Today's Pick

Young Money keeps the machine moving forward as Nicki Minaj and her mentor Lil Wayne take their working relationship to the next level in the steamy visuals for their collaborative track, "High School," the second single from Minaj's reissue of the former's sophomore with hilariously titled album, "Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded – The Re-Up." The artist/boss duo engage in a passionate as Wayne plays Minaj's love interest who helps her pull off a multimillion dollar heist.
"High School" is a hip hop and R&B song, and discusses adultery that would make even the most seasoned 50 Shades reader blush. It restores faith with three-and-half minutes of driven, witty filth. This Boi-1da and T-Minus produced cut finds Minaj trading bars with her Young Money boss, Wayne. We hear Minaj delivering sexual braggadocio lines, in which she lets the world know that "this ain't high school." Wayne then spits his typically playfully bawdy rhymes. The aggressive voice and flow is a winning factor on this song, Wayne did well and the catchy chorus helped round it out.
In her short career, Minaj's primarily relied on punchlines opposed to actual poetry. The sassy superstar switches it up by showcasing her storytelling capabilities on "High School." The neon-drenched clip, was directed by Benny Boom, and shot at a gorgeous swank mansion by the poolside in Los Angeles on March 11, does not actually take place in high school. There are no classrooms or teachers in sight. Instead, the mini-narrative is set on the sprawling compound of a drug lord, with Minaj cast in role of his ambiguous girlfriend.
The 30-year-old made-under raptress spends her days lounging by the pool in a skimpy neon green crisscross one-piece swimsuit and strolling through manicured gardens in a body-hugging canary yellow dress on a perfect California afternoon, until one day, when Wayne and his crew arrive to conduct a transaction with "El Jefe," and she decides it's time to exact some small manner of revenge by breaking into his safe, gets intimate with Wayne into the bed. The clip ends on a high fashion note as the pair make their great escape via helicopter under the cover of darkness.

Chris Brown goes retro-chic, dances up a storm and leaps into action in the martial arts-themed clip for his surefire hit "Fine China," the lead single off his upcoming sixth studio album "X," the RCA set is slated for late August/early September. Brown wrote this heartbreaking tune with Philly-based producer Diplo. The uptempo song defining the qualities of a woman. "For the first single, I wanted to go more nostalgic, bring Stevie Wonder, Michael Jackson, Sam Cooke to it, but also bring a new sound to what my audience and fans are listening to," he explained song's concept.
The R&B star channels his idol Michael Jackson on the melodic groove, which is a buzzy, bubbly bounce with yet another killer chorus. The sleek homage to the King of Pop, "Fine China," was holds sonic remnants of vintage MJ. A bit less R&B and more jazzy, The 23-year-old singer's new vintage sound is echoed in his style choices. "It's comparing a woman to how priceless and delicate she is," Brown told MTV News of the idea behind the catchy ode. "This song is more of a chivalry kind of record, being more of a gentleman, taking that approach of catering to the woman, having more of that love element."
Brown has been undergoing a vintage fashion makeover. From his retro all-white suit at the Grammy Awards in February to, most recently, his classic Michael Jackson-esque ensemble in his "Fine China" video, the bad boy of R&B is definitely sprucing up more than his manners. And its cinematic video, which Brown co-directed with Sylvain White, takes distinct visual cues from classic clips like the King of Pop's "Smooth Criminal" and "Beat It." It centered on a forbidden love, with hints of a modern-day "Romeo and Juliet" scenario between Brown and a gorgeous gal.
The video takes place in a Looper-like future while cruising around exotic CGI-assisted surroundings in a red Lamborghini, casting himself as an underdog and faces an age-old cultural conflict, Brown who is dating an Asian love interest despite her father's threats, takes his girl for a night out on the town filled with danger and dancing. What stands out the most, however, is the battle-like dance scenes when Brown's team of underground clubgoers pull guns on their rival Asian gang, who have come to break up his forbidden romance. The clip ends with an intense standoff, just like the one in MJ's 1987 classic "Bad."

The Jonas Brothers marking their much-awaited comeback with real swagger and energy, and descend on a high school football field and live it up in their new video for the much-anticipated new single "Pom Poms," the lead single off the pop trio's upcoming still untitled fifth studio album, their first album since 2009's "Lines, Vines and Trying Times," is set to hit shelves later this year. Get your pom poms out and celebrate! The Jonas Brothers' first official video in over three years has hit the web two days early thanks to Perez Hilton. It's got a great energetic and sexy vibe.
The high-spirited sing-along track itself is a massive, sing-along pop song that's straight from a high school football halftime show, with its wailing brass section and schoolyard chanting. It's fantastic slick and fun with a dab of the old school a la Bruno Mars. But our favorite part of the video has to be the climax, when The Jonas Brothers have a Drumline-esque dance-off with their hot dance squad. The brothers playfully bust out their best dance moves while singing, "Baby put your pom poms down for me." We didn’t think they had moves like that!The former Disney sibling trio enlists a group of sexy cheerleaders for their latest video, a fun pop confection with lots of choreographed booty-shaking and other PG-13 titillations set on a high school football field. While it doesn't break any new ground for the now-twentysomething siblings, the video is good hand-clapping fun with a vibe befitting the song's light-as-air sonics and goofy lyrical content. The result is straight from a high school football game halftime show, a grand way to usher in "Pom Poms," which definitely brings out a new playful and fun side to the threesome.
It's no surprise the music video for the song channels the movie "Drumline," with cheerleaders, a full marching band, fireworks, an epic dance-off, and even a gospel choir get in on the fun. The elaborately-staged clip, was filmed in February in New Orleans, Louisiana, really commits to the premise implied by the song's title, and it takes place smack dab in the middle of a high school football field. Joe, Kevin, and Nick playing guitars and rock out accompanied by sexy dancers as sparks fly behind them, and "Pom Poms'" infectious sound travels all across America!

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.