Star Sparkle Blog

I just wrote my Best of 2020 post the other day, but then I realised there is one more post to go before the end of the year! Never mind, lol. Hope everyone had a good Christmas or other festival if you celebrated another one. :)  Today's music video is 1 Lần by Trọng Hiếu.  His full name is Nguyen Trong Hiếu and he is a German singer with Vietnamese heritage. Like in other Asian countries, in Vietnam the surname/family name is written first, so Nguyen is his surname. Trong was the winner and runner up in several German/European dance competitions, including Kitzinger Dance Contests and Dance4Fans, and also won Vietnam Idol in 2015. He has also performed with American singer Britney Spears !  I can't find much info about Trong in English, but I've used Google Translate for some information! His singles include 1 Lần, Invisible, ĂN ĐI CHO SƯỚNG and his latest NGƯỜI BAY which came out in October. I believe he sings primarily in Vietnamese.   1 Lần is about love and h...

The year is almost over, so it's time for my annual Best Of post! You can see my posts for previous years at the links below:  2016's Best of:  https://starsparklex.blogspot.com/2016/12/best-of-2016.html 2017's:  https://starsparklex.blogspot.com/2017/12/best-of-2017.html 2018's: https://starsparklex.blogspot.com/2018/12/best-of-2018.html 2019's:  https://starsparklex.blogspot.com/2019/12/best-of-2019.html     2020 has been a strange and difficult year for most of us, but there have been some good things, including lots of new music! Here are some of my favourite posts from this year. :)   Music  Like the past couple of years, I did some posts featuring new music for 2020:   New Music for 2020- Part 1:  https://starsparklex.blogspot.com/2020/01/new-music-for-2020-part-1.html New Music for 2020- Part 2:  https://starsparklex.blogspot.com/2020/02/new-music-for-2020-part-2.html New Music for 2020- Part 3:  https://starspa...

Christmas is now 2 days away, so time for my final festive themed post! :) My favourite singer Mariah Carey has teamed up with Ariana Grande and Jennifer Hudson for a new version of her 2010 single Oh Santa! The trio perform the song in the new TV special Mariah Carey's Magical Christmas Special. You can read more about the special here:  https://tv.apple.com/us/movie/mariah-careys-magical-christmas-special/umc.cmc.4dmcdxw4vbu5smkk8f44a1l3h I also wrote about it in last weekend's Christmas Songs for 2020 post: https://starsparklex.blogspot.com/2020/12/christmas-songs-for-2020.html Oh Santa! was originally released back in October 2010 and is from Mariah's second Christmas album Merry Christmas II You. It reached No. 1 on the American Billboard Adult Contemporary Chart.  The new remix version with Ariana and Jennifer is the lead single from the soundtrack of the Magical Christmas Special. It was released on 4th December. It's good to see MC team up with Ariana and Jen...

Christmas is less than a week away (!!), so today I'm sharing some festive music. :) You can see my previous Christmas music posts at the links below:   Christmas Music: https://starsparklex.blogspot.com/2018/12/christmas-music.html Christmas Songs 2019: https://starsparklex.blogspot.com/2019/12/christmas-songs-2019.html   John Lindahl feat Pia Mia- Cuddled Up First up here is this week's Weekly Music Video, Cuddled Up by John Lindahl featuring Pia Mia: https://starsparklex.blogspot.com/2020/12/weekly-music-video_17.html   Mabel- I'll Be Home For Christmas Here is I'll Be Home For Christmas, a new Christmas single from Swedish/British singer Mabel . Seems weird that it's already a year since she released Loneliest Time of Year!  I'll Be Home For Christmas is a relaxing song about wanting to come home for Christmas. The audio was uploaded to YouTube on 20th November. If you're feeling down this Christmas (and sadly, due to the current situation with the coron...

 Sorry the Weekly Music Video post is late this week; I've had internet problems. :)   It's less than a week till Christmas (seems to have come up quickly!), so today's video is Christmas themed. :) It's Cuddled Up by American singer John Lindhal and featuring Pia Mia . John has been performing since he was 5 and signed a record deal with Epic Records aged 17. Unfortunately, things didn't work out and he was unable to release a record. But he went on to work with stars such as Ed Sheeran , Justin Timberlake and American rapper Logic . He signed to Logic's independent label in 2018, which then merged with Def Jam. To date John has released 4 singles and 2 albums, Opening Night and A John Lindhal Holiday. Cuddled Up is from A John Lindhal Holiday, which was released in October. The video came out on 29th October. For more on John visit these links: Official site: https://www.johnlindahlofficial.com/ YouTube channel:  https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCZkzi9JKD5_Nc...

My favourite Japanese singer Koda Kumi (Kumi Koda in Western terms) is celebrating her 20th anniversary in the music business this month! She released her debut single TAKE BACK on 6th December 2000. I've mentioned before that I was a bit confused because she started her celebrations last year. But I think that she was celebrating a 19th to 20th anniversary event.  To date Koda has released 16 studio albums, including her debut Affection (2002), Grow into One (2003), Secret (2005), Black Cherry (2006), Kindom (2008), TRICK (2009), Dejavu (2011), Japonesque (2012), WALK OF MY LIFE (2015), W FACE- INSIDE/OUTSIDE (2017), DNA (2018) and re (CORD) (2019). She has also brought out quite a few compilations, remix album and EPs, plus two cover albums. Her 57 singles include TAKE BACK, So into You, Real Emotion/1000 no Kotoba, Chase, Himitsu,  feel, Butterfly, feel, Love Me Back, Fance in The Rain, STRIP  and Puff. She has collaborated with several artists including KM-MARKIT on ...

This week's video is Out of the Blue by Australian singer RINI. His real name is Justerini Sandoval and he's from South East Melbourne.  RINI started out busking, before going on to release singles and his first EP After The Sun in 2018. Last year he moved to LA.  His singles include My Favourite Clothes, Bedtime Stories and Out of the Blue.  His music is R'n'B. I think I first came across My Favourite Clothes on Spotify a while ago. That song in particular makes me think of older R'n'B, from around the early 2000s as someone commented. Makes me feel nostalgic! lol. Out of the Blue is a love song with chilled vibes. It was released in October. For more on RINI visit these links: Cool Accidents feature: https://www.coolaccidents.com/news/who-is-rini Official YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCcMGLS02GrdCphVYSQTUx8g FB page: https://www.facebook.com/RINI.dawg/    Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rinidawg/   Want more R'n'B? Check out t...

Today's music video is Ana Lahale by Palestinian singer Elyanna. She is half Palestinian and half Chilean and was born in Nazareth, Palestine. These days she is based in America. Elyanna started out by sharing her songs on Soundcloud. Her singles include Oululee Leh, Enta Eh and Ta Ta. She mostly sings in Arabic and has been nicknamed the "Arab Rihanna", due to sounding like Bajan singer Rihanna !  Ana Lahale was released in March and features Lebanese Canadian singer Massari . It's from Elyanna's self-titled debut EP. For more on Elyanna visit these links:  Milleworld feature: https://www.milleworld.com/elyanna-palestinian-singer-music/ Official FB: https://www.facebook.com/AnaElyanna Instagram:  https://www.instagram.com/elyanna/ YouTube channel:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VbeHNZoEPDo   Want more Arabic music? Check out these posts:   Turkish and Arabic Songs: https://starsparklex.blogspot.com/2017/09/turkish-and-arabic-songs.html Hindi and Ar...

We're getting close to the end of 2020, and I've been featuring quite a lot of dance videos this year. So, I thought I'd do one final dance post before the end of the year! This one features several dances from around the world. :)   Iranian Dance 2 by Quick Style (Norway/Iran) First is up is an Iranian dance by the dance group Quick Style. I've actually has this video saved on my "Watch later" playlist on YouTube for a while, but hadn't got round to watching it lol. Quick Style is a hip hop dance crew from Oslo, Norway. They won Norway's Got Talent in 2009 and now travel the world teaching and performing. I belly dance, so like Midde Eastern dances. I think it's cool to see a male dance from Iran. I think it's improvisation mostly. The video was posted in October last year. Follow Quick Style at the links below: Official site:  http://www.thequickstyle.com/ YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/TheQuickStyle/ Top 10 African Dance Styles i...

Today's music video is Monster by Canadian singers Shawn Mendes and Justin Bieber . It's from Shawn's 3rd studio album, due to be released on 4th December.  Monster is the 2nd single from Wonder and came out on 20th November. This is the first collaboration between Shawn and Justin. The song is about their experiences of fame and how celebrities start out being put on a pedestal, but then society can't wait to see them come down again.  Follow Shawn at these links: Official site: https://www.shawnmendesofficial.com/ FB page: https://www.facebook.com/ShawnMendesOfficial Instagram:  https://www.instagram.com/shawnmendes/   And for more Justin check out these posts:  Videos from Purpose (2015): https://starsparklex.blogspot.com/2015/11/justin-bieber-videos.html Company (music video version):  https://starsparklex.blogspot.com/2016/07/weekly-music-video_20.html Features his recent single Holy: https://starsparklex.blogspot.com/2020/10/new-music-releases.html ...

Back in May I did a post featuring videos my J-pop and K-pop playlist on YouTube. You can see it here: https://starsparklex.blogspot.com/2020/05/videos-from-my-youtube-playlist-k-pop.html I just shared some Korean videos then, but today I'm also sharing some Japanese ones. I recently updated it, so there are some new ones on there. :) Mariya- Motion (J-pop) First up is Motion by Mariya . She is a Japanese model, actress and singer from Fukuoka Prefecture. Her full name is Mariya Nishuichi (or Nishiuchi Mariya in Japanese terms) and she is the younger sister of Hiromui Nishuici who was a member of J-pop group BeForU .* Mariya launched her singing career in August 2014 with the single Love Evolution, and her other singles are 7 Wonders, Arigato Forever, Save Me, Chu Chu/Hello, Believe and Motion. She is one of the top models in Japan, and has won several Best New Artist Awards with her music. Motion came out in February 2017 and was Mariya's 7th single. I believe she is more of...

 This week's video is A&B, a brand-new release from American singer Jhené Aiko . The title is short for Above And Beyond, which is on her latest album Chilombo Deluxe, released back in July. The video for A&B was uploaded on 13th November. I'm not sure it's an actual single though. Please note that the song is explicit. :)    Check out these posts for more songs from Chilombo: Features P*$$Y FAIRY (OTW): https://starsparklex.blogspot.com/2020/01/new-music-for-2020-part-1.html Summer 2020: https://starsparklex.blogspot.com/2020/07/weekly-music-video_22.html

American singer Ariana Grande just released a new album. It's her 6th studio album and is called Positions. It was a surprise to many that she was bringing out a new one! She made the announcement only 2 weeks before the release . Positions was released on 30th October and consists of 14 tracks. The lead single is also called positions (written in lower case) and came out on 23rd October, debuting at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 Chart. It's currently No. 1 in the UK as well. The 2nd single 34 + 35 was released the same day as the album. pov has also charted. Positions is a good album, similar to Ariana's previous releases. Good R'n'B songs with pop, trap and hip hop elements. My favourite tracks are positions, 34 + 35, off the table (with The Weeknd), safety net (featuring Ty Dolla $ign) and nasty. motive which features Doja Cat  , six thirty and west side are is growing on me as well. So here are my fave songs. Most are audios, but I will update the post as and...

This week's video is Forever by American singer FLETCHER . Her full name is Cari Elise Fletcher and she is from New Jersey. FLETCHER was a contestant on the first season of The X Factor USA and released her debut single War Paint in June 2015. The song was released digitally and was very successful on Spotify. In September 2016 FLETCHER brought out her debut EP Finding Fletcher, which was released independently. She signed to Capitol Records in 2018. Her breakthrough song was Undrunk, which came out in January 2019 and was her first single to chart. To date FLETCHER has released 2 more EPs- you ruined new york city for me (2019) and The S(ex) Tapes (2020), and her singles include War Paint, Undrunk, Wasted Love, I Believe You (in support of sexual assault survivors) and her latest, Bitter with Kito and Trevor Daniel , which came out in September. Forever came out in March. Check out FLETCHER's newest single Bitter here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VDriZp6dTic   For more o...

Time for another C-pop Saturday post! I've been trying to make it more of a regular feature this year. Last year I did 5 posts. Here is the 5th one for 2020. :)     Gen Neo- Why We Waiting In September I featured Why We Waiting, a Chinese song by Singaporean singer Gen Neo, in my New Music Releases post. Check it out here: https://starsparklex.blogspot.com/2020/10/new-music-releases.html   Gen Neo and Fei- Will You Won't You (Nihuibuhui) This is an older song by Gen Neo and featuring Chinese singer Fei , former member of Korean/Chinese girlband missA (now disbanded). I believe it's called Will You Won't You in English. The Chinese name listed on YouTube is Nihuibuhui. This is a chilled Chinese R'n'B song. It came out in September 2018.   Visit this post for Hello, Fei's song with Jackson Wang:  https://starsparklex.blogspot.com/2019/02/c-pop-saturday.html   Victoria Song- Up to me Here is Up to me, the first single from Victoria Song's debut solo album...

Today's video is Love Killa, the new single by Korean boyband MONSTA X (also written in lower case as Monsta X). It is the lead single from their 3rd studio album Fatal Love. Both album and single were released on 2nd November.      It's actually 5 years this month since I first posted a MONSTA X video as a Weekly Music Video! (One Love, one of my favourite songs). Seems weird that it's been so long, lol. How long have you been a fan? :) Update 7/12/20 : there is now a Japanese version of Love Killa. It will be the boys' 8th single in Japan and comes out on 16th December. Want more MONSTA X? Check out these posts: One Love audio: https://starsparklex.blogspot.com/2015/11/weekly-music-video_25.html BTS and MONSTA X Videos: https://starsparklex.blogspot.com/2019/11/bts-and-monsta-x-videos.html Post about their debut English album ALL ABOUT LUV: https://starsparklex.blogspot.com/2020/02/monsta-x-debut-english-album.html Features FANTASIA:  https://starsparklex.blogspot...

It's almost Halloween! (Or Hallowe'en; since the name comes from All Hallow's Even , "Hallowe'en" is an alternative way of spelling it).  It's  tomorrow (Saturday 31st October) and so it's time for the yearly themed post. :) Back in 2016 I wrote a post called Hallowe'en Faves + Round-up, which was about my favourite Hallowe'en/scary things and also a round-up of previous spooky themed posts on them both (Hallowe'en and scary subjects in general). Check it out here: https://starsparklex.blogspot.com/2016/10/halloween-faves-round-up.html For 2020 I'm doing another round-up of newer posts, plus featuring some new things. :)   First up here are the posts from 2017 onwards: More Hallowe'en Films + TV (2017): https://starsparklex.blogspot.com/2017/10/more-halloween-films.html Features Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark + It: Chapter Two (not a Hallowe'en post): https://starsparklex.blogspot.com/2019/08/upcoming-horror-films-scary-stor...