Star Sparkle Blog

Sorry the 2nd post is later this week, I didn't manage to get it finished yesterday. :)   In the past I've written several posts about true movies (films based on true stories) on the blog. My last one was about two years ago, a round-up of all the previous true movie posts. You can see it here: https://starsparklex.blogspot.com/2022/03/true-movies-round-up.html   The majority of the films I've seen were made in the 90s or early 00s but I have watched some newer ones as well. So today I'm featuring some more recent true movies (made in the past decade or so).   Trigger warning: Most of the films are based on crimes (often murder or abuse) and I realise these are difficult subjects, so read with caution if you're sensitive to these types of films, or feel you may be triggered.  These are all Lifetime movies. Post contains some spoilers and the videos are trailers.   I've previously written about a couple of  newer true movies in my other posts, which you ca

Today's video is Scarred for Tryin. by Singaporean singer Gen Neo . It's his latest single and the most recent of his English language songs, the previous one being Unless We Try with HyperInk .  Scarred For Tryin. is a pensive slow R'n'B song about being scared to move forward in a relationship, due to past hurt. It was released on 29th March.     Gen Neo fan? Check out these posts:  New Music Releases (from June last year; includes Called it Love): https://starsparklex.blogspot.com/2023/06/new-music-releases.html Favourite Songs of 2023 (features Losing Game):  https://starsparklex.blogspot.com/2024/01/favourite-songs-of-2023.html New Music for 2024 (includes Unless We Try with HyperInk):  https://starsparklex.blogspot.com/2024/01/new-music-for-2024.html

Time for another instalment in my Asian Groups series (sharing music by girl groups and boy bands from Asia)! I've mainly featured Southeast Asian groups so far, but today I'm going to share music from a South Asian group for the first time! :) They are an Indian girl group called W.iS.H. Note: In the UK "Asian" refers to South Asians (Indian, Pakistani etc.) as well as East and Southeast Asians, and British Asian often refers to them specifically.    W.i.S.H In my last Asian Groups post a couple of months ago,  I mentioned that I would like to feature South Asian groups in the future but didn't know if there were many. Not long after writing that, I came across W.i.S.H, so here we are! Wi.SH are India's first girl group in 22 years , the last one being Viva . Although India is known for Bollywood and the South Indian film industries , Indian pop music isn't that well known globally. I'm a long term Bollywood fan, so mainly listen to music from the f

This week's video is Surrender by American singer  Jhené Aiko and featuring Dr. Chill. It's from her 3rd album Chilombo, which was released back in March 2020 (with a deluxe version following that July). It was her last studio album, although she has released singles and Sleep Soul  (a series of R'n'B sleep music for babies) more recently.  Previous singles from the album include Triggered (Freestyle), P*$$Y FAIRY (OTW) and Happiness Over Everything (H.O.E) featuring rapper Future and singer Miguel . Surrender is one of my favourite songs from Chilombo (along with P*ssy Fairy) and has remained on my iPod! I featured it in my More Chillout Songs post in 2021. It's a chilled R'n'B song with "otherworldly" vibes. Dr. Chill is actually Jhené's dad Karamo Chilombo! His spoken word part makes you think about the universe and life. :) The video was uploaded on 7th March. I think it's cool to see one after almost 4 years, to have a visual to go

It's been ages since I've done a post solely about J-pop (not since last summer !). So today I'm featuring a selection of Japanese music and dance. As with other J-pop posts, some videos are new and others a bit older, so it's new(ish).  :)  [DANCE IN PUBLIC ONE TAKE] MISAMO Do no touch dance cover- Mermaids Taiwan First up, some J-pop in Public ! This is a dance cover of Do not touch by MISAMO , the first sub-unit of  K-pop girl group TWICE . The unit is made up of the band's 3 Japanese members, Momo, Sana and Mina, so they have released music in Japanese. Do not touch came out last July as the lead single from MISAMO's debut Japanese EP Masterpiece. The dance cover is performed by Mermaids Taiwan and features Ling as Mina, Yiwei as Sana and Anta as Momo. The video was uploaded in October.     Visit my last New(ish) J-pop Videos posts to see the music video for Do not touch (scroll down): https://starsparklex.blogspot.com/2023/08/new-j-pop-videos.html   And fo

Today's video is How Your Hands Feel by American singer Ryan Destiny (full name Ryan Destiny Irons). She's also an actress and comes from a famous family, since her dad Deron Irons was in 90s R'n'B duo Guesss (along with Darryl Gerdine). Ryan started out in showbiz young, forming a musical trio called New Limit aged 12. The group (who were managed  by Ryan's mum Dawn) auditioned for America's Got Talent in 2010. Despite getting through to the finals, they decided it wasn't right for them. Ryan went on to be part of the short lived group Love Dollhouse . They released one single Can I, before disbanding in 2015. She then launched a solo career, releasing her debut single The Same in 2018. There's also a remix featuring Nigerian American rapper Tobi Lou . To date, Ryan has released 4 more singles- Do You (2020), How Many (2023), Lie Like That (2023) and How Your Hands Feel. She has yet to bring out an EP or album. Ryan's acting credits include the le