It’s finally here! Jessie J (26), Ariana Grande (21) and Nicki Minaj (31) have just dropped their sexy new music video for Bang Bang! The divas bring you a fantastic, colourful, retro-inspired street party!
After the trio opened the MTV VMAs with a sizzling hot performance of the song – the first time they had performed it live – they premiered the music video on MTV’s website and Vevo.
Directed by Hannah Lux Davis the video opens with a birds-eye view of Manhattan. “It’s me starting a street party that Ariana is then going to attend, and then Nicki turns up on an amazing type of transport, that I wont give away….And then we all party together on a rooftop and there’s loads of dancers, there’s a dance that you can learn that I made up.” Jessie J said to MTV News.
Interestingly, the cars are all vintage in this retro-inspired clip, but the fashion is modern. It’s a feel-good party visual for sure – talk about girl power!
Bang Bang debuted at Nº6 on the Billboard Hot 100 after it had premiered on July 29. The song is the first single from Jessie J’s upcoming album Alive. The chart topping hit can also be found on the deluxe version of Ariana Grande’s second album, My Everything.
This year’s VMAs won’t go down as one of the best in MTV history, but it will certainly be remembered for its touching and surprising moments. There were also quite a few screw ups, from production mistakes to fashion mistakes. A few days before the show, Iggy Azalea slipped offstage while performing “Fancy” at the MTV benefit concert, a 6-foot boa constrictor apparently bit a background dancer during a rehearsal for Nicki Minaj’s “Anaconda” performance, and rap king Suge Knight was injured in a shooting at a West Hollywood nightclub for an unofficial pre-VMA party hosted by Chris Brown.
We expected to see a lot last night at the 2014 VMA’s, held at The Forum in Inglewood, California – a place where year after year celebrities make the headline news worldwide for their “conservative” display of sex, drugs and rock n’ roll.
Although we didn’t expect Miley twerking with teddy bears this year, nor did we expect Kanye West interrupting Taylor Swift’s acceptance speech or Madonna French kissing Britney, we did expect to see smashing performances from Jessie J, Nicki Minaj, Iggy Azalea, Ariana Grande, Sam Smith, Taylor Swift, Usher, Maroon 5, Five Seconds of Summer and, of course, the incredible Queen Bey – who, by the way, pretty much owned the award ceremony !
We saw some HOT performances last night. We saw Miley gracefully step back from the limelight as she sent Jesse, a homeless youth, to accept her trophy “on behalf of the 1.6 million runaways and homeless youths in the United States who are starving, lost and scared for their lives” and to raise awareness and funds to end youth homelessness… Way to top last year’s performance, Miley! Yes, we caught a glimpse of Miley shed a few tears, we also caught Beyoncé bow down and wipe her tears away after Jay Z and Blue Ivy surprised their very own Queen with the MTV Michael Jackson Video Vanguard Award (A.K.A. the Lifetime Achievement Award). Yes, there were many very special moments.
Yet not much happened in the name of controversy at the 2014 VMA’s.
We review the highlights:
Ariana Grande, Nicki Minaj and Jessie J – “Break Free”, “Anaconda” and “Bang Bang”
Ariana Grande, Nicki Minaj and Jessie J opened the VMA’s by performing a crazy medley of “Break Free”, “Anaconda” and “Bang Bang”. There was definitely some twerking, jiggling, floor writhing, booty rubbing, twisting and turning involved in the trio’s performance and, despite the rumours, the last time we saw a live snake on a VMA stage was in 2001, during Britney’s performance of “I’m A Slave 4 U”. That’s right, there were no Anacondas dancing on stage last night. We did, however, see wardrobe changes and wardrobe malfunctions (although not as memorable as Janet Jackson’s slipup at the 2004 Super Bowl halftime show, alongside JT), when Nicki Minaj’s zipper wouldn’t zip after a 40 second costume change. She kept it professional though as she held her dress together with her hands, restricting her from further booty shaking.
Taylor Swift – “Shake It Off”
Taylor Swift performed her latest single “Shake It Off” for the first time on live television, surrounded by an ensemble of tuxedoed men. About half way through her performance, Swift almost jumped off a platform and into the arms of her strong handsome entourage. Instead of double-back-flipping off the stage (like we thought she would), she very sweetly got in touch with her dorky self and told the audience that safety comes first, even at the VMA’s, and walked down the platform.
Sam Smith – “Stay With Me”
Sam Smith did it again by bringing down the house and stunning the audience with his soulful, striped-down, piano-accompanied performance of “Stay With Me”. His performance brought back memories of Adele’s timeless and heartfelt performance of “Someone Like You” at the 2011 VMA’s. If the two Brits hadn’t touched our hearts by the time either of them had performed at the VMA’s, they sure left the stage leaving us wanting more. Smith’s simple and stunning vocal performances needed no dancers, stunts or special effects. It was perfect.
Iggy Azalea and Rita Ora – “Black Widow”
With a huge spider web as their backdrop, the sexy duo, dressed in matching diamond-studded, black sequined catsuits, brought their lyrics to life last night. They sure looked hot as they rocked the stage!
Beyoncé – a medley of her entire album!
Beyoncé outdid our expectations last night by delivering an incredible, stunning and perfect medley of tracks from her self-titled album, that took the world by storm earlier this year. Queen Bey avoided any wardrobe interruptions and owned the stage in a fabulously sexy bejewelled bodysuit throughout her 15-minute performance. Indeed, Beyoncé was having a blast up on that stage, giggling while singing the lyrics to “Drunk in Love”, as Jay Z and Blue Ivy gazed at her tirelessly from the sideline. Like always, she managed to get the crowd to stand up on their feet, to sing along, and to clap along, while she continued to deliver an outstanding performance, with a huge smile across her face.
To top it all off, Jay Z and Blue Ivy surprised “mama” on stage by presenting her with the Video Vanguard Award. Jay Z named her the “greatest living entertainer” and locking lips with the star, putting all divorce rumours to bed (thank you very much Mr. and Mrs. Carter!). What’s more, Blue added, “Good job, Mommy”, at which point the whole audience chanted out “Beyoncé, Beyoncé!” who, by the way, looked sensational as she held back her tears, bowed down to the crowd and said “I have nothing to say, but I’m filled with so much gratitude. I thank God for this moment. I love y’all so much. Blue Blue, I love you. My beloved, I love you. My fans, I love you. MTV, I love you. Goodnight”.
2014 MTV VMAs Winners Michael Jackson Video Vanguard Award: Beyonce Video of the Year:Miley Cyrus, “Wrecking Ball” Artist to Watch: Fifth Harmony, “Miss Movin’ On” Best Rock Video: Lorde, “Royals” Best Hip-Hop Video: Drake ft. Majid Jordan, “Hold On (We’re Going Home)” Best Pop Video: Ariana Grande ft. Iggy Azalea, “Problem” Best Male Video: Ed Sheeran ft. Pharrell, “Sing” Best Female Video: Katy Perry ft. Juicy J, “Dark Horse” Best Lyric Video: 5 Seconds of Summer, “Don’t Stop” Best Collaboration: Beyonce ft. Jay Z, “Drunk In Love” MTV Clubland Award: Zedd ft. Hayley Williams, “Stay the Night” Best Video With a Social Message: Beyonce, “Pretty Hurts” Best Cinematography: Beyonce, “Pretty Hurts” Best Editing: Eminem, “Rap God” Best Choreography: Sia, “Chandelier” Best Direction: DJ Snake & Lil Jon, “Turn Down For What” Best Art Direction: Arcade Fire, “Reflektor” Best Visual Effects:OK Go, “The Writing’s On the Wall”
Sean Connery, or to use his full name and title Sir Thomas Sean Connery has been polled “The Greatest Living Scot” and “Scotland’s Greatest Living National Treasure”. In 1989 he was called “The Sexiest Man Alive” by People Magazine and in 1999, at age 69, he was voted “Sexiest Man of the Century”. Today, he turns 84 and we’re celebrating by taking a moment to look at his Top 10 film performances.
Best known and loved for portraying the character James Bond and starring in 7 Bond films between 1962 and 1983 Sean Connery has had an incredible acting career. In 1988 he won an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor in the Untouchables. His film career also includes other classic films such as The Name of the Rose, The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, The Hunt for Red October, Highlander, Murder on the Orient Express, Dragonheart, and The Rock.
He began his theatrical career as an extra in the chorus. At 16 he enlisted in the Navy and a stomach ulcer shortened his military career and forced him to return home to Edinburgh. He spent a lot of his free time bodybuilding – which was eventually what started his acting career when in 1950 he came third in the bodybuilding competition – Mr Universe. From bit parts, modelling and chorus appearances he was finally cast in a major role opposite Lana Turner in Another Time, Another Place (1958). Four years later he uttered the famous, unforgettable words, “Bond, James Bond”, and he skyrocketed into fame as the suave, sophisticated secret agent, 007.
Sean Connery supports literally hundreds of charities. One fact that very few people know, he donated $1 million dollars from his Bond film ‘Diamonds Are Forever’ (virtually his entire salary from that film) to the Scottish International Educational Trust which he co-founded. He has always said “The three areas that are very important to me are: education, culture and Scotland.”
Star actor Denzel Washington once again returns to the big screen as a butt-whipping tough guy. Having been in similar skin for his previous works such as Man on Fire (2004) or the science fiction film The Book of Eli (2010), this time Denzel is the main hero of this action thriller called The Equalizer, set on the mean streets of New York.
The film is directed by Antoine Fuqua, the American director behind the highly acclaimed Training Day (2001). Starring stars such as Denzel Washington himself, Ethan Hawke who played in Shooter (2007) and Olympus Has Fallen (2013), alongside the likes of Gerard Butler and the unmistakable Morgan Freeman.
The plot is based on the popular television series of the same name, broadcast by CBS back in the mid-eighties. Robert McCall (Denzel Washington) is a retired CIA agent who lives a peaceful live, as far away from his violent and shady past, working in a department store.
However, witnessing the mean streets, full of violence, gangs, corruption and psychopaths stir up old habits. Our hero returns to his old ways as a protector of the defenseless. Everything gets complicated when a young prostitute, played by the young Chloë Moretz (Kick Ass, Carrie) and the hero cross paths with the leader of the Russian Mafia.
The script is the work of Richard Wenk, who has extensive experience in the action genre, with sucker-punching titles such as The Expendables 2 behind him. The cast, led by the aforementioned Denzel Washington and Chloë Moretz, is made up of Marton Csokas (The Bourne Supremacy), Melissa Leo (The Fighter) and Haley Bennett.
Apart from a complete beat-down, the trailer also showcases one of Eminem’s most recent works, a collaboration with Sia for the official soundtrack titled “Guts over Feat“.
The action-packed film will debut in major US theatres on the 26th of September, while most of Europe will have to await the 17th of October for their dose of action and suspense with the blockbuster-grade actor Denzel Washington.
The guys from Coldplay have just premiered a beautiful videoclip for True Love, the third single from their latest album Ghost Stories. With beautiful lyrics, melody and a sweet clip, it’s not surprising that they’ve once again managed to set themselves amongst the highest positions in worldwide hit charts!
The lovely single was released in early August, but only now can we enjoy the accompanying video. The two dreamers in the video are played by Chris Martin and Canadian actress Jessica Lucas, known for her roles on shows like CSI: Crime Scene Investigation (2008), Cloverfield (2008) produced by J.J. Abrams or the new version of Sam Raimi’s classic Evil Dead (2013).
Swedish director Jonas Akerlund, worked on the video, as well as Magic, the first single from Ghost Stories. True Love follows another great song, A Sky Full of Stars, where Gwyneth Paltrow’s dances around Sydney’s King Street cheering on and performing for over 250 fans.
The charming clip for True Love was recorded entirely in Los Angeles (California) and tells a story of two young strangers who have the same dream of becoming ballet dancers. Throughout the clip, we see the exact representation of how life treats us and all the difficulties the heroes have to overcome just to fit into society. However, magic, destiny and true love make all those unattainable dreams seem not so far away after all…
Czech artist Mila Fürstová created the beautiful artistic concept for the new videoclip. The dynamic of the clip is based on the heroes dressed in enormous fat suits, adding a touch of a tragicomedy aftertaste. Aside from this artistic clip, Mila has been collaborating with the band for all the art surrounding the image of Ghost Stories!
Consisting of 9 original songs, Ghost Stories is the 6th album released by Coldplay. Having topped the UK charts selling over 82,000 copies in one day and reaching the Nº1 spot in iTunes in over 100 countries, made this the fastest selling album worldwide so far in 2014!
“Ideals are peaceful… History is violent.” The first full length trailer for Fury has just been released and it’s pretty damn awesome. The footage is spectacular – it’s intense, gritty and totally badass!
Vince Mancini stated on Film Drunk – “As I’ve said on many occasions, you can never have too many movies about killing Nazis.” We agree with him!
Outnumbered and outgunned the Fury team face overwhelming odds in their deadly mission behind enemy lines. The US army sergeant Wardaddy, played by Brad Pitt, commands the Sherman tank Fury and it’s 5-man crew in their heroic attempts to strike at the heart of Nazi Germany.
Brad Pitt leads a star studded cast including Logan Lerman and Shia LaBeouf in this World War II epic. They live, breathe and fight in their tank. Lerman plays a very young soldier who has to learn to deal with the reality and turmoil of war. Of course, things get bloody and violent..According to the Director David Ayer, Shia Labeouf gives a performance that will shock you.
Fury will close the London Film Festival and open in the US on October 17.
The incredible music foursome, Clean Bandit, sky-rocketed straight out of Cambridge University and into the top music charts worldwide, selling over 3 million copies of their Nº 1 single “Rather Be” (Feat. Jess Glynne), and reaching over 100 million YouTube views, in less than six months.
In May this year, the band released their debut studio album New Eyes, made up of positive, tasteful and elegant songs that simply ooze talent, and that pretty much have made up the soundtracks to our lives this summer.
Clean Bandit have achieved their highly deserved success by working really hard, writing and producing everything themselves, including their own music videos. And they’ve been having a hell of a lot of fun along the way!
We caught up with Neil (strings) to talk about the band and their new album.
Your debut studio album “New Eyes” was released in May. How do you feel about the response so far? It’s been amazing. The best thing about having the album out is having people sing it back to you at gigs.
Did you ever envision you’d become this successful when you first embarked on this endeavour? Definitely not. When we started out we didn’t even really intend to record anything, so even before Rather Be had come out we had kind of surpassed all the ambitions we started out with.
You all met at Jesus College, Cambridge University and share a whole load of degrees between you. What were they? Grace studied Russian and Italian, Jack studied architecture and then spent a year at film school in Moscow, and I studied History and then did a masters in Economics.
Was music always on the cards for you? In a way, I suppose it was. I’ve been playing the violin since I was 2 and just never really stopped.
You’ve collaborated with an eclectic bunch of talented musicians, including folk singers, soul singers and rappers to create a fresh and unique blend of electronic music, baroque pop, house, funky and feel-good beats. How did you discover these new vocal talents? We found them all in very different ways. Eliza Shaddad, for example, was busking in the street in Shoreditch, and Jack heard her and managed to persuade her to come down to the studio with us. Love Ssega, on the other hand, was a friend of ours at university who we wrote some of our earliest tracks with.
What has been your craziest or worst experience as a band? Our very first festival appearance was at the Secret Garden Party in Cambridgeshire, and we were all pretty excited. When we got there, it emerged that they had hired us solely to play the blind date theme tune as an in house band…
You produce all your music videos yourselves – who’s to thank for the brilliance behind the conceptual, visual and artistic aspects of your videos? Jack is! Most of his ideas start off as jokes, and then everyone else takes them seriously. Before long they get realised and become the central ideas behind each video.
Your polygon logo creeps up in all your videos. Trying to find them is almost like playing a game of “Where’s Wally”. What do the symbols mean? Are you trying to brainwash your fans with hidden messages? (Haha) Yeah but those messages are more subtle and insidious! Our logo was originally intended as a blueprint for four stringed instruments, but we never got round to having them made and the configuration of the shapes just stuck to us.
You’re all very closely connected. Clean Bandit is made up of two brothers (Luke and Jack Patterson), a couple (Jack Patterson and Grace Chatto), and two childhood friends (Grace Chatto and Neil Amin-Smith). Who is the peacekeeper? Our tour manager, James. None of us for sure!
Which one of you came up with the name Clean Bandit and what does it mean? When Grace used to live in Russia, one of her friends used to call her this Russian expression, which translates directly as Clean Bandit but actually meant something like total bastard. We thought it was a funny title and adopted it for our own.
What has been your biggest challenge to date and how did you overcome it? We had a gig at the top of a mountain in Austria and our bus couldn’t get up there. But James our tour manager managed to persuade them to turn on the ski lift after hours to transport us and all our instruments up.
Who are your biggest musical influences? Radiohead, Hudson Mohawke and Shakira.
If you could collaborate with any one of your idols, dead or alive, who would it be? Stevie Wonder
Do you have any advice for up-and-coming bands trying to break into the industry? Do as much of the non-musical side of things for yourself, for as long as you can.
What’s next? Touring the world and writing our second album.
Thank you Neil – hat’s off to you all – you took the world by storm without even intending to! We’re looking forward to seeing you perform on September 3rd at the iTunes Festival in London!
Foo Fighters have just shared the full trailer for their upcoming HBO series and 8th studio album – Sonic Highways. Dave Grohl said “This is not just the making of our most ambitious album, this is a love letter to the history of American music.”
Each episode of the series will chronicle the group as they record a different song in 8 different US cities — Chicago, Austin, Nashville, Los Angeles, Seattle, New Orleans, Washington, DC, and New York. In each city the band explores the rich musical history before recording a song that is inspired by the time they spent there.
There are interviews with Pharrell Williams, Willie Nelson, Dolly Parton and even the President Barack Obama himself. During his interview the President said “American music is about rejecting what is already there to create something entirely new…”
The whole show is a “musical map of America” and Dave explains the reasoning behind the idea “I really believe that the environment that you write and record an album influences the musical result.”
HBO premieres the series on Friday October 17 at 11pm (ET/PT) with the remaining 7 episodes running on subsequent Fridays at the same time.
The album, Sonic Highways, will be released on November 10 via Roswell Records. You can pre-order on iTunes or via the band’s website.
Sonic Highways Tracklist:
01. Something From Nothing (4:49)
02. The Feast and the Famine (3:50)
03. Congregation (5:12)
04. What Did I Do?/God As My Witness (5:44)
05. Outside (5:15)
06. In the Clear (4:04)
07. Subterranean (6:08)
08. I Am a River (7:09)
A few shows have already been confirmed in promotion of the album including a huge UK show at Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park in September, a headlining performance at Las Vegas’ Life is Beautiful Festival in October, and their first-ever tour in South Africa, which is scheduled for December.
SHOWTIME! We continue our series of ‘In Performance at the White House’ – a series of concerts created to showcase the rich fabric of American culture in the exclusive setting of the nation’s most famous home. To see last weeks post, Women of Soul, click here.
Tap a video title to open it in Creation 5.
Memphis Soul
This incredible show was taped in the East Room of the White House and celebrates the timeless classics of Memphis Soul. Hosted by President and Mrs. Obama, the all-star concert includes performances by Alabama Shakes, William Bell, Eddie Floyd, Steve Cropper, Ben Harper, Queen Latifah, Cyndi Lauper, Joshua Ledet, Sam Moore, Charlie Musselwhite, Mavis Staples and Justin Timberlake, with Booker T. Jones as music director and band leader.
The concert honored the memorable soul sounds from the mid- to late-1960s that came from Memphis, Tennessee and pays homage to Memphis, a segregated city in the 1960s where many whites and blacks nonetheless came together to make soulful music, a mix of gospel and potent rhythmic grooves — known today as “Memphis Soul.” President Obama said in his opening speech “It’s the music that challenged us to accept new ways of thinking with four timeles words ‘Can you dig it?’”
Download these shows and add them to your music library This is part of a 10-week series that we will be running on our blog, with the music videos conveniently separated into individual performances so that you can save and download your favourite artists, or the whole show if your prefer. Creation 5’s YouTube feature lets you download videos so you can watch offline when you’re travelling and enjoy great music on-the-go. Don’t forget that you can download Creation 5’s YouTube In-app purchase absolutely FREE, which normally costs €4.49 ($4.99), as we currently have a promotion running in celebration of hitting 400,000 downloads on the App Store.
01. Intro [President’s speech] 02. Sam Moore & Joshua Ledet – Soul Man 03. Mavis Staples – I’ll Take You There 04. Justin Timberlake & Steve Cropper – (Sittin’ On) The Dock of the Bay 05. Eddie Floyd – Knock on Wood 06. Alabama Shakes, Steve Cropper & Booker T – Born Under a Bad Sign 07. Queen Latifah – I Can’t Stand the Rain 08. William Bell – You Don’t Miss Your Water 09. Joshua Ledet – When a Man Loves a Woman 10. Ben Harper & Charlie MusselWhite – I’m In I’m Out And I’m Gone 11. Sam Moore – When Something is Wrong With My Baby 12. Cyndi Lauper & Charlie Musselwhite – Try a Little Tenderness 13. Finale, Full Cast – In The Midnight Hour
The music for HBO’s fantasy Game of Thrones TV series is composed by one of the greatest film composers, Ramin Djawadi. Yes, that’s right, the man behind the Iron Man theme, and who has also written scores for Pacific Rim, Prison Break and Person of Interest.
Click any of the video titles to view them in Creation 5!
The Game of Thrones’ Main Title has become very popular and is recognised by almost anyone who knows anything about TV. Due to its popularity, the main theme has been covered many times and in several genres, including Jazz, Indie, Classical, 80’s, and has even been sung by goats!
‘Originality’ is an understatement. See just how creative one can be and check out the many ways in which one can approach a song and reinterpret it with complete ‘originality’.
Enjoy a medieval and non-medieval afternoon of Game of Thrones delights!
“In a world where summers span decades and winters can last a lifetime, the crown of Westeros comes with a price. Betrayal, lust, intrigue and supernatural forces shake the four corners of the Kingdom, from the scheming south and the savage eastern lands, to the frozen north and the ancient Wall that protects the realm from the darkness beyond. Kings and queens, knights and renegades, liars and noble men vie for power in the bloody struggle for the Iron Throne”.
The New Orleans Swamp Donkeys perform the theme song to Game of Thrones at the legendary B.B. King’s Blues Club in Times Square, NYC. This one is a particularly good rendition of the song. Let’s get jazzy!
“This just happened…” the Scottish synth-pop trio wrote, after recording the Game of Thrones theme song on a smartphone camera. They were bored in the studio and started playing it. “It wasn’t a cover. It was a joke!” says the band. Imagine how amazing it could sound if they really did record it for real!
Eargasm alert! This cello rock cover of the Game of Thrones theme is a beautiful and powerful interpretation, with wonderful sounds. I might even like this more than the original version!
It’s incredible just how many sounds one can produce with one human voice, one violin and a little bit of foot stomping. This cover is glorious. It lifts you up above the ground and has you floating amongst the clouds, across the mountaintops.
So much effort was put into composing the music and recording the video to this cover. These guys capture the essence of the Game of Thrones theme and add their very own style to it.
Check out what you can do with just two harps and one audio tape. This cover of the Game of Thrones theme portrays the medieval and fantasy-like atmosphere of the fantasy series. It’s beautiful and idyllic. A very fitting video, filmed around a ruined castle, where the blonde twins look like they’ve come straight out of one of the scenes. Indeed, they “serenade the 7 kingdoms”. The Harp Twins (as you may know them) have previously performed for President Obama, at the President Lincoln Bicentennial Celebration.
This cover is actually incredible and requires a lot of talent and a hell of a lot of practice. This is awesome! It’s enchanting and pretty and mysterious. We want more!
