Star Sparkle Blog

Time for another instalment in my semi-regular series C-pop Saturday! It's been 6 months since my  last one (and the only post of the year so far, but never mind, lol.   B CRUSH- Crush On First up is Crush On by B CRUSH.  They are a mixed gender Taiwanese Mandopop group which consists of 4 members- ZAI, YAN, Rebaecca and WEI. I can't find much info about them but will update this if I do find more. :) B CRUSH made their debut last October with the single Crush On, which appears to be their only single so far. I came across the video a while ago and thought I'd save it to feature in a post sometime, especially because it's fitting for summer. Crush On is an upbeat pop song with a mix of Chinese (Mandarin) and English lyrics, about a summer encounter on the beach that sparks instant attraction. It has a suitably summery music video. Click "Subtitles/closed captions" on YouTube for English subtitles! The lyrics are on screen but not translated into English. :)  ...

Today's video is Massacre from the new Bollywood film ALPHA . It stars Alia Bhatt  (part of the famous Bhatt family ) as Sita, an assassin who was raised in isolation from a baby by rogue commander Fateh Singh Lakhwat (played by Bobby Deol , one of my favourite Bollywood actors!).   Fateh trained  Sita to be a super soldier but when she finds out that he's hidden the truth of her family background from her, she teams up with her long lost sister Durga ( Sharvari ) to stop him and his mission. Random fact:  Alia Bhatt is a British citizen , due to her mum, actress and director Soni Razdan being British (Soni's mum is British with German heritage and her dad is Indian (Kashmiri Pandit). Alia's dad is former film director, producer and screenwriter  Mahesh Bhatt . ALPHA (which also stars Anil Kapoor ) was released on 3rd July. It's part of the YRF Spy Universe film series (the 7th instalment) and the first female led movie. The others include Ek Tha Tiger...

This summer has been a hot one in the UK so far! Last month I wrote a post sharing  Dance in Public videos with summer themes . Now as we move into late summer, I thought I'd carry on the theme. :)  I've written quite a few summer themed posts on the blog over the years and I've also done a couple of posts rounding them up. You can see them below: Summer Songs Round-up:  https://starsparklex.blogspot.com/2020/06/summer-songs-round-up.html Summer Songs Round-up 2020-2021: https://starsparklex.blogspot.com/2021/07/summer-songs-round-up-2020-2021.html   My last round-up was in 2021, so today I'm featuring the summer posts since then, plus a few new songs. :)    Summer Vibes!: https://starsparklex.blogspot.com/2022/07/summer-vibes.html More Summer Vibes!: https://starsparklex.blogspot.com/2023/07/more-summer-vibes.html Vibes for Your Summer!:  https://starsparklex.blogspot.com/2024/07/vibes-for-your-summer.html Island Vibes!:  https://starsparklex.bl...

Today's video is VEQ TI by Kosovo Albanian singer  Era Istrefi  and Kosovo Albanian rapper and singer  Ledri Vula . It was released on 19th July It's Era's latest single (her last release was MOVE ON in March) and a recent one for Ledri (preceding his single JETA IME with Greek Albanian producer and singer  Claydee , which came out on 27th July). This is the second time that Era and Ledri have worked together, having previously collaborated on the single T'LO in June last year. VEQ TI is an Albanian language pop and rap song (with some English lyrics) and Era describes it as  "your sound of the summer" . The title translates as "Only You" in English. The music video also has summery vibes!     For more music by Era check out this post: Music video for MOVE ON  (released in March), plus links to more music:  https://starsparklex.blogspot.com/2026/03/weekly-music-video_25.html    And for more on Ledri visit these links:  Music v...

Sorry the 2nd post is later again this week. I normally post on Fridays or Saturdays (most often Saturdays) but sometimes I don't manage to get a post finished in time. I had a busy day yesterday, so didn't get this finished. :) Korean group KARD have just released their 1st album Where To Now? (Part.2): NOWHERE. Sadly it will also be their last album (or at least there are no current plans for more) since they are disbanding after over 9 years together. However, as fans have pointed out, the group may not be permanently disbanding. The contract with their agency has expired and they aren't renewing it. The members have said that they plan to concentrate on solo careers but haven't ruled out reuniting as a group in the future. KARD is made up of 4 members- SOMIN, BM, JIWOO and J.seph. As one of the few co-ed/mixed gender groups in K-pop (an industry dominated by girl groups and boy bands  when it comes to group music) they stand out. I've followed them since thei...

Today's video is Seema by Romaine Willis . She is a Sri Lankan singer/songwriter from Colombo. Romaine had a passion for music from a young age and started out by performing in local talent events.  She released her debut single Milk & Sugar during the pandemic (August 2021). Later singles Pem Kekula with DJ MASS and Tharunai with APZI and DJ MASS) from Sri Lankan romantic comedy film Yaaluwoda Yaaluida (released in November 2021 and March 2023 respectively) were hits on streaming platforms. In 2022, Romaine released the remix album Mel Peththak Mashup Vol 1. Her other singles include Jealous, Delawan Banda with Sri Lankan rappers Randhir and APZI, Thani Manasaka, Dan with DJ MASS and Seema. In addition to original songs, she does covers. Romaine’s music is a mix of R'n'B and other genres, including pop and jazz. She has been called Sri Lanka's version of South African singer Tyla by fans!  Seema is Romaine's most recent single. It was released last Novembe...

In recent years there have been some interesting collaborations and music crossovers between artists from different countries and music genres. I think it's cool to see diverse styles coming together, so today I'm featuring a few. :)   CKay/Nora Fatehi- IT'S TRUE Nigerian singer and record producer CKay teamed up with Canadian dancer, actress and singer  Nora Fatehi for the song IT'S TRUE in 2024. It's from his album EMOTIONS which was released in October 2024. IT'S TRUE is an Afrobeats song with a mix of English, Pidgin and Hindi lyrics. Nora has Moroccan heritage but is based in India due to her work in Bollywood (and also South Indian film industries ) hence the Hindi lyrics.  I featured the audio (it wasn't released as a single) as a Weekly Music Video last year and it was No. 8 on my Top 10 African Songs post in January. Watch it here: https://starsparklex.blogspot.com/2025/01/weekly-music-video_22.html   LISA feat. Tyla- WHEN I'M WITH YOU In Jun...

This week's video is Body So Tea by American singer Coco Jones . It's her latest single, following LUVAGIRL which came out in March.  Coco is currently working on her next album, (a follow up to her debut Why Not More? , released in April 2025, with a deluxe edition coming out last August) and has said that she had doubts over whether Body So Tea is a good fit for the upcoming album (she shared a video about it too). However, she went ahead with releasing it and the song has proven to be a hit with fans! :) Body So Tea was released on 10th July. It's a sexy R'n'B song and is  about beauty, confidence and self-acceptance . This is the visualiser.     Coco fan? Check out these posts:   Music video for LUVAGIRL: https://starsparklex.blogspot.com/2026/04/weekly-music-video_8.html Live Performances 2025/2026 (features live performances by Coco of her songs On Sight and Thang 4 U):  https://starsparklex.blogspot.com/2026/06/live-performances-20252026.html...

Sorry the 2nd post is later again this week. I'm working on one about music collabs but haven't got it finished yet. :) This week I'm sharing a couple more dance videos, following on from last week's  Dance in Public- Summer Vibes! post .   Hawaiian Hula In summer 2023 I shared a video 2 minute hula routine. It's taught by Lynn from iHula Hawaii and filmed on the beach in Hawaii. Watch it here: https://starsparklex.blogspot.com/2023/08/2-min-hula-on-beach-video.html   Island Vibes! And in August 2024, I wrote a post called Island Vibes! featuring some island/beach inspired music and dance. Check it out here:  https://starsparklex.blogspot.com/2024/08/island-vibes.html   PARTYFOUL- aue @ da beach Now here is a video from Hawaiian boy group  PARTYFOUL . Originally a 6-member and then a 5-member band known as CROSSING RAIN , they debuted in 2021. They disbanded in 2024 due to issues with their management, but 3 members went on to form the group PARTYFO...

Today's video if You're Mine by Japanese boy band  PSYCHIC FEVER from EXILE TRIBE . It's their latest single and from their 2nd album DIFFERENT, which was released on 8th July. If You're Mine is the lead single from the album (although I Got Ways was a pre-release single in May) and came out on 10th July. It's in the style of the group’s signature song  Just Like Dat  and  What's Happenin' and is described as a "modern take on the Miami bass / 2-step sound inspired by early 2000s R'n'B".  The song follows on from Just Like Dat and is about what happens after two people become interested in each other. It's a mixture of Japanese and English lyrics. Click "Subtitles/closed captions" on YouTube for English subtitles! :)    There's also a dance practice video:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1MO-Duwxg3s   Plus, check out the music video for I Got Ways:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EHy5EvDsz50   And stream/buy DIFFEREN...

Sorry the 2nd post is later this week, I didn't manage to get it finished yesterday. :)  Summer is in full swing and it's been feeling like it lately, with heatwaves in the UK! I've written quite a few summer themed posts on the blog over the years and I'm planning to do another one featuring summer songs soon. This week though, I thought I'd do something a bit different- share some Dance in Public (dance covers of songs performed in public places) videos with summer vibes! :)   [P-POP IN PUBLIC] BINI- Pantropiko Dance Cover- ABK CREW        In summer 2024 I featured a dance cover of the 2023 single Pantropiko by Filipina girl group BINI  in my Dance in Public- V-pop and P-pop Videos post. BINI are known as the "Summer Queens" of P-pop (Pinoy/Filipino pop), due to releasing  summer themed music  and Pantropiko (which translates as "Tropical" in English) is one of the songs that earned them that nickname. It was the 2nd pre-release ...

This week's video is Boom by Dani Enli . She is a Chinese-Australian artist from Perth, Western Australia and her music is a mix of pop, R'n'B, hip hop and Jersey Club . She launched her career in 2024, releasing the single used to it  in February that year. Subsequent songs I LIKE YOU and till the end of time went viral on Instagram. Her other singles include OVER NOW, LIFESTYLE, Light Work and Boom. In addition to being a singer, Dani is also a dancer. She originally planned to be a doctor but her plans changed after she  found out she had a rare medical condition in her final year of medical school and decided to concentrate on making music instead. Authenticity and creative freedom are important to her, as well as Asian representation in global pop . She has performed in several cities in Australia and has also opened for   Kenyon Brown , J.Tajor and Teo Glacier  who are all from New Zealand and/or Australia. Boom is Dani's latest single and was released on...

I'd had this post in my drafts for ages (a year or more!) but just didn't feel inspired to write it. So last year (April 2025) I wrote a post called Teen Thrillers instead. You can see it here: https://starsparklex.blogspot.com/2025/04/teen-thrillers.html Now it's over a year since I did that post and I'm feeling more inspired. So here are my Top 10 thriller films! :)  Please note that the post contains spoilers.  Trigger warning: Some of the films mention sensitive themes.   Note: Sorry for the different text! It got messed up and I'm trying to sort it out. :)     1. Disclosure (1994) Disclosure is based on the book by Michael Crichton (probably best known for Jurassic Park ) ,. Computer  specialist Tom Sanders ( Michael Douglas ) works for the company Digicom. He's married to Susan Hendler (played by British actress Caroline Goodall ) and they have two kids. They're planning to merge with a larger company but there are problems with the CD-...