pop – MikeyMix

COME ON BLACKPOOL LET’S GET SICKENING!!…..(& life update!!)

Hello everyone…welcome back to MikeyMix!! Hope you’re all well and haven’t missed me too much (I know I said I’d be blogging a lot more now that I’m off university for summer and I apologise for not keeping up with my end of the promise)!

For today’s post I will be catching up with you all and then announcing an event I have very kindly been granted access to attend!

So, as you all know I’ve been doing a lot on my YouTube channel (MikeyMixTV linked here) and recently I achieved my first subscriber milestone: although hitting 50 subscribers seem’s like nothing to most people to me I’m really proud because it is hard trying to get noticed on YouTube when you live so far away from London and have other commitments in life (university, general life and of course part time work).

I’ve also started live streaming on YouNow (follow me @MikeyMixTV!) and I honestly love it! I don’t know why people would enjoy just watching me chat to my phone whilst sitting on the couch but weirdly people really seem to like it, me and my personality!

Now on to the announcement: if you don’t recognise the quote briefly referenced within the title of the post it’s from a little show entitled: RuPaul’s Drag Race. For those unaware the show is reality television competition in which female impersonators compete against each other in order to win a cash prize of $100,000 and the title of “America’s Next Drag Superstar” (honestly I think the easiest way to describe the show would be to say: “It’s like America’s Next Top Model meets Project Runway meets Lip Sync Battle but with drag queens”).

The show has recently completed its 9th season and since it’s launch in 2009 the show has went on to become quite a hit and has developed a devote cult following because of this a number of contestants have reached great levels of fame and acclaim.

Two fan favourites from this season (whom unfortunately didn’t win), Farrah Moan (left) and Aja (right) will be visiting ‘KLUBLAND’ (a bar in Blackpool, Lancashire, UK) on July 9. Fans of the show will have the opportunity to purchase tickets to either see the girls perform, those wanting to meet the girls and have a professional photograph taken to commemorate the occasion are also welcome to purchase a “Meet & Greet” ticket.

The event will be hosted by two UK based entertainers, both of whom have quite stellar careers!: Silver Summers (best known for her appearances in television series ‘Drag Queens of London’) and The Vivienne (RuPaul’s Drag Race UK Ambassador).

Thanks to the kind people over at “Connor Matthew Productions” (organisers of the event) I’ll be attending the event along with 3 of my friends. I’m hoping to make a vlog of the event (which will be uploaded directly to my YouTube channel shortly after the event) and will be conducting several live streams throughout the night.

Tickets for the event are still available and can be purchased here

Ticket Prices:

Standard Entry [show only]: £20 (and a £1.83 booking fee)

Meet and Greet [includes show, meeting with the girls and professional photo]: £30 (and a £2.45 booking fee)

(PLEASE NOTE: Tickets are subject to availability)

Katy Perry: “Bon Appétit” – REVIEW

Good evening readers…welcome to MikeyMix! It’s been a while since I properly blogged and the reason for that is I have developed a new love for creating YouTube videos.

I want to share these videos with you fine readers whom have been there for me since day one and instead of writing up some of my usual reviews for tracks I’m going to show you my reaction!!!

Linked below is my reaction video to ‘Bon Appétit’ the latest single from Katy Perry, ENJOY!!!

Until next time: stay safe, be happy and keep on jamming!!

-Mikey

HEADER PHOTO PROVIDED BY ‘CHUFF MEDIA’ (REGIONAL TOURING PR TEAM) – PHOTO WAS PRE-APPROVED FOR PRESS USE

Lady Gaga: “The Cure” – REVIEW

Good morning readers!! Welcome to MikeyMix, I hope you’re all having a lovely Easter as my weekend has certainly been a good one! I attended Insomnia60 Gaming Festival yesterday and it was such a fun experience (expect a juicy blog post to follow about that as A LOT happened and it was eye-opening….) and now following on from her performance at Coachella Music Festival last night my idol, Lady Gaga, has released a new track!!!

The track is entitled: ‘The Cure’ and it is a feel-good anthem created by Gaga and longtime collaborator and friend DJ White Shadow. The 3 minute 31 second track is exactly what the world needed: a bit of “old Gaga” (that’s not to say that I didn’t adore ‘Joanne’ because I did it’s one of my favourite albums ever made) – the track gives me some serious ‘The Fame’ vibes with a bit of ‘Fashion of His Love’ thrown in.

The beat of the track isn’t overproduced which means Gaga‘s vocals are free to excel (and trust me, they do!), personally I can see this track being a huge summer bop but it will definitely always remain a fan favourite because behind the feel-good sound the track has such a deep, deep message. A message which the world definitely needs right now.

Overall I’ll be giving this track a 4 out of 5 star rating: I’ve had this track on repeat all morning and I fall in love with it with every play, I’d say “welcome back Gaga” but this time she never left, she has once again proven that 2017 is HER year and personally I cannot wait to see her slay the stage in October during the ‘Joanne World Tour’.

‘The Cure’ is available for purchase on iTunes and can be streamed on all music streaming platforms: Apple Music, Tidal and Spotify.

Until next time: stay safe, be happy and keep on jamming!!

-Mikey

The Chainsmokers: “Memories…Do Not Open” – REVIEW

Good evening readers, welcome back to MikeyMix! For tonight’s late night blog post I will be reviewing ‘Memories…Do Not Open’, the debut studio album by electronic pop-duo The Chainsmokers. This is not my first post on material released by the duo so I thought it would make sense to review their new album.

If you’d like to see my previous reviews on The Chainsmokers then I will link them here: ‘Paris‘, ‘Something Just Like This‘ and ‘The One‘.

Ever since the pair announced the album shortly after their performance at the 2017 Brit Awards I have been so excited to hear it in full: although their music all sounds quite the same and is definitely made for a generic radio-friendly audience, I have enjoyed all of the tracks they have released thus far.

The track-list for the album is as follows:

The One
Break Up Every Night
Bloodstream
Don’t Say (feat. Emily Warren)
Something Just Like This
My Tape (feat. Emily Warren)
It Won’t Kill Ya (feat. Louane)
Paris
Honest
Wake Up Alone (feat. Jhené Aiko)
Young
Last Day Alive (feat. Florida Georgia Line)

Throughout the album the electronic, auto-tuned vocals provided by the duo themselves are prominent in several songs. However there are some moments that you can tell they’ve really tried to experiment with production style, a clear example would be the pop-punk/rock inspired second track ‘Break Up Every Night’.

In true Chainsmoker style, the duo have opted to collaborate with several underground (almost indie) pop artists: there is no doubt in my mind that these artists will receive “The Chainsmokers effect”: a phenomenon that has occurred lately that whomever appears on a Chainsmokers track immediately earns worldwide acclaim and promotion.

Overall: I did thoroughly enjoy this album and it will be added to my music list, it pains me to say but I don’t think the album will be a contender for any prestigious awards (such as the Grammy’s). This is solely because the competition is far too strong and this album is literally just “another Chainsmokers” project.

I’ll be giving this album a disappointing 2 out of 5 star rating because honestly I enjoyed it but I didn’t love it. I expected so much more from this album and I feel The Chainsmokers have fallen victim to their own fame as the end product didn’t live up to the hype.

The album ‘Memories…Do Not Open’ is available for purchase on iTunes and can be streamed on all music streaming platforms: Apple Music, Spotify and Tidal.

Until next time: stay safe, be happy and keep on jamming!!

-Mikey

HEADER IMAGE PROVIDED BY ‘CHUFF MEDIA’ (REGIONAL TOURING MUSIC PR COMPANY): IMAGE HAS BEEN PRE-APPROVED FOR USE BY THE PRESS, NO COPYRIGHT INFRINGEMENT INTENDED ALL RIGHTS RESERVED FOR THE RIGHTFUL OWNERS.

Halsey: “Now Or Never” – REVIEW

Good evening readers, welcome back to MikeyMix! As promised in my post from earlier today (the premiere of my journalistic video piece on reality television, which can be found here), tonight’s blog post is going to be a review on ‘Now Or Never’ the new single by Halsey.

‘Now Or Never’ is the lead single from Halsey‘s upcoming second album, entitled ‘Hopeless Fountain Kingdom’. As well as releasing the track, Halsey opted to release the official music video for the song alongside it.

The music video takes place in a grungy, modern dystopia in which (if my initial reaction is correct) Halsey is involved in a cult and is confused in love. It has to be said that throughout the video Halsey remains distinct in this white-washed world as she is rocking gorgeous blue hair, the look as a whole gives me some serious ‘Judas’ by Lady Gaga

The track as a whole sounds different to the stuff Halsey has released in the past and I honestly love it: the simple lyrics are immediately catchy and although she sounds a little bit robotic, it’s not overused meaning that the track remains a pleasuring experience for the listeners.

I will be rating this track a 5 out of 5 star rating, mainly because I love this song and was pleasantly surprised. I am very excited to hear the rest of the album and expect great things from Halsey.

‘Now Or Never’ is available for purchase on iTunes and is available for streaming on all music streaming platforms: Apple Music, Spotify and Tidal.

Until next time: stay safe, be happy and keep on jamming!!

-Mikey

Calvin Harris: “Heatstroke” – REVIEW

Good afternoon readers! Welcome to MikeyMix, for today’s review we will be discussing the latest release from Scottish DJ and producer, Calvin Harris.

The track, entitled ‘Heatstroke’ which was released earlier today is a collaboration with Young Thug, Pharrell Williams and Ariana Grande.

One thing that I picked up on is the overuse of auto-tune (especially for the parts featuring Young Thug), the beat is okay but nothing special, there is a lot of competition on the market and this time I don’t believe Harris delivered.

I can see this track being well received by the general public and wouldn’t be surprised if it was classed as a “summer anthem” (it’ll definitely be given its fair share of airtime on the radio and in night clubs).

The only thing I like (and I use that term loosely) about this track is the vocals provided by Ariana Grande. This is because it’s nice to see this newer, chilled side to Grande. However, Grande‘s vocals do not save this track and I am very much underwhelmed: when I first saw it announced I was so excited but the overall execution did not live up to the hype.

I will be giving this track a disappointing 2 out of 5 star rating as I did not like it and just know that Harris can do so much better.

The track is available for purchase on iTunes and can be streamed on all streaming platforms: Apple Music, Tidal and Spotify.

Until next time: stay safe, be happy and keep on jamming!!

-Mikey

The Chainsmokers: “The One” – REVIEW

Good evening readers, welcome back to MikeyMix! The second blog post of today will be a review of the new single by electric-pop duo The Chainsmokers. The song, entitled ‘The One’ is the second single from their upcoming debut album: ‘Memories… Do Not Open’.

The 2 minute 59 second track was released today (March 27) and is one of the only songs, behind ‘Paris’ (a review of their highly successful song ‘Paris’ can be found here) that feature vocals from the pair.

One thing I don’t like about the track is the overuse of autotune and voice enhancer, I understand that the pair aren’t vocalists by definition but in this track they sound far too robotic.

The track is short enough to leave listeners wanting more and I for one am very excited for the release of their album, ‘Memories… Do Not Open’ will be released April 7. My favourite part of the track as a whole has got to be the final twenty seconds as the beat is just genuinely enjoyable: the sound is the type of sound that one comes to expect from a The Chainsmokers song.

Overall: I will be giving this track a 3 out of 5 star rating as in my opinion it is far too short but I just know the radio and general public are gonna love it and it’ll receive lots of airtime in the coming weeks.

Until next time: stay safe, be happy and keep on jamming!!

-Mikey

HEADER IMAGE PROVIDED BY ‘CHUFF MEDIA’

ZAYN: “Still Got Time” – REVIEW (& ANNOUNCEMENT!)

Hello everyone! Welcome to MikeyMix, for today’s blog post I will be reviewing ‘Still Got Time’ the new single from British pop-star and ex-one direction band member ZAYN.

I also have an announcement that will be discussed after the review (it’s not particularly “huge” but I am very excited).

The track, which is the singers first solo release since the release of his debut album last year, features rap-artist PARTYNEXTDOOR.

The first thing the listener discovers upon first play of the track is the chilled beat: the slowed down, relaxing instrumental stays prominent throughout the song giving it a Bob Marley, reggae feeling to the song.

The vocals provided by ZAYN and PARTYNEXTDOOR compliment each other and blend together greatly that at times it feels like there is only one vocalist on the track.

I will be giving this track a 3 out of 5 star rating because although I did enjoy it I can see myself getting bored as it is quite repetitive. I cannot see myself adding this track to my playlist as in my eyes it’s nothing special.

That being said I am excited to see what ZAYN does next and what the remainder of 2017 has in store for him.

The track is available for purchase on iTunes and is available for streaming on all streaming platforms: Spotify, Apple Music and Tidal.

Now: time for my announcement!…I am very excited to announce that I will be attending this years ‘Insomnia60 Gaming Festival’ in Birmingham!

I reached out to the organisers of the event and they have very kindly invited me down: I will be writing a review of my trip and although I usually specialise on music posts I am excited to try out a new type of blog post.

For anyone interested, the ‘Insomnia60 Gaming Festival’ it will be taking place from April 14-16 and tickets can be purchased via the following link: www.insomniagamingfestival.com

Until next time: stay safe, be happy and keep on jamming!!

-Mikey

David Guetta: “Light My Body Up” – REVIEW

Good evening readers, welcome to the first of two reviews released on MikeyMix tonight! The first track we will be discussing is the latest release by producer and DJ, David Guetta.

Guetta‘s latest track, entitled ‘Light My Body Up’ was released today and is a collaboration with Nicki Minaj and Lil Wayne. This is the fourth time Minaj and Guetta have worked together and this track definitely proves that they are far from finished making hits.

The beat of the track is incredibly bouncy and I can definitely see this song being a hit in the clubs around the world. The bars provided by Minaj give some serious ‘Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded’ vibes (could this potentially be a teaser as to how Minaj‘s upcoming fourth album may sound?), the chorus is also strong as it has given Minaj the opportunity to fully utilise her vocal talents.

Lil Wayne‘s verse on the track however is quite forgettable and I feel like if he wasn’t featured not much would’ve changed with the track as his contribution wasn’t much compared to that of Minaj‘s.

I first heard this track a couple of hours ago but I have to be honest and admit that I have had it on repeat for a while as I do thoroughly enjoy the track: it’s nice to see Minaj return to the rap-pop sound of her second studio album.

My two biggest critiques for the track have got to be: Lil Wayne‘s contribution and the abrupt end of the track, it feels like theres something missing.

With all the above in mind I will be giving this track a 2.5 out of 5 star rating because although the song is good I can already see it being overplayed on the radio and I just know after 100 plays I’m going to get bored of it.

The overall production of the track isn’t anything special either and this is definitely “just another David Guetta track”.

The track is available for purchase on iTunes and is available for streaming on all streaming platforms: Spotify, Apple Music and Tidal

What did you think of the track? Let me know in the comments below and I’ll be sure to respond!

Until next time: stay safe, be happy and keep on jamming!!

-Mikey

Artist of The Week: Week 2

Good evening readers, welcome to MikeyMix! This evening’s blog post will mark the return of a series that I almost retired: the “Artist of The Week” series.

This blog post will be dedicated to the latest recipient of the title: Cody Vavrik. I only discovered the music of Vavrik very recently but I have to say that one thing is clear, he has talent.

One thing that I immediately picked up on was his very distinct image, if I had to describe it I’d say: Miley Cyrus meets Natalia Kills with a dash of Lady Gaga and a sprinkle of Years and Years for added likability.

Vavrik‘s music style cannot be put into one box and that in my opinion is definitely a good thing. His two most popular tracks ‘F*CK YOU WANT’ and ‘Now You Know’ both showcase great genre versatility by combining electro-pop with soul to create a pleasant (almost psychedelic) experience for the listener.

His music videos are definitely something I haven’t seen before: being a devote Lady Gaga fan that is something that I don’t get to say often. His music video styles can easily be described as an acid trip in which we somehow ended up in a Japanese sex party.

Vavrik is definitely an artist to watch and a must listen if your a fan of musicians that aren’t afraid to think outside the box and experiment with styles.

I will embed the official music video for Vavrik‘s track ‘Now You Know’ below so do feel free to give it a watch.

Don’t forget to follow Vavrik on social media to keep up to date with his career:

Twitter – @CodyVavrik

Facebook – Cody Vavrik Music

Soundcloud – Cody-Vavrik

Instagram – CodyVavrik

Until next time: stay safe, be happy and keep on jamming!!

-Mikey