Hot Video Alert: Melissa NKonda feat. V.V. Brown - J'ai Fait Tout Ca Pour Vous

A couple of things before I get into this video...apologies for the barrage of "Hot Video Alerts" lately. Given how behind I have gotten with my posts, these are the easiest posts to do and I have SO many videos I want to talk about.  That's that.  Another thing. I wish I spoke French, because I don't know much about this artist and I couldn't find any good English language sites about her, so bear with me as I talk about the video itself and what information I could gather from Google Translate's poor French to English translation. 

I first saw this video over on Pop In Stereo. It caught my eye initially because of V.V. Brown.  As any longtime reader of Music Is My King Size Bed knows, V.V. Brown is one of my FAVORITE artists. Not only did I review her album on my blog, but I've seen her live...not once, but TWICE...HERE! In America!  I consider myself very fortunate. What a talent!  While V.V. Brown has been locked away in the studio working on album #2, she seemingly emerged to record with a French singer/songwriter named Melissa Nkonda.  The song, "J'ai Fait Tout Ca Pour Vous" (English Translation: "I Did All This For You") is a rousing summer pop tune.  While I'm not too familiar with NKonda, the song seems to be an extension of Brown's own trademark sound, a fusion of pop and rock rich with sprinklings of other styles.  No matter what language you speak, the song is just so much fun.

In the bright, colorful, partially animated video for "J'ai Fait Tout Ca Pour Vous," NKonda and Brown romp around some abandoned railroad tracks in a heavily graffiti-ed industrial area of some sort.  Energetic and filled with pops of color, the video complements the song perfectly.  I especially love the footage of the two singers interacting together on stage. NKonda is a lovely lady with a fabulous voice, and V.V. Brown is just as quirky and stylish as ever.  Unfortunately the YouTube video below isn't available to watch in America due to restrictions, but good news! You can watch it HERE instead. 

In 2009 at the age of 18, NKonda was a contestant on the French version of Pop Idol, called Nouvelle Star during the shows 7th season.  Performing as Mélissa Reffas, the talented singer was eliminated third, singing a version of "I'm So Excited" by The Pointer Sisters.  After her elimination, NKonda entered yet another talent search, this time sponsored by a major record label, AZ, a French subsidiary of Universal Music Group and emerged victorious with her very own record deal.   "J'ai Fait Tout Ca Pour Vous" is actually NKonda's second single, the first being the album's uptempo title track, "Nouveaux Horizons"("New Horizons"), released as two versions, one featuring rapper Soprano, which went on to be a top 30 hit in France, Belgium and Switzerland.  Her debut album peaked at #39 on the French album charts, #12 on the Swiss album charts and #3 in Belgium.  In addition to working with V.V. Brown and Soprano, Nouveaux Horizons also features a collaboration with mega hit producers RedOne.  I clearly need to get my hands on this album! {SOURCE}

Check out Melissa NKonda on the web:

Official Site//MySpace//Facebook//Twitter//YouTube

Hot Video Alert: Nicola Roberts - Lucky Day

Nicola Roberts is absolutely adorable in the video for new single, "Lucky Day," due out September 18th in the UK. I know the video was inspired by Grandmaster Flash's video for "The Message," and I see that to an extent, to me Roberts is channeling the legendary Ann Margret's Bye Bye Birdie intro. See what I mean?  It's more than just her red hair people. An ever so coy Roberts (just like Margret) puts on a pouty & playful performance, walking through the East Village on a hot summery day (it was apparently over 120 degrees that day!).  The video was directed by Stephen Agnew, who's directed videos for The Vaccines and White Lies.  Catch it below.

"Lucky Day" is the second single off Nicola Roberts' debut album, Cinderella's Eyes, due September 26th on Polydor Records.  The album features collaborations with Dimitri Tikovoi, Diplo, Metronomy and Invisible Men and is expected to be "as fresh as anything else you’ll hear this year," promising "a riot of colossal pop melodies, underground sounds, singing, rapping and astonishing honesty." SOLD!

A follow up to the catchy but not overly commercial "Beat Of My Drum," "Lucky Day" is far better single choice.  While I happen to LOVE LOVE LOVE "Beat Of My Drum," from the lackluster video right down to those Diplo beats, it doesn't really surprise me that the single didn't make into the UK top ten (peaking instead at #27).  Co-written by Roberts and Canadian electro outfit Dragonette, "Lucky Day" is light, poppy fare that showcases Roberts' vocal abilities far better than "Beat Of My Drum" ever good.  I'm also thinking this song is FAR more suitable for live performances, because let's be honest...the majority of her "Beat Of My Drum" performances were lacking energy.  "Beat Of My Drum" just wasn't a singer's song, focused more on the cool dubsteppy beats and overall production.  Nicola Roberts will undoubtedly knock this song out of the park whenever she gets around to singing it live.  UK fans, download "Beat Of My Drum" on UK iTunes HERE and snag "Lucky Day" when it's released September 18th.

Check out Nicola Roberts on the web:

Official Site//MySpace//Facebook//Twitter//YouTube