/2024/07/weekly-music-video_31.html      

Sorry the 2nd post is later this week; I didn't manage to get it finished yesterday. :) During the past couple of years I've shared quite a lot of dance videos. I plan to feature more in 2026, so here's the first one of the year! Here are some Dance in Public (dance covers of songs performed in public places) videos. :)   [DANCE IN PUBLIC] 'SAXO LOVE' - TOBII | TADA TEAM DANCE COVER & CHOREOGRAPHY First up, some  T-pop (Thai pop) in Public . Swiss/Thai rapper and R'n'B singer Tobii's songs have become popular in the cover dance world in the past couple of years and I've featured covers of his songs Bad Girls Like You ,  Hotel Lobby and most recently Saxo Love . Here is another cover of Saxo Love, which was released in June last year. It's performed by TADA TEAM, a dance team from Hanoi University in Vietnam.  The dance was originally performed by Thai dance studio MINIZIZE (it was choreographed by  Earth_prompen ). (MINIZIZE have also previ...

This week's video is Thong, the new single by American singer Justine Skye . It follows her last single YAP, which came out last October.  During 2025, Justine took a new direction with her music, moving into dance from R'n'B which was also reflected by her prior singles Oh Lala (a dance/R'n'B song) with Haitian Canadian music producer and rapper  KAYTRANADA  and dance track Bitch in Ibiza (both released last summer). Thong was released on 13th February and is from Justine's upcoming EP CANDY, due out on 27th March. She describes the EP as her new dance project and it also contains the previous singles Oh Lala and YAP.   Also check out the music video for YAP (plus links to more music from Justine):  https://starsparklex.blogspot.com/2025/11/weekly-music-video_12.html  

It's Valentine's Day, so today's post is love themed! Here is a round-up of some previous posts on the blog relating to love and romance, plus a couple of  songs I haven't posted. (Not every single post featuring a love song because there would be too many!) lol. :)   My Favourite Love Songs  Back in 2022, I wrote a post just before Valentine's Day featuring my favourite love songs. You can see it here: https://starsparklex.blogspot.com/2022/02/my-favourite-love-songs.html   Coco Jones- On Sight American singer Coco Jones released the single On Sight in April last year. It's a smooth R'n'B song, with a music video that sees Coco become fixated on potential love interests! It was a Weekly Music Video in May 2025: https://starsparklex.blogspot.com/2025/05/weekly-music-video_21.html   LONA-  VÌ YÊU ANH ( Dance Version) In April 2024 I included Vietnamese singer  LONA's single  Vì Yêu Anh (Dance Version) in my V-pop Music and Dance 2023-2024 round-u...

Today's music video is Godsent by AGUM and featuring i.amsolo . AGUM is a singer-songwriter originally from Uganda but now based in Sydney, Australia. (I think her full name is Hannah Agum.) She describes her music as "redefining  soul with a timeless voice and raw, heartfelt storytelling".  AGUM has toured as a background singer with Australian singer and actress Delta Goodrem and Australian singer Jessica Mauboy . She was a finalist in the Needle in the Hay Competition 2024 and featured om Australian TV programme  triple j's soul ctrl . Her singles include Fragile Heart, Say It, OUTGROWN, Makes Sense and Godsent. Godsent is AGUM's latest single and was released on 24th January. It's an Afrobeats/soul song and features Australian producer/artist i.amsolo.     For more on AGUM visit these links: Personal FB page (no Follow option but she has some public posts):  https://www.facebook.com/hannahagum/   Official TikTok:  https://www.tiktok.com/@agu...

Last month I wrote a post featuring some new music for the new year. You can see it here: https://starsparklex.blogspot.com/2026/01/new-music-for-2026.html Now we're in February, so here are some more new releases, from various genres. :)    Pia Mia- Underneath Guam born singer Pia Mia brought out the single Underneath on 29th January. It was  originally released unofficially 10 years ago but has now been officially released. (Perhaps inspired by the current social media trend "2026 is the new 2016" !) Underneath is an R'n'B song with sexy lyrics! The original version was only 1 minute, 55 seconds but this one is a bit longer at 2 mins, 4 secs. There's only an audio currently.     B Young- Playdoh British rapper and singer B Young released his latest single Playdoh on 30th January. It was this week's Weekly Music Video: https://starsparklex.blogspot.com/2026/02/weekly-music-video.html   ZAYN- Die For Me Next up is some brand-new music from ZAYN (real na...

This week's video is Playdoh, the new single by British rapper and singer B Young . It's been a while since I've heard music from him. His most recent album was ESC which came out in November 2024 and he released several singles that year. However, I recently discovered that he did bring out a few singles last year- Only U in July (plus an acoustic version), Foreign in September and In My Bag in October. Playdoh was released on 30th January. It's an R'n'B/hip hop song with a good beat and sexy lyrics!     Want more B Young? Check out these links:  Live Performances 2023-2025 (features a live performance of his 2024 song ATTENTION from ESC, plus links to more music):  https://starsparklex.blogspot.com/2025/02/live-performances-2023-2025.html Official audio for Foreign:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5EPMXWyQz7c Official audio for In My Bag; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=co8hZYIVGlc

Here is the first Asian Groups post of the year! (It's been quite a while since my previous one in September last year!) If you're new to the blog, it's a series featuring groups from Asian countries. Today's post is about Thai girl group VIIS . :) The group is signed to Thai record label GNEST and originally consisted of 5 members- Atom (real name Pariya Piyapanopas), Cheers (Kotchaphan Kitkrailard), Plaifah (full name Plaifah Siraacha), Tara (Anantara Gibson) and Sonya (Sonya Proud Beeson).  Some of the girls had previous experience in the entertainment industry before debuting. Cheers was a contestant on The Voice Kids Thailand in 2019 and Plaifah became a member of girl group TRIXX (now inactive) which was formed on the reality show The Next Boy/Girl Band Thailand in 2019. Atom started out as an actress in the web series Social Death Vote . Atom announced that she was leaving last month , due to health reasons. She has still take part in group activities int...

Today's video is X by Chinese singer and rapper Lexie Liu . It's from her latest EP TEENAGE RAMBLE which came out last October. While Lexie started out making Mandopop (Mandarin language Chinese pop), hip hop and R'n'B music, in recent years her style has been more electropop, particularly on her debut solo album The Happy Star (released in 2022).  X is more of a return to "basic" pop and I do prefer it to the electropop personally. I liked her early Chinese rap/hip hop music best, such as Sleep Away ,  OUTTA TIME featuring KILLY and Bygone from her 2019 EP 2030.  X follows Lexie's previous singles POP GIRL and LIKE U (released in March and July 2025 respectively). It was released in October 2025, just after the EP came out.     Stream/buy TEENAGE RAMBLE here:  https://lexieliu.lnk.to/teenage-ramble   Or listen to the EP/watch the music videos on YouTube:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iXqcPvUIzRQ&list=OLAK5uy_n4iZ7jmTzlyM2tRQNFv5vGZen84c9...

It's a new year and so time for my annual post featuring new music! I started this back in 2017 (writing posts sharing new music at the beginning of the year). You can see 2025's at the links below: New Music for 2025:  https://starsparklex.blogspot.com/2025/01/new-music-for-2025.html   More New Music for 2025: https://starsparklex.blogspot.com/2025/02/more-new-music-for-2025.html   And now here's some new music for 2026! It's mostly Asian artists but a variety of genres. :)   The Kid LAROI- BACK WHEN YOU WERE MINE First up, some new music from Australian singer and rapper  The Kid LAROI . He released his 2nd studio album BEFORE I FORGET on 9th January. It's the follow-up to his 2023 debut THE FIRST TIME, which originally came out in November 2023 and was also released as a deluxe edition in August 2024. LAROI initially planned for his 2nd album to be called WATCH THIS! and released several singles intended to be on it- APEROL SPRITZ , ALL I WANT IS YOU , HOT GI...

This week's video is Bite The Bullet by Sissy Ford . She is a British singer who was born in Cambridge and then moved to London aged 17, to study music at  East London Arts and Music (ELAM) . Sissy released her first single Louder independently in May 2024. She went on to bring out her debut EP FROM HOME: THE BEDROOM EP in March 2025. Her other singles include Fake It, Streets, Bite The Bullet and her latest, Sit Right. Sissy is inspired by a variety of artists, such as SZA , Don Toliver , Arctic Monkeys , Michael Jackson , Kehlani and kwn (who is also Kehlani's girlfriend!). She makes her own beats and has a large following on social media platforms, where she has created music with her fanbase. Bite The Bullet was released in November last year. It's a R'n'B song with a good beat and confident lyrics about being a better choice for a girl than her boyfriend.   There's also a live version:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KBJUpS8qqcc Plus, here is the music vi...

It's been ages since I've written a Top 10 post (my last one was Top 10 Britney Spears Songs back in 2017!). So today I thought I'd do another one sharing my Top 10 African songs.  They are my favourites across different countries and genres. :)     1. Mr Eazi and Simi- Doyin (Nigeria) Nigerian singer Mr Eazi (who is known for founding Banku Music, a mixture of Nigerian and Ghanaian music) collaborated with fellow Nigeran singer Simi on the single Doyin, in August 2019. It's my favourite song  of both singers and was a Weekly Music Video in September 2019. Watch it here:   https://starsparklex.blogspot.com/2019/09/weekly-music-video_25.html   2. Bey T- Wololo (Kenya)  Kenyan rapper and singer Bey T (who also has Ethiopian heritage) released the single Wololo in May 2019. It's a catchy song that sticks in my head. Wololo was a Weekly Music Video in June 2019:  https://starsparklex.blogspot.com/2019/06/weekly-music-video_26.html  ...