Videos of the Week September 15th

Plenty to latch onto in this week's buffet of top videos. There's plenty of humor, stellar videography, and even a noteworthy duet. Let by the satire of South Park who had their Jim Bob character channel both Kendrick Lamar and Amazon's Alexa simultaneously, the week got off to a quick start. Let's just say hearing a country rendition of Humble was more than a little funny. While we're at it, might at well keep the laughter going with Dillon Francis's cameo on First We Feast's Hot Ones. If you were wondering whether the wings they eat on the show were really hot, your question was answered this week.

Switching to a different vibe, Avicii came through with a trailer to his new upcoming documentary, True Stories. In the doc, you can expect to learn about a lot of the struggles that led to Avicii momentarily retiring. It's going to be an interesting look into the trade offs between health, friendships, and stardom. Speaking of stardom, Jas Davis is at the forefront of visual expression. Being Skrillex's right hand man sure has it's perks. For one, when it's your birthday Skrillex throws you a bone by sending you an unreleased beat to use for your new video. And last, but not least we got a sliver of the late Amy Winehouse. Both Dua Lipa and Gallant did everything in their power to do justice to her classic Tears Dry on Their Own. Basically anytime Gallant is being recorded live, count me in. Dude is hands down on of the best vocalists on the planet right now...#TearsDryOnTheirOwn

JimBob Cover's Kendrick Lamar's Humble on South Park

Dillon Francis Drops by First We Feast's Hot Ones to Eat Some Wings

Avicii True Stories Album Trailer

Jas Davis - Friendly Fire (prod by Skrillex) (Video)

Dua Lipa and Gallant Cover Amy Winehouse's Tears Dry On Their Own

Photo Credit: Comedy Central

Videos of the Week June 9th

Quite the assortment of videos this week with a bunch of new music videos and a few interesting clips outside of music. Led by a Japanese theme and featuring Big Boi in a European-style king throne, the video fro Kill Jill was as cold as you'd expect from Sir Lucious. His rapport with fellow ATL-iens Killer Mike and Jeezy can't be understated. There's a reason why they run Atlanta and that was on full display on that track. Continuing on the music tip, Bebe Rexha and Weezy did a really good capturing the inspirational of the track for the video of The Way I Are. And while we're on music, don't sleep on the up and comer Saba. His verse on the remix of Gallant's Bourbon is top notch.

Outside of music videos, it was inspirational to see Chance the Rapper continue to spread positivity when confronted about racism in America. His praise of how Lebron handled his latest spray painting of his house showed how both he and King James deserve to be thought leaders in an America that needs more people to have informed, educated takes on social issues. And last, but not least, I'm ending the week on a funny note with Fallon reading off some mostly outlandish tweets about terrible summer jobs. That one about peanut butter in a dumpster didn't seen real, but nowadays you really never know...#MyWorstSummerJob

Big Boi feat Young Jeezy & Killer Mike - Kill Jill (Video)

Bebe Rexha feat Lil Wayne - The Way I Are (Dance With Somebody) (Video)

Gallant feat Saba and Lophiile - Bourbon (Video)

Chance the Rapper Goes on The View, Talks Racism in America

Fallon Reads the List of #MyWorstSummerJob

Photo Credit: YouTube

VIdeos of the Week May 27th

Like many weeks, this one was ruled by a slew of new high profile EDM released. My personal favorite of the bunch was Odesza's Late Night video put together by some of their most adventure seeking fans. Whether it's jumping out of planes, dangling feet off of cliffs or scaling mountains, the experience they put together was pretty awesome. Nipping at the heels of #1 was Kygo and Ellie's video for their recent collabo First Time. Plenty of sorrow and memories mixed with fire and ashes, which makes for an emotional video. Rounding out the EDM videos is Martin Garrix and Troye Sivan's new one for There For You. Shot in beautiful San Francisco, they couldn't have picked a better setting for their new track. #ImBiased

Outside of EDM, it was cool to see an updated trailer for Marvel's next money pot, Spiderman: Homecoming. It's going to be hard to continue the roll the franchise, but they've got an optimized formula for making movies that has everyone eating out of the palms of their hand. And round out the top five was a hell of duet from John Legend and Gallant. If you weren't already considering seeing John in concert, you should reconsider that decision because Gallant will be joining him as the opener. Their rendition of In the Room was well worth the price of admission...#DarknessAndLight

Odesza Fan Created Video for Late Night

Kygo feat Ellie Goulding - First Time (Video)

Martin Garrix & Troye Sivan - There For you (Video)

Spiderman: Homecoming (Trailer)

John Legend & Gallant Perform Overload In the Room

Photo Credit: YouTube

Videos of the Week March 3rd

Since we're still knee deep in award season, you're getting a large dose of live performances again this week. Kicking off the week was the cast of The Voice coming together to collaborate on a TLC Waterfalls cover. I was a bit surprised by the folk/country vibe of the track, but given the odd-pairing of pop styles coming together, it makes more sense the more I think about it. Needless to say, no shortage of vocal talent on that cover.

If music videos are what you're after, you'll enjoy Gallant's new video for Talking to Myself. Anything that man touches turns sexy, believe that. If you're starting to get stoked for summer movie season, then the newest Guardians of the Galaxy trailer surely took those expectations a notch higher. Such awesome personality on all those characters, can't wait for the new one to come out.

And then we've got the Oscars. It was tempting to post the confusing ending of the award show, but you've probably already seen it by now and it's kind of a train wreck watch. In turn, I decided to post my favorite moment and performance. By far my favorite performance was Lin-Manuel Miranda and Auli'l Cravahlo's performance of How Far I'll Go from Moana. If you've seen the movie, you got goosebumps watching that. And finally, my favorite moment of then night when an unsuspecting bus full of tourists became the entertainment for everyone. There's so much comedy goodness baked into that clip that it wouldn't be right for me to try and summarize it, just watch it...#Yulree

Alicia Keys, Adam Levine, Blake Shelton and Gwen Stefani Perform Waterfalls

Gallant - Talking to Myself (Video)

Gaurdians of the Galaxy Vol 2 (Trailer)

Lin-Manuel Miranda and Auli'l Cravahlo Perform How Far I'll Go from Moana

Bus Full of Tourists Gets to Experience the Oscars

Photo Credit: YouTube

Videos of the Week February 10th

Yet again this week, it was a thankless task narrowing down a top five videos. If there was one underlying theme this week it was the presence of soul. Starting with Chance the Rapper's video for Same Drugs where he delivers a duet with what can only be described as a muppet. Trippy video, but nonetheless, a stellar track. Then there was that time John Legend invited over Gallant so they could sings some songs acapella and answer questions with fans. Hate on Facebook live all you want, but if it leads to more intimate sessions like this, I'm all aboard.

Moving on with Run the Jewels who seemed to fill every nook and cranny of NPR's Tiny Desk space. You can't hate one bit on their ability to hold the crowd (regardless of size) in the palm of their hands, but I question whether the type of music they make is suited for the Tiny Desk setting. Don't get me wrong it was hella entertaining, but it was akin to watching two dudes practice rapping, which isn't the most interesting thing. The good news is, Stephen Colbert and John Oliver have all the interesting you need as they exchanged political humor and banter for a good ten minutes. And last, but certainly not fifth on the list, was Anderson .Paak's church choir fueled rendition of The Come Down. At this point it would be foolish to question how talented of a performer Anderson. Find me another artist in Hip Hop that can lead a choir while playing the drums and singing...#TheComeDown
Chance the Rapper - Same Drugs (Video)

John Legend and Gallant Perform Penthouse Floor and Overload on Facebook Live

Run the Jewels Tiny Desk Concert at NPR

Stephen Colbert Interviews John Oliver on The Late Show

Anderson .Paak Delivers a Gospel Performance of The Come Down

Photo Credit: YouTube

Videos of the Week February 3rd

If only every week could be as hype as this week's top five. Performances were the name of the game this week, front to back. Led by the Rockin' 1000 people who congregated in Cesena, Italy to form the largest rock band on earth to perform Nirvana's classic, Smells Like Teen Spirit. I'll admit, I thought it was going to sound like a catastrophe of sound, but it delivered the goods. If you don't get hype seeing all those people with drum sets and electric guitars then you weren't watching the same video that I was.

Then NPR hosted both D.R.A.M. and Gallant for a couple Tiny Desk concerts. Both were impactful performances as I gained more respective for D.R.A.M. and became more convinced that Gallant is far and away the most dynamic singer in music right now. Simply put, you need to watch both. And while you're at it, give MGK and Camila Cabello's rendition of Bad Things a quick watch. The mix of a nostalgic classic with updated vocals and rap verses made for one of the more noteworthy collaborations over the past year. And last, but never ever least, here's yet another example of why Jon Bellion's live show is must see. On Fallon he led off his performance with an unreleased verse “Hall & Oates” over a live rendition of a J Dilla beat as a tribute to one of his idols. I've seen him perform All Time Low maybe 10 times now and every time he does it slightly different and adds in a new unique element. There's so much more to come from Jon B in 2017 and a performance on Fallon is a strong indicator of how widely his talent begin to be regarded...#AllTimeLow

Rockin' 1000 Performs Smells Like Teen Spirit

D.R.A.M. Performs Five Songs From NPR's Tiny Desk

Gallant Performs at NPR's Tiny Desk

Machine Gun Kelly and Camila Cabello Perform Bad Things on Ellen

Jon Bellion Performs J Dilla Tribute of All Time Low on Fallon

Photo Credit: YouTube

"Love Becomes Clear When in Pieces"

Oh man, smooth R&B is so hard to come by nowadays, I’m going to savor this new one by Gallant. The trio of Tablo and Eric Nam may have put together the grown and sexy track for 2017 in Cave Me In. If you listen closely there are a few bluesy guitar ad libs thrown in the mix that take the track to another level. It’s tried and true rhythm and blues with enough jazz and live band instrumentation to keep you entertained for a whole three and a half minutes. The rap verse by Tablo adds another element of intrigue to the track, but don't be mistaken, I came here for the soft R&B vocals. Feel free and enjoy the newly minted visuals for the track below or iTunes and Spotify for those who want more of a right-click, save as type of experience...#CaveMeIn



Gallant x Tablo x Eric Nam - Cave Me In (prod. By Lophiile)

Videos of the Week September 23rd

Normally I'm a Jimmy Fallon guy, but kudos to Jimmy Kimmel for bringing the heat this week with performances from Usher and Desiigner. Both brought the heat with brief sets and they did it their own way. On one hand you had Usher doing his usual dance routine while spicing it up with videos of fans around the world dancing to No Limit. And on the other hand you had the raw energy of Desiigner performing his hype new single Timmy Turner. To be blunt, I'm still on the fence about Desiigner as an artist. He walks the line between hype and over-the-top, which is why I want to like him, but in manageable doses.

If you have five minutes and have to choose one video to watch this week, there's no doubt that it should be Elton John and Gallant performing Weight in Gold. It's an awe inspiring performance by a legend and an up-and-comer whose voice is on another level. If escaping reality through animation and adventure is more what you're looking for, then you'll dig Zeds Dead, Diplo and Elliphant's collabo on the video for Blame. And last, but not least, there was the time Hillary Clinton went Between Two Ferns with Zach Galifianakis. If you've seen any of the episodes in the series, there's a level of awkward situational humor that always ends up being surprisingly funny and this one did not disappoint...#BetweenTwoFerns
Elton John & Gallant Perform Weight in Gold

Desiigner Performs Timmy Turner on Kimmel

Zeds Dead & Diplo feat Elephant - Blame (Video)

Usher Performs No Limit on Kimmel

Hillary Clinton Goes Between Two Ferns with Zach Galifianakis

Photo Credit: YouTube

Videos of the Week August 12th

Wide range of awesomeness in this week's top five y'all. Led by the inspirational and incredibly well done video by Nike featuring Chance the Rapper. The track is called We the People and it couldn't have been any more appropriate for the Olympics. Kudos to Nike for pulling together the talent and visuals they do to produce such a well-timed video for their Unlimited Together campaign.

I've said it before and I'll say it again, lyric videos are the new low budget music video. Similar to what Thomas Jack did with Rise Up, all you need is some scenery that will amplify the tunes and you're golden. Completely switching gears from lyric videos, Gallant and Jack Garratt got to show off their skills with their in-studio performance of Janet Jackson's I Get Lonely. Gallant is such a talented vocalist, it's nuts. Speaking of talented artists, Anderson .Paak continues to do things that Hip Hop artists traditionally don't do. Like for example a three in one music video that's almost like a movie when combined together. Loved his cheesy curtains drop transitions between videos. And last but not least, your dose of comedy for the week from Seth Rogen and Jimmy Fallon. Haven't seen anyone live lip sync someone rapping before, but now I know what it sounds like thanks to Seth and the legendary Roots crew...#LipSyncBattle
Chance the Rapper Nike: Unlimited Together

Thomas Jack & Jasmine Thompson - Rise Up (Lyric Video)

Jack Garratt x Gallant - I Get Lonely (Janet Jackson Cover)

Anderson .Paak – The Season / Carry Me / The Waters (Video)

Fallon and Seth Rogen Get in a Lip Sync Battle

Photo Credit: YouTube

Videos of the Week July 1st

As we go full steam ahead into Summer, it seems like music videos are beginning to take over the top five. Maybe it's an overall lack of interesting late night skits, or it could be an influx in breath taking performances and music videos. Speaking of performances, this week was absolutely dominated by Beyonce and Kendrick Lamar. You won't see many performances quite like their rendition of Freedom at the BET Awards. How they managed to include that much water on the set without electrocution is beyond amazing. So much splashing and wet hair swinging. Then you throw in some K Dot spitting on the mic. GAME OVER!

In the "all the other videos" category, there was plenty more music. Let by a throwback filtered Majid Jordan video for Make It Work and a very chill video from Gallant for Miyazaki. Who needs multiple camera angles when you've got a nicely set table and a bottle of wine, right? Then there was the silhouette inside the ice cube appearance by members of X Ambassadors, A$AP Ferg and Jamie N Commons in Low Life. Lots of pain and desperation in that one, but a great track. And last, but not least we've got the latest GWDJ appearance by The Chainsmokers. This time they performed their latest #1 single, Don't Let Me Down with Daya on GMA. Their live performance has come a long way to the point where they can captivate an audience no matter what venue they're performing at...#DontLetMeDown

Beyonce & Kendrick Lamar Perform Freedom at the BET Awards

Majid Jordan - Make It Work (Video)

Gallant - Miyazaki (Video)

X Ambassadors feat A$AP Ferg & Jamie N Commons - Low Life (Video)

Chainsmokers & Daya Perform Don't Let Me Down on GMA

Photo Credit: BET

"Maybe I'm Holding Back, Do You Want It?"

How does some grown and sexy Hump Day R&B sound y'all? An all male duet is something rarely seen nowadays, but Gallant seems to be making a habit of it. This time he teamed up with SG Lewis for a mellow, subtly funky jam. Holding Back will lure you in with an addictive bassline, but the vocals are what you'll end up remembering. There are some quirky electronics that add some flavor to spice it up, but it's an awfully smooth track all things considered. Having already caught the ear of Pharrell, Justin Timberlake, and Disclosure, there's a good chance you're going to hear a lot more of SG Lewis in the coming months...#HoldingBack

SG Lewis feat Gallant - Holding Back

Videos of the Week May 13th

This week's top five is deserving of two adjectives: entertaining and new. On the entertaining tip, you've got the new video for Need You where Dillon Francis is up to his usual shenanigans DJ-ing a rowdy backyard party. Then, there's the human serviette checking in with Drake and 40 in studio. No matter what you say about Nardwuar and his quirky antics, the dude can hold a pose!

On the music side of things, you had two up and comers continuing to make a name for themselves. When Desiigner wasn't picking fights with Bieber this week, he was continuing to get love from Kanye and releasing a video for his latest buzz track Panda. By now you should understand my love for all that is Gallant, so his performance on Fallon should be the least surprising aspect of this week's top five. Rounding out this week was Timbaland protege, Tink, who did he best to show off her skills on Gorgon City's new one. Didn't ever imagine Gorgon going that Hip Hop, but I dig the vibe on their new single...#ImpairedVision
Dillon Francis & NGHTMRE - Need You (Video)

Nardwuar vs Drake 2016

Gallant Performs Weight in Gold on Fallon

Gorgon City feat Tink & Mikky Ekko - Impaired Vision (Video)

Desiigner - Panda (Video)

Photo Credit: YouTube

Videos of the Week March 11th

There are two clear cut favorites in this week's top five in my eyes. First, the live debut of Kygo's new single, Fragile, with Labrinth was more than a little awesome. What a cool ballad! I can't wait to hear the mastered version, which will probably be slightly more electronic. Second, Seal and Gallant's Weight in Gold duet in studio was worth a few looks. While Seal doesn't get near the credit he deserves, he more than held his own with Gallant on the mic. When they combined forces, the result was special.

Was it entertaining to watch Jonah Hill sing Drake's verse on Future's Jumpman? Yep, you bet it was. Glad they're getting more an more creative with the monologues on SNL. In other news, DJ Khaled is continuing his assault on pop culture through Snapchat. Now he's even landing on talk shows like Ellen to talk his motivational talk. Crazy how social media can be used as a tool to get so much notoriety. And last, but not least, Skrillex and Jauz released their new animated video for Squad Out with Fatman Scoop. Leave it to Adult Swim to put together something that trippy. Did I see Fatman Scoop with an elephant nose? Still trying to wrap my head around the plot of the video, but that's kinda of what Adult Swim does...#SquadOut
Kygo feat Labrinth - Fragile (Live)

Seal and Gallant Sing Weight in Gold as a Duet

Future feat Jonah Hill – Jumpman on SNL

More Getting to Know DJ Khaled on Ellen

Skrillex & Jauz - Squad Out (Video)

Photo Credit: YouTube

"I'm Shaking, I Need it Like Bourbon in My Coffee Cup"

With every new release I'm becoming a bigger fan of Gallant. There aren't many standout R&B vocalists breaking onto the scene anymore, which makes me appreciate his come up. At first, the ZHU co-sign helped, but he's done more than enough to carve out his own path with new music. If you listen close enough, you might even hear ZHU's signature low-end, slow vocal samples. Bourbon is a soulful, throwback slow jam that capitalizes on a memorable hook and soothing vocals throughout. The track will be surfacing on Gallant's upcoming debut album, Ology, which will be landing on April 6th. Until then, get like and go check him and ZHU out in concert since they'll undoubtedly be coming to a city near you soon...#Bourbon

Gallant - Bourbon

Videos of the Week January 8th

Admittedly, it was an underwhelming week for videos. Rarely am I ever scraping the barrel for a top five, but it was a slow start for the year. I say that but Kendrick Lamar's debut performance of his latest Untitled track on Fallon was the show stopper of the week. You want to talk about energy in a performance! He brought his A game to the party.

Coming in a close second was Gallant, who is quickly becoming one of my favorite artists. With the help of Sufjan Stevens, he showed again why he's THE rising star when it comes to R&B vocalists. Continuing with an R&B tip, Majid Jordan made news this week when they released the tracklist for their upcoming album along with the new video for their latest single Something About You. In electronic news, if you were wondering how easy or hard it is to make a track, Flux Pavilion was willing to show you in a matter of ten minutes. Pretty cool how it all comes together more quickly than you'd imagine. And last, but not least, your boy Yonas came through with yet another interesting cover. This time, he did work on Adele's Hello. But, to his credit, he put his own interesting rock twist on it with the help of Living in Fiction...#Yonas
Kendrick Lamar - Untitled 2 (Live on Fallon)

Gallant & Sufjan Stevens - Blue Bucket of Gold (In-studio Video)

Majid Jordan - Something About You (Video)

Flux Pavilion Makes a Track in 10 Minutes

Yonas feat Living in Fiction - Hello (Adele Cover)

Photo Credit: YouTube

"Born With a Rubber Spine, Loose Skin and Vacant Eyes"

Song writing is and will always be an under appreciated reason why people end up liking particular songs. So many times we write off pop music as being manufactured, but there's usually good reason why your Justin Biebers and Taylor Swifts end up making music that people can universally enjoy. There are talented people who are pushing the right emotional buttons with words and vocal demos that end up turning into top 40 songs that (fill in the blank) ends up singing.

All of this is relevant because they song below is a great ballad that is executed by two incredible songwriters. I've been on James Fauntleroy for years as that ghostwriter you've never heard of that deserves the lions share of the credit for songs blowing up, but Gallant is great in his own right. His gradual delivery mixed with storytelling sucks you in from the first bar and it only gets better as the song progresses to the second verse when a slow moving beat emerges. The song is the second of twenty songs that Redbull is debuting to close out 2015 as part of their 20 Before 16 series. It's gotten to the point that I rarely post ballads anymore, so I hope you take your time and enjoy this one as much as I did...#Borderline

Gallant x James Fauntleroy - Borderline