[Music Video] London Grammar- "Nightcall"

Possibly my favourite song from London Grammar's début album, If You Wait, has been given the video treatment. Hooray for Nightcall!

The original Nightcall was record by Kavinsky and was a synth-pop extravaganza that notably featured a distorted, robotic main vocal. With a voice like Hannah Reid's it was no surprise London Grammar chose to forgo this effect on their cover. They also "naturalised" the production somewhat, substituting most of the electronica for live instrumentation. The result is a melancholy and brooding ballad that fits perfectly within the trio's catalouge.

Take a listen to it, and the original, below!

[New Music] Candice Glover - "Cried"

Are we all remembering last year's American Idol winner, Candice Glover? If not, it doesn't really make much difference to anything, but let me tell you this is one lady who can SING! So make sure to take a listen before you exit the post!

To those who do remember her, I'm sure you're pumped to hear her first single and see the direction the American Idol team have decided to take her in! Well wait no longer and take a listen to Cried, below.

This was certainly a brave, and grown choice for a first single!  It's the kind of gut-wrencher I could imagine hearing Jazmine Sullivan record. Piano, strings and plenty of room for Candice to stretch her Gospel-infused voice, it certainly gave me my RDA of angst and pain. I'm just not sure how well it will fair, chart wise.

[Watch] Ariana Grande Saves 2013 AMA (Vocally) With "Tattooed Heart" Performance

Thank Pizza for Ariana Grande! Between Christina Aguilera's yawn-inducing performance of Say Something and TLC's continued desecration of my cherished memories, I was ready to give up on the 2013 American Music Awards altogether. [Note: This was before I saw Gaga and Katy Perry's offerings]

Okay, yes, the intro to Tattooed Heart was unnecessary and showy, but I'm guessing that was the point. Ariana is a new artist that I'm sure still feels has a lot to prove, vocally, to her peers and the audience. I can forgive her for that, as long as it doesn't carry on into her career once she's established. Besides, after that little indiscretion, she hit her stride quickly and gave an accomplished vocal. The song itself isn't one of my favourites, I should add, but I can't hold that against her delivery of it.

My only criticism is that I wish she'd have backed a little away from the microphone on some of the big notes, just to make them sound a little softer. But that was a tiny issue in an overall fantastic performance.

[Watch] Lady Gaga's AMA Performance Of "Do What U Want" Explained - Or at least I think so.

YES to Lady Gaga and R.Kelly bringing a little something different to the American Music Awards. Performing their duet, Do What U Want, we saw the pair playing president and secretary as they sang a distinctly theatrical rendition of the hit song.

But why the narrative and what was the point of it? Well, I'm no egghead, but it seems pretty clear by the end that the "president" was actually a metaphor for the media. Both the media and the "president" were enamoured with Gaga at the beginning, quickly inviting her into their world with open arms- illustrated by the party in the president's office. Good times!

However, both eventually turn on the singer, with the "president" doing so literally by denying any knowledge of her, and the media's change being highlighted by the newspaper clippings shown on screen. Interestingly, the image we are left with is a lone Gaga singing, almost in desperation, for us to do what we want with her body. Sad times.

On the other hand, I could be wrong, and the whole thing could have just been built around the song lyric, "You're the Marilyn, I'm the president". Let me know how you interpreted it in the comments! Whatever the case, a stellar performance from both R.Kelly (whose voice is truly something!) and Gaga.

[Watch] Katy Perry Delivers A Shockingly Good Performance Of "Unconditionally" @ 2013 AMAs

After the out of tune performance of Unconditionally at the EMA's earlier this month, I wasn't expecting much from Katy Perry when she took the same song to the American Music Awards. But boy did she impress this time around.

Not only was the staging and the theatrical side of it beautiful and interesting to watch, but her vocal was actually much improved. The low notes did sound breathy, and shaky- clearly this song is too low for her range- but at least she was hitting them and maintaining the song's melody. The belts were also better, being confident and projected- if slightly forced.

I do wonder if my appreciation for this was artificially inflated by the low standard I came to watching it with, but even if that has happened, it would only be regarding the vocal. The performance itself was great by any standard! Right?

[Watch] Christina Aguilera Gives A Gorgeous (But Boring) Performance of "Say Something" @ 2013 AMA

The Voice (US) performance of Say Something had me slathering all over Christina Aguilera. The rendition at the 2013 American Music Awards, not so much. In fact, I actually got a little lethargic halfway through her duet with A Great Big World.

I do feel I should have love this, though: the song hasn't changed; the vocal was controlled and measured; and there was no random shouts of "Say!" or "Hey!" made by the Diva. But it just wasn't happening for me while watching. I know, I know, Christina can't win. If she's belting and ad-libbing, she's over the top, with bad technique and no musicality. If she's mellow and restrained, she's "boring". Life is just too complicated...(!)

Still, even though I wasn't crazy about the performance, I do hope it's a sign of the direction she'll go when she decides to record a new album.

[Watch] TLC Prove Reunions Aren't Always A Good Idea With 2013 AMA Performance Of "Waterfalls"

Everyone loves a bit of nostalgia, but TLC's stint on the American Music Award stage actually left me feeling a little depressed- oppose to cheerily reminiscent of days gone by.

Singing their smash hit Waterfalls, original members T-Boz and Chilli lip-synced their way through the whole thing, all while engaged in some sloppy and tired choreography. Ironically, the only live vocals to be found were done so by their "special guest" Lil Mama- who played deceased third member, Left Eye, in the recently released biopic, Crazy Sexy Cool: The TLC Story- and even she wasn't much good, missing bars and losing breath as she shouted her way through the performance. On the plus side, at least she offered a small reminder of the energy and exhuberance the group used to come with when they hit the stage.

Initially I was hoping for a medley of TLC's biggest hits, but after watching this, I'm glad they decided to stick to the one song...