Saturday, December 13, 2014

 

Happy Birthday, Taylor Swift!


Taylor Alison Swift, or T-Swizzle as some call her, was born on December 13th, 1989. Today is Taylor Swift's birthday; she turns 25 years old. Taylor started as a Country singer but recently has had great success with her first pop album, 1989, named for the year Taylor Swift was born. For her birthday, Taylor Swift hung out with Jay Z, Beyonce, Justin Timberlake and other top pop stars.
Taylor Swift talks to Gale King!

Taylor Swift told Gale King what she values in a girl friend, in a video in a Yahoo article on her Birthday. Click the pic at left to read it.

It's been a great year for Taylor. Her video for Shake It Off now has 370 Million views. Shake It Off was at the top of the Billboard music charts for weeks, until Taylor Swift topped her own song with her new song Blank Space which is now at the top of the charts The Blank Space video currently has 186 Million views.


To honor Taylor Swift on her Birthday, we'll talk about 2 Taylor Swift related YouTube videos. First, Shake It Off Outtake #7 where Taylor Swift dances with her fans. Taylor explains to the fans why they were asked to come. They had no idea they would be in her new music video! "You guys are like the climactic sequence ending of it. Throughout the rest of the video, I'm putting myself probably in more embarrassing situations than the entirety of my middle school experience. So just not fitting in, and making an idiot of myself. And then, finally, I find the people that I fit in with, which is you guys!" Moral of the story - Hang in there and shake it off when you're going through a rough period, and you can find your place in this world. Taylor Swift went through things that are similar to what you may be going through, and it worked out for her, so it can also work out for you. Find some good people to fit in with, and you'll get through whatever is happening, and find happiness in your life.


Check out this fun video in which 17 year old Mackenzie from Arizona dances around a food store to Taylor Swift's song Shake It Off!

Mackenzie, who also likes Demi Lovato and One Direction, had posted a few other videos like this one on her YouTube channel, but this video titled Shake It Off (Fan Made) was special because it caught the eye of Taylor Swift who Tweeted about it!

Mackenzie's video currently has 1.1 Million views! This is great publicity for someone who loves performing and aspires to be an actor. After you enjoy her store dancing, below, be sure to check our her Agent Showcase video from October 2014. It's great!

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Thursday, October 16, 2014

 

Taylor Swift Shake It Off Outtakes


Last month, I discussed the huge new hit song by Taylor Swift, "Shake It Off". Yesterday, Taylor Swift released a new song from her upcoming new album, 1989. The new personal reflection song, "Out Of The Woods," is a supposedly about her relationship with Harry Styles of One Direction. The video for that song is not out yet, although you can find lyric videos and other videos with the audio, on YouTube. Since we can't bring you an official video of Out Of The Woods, we'll have a look at some of the interesting, cute, funny and insightful Outtake videos that Taylor Swift made to give give a Behind The Scenes look at the making of the Shake It Off video. Taylor put out 8 Outtake videos and we'll look at two today.
Taylor Swift in an Ad for Keds

Taylor Swift did an ad for Keds shoes and the picture to the left is from that ad. Click the pic for more about Keds at Amazon.

The Animators

This video shows the filming of the video that features dancers known as Animators. Animation is a subclass of popping which is a jerky style of dance made up of many quick motions followed by poses. The animator variant is named in reference to stop motion animation popular in the days before computer graphics in adventure and monster movies.

The video starts with Taylor Swift in the most sparkly outfit she has ever worn and a wig so tight that it is giving her a headache. The purpose of the segment is the same as the purpose of the entire video. The idea being put forth is that there will always be others who have something to say about you or who are trying to do things to you. But Taylor Swift's advice is to ignore them, shake it off, and do you own thing. Make the moves up as you go, and totally enjoy yourself! This is not a new point of view. Shakespeare wrote in Hamlet, "Nothing is either good or bad, but thinking makes it so." It's not what happens to you, its how you react -- how you handle it, how you process it, what you do in response.

Taylor Swift finds herself among a trained and practiced group of expert Animator dancers. They execute mind blowing moves flawlessly. Taylor knows that these dancers are very controlled and precise, while all she is capable of is spastic motions. How will she handle this? She performs utterly adorkable dance moves based on whatever pops into her mind! She has this music in her mind saying it's gonna be alright. She may not be as good an Animator as the rest, but she is confident and knows she has other unique abilities, so she enjoys herself and that radiates and lights up the stage! She knows she is awkwardly ruining the great performance of the others but she is proud of her moves just like they are proud of theirs. Have a look and enjoy the Animators, and Taylor Swift doing her own dance moves! This 4 minute video already has 1.5 million views and it a must see for fans of Taylor Swift and fans of the song Shake It Off.

Outtake video #1 was the Cheerleader section. Taylor says that sometimes you feel like you don't fit in. But sometimes you can get everything you want in life without ever feeling like you fit in. The most important thing in life is to dance to the beat of your own drum and to look like you're having more fun than the cool kids! Taylor Swift prepared for the shoot by running to build up her cardio endurance. She had to do three straight days of jumping around! Watch Taylor and the other girls shake their pom poms and do various cheerleader moves including a basket toss where Taylor is caught by three guys; this is one fun video! It is nearly 4 minutes and has nearly 3 million views.

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Friday, September 12, 2014

 

"Shake It Off" Lip Dub - Delta Sigma Phi Beta Mu


Taylor Swift Likes Frat Lip Sync to Shake It Off!

Here's a fun well done lip sync video filmed in one take to Taylor Swift's new hit tune "Shake It Off" made by a fraternity and in support of a charity! The guys of Delta Sigma Phi - Beta Mu chapter at Transylvania University in Lexington Kentucky take turns starring in the flick as they move the party from room to room. But it's not just a good time video, it also helps to publicize a campaign in support of Team Torsie at the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society as they seek to wipe out blood cancer. Check it out, here: http://pages.lightthenight.org/ky/Lexingtn14/TeamTorsie.

#noonefightsalone #teamtorsie

And now, the rest of the story! Taylor swift just commented on this video via FaceBook and Google+ saying, "I'm personally inviting all of these guys (and a date!) to a show on tour next year, it's on me. Nailed it, bros!" Wow, how sweet of Taylor Swift! This will bring even more awareness to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society!

Now watch the guys as they lip sync and dance to Taylor Swift's new hit song, Shake It Off. It already has a half Million views and I bet it goes over a Million this weekend. SHARE THIS and support the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society! Oh, and if you haven't seen the official Taylor Swift video for Shake It Off, you can watch it here.


Taylor Swift song Shake It Off Lip Dub by Delta... by mistersexybuzz

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Wednesday, August 20, 2014

 

Controversial Videos, Taylor Swift, Nicki Minaj


As I mentioned here a few days ago, Taylor Swift is out with a new song and video from her upcoming new album. The upbeat catchy song, "Shake It Off," is a tribute to 80s music and the video with lots of dancing is a tribute to the early days of Music Videos.

Back in the 80s, when MTV actually still Was Music TeleVision, the concept of music videos was fairly new. No one knew exactly what to do or what could be done with a music video. Before MTV and the Music Video revolution of the very early 80s, videos were made for a very few songs as promotional material, designed to boost record sales. But on 8/1/81 when MTV went on the air, or over cable actually, it seemed that every sing needed to have an accompanying video to make it a legit song. That meant that many videos were made on low budgets. Bigger budget videos tried to outdo each other for attention. By late 1983, Michael Jackson released a 13-minute music video for "Thriller," directed by famous Hollywood film director John Landis.

Taylor Swift in an Ad for Keds

Taylor Swift goes back through the years and alludes to styles and cliches used in previous songs and videos. This is what happens in the entertainment world. People "borrow" lyrical ideas and video looks that others have used in the past. If done right, with enough modification and injection of personal style, people accept the allusion to past works and it helps them identify with the current offering. However, if people feel that the artist is blatantly ripping off previous works, they will complain of plagiarism. Both opinions are represented in reviews of Taylor Swift's new song, "Shake It Off".

It is likely that Taylor Swift will Shake Off most criticism of her latest song, "Shake It Off" because the song is actually about ignoring haters. Have a look and decide for yourself. Is this popular new Taylor Swift video, with 3 million views on day one and now 15 million views on day two, a tribute or a rip off or something entirely different?

Yesterday saw the release of the new Nicki Minaj video, Anaconda. This video is also controversial, also features elements from the past, and includes lots of dancing. In this case, the connection to the past is deliberate. The song includes samples from the 1986 hit dance song, "Baby Got Back" by Sir Mix-a-Lot. That song told of Mister Mix's appreciation of women who had a figure that was little in the middle but having much back. His Anaconda didn't want none unless she had buns. He obviously liked big butts and he could not lie about it.

So Nicki Minaj made a video celebrating the effect of her twerking butt on someone's Anaconda. In addition to twerking scenes, the video features banana eating and whipped cream shooting on Nicki's chest. Some say this video promotes porn and strip clubs. Take a look and decide for yourself. If you are a parent with young children, you might be interested to see this very popular video by Nicki Minaj that got 10 million views on day one, and decide if your children should see this or not.

Where do you buy your music? Why not get it at Amazon.com! They sell everything there! Shop at Amazon.com for music, electronics, clothes, even food! Here are some items available at Amazon related to Taylor Swift and Nicki Minaj. Have a look, and check out other things for sale at Amazon as well. Happy Shopping!

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Friday, August 15, 2014

 

Taylor Swift Videos


Taylor Swift is coming out with her fifth studio album very soon! It doesn't have a name yet, but Taylor Swift will be Live on Yahoo in 3 days (Monday August 18th, 5PM Eastern Time) to talk about the album. Here's the link: https://screen.yahoo.com/live/event/taylor-swift

Taylor Swift is everywhere these days! She was on the Teen Choice awards last week. See the video below of Taylor Swift on The Tonight Show with Jummy Fallon, doing a segmant of the Ew Skit! She plays Natalie Benson - she is 13, and she likes to chill out all the time and eat apricots. She drew a Pegacorn! It's part Pegasus and part Unicorn. Taylor Swift is quite a cute little nerd girl with braces!

5 years ago, Taylor Swift gave us one very romantic song and video, "Love Story". It is about two young people who meet at school, prompting Taylor Swift to have a flasback to the early 1800's. She dances with her new found friend in her flashback, much like Mister Darcy would dance with Elizabeth in the Jane Austen classic, "Pride and Prejudice". In the song, the characters are named Romeo and Juliet, so there is the allusion to that Shakespeare play as well. Juliet's father tells Romeo to stay away from Juliet, but they do sneak off for romantic rendezvous. It all works out in the end!

In addition to a brand new album, Taylor Swift is also in a movie that just hit the big screen, "The Giver" in which she plays the role of Rosemary. This social science fiction film just came out on August 15th, is based on the book of the same name from 1993, and stars Jeff Bridges, Meryl Streep, Brenton Thwaites, Alexander SkarsgÄrd, Odeya Rush, Katie Holmes and Taylor Swift. You can watch the The Giver Official Trailer on YouTube, here.

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Thursday, June 23, 2011

 

Big Hits and their Covers


Summer is finally here! School is out; time to sleep late, hang out with friends and watch a lot of videos! Here are two very popular music videos for songs you are hearing on the radio, along with covers from members of the YouTube community.

Thanks to everyone who emailed Kenny about the YouTubeStars Guest Blogger openings! We found a few people that we may work with, but we are still looking for others. WE PAY WRITERS to Guest Blog for YouTubeStars! If you are interested in GETTING PAID to write some Guest Blogs about interesting videos and videomakers, please email Kenny and be sure to include a LINK to your YouTube channel in the email.

CelestialSam
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CelestialSam


Christina
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Christina



Today we will watch music videos from Taylor Swift and Katy Perry, as well as cover versions of their songs, made by talented YouTube members.

But first, The News!

This week's Featured Video on our Top 100 and Top 200 Charts is a really well made pop music video of an original song written by a young lady from Utah. Austin Wolfe is just 14 but she writes catchy pop tunes with good lyrics. She also plays keyboards and sings very well! Austin's YouTube channel is utahwolfe and it has videos of Austin on local TV and performing live. Watch the Featured Video of her original song "Goodbye" right here; click on it!

We have a NEW Featured Video every week on our YouTube Top 100 Chart. If you missed any of our Previously Featured Videos, you can still watch them here.

Check out our Top 100 and Top 200 Charts of the Most Subscribed YouTube Channels every week!


Now, enjoy these original hits and covers!


I have to admit, when I first heard the lyrics in Katy Perry's new hit "Last Friday Night (T.G.I.F.)" I wondered if she was advocating living a life of utter chaos! Clearly, if you are waking up with strangers in your bed, smelling like a mini-bar, with the chandelier on the floor and your dress ripped; and you have maxed out your credit cards and have warrants out for your arrest - you are headed for disaster!

The other thing that struck me was the vague similarity to that other song about Friday - "Friday" by Rebecca Black. We covered that phenomenon in great detail back in March and April; here, here and here. I also knew that Katy Perry sang part of "Friday" at one or more of her concerts recently. So it was not a huge shock when I saw the preview for "Last Friday Night (T.G.I F.)" with Rebecca Black in the Katy Perry video! Now many people think that "Last Friday Night (T.G.I F.)" is a new song by Katy Perry and may think it is cashing in on "Friday"'s fame. But this is not the case - "Last Friday Night (T.G.I F.)" was track 2 on Katy Perry's CD "Teenage Dream" which was released August 24, 2010. So was ARK inspired to write "Friday" by Katy's tune? We do not know!

Recent news about Rebecca Black, since Ryan Seacrest got her a billboard celebrating her 100 Millionth video view of Friday, had been sparse. We heard she hired a management team, was making a new song, and turned 14 a few days ago on June 21st. The full version of "Last Friday Night (T.G.I F.)" hit YouTube on June 12th and there, in a very major starring role, was Ms. Rebecca Black herself! Quite a birthday present to see her second appearance on video hitting nearly 30 million views.

Meanwhile, over at ARK Music, we hear that there is a legal dispute over the "Friday" video. Also, ARK had planned and announced a singing contest between 18 of their top site members who would be eliminated one each week by member votes, leaving a winner who would be flown to L.A. and given the ARK treatment. However, the announcement has been removed and the contest has not begun. It was supposed to be timed to finish in the last weeks of summer vacation, but the timing would be off now, should it finally get underway. Still, ARK runs a very nice fan site with quite a good amount of people, mostly kids, in their chat room at any given time.

Back to the "Last Friday Night (T.G.I F.)" video. It is said that the idea was to parody the teen movies of the 80s. Teen stars Corey Feldman and Debbie Gibson are in the video, playing the parents of Katy's character - Kathy Beth Terry. But there is texting, social networks, game consoles and other current technology in the 8 minute mini-movie. Rebecca Black has a starring role as herself - a girl who lives next to the Terry family and is hosting a wild party. She gets nerdy Kathy to loosen up - gives her cool clothes and removes her "headgear" braces with pliers!

Now that I have seen the video (and really enjoyed it!), I am still a bit concerned about the message it, and the song, send to fans, especially the younger ones. If you have nerdish tendencies - interests in modeling the solar system and other scientific endeavors - do you really have to drink excessively, dress and look the same as everyone else in order to be accepted? Maybe in the 80s, but these days, people join the Nerd Fighters and other social movements and proudly claim the nerd name. Bill Gates was a nerd and he did just fine for himself! Also, RB Rebecca Black was just 13 when this was filmed. Yes, she is said to be a "good girl" and I think she probably is. But did they corrupt that image with this video? 13 is a little young for some of the things going on at this party, and even in the 80s, they rarely showed characters this young getting this crazy. This video is very different than her "Friday" video. People like Miley Cyrus usually wait until they are 17 or so before they begin to go for that more adult image. Watch the video; what do YOU think?






As I said above, "Last Friday Night (T.G.I F.)" came out last summer. By September, YouTube Star Shane Dawson put out a parody of "Last Friday Night (T.G.I F.)" that he made with several other top YouTube Stars such as OlgaKay and TayZonday. Have a look at this video from Shane's YouTube channel and see if you think that maybe, just maybe, Katy Perry's people watched this and were inspired by it in the making of their own video for "Last Friday Night (T.G.I F.)" Warning: language!






Before I ever heard Taylor Swift's hit song "The Story Of Us" - I saw a cover of it on YouTube! A talented young man originally from Libya named Bahjat is a huge Taylor Swift fan and a musician himself. I had subscribed to his original channel last year so I could hear the interesting covers that he makes by singing and accompanying himself on guitar. I liked his cover of "The Story Of Us" even though I had never heard the original.

Now, Taylor Swift's "The Story Of Us" is on the radio all the time, and I really like it! Last month, we got to see the Official Video for Taylor Swift's hit "The Story Of Us" and it's great! The video is set in a school library and we see the interaction between the man and woman in the song who had a relationship that is turning into a tragedy now. Next Chapter! The End! Have a look at this video and let me know if you notice that the beautiful Taylor Swift looks a little like our own guest blogger, CelestialSam (pic at the top ot this post)!






Late last year, we interviewed YouTube Star Krista Nicole (KristaHeartzuz). One of the people who won a Krista Nicole CD in our contest was YouTube singer Stephanie Bullock from Canada. I checked out her channel during the contest and found some fun videos of cover songs. Stephanie really gets into it and that makes her nice singing even more enjoyable! Watch talented Stephanie sing Taylor Swift's "The Story Of Us" - complete with a cute "Next Chapter" and "The End!"

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