Sienna Spiro, a rising pop-soul singer from the UK is gaining attention on this side of the pond with her single, "Die on This Hill", The twenty year old has been performing and writing songs since she was ten, inspired by the records of her parents that included Frank Sinatra and Nina Simone and the hip-hop that was playing during her youth, dropping out of high school at sixteen to pursue music full time. As is common these days for aspiring musicians, Spiro posted clips of herself singing covers and original songs on social media. Two years ago, she released her first single, "Need Me". Spiro released more music and began performing around London, making an impression at the All Points East music festival. Last year, she released an EP, "Sink Now, Swim Later" on Capitol Records and went on tour throughout Britain. In October, the power ballad, "Die On This Hill", co-written by Spiro with Omer Fedi and Michael Pollack, was released and has gone on to become an international top-ten smash. Spiro is currently putting together her debut album and is in the middle of a headlining tour in the US.
Here is a round-up of new sounds that I'm listening to at the moment: "American Girls", the second single from Harry Styles' recently released album, "Kiss All the Time. Disco, Occasionally"; Mary J Blige is back in fine form with a soulful ballad, "More Than a Lover"; Another single, "Ride" from Jessie Ware's upcoming sixth studio album, "Superbloom" is a shimmering dance track with the video featuring actor, James Norton; Bebe Rexha teams with Brit electro band, Faithless for a high energy, house track, "New Religion" and the first single by country artist, Kacey Musgraves, "Dry Spell" from her next album, "Middle of Nowhere" due out in May.
The sounds of classic disco, which enjoyed the height of its popularity during the mid-1970's, has climbed back up onto the current music charts. Donna Summer's 1978 version of Jimmy Webb's trippy ode to the Los Angeles site, "MacArthur Park" and Anita Ward's 1979 number one worldwide smash hit, "Ring My Bell" both recently made it back to the top ten of the iTunes music chart. Alysa Liu had skated to Summer’s song during the 2026 Winter Olympics and won the gold medal, helping this disco track receive rejuvenated popularity. A viral TikTok trend with "Ring My Bell" made sales and streaming of this song skyrocket this month. Ward, who went from schoolteacher to overnight disco star, only enjoyed success with this one song while Summer had a far more extensive and influential career before passing away in 2012, still known to the world as "The Queen of Disco". Let's get back on the dance floor and get lost in the beat of these songs with the entire seventeen minute epic version of the "MacArthur Park Suite" (which includes another charting single, "Heaven Knows") and Ward performing her hit on the British program, "Top of the Pops":
When Miley Cyrus approached the recording of her latest album, "Something Beautiful", she was inspired by the win of her first Grammy Award last year for Best Pop Solo performance for "Flowers". It's not that she placed that much importance in awards but it did give Cyrus even more confidence that she was moving creatively in the right direction. A performer since she was thirteen when cast in the Disney Channel television series "Hannah Montana", the now thirty-two year old Cyrus has conceived her ninth studio album as a visual concept record centered around the theme of "healing". She continues to take control of her sound, co-writing and co-producing the album, with this collection utilizing alt-r&b, jazz and disco-pop to express her thoughts on discovering beauty and light following trauma and heartbreak. "Something Beautiful" also features guest appearances by Brittany Howard, Danielle Haim, Flea of the Red Hot Chilli Peppers and Super Model, Naomi Campbell. A musical film that is a companion to the album called "Something Beautiful", directed by Cyrus along with Jacob Bixenman and Brendan Walter, made its premiere on June 6th at the Beacon Theatre during the Tribeca Festival and will be released theatrically on June 12th.
June is Pride month and to help kick off the celebration here are some recent songs by artists who are either queer or strong allies: The latest song from David Archuleta is a sensual ballad, "Can I Call You"; the French musical stylist, Christine and the Queens has an upcoming EP collaborating with legendary disco producer, Cerrone and their lead single is the throbbing dance track, "Catching Feelings"; Sam Williams, the grandson of the influential country music pioneer, Hank Williams and son of Hank Williams Jr., is continuing in the family tradition yet in his own way with a country-pop love song that is unabashedly queer; German producer, Toby Gad has released "Run", a track from Donna Summer that was unreleased from the recording sessions for her final studio album, "Crayons" back in 2008; and the performer who first found fame in musical theater before soaring on to the big screen (in the adaptation of hit musical, "Wicked") and this year's Tony Awards host, Cynthia Erivo has managed to find time to record her second studio album, "I Forgive You", a collection of contemporary r&b.
And to close, here is a classic one-hit wonder from 1969 that I love from Spiral Starecase, a Northern California based band, and their big hit, "More Today Than Yesterday". Beginning as an instrumental group called the Fydallions, they managed to get signed to Columbia Records but the label insisted they change their name. Taking it from a 1946 psychological horror film but slightly altering the spelling, Spiral Starecase charted with "More Today Than Yesterday" with the soulful pop song reaching number twelve on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. None of their follow-up music managed to find much success and the band actually disbanded a little over a year after their charting hit due to in-fighting amongst the members and poor management.
While she has spent much of her time recently working on her popular daytime television talk show, Kelly Clarkson has certainly not given up on her music career. Even on the program, the first "American Idol" winner devotes some time to allow herself an opportunity to sing with her Kellyoke segment where she puts her spin on classic songs. But Clarkson has announced that new music is on the horizon.
For her upcoming tenth studio album, "Chemistry", Clarkson dives into all of the experiences you can through in a relationship; from the blissful beginning to the devastating end. Using her own marriage and bitter divorce as inspiration, Clarkson began work on this project two years ago, writing close to sixty songs. She states that the writing was helpful for her, allowing all of the complicated emotions she was going through to be expressed, and hopes the album will be of aid for anyone who is going through challenging times. Two singles have been released, "mine" and "me" as Clarkson didn't want just one song to represent the entire album.
Clarkson will be out promoting "Chemistry" (due out on June 23rd) with a ten-night Las Vegas residency at the Bakkt Theater in Planet Hollywood from July 28th to August 19th.
When Donna Summer first emerged with "Love To Love You, Baby" back in 1975, this sexy dance ballad punctuated by erotic moans would create a cultural shift on what was acceptable to be played on pop radio. She would follow this international smash two years later with "I Feel Love", another global sensation that effectively used synthesizer loops to create a new, influential sound that helped lay down the foundation of what would later become electronic music. These tracks (which also includes the disco version of "MacArthur Park" and "Last Dance") would help Summer achieve the crown of "The Queen of Disco" but she was determined to prove she had much more to offer than just dance music. Summer would go on to amass thirty-two charting singles in the US that ranged from pop, rock and r&b, selling well over one hundred million records worldwide.
Sadly, Summer passed away in 2012 but her incredible legacy will be celebrated with a new documentary, "Love To Love You, Donna Summer" by the Oscar-winning filmmaker, Roger Ross Williams and Brooklyn Sudano, one of Summer's daughters. The film takes an in-depth, personal look into Summer's life and career with photos, home-video footage (much of it never before seen) and interviews with "Love To Love You, Donna Summer" making its premiere on HBO on May 20th.
And this year's Eurovision Song Contest is over with a new winner crowned. Held in Liverpool, UK with thirty-seven countries in competition, Swedish singer, Loreen won for "Tattoo" becoming only the second contestant to win twice (she previously took the giant mic statue in 2012 for her song, "Euphoria") and giving Sweden another victory with a total of seven wins, tying Ireland. Finland's Käärijä came in second with "Cha Cha Cha" while Noa Kirel from Israel with "Unicorn" came in third. This European pop music contest is a very popular event with an estimated one hundred and eighty million viewers tuning in to watch this three-day competition.
Now Eurovision hasn't made much of an impact here in the States over its sixty-seven years, even with ABBA, Celine Dion, Julio Iglesias and Olivia Newton-John going on to great success after appearing in the contest but that has changed recently. It might have begun with the 2020 Netflix musical-comedy, "Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga" with Will Ferrell and Rachel McAdams which helped bring attention and create interest for this contest to American audiences, especially when the actual Eurovision had to be cancelled that year due to the COVID lockdown.
If you are looking for a gift and they are a fan of classic soul music, I have a suggestion that might help you out. Bruce Talamon, a photographer who focused on black entertainers, has recently released a beautiful photo book, "Bruce W. Talamon: Soul. R&B. Funk. Photographs 1972-1982". This breathtaking collection, published by Taschen, featureshis images which document most of the popular acts of the era who were making influential music, with many of the pictures that have never been seen before.
Talamon, who was one of the very few African-American photojournalists working at the time, took a look back over his forty year career and the roughly five thousand photos he had taken during that time to put this book together. He had made it clear to his editor that he wasn't interest in only showing these performers on stage but also using the more intimate, behind-the-scenes moments with these musical talents.
All of the major players of the day are certainly present like Stevie Wonder, Diana Ross, Marvin Gaye, Jackson 5, Earth, Wind & Fire, James Brown, Parliament-Funkadelic and Aretha to name just a few. But there are also remarkable pictures of performers who had a briefer moment of fame like Billy Paul (who was Talamon's first cover assignment), Thelma Houston, The Dramatics, The Stylistics, and Johnnie Taylor. There is a section of the book devoted to Don Cornelius and his groundbreaking dance television program, "Soul Train" and the 1972 "Wattstax" benefit concert held at the LA Coliseum and featured the hot acts of the day, Isaac Hayes, Albert King, The Bar-Kays and the Staple Singers.
This is an incredible book that would make the perfect gift or perhaps even own yourself.
Although it wasn't really planned (I swear!) but this one is all about the ladies. I offer a few samples from an eclectic mix of female musicians who will warm up the upcoming chilly season with some exciting new music:
Tamar Braxton - "The One" (2013)
Yuna - "Falling" (2013)
Amel Larrieux - "Afraid" (2013)
Celine Dion has returned to recorded music with a new song, "Loved Me Back To Life". It's been six years since her last English-language album and this will also be the title of the forthcoming release due in November. This tune feels very contemporary and fits perfectly in the current pop landscape :
"Loved Me Back To Life" - Celine Dion (2013)
"Wild" - Jessie J (2013)
"Strange Warnings" - Rose Elinor Dougall (2013)
Here is a remix by Chromeo & Oliver of one of my all-time favorite songs by Donna Summer. "Love Is In Control" has been worked over and given a modern spin while maintaining the spirit of the original (which is what all good remixes should do). There has even been a new music video made which incorporates clips of the video created for the original version featuring the Queen of Disco, which I had never seen before:
Cher's comeback single, "Woman's World" now has a music video. While I'm still not much of a fan of the tune but I am really digging this vid which is wild, wacky and typically Cher. This ageless performer has shown these younger girls (Hello, Miley) how to be outrageous and a little out there without having to try so hard:
VH1 has decided to revive their "Divas" series although the concept has already been stretched thin as they've pretty much covered all of the very few, true divas in existence ( and in some cases, more than once). Part of the inspiration for this revival was the loss this year of two truly important female voices in musical history; Whitney Houston and Donna Summer as the show honors these legends with a tribute and celebration of their legacy.
The problem lies with a large number of the artists rounded-up for this special which features Kelly Rowland, Ciara, Keri Hilson, Demi Lovato and Miley Cyrus that adds up to a group of mostly thin-voiced, second-tier singers with none of them having any serious potential as future "Diva" recipients.
The exception were, surprisingly, a couple of pop singers that could actually belt who were selected by election on reality television; "American Idol" winners, Kelly Clarkson and Jordin Sparks who provide vivid musical numbers with Clarkson bringing the mostly female audience to their feet with her latest single, "Catch My Breath" from her first greatest hits collection while Sparks sizzles in a show-stopping number accompanied by r&b powerhouses, Melanie Fiona and Ledisi as they performed an energetic Whitney Houston medley.
Another "Idol" alumni , Adam Lambert was the host of the program and honorary "diva" who kicked-off the show with dramatic flair, reworking the 1983 Bowie hit, "Let's Dance". Later, in true diva fashion, during the Donna Summer segment with Rowland and Hilson, Lambert leaves the ladies in his glittery dust as he effortlessly out-sang them both.
The rest of the show fell flat with Ciara doing a brief dance tribute to Michael Jackson before performing a lackluster new song, "Got Me Good", some band called Metric who is supposed to honor Deborah Harry but only offers a truly horrendous version of "Heart of Glass" and wearing punk drag, Ms Cyrus unconvincingly covers Billy Idol's "Rebel Yell" that has about much bite as a teething infant. Although she is already a big star in her native Britain, Paloma Faith is trying to repeat her success here but based on her performance of her song, "Picking Up The Pieces", there ain't much chance of that happening.
"VH1 Divas"specials are a great way to look back to single-out female musical greatness but it appears like it will be forced out of existence. Taking a long, hard look at the current musical landscape, there doesn't seem to be too many future divas on the horizon.
The best way, I think, to remember and celebrate the life of Donna Summer is to enjoy a collection of some of her number one hits on the U.S. dance chart.
So, get up and dance:
"Love To Love You Baby" - Donna Summer (1975)
"MacArthur Park" - Donna Summer (1978)
"No More Tears (Enough is Enough)" - Donna Summer & Barbra Streisand (1979)
It has been shaping up to be a terribly sad year for music as too many important and influential figures have passed away and today, we lost another great artist, the Queen of Disco, Donna Summer as she had been privately battling cancer.
Although she became best known as the face of disco music, Donna Summer had no interest in being boxed in that genre as she actively branched out to other musical styles such as rock, new-wave, inspirational and pop and with great success. The Queen won five Grammy Awards, had twenty singles reach the Billboard top-forty chart with an impressive fourteen reaching the top-ten and four making it to number one, an amazing sixteen number one songs on the U.S. Dance chart and she is ranked at number eight as one of the most successful female recording artists in history.
I am one of her biggest fans and I think she was an extraordinary talent who will always remain in our thoughts as her music will continue to live on.
Here are a few of my favorite songs by Donna Summer:
"I Feel Love" - Donna Summer (1977)
"Love Is In Control (Finger On The Trigger)" - Donna Summer (1982)
"If It Hurts Just A Little" - Donna Summer (1982) "Melody Of Love (Wanna Be Loved)" - Donna Summer (1994)
This is a clip from her 1979 television special made during the height of her fame which features a creative take of her great song about L.A., "Sunset People":
Here is another installment of the first time we heard the music of some great artists.
EURYTHMICS - "SWEET DREAMS (ARE MADE OF THIS) - 1983 Annie Lennox and David A. Stewart started off together in a British punk-rock band called, The Tourists and they were also a romantic item. Tensions within the band as well as desire to change musical directions caused the two to split from the Tourists. Despite also ending their romance, they decided to start a new band and called themselves, The Eurythmics.
They released their first album, "In The Garden" (1981) but it was not much of a success. This next album, "Sweet Dreams (Are Made Of This) (Remastered Version)" featured the international smash title track which combined cold synthesisers and Ms Lennox's warm voice. The song was also helped by the innovative music video and launched their career.
They went on to release eight albums, selling over seventy five million copies and had many top ten hits while continuing to change musical directions throughout before taking an unplanned hiatus starting in 1989. Each released solo albums during this time before reuniting and releasing "Peace" in 1999 which has remained their last album to date. Although they have not officially disbanded, there are no current plans for them to record any new music in the foreseeable future.
Gordon Sumner or as he is better known, Sting, a nickname he received after performing on stage wearing a black and yellow stripe sweater, was the lead singer and bass player of the hit British rock band, The Police before he decided to leave the band and start a solo music career.
For his first record, he gathered together a group of jazz musicians that included Branford Marsalis and together they created a jazz-rock fusion album. "Dream of the Blue Turtles" was a huge hit that sold over three million copies in the U.S. and featured two top ten singles. There was even a documentary film made of the recording sessions called, "Bring on the Night [Blu-ray]" (1985) that was directed by Michael Apted.
Sting has gone on to release seven more solo albums, won eleven Grammy Awards and has acted in many films.
DONNA SUMMER - "LOVE TO LOVE YOU BABY" - 1975 American teenager, LaDonna Gaines was part of the European touring company of the rock musical, "Hair" when she settled in Munich, Germany to marry Helmut Sommer and try a music career.
"Love To Love You Baby" was actually her second album, now called Donna Summer, following, "Lady of the Night" (1974) but that had only been released in Europe and was a minor hit. She was reluctant to record the title song and actually first did it as a demo for another artist. The producers, Giorgio Moroder and Pete Bellotte loved what she did and talked her into allowing them to release her version. It was first released in Europe and was a modest success.
Casablanca Records president, Neil Bogart heard the song, loved it, had the song reworked and released it in America. It became a smash hit and that success traveled around the world. This album was quickly released, more hit songs followed and she soon became "The Queen of Disco".
At the end of the disco era, Donna Summer managed to continue making hit recordings by moving towards a pop-rock and R&B sound. She has released eighteen albums, won five Grammy Awards and has sold over 130 million albums worldwide.
Here is that song that was actually banned on some radio stations at the time:
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" featured the international smash title track which combined cold synthesisers and Ms Lennox's warm voice. The song was also helped by the innovative music video and launched their career. 
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" (1974) but that had only been released in Europe and was a minor hit. She was reluctant to record the title song and actually first did it as a demo for another artist. The producers, Giorgio Moroder and Pete Bellotte loved what she did and talked her into allowing them to release her version. It was first released in Europe and was a modest success.
