Sunday, January 14, 2024

NEW SOUNDS

LIL NAS X


Over the last week, Lil Nas X has been using social media to draw attention to his upcoming new music. Now the song, "J. Christ" is out along with a controversial music video that is certain to draw the ire of the religious faithful. The clip begins with a long line of people, which includes dubious look-alikes of Oprah, Taylor Swift and former President Barack Obama, preparing to ascend to heaven. Nas, dressed throughout in stylish, gender-fluid fashion, straddles between heaven and hell before playing a game of hoops with the devil. He uses biblical imagery but places his own provocative, queer spin on them. This song, which Nas dedicates to "the man who had the greatest comeback of all time", is far less intriguing than the video, with the young artist seeming to be more interested in whipping folks up into a wild frenzy than being musically adventurous. Regardless, I have to say I admire him greatly for pushing boundaries and fearlessly pursuing his artistic vision to make his point. And to dive further into this and the rest of his new music, there will be a documentary released on January 27th called "Lil Nas X: Long Live Montero" on HBO and MAX.





ARIANA GRANDE


Also using social media during the last month to tease footage of her working in a recording studio, Ariana Grande has dropped a surprise new single on Friday. "Yes, And?" is a beat heavy, dance-pop tune that the singer has made her career with, reuniting with long-time producers, Max Martin and Ilya Salmanzadeh who helped to co-write the track. The song deals with people criticizing and commenting on her personal life while encouraging listeners to ignore the negative chatter. The music video for the song drives the point home with a bunch of jaded critics arrive to a location to hear Grande's new music. Bringing to mind the Fosse inspired Paula Abdul video for "Cold Hearted", Grande shows off impressive dance moves which must have been sharpened since filming the upcoming movie musical, "Wicked". "Yes, And?" is the first release from Grande's upcoming seventh studio album entitled, "Eternal Sunshine" with no exact release date set at this time.



And we have Jennifer Lopez and the release of the video for her new single, "Can't Get Enough". From the upcoming album, "This Is Me... Now" (due out on February 16th) which is a sequel of sorts to her 2002 release, " This Is Me... Then", this clip is a spoof of the many wedding movies Lopez has made (and perhaps the numerous weddings she has had in real-life) and shows her dancing during her marriages with three different grooms. This dance-pop song is fun and perhaps will help Lopez find her way back up the charts.

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