‘L’Amour Toujours’ N°653 – 2010s Music Videos

1 . Lana Del Rey – Video Games

Released in 2011, “Video Games” is a strikingly cinematic track that propelled Lana Del Rey from obscurity into cult stardom and, eventually, unavoidable ubiquity.

Written alongside Justin Parker, who introduced the evocative piano chords, the song juxtaposes a hushed, melancholic delivery with lyrics that ache with unreciprocated longing: a woman vying for presence in a relationship overshadowed by her partner’s detachment.

Its production leans into a kind of glamour-stricken nostalgia, with dreamy string swells and subdued percussion that feel like they belong to an old Hollywood love affair, albeit one stripped of its happy ending.

The accompanying self-made video—patchworked from grainy vintage clips, personal footage, and idle webcam shots—cemented her as a curator of a carefully orchestrated sadness, a performer whose aesthetic ties longing to fleeting, half-forgotten Americana.

The song’s viral online success was a Trojan horse into mainstream attention, earning accolades and chart placements in the UK but receiving far more discussion for the shaky 2012 “SNL” performance that polarized critics and sold skepticism about Del Rey’s substance.

In hindsight, though, “Video Games” does what few breakout songs manage: it encapsulates a fully realized artistic identity from the first note.

Its meditative pacing and layered sadness set the groundwork for her polarizing career, influencing artists whose brands now openly crow about their debt to Lana’s cinematic melodrama.

Love or hate the artifice of Del Rey’s persona, the track sees her carve out a deeply specific artistic lane, an archetype somewhere between the disenchanted chanteuse and the Tumblr-era tragic romantic.

There’s a quiet irony in releasing a song so drenched in pastiche that it became a blueprint for pop’s future melancholics.

Featured on the 2012 album “Born To Die”.

Lyrics >> Review >> More by the same : Official Site

2 . Mabel – Don’t Call Me Up

Mabel’s “Don’t Call Me Up” is the anthem of post-breakup resilience dressed in tropical house and pop suavity.

Released on January 18, 2019, the track positions itself as both catharsis and a middle finger, with dancehall and reggaeton brushing up against polished R&B edges.

While the lyrics may not radically rewrite the self-empowerment trope—good riddance to the ex who didn’t deserve me—they’re delivered with a conviction that sticks, even if a bit predictably so.

The production, courtesy of Steve Mac, is meticulously slick, complete with bass lines that roll like ocean waves and a tempo that hits the sweet spot for nightclub choreography.

On the charts, the song punches above its weight, peaking at No. 3 in the UK, reigning over the R&B Chart for weeks, and modestly cracking the Billboard Hot 100 in the US at No. 66—a respectable showing but hardly seismic.

Critics may lob the accusation of being formulaic, but what “Don’t Call Me Up” lacks in innovation, it compensates for in sheer earworm energy.

The accompanying video, a cocktail of neon and shattered screens, visualizes Mabel’s liberation from toxic woes, even if its aesthetic leans dangerously close to algorithm-friendly design.

This track won’t redefine pop, but it doesn’t apologize for being aggressively good at what it is—a three-minute escape infused with enough conviction to fill your Friday night mood playlist.

Featured on the 2019 album “High Expectations”.

Lyrics >> Review >> More by the same : Official Site

3 . Jack Savoretti – Catapult

“Catapult” by Jack Savoretti offers a heartfelt expression of perseverance in love, carried by his signature acoustic instrumentation and emotive delivery.

While the track didn’t dominate charts, it represents one of the more tender moments on the album *Written in Scars*, which hit #7 on the UK Albums Chart upon release in 2015.

The song’s themes of devotion and surmounting challenges resonate, but it arguably avoids over-sentimentality, thanks to Savoretti’s restrained yet impactful phrasing.

Its production feels intimate, stripping the track of unnecessary ornamentation and allowing the lyrics to take center stage.

Musically, it’s not groundbreaking, staying firmly rooted within the pop-acoustic fusion Savoretti is known for, which might limit its appeal for those eager for more adventurous arrangements.

Nevertheless, “Catapult” sits comfortably in Savoretti’s catalog, aligning with his brand of romantic balladry without overstating its case.

If anything, it’s this quiet insistence—reflected in both the lyrics and delivery—that sets it apart from more grandiose love songs.

While not his most memorable track, it works as a companion piece to the album’s broader themes, making it a fine but not standout addition to his repertoire.

For fans already attuned to Jack’s understated approach, “Catapult” is another solid entry, though unlikely to convert new listeners on its own.

Perhaps its greatest strength lies in its simplicity, avoiding trends or overproduction that might date it prematurely.

Featured on the 2015 album “Written In Scars”.

Lyrics >> More by the same : Twitter

4 . Kelly Clarkson – Mr. Know It All

Kelly Clarkson’s “Mr. Know It All” is an anthem tailor-made for anyone who’s ever had it up to here with condescension and unsolicited advice.

Released in 2011 as the lead single from her fifth album, *Stronger*, the song walks the tightrope between midtempo pop-rock and R&B flirtations, boasting lyrics that snap like a verbal eye-roll straight at its titular target.

Written by the power team of Brian Kennedy, Ester Dean, Dante Jones, and Brett James, it leans heavily on Clarkson’s commanding vocals—deliberately stripped of excessive studio gloss—to deliver both vulnerability and bite.

Commercially, it checks all the boxes, cracking the Billboard Hot 100’s top 10 and conquering charts from Australia to South Korea, where it hit No. 1, proving that contempt for know-it-alls transcends borders.

The accompanying video, directed by Justin Francis, wraps its critique of media scrutiny in a backdrop of faux newspaper clippings—a sassy middle finger to the tabloids that regularly pick her apart.

Adding another layer, the 2012 country rework of the track signaled Clarkson’s ability to dip into new genres without sacrificing the song’s core grit, her first country chart entry since her early-*American Idol* days.

Nearly two million U.S. digital downloads later, “Mr. Know It All” isn’t just a hit—it’s a cathartic clapback for the ages, dressed up in a pop package with a raw edge and a knowing smirk.

Featured on the 2011 album “Stronger”.

Lyrics >> Review >> More by the same : Official Site

5 . Bruno Mars – It Will Rain

Bruno Mars steps into the shadows with “It Will Rain,” a self-confessed heartbreaker wrapped in melancholia.

Part of *The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 1* soundtrack, the 2011 release thrives on theatrical drama and showcases Mars at his most cinematic.

The song fuses pop and soul, with piano and strings swelling to mirror its central themes of love’s fragility and the inevitable ache of separation.

Co-written and produced by Mars alongside The Smeezingtons, the track leans heavily on metaphors, comparing the fallout of heartbreak to stormy weather and morphine addiction—a blend that’s both relentless and indulgently fatalistic.

It charted admirably, peaking at number 3 on the Billboard Hot 100 and scaling similar heights in international markets, propelling it into the winter playlists of 2011.

Despite its success, the track teeters on self-seriousness, bordering on the melodramatic without the catharsis necessary to balance its heaviness.

The accompanying music video, directed by Mars and Phil Pinto, intersperses romantic scenes with “Twilight” snippets, playing like a masterclass in marketing synergy rather than artistic innovation.

Critically, the song is a masterclass in commercial appeal, rich in radio-friendly gloss, yet its attempt to convey heartbreak often feels sanitized or, at best, theatrically posed.

The Rolling Stones’ “Wild Horses” echoes faintly in its DNA, yet “It Will Rain” offers little of that song’s raw authenticity, toeing a safer emotional line suitable for broad consumption.

Though masterfully crafted, it seems calculated above all else—a vessel designed to align with both Mars’s pop trajectory and the brooding aura of the “Twilight” juggernaut.

Lyrics >> Review >> More by the same : Official Site

6 . Raye, Mr Eazi – Decline

“Decline” struts in with Raye’s slick attitude and Mr Eazi’s Afrobeat ease, crafting a track that feels both polished and breezy.

Borrowing the melody from Ja Rule and Ashanti’s early-aughts classic “Always on Time,” the song leans hard into nostalgia while wrapping it in contemporary pop-R&B production.

Fraser T. Smith’s polished beat is clean to the point of sterility, but Raye’s half-spoken melodies and Mr Eazi’s laidback delivery inject just enough personality to keep it alive.

The lyrics champion self-worth and independence, though their depth doesn’t venture far beyond a catchy affirmation of not picking up that phone call.

The accompanying music video, vividly filmed in Ghana, foregrounds Mr Eazi’s roots while offering a splash of global texture to an otherwise British pop single.

Its chart performance—No. 15 in the UK—positioned it as a decent hit, propelled by heavy airplay and strategic live performances, though it stops short of breaking the mold musically.

A remix featuring Ramz exists, though it adds little beyond clunky verses, and an acoustic version strips the song down to a skeleton that emphasizes its limited emotional range.

Though “Decline” finds moments of charm in its hybrid of Afrobeats and UK pop sensibilities, the track feels like a calculated effort to climb the charts rather than an organic artistic statement.

Entertaining in its immediacy but ultimately disposable, “Decline” lands somewhere between fleeting fun and missed opportunity.

Lyrics >> Review >> More by the same : Official Site

7 . Clean Bandit – I Miss You (w/ Julia Michaels)

“I Miss You” proves Clean Bandit’s knack for bending genres to their will, melding EDM beats with lush orchestral undertones and a trace of Asian-inspired instrumentation.

The collaboration with Julia Michaels feels timely if not inevitable, given her growing reputation as a songwriter capable of condensing heartbreak into lucid poetry.

The lyrical crux revolves around the familiar ache of post-breakup longing, but the song packages it in a way that avoids total sentimentality, opting instead for crisp production that offsets the melancholy.

Jack Patterson’s piano contributions add a layer of sincerity, grounding the track amid its futuristic sheen, while Grace Chatto’s cello threads throughout, a subtle reminder of the band’s classical roots.

The music video, filmed in disparate locations like a deserted Los Angeles landscape and a UK heritage railway, mirrors the song’s emotional wanderlust, though the red costumes and visual effects verge on theatrical.

Critics might argue the track leans a bit too heavily on formulaic EDM structures, and yet Michaels’ vocal texture injects a rawness that transcends predictability.

In the pantheon of breakup songs, “I Miss You” doesn’t exactly reinvent heartbreak, but its mix of polish and vulnerability secures its place on playlists where introspection and catchy hooks coexist without contradiction.

Lyrics >> Review >> More by the same : Official Site

8 . Ed Sheeran – Lego House

“Lego House” by Ed Sheeran drapes its narrative in the tender anxiety of reconstructing fractured relationships, using LEGO as a metaphor for the meticulous yet fragile process of building trust.

The song, part of Sheeran’s 2011 debut album “+” (read “Plus”), anchors itself in delicate acoustic guitar chords and a piano melody that feels both intimate and disarming, like an unspoken apology in musical form.

There’s a calculated simplicity here, as Sheeran’s slightly raspy vocals glide within a restrained range, conveying vulnerability without plunging into melodrama.

Rupert Grint, mistaken for Sheeran’s stunt double more often than he’d like to admit, plays a deranged fan in the music video—a cheeky subversion of celebrity culture, overshadowed only by the inexplicable appeal of a LEGO recreation released later.

The harmonies float like whispers on a frosty day, evoking an emotional tension that resonates across geographies, hitting top-five spots on charts from New Zealand to Ireland.

Yet for all its craft, the track’s metaphors risk feeling overly tidy, as if emotion can be dismantled and reassembled with IKEA-like precision.

Sheeran performed “Lego House” everywhere from prime-time TV to radio gigs, imprinting it on the millennial psyche as a breakup anthem that’s equal parts earnest and structural.

Written in B major, it’s musically functional, though hardly groundbreaking—a safe palette for sentiments that tread well-worn paths.

The P Money remix added fleeting edge, but its fleeting nature proves how sonic experimentations around the track remained just that: experiments.

Produced by Jake Gosling and blessed (or cursed) with relentless airplay, “Lego House” carefully walks the line between heartfelt craft and saccharine predictability, leaving you wondering whether some emotional messiness might have made all the difference.

Featured on the 2011 album “+”.

Lyrics >> Review >> More by the same : Official Site

9 . Kelly Rowland – Lay It On Me (w/ Big Sean)

Released in 2011 as part of Kelly Rowland’s third studio album, “Here I Am,” “Lay It On Me” finds its footing between slick production and playful sensuality.

Featuring Big Sean, the track pairs his laid-back verses with Rowland’s confident, flirtatious delivery, creating a duet steeped in R&B gloss with a touch of Hi-NRG sheen.

The song’s sound revolves around a piano-backed melody and 808-heavy rhythm, crafted by producer Hit-Boy, whose signature polished beats are undeniable here.

While the lyrics—crafted by Ester Dean, Big Sean, and Hit-Boy—center on physical attraction, their straightforwardness lands just on the edge of provocative and predictable.

The accompanying Sarah Chatfield-directed music video doubles down on visual audacity, showcasing everything from slick choreography to the outright spectacle of sharing screen time with an elephant.

Though it had some chart presence in the U.S., U.K., and Japan, its commercial impact paled when compared to Rowland’s more remarkable successes like the sultry “Motivation.”

Critical responses to the track were mixed: some praised its unabashed appeal, while others dismissed it as uninspired and falling into generic R&B tropes of the time.

Performed live during Rowland’s promotional run, including a stop at *Jimmy Kimmel Live!* in September 2011, the song failed to achieve the standout stage moment it perhaps aspired to be.

“Lay It On Me” is undeniably sleek and radio-friendly, yet it struggles to rise above, feeling more like an album filler than a definitive statement of Rowland’s artistry within this phase of her career.

Featured on the 2011 album “Here I Am”.

Lyrics >> Review >> More by the same : Twitter

10 . One Direction – One Thing

Released in early 2012, “One Thing” by One Direction surges with an effervescent charm that catapulted the then-fresh-faced boyband into global pop consciousness.

Anchored in their debut album *Up All Night* (2011), the track pulls listeners into a whirl of teenage infatuation, delivered with exuberance and a production style that unapologetically tips its hat to late-90s boyband tropes, particularly the Backstreet Boys.

Clocking in at 128 BPM in D major, the song’s structure thrives on slick guitar riffs and an infectious singalong chorus that barrels forward with a momentum that feels engineered for arenas before the group had even graduated to them.

Vocals lean heavily on Harry Styles and Liam Payne, whose interplay carries the track’s breezy yearning while maintaining just enough polish to avoid veering into saccharine territory.

The music video, directed by Declan Whitebloom, doubles as a visual love letter to London, featuring the band bopping along to iconic landmarks with a mix of endearing chaos and calculated swagger reminiscent of a postmodern Beatles pastiche.

The track’s commercial trajectory saw it land comfortably in top ten and top twenty charts across multiple countries, notably peaking at #9 in the UK and a respectable #39 on the US Billboard Hot 100, though it arguably serves as the group’s transitional vehicle toward broader, stateside domination.

What elevates “One Thing” is not its ambition but its earnestness—it’s a pop song blissfully unaware of streaming algorithms, crafted for physical CDs and teenage bedrooms rather than TikTok trends.

Its certifications—platinum in Canada and gold in New Zealand—speak to the song’s ability to transcend mere chart placement, carving out a niche as a buoyant time capsule of early 2010s commercial pop.

By mid-2023, the accompanying video amassed over 770 million YouTube views, a statistic that, while impressive, feels secondary to the track’s enduring ability to evoke the innocence of its era’s pop trajectory.

Featured on the 2012 album “Up All Night”.

Lyrics >> Review >> More by the same : Official Site

11 . Sigala, Ella Eyre – Came Here For Love

“Came Here for Love” emerges like a bottle of glitter shaken at a summer festival, spilling exuberant tropical house beats and bright vocals all over the dance floor.

Sigala, the British DJ-producer who seems endlessly sun-soaked, teams up with Ella Eyre, a powerhouse singer who thrives in joyous anthems, to deliver an unabashed party track.

The song’s lyrics are as predictable as beach umbrellas in July—basic declarations of coming “for love and nothing else,” but they function less as poetry and more as scaffolding for the production.

And oh, the production: warm synth layers, a horn riff that loops like a catchy but insistent relative at family gatherings, and those signature tropical vibes that dominated mid-2010s playlists.

The collaboration benefits greatly from Eyre’s voice, which carries an electric strength capable of cutting through even the most maximalist soundscapes.

Released during a time when pop and electronic hybrids leaned heavily into sun-drenched escapism, the track doesn’t attempt to reinvent the genre but slots neatly into it.

Tying it to London’s Gay Pride in 2017 adds a cultural weight that feels less performative and more celebratory, aligning with the song’s message of unrestrained joy and inclusion.

The accompanying music video doubles down on this energy, all Ibiza landscapes, carefree dancers, and aesthetics aimed squarely at the aspirational Instagram crowd.

Interestingly, though it didn’t end up on Sigala’s 2018 debut album, the track served as a stepping stone in his career, keeping his “feel-good” brand buoyant during a period of rising competition in the electronic pop market.

For Eyre, it’s less groundbreaking than her previous moments with Rudimental or DJ Fresh, but her performance anchors the song, transforming generic tropes into something engaging.

“Came Here for Love” functions less as a statement and more as a mood—a shiny and agreeable slice of escapism that fills the space between trends without feeling particularly bound by them.

Featured on the 2018 album “Brighter Days”.

Lyrics >> Review >> More by the same : Official Site

12 . Charlie Puth – How Long

“How Long,” released on October 5, 2017, marks Charlie Puth’s venture into a polished pop-funk territory, wrapped in slick R&B textures.

The track’s centerpiece—a flirtatious, rubbery bassline credited to influences like Hall & Oates and bassist Dmitry—lays the foundation for Puth’s exploration of betrayal and fractured trust in relationships.

Lyrically direct yet melodically smooth, it balances the sting of infidelity accusations with a cool detachment encapsulated in Puth’s falsetto-drenched delivery.

Despite a suspiciously upbeat vibe for a song about sneaky behavior, it avoids melodrama, leaning instead on clean production and a catchy refrain.

Commercially, “How Long” lodges itself comfortably in the pop zeitgeist, peaking at #21 on the Billboard Hot 100 and earning Platinum status, while impressively breaching top 10 positions in countries like the UK, Belgium, and the Philippines.

The accompanying music video, under Emil Nava’s direction, shuffles between surreal visuals of Puth walking on walls and ceilings, adding a playful edge that offsets the song’s bitter subject matter.

Teased actively on social media before its release, it quickly capitalizes on Puth’s knack for mixing personal experiences with radio-ready hooks, evidenced by TikTok users flocking to remix the bassline in viral clips.

Performances on shows like *The Late Late Show with James Corden* and *The Voice USA* further cement its presence during the late-2017 pop scene.

“How Long” functions less as a high-stakes confession and more as a shined-up flirtation with themes of guilt, layered with enough charm to smooth over its weightier undertones.

Featured on the 2018 album “Voicenotes”.

Lyrics >> Review >> More by the same : Official Site