NEW SOUNDS

KESHA

After spending almost ten years in a nasty, legal battle against her former producer, Łukasz "Dr. Luke" Gottwald, Kesha finally reached a settlement out of court last year. The thirty-seven year old pop singer also completed her contract of the three albums she still owed Gottwald's label, Kemosabe Records with "Gag Order" released last year. 

Now Kesha is completely a free woman, able to make music on her own terms. She has signed with new management and started her own record label, Kesha Records. And she has dropped a brand new single, "Joyride". This electro-pop track (written by Kesha, Madison Love and Zhone, who also produced the song) about self-fulfillment captures the vibe of her early sound yet feels very fresh and modern. There is an unofficial video out there of "Joyride" which is a collection of popular memes set to Kesha's song.

NORMANI

Ever since her band, Fifth Harmony had gone on an indefinite hiatus back in 2018, Normani has been working towards releasing her debut solo album. And she has been busy: working with dance DJ, Calvin Harris and releasing an EP together in 2018, having worldwide top-ten hits duetting with Sam Smith on "Dancing With a Stranger", with Khalid on "Love Lies" and "Wild Side" featuring Cardi B, and releasing a popular solo single, "Motivation" in 2019. But the album, despite several announcements over the past few years, had failed to materialize.

The wait is over and Normani's debut has finally been delivered. "Dopamine" is a vibrant collection of contemporary r&b, hip-hop and pop with an impressive assembly line of the hottest producers on board to help the singer with her vision. Normani has stated that this album is a representation of her evolution as an artist, creatively expressing everything she has gone through to get to this moment. Here are a few of my favorite tracks from "Dopamine":







And here is a collection of new sounds that I'm digging right now which includes a dance track by "Pose" actress, Michaela Jaé; the new song by rising alt-pop artist, Remi Wolf; the latest from musician-turned-actor (star of the Netflix series, "Young Royals"), Omar Rudberg and the unexpected yet intriguing musical pairing of alt-music goddess, Lana Del Rey and hip-hop musician, Quavo:

JANET JACKSON: TOGETHER AGAIN TOUR

Janet Jackson has been in the spotlight since she was seven years old after being drawn into the family musical act, The Jacksons (which had been started by her five brothers) by her controlling father when they began an engagement in Las Vegas during the mid-'70's. This lead to the family all being a part of a television variety show where the world got a chance to see the budding talent of this precocious child. More acting followed, appearances on the tv programs, "Good Times" and "Fame", but her father, Joseph, who was also her manager at the time, decided the then-fifteen year old should begin to make music. With no real creative input, Jackson's first two albums were fairly generic collections of r&b-pop that were met with modest attention.

After making the decision to take more control over her future recording endeavors, Jackson fired her father, was paired with two promising musicians/producers by her label and together made an album that introduced a dynamic new artist and changed the course of her career.

Jackson has been in this business for a long time, for a little over fifty years. And she has weathered the mercurial nature of a career in the performing arts, continuing to inspire and influence as one of the most distinguished global artists in popular music.

Having foolishly missed the Together Again Tour when Jackson made a stop at the Hollywood Bowl last summer, I was determined that wasn't going to happen again when the second leg of the tour rolled back into Los Angeles on June 8th at the Kia Forum. 

A tiered curtain rises above a tall platform in the center of the stage to reveal Jackson, swaddled in an oversized jacket cape, as she begins the concert with "Night", a track from her criminally overlooked last studio album, "Unbreakable" from almost ten years ago. Once losing the draping and looking resplendent in one of her Thom Browne designed, sparkling bodysuits, she continues with "2Nite", a deep cut from "Discipline", "Rock With U", another single from the album and "SloLove" from her eighth album, "Damita Jo". Jackson had stated that on this part of the tour she was going to change up the setlist to revisit some popular non-singles from her previous albums and songs she had never performed live. She doesn't disappoint with her selections but hearing the hits is what brought her fans out to the show and she doesn't disappoint here either.

Jackson continues on with a few more obscure songs before reaching "Got 'Til It's Gone", the first single from her critically acclaimed 1997 album, "The Velvet Rope", Jackson's early venture into hip-hop which brought music legend, Joni Mitchell along for the ride with a sample of her "Big Yellow Taxi" used on the track. The beloved hits followed fast and furious; "What Have You Done For Me Lately", "Nasty", "The Pleasure Principle", "Love Will Never Do (Without You)" and "When I Think of You" which she reminds us was her very first number one single way back in 1986.

As with all of her previous road shows, Jackson is constantly surrounded by a group of backing dancers. But this time, surprisingly, they are all-male performers. Perhaps she felt that this time she was the only female energy needed for her show. At the age of fifty-eight, Jackson appeared to have no issue keeping up with these dancers, who are certainly more than half her age, delivering moves that were smooth and full of vigor.

And since she was doing a lot of moving on stage, a backing track was used to assist her vocals but let's be perfectly clear, Jackson's mic was turned on. This was evident when Jackson slowed things down with a medley of her well-known ballads which included "Come Back to Me" and "Let's Wait Awhile". During the song, "Again" from her 1993 movie, "Poetic Justice", Jackson chose to let the audience sing most of this Oscar-nominated love ballad. I have to say this is one of my major pet peeves at concerts since I did not pay to hear a chorus of voices bleat out a song instead of the artist. I will admit that I was quite impressed that the crowd knew all the words to this tune.

This two hour concert serves as a vivid reminder of what a vital performer and impressive musical artist that Jackson has remained. We are long overdue for new music from Jackson who I believe still has much to offer contemporary pop. After the tour concludes in the fall, I hope she will be inspired to put forth some fresh musical expressions in the very near future.