2024 OSCAR NOMINEES FOR BEST ORIGINAL SONG

The Oscars are just a little over a week away and here is a spotlight on the musical compositions that received nominations in the Best Original Song category. "Wahzhazhe (A Song For My People)", from Martin Scorsese's drama, "Killers of the Flower Moon", was written by Osage Nation member, Scott George and created to celebrate their rich heritage and traditions. Two songs from the summer blockbuster, "Barbie" received nominations: previous Oscar-winners, Mark Ronson and Andrew Wyatt, who won for their work in the 2018 "A Star is Born" remake, are recognized for their contribution to the soundtrack, "I'm Just Ken" while pop-star, Billie Eilish and her brother, Finneas, who both won Oscars for their James Bond theme song, "No Time To Die", are here again for the ballad, "What Was I Made For?". Musician Jon Batiste was honored along with co-writer, Dan Wilson for the song, "It Never Went Away" from the documentary, "American Symphony" that examines a busy year in Batiste's life which he has to balance while his wife, the writer Suleika Jaouad, struggles with leukemia. And Diane Warren has received her fifteenth career nomination (and seventh consecutive) in this category for her song, "The Fire Inside" for actress, Eva Longoria's directorial debut, "Flamin' Hot" which is about the invention of Flamin' Hot Cheetos.

I don't think this is a particularly great year in this category, but the strongest songs are from "Barbie". The best out of the two for me is Eilish's gentle lullaby about the feelings of self-doubt and a search for purpose which the song also recently won the Grammy Award for Song of the Year.

"The Fire Inside" from "Flamin' Hot" (Music and Lyric by Diane Warren)



"I'm Just Ken" from "Barbie" (Music and Lyric by Mark Ronson and Andrew Wyatt)



"It Never Went Away" from "American Symphony" (Music and Lyric by Jon Batiste and Dan Wilson)



"Wahzhazhe (A Song For My People)" from "Killers of the Flower Moon" (Music and Lyric by Scott George)



"What Was I Made For?" from "Barbie" (Music and Lyric by Billie Eilish and Finneas O'Connell)

BEYONCE GOES COUNTRY

The rumor is true.

After making an appearance with her husband as he accepted the Dr. Dre Global Impact Award at this year's Grammys with blonde hair and dressed up in a cowboy hat and bolo tie, buzz started that Beyoncé was up to something. It started with the speculation that she was about drop new music and it would be country & western influenced.

And during one of the biggest sporting events in the country, Beyoncé confirmed this with a commercial during Super Bowl LVIII that "Renaissance Act II" is on the way (March 29th to be exact) and the album will feature country music. The two songs that were released are "Texas Hold 'Em" and "16 Carriages". There is certainly some twang to these tracks from the vocals and instrumental arrangement, but Beyoncé has clearly put her own soulful spin on them, opening them up to people who say they hate this genre of music. 

I admit I'm not the biggest country music fan, but I am also very intrigued by what Queen Bey has done and really like what I've heard so far.

TURN THE LIGHTS BACK ON

Billy Joel had been trying to make it into music since his early days as a teenager living in Long Island, NY, playing in several bands and performing solo gigs in bars around town. He got signed to a local label but his debut album in 1971, while displaying his extraordinary gift for songwriting, failed to find an audience. A live recording of a song, "Captain Jack" received some local attention which led to a Columbia Records executive becoming interested in Joel. He was signed to the label, moved to Los Angeles and recorded the album, "Piano Man" in 1973. The title track, a retelling of Joel's experiences during his time as a lounge singer living in LA, reached the top-thirty on the pop chart. And while it appeared Joel was headed towards becoming a major pop artist, his next two albums were only modest sellers, yet his songwriting skills were greatly admired including Barbra Streisand recording a version of his song, "New York State of Mind" in 1977.

Joel's big breakthrough came that same year with "The Stranger". The album had four top-forty singles, winning Grammy Awards for Record of the Year and Song of the Year for "Just the Way You Are" and selling over ten million copies. This began a long string of hit albums and songs for Joel, with thirty-three top-forty hits (all that he had written) in the U.S., until he released his twelfth studio album, "River of Dreams" in 1993. Feeling disappointed by the lack of successful singles despite all of the hard work he had put in to make the album, Joel became disillusioned by the grind of the pop music business and decided to walk away.

But he didn't leave the music business entirely however with Joel touring extensively over the following years, which included a long-running series of concert tours with Elton John and a residency at Madison Square Garden. And he did record one more album in 2001, "Fantasies & Delusions" but it contained only classical solo piano pieces composed by Joel.

Now Joel has just unexpectedly released a new song, "Turn the Light Back On". This is not really the first pop song he has released since '93 (he had a couple of original tracks in 2007) but this feels like a song that perfectly captures his sound back in his hit-making days. This sentimental ballad is about hoping it's not too late to save a relationship suffering from neglect. A singer's voice will diminish somewhat over time, especially for hard-working, seasoned performers, yet the seventy-four-year old's vocals here are impressively robust and polished. I really love this song and hopefully this could lead to a complete album down the road. But in the meantime, be sure to catch Joel on this year's Grammy Awards show on February 4th where he will premiere "Turn the Lights Back on" with a live performance.