Star Sparkle Blog

Time for another instalment in my semi-regular series C-pop Saturday! Today I'm sharing mainly a mix of C-pop and R'n'B:) Ally Shen- Secret First up is Secret by Ally Shen . She is a Taiwanese singer who has grown up in Germany and Switzerland. She is fluent in Chinese, German and English. Ally started out as a model aged 15 , which led to her catching the eye of a music producer and becoming a girl group trainee. She made her music debut in April 2020, as part of the Taiwanese girl group PER6IX . They released a digital single and two EPs but their debut was disrupted by the pandemic. They don't  appear to be active currently. During her break from PER6IX, Ally concentrated on songwriting and music , as well as college. She then decided to focus on an entertainment career. In 2023 she took part in the Taiwanese reality show NEXT GIRLZ , where contestants competed for a spot in a new girl group. She was one of the winners and became a member of Twinkle Black . As well a...

This week's video is Shut Up by American singer Skylar Simone . Her full name is Skylar Star Stecker and her dad  is former American football player Aaron Stecker . Skylar started her singing career as a pre-teen, by performing the American National Anthem at sports events. As of 2015 she had sung it more than 100 times . In 2013 she started uploading cover videos on YouTube and went on to release the digital album Uncovered, Vol. 1 in June 2014. She released her debut single Rooftop in June 2015 and her debut studio album This Is Me in September 2015,  aged 13 (under Cherrytree Records ). Another version of the album came out the following June, called This Is Me: Signature Version.  After becoming an independent artist, Skylar released her 2nd album Redemption in March 2019. She has also brought out 4 EPs- Uncovered (2014), Firecracker (2015), Earth Signs (2021) and Shiver (2024).  Her singles include Sweet Dreams with JX Riders (a cover of the 1983 Eurythmics s...

It's been ages since I've written a general dance videos post (I think not since last year's round-up ). I've mostly done K-pop in Public or V-pop and P-pop etc. this year. So today I'm sharing some videos from a variety of genres. :)  [KPOP IN PUBLIC | UK] KISS OF LIFE- STICKY- Ngọc Đầu bảo nè First up,  some K-pop in Public! This is a cover of Sticky by Korean girl group KISS OF LIFE . It came out in July and has a lovely, summer video. I'm already missing summer!  The cover is uploaded on the channel of Ngọc Đầu bảo nè, who is based in the UK. The video premiered on 12st August and the dancers are Han, Janet, LouLou, Felix and Zoey. They did the cover with an extra member(5 instead of 4) which is cool!   For more K-pop dances by Ngọc Đầu bảo nè and friends, subscribe to her/their YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@totallynugus/videos   K-POP IN PUBLIC | ONE TAKE 'STICKY' Kiss of Life Cover by CHOOM DANCE CREW Here is another cover of Sticky. ...

Today's video is Ma bebe by STEFANIA X FAYDEE . Stefania is a Romanian singer and Faydee is Australian. Stefania's full name is Cristina Stefania. She was born in Galati, Romania and studied at the Dimitrie Cuclin High School of Arts, before moving to Bucharest in 2015, to pursue her passion for dancing. She kicked off her music career by releasing a cover of the song Nentori by Albanian singer Arilena Ara . (For more on Stefania's journey, check out her YouTube bio .) Random fact: Arilena was set to be Albania's entry in the 2020 Eurovision Song Contest , before it was cancelled due to the pandemic . Arilena discovered Stefania's cover and decided to promote her. Stefania then made her Romanian musical debut with the single Drinking About You in September 2017. She released her first album ALPHA in September 2022. Stefania's other singles/songs include Prea Tarziu, Bad Boy, Anni mei, Te sun eu and How I Love It with Romanian musician Cezar Guna . Her most rec...

Sorry the 2nd post is later this week, I didn't manage to get it finished yesterday. :) I'm starting a new series called Random Albums, where I feature an album I own. I've actually had the idea for ages, since last year! lol. Today I'm focusing on Complex Simplicity, the debut album by American singer Teedra Moses . :)  Teedra started out as an assistant wardrobe stylist to celebrities, before becoming a singer. She began her music career by signing to TVT Records in 2002, going on to release her debut US single You'll Never Find (A Better Woman) featuring rapper Jadakiss in November 2003. The following June she brought out her 2nd single Be Your Girl. She released Complex Simplicity in August 2004 in the US and the following year in the UK. The album was largely produced by Paul Poli, with all tracks co-written by Teedra herself (and many also written by Paul). It features her first  two singles You'll Never Find and Be Your Girl as well as a 3rd, You Bette...

Today's video is Piritu by Peruvian American singer A.CHAL . It was released back in February. Piriru is from A.CHAL's 3rd album  ESPÍRITU (Spanish for "Spirit") which was also released in February. It was his first album since leaving his record label Epic Records and taking a two-year hiatus from music, to work out which direction he wanted to go in next.  Other singles from the album include Saico, Walk On Everything and Quicksand. ESPÍRITU was inspired by A.CHAL connecting to his Peruvian roots (he was born in Trujillo in Peru before moving to the US as a child). His musical inspirations also include psychedelic 70s rock, hip hop and 60s boleros . Piritiu is basically the title track, where A.CHAL sings about having "the spirit", in a mixture of English and Spanish. The video has the lyrics on screen. I like the dreamy, relaxed vibe of the song. Please note that it contains explicit lyrics. :)  Listen to ESPÍRITU at the links below:  Spotify: https:...

Time for another instalment in my Asian Groups series! Today I'm featuring Thai-Korean girl group Ar3NA . While I've shared music from Korean and Thai groups before, this is my first time featuring a "crossover" girl group! :)   AR3NA was formed by Thai record label and entertainment agency 411 Entertainment . According to their Kprofile , they also trained under the South Korean company THEBLACKLABEL before debuting. They are a 3 member group, made up of  JE T'AIME (real name Namon Sawatyanont) PRIM (Disara Diskul Na Ayutthaya) and MINSEO (Ko Minseo or Minseo Ko in Western terms). JE T'AIME and PRIM  are Thai and MINSEO is Korean. AR3NA debuted in March 2021 with the digital single Come Get It Now. They have released two more digital singles since then- Move On in June 2021 and ACTION in December 2023. They also uploaded a  video of their cover versions of Ariana Grande's Santa Tell Me and Jose Feliciano's Feliz Navidad (Merry Christmas) last C...

This week's video is Crazy by VINVAE. She is a singer/solo artist. I'm not sure where she's from (maybe Nigeria?) but I think she's based in Canada currently. I can't find much information on her official social media accounts, but I'll update as and when I find out more about her. :)  On her Spotify page , VINVAVE describes her music as an "immersive experience" which "transcends  genre boundaries". In June she released her debut album WHEN MY LIFE BEGAN. She has another release called The V Echoes which came out last November, but maybe that's an EP. Crazy is from WHEN MY LIFE BEGAN. It's a love song and kind of a continuation of Muse, an earlier track on the album. It's about VINVAE singing the praises of her lover and how she's crazy about them. The video was uploaded on 9th August. I randomly came across it on YouTube and like VINVAE's soft voice and chilled vibe. :) Her red dress too! This is the official performanc...