Lorde has finally unleashed Yellow Flicker Beat the lead single from the Hunger Games: Mockingjay Soundtrack. This juicy dark jam is Lorde’s attempt at getting inside Katniss’ head.
“It’s my first offering from what I hope will be a soundtrack you love,” Lorde wrote in a Tumblr post on Monday (Sept. 29). “It’s my attempt at getting inside her head, katniss’. I hope you like it.”
Lorde sings: “I’m a princess cut from marble, smoother than a storm/ And the scars that mark my body, they’re silver and gold.” These amazing lyrics, coupled with the dusky tone of the song, reveal Lorde’s talent at crafting a character that mixes Katniss Everdeen’s toughness with her own gothic vibes. She sings about heading home, fires, courage and “yellow flicker beats” sparking up her heart. This is empowerment – Hunger-Games-style – with minimal synths and rattling drums. We’re hooked!
Yellow Flicker Beat is her first song since the release of the Grammy-Award winning debut album Pure Heroine. Lorde has curated “The Hunger Games: Mockingjay” soundtrack, due out this autumn before the movie release on November 21. The track is available at all digital retailers as of today (September 29). The full track list for the soundtrack is yet to be revealed.
Amazing to think that it was only a year ago when Lorde leapt to Nº1 on the Billboard Hot 100 with her debut single Royals. She’s come a long way since then! She is the singer-songwriter of the moment – and took first place in Billboard’s annual 21 Under 21 list this year – check it out here.
Adam Levine turns American Psycho in Maroon 5‘s new music video for Animals. Extremely confrontational and purposefully provocative. Halloween has arrived a month early….
WARNING: Watch at your own risk, and definitely don’t watch if blood makes you squeamish.
We’re not sure about this video – it does fit the lyrics well: “Baby, I’m preying on you tonight/Hunt you down, eat you alive/Just like animals” – but it has some absurd, horrible elements. It made us feel sick the fist time we watched it.
“All in the name of Art” you might say – yes, fair enough, but it makes Levine look so bad. It certainly makes a statement and will get people talking – but will they be talking about it in the right way? All publicity is good publicity? It’s grotesque and gory with an excessive and unnecessary amount of blood. Anyway – enough said, make your own mind up and check out the video.
Levine’s real wife, supermodel Behati Prinsloo, stars in the music video as the victim of Levine’s obsession. Directed by Samuel Bayer the clip does call to mind Christian Bale in American Psycho – Levine might not be wielding an axe but he’s certainly nailed that happy-scary-physco facial expression down to a tee.
Animals is the 2nd single to be taken from Maroon 5’s fifth studio album V, following the hugely successful Maps.
Levine and guitarist James Valentine recently told Digital Spy that V might just be their last album…
“To me, movies and music go hand in hand. When I’m writing a script, one of the first things I do is find the music I’m going to play for the opening sequence.” – Quentin Tarantino.
Indeed, music and film are very close art forms that naturally fit together to produce great emotional effect in the movie theatre room. Music adds to the overall atmosphere and tone of a sequence, gives it its special touch and renders a scene unforgettable; music can transport a film’s audience to whole other dimensions. That’s something that’s quite amazing. Here we honor these unique moments and have compiled some all-time classic tunes that have and will always be associated to a particular scene in a particular film.
Tap any video title to open it in Creation 5.
“Music is a big factor in helping the illusion of the film come to life. The same way music brings back different periods to our lives.” – Francis Ford Coppola.
The “Sound of Silence” is, hands down, “one of folk pop’s most beautiful moments” – nobody in their right mind could contest that. Simon & Garfunkel made “The Graduate” the iconic film that it is today, but in 1967, it was director Mike Nichols that made Simon & Garfunkel the timeless duo that will always be remembered. Nichols brilliantly used several of their songs as the soundtrack to his chronicle of post-collegiate alienation. Mrs Robinson and Sound of Silence are two serious all-time hits placed in unprecedented manner in one serious Hollywood blockbuster – the hits come hand-in-hand. Curiously enough, Nichols originally used their most exceptional songs, including “Sound of Silence”, as placeholders to get the pacing right in certain parts of the film. I think we’re all indebted to Nichols for having finally come to his senses by realising that the songs were perfect where they were. “The Graduate” owns Simon & Garfunkel and Simon & Garfunkel own “The Graduate”.
2. Purple Rain – When Doves Cry & Purple Rain (Prince and the Revolutions)
The film “Purple Rain” is “an epic celebration of everything Rock & Roll.” Picture Prince in a film, surrounded by sex, religion, motorcycles, guitars, Lake Minnetonka and, oh yes, he’s wearing eyeliner. Set when Prince is on his historic creative streak while his heart aches with girl troubles, he’s bound to write a couple of hits like “Purple Rain” and “When Doves Cry” because, you know, that’s just another day in the life of the Prince of pop. The two silver screen anthems frame the film in all their glory and, today, are recognised as all-time greats. The film’s grand finale blasts “Purple Rain” through the speakers as Prince rides off into the purple sunset – It’s a historic moment accompanied by one of the moodiest and most beautiful songs ever made. “When Doves Cry”, on the other hand, was the album’s first No1 single and is what propelled the album to sell 20 million copies.
Although a huge chunk of the music to the soundtrack to “Saturday Night Fever” came from Frank Stallone, it’s The Bee Gees that killed it! Oh, The Bee Gees – From “Staying Alive” to “Night Fever” to “More Than A Woman”, “Boogie Shoes” and to “How Deep Is Your Love”, the tunes on the “Saturday Night Fever” album can still turn a room upside down with disco fever. “Staying Alive” was a smash hit, mainly due to its “driving beat, funky guitar riff and falsetto” and, of course, its awesomness. When the Bee Gees were engaged to write some songs for the film’s soundtrack, they refused to call their song “Saturday Fever” to match the title of the movie because too many song titles contained the word “Saturday”. Producer Robert Stigwood eventually gave in and decided to rename the film “Saturday Night Fever” – I think the Bee Gee’s stubbornness did Stigwood a huge favour (it rings better!).
The double LP was the best-selling soundtrack in music history, selling over 15 million copies, before “The Bodyguard” stole the title. These songs defined an era, turned disco fever into an all-night occurrence, and left a legacy in the late 70’s disco ball culture. What’s more, the soundtrack to this film turned our beloved John Travolta into a hearthrobbing mega film star. Who can shake the image of the young and gorgeous Travolta suited-and-booted all in white whilst boogying the legendary dance move with one hand on one hip and the other pointing to the sky.
Did you know that Dolly Parton originally wrote Whitney Houston’s outstanding song “I Will Always Love You”, released in 1992 on the soundtrack of “The Bodyguard”, in 1973? Houston’s smash hit cover reigned on Billboard Hot 100 for fourteen weeks and became her signature song – the vocal queen owned it!
“Who you gonna call?… “GHOSTBUTERS!” – It’s almost impossible to find someone who doesn’t know who they’re gonna call when strange things are happening in their neighbourhood. Although Ray Parker Jr.’s Academy-nominated them songs “Ghostbusters” isn’t the best song out there, it continues to haunt us and will always remain a classic, if not for its cultural relevance with film-nerds than for it’s ceaseless appearance at Halloween parties year after year. Its repetitive and really, really, really hard to forget.
“No one reframes oldies so indelibly” like Quentin Tarantino. Chuck Berry’s “You Never Can Tell” has become a cult-like ritual. Nobody can think of “Pulp Fiction” without Chuck Berry luring in the background.
Eminem’s signature track “8 Mile” is a great song that almost everyone under the age of 25 knows 70% of the lyrics to (or at least they pretend they do). It’s one of those songs we kids used to rap to in the school playground, pretending we were hip (which we were, ehemm). Inspired by true events in Eminem’s (Marshal Mathers) personal life and written on the “8 Mile” movie set about his fictional character B-Rabbit, the song ended up winning the Best Original Song Oscar and two Grammy Awards. Indeed, everyone loved the track – it’s powerful and hard-hitting lyrics, energised and aggressive instrumentation and Eminem’s anger fully encased the emotion of the movie. Perhaps the lyrics “mom’s spaghetti” also had something to do with the song’s great success. “8 Mile” is raw and carries a huge emotional load – it’s refreshing, I think that’s why we love it.
The “Batman Forever” soundtrack is filled with great songs. However, Seal’s “Kiss From A Rose” is on a whole other level. The “haunting ballad” is soft, beautiful and touching – it’s by far Seal’s greatest.
“What A Feeling” by Irene Cara became a classic after it featured in the timeless film “Flashdance”. The title track plays as Alex (Jennifer Beal) auditions for a dance conservatory board and dumbfounds them when the song switches from ballad into speedy pop. The song went on to win an Oscar and a Golden Globe. Even those who haven’t seen the film know the very moment in the film that is bound to Irene Cara’s hit, co-written by Giorgio Moroder.
R Kelly’s hit song “I Believe I Can Fly” is a classic (that is not to be argued). No matter what your opinion is on R Kelly, the Looney Tunes soundtrack belongs to a whole generation of kids-now-turned-adults – that cannot be taken away from them. Warner Brothers + Michael Jordan + green screen + cartoons = genius. The film scored a home run at the box office and the soundtrack came in on par, including beats from Jay-Z, Coolio and Busta Rhymes. R Kelly, however, is our leading man.
Don’t have Creation 5? Download it from the App Store!
Shift K3Y’s song ”I Know” has rocketed to Nº6 on the Dance Singles Chart. The music video released at the end of summer, follows a slender brunette through her tropical travels in paradise.
Shift K3Y, (real name Lewis Shay Jankel) is a DJ, producer and singer-songwriter from London. Best known for his 2014 single ”Touch,” which peaked at Nº3 on the UK Singles Chart earlier this year. Dabbling in the intertwining music genres of UK Garage, House and Trap, his music style is that of a chilled contemporary one. He first popped up on the radar back in 2011 at just 18 years old. Now 21, he is getting big as he steadily climbs the music scene, and the charts.
After a long time away from the music scene, American singer and actress Hilary Duff is back, announcing a new album for next Autumn. Although there is no official date for the release we do know that it will be called “All or Nothing”. This will be Duff’s 5th studio album and it will contain original material from 2007.
For this long awaited return to the music scene the ex Disney star has chosen to record with RCA Records: “I took a break from music which has given me the strength I needed to carefully choose my next steps. I’m very proud to have recorded this album.” After releasing the first single from the album this summer, ‘Chasing the Sun’, Hilary returns with this second pop-folk number. The video is fresh and spontaneous and a confident Hilary shows off her impressive dancing skills.
The story shows a young girl who suffers a full-blown crush on a handsome hunk that she sees in a restaurant. From there, the carousel of love begins. ‘All About You’ is racing up the Australian charts and is already in the Top 20. This might not seem that significant, but you have to remember that Hilary hasn’t made it into the Top 20 for seven long years – the last time was in 2007 with her hit ‘With Love’.
This new music video and the upcoming album are not the only projects that the former Lizzie McGuire star is working on. Soon to debut on American TV is the ‘Younger’ series in which Duff plays a girl named Kelsey – the leading star in the production. Directed and produced by Darren Star (Sex and the City), the new show will also star the winner of a Tony Award, Sutton Foster.
‘I Lived’ is the fifth single taken from ‘Native’ (2013), the latest album from the American pop rock band One Republic. The single follows the success of their previous track, ‘Something I Need’, which could be heard on all the main American radio stations during the first few months of 2014.
‘Native’ is the bands third studio album and marks a change of direction in their style. This change hasn’t been a huge success, from a commercial point of view – with the exception being the huge hit ‘Counting Stars’ which is still at Nº3 on the iTunes charts in America. ‘I Lived’ is an emotional homage to Bryan Warnecke, a young fan who has battled for 15 years with cystic fibrosis, a terrible hereditary condition that primarily affects the lungs and has a life expectancy of not much more than 36 years.
The video shows footage of a young Bryan talking about his treatment and shows images of his childhood – playing sports and overcoming the hurdles of daily life. “It feels like you are breathing through a straw. When I try to breathe hard, it really hurts. But I want to make the most of the life I have and enjoy myself as much as possible. My biggest fear is not being able to do that”, says Bryan during the video. The video was produced by Taylor Vandegrift and has its high point when Bryan goes to a OneRepublic concert at Red Rocks Amphitheater in Colorado, after being sent a special invitation by frontman Ryan Tender.
The video concludes with a message that says how Bryan and his friends have traveled more than 1200 miles and raised $300,000 for cystic fibrosis research.
Two huge YouTube stars have joined together once again. The overwhelmingly talented group Pentatonix and violin pro Lindsey Stirling sound better than ever in this cover of Papaoutai, originally performed by belgian singer Stromae.
The video was released September 25th onto their official YouTube channel ‘PTXofficial’ and just one day later the video has almost 1,000,000 views. For those who are not up to speed, Pentatonix is an acapella group consisting of 5 vocalists. They have a recording contract with Sony and regularly post YouTube videos of their covers and original songs.
Their latest exciting news has been reported by Entertainment Weekly, who have said that the group will be joining the cast of the film Pitch Perfect 2, planned to be released in May 15 2015.
The following artists managed to crack Billboard’s Hot 100 Top 10 list with their very first singles and then never really managed to hit the jackpot again – unfortunately, they never even made it to the top 25 again! Despite their subsequent musical write-offs, the one hit wonders of the likes of Daniel Powter, James Blunt and Gnarls Barkley are still known by all and continue to be loved by all (whether they’ve been overplayed or not). We owe it to these one-hit-makers to honour their scarce yet brilliant work.
Tap any video title to open it in Creation 5
Here is a list of the top 10 one-hit wonders of the past decade, based on Billboard’s calculations of “how high their big songs climbed on the chart compared to how far down the tally their subsequent highest-charting effort peaked.”
Bad Day was used as the roll out song for the 5th season of American Idol and was also used for a Coca-Cola advertising campaign in the U.K. The song became incredibly successful – It went to No.1 in April, remained there for five weeks, and was ranked the most successful single of 2006 by Billboard. Bad Day became the first song to ever sell 2 million digital copies in the U.S. Although the Canadian singer-songwriter’s success didn’t last too long, he did make history!
Terror Squad, the hip-hop collective fronted by Fat Joe, reached the top of the charts with Lean Back in August 2004, gifting the world with one of the most famous dance songs (and catchy choruses) of our time. The song topped the Billboard Hot 100 for three weeks and topped the R&B charts for over a month. Terror Squad’s next single Take Me Home, released that same year, got to No.62. The upshot of their four minutes of fame gets almost every party rocking! (That’s if you party right!).
Crazy Town, the L.A. rap-metal-rockers, soared to No1 in March 2001 with their Red Hot Chili Peppers imbued track Butterfly, and hovered there for two weeks. The band never flew sky-high again.
This Is Why I’m Hot got nice and steamy at No.1 on the Billboard Hot 100, at No.2 on the Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs Charts and at No.1 on the Billboard Hot Rap Tracks charts. The song also debuted at No1 on the Billboard Hot Digital Songs Charts, selling 140,874 downloads, and eventually certified Platinum. The song itself is filled with samples of other hip-hop songs, including Kanye West’s Jesus Walks and Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg’s Nuthin’ But a “G” Thang. Ever heard the saying: “a great chorus lasts forever”? Although the chorus is still out there sizzling somewhere, MIMS never really made a hot track again. His next single Like This, release in 2007, only reached No.32… not so steamy!
In January 2006, D4L’s Laffy Taffy hit the bull’s eye when it peaked at No.1. Most of the song’s success was due to its online sales. The song went on to certify three times Platinum. D4L’s next single Betcha Can’t Do It Like Me, however, only made it to No.72.
James Blunt definitely knew how to win a woman’s heart. His stunning ballad You’re Beautiful reached No.1 on Billboard Hot 100 in March 2006. Although the song was ranked No.7 in a poll conducted by Rolling Stone to identify the top 10 most annoying songs, VH1 ranked it No.95 on its list of 100 Greatest Songs of the 2000’s. You’re Beautiful received three Grammy nominations for Record of the Year, Song of the Year and Best Male Pop Vocal Performance and certified two times Platinum in the U.S. James Blunt’s fans weren’t too loyal, though. His next single Goodbye My Lover reached No.66.
It was crazy just how much Gnarls Barkley’s single Crazy stormed the world. The musical collaboration between Danger Mouse and Cee-Lo Green peaked at No2 on the Billboard Hot 100 and topped the charts in the U.K. (where it remained at No1 for nine weeks), Denmark, Canada, New Zealand and many more countries. The track won a Grammy Award for Best Urban/Alternative Performance in 2007 and was also nominated for Record of the Year in the U.K. The song also won Best Song at the 2006 MTV Europe Music Awards and was dubbed Best Song of 2006 by Rolling Stone. The track was certified two times Platinum in the U.S. As for Gnarls Barkley’s subsequent singles well, crazily enough, they didn’t quite make it to the top.
Fun fact: Gnarls Barkley’s band performed a live performance of “Crazy” at the 2006 MTV Movie Awards dressed as Star Wars characters!
Bo Bice was American Idol’s runner up, after Carrie Underwood took home the winning prize. They both released their own versions of this song in 2005. Bice peaked at No2 on the Billboard Hot 100 but, after the Idols craze was over, so was Bice. His subsequent highest-charting song The Real Thing reached No56 in May 2006. Sometimes it’s just not meant to be…
Dream, the manufactured American girl band, made it to No2 with He Loves You Not. The song certified Gold – a dream come true. Sadly, though, the dream was over before the girls could say Good Morning. Dream’s next single This Is Me rose to No39 in the summer of 2001.
On the bright side, these artists sure released some unforgettable red-hot tunes!
Don’t have Creation 5? Download it from the App Store!
Today we’re wishing T.I (Clifford Joseph Harris, Jr.) a very happy birthday! it’s incredible to think he’s already been in the game for over 15 years and today he turns just 34. We couldn’t resist celebrating with his unforgettable song ”Whatever You Like” from his sixth studio album, Paper Trail. This song was his first Nº1 hit as a lead artist, and today is all about him.
Back in 2008, during the debut-week, the song had the best-to-date sales by a Rap Track. T.I then broke his own record two months later when his song ”Live Your Life” sold 334,000 digital downloads in it’s first week. Whatever You Like had 205,000 downloads.
The song also holds the record for the biggest leap to the top on the Hot 100 charts. In the span of just one week, it flew from Nº71 to Nº1. This record was held for six consecutive weeks before T.I’s next hit ”Live Your Life” broke that record too. Leaping from Nº80 to Nº1.
The beloved Will Smith turns 46 today! What a jam-packed career he’s had, being a music star, movie star and managing his celebrity family. In April 2007, Newsweek called him the most powerful actor in Hollywood.
Though we are far from the days when Will was known as ‘The Fresh Prince’, we are using todays #ThrowbackThursday to take us through time to the early 90s. We can see hip-hop rap has not changed all that much in the last 20 odd years, as this song by Will Smith ”The Fresh Prince” and DJ Jazzy Jeff is still all about butts… and shaking them.
”Boom! Shake The Room” started a 2 week run at Nº1 in the UK back when it was released in July of 1993. It was the second single from their fifth studio album, ”Code Red.” The song also peaked at number thirteen on The Billboard Hot 100. There were many mixes made of the song, we present the most famous of them all: The Street Mix.
