‘L’Amour Toujours’ N°692 – 2010s Music Videos

1 . Paramore – The Only Exception

“The Only Exception” shifts Paramore’s soundscape, offering a quiet introspection that diverges from their darker, alternative roots on *Brand New Eyes*. Produced by Rob Cavallo and recorded at Lightning Sound in Hidden Hills, California, this 2010 release feels more like a whispered confessional than a traditional rock entry.

Musically, its 6/8 time signature and key of B major embrace a simplicity that *Rolling Stone* likened to a “subtle, Radiohead-esque ballad.” It’s a far cry from the blistering energy of earlier singles from the same album, inviting listeners into a gentler sonic world. Yet, there’s an undeniable restraint that occasionally borders on predictability, leaving a space that the lyricism doesn’t always fill.

Written by Hayley Williams and Josh Farro, the song narrates the protagonist’s reluctant confrontation with love, intertwining personal skepticism with tentative hope. While affecting, the themes risk veering into lyrical monotony, salvaged largely by Williams’ emotive delivery. Her vocal performance serves as the song’s emotional anchor, carrying a weight that its straightforward musicality might otherwise lack.

The accompanying video, directed by Brandon Chesbro and released on the same day as the single, complements the song’s wistfulness without overcomplicating its narrative arc. The track’s commercial success is indisputable, peaking at No. 17 in Australia and landing Paramore a Grammy nod for Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals. Its ascent to No. 1 on the UK Rock Chart underscores its broad appeal, particularly within their fanbase.

While it remained the band’s most successful single until the advent of “Ain’t It Fun” in 2014, “The Only Exception” stands as both a pivot and a paradox. Its stripped-down approach spotlights Paramore’s versatility yet reveals the limitations of stepping too far from their foundation. A solid entry, albeit one whose subtleties might not resonate equally with all listeners.

Featured on the 2009 album “Brand New Eyes”.

Lyrics >> More by the same : Official Site

2 . The xx – I Dare You

“I Dare You” by The xx signifies a peculiar detour in the band’s catalog, walking resolutely into pastel-toned territory while leaving much of their signature shadowy intimacy behind.

Released on May 2, 2017, as part of their third album, “I See You,” the track feels deliberately buoyant, as though daring itself to trade melancholy for sunlight.

Co-written by band members Romy Madley Croft, Oliver Sim, and Jamie xx, and co-produced by Jamie xx and Rodaidh McDonald, the song pairs measured vocals with a production light enough to flirt with mainstream pop sensibilities.

For the group often cloaked in minimalism, “I Dare You” edges into spaces that could accommodate voices like Shawn Mendes or Zara Larsson, a shift more noticeable than seamless.

The song’s chart journey reflects curiosity more than blockbuster appeal, peaking modestly at number 100 on the UK Singles Chart and faring slightly better on niche lists like the UK Indie Chart (number 11) and the US Hot Rock & Alternative Songs chart (number 23).

Its cinematic, nostalgia-tinted video, directed by Alasdair McLellan, positions the track as a sensory experience, featuring a cast that includes Millie Bobby Brown and Paris Jackson.

Set against the striking backdrops of Lloyd Wright’s John Sowden House and John Lautner’s Garcia House, it plays with ’80s Americana through a John Hughes-esque lens, but whether the aesthetic lift complements the song remains debatable.

Live renditions on platforms like “Saturday Night Live” and “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert” offered a competent showcase of the band’s accomplished restraint, yet with little to elevate the song beyond its recorded surface.

While Jamie xx’s deft production and the ensemble’s ambition are undeniable, the track seems suspended between cohesion and accessibility—a sunlit stroll that occasionally loses its footing.

Featured on the 2017 album “I See You“.

Lyrics >> More by the same : Official Site

3 . Sofia Karlberg – Crazy In Love

Sofia Karlberg’s cover of “Crazy in Love” trades Beyoncé’s fiery dynamism for a brooding, atmospheric intensity, recasting the hit in a moody light that amplifies its undercurrent of obsession.

The Swedish-Moroccan singer imbues the track with cinematic tension, her voice navigating the haunting arrangement with precision, though it occasionally veers towards theatricality.

Peaking at number 55 on the UK Official Singles Chart and dominating iTunes charts in multiple countries, the song’s viral success owes as much to its reshaping of a pop classic as to Karlberg’s ability to inhabit its emotional core.

Her background, molded by early training in clarinet, piano, and music school, finds subtle expression in the cover’s structural elegance.

Signed with Universal Music Group by 2016, Karlberg later anchored her career on personal projects like her “Spotless Mind” EP (2019), but this track remains a significant marker of her global reach.

The sparse arrangement frames her vocal performance while stripping the original’s triumphant energy, a choice that may intrigue or alienate depending on the listener’s expectations.

Her reinterpretation speaks less of sultry celebration and more of volatile longing, a thematic shift that underscores both the strengths and limits of adaptation.

If the original was a dance floor anthem, this cover flirts with an art-house film’s end credits, a transformation both daring in its ambition and uneven in execution.

Lyrics >> More by the same : Instagram

4 . Jack Savoretti – Candlelight

“Candlelight,” the lead single from Jack Savoretti’s sixth studio album, “Singing to Strangers,” mingles ambitious instrumentation with moody introspection, recorded in Rome’s storied Ennio Morricone studio under producer Cam Blackwood in mid-2018.

The track builds its identity around a weave of musical elements: an anonymous choir hums the central melody as though it were meant to echo off cathedral walls, while a forlorn piano and twangy Western guitar create an atmosphere steeped in cinematic longing.

Light cymbals dust the arrangement, adding a restrained tension that sits just shy of a theatrical crescendo.

Some might hear in this composition the ghost of a James Bond theme—sweeping, yet oddly detached—or envision it underscoring a romantic movie montage where longing is the unspoken narrative.

Despite its evocative leanings, “Candlelight” occasionally feels overly polished, as though its emotional edges have been sanded down for mass appeal.

The success of “Singing to Strangers,” which debuted at number one on the UK Albums Chart in March 2019 with 32,264 units sold, owes more to the album’s total cohesion than the single’s standalone power.

Jack Savoretti, an English-Italian troubadour whose earlier works (“Before the Storm,” “Written in Scars”) leaned on a rawer intimacy, shifts here toward grandeur that risks veiling his acoustic roots.

He bolstered the track’s prominence with a promotional appearance on “The Graham Norton Show” and a European tour, but “Candlelight” itself remains part of a larger picture rather than a defining stroke.

Featured on the 2019 album “Singing to Strangers”.

Lyrics >> More by the same : Twitter

5 . Hailee Steinfeld – Capital Letters

“Capital Letters” finds Hailee Steinfeld partnering with BloodPop to deliver what can only be described as a neatly packaged synth-heavy track aimed squarely at the romantic core of the *Fifty Shades Freed* soundtrack.

Released on January 12, 2018, this collaboration leans on a lush, dance-friendly production that echoes the mainstream pop formula of its era. BloodPop and Benjamin Rice’s production is meticulous, layering Steinfeld’s emotive vocals over a polished bed of synthesizers. The song’s lyrical team—Steinfeld, BloodPop, Raye, Andrew Jackson, Ellie Goulding, and Ely Weisfeld—crafts a love anthem that feels tailor-made for cinematic montages but stops just short of lyrical ingenuity.

The track’s unveiling was preceded by Steinfeld’s coy teaser on Twitter, a strategy emblematic of its streamlined commercial rollout. However, its moderate chart presence tells another story. Peaking at number 39 on the UK Official Singles Chart and hitting similar middling spots, like 32 in Australia and 17 in Norway, the song’s global reception was respectable but far from commanding. It’s the kind of chart performance suggesting that while the song is pleasant, it struggles to leave a lasting impression.

Visually, the Hannah Lux Davis-directed music video encapsulates the jet-set fantasy of romance, pairing sun-soaked backdrops with Steinfeld’s effortless charm. Yet, much like the song itself, it feels more like a tie-in for the *Fifty Shades* franchise than a standalone creative triumph.

Steinfeld, whose career spans from her 2015 breakout single “Love Myself” to soundtracks like *Pitch Perfect 2* and *Bumblebee*, executes the track with polish. But compared to her earlier material, “Capital Letters” lacks a distinct identity, blending into the broader pop landscape without offering a truly memorable take.

Featured on the 2018 album “Fifty Shades Freed (soundtrack)”.

Lyrics >> More by the same : Official Site

6 . James Blunt – Love Me Better

“Love Me Better,” the leading single from James Blunt’s fifth studio album, “The Afterlove,” offers a clean-cut blend of pop and rock that’s as polished as it is unassuming.

Released on January 27, 2017, the track carried the weight of expectation but made a muted debut at number 93 on the UK Singles Chart—a performance that hints at its understated impact.

Co-written by Blunt and produced by Teddy Geiger and Daniel Parker, the song’s framework is competently assembled, though it doesn’t stretch beyond the familiar terrain of polished heartbreak anthems.

The sonic palette is well within Blunt’s comfort zone, merging acoustic warmth with radio-friendly melodies, but lacks the immediacy of his earlier breakout hits.

The music video, helmed by Vaughan Arnell, revisits the stripped-down emotionality that characterized his work on “Monsters,” though it stops short of breaking new visual ground.

“Love Me Better” feels like a measured effort to remind audiences of Blunt’s ability to craft emotive pop, but it’s an effort that’s missing a key spark or a memorable edge.

Tied to an artist whose background as a former military officer adds gravitas to his career narrative, this track doesn’t fully embrace the versatility suggested by his forays into folk, pop, and dance music.

Compared to the standout emotional punch of “You’re Beautiful” from “Back to Bedlam,” this single feels more like an extension of a well-rehearsed formula than a bold stride forward.

While it fits snugly into the promotional campaign for “The Afterlove” alongside tracks like “Bartender,” the song leaves an impression of competence rather than ingenuity—a professional, if somewhat predictable, addition to Blunt’s discography.

Featured on the 2017 album “The Afterlove”.

Lyrics >> More by the same : Official Site

7 . Alyssa Reid – Alone Again

Built on the foundation of Heart’s “Alone,” Alyssa Reid’s “Alone Again” works within the strange alchemy of reinvention to deliver a pop crossover aimed at maximum chart resonance.

In its 2010 original form featuring P. Reign, the song oscillates between nostalgia and reinvention, with songwriting contributions from Billy Steinberg, Jamie Appleby, and Tom Kelly subtly nodding back to its ’80s origins while projecting a distinctly modern edge.

Jeff “Diesel” Dalziel emphasizes this duality with production that layers Reid’s breathy vocals and P. Reign’s rap verses over shimmering synths and a crisp, radio-friendly beat unnervingly detached from the emotional ache of Heart’s original.

By 2012, the Jump Smokers remix pushed it to international acclaim, particularly in Europe, where its infectious familiarity helped it climb to No. 2 on the UK Singles Chart, blocked only by Guetta and Sia’s “Titanium.”

Reid’s performance of the track—whether at Chester University or the 2012 Juno Awards—highlights her willingness to lean into the song’s calculated balance of pop appeal and emotional yearning.

The music video, shot by Marc Andre DeBruyne, underscores this dichotomy with controlled staging that earned it a MuchMusic Video Award nomination but sacrifices grit for polish.

As the centerpiece of *The Game*, Reid’s debut studio album, “Alone Again” serves as both a tribute to the anthem it reframes and a bid for commercial visibility, albeit one that sometimes feels more interested in strategy than soul.

Featured on the 2011 album “The Game”.

Lyrics >> More by the same : Instagram

8 . Tyler James – Worry About You (w/ Kano)

“Worry About You,” a collaboration between Tyler James and Kano, captures the tension of a love tested by addiction, marrying soulful pop melodies with a sharp rap edge. Taken from James’ second album, “A Place I Go,” and released on February 17, 2013, the track reflects the singer’s strengths as a vocalist shaped by his *The Voice UK* fame.

James’ falsetto feels polished but leans heavily on its emotive delivery to drive home the narrative. Kano’s verses, however, serve as a necessary counterpoint, his crisp delivery grounding the song in a grittier reality. Together, they expand on the torment of watching a loved one spiral, a theme reinforced by the accompanying music video, which dramatizes gambling addiction. It’s not subtle, but the directness aligns with the song’s straightforward message.

Commercially, the single peaked modestly at number 38 on the UK Singles Chart, a reminder of the challenges James faced maintaining mainstream attention post-*The Voice UK*. Though it doesn’t scream innovation, the track benefits from clean production and remixes like the Mike Delinquent Remix and Steve Smart & Westfunk Remix Club Edit, which offer glimpses of club-friendly adaptability.

Kano’s presence elevates the duet, adding texture to a song that might otherwise tilt too much toward sentimentality. Still, some moments teeter on being overly functional—excellent for a brood-through-the-rain playlist, less so for standing out musically. While “Worry About You” doesn’t reinvent the wheel, it finds its merit in emotional earnestness and a pairing that expands its reach beyond James’ usual terrain.

Featured on the 2012 album “A Place I Go”.

Lyrics >> More by the same : Official Site

9 . Shane Filan – Knee Deep In My Heart

“Knee Deep In My Heart,” a single from Shane Filan’s debut album “You and Me” (2013), is perhaps more notable for its backstory than its chart performance, peaking at a modest #92 in Ireland and #69 in the UK.

Co-written by Filan, Jon Green, and Cass Lowe, and produced by Martin Terefe and Lowe, the track emerges as a polished, if somewhat formulaic, pop folk hybrid inspired by Filan’s personal life—including his marriage to Gillian and a trip to Nashville.

At its core, the song channels earnestness, but there’s a sense that its hook, while pleasant, lacks the kind of depth or distinctiveness to truly separate it from other love-ballad fare. Nashville’s influence loiters in the margins, but doesn’t really seep into the song’s DNA in an impactful way.

The accompanying music video fares slightly better in injecting personality, featuring Filan arriving at a wedding in a vintage car, joined by family—including his wife and kids—and friends. Directed by Warren Smith, it leans hard into the charm of an Irish wedding celebration, a move that feels less like storytelling and more like a slightly idealized scrapbook come to life.

Recorded across Dublin, London, and Nashville, and benefiting from contributions by heavyweights like Steve Mac and Wayne Hector on the broader album, “Knee Deep In My Heart” still struggles to rise to those names’ potential. It’s polished, accessible, and well-executed in craft, but in translating personal inspiration into something universally resonant, it offers warmth without fire.

Featured on the 2013 album “You and Me”.

Lyrics >> More by the same : Instagram

10 . Ne-Yo – Never Knew I Needed

“Never Knew I Needed,” crafted for Disney’s *The Princess and the Frog* in 2009, is an interesting footnote in Ne-Yo’s catalog, revealing both his flair for romance and a tendency toward formulaic R&B balladry.

Co-written by Ne-Yo (Shaffer Smith) and produced by Chuck Harmony, the track thrives on his signature smooth vocals, layering soul and jazz atop a modern R&B framework. Its inclusion in a Disney film lends it a polished sentimentality, which works for an audience primed for glossy happy endings. Yet, outside of its cinematic context, the song feels like it’s reaching for an emotional depth that doesn’t always land.

Chart-wise, its middling performance—peaking at number 56 on *Billboard* Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs and number 99 in the UK—mirrors this divide. The song resonated more in niche markets, hitting number 18 in Brazil and number 13 on the Japan Hot 100, though these figures don’t quite elevate it into global anthem territory.

Harmony’s production leans on restrained instrumentation, which, while pleasant, lacks the dynamic interplay found in Ne-Yo’s earlier hits like “Miss Independent” or “Closer.” The official remix with Cassandra Steen adds variety but ultimately does little to reshape its identity.

The heavy rotation of the song’s music video on the Disney Channel reflects its primary function: a companion piece to a fairytale narrative. For all its earnestness, “Never Knew I Needed” feels more like a chapter in a broader story than a standalone piece of artistry. Balanced, yet ultimately unspectacular in Ne-Yo’s typically impressive discography. B-

Featured on the 2009 album “The Princess and the Frog (soundtrack)”.

Lyrics >> More by the same : Official Site

11 . Marina – How To Be A Heartbreaker

“How to Be a Heartbreaker,” nestled within Marina and the Diamonds’ 2012 album “Electra Heart,” plays like a glossy manifesto for emotional detachment set to a beat designed for neon-lit dance floors.

Marina Diamandis, collaborating with a team that includes Ammar Malik, Benjamin Levin, and the ever-controversial Dr. Luke, delivers a tongue-in-cheek guide for breaking hearts while safeguarding one’s own. Produced by Benny Blanco, Cirkut, and Dr. Luke, the track boasts a sleek, radio-ready sheen, with polished instrumentation and programming that reflect the era’s pop sensibilities more than any personal mark of artistry. The song thrives on its humor and cheek rather than lyrical depth, built around a core of rules that oscillate between self-awareness and playful caricature.

Chart performance situates “How to Be a Heartbreaker” in a paradoxical space: a platinum-certified hit by RIAA standards, yet peaking at a modest number 88 on the UK Singles Chart. Its higher spot at number 42 on the US Pop Digital Songs Chart hints at a more substantial digital life, though the song’s resonance appears limited across global territories, with Ireland’s number 21 peak standing out as a relative achievement.

By the time of “Electra Heart,” Marina had traded the indie-pop quirks of her debut, “The Family Jewels,” for a calculatedly mainstream aesthetic designed to ascend the charts, even if it sacrificed some measure of individuality in the process. “How to Be a Heartbreaker” exemplifies this shift, pairing tongue-in-cheek storytelling with a production style that feels more team-driven than singer-driven.

Live, the track found its home in Marina’s “Love + Fear Tour,” where its crowd-pleasing energy likely outshines the production-line gloss of its studio version. As a standalone moment, “How to Be a Heartbreaker” functions as a clever snapshot of early 2010s pop trends, though its plastic sheen and calculated charm may leave listeners reaching for something with sharper teeth.

Featured on the 2012 album “Electra Heart”.

Lyrics >> More by the same : Official Site

12 . Sugarland – Stuck Like Glue

“Stuck Like Glue,” the lead single from Sugarland’s 2010 album “The Incredible Machine,” is a genre-blending confection that sticks to your ears as promised, albeit with mixed results.

Penned by Jennifer Nettles, Kristian Bush, Kevin Griffin, and Shy Carter, the song ventures into chart-friendly territory, proving its cross-genre appeal with a number 20 debut on the *Billboard* Hot 100—a rare feat for a country act. Yet, it secures only a modest debut at number 44 on the *Hot Country Songs* chart, signaling its slightly off-center alignment with traditional country sensibilities.

The track’s reggae-inflected bridge, an unexpected detour in its otherwise bouncy structure, adds a touch of whimsy. Whether this genre mashup feels refreshing or out of place depends on the listener’s tolerance for surprise. It is notable that some radio versions entirely excise this section, which might hint at its divisive reception.

Directed by Declan Whitebloom, the music video opts for a darkly comedic twist, showing Nettles in an unhinged role as she stalks and kidnaps her ex, portrayed by Ryan McPartlin. While the visuals create a stark contrast to the saccharine tone of the song, its interpretation of the lyrics borders on unsettling rather than playful.

Live performances, from “American Idol” to the Nobel Peace Prize ceremony, showcased the duo’s spirited energy, though the song’s sticky sweetness may feel overprocessed for some. By 2013, with 2,629,000 digital sales, it earned its place as one of country music’s top downloaded tracks, yet its charm is calibrated more for commercial success than artistic daring.

“Stuck Like Glue” exemplifies Sugarland’s knack for memorable, if somewhat polarizing, hooks—a blend of country, pop, and reggae wrapped up in a polished, occasionally cloying package.

Featured on the 2010 album “The Incredible Machine”.

Lyrics >> More by the same : Official Site