It’s new music Tuesday, and plenty of new videos and music are making a splash–literally.
Rihanna- “Stay” Video
After her strong Grammy performance, Rihanna has dropped the video for “Stay,” set in (where else?) a bathtub. The video features Rihanna washing herself and mourning the pain of convincing a man to stay in her life. Given that we know who the ballad refers to (and that they are back together), the video is convincingly raw and emotional.
The song itself is also one of Rihanna’s better ballad attempts.
Solange- “Bad Girls,” Black Cab Sessions
http://vimeo.com/58883285
This video also has a rather, shall we say “unorthodox” setting. Solange basically decided to sing her song “Bad Girls” in the back of a cab. It’s for a new series called Black Cab Sessions where a production team convinces artists to give impromptu performances in the back of a cab. Sort of like “Cash Cab” meets “MTV Unplugged.”
It’s a good performance, but I still have to ask– what is Solange doing in the back of a cab to begin with? Did Beyonce not let her ride in the limo? Beyonce gets the Super Bowl, Solange gets cabs.
Chrisette Michele- “I Wanna Dance With Somebody” (cover)
Chrisette is participating in Billboard’s week-long tribute to Whitney Houston, which commemorates the one year anniversary of her untimely passing. “I study her DVDs,” said Chrisette. “Literally the way footballers take notes before the Super Bowl, I’ll watch a Whitney show before I go onstage.” Her cover of Whitney’s 1987 dance hit is wonderfully understated and light, different enough from the original to be enjoyable and not elicit immediate comparisons–because Whitney always wins.
However, adding a few lines of “I Believe in You and Me” (another Whitney smash from The Preacher’s Wife soundtrack) was a creative and welcome twist.
Melanie Fiona- “Wrong Side of a Love Song” video
http://youtu.be/9CdQdFGeFK4
Melanie has now dropped the video for her Grammy-nominated song, “Wrong Side of a Love Song.” The video features Melanie telling the story from the home she shares with hunky co-star Omari Hardwick.
“It’s very raw and it’s acting, and it’s very, very truthful,” she explained to Rap-Up. “It was really a meeting of the minds and talents and artistry to bring this to you guys. We wanted to tell a powerful, powerful story.”
Justin Timberlake- “Mirrors”
Closing out the releases this week is Justin Timberlake’s second single from upcoming album The 20/20 Experience. The ballad is full of classic JT vocals on top of Timbaland beats. It’s a little sappy, but for *NSYNC fans will bring delightful pangs of nostalgia. The breakdown in the middle is positively swoon-worthy.
