Hello people of the internet!!! On today’s ‘YouTube Wednesday’ we’re going to discuss an AMAZING new video that will definitely get you in the Halloween spirit! Now I know that we usually discuss channels, not individual videos, but there is so much to discuss with this video that it needs its’ own blog post. If you haven’t seen the ‘Slashstreet Boys -I’ll Kill You That Way’ video by the channel ‘The Merkins’ then be prepared to have your mind blown! I will throw in a quick disclaimer that there is some profanity in this video that may not be appropriate for all ages so please proceed with caution. Ready? Ok, let’s go!!!
So you may be asking, “What’s the deal with this video?”. Well if you love The Backstreet Boys and/or famous Halloween villains Freddy Krueger, Jason Voorhees, Ghostface, Michael Myers, & Leatherface then this is the video you’ve been waiting your whole life for! In this video the guys do an amazing job of changing the lyrics of ‘I Want It That Way’ by The Backstreet Boys into a really funny Halloween themed version that uses lyrics that relate to each of these character’s individual movies. These lyrics provide the perfect Easter eggs (aka hints for those who don’t speak internet) for horror film fans. Also, even though not all of the actors in the video sing, the guys who provided the vocals for this parody have really good voices. I honestly would love to see covers from these guys because their vocals are just that good!
Lastly, I wanted to discuss the meticulous details that this parody video contains. If you are a Backstreet Boys fan then you remember that epic ‘I Want It That Way’ video. I mean we have the airport scenes, the screaming fan scenes, & of course those famous white outfits. Unforgettable right? Well ‘I’ll Kill You That Way’ does an impeccable job of mimicking these scenes as close as possible. In the parody video we get very similar dance moves (only this time split between a airport & the woods), the screaming fans who love our villains, & of course those famous white outfits. If you’re a Backstreet Boys fan then you’ll definitely appreciate the effort put into this video.
You can keep up with everything The Merkins are doing here:
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCgV-hgprraRb071mumQFw2g/featured?disable_polymer=1
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rclay1987/
https://www.instagram.com/FREDDYKRUEG/
Hello people of the internet!!! On today’s ‘YouTube Wednesday we are going to discuss an INCREDIBLE new band that you will all be completely addicted to. If you’ve never heard of Anthem Lights then you NEED to keep reading because this amazing bands and covers will instantly hook you from the first note. This band has the amazing ability to cover a wide variety of songs from different genres, and still make each cover sound unique, but also keeps the original vibe that originally made the song a hit. Anthem Lights is a Christian pop/rock band that currently has 379,301 subscribers and over 64 million total channel views on YouTube, and over 72,000 Twitter followers, so if you don’t want to miss out on the music industry’s next big thing then keep reading to learn all about this band’s awesome music. Ready? Ok, let’s go!!!
The first video that we’re going to talk about is Anthem Lights’ cover of ‘This I Promise You’ by ‘NSYNC, which was uploaded on February 5th, 2013. I thought that this was an awesome cover to kick things off with because it allows each of the guys in the band to show off their amazing vocal skills. This cover is also a good example of this band’s phenomenal ability to take a song that we love, add the special Anthem Lights touch, and make the song feel like your listening to it for the first time. Next up we have Anthem Lights’ mash-up of the ‘2014 K-Love Fan Awards: Songs of the Year’ nominees, which was uploaded on March 11th, 2014 (you can check out below). This video is so incredible that you’re going to definitely replay it over and over. In this cover, Anthem lights takes multiple Contemporary Christian hits from the 2014 voting year, and combines all of the songs to create a memorable, entertaining video that fans will love (they have also released a 2015 edition so I would check that out too).
Now we’re going to talk about Anthem Lights cover of ‘Drops of Jupiter’ by Train, which was uploaded on March 11th, 2014. This can be a really difficult cover for an artist to pull off because it’s a very popular song, and is still a favorite among Train’s fan base. Once again Anthem Lights does an incredible job of making this song their own without changing what we originally loved about the song. Their vocals of this cover are so perfect that they instantly captivate you, and leave you mesmerized from beginning to end. The last video that we’re going to talk about is one of Anthem Lights’ original songs. It was extremely hard for me to pick just 3 covers to talk about (because all of their covers are amazing), so it was even more difficult to pick just 1 original song to write about I decided to pick a track off of their 2014 album ‘Escape’. Although I really loved all of the songs off of the album, I decided to go with the song ‘Top of the World’, because it’s a fun, energetic song that’s perfect to blast in the car. This song is a MUST HAVE on all of your playlists! The music video for this song was uploaded on YouTube on October 6th, 2014, and is just as fun and zany as the song itself (you can check out the video below). This video will definitely keep you entertained, and anxiously waiting to see what Anthem Lights releases next.
Keep up to date with everything Anthem Lights is doing:
YouTube: AnthemLights
Website: anthemlights.com
Twitter: anthemlights
Instagram: anthemlightsband
Facebook: AnthemLights
iTunes: Anthem Lights
Hello people of the internet!!! On today’s ‘Monday Memos’, we are going to recap the ‘2015 Billboard Music Awards’ (yay!!!). This year’s ‘Billboard Music Awards’ were hosted by rapper/actor Ludacris, and model Chrissy Teigen, and was definitely a show that we’ll be talking about for the rest of the year. One part of the show that we were all looking forward to was the premiere of Taylor Swift’s ‘Bad Blood’ music video. With a large cast of celebrities such as: model/actress Cara Delevingne, supermodel Cindy Crawford, and actresses Hailee Steinfeld, Selena Gomez, Lena Dunham, Zendaya, and many more. The music video was very action packed and had a very cool futuristic spy feel to it. This video was definitely unlike anything we have seen from Taylor, and really shows her evolution as an artist. Not only is Taylor an inspiration to all aspiring popstars out there, her impressive new video may also inspire any up and coming videographers that want to have their own success within the music industry. It can be tough to make waves in the music video scene, but one potential way to get ahead is by having the very best equipment in order to obtain the best shots possible. As a director, you could do this by investing in something like the Mavic Mini drone, as this could allow you to get shots that none of your competitors will be able to keep up with, and you may find yourself directing your own Taylor Swift video one day. Now let’s move on to the awards, and finally the performances (I’m only going to include a few of the awards & performances that were shown during the show, because if I included everything, I would have y’all here all day. If you want to see the full list of winners and performances, check out billboard.com). So are y’all ready? Ok, let’s go!
Awards:
Top Duo or Group: One Direction
We all had to see this one coming because One Direction has been an unstoppable force ever since their first single dropped in the U.S. They have won tons of awards, broken numerous records, and were recently named the first band in U.S. Billboard history to have their first four debut albums debut at #1.
Top Billboard 200 Album: 1989 by Taylor Swift
Ok now we all know how well 1989 did this year, but honestly what else would you expect from Taylor Swift!?! With hit singles that stayed in our heads all year like Shake It Off, Blank Space, and Style, it’s no wonder that 1989 has ruled 2015 so far.
Top Male Artist: Sam Smith
Now if you’ve listened to the radio at all this year, you are very familiar with Sam Smith’s music. His debut album ‘In The Lonely Hour’ went platinum, and won Best Pop Vocal Album at the 2015 Grammy Awards. Needless to say he’s had an AMAZING year.
Top Female Artist: Taylor Swift
With the success of 1989, it’s obvious that Taylor Swift would have a great chance of winning this award so I honestly don’t think that anyone would be surprised here.
Top Hot 100 Song: ‘All About That Bass’ by Meghan Trainor
Now you know you’ve been singing along to this one ever since it first came out. The fact that ‘All About That Bass’ has gone platinum 6 times in the U.S. definitely proves that Meghan deserves this award. I honestly don’t see this song’s popularity dwindling, and we wouldn’t have it any other way.
Top Artist: Taylor Swift
Again it’s Taylor Swift, she seriously ruled the radio waves this year so none of us are even surprised here.
Performances:
Nick Jonas ‘Jealous’:
So first of all we have to talk about is Nick Jonas’ performance of ‘Jealous’. This song was a really big hit for Nick this year, and the excitement of the crowd showed that this song is still a hit with fans. This performance had a lot of cool elements to it, such as awesome backboard graphics that really made this performance stand out. All in all this was a really cool performance that fans loved from beginning to end.
Mariah Carey ‘Vision of Love’ & ‘Infinity’:
Mariah Carey wowed us next with a performance that had everyone’s attention. She began her performance with her debut hit single ‘Vision of Love’, which is a song that we all still hold near and dear to our hearts. Next up we got to hear her new track ‘Infinity’. This performance definitely showed that Mariah is still able to impact is with her music, and will be an artist that we’ll keep coming back to for infinity.
Wiz Khalifa feat. Charlie Puth ‘See You Again’:
Ok now this is a song that we all have had on repeat for a while now and honestly you have to admit that you still cry whenever you hear it (Honestly how many times have you seen that music video featuring Paul Walker and just started to cry. #RIPPaulWalker). At the award show Wiz and Charlie were joined by YouTube star Lindsey Sterling who, as usual, blew us away with her amazing violin skills as. The vibe of the performance was very intimate and chilled which definitely made us all want to seriously cry. The emotionally charged lyrics were definitely front and center during this performance, due to Charlie and Wiz’s ability to deliver the song in a way that made us all feel the message of the song (seriously when Charlie started choking up during the song, I thought that I was going to lose it).
Britney Spears & Iggy Azalea ‘Pretty Girls’:
This was another performance that everyone was looking forward too, because we love Britney, and we love Iggy, so when you put them together it’s just perf! This performance had a very 80s feel to it, and was such a fun number to watch. It was so interesting to see these two collab because their musical styles are so different, so it’s exciting to see what they will each do next.
Tori Kelly ‘Nobody Love’:
The ‘Kia One To Watch Artist’ Tori Kelly was up next, and she really showed how talented she truly is. It was amazing to see her completely captivate the audience without any special staging or effects. It really made you feel like you were able to personally connect with Tori and fall even more in love with her music. This performance made me really excited to see what’s next for her.
Simple Minds ‘Don’t You (Forget About Me):
This was certainly one of the night’s most talked about performance, due to the fact that the cult classic movie ‘The Breakfast Club’ turned 30 this year. This performance had a very rock concert sort of vibe and the crowd was just completely hooked from beginning to end. It’s really fun to see so many different people rocking out to their favorite song, and the energy was definitely brought up A LOT during the this performance.
Imagine Dragons ‘Stand By Me’ (Ben E. King cover):
The last performance that we’re going to discuss is Imagine Dragon’s amazing performance of ‘Stand By Me’. This is a song that we all know and love, so it was so great to see that Imagine Dragons did their best to keep the original feel of the song intact, and molded their musical style to best fit the song. This was another tear jerking moment due to Ben E. King’s tragic passing recently, but I thought that this was a beautiful way for his incredible talent to be honored.
Hello people of the internet!!! On today’s ‘YouTube Wednesday’, we are going to discuss a rising boy band that you will all fangirl and fanboy over! If you love bands such as: ‘One Direction’, ‘5 Seconds of Summer’, and ‘The Vamps’, then you’ll love ‘The Boy Band Project’! This group of young vocalists has everything I takes to become a successful group: talent, drive, and the unwavering love of their fans. Once I saw their videos, I as instantly addicted, and have been watching all of their INCREDIBLE covers on repeat (and you will too once you see them). If you’re not already a fan of this rising band, then you HAVE to check out the rest of this blog post, so when you’re friends all become obsessed with ‘The Boy Band Project’ (and trust me they will) then you will already know all about everyone’s latest YouTube obsession.
The first cover that we are going to discuss is their cover of ‘Give Me Love’ by Ed Sheeran, which was uploaded on July 24th, 2014 (here’s a link to the video ). I thought that this was an AMAZING first cover for the band, because it’s a song that really gives them an opportunity to show off their vocal skills. This is a difficult song for anyone to sing, because Ed Sheeran is an amazing vocalist who sets a very high bar with this song. I was really happy to see that ‘The Boy Band Project’ was able to rise to the challenge, and make a really awesome cover. This is one of my favorite Ed Sheeran songs, so I’ve heard A LOT of covers of this song, and honestly none of them were as good as this cover. I was so impressed and y’all will be too. Next up we have the band’s cover of ‘I’ll Never Break Your Heart’ by the Backstreet Boys, which was uploaded on September 11th, 2014 (link to the video is here: ). I was really excited to hear this cover because I am a huge ‘Backstreet Boys’ fan (you know you are too!). This is another difficult song to sing (gotta love a band that isn’t afraid of a challenge), and they decided to make it every more challenging by singing the song A Capella. Honestly singing is heard enough because everyone has to make sure their harmonies are as close to perfect as possible, and of one person is slightly off then the whole group sounds bad, then when you add the difficulty of having your pure vocals in the spotlight, without any music to help or mask imperfections…well you can see where how this could be difficult. However, the band proves that it really can handle any song and circumstance, by doing an AMAZING cover of this song that I’ve listened to over and over again (it’s just so incredible!).This is definitely the perfect video to prove to everyone that this band is a group of legitimately talented vocalists, and not just a band of pretty faces (even though they have that going for them too). Ok the final cover that we are going to talk about is the band’s rendition of One Direction’s song ‘Steal My Girl’, which was uploaded November 28th, 2014 ( the video link is here ). This was a really cool cover because it felt more like a music video than a regular cover. You saw clips of the band recording, performing, and having fun with the camera. It was really fun to see the guys’ personalities shine through, and makes you fall even more in love with them. You also got to see that their fans love them, and that they definitely share the love right back!