How well do you know your music? Let’s find out with a quiz that accompanies this week playlist.
The subjects du jour are : DNCE, Shawn Mendes, Marshmello, Sia, Rudimental, Maroon 5, The Weeknd, The Vamps, Matoma, Lauren Aquilina, Flume, Naughty Boy, The 1975
They are the performers of twelve amusing, puzzling and sometimes shocking videos that were ranked in various charts, this week (44/52) BUT … in the Tens 2010s.
1. What genre mix best describes DNCE’s debut single?
- A 1980s rock and blues
- B 1970s-inspired pop, R&B, dance, and disco-funk
- C 1990s grunge and punk
2. Which unusual video concept appears in Shawn Mendes’ 2015 song?
- A Being knocked over by an invisible force
- B Performances in various subway stations
- C An underwater ballad sequence
3. Which record did Marshmello and Bastille’s 2018 collaboration set?
- A Longest time on the Billboard Classical chart
- B Most weeks at number one on the US Dance/Electronic Songs chart
- C Highest number of simultaneous airplays worldwide
4. What was the distinct feature of Sia’s “Chandelier” music video?
- A A Broadway-style dance number
- B Maddie Ziegler’s solo dance performance
- C Guest appearance by a renowned ballet dancer
5. Where was Rudimental’s “Walk Alone” music video filmed?
- A Auckland, New Zealand
- B London, United Kingdom
- C Sydney, Australia
6. Who is featured in Maroon 5’s 2012 single from the album *Overexposed*?
- A Wiz Khalifa
- B Kanye West
- C Nicki Minaj
7. Which album won the Grammy for Best Urban Contemporary Album, featuring The Weeknd’s “Starboy”?
- A After Hours
- B Starboy
- C Beauty Behind the Madness
8. “All Night” by The Vamps and Matoma was Platinum certified in which country?
- A United States
- B United Kingdom
- C Australia
9. What makes Lauren Aquilina’s “Fools” notable in 2012 UK chart history?
- A Only independent artist to chart
- B Most streamed debut single
- C Highest debut on independence day
10. Which song inspired Flume to work with Tove Lo on “Say It”?
- A “Habits (Stay High)”
- B “Talking Body”
- C “Moments”
11. “Wonder” by Naughty Boy was notably used for which 2013 sporting event’s intro?
- A Wimbledon Tennis Championships
- B Sky Sports’ Ashes Cricket Coverage
- C Tour de France
12. The 1975’s song “Frail State of Mind” addresses which modern issue?
- A Environmental activism
- B Social anxiety and mental health
- C Digital revolution impacts
Tracklist
1 . DNCE – Cake By The Ocean |
‘I’m goin’ blind from this sweet, sweet cravin’, whoa-oh’
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| A disco-inspired track, penned by the band frontman Joe Jonas alongside Justin Tranter, “Cake By the Ocean” by DNCE thrives on a playful metaphor spawned from a linguistic mix-up with Swedish producers Mattman & Robin, jumbling “sex on the beach” with “cake by the ocean.” The music video, co-directed by Gigi Hadid and Black Coffee, portrays a colossal cake on Huntington Beach, pretext to the “DNCE’s International Cake Fight Championship.” |
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Featured on the 2016 album “DNCE”. Lyrics >> Review >> More by the same : Official Site |
2 . Shawn Mendes – Stitches |
‘But no one’s ever left me quite this sore’
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| Portraying a sense of hopeful resilience amidst the emotional distress following a breakup, Shawn Mendes’ song “Stitches” comes with a music video, directed by Jay Martin, spotlighting a solo Mendes persistently toppled by an unseen force in a deserted parking lot. But do not worry: he ends up washing away all visible scars to find his reflection in the mirror restored. |
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Featured on the 2015 album “Handwritten”. Lyrics >> Review >> More by the same : Official Site |
3 . Marshmello – Happier (w/ Bastille) |
‘I think that we both know the way that this story ends’
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| Melding nostalgic pop with upbeat electro, “Happier” is a collaboration between American music producer Christopher Comstock, known as Marshmello, and British band Bastille. Directed by Mercedes Bryce Morgan, the music video stars Miranda Cosgrove as a shy teenager gifted a golden retriever. But bliss ends when the dog falls ill, leading to a painful goodbye. Since happiness has to prevail (that is the name of the song after all), jump a few decades and you have the main character as a mother, reliving history when her daughter receives a retriever. |
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4 . Sia – Chandelier |
| Conceived alongside co-writer Jesse Shatkin, Sia’s “Chandelier” refers to her tumultuous past with alcohol dependency and self-destructive behaviors. Directed by Sia and Daniel Askill, the accompanying music video showcases 11-year-old Maddie Ziegler’s expressive dance, donning a Sia-esque wig. |
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Featured on the 2014 album “1000 Forms of Fear”. Lyrics >> Review >> More by the same : Official Site |
5 . Rudimental – Walk Alone (w/ Tom Walker) |
‘I don’t have the answers But I can listen for a while’
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| The track “Walk Alone” is a collaboration between British drum and bass band Rudimental and Scottish singer Tom Walker. The music video, directed by Ian Schwartz and shot in Auckland, commences on a misty rugby field, portraying an intense rivalry between two players, before their confrontation evolves into a budding alliance. |
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Featured on the 2019 album “Toast to Our Differences”. Lyrics >> Review >> More by the same : Official Site |
6 . Maroon 5 – Payphone (w/ Wiz Khalifa) |
‘While you’re sitting round wondering’
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| Co-written by Max Martin, Ryan Tedder, and Benny Blanco, “Payphone,” a collaboration between Maroon 5 and rapper Wiz Khalifa, marks the band’s shift towards a more pop approach. The music video, directed by Samuel Bayner, narrates a thrilling storyline within a bank heist scenario with Adam Levine as an enamoured clerk and the rest of the band as robbers. Instead of playing safe, Levine turns hero, flees the scene with a captivating colleague, only to be mistaken as the culprit and chased by the police before it all ends in the fiery crash of a Shelby Cobra. Any relevance with the lyrics is purely coincidental. |
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Featured on the 2012 album “Overexposed”. Lyrics >> Review >> More by the same : Official Site |
7 . The Weeknd – Starboy (w/ Daft Punk) |
| Blending Daft Punk’s robotic harmonies with his soulful tone, “Starboy” by The Weeknd pays homage to David Bowie’s “Starman.” Featuring the French duo reduced to a painting in a frame, the music video is directed by Grant Singer. |
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Featured on the 2016 album “Starboy”. |
8 . The Vamps, Matoma – All Night |
‘I’m never gonna find my way If I don’t run to that goal’
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| Produced by Norwegian DJ Matoma, electropop track “All Night” by British pop band The Vamps, depicts the frontman’s gratitude towards a girl for positively changing his life. The accompanying music video is a simplistic illustration of a casual day in the band’s life, featuring bike rides, soccer, and skateboarding antics in various industrial and underground settings. |
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Featured on the 2017 album “Night & Day “. Lyrics >> Review >> More by the same : Official Site |
9 . Lauren Aquilina – Fools |
| The music video for Lauren Aquilina’s “Fools” employs lip-syncing to accentuate the emotional essence of the song. Laden with symbolic imagery with Aquilina pulling down keys from the ceiling, the video unfolds in two distinct locations – a dusty, key-adorned bedroom bathed in sunlight, and the contrasting vibrant expanse of the ocean, where Aquilina holds a key underwater and brandishes a flare above the water. You get it, this is very obscure. |
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10 . Flume – Say It (w/ Tove Lo) |
| In “Say It,” Flume blends mellow instrumentals with Tove Lo’s vocals, narrating a tale of heartbreak and personal temptations, of overcoming a painful, repetitive love saga, despite overpowering carnal desires. The accompanying music video, deviating from a literal interpretation of the explicit lyrics, showcases Tove Lo in a minimalist spacesuit alongside a fractal mirror human figure. |
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Featured on the 2016 album “Skin”. Lyrics >> Review >> More by the same : Official Site |
11 . Naughty Boy – Wonder (w/ Emeli Sandé) |
‘I am full of light I am full of wonder’
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| Produced by British DJ and producer Shahid Khan, known as Naughty Boy, “Wonder” features Emeli Sandé’s powerful vocals, capturing themes of hope and personal determination. The accompanying music video, directed by Nadia Marquard Otzen and filmed in a flooded forest in Denmark, aims to evoke the ethereal essence of Kodak Aerochrome film which. Historically, Aerochrome was utilized for reconnaissance planes to distinguish materials by color differentiation, organic showing in pink, and non-organic, in black. |
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Featured on the 2013 album “Hotel Cabana”. |
12 . The 1975 – Frail State Of Mind |
| A soft-rock ballad with brisk programmed beats, blending ambient soundscapes akin to Burial and Jon Hopkins, “Frail State of Mind” by The 1975 digs into the theme of depression, articulating a sense of reluctance to engage with the outside world. The accompanying music video, co-directed by band’s frontman Matt Healy, Patricia Villirillo, and Mara Palena, creates a visual representation of anxiety. |
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Featured on the 2020 album “Notes on a Conditional Form”. |
And the correct answers (in case you missed one or two) are:
1. DNCE’s debut blends 1970s-inspired pop, R&B, dance, and disco-funk. It features catchy rhythms and themes centered on sexual exploits, attracting a wide audience.
2. In Shawn Mendes’ video, an invisible force knocks him over, reflecting childhood fantasies. The visual supports the song’s ethereal tone.
3. Marshmello and Bastille set a record with 69 weeks at number one on the US Dance/Electronic Songs chart by January 2020.
4. Maddie Ziegler’s dance was a highlight of Sia’s “Chandelier” video. Filmed in one day, it emphasized raw emotion and energy.
5. “Walk Alone” by Rudimental was filmed in Auckland, New Zealand. It portrays a touching story between two rugby players fostering friendship.
6. Wiz Khalifa’s rap verse adds depth to Maroon 5’s “Payphone”. Released in 2012, the track became an international hit.
7. The album “Starboy” won the Grammy for Best Urban Contemporary Album. It features collaborations with notable artists like Daft Punk.
8. “All Night” gained Platinum status in the UK. The Vamps and Matoma’s catchy collaboration remains a dancefloor favorite.
9. Lauren Aquilina’s “Fools” was chart-making as the sole independently released track to chart in the UK for 2012, showcasing her grassroots success.
10. Flume’s collaboration with Tove Lo on “Say It” was motivated by her track “Habits (Stay High)”, a key inspiration for their synergistic session.
11. “Wonder” by Naughty Boy was used for Sky Sports’ Ashes Cricket Coverage intro in 2013, adding energy to the sporting event.
12. “Frail State of Mind” by The 1975 reveals insights into social anxiety. Known for its ambient sound, it captivated listeners with a modern narrative.
For THE FULL ‘VOUS AVEZ DIT BIZARRE’ COLLECTION click here
NB . You may wonder what are these “Quotes” attached to certain photos above. Well! For a specific song, we select a still image from the video on one side and choose a lyric from the song on the other side. We ensure that the lyric has a connection to the image, although sometimes the connection may be far-fetched or based on a double entendre, creating a humorous or meme-like combination when the two are merged together. Et voilà!
Bizarre Quotes • I’m goin’ blind from this sweet, sweet cravin’, whoa-oh (DNCE) • But no one’s ever left me quite this sore (Shawn Mendes) • I think that we both know the way that this story ends (Marshmello) • I don’t have the answers But I can listen for a while (Rudimental) • While you’re sitting round wondering (Maroon 5) • I’m never gonna find my way If I don’t run to that goal (The Vamps, Matoma) • I am full of light I am full of wonder (Naughty Boy) •
Music-wise : Pop,Pop Dance, R&B, Rock, Swedish Electropop, Dance Pop, Edm, Hip Hop, Modern Rock
