Star Sparkle Blog

A few artists I like have some new releases out, so here are some new songs for the end of summer! :)   Katy B- Under My Skin First up is a new song by British singer Katy B . I was surprised but happy to see that she has a new video, because it's been ages since she's released anything! I believe her last album was Honey back in 2016. It's actually 10 years now since she released her debut album! The single is called Under My Skin and the video premiered on 12th August.  BANKS- Skinnydipped This is the latest single from American singer BANKS . It's called Skinydipped and is about finally letting go of something that you kept going back to in the past.  Knowing your worth and shedding your skin. It follows the release of The Devil in June, so hopefully we can expect a new album soon! Skinnydipped came out on 25th August. Update 15/9/21: A lyric video has now been posted. Watch it here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=trT_v1-5sKU   Justin Bieber, Skrillex and Don To...

 Sorry the Weekly Music Video is late this week; I haven't been well. :) This week's video is Worst (I Assume), the new single by American singer JoJo . It's from her upcoming album trying not to think about it (written all in lower case), due out on 10th October. The song is about putting your guard up in a new relationship and assuming the worst, due to bad experiences in the past. At the end of video there is a message about how we try our best to cope with things, although not always in ways that are good for us. And JoJo encourages us to be kind to ourselves. :) The Worst (I Assume) music video premiered on 20th August. Please note that the song is explicit. :)   Visit this post for Creature of Habit, another recent song of JoJo's : https://starsparklex.blogspot.com/2021/05/new-jojo-video.html

Sorry the 2nd post is later this week; I didn't manage to get it finished yesterday. :) Something a bit different today! In the music world songs often get "recycled" or certain music inspires new songs. I think it's cool how music is interpreted in a new way. Here are a few songs I like that are covers, or sampled older songs. In most cases I hadn't heard the original before the newer one, so it was good to discover something new. :) Note: I've listed the original songs first, apart from Sugababes' single, which sampled more than one.   Summer Madness by Kool & The Gang The instrumental Summer Madness by American soul/jazz/disco band Kool & the Gang is a very popular song for sampling! It was on their 1974 album Light of Worlds and released in 1975 as a B-side to the single Spirit of the Boogie. It's been called one of the most sampled R'n'B compositions of all time and according to Wikipedia , it was estimated to have been sampled 14...

This week's video is Rider by American singer Mereba . Her full name is Marian Mereba  (she goes by her surname professionally) and she has Ethiopian and African American heritage. As a child Mereba lived in different places due to her family's jobs, which exposed her to a variety of people. In her teen years she lived in Greensboro, North Carolina and also spent some living in Ethiopia where her dad is from. She is now based in Atlanta, Georgia. Mereba started performing in the indie music scene and went on to self-release her debut EP Room For Living in February 2013 (using her full name). In June 2014, she released her debut single September. She signed to Interscope Records in 2018 and released the singles Black Truck and Planet U, followed by her debut album The Jungle Is The Only Way Out in February 2019. Her music is a blend of R'n'B, folk and hip hop. On her Instagram she describes it as "medicine music". To date Mereba has released severa...

Since I'm a fan of both J-pop and K-pop, I thought today I would do a post featuring new videos from both genres. It's been a while since I did that, not since my 2019 round-up , I think! I've called it New(ish) because (like last year's New(ish) J-pop Videos ), some are older. Includes double features for a couple of artists! :) RIRI- Wheel of Fortune First up is Wheel of Fortune, by Japanese singer RIRI . The title refers to the Wheel of Fortune tarot card and how it represents a turning point, and having the power to create your own destiny. RIRI was inspired to write the song after the recent changes in the world, which have led her to believe that we are in control of our destiny. Wheel of Fortune is an English language song (there is also a Japanese version) and was released in May. Watch the video for the Japanese version here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EXe4gd7vCDw RIRI- Luv DejaVu And here is RIRI's latest single Luv Dejavu which came out on 21st July....

Today's video is Justin Bieber by British rapper and singer B Young . It's from his debut album Differences which was released on 30th July. While Justin Bieber is not actually about the Canadian singer (it's about being attracted to and intrigued by a woman), B Young name checks him in the song, along with American singer Ariana Grande (I presume) and Nigerian singer WizKid ! The video was uploaded on 29th July. It features some majestic visuals of the desert landscape!  Please note that the song is explicit. :)   Read more about Differences and listen to all tracks here: https://grmdaily.com/b-young-differences-album/ And watch the video for Come Alive (also from the album) here: https://starsparklex.blogspot.com/2021/06/weekly-music-video_23.html

I'm feeling more inspired than last week and thought it was time for a new K-pop in Public post (almost exactly a year after the first one!). So, I'm sharing a variety of dance covers today! :)   (KPOP IN PUBLIC ONE TAKE) Kai (Mmmh)- LB Dance Project DANCE COVER First up is a cover of Mmmh, the debut solo single by Kai (member of EXO and SuperM ). It's by LB Dance Project who are from Vietnam. They cover V-pop (Vietnamese) dances as well as K-pop.   There are several "Kais" in this one- Loki, Kah and Zun! The video premiered in January and was shot in one take, as the title indicates! :)    Follow LB Project at these links:  FB page: https://www.facebook.com/BestEverProJect YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCxKzrpUzTsEcGf8pgX5P-Zw   I previously featured some other covers of MMMH in my K-pop in Public- Boys' Edition post in May. Check it out here:  https://starsparklex.blogspot.com/2021/05/k-pop-in-public-boys-edition.html   V...

Sorry there wasn't a 2nd post last week, I was having a lot of trouble with my internet and also lacking inspiration in general! Just feeling down. So that made it hard to get things done. But I hope you enjoy today's post. :)   This week's video is Better Without You by American rock/alternative band Evanescence . It's from their 5th album The Bitter Truth which was released in March. The album is their first one featuring original music since 2011's Evanescence .  Better Without You is the 5th single from The Bitter Truth and was released in March. The video premiered on 16th April. Please note that the video has a photo sensitivity warning. :)   Evanescence and Dutch band Within Temptation have been planning a joint European tour, but it has been rescheduled a couple of times due to the coronavirus pandemic . It's now planned to start in spring next year. Visit the Worlds Collide Tour site to keep updated: https://www.worldscollidetour.net/   Evanescence fan...