For The Luv of Music: Demi Lovato

Showing posts with label Demi Lovato. Show all posts

Sunday, February 22, 2026

BILLY STEINBERG (1950 - 2026)

Billy Steinberg, the incredibly prolific songwriter who was behind many of the most popular songs throughout the 1980's and 1990's, has passed away on February 16th at the age of seventy-five. With his with longtime songwriting partner, Tom Kelly, together wrote or co-wrote with other artists the songs, "Like a Virgin" by Madonna, "True Colors" by Cyndi Lauper, "So Emotional" by Whitney Houston, "I Touch Myself" by Divinyls and "I'll Stand by You" by The Pretenders to name just a few.

Born in Palm Springs and raised in Fresno, Steinberg formed a band called, Billy Thermal and they were signed to Richard Perry's Planet Records. The band's actual breakthrough came only when their songs that Steinberg wrote were covered by other artists like Linda Ronstadt who did her version of "How Do I Make You", the lead single form her 1980, "Mad Love" album and Pat Benatar recorded "I'm Gonna Follow You" for her 1980 album, "Crimes of Passion". After the band broke-up, Steinberg soon moved behind the scenes, working with Benatar the following year on her next album and writing the title track, "Precious Time" and teaming with Kelly to co-write another track, "Fire and Ice". This lead to Steinberg and Kelly being suggested to work with Madonna, a rising artist who was working on her follow-up album to her self-titled debut. "Like a Virgin" would be the lead single and title of that album, reaching number one in 1984 on the US pop chart for six weeks.

This helped this newly formed songwriting team become very in demand and other popular songs Steinberg and Kelly wrote include "Alone" (recorded by Heart), "Eternal Flame", "In My Room" (both co-written with Susanna Hoffs and recorded by the Bangles) and "I Drove All Night" (recorded by Cyndi Lauper, Roy Orbison and Celine Dion). By the mid-1990s, Kelly had lost enthusiasm for songwriting, leaving the business. But Steinberg continued on with his career, going on to co-write with other musicians including Rick Nowels, Marie-Claire D'Ubaldo and Josh Alexander.

Saturday, October 18, 2025

NEW SOUNDS

Here is a collection of new sounds that I want to highlight:

Following her venture into hard rock, Demi Lovato has returned to music with an upcoming dance-pop collection, "It's Not That Deep" which is due out on October 24th. The latest single is "Kiss", a fun, throbbing techno-pop track.

The British art-pop stylist and actress, FKA Twigs had released her well-received third album, "Eusexua" earlier this year. On the horizon is a sequel to this collection entitled, "Eusexua Afterglow" which originally was going to be a deluxe edition of the previous album but will now be a follow-up of new music. The first single, "Cheap Motel" which is accompanied by a seven minute music video that is much like a short film.

Born in Ethiopia and raised in Phoenix, Arizona, the alt-r&b artist, Alemeda has been creating music since 2020. She began with a hyper-hip-hop sound before moving towards soulful indie rock,. The twenty-five year old performer (born Rahema Alameda) is preparing to release another EP, "But What The Hell Do I Know" with the first single, "Beat A B!tch Up" features an appearance by her label-mate, Doechii.

The popular, Chicago-based DJ, Honey Dijon has moved further in creating her own music and has released a new song. "The Nightlife" is an expected sultry club-banger but features r&b vocalist, Chlöe Bailey performing on the track with her first major venture to the dance floor.

Haim has just released a deluxe edition to their most recent album, "I Quit" that features three new songs. One of those songs, "Tie You Down" is a collaboration with indie rocker, Bon Iver.

Monday, September 5, 2022

HOLY FVCK

Although she has only just turned thirty in August, Demi Lovato has had a very complicated life, filled with glorious highs and devastating lows. Beginning her professional career as a child actor on the Disney Channel before moving on to find even more acclaim as a pop music artist, struggling in between with serious problems involving addiction, mental health issues, sexual trauma and gender identity. The singer has been very open regarding her troubles throughout, even participating in a recent docu-series, "Demi Lovato: Dancing With The Devil" which deals with her personal and musical journey.

Over the course of her recording career, Lovato has experimented with genres, dabbling in rock, r&b, dance and power-pop. Now with her latest, "Holy Fvck", the singer has gone full punk-rock on her eighth studio album. But Lovato clearly has something to say with the album, dealing directly and honestly with her continuing struggles with substance abuse, relapse and sexuality, using the dark, edgy sound to effectively express her rage and frustrations. Lovato has stated that "Holy Fvck" feels like her most authentic album, wanting to push herself musically and lyrically. I think she has certainly accomplished that with a collection that really reveals her pain and a strong desire to recover from her past. Lovato has just begun a tour through North and South America to support the album, so be sure to check her out while she's out on the road.

Monday, April 20, 2020

NEW SOUNDS

FIONA APPLE

It's been eight years since we last heard from the gifted yet reclusive performer, Fiona Apple but the very long-awaited new album is finally here and I think it's absolutely well worth the wait. "Fetch The Bolt Cutters" (which the title comes from a quote in the British television crime drama, "The Fall") is a fascinating eclectic and eccentric collection of music filled with moods, ruminations, raw emotion and odd sounds that takes us on an inimitable journey inside of the mind of this singular artist. With a very small band of musicians to help execute her ideas, the forty-two year old vocalist felt free to allow herself to wander musically, restructuring and misshaping each song in any way she deemed fit. The timing of this release may have been to benefit her fans who may be looking for some fresh musical stimulation while under the stay-in-place orders due to the pandemic but I'm sure it's also to help Apple avoid having to leave the comfort of her home to promote this album. I love the entire album but here are two of my favorites from the latest by Fiona Apple:

KELLY ROWLAND

After Destiny's Child parted ways, Kelly Rowland has continued her career in music although she has not gotten nearly as much attention as another member of her former group. She has released four studio albums to date with them achieving greater success internationally. Rowland has also dabbled in acting, appearing in a few films including the horror flick, "Freddy vs. Jason", and hosted or participated in several reality television programs with her currently serving as a judge on the Australian version of the singing competition show, "The Voice". But Rowland has returned to music in a big way with her recently dropping a fantastic new single, "Coffee". This seductive song is simply about having a hot cup of java and even hotter intimacy in the morning with a loved one. And I love, love, LOVE the music video for the song with it's sensual energy and emphasis on all shades of African-American beauty. Please check this clip out for "Coffee":

Sam Smith has decided to delay his forthcoming album (which was due in May and will get new title as it was going to be called, "To Die For") due to the pandemic facing the world. While there had been several singles previously released, these songs may not appear on the new record as Smith has just released what he is calling the first single. "I'm Ready" (co-written and produced by one of the hottest music craftsmen right now, Ilya Salmanzadeh) is throbbing dance track and features a duet with Demi Lovato. This passionate song is about being open to accepting love. For the music video, Smith fully embraces being non-binary and features drag queens, racing in glamorous gowns and heels, in an Olympics-themed clip.

Monday, January 27, 2020

THE 62ND ANNUAL GRAMMY AWARDS

With the messy scandal and controversy involving the Recording Academy and their now-ousted president along with the tragic and shocking passing of the legendary basketball star, Kobe Bryant and his teenage daughter, the 2020 Grammy Awards had a dark and heavy cloud to lift before the ceremony even began. But thankfully the show had host, Alicia Keys, appearing for the second time, to deliver a healing voice and positive energy to the somber audience. After asking everyone to hold Bryant in their hearts, she sang A cappella an incredibly moving version of "It's So Hard to Say Goodbye to Yesterday" along with Boyz ll Men who had a hit in 1991 with their cover.

The Grammys have always been about spectacle and big musical numbers and on that front, the show did not disappoint. Dedicating her performance to Kobe, Lizzo opened the show with the fiery ballad, "Cuz I Love You" and then put on display body positivity with an army of ballet dancers and her flute skills during her live version of "Truth Hurts".

Tyler The Creator may have started with a traditional r&b sound with assistance from Boyz ll Men and Charlie Wilson on "Earfquake" before he shifted to a lively punk/new wave energy while performing "New Magic Wand" with fellow bewigged blonde, male back-up dancers. And I loved his speech and his proud, teary-eyed mother who joined her son on stage to accept his win for Best Rap Album. Gary Clark Jr. brought fire and rage during his performance of "This Land", the title track of his Grammy-winning album which makes a compelling statement about his experience with racism in America.

I would have preferred to have seen less of Lil Nas X and his novelty country/rap hit, "Old Town Road" with his performance of the song extended beyond what was necessary with K-pop group, BTS, YouTube sensation, Mason Ramsey, DJ/producer, Diplo and Billy Ray Cyrus all brought on stage to join him. Aerosmith, the legendary rock group who received this year's MusiCares Person Of The Year award, struggled to bring vigorous life to their time on stage even with Run DMC joining them on their shared hit, "Walk This Way". The odd couple, country star, Blake Shelton and pop-punk singer, Gwen Stefani may have looked truly in love but their ballad, "Nobody But You" lacked actual passion.

And to promote an upcoming Grammy special to celebrate the music of Prince, Usher appeared to perform a number of the late funk master's songs. While he did a fair job on "Little Red Corvette", "When Doves Cry" and "Kiss", FKA Twigs. a Grammy nominee this year, joined him on stage but was shamefully regulated simply as a back-up dancer. This British pop-art performer should have definitely been given an opportunity to have done at least one song, perhaps bringing a more intriguing spin to this tribute to the Purple One.

But the highlights for me were the small yet emotional moments like Tanya Tucker, accompanied by Brandi Carlile, bringing depth and grit with her comeback country single, "Bring My Flowers Now"; Camila Cabello had nearly everyone in tears with the touching ballad, "First Man", dedicated to her father which she sang directly to him and Demi Lovato, who delivered a powerhouse vocal on "Anyone" , a heartbreaking song about her struggles with addiction, yet was so overcome before she even began that she had to start over.

And our fifteen time Grammy-winning host did not let anyone forget that she's still a vital musical artist. Early in the evening, Keys did an original song using the melody of Lewis Capaldi's hit, "Someone You Loved" which she name-checked some of the musicians who made an impact last year before returning later to perform her new single, "Underdog" which had Britney Howard joining her with a too short appearance on guitar.

Billie Eilish was the big winner of the evening, taking all four of the major categories with the eighteen year old being only the second artist ever to accomplish this feat (Christopher Cross was the first back in 1981). And Eilish surprised everyone with her low-key performance on the show by showing off her vocals with the ballad, "When The Party's Over" instead of the more expected frenetic energy we usually see from the artist.

Here is a partial list of winners of the 62nd annual Grammy Awards:

Album of the Year: Billie Eilish, "When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go?"
Record of the Year: Billie Eilish, "Bad Guy"
Song of the Year: "Bad Guy" - Billie Eilish O’Connell and Finneas O'Connell; songwriters (Billie Eilish)
Best New Artist: Billie Eilish
Best Pop Vocal Album: Billie Eilish, "When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go?"
Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album: Elvis Costello & The Imposters, "Look Now"
Best Pop Solo Performance: Lizzo, "Truth Hurts"
Best Pop Duo/Group Performance: Lil Nas X & Billy Ray Cyrus, "Old Town Road"
Best Rap Album: Tyler the Creator, "Igor"
Best Rap Song: "A Lot" - Jermaine Cole, Dacoury Natche, 21 Savage & Anthony White; songwriters (21 Savage featuring J. Cole)
Best Rap Performance: Nipsey Hussle featuring Roddy Ricch & Hit-Bo, "Racks in the Middle"
Best Rap/Sung Performance: DJ Khaled featuring Nipsey Hussle and John Legend, "Higher"
Best R&B Album: Anderson .Paak, "Ventura"
Best Urban Contemporary Album: Lizzo, "Cuz I Love You (Deluxe)"
Best R&B Song: "Say So" — Pj Morton; songwriter (Pj Morton Featuring Jojo)
Best R&B Performance: Anderson .Paak & André 300, "Come Home"
Best Traditional R&B Performance: Lizzo, "Jerome"
Best Rock Album: Cage The Elephant, "Social Cues"
Best Rock Song: "This Land" — Gary Clark Jr.; songwriter (Gary Clark Jr.) Best Rock Performance: Best Rock Solo Performance: Gary Clark Jr., "This Land"
Best Country Album: Tanya Tucker, "While I'm Livin'"
Best Country Song: "Bring My Flowers Now" - Brandi Carlile, Phil Hanseroth, Tim Hanseroth and Tanya Tucker; songwriters (Tanya Tucker)
Best Country Solo Performance: Willie Nelson, "Ride Me Back Home"
Best Country Duo/Group Performance: Dan + Shay, "Speechless"
Best Comedy Album: Dave Chapelle, "Sticks & Stones"
Best Dance/Electronic Album: The Chemical Brothers, "No Geography"
Best Dance Recording: The Chemical Brothers, "Got To Keep On"
Best Music Video: Lil Nas X featuring Billy Ray Cyrus, "Old Town Road (Official Movie)"
Best Music Film: Beyoncé, "Homecoming"
Best Compilation Soundtrack for Visual Media: Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper, "A Star Is Born"
Best Score Soundtrack for Visual Media: Hildur Guðnadóttir, "Chernobyl"
Best Song Written for Visual Media: "I’ll Never Love Again" - (Film Version), Natalie Hemby, Lady Gaga, Hillary Lindsey & Aaron Raitiere (Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper, A Star Is Born)
Best Remixed Recording: "I Rise (Tracy Young’s Pride Intro Radio Remix)" - Tracy Young (Madonna)
Best Instrumental Composition: "Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge Symphonic Suite" — John Williams; composer (John Williams)
Best Spoken Word Album (includes Poetry, Audio Books & Storytelling): Michelle Obama, "Becoming"
Producer Of The Year (Non-Classical): Finneas O'Connell