Lady Gaga, after spending a little time focusing on an acting career and achieving great success (which included an Oscar), has finally returned to her Little Monsters with new music. While it had leaked a few weeks ago, "Stupid Love" is now officially released with Gaga returning to the EDM-inspired sound that first brought her fame. Written with Bloodpop, Tchami and Max Martin, Gaga delivers a song with big vocals and throbbing beats that will get your feet a-moving.
While I would love to shout-out that this is a triumphant return by the singer, "Stupid Love" feels anti-climatic. Much like Taylor Swift's first single from her long-awaited new album last year, "Lover", Lady Gaga's new song features lyrics and a song structure that is far too simplified coming from an artist of her standing. Perhaps a few more listens might help me appreciate "Stupid Love" better yet that didn't change my feelings about Swift's "Me!". I'm still looking forward to see what else Gaga will come up with for her upcoming sixth studio album which appears it will be called "Chromatica"(with this title appearing at the end of the music video). And the clip (boldly announced to have been shot entirely on an iPhone 11 Pro by director, Daniel Askill) is set in a post apocalyptic, hyper-colored world with Gaga surrounded by young, multi-ethnic dancers who seemed to have wandered in from Burning Man.
Simon & Garfunkel held the number one position on the pop charts during this week in 1970 with "Bridge Over Troubled Water". This single would remain in this top spot for a total of six weeks and has become the duo's signature song. Written by Paul Simon, he was inspired by the line, "I'll be your bridge over deep water if you trust me" from the spiritual "Mary Don't You Weep" made famous by the Swan Silvertones with their 1958 recording. Simon had convinced Art Garfunkel to sing the song alone although his partner felt that Simon's vocal on the demo was far more effective.
The almost five-minute length of "Bridge" was considered problematic as most pop songs at the time were no longer than three minutes. But the duo's label, Columbia went ahead and released the complete version to radio and successfully broke that unwritten rule. "Bridge Over Trouble Water" became ranked as the number one song of 1970 by Billboard magazine and would win Simon & Garfunkel Grammy Awards for Record and Song of The Year.
This song is certainly one of Simon & Garfunkel's biggest hits and has been covered by many artists over the years. One of the most notable versions was by Aretha Franklin who completely reworked "Bridge" by delivering a full-on gospel rendition. Franklin's take also became very successful, reaching number one on the r&b chart, number six on the pop chart, selling over two million copies and won her a Grammy for Best Female R&B Performance.
Here is a live version of "Bridge Over Troubled Water" from Simon & Garfunkel during their 1981 New York performance in Central Park:
And as a bonus, here is Aretha doing a stirring live version of "Bridge" in 1971 in Switzerland:
Sam Smith had released a collection of songs throughout the previous year and had hits with "Dancing With a Stranger", a duet with Normani; "How Do You Sleep?", a cover of the disco classic, "I Feel Love" and "Promises" with Calvin Harris. Now 2020 will finally see the release of their third studio album, "To Die For". The direction of this record will be focused less on the ballads which they are best known for and more on straight-forward pop-dance songs, The non-binary artist has just released the title track (co-written with their long-time collaborator, Jimmy Napes and Stargate) which happens to be one of their trademark ballads about heartbreak. The video for the song is an inventive film which features Smith as a lonely mannequin head in a store window who watches various happy couples passing by it. And to promote the song and the upcoming album due in May, Smith recently opened up a pop-up wig shop in the Soho area of London.
Billie Eilish, one of the hottest pop music artists right now, has been assigned to deliver the theme song for the latest James Bond film, "No Time To Die". This is the twenty-fifth 007 feature (due out in the U.S. on April 10th November 25th) and will most likely be the final appearance of Daniel Craig as the British spy. The eighteen year old has once again collaborated with her brother, Finneas O'Connell to co-write and produce the song. While "No Time To Die" does features dramatic orchestration and beautifully haunting vocals, I don't think this tune is nearly bold or memorable enough to ever become a true classic in the long canon of Bond theme songs. Eilish recently appeared on this year's Oscars to perform the Beatles' "Yesterday" during the in memoriam segment of the show and she could possibly be back next year as a nominee. Check out the song and judge for yourself:
One of my favorite songs of this new year is "Simmer" by Hayley Williams. And while this may be the singer's debut single, Williams is hardly a newcomer to the music scene. She helped form the band, Paramore in 2004 and remains the only original member of this pop-rock outfit. Some of Paramore's hits include "Misery Business", "Still In To You", "crushcrushcrush", "Decode" and "Ain't It Fun". There is no official word that Paramore has broken-up but Williams knew it was time to a take a break from the years of writing and touring with the unit. She was ready to experiment a little further with her music and show other sides of herself lyrically. One example is with "Simmer" which touches on some specific forms of abuse she has experienced in her life. The thirty-one year old singer/songwriter will be first releasing an EP, "Petals For Armor I" on February 6th before the debut of her studio album, also called "Petals For Armor" in May. Check out the music videos for "Simmer" and the latest single, "Leave It Alone". Both clips (directed by Warren Fu) are connected with a dark and eerie imagery.
DOJA CAT
Like many aspiring musicians today, Doja Cat got her start by self-releasing her own music. After dropping a single, "So High" on Soundcloud back in 2013, this brought the then-eighteen year old some attention and lead to her being signed to RCA Records. The Los Angeles based singer, born Amala Diamini, released an EP, "Purrr!" the following year which helped raise her profile even further. In 2018, Doja Cat completed her debut album, "Amala" and her breakout single, "Juicy" featuring Tyga would appear on the deluxe edition of this record as well as her 2019 follow-up album, "Hot Pink". With her cartoon hyper-sexuality, an affinity to bubble-gum pink and a musical blend of aggressive hip-hop and sultry r&b, it would be easy to compare her to early Nicki Minaj. But Doja Cat certainly has her own distinctive style and flair that makes her standout all on her own. Her latest single, "Say So" is a great pop tune with a disco beat (aided by a sample of "Good Times" by Chic) that has gained in popularity due to it's use on the app, Tik Tok for several dance challenges.
The Pussycat Dolls began as a sexy burlesque troupe created by choreographer, Robin Antin before evolving in to a sexy pop music singing act. Lead by vocalist, Nicole Scherzinger, this girl group dominated the international charts beginning in 2005 and had many smash hits like "Don't Cha", "Stickwitu", "Buttons", "When I Grow Up" and "I Hate This Part". But after their brief burst of success (and selling over fifty million records worldwide), the Dolls came to a bitter end by 2010. With the feeling that the spotlight was shinning too brightly only on Scherzinger, this created a rift among the other members of the group. However, time can heal many wounds and The Pussycat Dolls have reunited after ten years and released a new single. "React" features the return of most of the original Dolls (Melody Thornton decided to sit this out to focus on her solo career) and perfectly continues where this classic pop group left off. I think this may be one of the biggest hits of 2020. The music video for "React" has the Dolls looking like time has stood still and oozes with their trademark sensuality and slick dance moves:
