CCTV: The Nonstop Pop Show

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One Direction’s FOUR turns 12 this November, so Chris and Chantel Nicole are giving it an honest, track by track album review. Released in 2014, FOUR swapped the boy band polish for 70s and 80s arena rock, drawing comparisons to Journey, Bon Jovi, Springsteen and Fleetwood Mac. It debuted at #1 on the Billboard 200, making 1D the first group ever to have their first four albums debut at #1 in the US. It was also the last album with Zayn.
We break down the production, vocals, visuals and performances on all 12 standard tracks. That covers Steal My Girl’s very Journey-sounding piano and its chaotic music video, Ready to Run on SNL, Where Do Broken Hearts Go with Ronnie Wood, the Ed Sheeran-penned 18, Night Changes becoming their most streamed song, the fan campaign that pushed No Control onto the tour setlist, and Clouds as a stadium opener. Then we play Cut or Keep and give our final ratings.
Is FOUR the peak of One Direction’s sound, or does the stadium rock pivot lose steam in the back half? As always, it’s an honest, unfiltered take. No hype, no fluff. Viewer discretion is advised. Your fave will be criticized.
Timestamps:
0:00 - Intro
0:23 - Album Info
2:10 - Album Cover
4:23 - "Steal My Girl"
11:36 - "Ready to Run"
14:54 - "Where Do Broken Hearts Go"
18:59 - "18"
23:03 - "Girl Almighty"
26:18 - "Fool's Gold"
29:28 - "Night Changes"
36:24 - "No Control"
42:31 - "Fireproof"
47:30 - "Spaces"
49:47 - "Stockholm Syndrome"
53:23 - "Clouds"
56:48 - Cut or Keep
57:57 - Overall Thoughts & Final Rating
References:
“Steal My Girl” MV https://youtu.be/UpsKGvPjAgw?si=9oBWKVr7VkXCuQrW 
Journey - “Faithfully” MV https://youtu.be/OMD8hBsA-RI?si=q6wl3lKogiwLslCg 
“Ready To Run” Live on SNL https://youtu.be/pyvA18eQlLo?si=axoJimvaIoAjUECr
“Where Do Broken Hearts Go” with Ronnie Wood Live at X Factor https://vimeo.com/114516723 
“Girl Almighty” Live https://youtu.be/OR4TozGCkA4?si=8lTly2KtN2AnZbZQ 
“No Control” Live at Jimmy Kimmel https://youtu.be/YEY6-wBlfL4?si=pReiIKz_zSE8f_C1 
Carpool Karaoke with James Corden https://youtu.be/329xjDM7YaE?si=7tbt_LgYwiny5Fzc 
“Night Changes” MV https://youtu.be/syFZfO_wfMQ?si=albzP-l9EAc7fPAY 
“Fireproof” Live https://youtu.be/KFamUR3lgao?si=7rthBm6NcxqSeBDo 
Mitski - “Fireproof” Cover https://youtu.be/CAR1nedwyGY?si=fw2D-s9Z5xrVHKge 
“Clouds” Live https://youtu.be/ltUNp3Mchmo?si=k-v5AMfH0RVQD9HI

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Steps’ “Gold: Greatest Hits” turns 25, so we’re doing an honest, track by track review of the new songs from the group’s final era before the 2001 Boxing Day split. “Chain Reaction”, “Baby Don’t Dance”, “Only In My Dreams”, “Words Are Not Enough” and “I Know Him So Well” all get rated, and we finish with a Cut or Keep.
Chris and Chantel get into Claire’s “Chain Reaction” ad-libs (and those toothpaste-commercial teeth), the one-shot hospital video, and why the disco-funk “Baby Don’t Dance” was shelved as a single not once but twice. Plus the first song all five members wrote together, the CGI video game world of “Words Are Not Enough”, and why Steps’ take on “I Know Him So Well” might beat every other version, Broadway included. We also talk about H and Claire telling the group they were quitting two hours before the final Gold Tour show.
Steps fans, do you have a fandom name? Are you going to the 30th anniversary tour? Tell us in the comments.
The Gold era B-sides are exclusive on Patreon!
Timestamps:
0:00 - Intro
2:12 - Album Cover
3:28 - “Chain Reaction”
11:08 - “Baby Don’t Dance”
17:01 - “Only In My Dreams”
21:45 - “Words Are Not Enough”
27:52 - “I Know Him So Well”
34:00 - Cut or Keep
34:45 - Overall Thoughts & Final Rating
References:
Diana Ross - “Chain Reaction” MV https://youtu.be/lspNn8ZBAsI?si=596POCBh3DmoL3LT 
“Chain Reaction” MV https://youtu.be/EsuRgxsd6bk?si=HwbtVL2_v5KSL5sM 
“Chain Reaction” Live at Blue Peter https://youtu.be/cgDaOL1bBBY?si=eahtk0idHYProEr9 
“Chain Reaction” Live at Smash Hits 2001 https://youtu.be/KXkhEGYdG90?si=yt0VH6-oXuTRZPYv 
“Chain Reaction” Live at What The Future Holds Tour 2021 https://youtu.be/yNZW1AtZ0yk?si=kWq5yKpRlQqFKeWS 
“Baby Don’t Dance” MV (Gold Tour)  https://youtu.be/eOw8q3AGsbU?si=O1m2NHNS7ZeeV4Se 
“Baby Don’t Dance” Live at London Palladium 2012 (Fancam by @stueeb1) https://youtu.be/KEdvtluNO_4?si=NCv34KtX_IJ7Dw1P 
“Words Are Not Enough” MV https://youtu.be/BvbT8hx4oR8?si=iyaLwGQyUWPIUG05 
“Words Are Not Enough” Live at TOTP https://youtu.be/VZTARIPYrBM?si=K2WQ0CYKdvXBAox3 
Elaine Paige & Barbara Dixon - “I Know Him So Well” (from CHESS) https://youtu.be/s2SDInk6voA?si=cl5_NnKhO7YBtknp 
“I Know Him So Well” MV (Abbamania) https://youtu.be/Ts6-sJE6ruE?si=auyOxA4jKah91tbd 
“I Know Him So Well” Live at Steps Into Summer https://youtu.be/DMOLgsO-2Wc?si=VO-7Zjm4uHx5L-Pm

Girls Aloud’s “The Sound of Girls Aloud: The Greatest Hits” was almost their goodbye. Instead, it reset their career. In this honest review, Chris and Chantel Nicole go track by track through every new song from the era: “Something Kind of Oooh”, “Money”, “I Think We’re Alone Now”, and the Comic Relief charity single “Walk This Way” with the Sugababes.
First up is the album cover, which gets roasted for its Picnik-sticker energy and an Irish flag that may actually be the flag of Ivory Coast. After that, the hosts get into the production, the vocals, the music videos and the live performances. Topics include Kimberley Walsh’s iconic spoken line and how it evolved from TV to The Girls Aloud Show, the “party map” lyric debate, the three alternate endings in the “I Think We’re Alone Now” heist video, the rushed album version versus the single mix, and the Keisha and Nadine Coyle ad-lib battle that saves “Walk This Way”.
Timestamps:
0:00 - Intro
0:33 - Album Info
1:18 - The Album Cover
4:44 - “Something Kinda Ooooh”
15:35 - “Money”
20:30 - “I Think We’re Alone Now”
31:00 - “Walk This Way” (vs. Sugababes)
42:04 - Cut or Keep
42:38 - Overall Thoughts & Final Rating
References:
“Something Kinda Ooooh” MV https://youtu.be/Wy3SV2fvoG8?si=SN-a0CZ5MdThEiLu 
“Something Kinda Ooooh” Live at TOTP https://youtu.be/Txwo7EIyXhI?si=kIhYKINTphRe_nDRc 
“Something Kinda Ooooh” Live at Tangled Up Tour 2008 https://youtu.be/CLrxduB2mo8?si=wZ-FZP2lvQ3OkpRX 
“Something Kinda Ooooh” Live at Out Of Control Tour 2009 https://youtu.be/1M35WyeciSY?si=ML_QTi10Ly3McG7e 
“Something Kinda Ooooh” Live at The Girls Aloud Show 2024 https://youtu.be/vMLme6Nd-sA?si=_VV-6yBA-wwXLyIl 
“Money” Fancam from the Greatest Hits Tour 2007 (@monispice)  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d3K9MVRRK6M 
Tommy James & The Shondells - “I Think We’re Alone Now” https://youtu.be/hFWhTqLSVzE?si=zn-UQJNszpsIy8r_ 
Tiffany - “I Think We’re Alone Now” MV https://youtu.be/w6Q3mHyzn78?si=OEntjlhjTY_we1NH 
“I Think We’re Alone Now” MV https://youtu.be/WjpbcsttFyM?si=_vpD8CKgnR79nFvd 
“I Think We’re Alone Now” MV (Kimberley Ending): https://youtu.be/lvMM72RFfv8?si=I2VTHdNKlkgmSNGA 
“I Think We’re Alone Now” MV (Tied Up Ending): https://youtu.be/sZfKxc6MHQU?si=ANzvitUeg6kaP6QY 
“I Think We’re Alone Now” MV (Cash Ending): https://youtu.be/xyopYnekTaA?si=C-pYQt8YGfPtTmn8 
“I Think We’re Alone Now” Live at Strictly Come Dancing https://youtu.be/dABj425y2mo?si=x9QFRZPTCMMsU7FU 
“I Think We’re Alone Now” Fancam from the Greatest Hits Tour 2007 (@monispice) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZaoD4UGFkBQ 
Run DMC vs Aerosmith - “Walk This Way” MV https://youtu.be/4B_UYYPb-Gk?si=FAGAKqx4C7LuNLhx 
“Walk This Way” vs Sugababes MV https://youtu.be/1Jvrjd8DI-c?si=rAVsdgt0JNrfnD6Z 
“Walk This Way” vs Sugababes Live at Fame Academy https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sW3qi4EYxxA 
“Walk This Way” vs Sugababes Live at Comic Relief https://youtu.be/UoTONmgn7uM?si=E1hvrnFT7x-2K103

Jae Stephens’ “AUDACITY” gets the full CCTV treatment in this honest, track by track album review, with exclusive clips from Jae’s press conference for the album. Chantel was in the room, and you’ll hear Jae herself break down “Attaboy!”, “Sugar Trap” and “Gymnastics” before we weigh in.
AUDACITY is Jae Stephens’ debut album on Issa Rae’s RAEDIO and Def Jam, made with longtime producer Dallas Caton and her best friend and co-writer Lita, with MNEK and PinkPantheress also on board. It’s set in Auda City, her fictional nightlife world, and everyone who worked on it had to watch Coyote Ugly as homework. We go through every song: “Crush,” “No One Knows My Name,” “Attaboy!,” “Sugar Trap,” “I Miss The City,” “The Distance,” “Soft Side,” “Downhill,” “B4U,” “Expensive & Difficult” and “Gymnastics.”
JaeBaes, did we get it right? Tell us your favorite track and all your thoughts in the comments.
Timestamps:
0:00 - Intro
0:36 - “AUDACITY” Album Info
1:23 - Jae Stephens on “AUDACITY” (Press Conference)
3:56 - Album Cover
5:33 - “Crush”
9:39 - “No One Knows My Name”
13:55 - “Attaboy!”
22:20 - “Sugar Trap”
28:39 - “I Miss The City”
32:58 - “The Distance”
37:04 - “Soft Side”
42:36 - “Downhill”
46:33 - “B4U”
51:45 - “Expensive & Difficult”
56:53 - “Gymnastics”
1:01:44 - Cut or Keep
1:05:00 - Overall Thoughts & Final Rating
References:

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Michelle Branch's “The Spirit Room” turns 25, and we're going track by track through the album that gave us "Everywhere," "All You Wanted" and "Goodbye to You." This is our honest review of her 2001 major-label debut, made at 17 with producer John Shanks, from the hits to the deep cuts nobody talks about enough.
Chris has loved this album since he was a kid and has seen Michelle live on almost every tour. Chantel is coming in fresh and wondering if she likes these songs because they're good or because they were on every WB show she grew up with. We get into the Christian TV channel that wanted "Everywhere" to be about Jesus, the most mildly creepy music videos of 2001, the Buffy and Laguna Beach moments, the 2021 re-recordings, and the brand new "Goodbye to You" with Maren Morris from her “Everywhere and Back Again” EP.
Timestamps:
0:00 Intro
0:32 “The Spirit Room” Album Info
1:45 Album Covers
3:45 "Everywhere"
13:28 "You Get Me"
18:29 "All You Wanted"
25:53 "You Set Me Free"
30:28 "Something to Sleep To"
35:25 "Here With Me"
40:01 "Sweet Misery"
45:45 "If Only She Knew"
50:05 "I'd Rather Be in Love"
53:38 "Goodbye to You"
1:05:17 "Drop in the Ocean"
1:09:49 Cut or Keep
1:11:04 Overall Thoughts & Final Rating
References:
“Everywhere” MV https://youtu.be/HLCasyAh7ic?si=9pkIsg_dujWuaoed 
“All You Wanted” MV https://youtu.be/Cbo2n2MzxxE?si=Mjb_-DC0j9AkPIAb 
“If Only She Knew” Live https://youtu.be/3uYkl8PLFRs?si=u-iYWsk-YYqy5SSm 
“Goodbye To You” MV https://youtu.be/crkEBHrQSdc?si=F76iQFrsUnke0ikc 
“Goodbye To You” Live on Buffy: The Vampire Slayer https://youtu.be/fhxHDcAHYuo?si=YB-SNgjpO6ITviio 
“Goodbye To You” with Maren Morris MV https://youtu.be/fUyj-8D9C7o?si=XRQmL5ftSWqhUG3b 
“The Spirit Room” 20th Anniversary Acoustic Concert https://youtu.be/OysYG-TG9Hs?si=62O7ZHca0dUpl_qI