Today's Pick

Taking some time away from cleaning baby Bash's poop as a new daddy, Wiz Khalifa is back to his rapper day job in the video for "Let It Go," featuring Akon, is the third single from Khalifa's latest fourth studio album, "O.N.I.F.C," and one of a few (rare) signs in the album that the 25-year-old Pittsburgh rapper thought of more than weed and money. The highly cinematic visuals, which includes a motivational storyline and put Khalifa and Akon in the roll of narrators as a boxing drama unfolds.
Khalifa chronicles his own life, rapping about what he aimed to do with Hip Hop music success and trends he's given to the culture. He made clear that he has re-prioritized his life somewhat, thanks to a small but notable change to his lyrics: "I just had a kid / now homie, I'm the man." Khalifa also vows to "make sure my family gon' eat" - words that he's also taken to heart, given his grind these days. Khalifa performed with Akon on "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno" just 24 hours after he dropped his music video for “Let It Go."
In "Let It Go," Khalifa and Akon introduce a young lady boxer who's training hard at home while going to night school and working a crappy job at a gentleman's club. And speaking of manners, one night a "gentleman" gets a little too fresh, causing our girl to fight back and almost knock that guy unconscious. Luckily, she leaves before things get too out of control. After an unhelpful chat with her boyfriend, she takes full control of her life by going full throttle on her boxer training at the gym. And to think she's got Khalifa and Akon as her (rooftop) guardian angels!
Over sweeping, atmospheric production, Khalifa rhymes about achieving success despite any detractors along the way. Visually, the narrative from Ryan Hope-directed video is also ironically a motivational picture with various story lines playing throughout the film. The rappers take a backseat from the spotlight to tells the story of a female boxer trying to get her life together and make it to the top, but struggling because her boyfriend isn't supportive and killing her whole vibe. The hook of "Let It Go," is a musical delivery that reminds people to let go of the things holding us back in life. Whether it be a person or a task that we can achieve by staying focused, the duo are reminding listeners to 'do better' as we know.

Lifehouse have released the music video for "Between The Raindrops," the lead single for alternative rock band's latest sixth album, "Almería." The track features the British pop singer and songwriter Natasha Bedingfield, is the first duet Lifehouse have ever recorded. The album was named after the picturesque Spanish town of Almería, which was the location for the filming of many of the classic spaghetti westerns filmed in the mid 1960's. So, it makes perfect sense that the group's first music video for the album embodies the feel of these classic Westerns.
The song is a gorgeous pop-rock ballad with a beautiful melody and haunting delivery from both of its vocalist. A perfect collaboration! Speaking about the tune, the band's frontman Jason Wade said: "'Between the Raindrops' is a confluence of all these different musical styles coming together. There is this cinematic spaghetti western undercurrent breathing and moving in the confines of a pop rock song. The track started as a complete experiment, a sort of stream of consciousness. I feel like the song really was solidified and came to life when Natasha came down to the studio and sang on the track."
Shot in Box Canyon, Colorado where Lifehouse recorded "Almería" had a similar arid landscape, the epic video for "Between the Raindrops," is filled with gorgeous shots of nature: galloping horses, sun drenched trees, mountains and, of course, rain storms. But the imagery wasn't chosen at random; it all comes together to give the video a symbolic meaning. "The concept was kind of metaphoric in nature," Wade explained. "There's this kind of urgency between myself and Natasha. From a distance, you can feel this massive storm coming. It's a metaphor for life. For making it through turbulent times."
The video takes viewers behind the cameras to see how the director shot some of the trickier scenes with the band and Bedingfield appear in different vignettes and there's an ominous storm that's coming towards the camera and Bedingfield is seen with two white horses and ends with the sun rises while Wade and Bedingfield are shown walking through the sunlight in the valley. "The video is very symbolic," Bedingfield had a similar take on the song and video. "It's about relationships. It's about the struggles we go through and the safety of having someone you know, and how incredible it is when you do get through those struggles."

Lana Del Rey - she of bouffant hair, pouty lips and that crooning voice - surprised fans last night by debuting a new eerie video on her Twitter in the most Del Rey way possible with an all-lowercase simply tweet that read "new video." The 26-year-old sultry and melodramatic singer provides vintage visuals for her gentle acoustic rendition of an already gentle Leonard Cohen's classic ballad, "Chelsea Hotel No. 2," that tells an old story of Cohen's brief relationship with the late Janis Joplin.
The Chelsea Hotel, in Manhattan's Chelsea neighborhood, is a famous New York musician breeding ground and cultural landmark with a storied history, and is where Cohen lived when he wasn't at his home in Montreal or his cottage on the Greek Island of Hydra. He chose the Chelsea because he heard he would meet people with a similar artistic bent, which he did. For some years, Cohen would often tell a story about meeting a famous singer Janis Joplin in an elevator of the Chelsea, which led to the sexual encounter he describes in this song, a reveal that he later came to deeply regret.
Redone in a typical Del Rey fashion, a feather-light slow jam, Del Rey is well-suited for Cohen's lyrics, given her often husky and surprisingly agile voice and how much she trucks in nostalgia. She's done '50s Hollywood glamor, been a prim '60s First Lady, and now she is taking on the role of '70s folk period troubadour. All she needs is a guitar and her voice for the soft-spoken cover and sends chills down our collective spines. The forlorn lyrics about the illusory tryst are perfect fodder for romantic fatalist Del Rey, whose feather-light purr captures the uncomplicated tenderness of Cohen's original. The beautifully drifting cover fits rather nicely into Del Rey's continual effort to spin an image of tragic glamor.
Del Rey keeps it simple and tame in her vintage-styled minimal clip, just relatively stripped-down Del Rey herself, singing a faithful version of Cohen's reflective ode. The clip is filled with grainy, sepia-colored footage to give forlorn vibes as Del Rey sitting on a couch in a gloomy dimly-lit room and fumbling occasionally with a Marlboro cigarette and matchbook, Del Rey strikes the same spare, wistful tone as Cohen, and croons lyrics describing a sexual encounter between two lovers in the Chelsea Hotel, many dubbed as New York City's most famous Bohemian hostelry.

Ed Sheeran managed to rise above all the EDM-influenced noise last year. The 22-year-old Brit singer's debut moody, acoustic ballad, "The A Team," seems like an unlikely pop hit given Top 40's obsession with club music and up-tempo jams. But somehow, its heavy topics under a beautiful folky melodic canopy and off-kilter acoustics won pop fans over after its big release in 2012, and in the process, nabbed itself a 2013 Grammy Awards nomination for "Song of the Year!"
Musically, this beautiful melodic track "The A Team," is particularly dark lyrical content, yet overwhelmingly tuneful slice of jazz-folk, and was deeply inspired by a true story after Sheehan meeting a young girl called "Angel," whilst volunteering at a Crisis homeless shelter when he was 18 at the time and kind of quite naive. Built on palm-muted guitars and a simmering string arrangement, Sheehan chronicles girl's descent into an endless web of drug addiction and prostitution.
In a interview with Billboard, Sheehan explained the song's title. "A drug like crack cocaine is called a 'class A' drug. That's in the same category as heroin. Instead of making it clear and just saying what the problem was, I'd say, 'She's in the 'class A' team.' It was kind of my way of covering up (a person's addiction), I guess, making it a bit more subtle." Yes, Sheehan has an unflinching eye for subtle details and colorful imagery, and his music is full of soulful vocal runs and patient atmosphere. Although the subject matter of "The A Team" isn't exactly radio-friendly, the hook sure is.
Cost only £20, Sheehan shot clip with young photographer Ruskin Kyle and stars actresses Selina MacDonald as "Angel," and it narrates the story of "Angel" addicted to drugs, living on the streets of London. She tried to sell magazines for money, but only managed to sell one to the artist of the song, Ed Sheeran. "Angel" struggled so much that she resorted to selling her body to earn money. She may not have loved it, but it provided an income in general for the young woman. Later on, the pain became too much for her to bear and she just wanted to end it all. She traded in her "dirty" money for drugs, referencing the lyric and in the end, she succumbs to her drug abuse.

Michael Bublé's real life romance with preggers Luisana Lopilato seems near perfection, but it is a completely different story in his sun-drenched music video for his newest single, "It's A Beautiful Day," the lead single from Canadian crooner's upcoming fifth studio album, "To Be Loved," due out on April 15. The video is done in typical Bublé fashion with a very funny opening segment featuring actress Jaime Pressly and actor Jesse Heiman who stole Bar Rafaeli's heart in the most talked about 2013 Super Bowl Go Daddy's commercial plays the role of a geeky guy.
The 37-year-old Grammy Award winning singer continues to have widespread appeal, not only as a singer, but as an actor as well. Bublé sure knows how to write a surprisingly cheerful breakup song. "I've written a lot of romantic lovey-dovey songs and though this one seems very happy, it's kind of an anti-love song - a revenge song for people who were dumped, but it turns out to be the best thing that ever happened to them," Bublé explained about the upbeat song. "I've been dumped and have also been the jerk in the relationship. It's about the good and bad of love."
But in the fun and charming clip, Bublé is experiencing anything other than domestic bliss. With lyrics like "baby, any day that you're gone away/It's a beautiful day," it makes sense to base the story of the video on that of an unfaithful girlfriend. It begins with Bublé walking in on his girlfriend, played by Pressly, while she apparently can't resist the nerd's charms, is "breathing" her supposed Yoga instructor, portrayed by Heiman and you will see he's once again playing the same insane game as in the Super Bowl ad.
Instead of going into a crazy fit, Bublé remains optimistic and simply walks out, and taking a whimsical stroll down the street singing his happy little tune, complete with an array of potential new catches, animated birds and unicorn-shaped clouds, into a sunny "beautiful day" neighborhood filled with many other lovely ladies all wanting a kiss from the charming crooner. If it isn't the subtlest concept in the world, it works well here, a bright and sunny track set to a bright and sunny video. Funny how that works out so nicely, and the whole thing is just so irrepressible.

After impact the pop music world, made our screens smolder and set the bar impossibly high with the video for her noirish debut tour-de-force ballad "Kill, F***, Marry," with majestic vocals, a brilliant lyrical conceit and a haunting, lushly shot clip to boot, the newcomer South African-born and Los Angeles-based singer-songwriter Nikki Williams is now set to turn up the heat even higher her next forceful pop offering, "Glowing." The uptempo dance track is equally impressive, even if it's a departure from the sound of her debut.
But the 24-year-old chanteuse isn't just a one-trick pony. Williams was supremely angry, girl-power, angst, but she sings spine-tinglingly impressive, and she's a lover. As a young teenager in Nashville with two older sisters who were allowed to go out clubbing when she was not, Williams would blast System of a Down in her bedroom and lament the outcomes of arguments with her parents. A decade later, she is now channeling that profanity into unusual pop confections. Her next single, "Glowing," is a sterling slice of house-inspired dance-pop with a soaring belter of a chorus and a pummeling beat.
Driven by a high-energy, synth-laden, the uplifting dance-pop track "Glowing" unearths another side of Williams's vocals - the side that's fully capable of commanding a large-scale pop record with her raving it up literally and a synth riff that's reminiscent of the tormented noir-pop of Lana Del Rey with a little bit of Kelly Clarkson's rage with a throbbing backbeat. As the euphoric song's thumping bass line drives it forward, Williams roars on the massive chorus and confesses that she's got it bad for a dude, and he's the only one who can give her what she wants: "A million hearts, you're the only one/Who lights me up, like I'm glowing in the dark."
The Miami-set "Glowing" clip was directed by legendary music video auteur Hype Williams, and features a healthy smattering of dancing, neon colors and unhinged sing-alongs. It follows Williams and her crew on a RV road trip through the party-crowded streets of Miami for a night of heavy partying at a local fair and club, and there's a lot of throwing your hands up in the air sometimes and appearing generally ebullient. The clip certainly fits the mood of the song, and she's singing, dancing, flashing her beautiful smile and having a good time.

British pop rock band Lawson appear in the fire-themed promo to their latest single "Learn To Love Again," the fourth release following "When She was Mine," "Taking Over Me," and "Standing Over Me," from the four-piece group's debut studio album, "Chapman Square." The quartet calls themselves Lawson after lead singer Andy Brown’s doctor who performed a surgery on him to remove brain tumor, which was successful. The video sees them performing in a dark dungeon-style room in front of a host of energetic dancers and fire-breathers.
"Learn To Love Again" manages to keep their pop/rock sound in toe with a heavy guitar and drum arrangement throughout. It's the building pre-chorus with the synthesizers, the drum machine, and the "oh oh oh" chants that just explodes into a more surprising lyric-driven hook. To be honest we've pretty much had it up to here with Kings Of Leon/Coldplay-style "whoaah-ohhh" manchants, thanks very much, but Lawson do ridiculously overwrought pretty well and considering the only thing that could make this song better within the boundaries it has established for itself is a massive bagpipe solo we'd say they're onto a winner here.
"Learn To Love Again" is a sort of deviation from their past three singles in that all seemed to be about Brown's romantic misfortunes. The song finds Brown singing about finally had some luck with the ladies, being in love and reuniting with someone to give a relationship a second chance. The song tells of two lovers who have been through the bad times of a relationship, where the "darkness took its toll" as they were "in the shadows," but they've seem to make it through despite all the negativity surrounding them; Brown croons that "maybe that is how I knew you were the one." They were lost, but now they are found, sharing in what, in the future, may be the best of times for them together.
It's a rousing effort that blends Lawson's usual breezy guitar melodies with strobing synths and an anthemic, cooing chorus that places them somewhere between the youthfulness of The Wanted and the hooks of Bon Jovi. The result leaves us thinking that global success suddenly doesn't seem totally out of the question. The accompanying video is an all very dark and epic-looking live set from the band performing in a disused building while people with torches and boats journey this post-apocalyptic wasteland.

Rising eclectic pop singer-songwriter ZZ Ward has blown us away with her bluesy take on R&B and hip-hop, and the LA-based, Oregon-raised artist wows us again as she shows off what she refers to as "Dirty Shine" in the music video for her swampy "Put The Gun Down," a boot-stomping rocker off her full-length debut album, "Til the Casket Drops," which she said "is about going to war for someone that you love. You have to fight for great love sometimes. I feel like I really just embraced who I was, even if it's different, on this record."
The gender-blending artist is one whose artistry spins on a luminous axis of voice and soul, is truly unlike anyone else working in music today. Her fierce stage presence and no holds barred approach to storytelling has set her apart from her peers. Born in Pennsylvania and raised in Roseburg, Oregon, Ward's musical influences from her father who wrote songs and played harmonica in blues bands, but it was old school masters from her parent's vinyl collection that first intrigued Ward. "It was the authenticity," she recalls, "the soulfulness."
Paired with her subsequent connection to the Eugene, Oregon, a hip-hop community, to write and perform hooks at high-energy, rap shows. This rhythmic journey, combined with her bluesy upbringing, would become essential in laying the foundation for her signature "dirty blues and beats" sound. While Ward is now at home on stage in reverential Los Angeles listening rooms, she was schooled in smokey dive bars and juke joints across the Pacific Northwest - anywhere she could sing.
Driving fog-shrouded logging roads to gigs, hauling gear and setting up the sound system before playing three hours a night, Ward is battle-tested. "I'm proud of the fact that I've done a lot," she says. "I've paid dues and I'm still paying dues. I put albums together and sold them in parking lots. It was hard to go up to strangers and talk about music, but it made me tough." The new video for "Put the Gun Down" was directed by Alex Bulkley, and it shows off Ward's hard hitting zeal closely reminiscent of Adele and Christina Aguilera and performing "Put The Gun Down" with her four-piece backing band.

Ten months after came up a little short as runner-up on Season 11 of American Idol, 17-year-old diva-in-training Jessica Sanchez is back with a brand new club-tastic music video for her debut club-ready track, "Tonight," a club thumper featuring R&B prince Ne-Yo, who penned the track, will be served as the lead single from her forthcoming debut album, "Me, You and the Music," which is reported to be upbeat and high-energy and set to feature ballads but will exhibit "more of an R&B/Pop/Urban kind of feel," due out April 30 via Interscope.
Sanchez has a diva's voice a la Mariah Carey or Beyonce, but she's going the dance pop route on her super fresh uptempo, bubbly, dance tune, "Tonight," which teams the diminutive teenager with the very big voice with Ne-Yo on a snappy, dance-oriented song that draws equally from R&B and pop. Spoke of the song, Sanchez described it as "fun, clubby dancy song," and saying: "'Tonight' is a song about people that are usually stressed out, everybody has problems and everything, and 'Tonight' is a song about going out that night and having the best night of your life." Sanchez gives us another reason to vote for her outside of American Idol.
Well, we're happy to report this new track is much stronger than that clunky-ass ballad the show foisted upon her last season, "Change Nothing." They changed everything, with Sanchez and Ne-Yo turning out a fun, if by-the-numbers, dance-pop track. The video features the expected club footage and the unexpected Sanchez-busting-synchronized-moves footage. All in all, a pretty promising start for a teen reality show castoff. The California songstress wants to keep the momentum going, and we braced ourselves for a potential bomb!
The R&B hitmaker and the diminutive teenager singer bring their high energy to the dance floor and light up the club in the Justin Francis-directed dance-heavy visual, which revolves around the club theme. Sanchez and her friends go out to night club to dance their troubles away. There, party-goers will show off their best moves, and Sanchez will execute a choreography, and she obviously takes control of the record from beginning to end. Ne-Yo's ever-present fedora is there and is all confident in his supporting role to the up-and-coming petite pop-R&B singer, letting the young belter take the spotlight with her song-and-dance combo perhaps inspired by what her fellow "Idol" alum, judge Jennifer Lopez does a lot of.

Pitbull and Christina Aguilera toast to the good life in the triumphant video for a thumping club beat, "Feel This Moment," their hit collaboration and the fourth single off Pitbull's seventh album, "Global Warming." It's Latin superstar overload that demonstrates how their respective moments often feature large, happy crowds in front of them. The duo simply just want to enjoy and feel this moment. Who wouldn't? (You know what, though, if my life was as balling as all of these guys, I'd never want it to end either.)
"Feel This Moment," is a dance-pop, hip house and electro house song, about stopping to take a moment to appreciate life. Interpolating the melody from Norwegian synthpop outfit A-Ha's famous 1985 synth-pop curio, "Take On Me," but in a souped-up 2012-friendly format, the glorious disco explosion sees Pitbull doing his typical swag-shtick and Aguilera gamely meeting him halfway with her gorgeous pipes and memorable chorus. This is actually quite a catchy tune to dance to and it boasts a sick hook. It doesn't feature any misogyny, which is nice.
The 32-year-old Cuban-American rapper spoke about their collaboration in an interview, "'Feel This Moment' is a special record, and to work with Christina Aguilera is an honor, a blessing, someone that I highly respected, as far as her talent, her voice, her range that she can take it, and I think 'Feel This Moment' is gonna be a great record, because it's got a very powerful sample and everybody's gonna dance too. On top of that, when I say 'Feel this Moment' is basically, 'feel life, don't live life for a moment, live life for life, that is your moment'."
The David Rousseau-directed clip is a split-screen, black-and-white affair, with lots of quick shots of Mr. Worldwide reflects on his journey to the top, being swaggy and vaguely predatory up on stage in any parts of his 'Planet Pit World Tour' across the globe and living the fast life, while curvy pop diva X-Tina showed off her full-bodied blonde locks and looks gorgeous as she vamps for the camera, wearing a black leather ensemble with huge, curly hair, dances in the corner and singing the chorus on a sound stage somewhere.

After taking the stage at the Grammys with Jay-Z, Justin Timberlake pays tribute to his grandparents and their 63-year marriage with a new music video for his latest love song, "Mirrors," the second single from his just-released comeback album, "The 20/20 Experience." The over-eight-minute-long surrealistic clip centers around an elderly couple as they "reflect" on their past. We wondered whether Timberlake had created the most narcissistic love song ever.
The Timbaland-produced string-laden mid-tempo pop ballad, is a typical 2006-era vintage combination of Timbaland's classic contemporary rhythmic stylings with Timberlake's Neo Blue-eyed soulful vocals. This eight-minute vulnerable epic finds Timberlake wooing a lover. "You're shining something like a mirror," he sings, "and I can't help but notice you reflecting this heart of mine." Timberlake adds that he has come, "to the realization" that she is his "other half." The singer references "taking a break from the relationship."
Unlike lead single "Suit & Tie"s sultry and retro vibes, the selfie-taker's new jam reminds us a bit more of Timberlake's smash sophomore LP, "FutureSex/LoveSounds" days with layered synths and ridiculously club-ready pop production courtesy of Timbaland. That said, Timberlake's lush, harmony-laden vocals remain the core of the track and displaying his strong vocal attributes over a poignant R&B-style production. The tempo is mid, the falsetto is there and so is Timbaland. The 32-year-old singer renders the song more like a pop performer than a R&B, and he is making a serious comeback.
The clip was directed by Floria Sigismondi, as Timberlake dedicated it to his grandparents William and Sadie, and tells the story of an old couple at different stages and reflecting on the ups and downs of their relationship, allegorized in a funhouse. Timberlake makes an appearance towards the end of the video, dancing in a house of mirrors. The love of his life is present, but always on the other side of the mirrors, making him able to see her but not able to touch her. The result is a video that blunts the seeming self-indulgence of the song's lyrics and actually adds a new layer to the song with a visually striking and evocative story.

You ever wake up in bed with your significant other tangled in some truly inexplicable pretzel-like yoga poses and think. The new dancey, raunchy video for Brooklyn-based indie-pop duo and life partners Matt & Kim's "It's Alright" may hold one potential answer. "It's Alright," is an unsurprisingly upbeat number from their recent "Lightning" LP, which is chock-full of more dance-ready jams that make their live shows so energetic and fun. The track is a perfect one to wake up to. But remember, it's all fun and games until someone loses an eye.
Known for their infectious onstage energy and quirky music videos, Matt Johnson and Kim Schifino have made a name for themselves as the power couple making waves in the indie, pop and electronic music worlds for the last decade. Their music is undeniably party music at its best in that it is impossible to not want to get up and dance when one of their tunes comes on. Even unable to be pigeonholed into one genre, their music - with hints of hip hop, punk, techno and nearly everything in between - is, no doubt, gaining popularity.
The reliably overjoyed bleat-pop duo have always been willing to act the absolute fool in their music videos, and the strategy seems to work for them, since those videos are almost always pretty fun. They're at it again with "It's Alright." But this time, is about as dirty as a music video can get while still being completely innocuous, taking us in the bedroom. The indie-pop couple act out a sexually-charged, synchronized dance routine eyes closed, put on an acrobatic display of suggestive poses for our amusement, all the while dreaming away. Maybe all that boundless energy, matched by the bounce and swing of the optimistic track itself.
Speaking of video, in which the couple wasted no time in seizing the moment to perform a synchronized dance on a bed. Kim says, "It was an idea Matt came up with actually many years ago for another song, 'Good Old Fashioned Nightmare,' but we ended up never making the video." Then, when they were recording this new tune, the pulled from that old idea and finally brought it to life. It's evident that Matt & Kim are so in sync while executing the choreography. It's ballet meets late-night Cinemax - all executed with their noticeably fit bodies contorted in acrobatic ways, and filled with bursts of energy and weaves in a sense of seduction throughout.

With the way her rich voice flutters, British YouTube teenage sensation Jasmine van den Bogaerde couldn't have chosen a better stage name than Birdy, who has blowing up in the UK, and has unveiled the music video about two years ago for her breakout debut single, "Skinny Love," a rendition of American folk band Bon Iver's 2008 hit from their 2008 album "For Emma, Forever Ago." The young songstress was 14 when she recorded this song after she won the under 18s category of the UK talent contest UK Idol at the age of 12.
Birdy chose to cover "Skinny Love" for her debut album after her aunt, who is a fan of the song, first played it for her. This 16-year-old chanteuse bearing her soul (via Bon Iver's Justin Vernon) all the way from the UK. With only a piano to accompany her, Birdy unleashes her tender and frankly jaw-dropping vocals and bowls the listener over by her breathtaking voice. A sparse, yet utterly emotional version of a spectacular track that has seen her playlisted by the top UK DJs. If Van den Bogaerde keeps this up it won't be long before Birdy becomes a household name on both sides of the Atlantic.
We speculate widely about the meaning of "Skinny Love," is it about a relationship petering out? Is it about a real-life skinny lover? We asked Birdy how she interprets the lyrics and it's something of a mystery to her too. "When I'm singing it, I'm not really sure of the actual meaning of the song," she admits. "But... to me it feels it's like a break-up, people who really love each other but having to move on then. For me, it's more about the melody and the music," she adds. If you're into delicate prodigy-grade piano pop, and haven't heard this beautifully innocent song, you can watch the video clip below you'll find some other treasures from this young star.
I do prefer her breath-taking version to the original. Birdy's version of "Skinny Love" is just phenomenal and her vocal strength is amazing! This is a beautiful summer song and Birdy has a stunning voice. The piano is poignant and powerful alongside the lyrics. The promo for song was directed by Sophie Muller, in which we sees the Birdy walking around an abandoned house and also playing the piano. The video also marks the first time the public have seen the Birdy. The video is beautiful, haunting and so mature!

Luke Bryan has had a nice run of hits over the past couple of years and he's had no trouble selling lots of tickets to his concerts. The 36-year-old Country star is back with his new new music video for his latest ballad, "Buzzkill," the one of two original songs that Bryan wrote for his just-released first full-length album of spring break-themed tunes, "Spring Break...Here to Party," which is full of good-time songs perfect for a day in the sun. Bryan decided to film a video for the tune, even though he admits both time and money were tight, where a beautiful brunette turns out to be a serious, well, buzzkill.
But his new single from the project, "Buzzkill," is all about heartache, and it shows Bryan's vulnerable side. The song has a tempo similar to "Drunk On You," but this is no love song. I think we've all had a buzzkill person in our life. You know that feeling you get when you see your ex when you aren't expecting it? Bryan has taken all those feelings and put them in his latest song, "Buzzkill." Bryan narrates an uncomfortable encounter between two former flames. One has moved on while the other is still hung up on the past.
This heartbreaking song finds Bryan touching on the lonely side of life, as he told reporters that the entire idea of a vacation-themed EP began because he had a collection of tunes that weren't right for any of his other projects. "The whole birth of spring break and the Spring Break album started because I had all these songs that I knew would never be able to make it on a mainstream album," he explained.
The video for "Buzzkill" shows the darker side of spring break, a much darker one that isn't full of sun, sand and alcohol. The clip's action takes place in a bar, with Bryan perched on a pool table and his bandmates sitting on stools as they cradle their instruments and perform at this local watering hole in anytown. As it depicts two former flames who unexpected run into one another at a bar, but the story doesn't end well, as the man is rejected when the woman hooks up with another man. If you still frequent the bar scene on weekends, this scenario should be instantly familiar to you. Was she being flirty and playful? Or was she an evil tease? Watch and enjoy from a distance, and be glad you're not in the middle of this drama.

British indie singer-songwriter Gabrielle Aplin has finally given us something else to hold onto while we anxiously wait for the release of her debut album with a beautiful new version music video for her track "Panic Cord," the third single off the 20-year-old's upcoming debut, "English Rain" due on May 13. "Panic Cord" written by herself, and the original version of the track was taken from her 2011 second EP, "Never Fade," which document four things that have happened to her and she owes the complete honestly and detail in return for the amazing support she have received.

Aplin post on her blog: "'Panic Cord' is the ONLY song on the EP that is about a relationship, and we weren't even officially' together but the situation still really got to me. I had never ever felt guilty for turning someone down before and it was the first time I had experienced it. 'Panic Cord' is pretty much about when someone likes you more than you like them. But to the extent where they'd literally do anything for you and as much as you want to, you just can't do it back. I was so frustrated and angry with myself for letting down someone who was perfect, and was finding it hard to live with the temporary guilt of throwing someones feelings back at their face after they had completely spilled themselves out to you.
During turning this person away, it got weirder. Where they were doing everything in their power to keep me and I just didn't understand why, I felt like a complete witch and found myself getting bored of all the lovely things this person was doing for me. I just couldn't comprehend how or why someone would do something amazing for me, and get no reaction from me and still enjoy doing it and carrying on. He told me that he had 'kept a box of our memories' (we're just a box of souvenirs...) in the hope that it could change my mind. I was so confused and it really opened my eyes. I had no memories of this person in my head, but to them we were something amazing. I was so hurt by the fact I had to let someone down, and almost felt as if i was to blame for their sadness, even though i was completely honest the whole time."
The accompanying music video sees Aplin hanging out with her boyfriend, but later shows her falling out with him. As Aplin going through a relationship she had that has now turned into "a box of souvenirs." Throughout the track she tries to figure it out saying "Maybe I'm the one to blame" because "Maybe [she] pulled the panic cord." Her light and airy vocals make this song a little happier than what it is about but it totally works somehow. The fresh tone to her voice is something that hasn't been heard in a while and is a welcome change.

We're still waiting for Australian rap sensation Iggy Azalea to issue her debut LP, but the rhymer is starting the press cycle for the platter, tentatively titled "The New Classic," with a video for her autobiographical debut single, "Work" that's definitely impressive. Azalea has been on the come-up for a while now, and she consistently delivers captivating lyrics, ribcage-crushing beats and raps slicker than an oil spill.
The song is a little house-heavy, covers that same uplifting narrative built on resilience, as far as the beat is concerned, but with a closer listen, the ears reveal Azalea's story of how she running away from home at 16, moving from rural Australia to Miami, and finally, Hollywood as she pursues her dreams of becoming a rapper. The track starts off smooth and ballady, with Azalea running through lines about her background as she makes her way through a stretch of desert highway, but the song soon drops into club-minded claps and screeching synths by the time she surrounds herself.
For the video, the 22-year-old rapstress didn't hesitate in pulling ideas from various sources, drew inspiration, and combines influences from Australian musical, Tarantino film and OutKast's "Bombs Over Baghdad" clip, as she tells MTV News that "I really liked this film as a kid and always identified with it because it's [about] drag queens and they have to keep stopping in small rural towns and they're not accepted." The video shows quite a journey as one of the most enduring stories in hip hop and show off she truly knows how to work, work, work that body until she gets what she wants.
Just another day in the life, Azalea details her rags to almost-riches story in Jonas & François-directed clip which features the Aussie rhymer, who has swapped out the bustier and hot pants for skinny red jeans and a nude glittery crop top, turns heads as she makes her way from a tiny desert town Louboutins, where she rides a bike through a trailer park, and flicks her ponytail while tweaking in front of a truck stop, all leading up to a significantly sultry lap dance to another male before stealing his car keys, driving off into the sunset with her girls and leaving everything behind for the big city.

My black and white heart. The Neighbourhood, an LA-Based band known for using nothing but black-and-white imagery, eventually takes grip of your attention with their second set of visuals for the breezy hit that started it all, "Sweater Weather," and if you remember, the first video for track was released a year ago, featuring the band's frontman Jesse James Rutherfor and his love interest in LA in a romantically sweet but incredibly intriguing video that left over 2 million views and so many wanting more music.
The Neighbourhood, exploded out of nowhere, is one of those bands that intentionally likes to fly under the radar with a shockingly low profile. The post-Lana Del Rey indie quintet doesn't even have a Wikipedia page! Blending many different types of genres together, the newest hipsters, who's mystique keeps our attention solely on their music, has the talent to be a breakout, mainstream band. The 5-piece California indie poppers have a very full sounding, chill vibe with some awesome vocals.
"Sweater Weather," is nothing short of amazing and a beautiful mix of indie pop with hip hop inflections. "It's too cold for you here, now, so let me hold both your hands in the holes of my sweater." It's a pretty cutesy line and the lyrics are sweet that tug at the heartstrings most, the melody is soothing and dark, and the vocals give you goosebumps on the back of your neck. "Sweater Weather," is a deliriously catchy tune filled with atmospheric guitar riffs, catchy lyrics, and an awesome visual to go along with it for depiction of the California dream.
You'd think that if you took the color out of a gorgeous sunny day in California, you'd be taking away some of the beauty. The Neighbourhood proves you wrong with this another handsome set of visuals. Filmed in typical noir fashion, the double exposed, romantic black and white glory was directed by Daniel Iglesias Jr. and Zack Sekuler. The clip shows the boys cruising around California, where it probably isn't exactly sweater weather, but enough about what fashion is permissible in California. This video is all about a chilled-out account of their more carefree days in LA and really accentuates this group's hip brand they are trying to roll with.

The "happy, free, confused and lonely in the best way" Taylor Swift tells fans what it's like to be "22" in the world premiere of her latest sunny, uplifting, fun-loving and carefree video off her 5 million plus-selling and chart-topping album "Red." The now 23-year-old seven-time GRAMMY winner premiered the video exclusively on 'Good Morning America' on Wednesday (March 13) in honor of her favorite number 13, and in celebration of her Red Tour kicking off that same day.
Swift's most blatantly pop song off her career, "22," the third cut from album, is all about trying to "forget about the deadlines" and embraces only the most sugary hooks available. Underneath the heel-clicking positivity and shiny production sits the line "We're happy, free, confused and lonely in the best way," a rather stunning meditation on being in your early 20s that's flicked off like a piece of pre-chorus lint. The thunderous pop track kicking off with an acoustic guitar, but quickly escalates into a fun anthem for sleepover parties. Even when she's having fun, Swift, the diary of a normal girl, is succinctly communicating conflicting emotion.
Swift sings of the conflicted emotions of being aged 22, as she told Billboard magazine: "For me, being 22 has been my favorite year of my life. I like all the possibilities of how you're still learning, but you know enough. You still know nothing, but you know that you know nothing. You're old enough to start planning your life, but you're young enough to know there are so many unanswered questions. That brings about a carefree feeling that is sort of based on indecision and fear and at the same time letting loose. Being 22 has taught me so much." The ins and outs of the pop star's love life have been no secret through her lyrics but who could the blond beauty be referring to in this ballad?
In the Anthony Mandler-directed video, Swift sports a 'Not a lot going on at the moment' T-shirt and chilling with her actual real-life best friends at home eating birthday cake leftovers before going out for a day (and night) of fun at the Zuma beach in Malibu, and playing on the trampoline. The females then return home to get pretty and ready to host a celebration at their place that tens and tens of people will attend. Swift dances like there's no tomorrow, throws confetti on the air and jumps backwards into a pool with her party clothes on in the finale.

Kelly Rowland flirts with the camera and gets dolled up in the playful and candy-colored festive clip for her latest single, "Kisses Down Low," the second single from the R&B chanteuse's upcoming fourth solo album, "Talk a Good Game," originally called "Year of the Woman," due later this year. The 32-year-old Destiny's Child is working on finishing touches to her new record, which she has described as "the most vulnerable" album of her career thus far.
"I wanted to just touch a woman's hand, talk to her, you know what I mean?" Rowland explained. "Like, this is my sister and I think that's one of the things that I wanted to really pronounce on this album, is a celebration of a woman." The smoldering and sensual Mike WiLL Made It produced sexy ballad details a woman in control. "I like my kisses down low, makes me arch my back, nothing can compare, to when you kiss me there," sings Rowland on the sultry slow jam, "When you give it to me slow, baby just like that." She told Big Tigger: "I think it's important for a lady to express that that's the way it should be handled some times."
When speaking of the Collin Tilley-directed visual for "Kisses Down Low," Rowland said; "I’m so excited about this video. The theme is fun and flirty and pin-up. The makeup is popping, the hair is popping, the styling is so cool, but it feels just really flirty. I wanted to bring that out of the song instead of making it as racy." Simple, yet stunning, the clip is easily one of Rowland's best. Clearly moving away from literal takes on her racy efforts, she instead opts for fun-filled flirty to great effect.
The fun and flirty visual for song treatment opts to shy away from the song's literal sexiness is an ode to receiving oral delight, as the bombshell flaunts femininity as a playful pin-up girl. the singer goes through various looks in a variety of wigs and outfits, singing about loving 'kisses down low,' and how much she likes it... a lot. Rowland lets the lyrics speak for themselves and instead of delving deeper into the raciness, instead comes up with something that's cute and flirty. We're thankful for the subtlety, especially given that the song is suggestive enough that she's actually giving directions at one point.

As if "Marcus Mumford joins a motorcycle gang" wasn't already a strong-enough concept for a music video, Mumford & Sons offer three extra plot lines in their newly-premiered music video for their latest single, "Whispers In The Dark," the third single off English folk rock band's latest critically-acclaimed sophomore album, "Babel," which won the Grammy for 'Album of the Year' last month and has sold two million copies to date.
This anthem call finds the frontman Marcus Mumford singing: "I'm a cad but I'm not a I'm not a fraud. I set out to serve the Lord." Speaking to the Big Issue, Mumford responded to the interviewer's question about the seeming religious undertones to the lyrics. "I don't even call myself a Christian," he added. "Spirituality is the word we engage with more. We're fans of faith, no religion. We're just writing songs that ask questions. Sometimes the best way to go about exploring a question, things we wouldn't necessarily talk about in conversation, is by writing a song."
When people think of Mumford & Sons as a throwback act, they mean that they use instrumentation and an aesthetic that dates back to the roots of American folk, country, and bluegrass. But when it comes to music videos, they are similarly old-school, in the sense that they really seem to be trying to make the sort of clips one of the biggest-selling rock bands in the country is supposed to make. It's the sort of classy, adventurous, vaguely artsy video that you used to expect from the likes of Coldplay, R.E.M., or whoever else was at the top of the rock heap at the moment, and Mumford & Sons are wearing that hat quite nicely.
Taking the de rigueur concept of the "live video," Mumford & Sons' members are preparing for a big gig in Jim Canty-directed clip, which is split into four small frames offers different stories of how four quadrants reache their destination and make their way to their sold-out arena shows, with Mumford riding a chopper to the show and going all "Rebel Without a Cause," Ben Lovett waking up in a parked car, Ted Dwane gazing wistfully at the sea before heading over to his show, and the eternally-rumpled Winston Marshall stepping out of a freshly-pressed suit and into a tattered costume. The four meet up at the end of the clip as the corners come together.

Kat Dahlia has not forgotten where she came from and looks back in time to drops a new video for her debut smoky soulful breakout autobiographic single, "Gangsta," which details family struggles and false representation of what is believed to be gangster. This "self" characterization is the driving force behind Dahlia's single, a true to life record about her struggles growing up, and the Sam Lecca-directed new visuals take the song to the next level.
Born in Miami, Florida, Dahlia moved to New York City where a failed relationship inspired her to write songs. "I'm always trying to create because I feel like music is constant change," Dahlia says. "You're always trying to create something forward, something new, something that sounds good and once you've found that, you've nailed it." Even though she kinda looks like Dev, Dahlia actually seems like a hip-hop Lana Del Rey crossed with the innate hardness of Rihanna. For all you closet hipsters, Dahlia might be an excellent bandwagon to hop on because this 21-year-old is destined for stardom.
On her infectious "Gangsta," which is by far the best track, Dahlia comes across as a tough independent girl surviving in a crazy, cruel world. Set to a menacing, somber track, she sing-raps in a deep, rich bass tone about her youth, growing up and the struggles her family faced in Florida. "I think that 'Gangsta' was definitely therapeutic, and that was definitely something where I sat down and really just vented about," she told MTV News about the slow-burning, R&B-influenced jam. But, Dahlia insists she's more than just hard-edged tracks, and her debut album, out this year, will show off her many sides.

Shot in her hometown, the clip reflects the hardships the gritty female act faced while growing up in Miami throughout her local haunts, with the same gritty flashbacks and shadowy edge that we've come to associate with the autobiographical track. Juxtaposed between scenes of Dahlia in a dark, damp bedroom are vignettes of Dahlia in happier times, sitting on the side of an expensive vintage whip as she reflects on her life so far. On her decision to shoot in Miami, Dahlia said, "It was really important for me to shoot this video in Miami because this is my hometown. I think that the richness and the culture, the colors, the story, it just felt right." We couldn't agree more.

Amelia Lily seems to posses some time-traveling smartphone in her latest full promo for her ravetastic new single "Party Over," the third single from British singe's upcoming debut studio album, "Be a Fighter," which is due to hit the shelves on April 29. Now, she's supporting Girls Aloud on their arena tour while putting the finishing touches on her debut LP, and let's hope the party isn't over with this new release.
Lily isn't a household name here in America yet, but in her native UK, the 18-year-old blonde bombshell is managed to ascend to superstar status with remarkable speed. Since rising to fame on the merits of her gorgeously smoky pipes and irrepressible energy as a finalist on The X Factor in 2011 - she placed third - the teenage chanteuse went on to sign a three-album deal with iconic English hitmakers Xenomania and immediately notched a smash single with her debut track "You Bring Me Joy."
Lyrically is about the ending of a relationship, "Party Over" is a hot EDM tune thanks to its outstanding beat, and Lily's soaring vocals and energy. It's a big fat drum and bass record dipped in the shiny synth-pop of Xenomania. The production is mammoth, but Lily's shouty voice is powerful enough to keep up with it. Her sound is almost Rihanna-like in parts of the verses, somewhere between the aggressive pop-rock of Pink and the frenetic pep of Cher Lloyd, with occasional shades of Kylie Minogue's dreamy disco, but as the tempo speeds up for the chorus with its big beats, Lily's now familiar powerful voice belts out the words and proves that the party is far from over.
Lily goes back and forth in time and having a blast with her buddies in a house party in the video, which was shot in Los Angeles on January 30. Kicking off with Lily dropping her cellphone in a sink full of water while doing make up, and then her phone changing the hours during the night, where she parties hard on a big night out with her mates, featuring drinking games, swimming pool shenanigans, a pillow fight and animal masks. The video ends with she stepping on and breaking her phone. Cue a flashback to the night before and the end of a party. Lily asks whether the party is over, and we have to be honest Lily, that certainly looks the case.

Just in time for the release of the Disney's fantasy adventure film "Oz The Great & Powerful," Mariah Carey unveils the uplifting music video for her newest empowering anthem, "Almost Home," which was written as the lead theme soundtrack for the motion picture. Aside from co-writing and co-producing "Almost Home" and being a panelist on 'American Idol,' Carey is currently in the studio working on her forthcoming 14th studio album, which contain a "lot more raw ballads than people might expect," the singer says, due in May.
"Almost Home" is a pop and electropop song, with elements of other music genres such as R&B, hip hop, and EDM. The 42-year-old songstress keeps delivers an inspirational message with the upbeat tune, and Carey is placed right in the mythical land from the famed movie. "'Almost Home' has a message that works beautifully with the film," Carey says. "It's a feel-good record; it gives you the feeling of reaching your home and being with people that you love."

Carey looks and sounds superb in this sweeping balled from "Oz the Great and Powerful," and sings in full voice that recalls many of her past hits and it's a return to her sound of the 1990s after the lukewarm reviews given to her recent releases, including "Triumphant (Get 'Em)." Our expectations were high. If you've ever closed your eyes, clicked your heels and wished for more Carey, then you're in luck, because your musical prayers have been answered. Carey looks ageless and you'd be surprised to learn that she turns 43-years-old on 27th of this month.
The Pop diva looks stunning and keeps it simple and classy for this photographer David LaChapelle-directed black-and-white visuals, which has glimpses from the fantasy lushly colorful film, as sensationally glamorous Carey in a beautiful couture gown with a wind machine whipping back her hair and croons her way through the Stargate co-produced motivational ballad alone in an empty room. It has a surprisingly minimalist vibe and is an absolutely abysmal way of promoting the movie, but alas, music lovers, that's just the modern age and the world we live in.

Dancehall and hip-hop has always held close sonic ties. The Moroccan-born rapper French Montana is continuing the Coke Boy craze, and doesn't seem to be showing any signs of slowing down his grind. The "Pop That" rapper finally drops off the provocative visual for his dancehall-infused track, "Freaks," his sexually-charged collaboration with Nicki Minaj who steals the limelight in her pasties. The track will appear as second single on Montana's upcoming debut LP, "Excuse My French," duo May 21.
It's par for the course for dancehall-inspired cut, which samples both Li'l Vicious Destination Brooklyn track of the same title and Chaka Demus & Pliers' 1994 single "Murder She Wrote." It combines Caribbean energy, with a hip-hop twist. Minaj pays homage to her Caribbean roots on this dancehall-flavored track by using a rhyming style reminiscent of her "Beam Me Up Scotty" days, Minaj spits some sexually-charged bars over a beat and wastes no time squatting on a throne backwards while giving an eyeful of her assets and pasty-covered boobies.
Forget the demure Minaj at the "American Idol" judges table, the rapper goes back to her raunchy roots, bouncing her notorious backside in incredibly tight spandex, gold pasties and little else. Montana told Billboard it was a no-brainier to get Minaj on the track: "Nicki Minaj being from my home town, we were talking about doing something together, and this record was it. I wanted to do something different, especially with Nicki on the record with me, and Rico Love produced it. The game hasn't had a dancehall song, a Jamaican song like this in so long, and Nicki being from Trinidad and me being from Morocco, that record is international."
The Eif Rivera-directed visual finds the pair in the midst of a good ol' fashioned basement dancehall-esque type party and amongst a constant dance battle and plenty of Dutty Wining. Montana rocks furs, but it's Young Money diva's cameo that has everyone talking. While it is French's anthem, Minaj clearly outshines the Bad Boy artist with her physique, as she really came through, taking her top off, shaking her money maker and keeps eyes set on her with her leopard ensemble and gold pasties, dripping sex appeal.

Shortly after premiering their new single "Back To Life," the guys from 30H!3 have posted the music video for the song as well. The latest track was served as the second single and fourth overall from the American electronic pop duo's upcoming fourth studio album, "Omens," which is currently set to be released June 18th.
Bro-pop behemoths 30H!3 are "Back To Life" and reclaim the throne from LMFAO, Timeflies and any other purveyors of dance-able beer pong tournament background music who have stepped in during the duo's absence after being pushed back on multiple occasions since mid-2012. The Colorado duo has also recently announced their presence on this summer's Vans Warped Tour from June 30 to July 14.
The song written by Sean Foreman and Nathaniel Motte, and it's the second track we've heard from their forthcoming LP, and as with prior cut "Youngblood," this one demonstrates a more restrained, mature sound for the guys. But while it may sound like our little party-prone brothers are growing up right before our eyes, the vandalism-heavy video and the party-centric lyrics prove they're the same brothers we've always known.
In their Mickey Finnegan-directed clip, the boys spend an afternoon terrorizing their local supermarket. And by "terrorizing," we mean "rescuing" the fresh dancing lobster and shrimp at the fish counter. Don't tell us you've never thought about doing that. After a run-in with a giant deli counter worker, the boys make a narrow escape, fresh fish in tow, and head straight to the beach. Just when you think they're about to enjoy a romantic picnic, the boys dump the fish back in the ocean! Such a noble act, but unfortunately, the fish kinda already died en route. It's super sad, but we totally support the message from 30H!3!

Miranda Lambert continues her blood-thirsty revenge streak, sharpens her acting skills and goes off the deep end in the brand-new video for "Mama's Broken Heart," the fourth single from Lambert's fourth studio album, "Four the Record." The famously fiery songstress is known for going off the rails in her songs and videos, but she reaches new heights in this particular clip, both visually and dramatically. Of course, that's exactly what we expect her to do, because her latest single, "Mama’s Broken Heart," is all about going crazy in the wake of a breakup.
Lambert has built a calculated image as country music pistol-packing bad girl, but that image works best when it's not beating us over the head a la "Fastest Girl In Town." When she's mercurial, she's magic. The 29-year-old calls "Mama's Broken Heart," is the one song she couldn't live without on the album. "The reason I love this song is because it's about how sometimes when you get your heart broken, you kinda go a little bit crazy," Lambert confessed of the moderate uptempo tune, which was penned by fellow Texan Kacey Musgraves with Shane McAnally and Brandy Clark, and it tells the story of all the things you do too much to get through the pain of heartbreak.
The lyric details this scorned woman's self-destructive means of catharsis, while wisely leaving her ultimate revenge for the listener to imagine. The song's female narrator acts out as she struggles with a break-up, which leads people to begin taking notice of her behavior. When her mother finds out, she responds by scolding her daughter and telling her to regain her composure. The narrator scarifies her spotless reputation in favor of revenge, which is in contrast with the way her mother's generation handled such situations, but ultimately she takes matters into her own hands because "[it isn't] her mama's broken heart." The song courses through the Texan's veins, and Lambert's vocal delivery is sharp, clear and poignant.
Lambert portrays her best Stepford Wife in the beginning of the Trey Fanjoy-directed what looks a 1960's-era clip, perfectly coiffed and gowned in a wealthy home, but quickly degenerates into a reasonable facsimile of Courtney Love, as she handles her heartbreak with ripped fishnets, bouffant hair, crying drunk, smoking in the bathtub, gleefully eying a kitchen knife, smeared makeup, and gardening shears - the action happens in rapid cuts as Lambert dabbles in all those things and displays a pitch-perfect balance of humor with drama in the clip,  and you can watch it below and see how she hides her crazy!

Life is such a nightmare sometimes we all wish we could be in "The State of Dreaming." As the saga of “Electra Heart” continues, Marina and the Diamonds are back and deliver ethereal-like visuals for their latest mid-tempo and appropriately dreamlike cut off of the exotic pop goddess' most recent sophomore album, "Electra Heart." The vampish new video consists of Marina and the Diamonds singing the song in both color and black-and-white on the same set of her "Wedding Bells" video, which is served as part 9 of the "Electra Heart" video series.
In the stirring ballad, the 27-year-old pop-influenced songstress excels at slower tempos and croons about "living in a make-believe land," of somewhat living in fear and insecurity in reaction to a cruel society, where her swooping vocals over an electro-pop beat bring to mind Kate Bush taking the easier option of her earlier days. And although we're a little bummed the whole aesthetic is so stationary, it does compliment the melancholy, hypnotic vibe the songs gives off pretty well! Marina explained the song's meaning on Amazon.co.uk as: "Fantasy protects us." Our heroine performs the mournful yet stirring tune amid a simple backdrop of pillars and drapes, not unlike an old abandoned movie set.
The Welsh songstress and Co. just keeps on churning out those sexy "Electra Heart" videos, and given the singer's new antihero pop vibe and alter-ego, we're not exactly complaining. Even in her pre-heart tattoo days, Marina's had us hooked for quite some time. The majestic clip opens in vintage black-and-white, and solely focuses on Marina looks stunning in an old Hollywood scarlet red Hasan Hejazi dress and veil, and singing the ethereal track in her thick, accented voice on a lonely perch amidst a regal setting, as she channeling Jane Olsen in "The Cabinet Of Dr. Caligari" - she's all dramatic expressionist eye makeup, pale skin, and dark, dark hair.
Flower petals and feathers float around her, and the editing makes it a trancelike experience. Combined with her haunting voice, Marina and the Diamonds takes the viewer and listener into their own state of dreaming. As the mid-tempto dance track gains power and kicks into gear, the alluring Marina stays put but sings into the camera, raising up her arms for emphasis, making sure we see every inch of her perfectly drawn red lips. The visuals then shift from monochrome to technicolor as she becomes more animated during the performance. Towards the end, it returns to its monochromatic look. Step into the dream below.

Dido has just dropped the music video for her new song, "No Freedom," the lead and second single from English singer-songwriter's latest fourth studio album, "Girl Who Got Away," which is a return to the more pensive balladry that marked her earliest works as she described it to Billboard magazine as "a more optimistic album," than her previous release, "Safe Trip Home," in part due to her reflections on becoming a new mother.
The 41-year-old British songstress has joined the ever-growing list of artists hoping for a big comeback in 2013, and we simply cannot believe how direly we missed her soothing, hypnotic sonic sensibilities! At 41, she looks exactly the same as she ever did: blonde, beautiful, fresh faced and smiling with a delight that beams out across the room. Her voice, too, is immediately familiar, that soft, pure tone, very precise diction and little, folky catch in her throat as she floats up to falsetto notes. "If only for today, I want to be, the girl who got away," she sings.
Dido penned her melancholy but catchy new single, "No Freedom" with San Francisco songwriter Rick Nowels, and with its pleasantly folky midtempo melody and sleepy vocal, it is rather lovely, and will no doubt appeal to fans of her breakthrough 1999 album, "No Angel." This gentle pop ballad is affected people on the frontline and built around the hook, and repeated chorus line of "No love without freedom. No freedom without love," which struck a chord in war torn countries such as Syria. Dido told BBC News that after its release, she was getting many "letters from people who are in the middle of a war."
She added: "The whole thing sounds quite unreal to me. Is that going to make you fight properly? 'Maybe you want something else. Like AC/DC?' There's even videos now from Syria. It's pretty amazing, I certainly wasn't writing about that. But when you write an intensely personal lyric, the thing that often surprises you is that it's about most things for other people." Dido's vocal stylingz always have such a calming effect on us, yet you can really tell - with her latest material specially - how she's really striking out past her comfort zone and experimenting with her sound! Enjoy the Ethan Lader-directed new clip after jump.