Viral Wednesday: Heartbreaker by Amani
Unlike other artists who might release a new track on Soundcloud or even (gasp) the radio, Amani dressed in a little and quite flattering black dress and opted to release her latest single on the live recording of Churchill Live. Professor Hamo, a rising star in the Kenyan comedy scene - and one of Amani’s personal idols - went on to introduce her on stage in style through a musical voyage of her past hit with Nyashinski, “Bad Boy.”
During the event, she danced, engaged with her fans and alongside Professor Hamo, gave the crowd quite a show!
She then went ahead to do as many artists would, “watch my video on YouTube!” and we did. We went ahead and watched it for you - because we love you and here is what we learned.
Heartbreaker is catchy, but not her best work
At her best, Amani is an explosive and vibrant artist and, as she told Churchill, one of her best tracks is “Missing My Baby”. If you watch that music video, then you will know why her new release, ‘Heartbreaker’ is not her best of work. She is a gifted vocalist and a talented songwriter, but ‘Heartbreaker’ is not the best showcase of her talent.
360Music have their work cut out for them.
We have written this a couple of times; any new management that takes over from a former Ogopa Deejays act will at first struggle to get their footing and perfect the right sound. It happened to Kenzo when he left, as well as Avril when she moved to Kaka Empire - and this is because these acts were infused into the boomba sound that is all about making club bangers, without any definitive theme or message. 360Music needs to realize this early - before they can get Amani’s sound back, it will take a while. Nonetheless, we are glad to have her back in the music scene.
‘Heartbreaker’ music video
If you watch Amani on her last video, ‘Kizunguzungu’ (which we reviewed here) and then proceed to watch ‘Heartbreaker’, you will see a huge difference. Directed by the estimable Enos Olik and shot in Garden Estate, the video moves from dance scene to another and fails to depict the message Amani passes on the lyrics- that she is not a heartbreaker.
The incongruent blend of modern dance with some of the dance styles that have hit the streets of Nairobi is fun but the concept falls dead flat. However, we did love the fact that Amani was not left behind in the dance choreography and the dance scenes are entertaining.
