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...