Star Sparkle Blog

Back in 2021 I wrote a post called International Girl Groups, which featured African and Asian girl bands- Angolan girl group Afrikanas and Thai girl group G-TWENTY respectively. You can read the post here: https://starsparklex.blogspot.com/2021/04/international-girl-groups.html   Today I'm doing a follow-up, featuring  a couple more groups, African (South African) gil group Group Chat and Asian (Thai) girl group Wizzle. Group Chat   Group Chat is a  girl group from South Africa. It consists of 3 members- Ney (real name Sinentlanhla Sotshongani), Nolo M (Mmalehlohonolo Mokena) and Fatima Tembe (Fatso). The girls were chosen through auditions in summer 2022 to join The African Gong Group (TAGG), an independent record label based in Johannesburg. Group Chat released their debut single Jaiva in October 2022 and it inspired a viral dance on TikTok. Their music is a mixture of amapiano , Afropop and kwaito . To date they have released two more singles- Mama in January 2023 and Oops! (My

Today's video is Aperol Spritz by Australian rapper and singer The Kid LAROI . It's his latest single and was released on 12th October. Aperol Spritz comes after LAROI's summer singles GIRLS and BABY I'M BACK. He was rumoured to be releasing his 2nd album SUMMER ALBUM this year (a follow up to his debut THE FIRST TIME which came out in November 2023), but as yet there's no release date. GIRLS and BABY I'M BACK are on the deluxe edition of THE FIRST TIME, which was released in August. People have suggested that he may release SUMMER ALBUM during Australia's summer next month but nothing is confirmed. I'll keep a look out for updates! Aperol Spritz  is an R'n'B/pop song with a good beat and catchy chorus. It's thought to be about LAROI's girlfriend , Canadian singer Tate McRae and her ex-boyfriend (how her ex isn't as good as him). The couple confimed that they were dating in April and LAROI's previous single GIRLS was also said t

It's been a long time since I've written a post sharing Arabic music (apart from Weekly Music Videos). The last one was Turkish and Arabic Songs back in 2017! So today I'm sharing some newer Arabic songs, from the past couple of years.  :) I've actually had this in mind for several months but taken a while to get round to it, lol. I went to my belly dance's group hafl a (dance party) last month which it partly inspired me to start it, but it still took me a while to finish the post!   Jhoome Jo Pathan Arabic Version (Pathaan) I shared this last year, in my New Music for 2023- Various post. It's an Arabic version of the original Hindi song Jhoome Jo Pathaan from the Bollywood film Pathaan , which was released in January 2023.  For more on the movie and to watch the music video for the original song, visit my New Music for 2023- Bollywood post: https://starsparklex.blogspot.com/2023/01/new-music-for-2023-bollywoodasian.html The Arabic version is sung by Moroccan

This week's video is UNHHH by French born American singer Lolo Zouaï . It's from her latest EP Please Hold which was released on 13th September. The EP consists of two tracks- UNHHH and jetlag.  UNHHH is a pop/R'n'B song with a sultry vibe and my favourite of the two new songs (although I like jetlag as well). This is the official audio and was uploaded in September. It's kind of like a visualiser and the lyrics are written in the info box on YouTube, which is good.    Listen to jetlag here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F2F6SUDJikQ&t=0s   Want more Lolo? Check out this post: Music video for Give Me a Kiss (released in 2022), plus links to more songs: https://starsparklex.blogspot.com/2022/06/weekly-music-video_22.html

Sorry the 2nd post is later this week, I wasn't well so got behind with it. :)   I've previously written several K-pop in Public (dance covers of Korean songs performed in public places) special edition posts, focusing on themes such as male K-pop stars' routines or based around one groups' dances . Today's K-pop in Public post is a solo edition, featuring dances to songs by solo artists. :)    KPOP IN PUBLIC (CHUNG HA)-PLAY CHANGMO Dance Cover by B-Wild Back in August 2020 I wrote my very first K-pop in Public post! One of the videos I included was a  dance cover of solo singer (and former member of girl group I.O.I) CHUNG HA's's single PLAY featuring Changmo.  It's by Vietnamese dance team B-Wild. Visit the post to see it: https://starsparklex.blogspot.com/2020/08/k-pop-in-public-dances.html MMMH by Kai Covers My 1st K-pop in Public- Boys' Edition! post from 2021 features several dance covers of MMMH,  by Kai from Korean/Chinese boy band EXO and

It's Hallowe'en tomorrow, so today's video is spooky themed! This is The Front Person by Thai girl group RedSpin . The Front Person was the group's 5th single and was released in March/April 2021. (I think the single came out in March but the video was uploaded in April) It's a slower, R'n'B style song. RedSpin was still a 6-member group at the time, since it was before FahProud and Diary left. The video features a man trying to exorcise ghosts (played by the RedSpin members) from a haunted house!  Click "Subtitles/closed captions" for English subtitles! :) For more RedSpin check out these links: Asian Groups- Filipino Boy Band + Thai Girl Group (also features 1ST.ONE): https://starsparklex.blogspot.com/2024/02/asian-groups-filipino-boy-band-thai.html Music video for their latest single (Don't Say) (Lonely Vibes Video)- released in September:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rwSEZaInU9M   And for more Hallowe'en vibes, check out last weeke

Halloween (or Hallowe'en, the alternative spelling which I like) is coming up again, so it's time for my yearly post! It's next Thursday (31st October). I also celebrate the pagan festival Samhain on the same day.  In 2022 and 2023 I wrote posts called Selection of Hallowe'en Treats! and More Hallowe'en Treats! , where I shared a variety of past posts and videos related to scary subjects (plus a couple of new videos). This year I thought I would do a post in a similar vein (no pun intended!), featuring music and TV that fits the spooky theme. They are listed by genre. :) Music/Film John Lindahl's CULT CLASSIQUE Last year American singer John Lindahl released John Lindahl's CULT CLASSIQUE, his first independent album and third overall. It's a concept album accompanied by a film/miniseries, which tells the story of serial killer JOHNNY (another, darker side of John). The character is inspired by those from classic horror movies and the project is a ho

It's spooky season (the lead-up to Hallowe'en), so this week's video fits the theme! It's Taras from the recent Bollywood film Munjya (released in June).  It's a horror comedy about a young man called Bittal (played by Abhay Verma ) who goes to his native village. While there he uncovers a family secret and also comes across the Munyja, a vengeful spirit who wants to get married! The spirit's plan involves Bittal's childhood friend Bela ( Sharvari ), who he is secretly in love with. Bittal must do what he can to stop the Munjya. The film is inspired by Indian folkore and the legend of the Munjya . It's part of the Maddock Supernatural Universe series of movies, which also consists of Stree (2018), Bhediya (2022) and most recently Stree 2 (the Stree sequel which was released in August). Out of those films I've seen Stree so far, which I quite liked.  The Taras video features Sharvari. The playback singers are American singer Jasmine Sandlas

 Sorry the 2nd post is later this week, I didn't manage to finish it yesterday. :) Christina Aguilera (one of my favourite singers) is currently celebrating the 25th anniversary of her self-titled debut album. She released Christina Aguilera on 24th August 1999 in the US. It wasn't released in the UK till October though and the edition I have lists the release as 2000. I can't find the original CD but it's likely a UK/European edition and maybe a newer release. Christina launched her career aged 17, with the song Reflection from the 1998 Disney film Mulan and then went on to release Christina Aguilera the following year. The album (consisting of largely pop songs) was very successful, debuting at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart (also doing well internationally) and was certified platinum several times. It featured the hit singles Genie in a Bottle (the lead single and first one from the album), What a Girl Wants, I Turn to You and Come On Over (All I Want Is You). Ba

Today's video is OTNW by Singaporean singer Gen Neo . It's his latest single and comes after his two recent singles Tell The Truth and Like I Do (released in August and September). All three are from his upcoming EP Push & Pull, which is set for release on 8th November. There is all a documentary about the journey to bringing out the EP. As with Tell The Truth and Like I Do, OTNW is an R'n'B song. The title stands for "On These Nights We" and it's about escaping the world with your partner, leaving everything behind and just focusing on each other. Gen describes "the perfect soundtrack for travellers looking to add a romantic, intimate vibe to their content". Nice and relaxed track. :) OTNW was released on 9th October. The video has the lyrics onscreen.      Watch the videos for the previous singles at the links below:  Official video for Tell The Truth: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=STcUIf_cP4c Lyric video for Know U Like I Do:  https://ww

There's some good music coming out lately, so I thought it was time for another New Music Releases post! I've written two other ones this year, in May and August . I'm featuring a mix of genres, Western and Asian pop style. :)   Katy Perry feat. Doechii- I'M HIS, HE'S MINE First up is a new song by American singer Katy Perry . It's called I'M HIS, HE'S MINE and features rapper and singer Doechii . It actually came out on 13th September, so isn't really new but I just came across it on MTV recently! I'M HIS, HE'S MINE is the 3rd single from Katy's 7th studio album 143, which was released on 20th September. It follows previous singles WOMAN'S WORLD (released in July) and LIFETIMES (released in August). It's a dance ( house ) and pop song where Katy and Doechii warn other women off their men! The track samples Gypsy Woman (She's Homeless) , the 1991 single by American singer Crystal Waters .  Gypsy Woman was also sampled by bo

This week's video is Kef Halak by Romanian singer Stefania and Kosovar-Albanian singer Dhurata Dora . It was released in August. Kef Halak is an upbeat pop song with Arabic influences. I think the title translates as "How are you?" in English and the first line, "Kef halak, mi habibi?" is something like "How are you, my love/my baby?".  As with Stefania's song with Australian singer Faydee (see below), it's a multilingual song. The lyrics are a mix of Arabic, English and Albanian.    Stefania fan? Check out these links:  Music video for Ma bebe with Faydee (released in April(:  https://starsparklex.blogspot.com/2024/09/weekly-music-video_18.html   Her new single Dis Moi (reeased on 4th October):  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=faBr-Vd7w78   Or want more Dhurata?  Visit these links: GADJE, her 2022 single with Elvana Gjata (plus links to more music): https://starsparklex.blogspot.com/2024/03/weekly-music-video.html Official visualiser for NAL

Last year I wrote a couple of posts about the solo careers of the members of American girl group Fifth Harmony. You can read them below:  Fifth Harmony Girls' Solo Careers- Part 1: https://starsparklex.blogspot.com/2023/11/fifth-harmony-girls-solo-careers-part-1.html Fifth Harmony Girls' Solo Careers- Part 2: https://starsparklex.blogspot.com/2023/11/fifth-harmony-girls-solo-careers-part-2.html   I thought it would be cool to do one for the members of Korean boy band BTS as well. The group consists of  6 members- leader RM, formerly known as Rap Monster (real name Kim Nam Joon), SUGA (Min Yoon Gi), Jin (full name Kim Seok Jin), j-hope (Jung Ho-seok), Jimin (Park Ji Min), V (Kim Tae Hyung) and Jungkook (Jeon Jung Kook).* Since making their debut in 2013 and rising to fame in South Korea, they have since gone on to achieve global success. They are probably one of the most well-known Korean boy bands (and groups in general) internationally. BTS are not currently releasing music