Hot Video Alert: Michelle Branch - Loud Music

Just in case you haven't seen the video yet for the new Michelle Branch single, "Loud Music,"...here it is. "Loud Music" is the first official single to be taken from Branch's forthcoming third studio West Coast Time. The album was originally slated for release in September, but has since been pushed back to "mid October," according to Billboard. Perhaps that's a good thing, considering "Loud Music" has yet to make an appearance on the Billboard Hot 100, instead climbing Billboard's Hot Adult Top 40 chart, peaking (so far) at #22. Releasing another single between now and the album's Fall release could give Branch the chance to do a little bit more promotion for the record, her first solo record since 2003's Hotel Paper. Musically speaking, the mid-tempo pop/rock "Loud Music" picks up right where Hotel Paper left off, with a little hint of a country twang in the verses. The song was co-written by Branch and English UK team Jim Irvin and Julian Emery and released in America this past June.

At only 28 years old, Michelle Branch already seems like a seasoned industry pro. She first made waves back in 2001 with the release of her major label debut album, The Spirit Room on Maverick Records. Following it's August 14th release, the album went on to peak at #28 on the Billboard 200 chart and went double platinum in 2010 with over 2 million copies sold. Debut single, "Everywhere," peaked at #12 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, not to mention going Top 20 in Australia, and the UK (the song even went all the way to #2 in New Zealand). Follow up single, "All You Wanted" was even more successful stateside, peaking at #6 on the Billboard Hot 100. A third single, "Goodbye To You," (one of my personal favs) managed to peak just outside the Top 20. Joining forces with the legendary rock outfit Santana in 2002, "The Game Of Love" became a massive hit for both artists, peaking at #5 on the Hot 100 chart as well as #1 on both the Adult Contemporary Chart and the Adult Top 40 chart.

Read more »

Hot Video Alert: The Motherload

Rather than doing a whole string of individual posts with music videos, I thought I'd kill a few birds with one stone, so to speak, and post a BUNCH of recently released music videos from some of my favorite artists...and some of my least favorite ones as well.  Here we go!

I've had my eye on Shontelle ever since "T-Shirt" was released back in 2008 off of her debut album, Shontelligence. While I liked the song, I lived for the club remixes, so my love for new single "Perfect Nightmare" should come as no surprise. The Darkchild-produced track starts out as your run-of-the-mill R&B ballad but as soon as the song hits the 1:15 mark it's turned into a full-on club banger. Work Shontelle! Work. This is a hot song. Vocally she's not THAT impressive on this track but after releasing a power ballad like "Impossible" it's TIME for Shontelle to have a little fun and do something more up-tempo. The Colin Tilley-directed video was shot in both black & white and in color, seemingly telling the story of a former lover. The single is lifted off of Shontelle's sophomore album, No Gravity which so far has peaked at #81 on the Billboard 200.

Check out Shontelle on the web:

Official Site//MySpace//Facebook//Twitter//VEVO

Just for the record, I DO NOT have "Bieber Fever." That being said, you can't deny that Justin Bieber is talented. He's got the voice (for the time being). He has the industry hook ups (HELLO! Usher?). He's got the crazed fans worldwide. "U Smile," the latest single to be released from My World 2.0, was written by Bieber, Jerry Duplessis, Arden Altino, and Dan August Rigo, and produced by Duplessis and Altino. The Colin Tilley-directed video for the ballad features Bieber on piano belting out the lyrics, all the while wooing a pretty blond girl, whom he met as he was bombarded by a group of autograph-seeking fan girls.  The video makes me feel bad for Bieber.  How can he ever have a normal life again? Every time he steps out anywhere he's probably facing a raging mob of teenage girls.  Released back in March as a digital single, "U Smile" peaked at #27 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.

Check out Justin Bieber on the web:

Official Site//MySpace//Facebook//Twitter//VEVO

Recovery might very well be Eminem's most commercial album to date.  While Eminem is no stranger to collaborations, this album seems like it's FULL of them.  Rihanna, P!nk...even his most recent Lil Wayne-assisted single "No Love" is a bit commercial sounding, thanks in part to the sample of Haddaway's "What Is Love" that appears throughout the track.  Produced by Just Blaze, "No Love" will serve as the third single off of Recovery with a video directed by Chris Robinson.  The video seems to tackle bullying  A (likely heavily edited) version of the single will be released to radio on October 5th. So far the single has peaked at #23 on the Billboard Hot 100.

Check out Eminem on the web:

Official Site//MySpace//Facebook//Twitter//VEVO

Read more »