Today's Pick

Ella Eyre is a British singer/songwriter who quickly creating a solid buzz for herself since she made a lasting first impression guest spotting on Rudimental's massive hit "Waiting All Night," and appearances on Naughty Boy's "Think About It" alongside Wiz Khalifa. With impressive vocals mixed with a classic cool style, the 19-year-old rising star effortlessly captured notice yet again when she stepped away from the guest spots to go into the solo spotlight with the release of the official music video for her debut single, the charming and sensual slice of Neo-soul stepper "Deeper."
UK garage may well be back, but why is it the frothy, pop-centered side of the sound which is getting all the attention? Rising from the same system culture which spawned jungle, UK garage always had an aggressive side, one that matched the mood of the times. Eyre seems to grasp this. The London born singer is set to strike out on her own and she's not taking any prisoners. "I've always wanted to hit people in the face with my music, rather than tickle them. I've always been into punchy, loud songs - passionate, with a message. And I've always been really lyrical - I love the idea that someone has felt the same as me. I love honesty, brutality and rawness." she commented of her debut release recently.
"If I was to describe my music as a color, it would be red - it's loud, energetic, brutal, brutally honest at some points, and vulnerable, too" explains the talented Eyre. Out on December 15th, the new EP is led by "Deeper," a soulful, rugged cut helmed by producer Two Inch Punch, and it's another fetching affair as it highlights the young and in love crowd as they turn a restaurant into their own private dance floor. With its urban-pop vibe and her mature, gritty vocal expressing her reservations about making a deeper commitment to someone in the dance of love. Fierce and fearless!
The ever-growing songwriter and vocalist is confident and stepping out into her own, as you will notice in her latest visual for her EP title-track, which is set to be released in March 2014. The video is filled with fun choreography inside a Bodega and a strong presence from the curly haired songstress, as Eyre delivers a playful visual with scenes involving some youthful dancers doing their thing in a cafe and some solid performance shots of the young lady herself. With a voice that dips through varying levels of tonality, Eyre will sing one moment in a soulful baritone, then switch into magnificent falsettos that could melt butter.

After the haunting tale of love gone crazy in "Better Dig Two" and the definitive statement that was "Done," country sibling trio The Band Perry, fronted by Kimberly Perry, and rounded out by her younger brothers Neil and Reid,  is shifting to a more reflective place and decided to soften things up with a new video for their latest power ballad "Don’t Let Me Be Lonely," the third single from country music group's platinum debut and gold sophomore album, "Pioneer," which debuted at No.1 on the Billboard Country Albums Chart and No.2 All Genre.
Written by Sarah Buxton, Chris Tompkins and Rodney Clawson, "Don't Let Me Be Lonely" deftly balances country music's roots with a pop-leaning melody. It is fiddle-filled progressive Country music with introspective lyrics which find Kimberly singing of yearning to break free before it turns into a heartbreaking, and the loss of reckless abandonment of youth and how when we become adults, we often want to get the same feelings back, especially in our moment's of darkest despair. "When you're young, life's a dream, it's a beautiful and burning thing, we grow up and then it's gone, but the memory burns on..." says the bridge of the ballad and it finds a poetic, smart lyric.

The savvy ballad is lyrically deeper than its popish hooks suggest, showcasing how The Band Perry and their label were smart enough to record the song. Loss of youthful innocence is behind the lyrics. Kimberly is a talented vocalist capable of projecting a wide variety of emotions, but vulnerability may be what she does best. The romance angle is somewhat forced and never fully realized, leaving the overall message a little cloudy. Subtle obfuscation has served The Band Perry well. The sharper moments come describing the passage of time and tragedy of growing up: "Well the night rolls on like a long lost friend / 'Til the sunrise bleeds like the bitter end / Don't let me be lonely."
The Ben Krebs-directed video is warm and moving. It shows the three sibling bandmates are shown looking rather lonely traveling to various places and performing on different stages, thus giving their fans and audiences a look into their daily lives and what goes on behind-the-scenes. Ultimately, though, the song and the video open up into an invitation, transforming the melancholy moments into a celebratory mood that's bursting with emotion–and doing so accompanied by bright stage lights and a blistering guitar solo.

The Fray get into a really bad brawl in a Texas bar in the music video for their sing-along anthem "Love Don't Die," the first single from the Isaac Slade-led pop rock band's upcoming fourth studio album "Helios," which is due in stores on January 14 via Epic Records. The members of The Fray have found themselves at the center of a bar fight in their latest video. It's mildly entertaining as far as videos go, which is to say it has something of a narrative, which a great many these days don't.
Normally the visuals from The Fray feature the band performing and some signature piano playing but this video for "Love Don't Die" takes the band and fans in a whole new visual direction. The music video focuses on the band performing at a very rowdy bar. Punches fly, glass is broken and drinks are spilled. "Love Don't Die" is very different from the typical style of video that the band puts out. Even though the setting for the video is a departure for The Fray, it is funny and fits into the upbeat and rhythmic styling of "Love Don't Die." The video might be the band saying that they are going in a new direction and are ready for a new fight.
If John Legend's "All of Me" music video proved anything, it's that having a significant other in the business is both incredibly convenient and incredibly amazing. Suddenly, music videos become much easier to cast, not to mention the fact that fans eat it up when real-life couples get all romantic on screen. It features the guest star Candice Accola from Vampire Diaries, who is also band's guitarist Joe King real life fiancée, and holds its setting at a bar. All Accola wants to do is watch her fiancé play with her best friends, but when a bar-goer gets a little too handsy, things take a turn for the violent. But hey, it gives her fiancé the chance to play hero.
It's a pretty simple visual, which was filmed November 13 at Cowboy Palace Saloon in Chatsworth, California. The group arrive at a Texas biker bar, they hit the stage to perform the song and singing from behind a fence for their protection, then Accola and friends comes in. But when a rude guy begins to harass Accola, her real-life fiance comes to the rescue, igniting in this way and starts quite the bar brawl. The fight progresses and comes to include the entire band, and ends when the band escapes the bar on motorcycles. Accola then does what any woman would do: She kisses the heck out of him. The moment is equal amounts fun and voyeuristic.

Robin Thicke looking dapper and trots out the glitz, glamour and chorus showgirls in the brand new video to his piano-fueled flashy "Feel Good," the third single from his 2013 smash LP "Blurred Lines," nabbing his first No.1 on the Billboard 200. The "Feel Good" video is all about showgirls. And gambling. And dealing with a pretty bad hangover. It actually looks like a pretty entertaining show! From the mega-success of "Blurred Lines" to his three Grammy nominations, the 36-year-old Canadian R&B crooner has every reason to "Feel Good."
The Will.i.am-produced EDM-tinged single is an odd mix of blue-eyed soul and club-ready synth-pop, which might explain the kooky visual. It finds Thicke interrogating his lover asking her if she'd still love him whatever he does. Thicke told VH1: "I actually got to sneak in some of my problems on this one. It talks about if I party too much, or if I'm not perfect, or if I'm depressed, will you still stand by me, will you help me get through those times or will you leave me?" The new clip shows Thicke in a tuxedo at a sparkly piano; he's later joined by a troupe of female dancers, but they remained fully clothed. It definitely not risqué and surely won't get banned at this time.
"Blurred Lines" star shows off Liberace swag in celebratory clip which opened with Thicke in formal wear in an unbuttoned shirt and loose bow-tie as he sniffed a sparkling red rose. And Thicke was next shown at a large black Baldwin piano tickling the keys on a stage as puffy clouds glowed behind him. Eight dancers had their hair pulled back, dressed in long-sleeved leotards and wearing ballerina shoes joined him onstage danced in synch in a line behind Thicke. The scenery switched to a casino where Thicke sang at the edge of a roulette table as the dancers in their long-sleeved leotards looked on.
Capturing a vibe somewhere between Broadway and an over-the-top Las Vegas show, the clip finds Thicke doing the ol' song-and-dance routine amid a cadre of high-kicking chorus girls, grooving atop a rooftop and winning big at the roulette table. While all the boozing and carousing leaves Thicke writhing in a drunken, perhaps broken-hearted daze midway through the clip, our valiant hero somehow finds the will to crack a smile, pop a few more bottles of champagne and bust out a not-half-bad Carlton groove. The dancers later wore black blouses that spelled out FEEL GOOD. Watch Thicke work his charm in the dazzling clip.

Miley Cyrus gives fans an unexpected, an eyeful , and very naughty Christmas present with a raunchy music video for her newest single "Adore You." The controversial singer writhes around in her underwear while filming herself underneath her bed sheets in the video for the power pop ballad, which will serve as the third single from her latest gold-selling LP, "Bangerz," a thirteen-track set, the record opens with this tender love ballad "Adore You," which lyrically describes an affection towards a romantic partner, allowed Cyrus to showcase her vocal abilities and continue her winning streak.
In a victory for fine taste and good judgement, Cyrus has settled on Oren Yoel-produced unabashedly romantic slow jam "Adore You," and this pop and R&B ballad finds Cyrus declaring her love for her beau as Cyrus shows her careful balance of vulnerability and strength while crooning: "I could do this for eternity, you and me We're meant to be in holy matrimony / God knew exactly what he was doing / When he led me to you." This is one of the few "Bangerz" tracks on which Cyrus does not score a co-writing credit, so any thoughts that it was written about her ex fiancee Liam Hemsworth can be discounted.
Filmed with a night-vision camera, the clip leaked online Christmas Day, a day earlier to the singer's apparent chagrin, inspiring a saucy tweet from the pop star and it's filled with Cyrus, well, being Cyrus. In the provocative, nearly five-minute long clip, the former Disney Channel star is seen rolling around filming herself nearly naked on under a sheet on a bed, wriggling in a bra and panties and doing plenty of self-exploration and simulating masturbation in various states of ecstasy. Before the music video was done, Cyrus also steams things up and hopped in a bathtub in an all-black, crocheted outfit, writhing around in the water, sticking out her tongue and caressing her body.
The 21-year-old starlet has been teasing the video all week and she has caused controversy yet again for the scenes in the video featuring her masturbating. Despite her disappointment about leaked earlier, Cyrus seemed to manage to enjoy the rest of her Christmas with her family. Prior to her official "Adore You" music video release, the "Wrecking Ball" songstress spent some quality time with her family, posting a shot of herself with her loved ones on Christmas Day, play fighting near their Christmas tree.

In honor of the release of this year's holiday-timed Beatles' collection "On Air - Live at the BBC Volume 2," Apple premiered the clip for "Words of Love." The charming and shiny new music video features the version of the Beatles' classic Buddy Holly cover that appears on the new album, recorded live at the BBC Radio studios a year before the band cut the song for a record. "Words of Love" is certainly not new, but director Pete Candeland has given the track a new lease of life with a partially animated music video that creates a poignant backdrop for the Beatles' harmonies and the often psychedelic vibe.
The sequel to 1994's "Live At The BBC," is focused exclusively on the teeny-bopping, moptopping 1963-64 era with 63 tracks. This take on "Words of Love," which appears on the new album, was recorded on July 16, 1963 at the BBC's Paris Theater in London. It was broadcast a month later on the show "Pop Goes the Beatles," more than a year before English rock band released a version of the song on 1964's "Beatles for Sale." In the United States, it was on the album "Beatles VI." It is the first official Beatles video since "Real Love" from 1996's "Anthology 2."
John Lennon and Paul McCartney, who were fans of Holly, harmonized on their version, holding to the vocal and instrumental sound of Holly's original as well as they could. When they had played this song in their early days at the Cavern Club in 1961 and 1962, Lennon and George Harrison were the vocalists. Ringo Starr played a packing case on this song as well as drums, to achieve a similar sound to Holly's "Everyday." So the new video for Buddy Holly cover "Words Of Love" naturally zeroes in on the peak of Beatlemania, before psychedelics and facial hair entered the picture.

The clip combines period-specific archival vintage black and white and color footage from The Beatles' concerts, tomfoolery and time on the road and intersperses them with whimsical animated segments which gives the short video an endearing, home-woven aesthetic. We see the band's "tourbus" loaded to the sky with luggage drive up and down and undulating landscape and see screaming fans clamor to get close to the band as multi-colored confetti streams from the sky. Watch below and marvel that this stuff happened 50 years ago which gives an impressive look at the frenzied Beatlemania days.

Tom Odell takes a rather long walk on a desolate road through a misty forest in the music video for his latest cut "I Know," the fifth single from Odell's chart-topping debut studio album, "Long Way Down," which dropped just last summer that went gold in September. When it comes to songwriting, Odell is not afraid of exposing himself. It's evident when you listen "Long Way Down," which filled with earnest, yearning love songs.
The 23-year-old British singer-songwriter and pianist's music stands somewhere outside of the contemporary in an evergreen spot reserved for urgent singer-songwriters and their breakup ballads. "Songs are about just being totally honest and putting those words to music," Odell explains. "I Know"  finds Odell singing about the realization that something he loves is over. Like the other tracks on his "Long Way Down" album, it is autobiographical. He told Q magazine: "I want to write songs people can relate to. I want people to cry, or be in ecstasy. So it has to be real. I find this song fits in perfectly with the wintery theme.
The accompanying beautifully-photographed performance video sees Odell performing the track while walking in slo-mo through a Scandinavian forest. "We wanted to shoot a stripped down performance piece on Odell in some moody Scandinavian light," director Magnus Harder explained. "It's something very subdued and at the same time, a very powerful song, so putting Tom in this alluring environment makes sense (at least for me)." It was shot in the atmospheric woods of Mörkö (known as the 'Dark Island'), south of Stockholm, Sweden.

Not the most easy going location. pretty distant, lots of mud, camera trucks stuck in the mud, flat tyres, wild boars and very short daylight time. DoP Simon Rudholm captured Odell's performance using rare vintage Polish film lenses. Then, to compliment the dark soul of the location, some neat visual effects conjure the video's surprisingly surreal and chilling ending. But then, once night falls, it ultimately becomes quite spooky... Give the video a watch to see who is waiting for him at the end of one very long road.

2013 ACM Top New Male Artist Brantley Gilbert is finally back with a prohibition-themed music video for his new diarrhetic single "Bottoms Up," the first single from his upcoming third album "Just as I am." The video can be outlined in two key elements: moonshine and beautiful women that shows the Georgia singer and his accomplices decked out in vintage duds as they prepare to party and, if need be, rumble with the law. "Bottoms Up" is not a hard Southern rocker in the vein of previous Gilbert hits but even with a slower tempo and lower-key vocal melody, the song still exhibits a gritty, dark-edged tone.
With "Bottoms Up," Gilbert is finally delivering all-new music to fans. But does it stack-up to the rocking mid-tempos fans have come to expect from the self-made 'rebel?' This will all depend on what one thinks about the current sounds and lyrical tropes in mainstream Country music. Quite simply, "Bottoms Up" is a youthful party song where I hear parts of what's popular in the mainstream mixed with a GnR-like guitar solo and Mat Kearney-like elements and pop/rock vocal and production techniques. So, what it all boils down to is whether you like the sound of what Gilbert did before or where he' apparently heading as he evolves into a mainstream Country star.
The clip begins with a bunch of submissive prohibition-era flapper girls. Their glittering dresses and perfectly coiffed hair contrast nicely and doing all the heavy lifting-loading up rugged wooden boxes full of illegal moonshine into Gilbert's vintage car, while he also attired in 1930s apparel and orders them around, flexing his back muscles and showing off his water pistols for the camera. Yes, what a gentleman. Then what ensues is the most self-absorbed five minutes one can witness this side of masturbating to oneself in a mirror.
A group of armed bodyguards then follow behind as they drive to their destination: a Gatsby-inspired party at a mansion in the middle of nowhere. Inside, though, the scene transforms into a modern-day shindig with Gilbert dressed in his leather jacket and sporting numerous rings and chains, and is surrounded by women who are literally fawning over him and he doesn't seem to mind one bit. Eventually, the short film cuts to the outside of the mansion, where it's once again shifted back in time. The sheriff starts to walk up to the home, which is blaring music, but you'll have to watch to see what happens in the end. Let's just say one thing: you don't want to mess with this country-rocker, whether it's modern-day or 1930.

Brittany Smith aka Brit Smith, has one of the more complicated back stories in pop. She's an American actress, model, singer and songwriter. She was best known for being one half of short-lived girl band Brit & Alex (with twin sister Alex), up until their breakup in 2009 (not as twins, only as a musical duo). She debuted as a solo artist in 2010 under the stage name Matisse with her only single to date but the genuinely amazing "Better Than Her," one of the best dance-pop singles in recent memory.
The persistent diva signed to Interscope Records earlier this year and just dropped her debut single (under her own name) and a fun video for "Provocative (hiDhi)" on her debut studio album, scheduled for release in the first quarter of 2014. Produced by Timbaland and features will.i.am, "Provocative" is a pseudo-Timbo-pussycat-urban track, that attempts to emulate the sound of the glorious era of "Loose" by Nelly Furtado, but fails. Her style is a strange mix between Christina Aguilera performing "Dirrty," Shakira's hair, and any of these new urban singers who emerge without warning in the music scene.
The result is a bone-shaking, bass-heavy club banger that absolutely compels you to move. Just ask the legendary Betty White. If you can't beat 'em, join 'em, right? That's the lesson White learns when the 28-year-old brilliant booty dancer Smith holds a dance class in the studio above her apartment. It takes nearly the entire song for White to finally make her way to the dance studio, but when she does, it's memorable. The 91-year-old Golden Girls star decides to go upstairs, signed up for the awesome video, hit the dance floor and ends up showing Smith how to bust a move when the music gets unbearably loud - causing items to fall off tables, shelves and television sets.
"Turn that music off!" she bellows across the room. "Alright bitches, wanna know how to move provocative? Check this out...," before joining in on the dance party. Then, with a twinkle in her eye, the super-fit nonagenarian shimmies on to the floor and rapidly steals the show from Smith and her twerking pals. Like Gloria Estefan once said, the rhythm’s gonna get you. And it does - turns out White's the most provocative lady in the room. Strippers and spin class instructors have a new favorite anthem!

Kings of Leon have continued the current trend of arty and thoughtful music videos with their new single, "Beautiful War," a cut off their latest sixth album, "Mechanical Bull." Kings of Leon weren't kidding when they named their album: A mechanical bull figures prominently at the center of the band's new dramatic video, starring 'Tron: Legacy' actor Garrett Hedlund as a hot-tempered cowboy who supposedly struggling with his inner demons whilst trying to defend his pride, after a violent altercation at a dive bar, winds up in jail.
Described by the Guardian as "a slow-grower about love and fighting," the atmospheric ballad about two lovers kissing and making up after falling out was originally penned by frontman Caleb Followill the same weekend as 2008 hit single "Use Somebody" and recorded by him while drunk in the studio. The vocalist recalled on Zane Lowe's BBC Radio One show that he didn't remember the session, but producer Angelo Petraglia played it back for him the next day and encouraged him to flesh it out.
If Kings of Leon's new album "Mechanical Bull" find the Tennessee rockers settling into focused professionalism, their recent promotional efforts have cannily shown a willingness to expand the group's horizons. The gang from 'It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia' did their strange, brilliant thing in an album promotional video. Now comes the video for arena-rock anthem "Beautiful War," and it turns out to be a pretty gripping short film. The song itself rings out and roars like an "Old Hickory Joshua Tree," while the evocative new clip, is a gripping western tale of a professional bull rider, star-crossed lovers and a life behind bars, certainly makes fighting look, well, not unattractive.
The clip was modeled on 1970s Westerns and was inspired by the '80s John Travolta film "Urban Cowboy." is just one part of an epic, nearly seven-minute story that chronicles two men and a woman who go out for a drink at a country bar and the repercussions of jealousy. Its themes of grand personal tragedy, certainly seems to be aiming for that. There are scenes of dancing, fighting brothers, a long walk of shame for an inmate dressed in a black-and-white cowboy outfit and, quite literally, a mechanical bull. It all adds up to a story that's both improbable and touching, and at the end of the clip, the clichéd warden character, who acts as an overseer à la Caesar, claps in approval.

Unlike their usual pop-style self, Little Mix have unveiled a rather more emotional looking black and white video for their ode to female empowerment, "Little Me," the second single off British girl group's upcoming  sophomore album "Salute," which is due to hit stores in the US on February 4. The fabulous four - Leigh-Anne Pinnock, Jesy Nelson, Jade Thirlwall, and Perrie Edwards - are caught in a derelict building as they belt out their heartfelt tune about going back in time to give words of encouragement to their younger selves.
This stripped-back ballad finds Little Mix singing about what they'd say to their younger selves, given the chance. They would encourage their 'little me' to speak up for themselves and stand tall. This samples at the start and end of the song the melody from French composer Faure's "Pavane." Nelson explained that the girls wrote the track as advice for their young fans: "'Little Me' is about how there are so many things you used to worry about when you were little," she said. "Just the stupidest little things, and then as you get older you just think back and go 'I wish I'd have done this or I wish I'd done that.'"
The '90s throwback masters Little Mix have been known for their uplifting tunes, and now with new single "Little Me," the girls are set to prove that girl power is here to stay. After the success of the sassy lead single "Move," the new track which the girls describe as "the baby to 'Change Your Life'" embodies the band's important message to be yourself and to never give up. While "Move" saw the gals getting all sassy with a bunch of fit guys and flashy lights, Little Me's all stripped-back, moody and meaningful. The song has an inspiring message of what you would tell yourself when you were younger, and the video intermixes it with different people's "little me" messages.
In the inspiring video, we meet group of adorable young girls talk about what they want to be when they grow up, and tell stories of their aspirations, struggles and how they overcame their obstacles. As the clip introduces us to more little kids with big dreams, Little Mix moodily sing the words to "Little Me" while camped out in a dingy warehouse. "We wanted to have a song for the fans to relate to, but also for us to relate to as well," Pinnock explained to their new clip. "I think we've all been through it, you want to tell your little self 'Don't worry, the spots are going to go away.' 'Don't worry, they're picking on you now but you're gonna be a superstar in ten years time.'"

Well! It's certainly a very merry Christmas in Leona Lewis' world, as the 28-year-old English songbird has been getting in the holiday spirit lately and has released the music video for her festive new holiday single "One More Sleep," the lead single from her debut Christmas album and fourth studio album, "Christmas, with Love," a ten-track album featuring covers of seven yuletide classics and three originals - came from label boss Simon Cowell, a man who knows that Christmas albums sell by the bucketload in America.
"One More Sleep" is a Motown inspired song and its hook consists of a Christmas countdown, whereby Lewis sings "Cause I got five more nights of sleeping on my own/ Four more days until you're coming home/ Three more dreams of you and mistletoe/ Two more reasons why I love you so." Lewis "trills" the lyrics "I've got five more nights of sleeping on my own/ Four more days until you're coming home" over the Motown inspired beat of xylophone phones and jingle bells. Waiting the return of her partner to come home on Christmas Day, Lewis adopts an "angelic tone" as she sings "Three more dreams of you and mistletoe/ Two more reasons why I love you so."
The wonderfully old-fashioned tune is more heart-warming and sweet than a Christmas pudding, and "One More Sleep" may have narrowly missed landing at No.1 on Sunday but it's entry into the Top 5 had nonetheless made the former X Factor contestant a record breaker. Which means Lewis has more than enough reason to celebrate this Christmas, now that she officially has more Top 5 hits than any other British female solo act in history. "The support from my fans has been tremendous," Lewis told OfficialCharts.com. "I could not do this without them!" The singing sweetheart is making us feel warm and toasty like hot cider this holiday season! Between the adorbzies choreography and her precious vocals, we're about ready to explode with Christmas cheer!
As for the "One More Sleep" video, it's very appropiate. An extra-beautiful Lewis rocking a red lip in the snow and arrives to her cabin in the snowy woods, prepares everything, decorates her sweet holiday home, and welcomes her lovely family and friends, which included her boyfriend Dennis Jauchs. They will have dinner, and exchange gifts on Christmas Eve. Lewis looks certainly breathtakingly stunning. Lewis said the video "came from an idea we did a little while ago where a camera crew came into the studio and shot me and my friend just kinda messing around and just in the studio being me."

John Mayer and Katy Perry make it clear who they love in the lovey-dovey new video for their mellow duet "Who You Love," which appears as the sixth song and the third single from Mayer's sixth studio album, "Paradise Valley." Yes, Mayer and his on-again-off-again girlfriend Perry are among the couples in love featured in their new clip trying not to get thrown from a mechanical bull which seems to be placed in the middle of the desert. This provides a more playful aspect to the video, which largely focuses on close-ups of twosome singing, snuggling, being adorable and unintentionally making single people cry.
This Folk-flavored soft ballad was written by Mayer, with Perry writing her verse. Lyrically, "Who You Love" is about accepting falling in love with someone, based around the idea that "you love who you love." Musically, it is a gentle and breezy song, drawing influence from country music. It has the feel of an old soul classic, while the lyrics discuss the joy of falling in love with someone when you least expect it. This was the first musical collaboration between the couple.
Mayer told Billboard magazine that he wanted to write a melodic and confessional song about accepting who you love. He explained on writing the song, "'Who You Love' is a sweet melody that tells the story of opening your heart up and allowing yourself to fully love the person in your life or specifically to 'love who you love, who you love.' It was a really great experience and the song is one of these like old FM '70s and '80s sort of like duets, and I listened back to it; it's, like, really convincing. And I watched it get made and I'm still kind of taken aback." There's romance here, but it's more of the greeting card variety.
"We set up the casting call for real couples," Mayer said of the Sophie Muller-directed clip that features him, Perry and real-life pairs snuggling while riding a mechanical bull and showered with flurries of confetti, the musical power couple laugh and gaze into each others' eyes. "There was nothing scripted in that video, except putting the bull in the middle of the desert." That's a metaphor about love, Perry explained, "Relationships are kind of like riding a bull. You hang on for dear life and sometimes you get a little buck here and there and sometimes you get things thrown at you but you get back on."

After topping the charts with their 2010 hit "Love the Way You Lie," Eminem and Rihanna reunite in his career-spanning video for their latest hit "The Monster," the second official single off rapper's eighth studio album "The Marshall Mathers LP 2." Directed by filmmaker Rich Lee, the clip sees the 41-year-old rapper reflecting on his career and life, recreating scenes from iconic moments in his career including the videos for "My Name Is," "Lose Yourself," and "The Way I Am." Solid visual for a solid song.
We hear Eminem attacking his internal demons on his verses whilst Rihanna embraces her inner monster on the hook. The Folk-flavored, EDM-amplified production was supplied by New York-born DJ and producer Frequency. Eminem said that it wasn't just Rihanna's vocal gifts that persuaded him to link up with her again. "The perception of the record, what it's saying, I thought it would be a good idea to have her on it because I think people look at us like we're both a little nuts," he told MTV News' Sway. "That's one of the things that I was telling her in making the record: I think that people look at us a little crazy."

The song, a career highlight and a personal rhyme about his history, focuses on Eminem's ongoing struggles with fame, and his desire to live a normal life. "It was this thing where I want this attention for this music, but then I want to be able to go in public, and I want to be able to eat a f***ing sandwich and be left alone," Eminem admitted during an interview with BBC Radio 1 DJ Zane Lowe. "I've never been an attention seeker, and [rap] seems like a hell of a career choice [for me], but... that's not why I do it, just to get attention. I don't like to go in public and walk around and be like 'Here I am.' It's not what I want."

The promo opens with Eminem sitting in a therapist office as Rihanna - complete with cropped black hair - plays his therapist as she scribbles notes on a pad. A TV nearby plays retro Eminem clips on a loop as Marshall Mathers, the man, appears to slip into a state of hypnosis. Down the rabbit hole he goes or more accurately a free-falling elevator shaft. As he tumbles, visions of Dr. Dre, 8 Mile, Elton John and several iconic moments from his career flutter by. In the end, Eminem comes face-to-face with his formerly drug-addicted self, choosing to turn around and walk the other way.

Beyoncé's done "breaking the Internet" and slowly turning back to the usual channels as she revealed 17 new music videos for each track on her last Friday-released surprise fifth self-titled studio album, but the singer has now decided to release the visual for "Drunk In Love" with husband Jay-Z, which will act as the first official single from the new project. In the VEVO premiere, Beyoncé laid out on the beach with with her husband in the steamy, black-and-white clip directed by Hype Williams. The superstar couple shows how madly in love they are as Jay-Z sips D'Usse and Beyoncé rocks his chain.
Produced by Boots and Timbaland, the hip-hop/R&B-infused "Drunk in Love," one of the more overtly sexual tracks on the album, finds Beyoncé singing about making love while intoxicated over producer Noel "Detail" Fisher's shimmering synths and skittering drums. Jay-Z takes things further rapping about "foreplay in the foyer" as well as a rhyme comparing Beyoncé's breasts to breakfast. Truthfully, the hypnotic tune almost becomes an afterthought because of the seductive songstress. "Drunk in Love" is described having a riot of warm, hazy synths and chunky trap beats, which lyrically dispenses of any subtlety that some of the other tracks possess as an explicit ode to love-making.
The first video is actually one of the album's simplest, mostly consisting of a sparkling Beyoncé dancing around on the beach with a different sort of jubilant, before being joined by her world-conquering husband. It's not the album's peak, musically or visually, but unconstrained by heavy choreography - Beyoncé seems to mostly freestyle - it legitimately looks like they're having fun. "We shot in Miami last summer," said Beyoncé during her iTunes Rhythmic Radio session. "The shoot was extremely effortless and spontaneous and we completely captured the energy of the song."
The two lovahs take a late night stroll along the sand with the waves crashing onto the shore. While getting soaking wet in the water, we see a bikini-clad Beyoncé sensually moving her body to the smooth beat on the sand. Husband Jay-Z comes in to rap his verse in the bridge, holding but not sipping a glass of white wine. Beyoncé will then caress her man and sing softly in his ear. They went from "Crazy in Love" to "Drunk in Love." The sound is a perfect backdrop for Beyoncé and Jay-Z to make sweet, sweet music together! Watch the Carters sizzle in the sand in the intoxicating visuals.

Following the breakout success of "Wake Me Up" single, the Swedish producer Avicii has released a heartstring-pulling and touching tribute to the troops video for his latest single, "Hey Brother," which features uncredited vocals from American bluegrass singer Dan Tyminski, is the third single from Avicii's debut studio album, "True." Avicii's success this year has been well documented, from the young Swede being deemed a "global marketing machine," in part due to high-profile endorsements from the likes of Ralph Lauren, Sony and Macy's.
Inspired by music from the 2000 movie "O Brother, Where Art Thou?" "Hey Brother" has the traditional Avicii feel and is not afraid to cross into a variety of musical genres. Avicii is gaining something a reputation for churning out epic videos, so the stakes are high for worldwide smash “Hey Brother”. Happily, it looks like Swede has struck gold again. At least if the patriotic military-themed preview is any indication. The "Hey Brother" video takes on a passionate and patriotic theme, and expresses a lot of emotional aspects and themes by being simple and focusing on the main character.
In order to create a genuine all-American scene in the video, director Jesse Sternbaum shot the clip in Bakersfield, California, with producers holding a casting call there back in November in order to populate the scenes with authenticity. Avicii's "Hey Brother" Video tells the beautiful story between two siblings described in the the lyrics and will tug on your heartstrings. It could be the Swedish DJ's most audacious clip yet. Unlike his blockbuster "Wake Me Up" and "You Make Me" visuals, this new effort has a strong narrative - showing the impact of war on a pair of siblings.
The mini movie follows a heartfelt narrative that juxtaposes images from the life of two young country brothers growing up in an American small town with nostalgic scenes in idyllic middle America catching fireflies and going camping, barbecues and sleepovers together. When the scene flashes forward, the older brother is sent to war, from which he does not return. The younger brother is then seen carrying a folded American flag to his brother's grave as he receives a military funeral. Their family tragedy packs an emotional punch and it's great to see Avicii make an unexpected last minute cameo.

The Killers have unveiled a glitzy music video for their surging "Just Another Girl," a new tune included on their first greatest hits compilation and career-spanning best-of "Direct Hits." The Glee star Dianna Agron steals the mic from The Killers' lead singer Brandon Flowers in the new video as the 27-year-old actress impersonates frontman by styling his rockstar ensembles from the band's past music videos. The whole thing has this "Robert Palmer's "Addicted to Love video meets a Killers-themed episode of Glee" vibe.
The song, a strummy midtempo jam, is a collaboration between Stuart Price, who had previously worked with the band on their third studio album "Day & Age," and frontman Brandon Flowers. It seems to find room for every era of the band's career: The strummy dustbowl Springsteen influence, the blaring neon synths, the glammy strut. There's also something that I can only describe as a robotic slide-guitar sound in there. The Killers' Las Vegas-inspired aesthetic is forever.
The Killers' drummer Ronnie Vannucci Jr recently called putting out a 'best of' a "douchie move," and admitted that the band weren't pleased with the decision to release a greatest hits album at this point of their career, but their contract agreement with their record label forced them to do so: "I don't feel like everybody put their prints on it. We're all playing on it, but we had to do things in stages. I cut those drums in Cincinnati then Stuart processed them. It's not what would happen normally."
The Warren Fu-directed music video finds Glee alum portraying Flowers, complete with the singer's stylish signature suit jacket, which includes feathers for shoulder pads, donning rock 'n' roll duds that echo his onstage guises over the years and "All These Things That I've Done" era mustache as the band's history is retraced through the lens of their past music videos. "All of my friends say I should move on/ All of my friends say she's just another girl," goes the song's chorus. Flowers does show up near the end of the clip, but only to applaud Agron's job well done.

Jamie Lynn Spears is making a comeback, and released the music video for her first country ballad, "How Could I Want More," was released last month and garnered good reviews, surprising critics with the tune's sophistication and bluesy feel. The 22-year-old country singer and younger sister of pop superstar Britney Spears surprised a lot of people with her gentle, wistful and embraces Nashville on her new single and channels her inner country girl in the new video, which features the former Zoey 101 star singing intimately in a recording studio.
While Britney has always opted for shiny pop tunes, her baby sister, Jamie Lynn, is taking a different musical path. The new track - full of acoustic guitar and Nashville flourishes - plays up Jamie Lynn's strong country vocals, which are reminiscent of Carrie Underwood. On the track, a tease for her forthcoming debut album, Jamie Lynn sings about being in a relationship with a guy who treats her like a princess and swears he loves her. And while she has some reservations, in the end, she realizes "how could I want more?" even if things aren't always perfect.
"How Could I Want More" is a traditional-style country music ballad that opens with an acoustic guitar riff, while a pedal steel guitar comes in as the song progresses, resulting in a distinctively country sound. Personal yet relatable lyrics carry a narrative about a seemingly-perfect relationship that still finds the narrator wanting more. The understated country gem is the polar opposite of what you would expect from Britney's little sister - putting the emphasis on vocal ability and lyrical content.
The video takes a similar no frills approach. It's basically Jamie Lynn in a room full of lightbulbs intercut with scenes from the studio. "Lying in the green grass underneath the blue sky," she sings. "Looking at a good man, you oughta be the right guy/that's got the kind of heart that any girl would die for/so how could I want more? How could I want more?" She owes a lot to her big sister, but Jamie Lynn surprised everyone when the burgeoning country music star gave a musical shout out to her superstar sibling Britney, and her performance as sweet and innocent yet powerful.

What's a Miley Cyrus guest spot these days if it doesn't include the words "twerk" and "molly"? In the simple, sharp and spiffy new clip for will.i.am's "Feelin' Myself," the lead single appears on the new deluxe edition of the Black Eyed Peas mastermind's solo album, "#willpower," our pop's reigning queen of doing whatever you want all the time oozes all sorts of nonchalant braggadocio alongside the Black Eyed Peas honcho, Wiz Khalifa and French Montana. Amidst a background of sharp, shifting digital shapes, the four stars keep it simple and boastful, with Will getting his own cadre of clones to back him up on the dancefloor.
This club-ready track finds the Black Eye Pea leader feeling pretty good about himself as he brags about how his profile has risen over the years. And the futuristic clip is the latest example of Cyrus' budding MC skills, which she shows off in the video, along with her signature vocals on the song's hook. The party starts with Will and Cyrus posing on an all-black background as red geometric shapes flutter behind them. she joins him dressed in a black leather bra, matching high-waisted shorts, heels and a gold-chain pattern Chanel jacket.
"We be in the club, bottles on deck/And goddamit, goddamit I'm feeling myself," Will and Cyrus sing in unison, as the BEP boss switches through a series of fly outfits while "Terminator"-style digital graphics flash over his body. Montana's verse finds him hanging in the club, proving his swag by fanning a giant stack of bills and making it rain in his digital playground. "I made it to the top cuz I do it fly," Will raps over the spare, bouncy bass beat. "Feelin' f***in' lucky like the f***in' Irish/I see the whole game from my third iris/I tour the whole world like a dirty pirate/To give my whole club some Miley Cyrus."
Standing in the middle of an infinity shot of red pyramids, Cyrus does her thing, twerking out her NSFW bars about late, fuzzy nights. "Now everybody trippin' like they poppin' molly/Up in the club is where you find me," she raps. "I do it real big never do it tiny/If you 'bout the bulls*** don't remind me." The ode to looking in the mirror and liking what you see also includes some verses from Khalifa about, what else? Hitting the club with paper, bottles and his usual party supplies. By the end all four artists are bouncing around together on the futurescape before their images disappear like a TV turning off.

Fresh off his successful night hosting the American Music Awards, Pitbull took to his Facebook page to premiere the new video for his RCA label mate Ke$ha collaboration "Timber." The Dr. Luke-produced catchy "folktronica" track (inspired undoubtely by Avicii's "Wake Me Up"), serves as the lead single from the Miami-born rapper's new EP "Global Warming: Meltdown." Pink suits! Country-line dancing! Pigs swimming in the ocean! Fitting the song's country-western vibe, the video finds Mr. Worldwide living it up in a classic Southern honky-tonk along with Ke$ha, a Nashville native.
Of the many charming things about Pitbull, perhaps the most charming is his ability to have a blast wherever he goes. A beach party? A weird roof? The set of Men in Black III? All are made just a little more fun with Pitbull's goofy grin. Pitbull revealed in an interview that the featured artist on "Timber" was originally supposed to be Rihanna. At the time, however, he stated that Rihanna was already asked to be the featured artist on the lead single off Shakira's upcoming album and didn't have time to record "Timber." Pitbull later asked Ke$ha to be the featured artist and she accepted.
What goes up must come down. It's the simple law of gravity. Pitbull and Ke$ha's harmonica-infused dance anthem "Timber" doesn't require too much introspection, but there is a clever use of metaphor and double meaning. The song furthers the idea that before you go down for the nigh to, you know, sleep, you must party hard. Here is why the use of the word "timber" works so flawlessly in this song. It's going down. The night will end with someone face down, either hungover or from dance floor exhaustion. The night is eventually going down - you can't stop gravity or the morning light, so live it up while you can.
The harmonica-tinged and square dance-inducing party jam gets a visual which is expectedly wild and straight out of the saloon, with the sultry Ke$ha walking in slow motion while a gaggle of back-up performers get their "Coyote Ugly" on. But it's not all cowboy hats and mechanical bulls: Pitbull pops up in the Bahamas for his verses, apparently gazing upon the livestock from afar and instead looking on with childlike wonder at a group of sharks in the crystal-clear blue water beneath his boat. This country-dance visual that plays off the song's fusion of big beats, quasi-yodeling and barnyard belting, but that's really the point of a night you won't remember.

After teasing the music video for days on her Twitter and Instagram, Britney Spears has finally released sexy music video for her beautiful Sia-penned power-ballade "Perfume," the official follow-up to her first "Work Bitch" and therefore the second official offering, which is a shining light on the otherwise mediocre eighth studio album "Britney Jean," got a fitting video tribute, which features the femme fatale at her most vulnerable, trying to win the affections of her sexy onscreen love interest - played by model Alexander Kjellevik - who's really nothing more than a "womanizer."
Speaking with Alan Carr on his Chatty Man talk show, Spears explained: "It's about a girl that knows her boyfriend is cheating on her. She just wants him to smell her perfume so she can mark her territory on him; it's a really beautiful song." Spears also told E! News about the ballad, "'Perfume' is incredibly special to me because it hits close to home, and I think the story is relatable to everyone," she said. "Everyone's been through an insecure moment in a relationship that's left them vulnerable and I think this song captures that."
This song is synthesizer-free and full of emotion. Although being a beautiful song, and Spears' most lyrically weighty single in a very long time, "Perfume" isn't connecting, yet, with the general public in the US. As for the Joseph Khan-directed video, it's quite brilliant. The storyline for the music video is simple enough: Spears and her sexy video boyfriend have a glorious time together. They snuggle in bed, exchange plenty of hugs and dive into a motel pool. Unfortunately, as Spears learns in the clip, she isn't the only woman this longhaired hunk is snuggling with. See, he's also hugging a brunette, swimming in a pool with her and even cooking in her kitchen.
As the lyrics to "Perfume" suggest, Spears is getting two-timed. Things get hot and heavy between the two as she sings about being paranoid that his roaming eye has lead him back into the arms of his ex-girlfriend. And while she's not happy about it, she's not particularly angry either. No, Spears is just plain old sad. The pop star comes up with a brilliant way of letting a mistress know you exist: "mark your territory" on him with your signature scent. And that's just what she does in the video for the song. As Spears runs through the song, she often looks rather glum and angry, a natural feeling for anyone who feels then need to mark someone with their perfume. Will she get revenge, or, at the very least spark an olfactory-based blowout? Watch and see.

To close out the year, New Zealand electro pop songstress Lorde has released a magical new arresting, adult-free video for her excellent ballad "Team," the second single and follow-up to her massive debut hit tune "Royals" taken from the 17-year-old chanteuse's debut LP, "Pure Heroine," the seventh best album of 2013. The down-tempo track, draws from the genres of pop, rock, electronic dance and electrohop, gets a suitably dark clip which is a beauteous, slightly melancholic series of striking images and a must-see.
Filmed in Red Hook, Brooklyn, the Young Replicant-directed clip opens with picturesque shots of the ocean, before settling on a giant abandoned edifice on the water. Inside, sporting a set of braids, is the self-anointed "queen bee," Lorde. Surrounded by greenery, the singer is flanked by her minions-who've all been transported to this mystical commune, and pass around a gallon jug of some mysterious blue liquid as she croons the song's addictive chorus. This is the "palace" within Lorde's dreams and it is, by the looks of it, a pretty magical place.
In between shots of the teenage pop singer spazzing out in a blue, foliage-filled universe, two young men have it out with one another, indulging in kidnapping and motorbike jousting. It's an unseen city, apparently, without any parental guidance. Lorde finds herself on what appears to be an island of misfit teens. It's a place that looks like the villain's lair from Skyfall, where Lorde sings about themes familiar from her breakout single while a dirt-bike jousting tournament takes place. The message of the story, at least according to the refrain about being "on each other's team," is one of togetherness, but the down-tempo track and bleak visuals suggest otherwise.
"This video was borne from a dream I had a few months ago about teenagers in their own world, a world with hierarchies and initiations, where the boy who was second in command had acne on his face, and so did the girl who was queen," Lorde posted on Facebook when the video debuted on last Tuesday. "I dreamt about this world being so different to anything anyone had ever seen, a dark world full of tropical plants and ruins and sweat. and of this world, I dreamt about tests that didn't need to be passed in order to be allowed in: sometimes the person who loses is stronger. Enjoy XX!"

After months of teasing online, Lana Del Rey released her short film for "Tropico" at the Cinerama Dome in Hollywood, and now you can watch the whole thing. The 27-minute passion project is just that: a work of overflowing, era-traversing passion. Ultimately it's a love story. Del Rey's new "Tropico" works, more or less, as a glossy but bugged-out extended-length music video, a pretentious but sensationalistic dive into her center-free aesthetic. As the virgin mother, hints "Tropico" film will send Del Rey's career to heaven.
Del Rey lives to provoke. From her suburban bad girl gangsta pose to explicit lyrics that give us way too much information about which part of her tastes like Pepsi, the singer with the sad eyes lives up to her reputation in a short film accompanying her new EP, "Tropico." The three-song album  features the songs "Body Electric," "Gods & Monsters" and "Bel Air," comes with a super trippy mini-movie of the same name in which Del Rey plays Eve to model Shaun Ross' Adam as the pair glide their way from the Garden of Eden to a brazen stick up and outer space.
"Tropico" is the word kind of lends itself to a paradise and a paradise lost. Del Rey had always had it in her head as the title. The film, directed by veteran Anthony Mandler, puts a contemporary spin on stories from the Bible and opens with the singer and Ross portraying Adam and Even, dancing seductively to Del Rey's "Body Electric" around the Garden of Eden as the aforementioned quartet of Wayne, Elvis, Monroe and Jesus hangs out on the sidelines. Following the inevitable eating of the apple from the forbidden tree of knowledge, the couple are transported to modern day Los Angeles, where Del Rey finds herself transformed into a stripper with a heart of gold, while Ross becomes a bored convenience store clerk.
With life not offering much, the two enter a life of pure debauchery to the tune of "Gods and Monsters," and unsurprisingly, all the guns and boozing lead to an inevitable breaking point. Following the heist and suitably ridiculous celebration, the couple steal away for a nice romantic romp through a field at sunset while Del Rey sings "Bel Air." Ostensibly reborn and cleansed of their sins, the couple put on some white clothes to prove it and then ascend to heaven in each other's arms. The ambition in this extended morality play about love, lust and loss of innocence is hard to deny, as it invokes multiple religious and pop culture figures in exploring the extremes of human experience.

Justin Bieber is back and all grown up, as he has found a fresh object of his affection and made "One Less Lonely Girl" out of Cailin Russo when he cast her to play his love interest in his newest music video for "All That Matters," which was produced by Diplo and released as the second promotional single from Bieber's "Music Monday's" campaign. There’s no word yet on whether the Music Monday tracks will end up on a new album since Bieber has not yet announced plans for a full album.
The Canadian pop sensation explained the background to the sexy R&B track: "The lyrics of this song are pretty self explanatory," he said, "when you fall in love with someone, that someone can make you feel whole. I feel like anyone who has been in love knows what I mean. The song conveys that being in love is one of the greatest feelings on earth. Love is all that matters. But the void you feel when love goes away is gut-wrenching. I worked so heard on this song in the studio - trying to put that feeling into music was extremely important to me. I'm happy to share it with you."
Russo, the 19-year-old California native model, who became one of the most re-blogged faces on the net after her Tony Kelly shoot for American Apparel, had no idea whose music video she was auditioning for, let alone that she would be the only girl cast. When she arrived on set, she was equally clueless as to what would be expected of her. "I didn't know what was going to happen because the song is super romantic, and since the shoot was set up a certain way, I didn't even know if we would be shooting together," she tells Cosmopolitan. "But the first take was us kissing!"
The Colin Tilley-directed raunchy and dimly lit clip isn't filled with Bieber's usual choreographed dance routines. Instead, the teen heartthrob has gone with a mature R&B vibe, getting cozy with his sexy co-star, the two are shown canoodling on a motorcycle, with Bieber later watching Russo dance, goes in for the kiss and then pushing her up against a wall. Bieber also stripping off his clothes, and getting up close and personal with a sultry seductress, even thrusting into the air at one point. Be still, Belieber hearts everywhere.