Today's Pick

It was an incredible evening for fans of Jennifer Lopez as the judge premiered the full-length music video for her newest catchy number "Dance Again" during Thursday's American Idol. The track was produced by Moroccan-born mega producer RedOne and Cuban rapper Pitbull, and J.Lo has stated that she doesn't know if "Dance Again" would be the lead single from her upcoming greatest hits album or her eighth studio album.
"Dance Again" is an uptempo dance-pop song, which kicks off the electro beat with Pitbull's brief rap introduction. The beat then shifts from upbeat pings and claps to a bass backdrop as Lopez takes over the vocals. The quick pace electro beat returns, revving up energy, and Lopez sings the bridge with heartbreaking emotion. Lopez once again sings over a buttery disco groove and the chorus is as pure a piece of effervescent pop as Lopez has ever been a part of, and while it probably isn't the sort of thing meant to be listened to on headphones in a cubicle, it should play pretty well in places where grinding is encouraged.
During an interview with Ryan Seacrest, speaking on the concept behind the song, the 42-year-old said "I love being able to collaborate with the producer RedOne again, and working with Pitbull again. We had a great chemistry the last time, and it was like 'We're going to have to do something again.' And this was the perfect song. I love the message of the song. That when something bad happens, your life is not over. You have to get up. You're gonna live. You're gonna to be okay. You're gonna dance again."
The accompanying promo was directed by long-time collaborator Paul Hunter and it opens with a message card: "Always remember: You will live, you will love, you will dance again." With a cameo from a tuxedo-clad Pitbull, and appearances from lots of other attractive dancers, this video focuses on the real-life scantily clad couple: the tricky effects and glittery body painted Lopez and her 24-year-old real-life dancer beau Casper Smart, dancing and grinding synchronized side by side along with the sort of moves you would expect to accompany these lyrics. So prepare a cold shower and watch the steamy action now.

Alt-jazz songstress Norah Jones has released a video for "Happy Pills," the chugging first single off her forthcoming fifth Danger Mouse-produced breakup LP, "...Little Broken Hearts," is due for a May 1st release. Featuring Jones singing in various '50s-themed outfits and surroundings, the video tracks the middle and seemingly infidelity-induced end of a relationship. It's the perfect backdrop for Jones's retro, pleading croon, "Will you please just let me go now?"
"Happy Pills" depicts a relationship gone wrong, and it shows off what might be an unexpected side of the soft-spoken singer-songwriter. The '50s-influenced breakup track features Jones doing what she does best—musing with a sensual vocal performance, and deals conclusively with a philandering boyfriend. The song hints at the breadth of new sounds that Jones and producer Mouse (real name: Brian Burton) conjured for "...Little Broken Hearts," with the pair handling the majority of the instrumentals.
The 33-year-old Grammy-winning singer teamed up with the producer after she contributed vocals to his Rome project with Daniele Luppi. The song surprised Jones and Burton from the moment they wrote it. "We both were like 'Oh my God, this is awesome' at first and then went away and listened over the weekend, explained Jones. "We didn't know if it fit on the record. But I couldn't stop singing it, and neither could Brian. Eventually we decided it was too much fun, it had to be there." Jones looks absolutely luminescent throughout the video. She's downright dewy as her younger self and aging does nothing to dim her radiant beauty.
Jones isn't kidding when she says she wants you out of her life in the video for "Happy Pills." The Isaiah Seret-directed clip starts in the past - the late '50s or early '60s, and goes forward and back in time as she lives out a revenge fantasy against her cheating beau. She has it out for both the boyfriend and his girlfriend in the Hitchcockian tale, although, the video is a little hard to follow at times as various scenarios play out and time moves ahead. However, the ending is crystal clear as a cold, blue lake as an older Jones rides her horse through the woods back to the scene of the crime that she has kept secret for decades or not.

Kris Allen is finally back and makes his contribution to the anti-bullying movement with the video for his self-empowerment single, "The Vision of Love," the official first single from American Idol season 8 winner's upcoming sophomore studio effort, "Thank You Camellia," the follow-up to his self-titled 2009 debut, arriving on May 22.
Even the smallest steps make a difference, the track is a self-empowerment anthem about standing up for those less fortunate, even when fear takes over. Allen wrote the song with The Messengers production team, Nasri and Adam Messinger, who have also worked with Chris Brown and Justin Bieber. Speaking with Katie Krause of Clevver News before its release, Allen said the single is an, "uplifting song... a world song that's about people being good to each other."
The the 26-year-old former American Idol winner plays narrator in the Lenny Bass-directed new clip, which was filmed last month in Los Angeles. The the storyline involves two teens, one insecure and lonely, the other tormented by bullying, and ultimately shows how acts of kindness helps those suffering find inner strength and confidence. The scenarios play out intercut with footage of Allen playing the song in an empty loft, and is also seen being occupied with creative process of writing the empowerment song.
The video documents the song's lyrics pretty literally by suggesting optimistically, that "standing up" doesn't need be a dramatic, difficult action - one student puts a hand up and stops his friends from harassing another, while our lonely introverted girl learns how to overcome her self-doubt simply by taking off her headphones and introducing herself. The texture of the video is sleek and raw, packing a punch. The clip is meant to appeal to Allen's younger base and it sends a nice, yet oversimplified message.

David Archuleta has released the accompanying music video to support his latest single called "Forevermore." the title track from the American Idol alum's latest fourth studio, just premiered last weekend exclusively in the Philippines. This is also Archuleta's first Original Pilipino Music (OPM) album.
Touted as what could be Archuleta's last album before his intended two-year break from the music business to embark on an important spiritual mission serve as a Mormon missionary in Chile, "Forevermore," is a collection of all original Filipino classic love songs written in English and composed by some of the Philippine's renowned songwriters. The songs will definitely invoke feelings of love and hope in every listener.
This album is a fitting tribute not only to Original Pilipino Music, but to his devoted fans who have remained loyal through the years. He wants his fans to know that he loves and appreciates them, wherever he may go... forevermore. Archuleta said at the press conference for the album: "I wouldn't say that I sound better than the original singers because the singers here are so amazing. But I would hope that I could pay tribute to them with this album."
The title track for album is a lovely ballad that lets Archuleta make great use of the top end of his range. The 21-year-old musician keeps the clip simple by filling it with footage of him singing the ballad song to the camera in various places of a homie setting. Archuleta thanks his fans for everything they've done for him since he first appeared on American Idol four years ago. "It's like you guys have brought me on this journey, and I appreciate being able to share everything that I've learned and experienced with you guys because of you guys if that makes sense."

OK Go presents a sultry new clever dancing video for their song "Skyscrapers," taken from their third studio album "The Blue Colour Of The Sky," which came out two years ago. As usual the Chicago-based alternative rock band finds unique ways of visually translating their songs into interesting pieces of art, all while keeping it rather simple.
"Skyscrapers" has lent its playful elegance, and is also heavily influenced by Prince both musically and in the fact that it references his classic cuts like "1999" and "Purple Rain." Reflecting the emotionally-driven tune, the video is driven by a chromatic tango between the video director Trish Sie and dancer Moti Buchboot. Although there are no choreographed treadmill numbers to note, the less involved video still presents a good representation of OK Go as a band who is not afraid to break the mold when it comes to their accompanying visuals.
We've always loved OK Go before the treadmill video and they have always delivered both musically and visually. Their new video, for the song "Skyscrapers," isn't as visually impressive as one of their Rube Goldberg machines, or driving a car into stuff and having the noise of the collisions compose a song, but it is mellow and very pretty. The latest video features a sultry montage of dance moves through a series of colorful urban backdrops that Grammy Award-winning American choreographer and director along with Buchboot do a beautiful Tango dance that carries the action through the video.
It focuses on a couple who dance a tango in a quintessentially dreamy and romantic street scene through a gritty, yet vibrant, urban rainbow. The band actually gets a break this time. They're not even in the clip. Tangoing in front of vibrant-colored walls and their outfits mimic each scene to give the video a chameleon-like feel. The colors and wardrobe changes continue throughout the video. It's deceptively complex, with the dancers moving in and out of the frames to make it appear like one continuous shot.

Demi Lovato unveiled a video for her new tender track "Give Your Heart a Break," the second single from Lovato's third album, "Unbroken." Definitely one of the highlights on her latest album, the new track is a clever, well-written, and well-sung mid-tempo pop song. Its three and a half minutes worth of footage shows the singer and a hunky romantic interest in a range of flirty and cuddly moments as Lovato belts out her catchy tune.
Musically, "Give Your Heart a Break" is an uptempo pop and dance ballad that incorporates the use of drums, violin and strings, and contains influences of rock music as well as music from the 80s and 90s. Lyrically, the song chronicles an attempt to win over one who has been hurt from a previous relationship, and wanting someone to open his heart to her and to give her a chance. According to MTV, she explained that despite the play on the word "heartbreak" in the title, the song is about the exact opposite. "It isn't a song about having a broken heart. This is a song about faith, it's a song about fighting for the one you love," she said.
Go far and beyond anything in Lovato's prior arsenal, the track is oh-so-catchy and her vocals effortlessly mop the floor with your fave’s wig. The 19-year-old Stay Strong diva dished about the video in an interview with MTV: "The new music video, I'm basically trying to convince a guy that I didn't break his heart, and we get into a fight and I try to win him over again. So I do something special for him at the end of the song."
The Justin Francis-directed clip tells a pretty typical story of young love followed by heartbreak, as it mostly just shows a regretful Lovato reminiscing about the good times she had with her former 'hunky' love via some old pictures, and ultimately making a huge collage on a wall in front of her ex-boyfriend's apartment so he can check it out, so maybe they can work things out again?

Snow Patrol have just rolled out an incredibly depressing music video in support of their latest heartbreak ballad "New York," the third single from the Northern Irish-Scottish alternative rock group's sixth studio album, "Fallen Empires." With its sweeping guitar-rock symphonies and pounding electronic beats, "Fallen Empires" could've been called 14 Songs About 14 Different Types of Melancholy. Break-ups, childhood nostalgia, even the loneliness of air travel are covered.
"New York," is a stark, heartbreaking ballad that pares the band down to just singer Lightbody's voice and plaintive piano accompaniment. The song isn't just a fictional tale. Lightbody explained the story behind this piano ballad: "I always try to write about personal experiences, and 'New York' is about a girl I was seeing over there. We both had strong feelings for one another, but we were never in the same place at the same time. It's about missed opportunities."
"New York" sees Snow Patrol at their most moody and introspective and takes an almost tortuously long time to get going. Touching on the bands roots, it ranges from minimal acoustic strokes, beautifully poetic lyrics, to rousing stadium-splitting blasts of horn. It's an anthem of achievement, an affirmation of life, a calling on everything that the Irish alt-rockers' existence has always been building towards. And just like the album itself, "New York" states plainly, "We're Snow Patrol, we're still here, and we're still relevant."
Directed by Brett Simon, the sad clip, is the perfect way to capture that feeling, focuses on a heartbroken Lightbody trying to drink away his pain as he sitting alone in a crowded bar, drowning his sorrows in booze and wallowing in his depression while drowning his drink and singing the piano ballad. People around him are chattering with one another. Ignoring all the dancing and smiling faces around him, the frontman stares into space. His lip-synching is even half-hearted, as he's lost in thought about a relationship that didn't work out. The emotional video is simple but powerful.