NEW SOUNDS

CORINNE BAILEY RAE

I have just became aware that the British alt-r&b artist, Corinne Bailey Rae had released her fourth studio album, "Black Rainbows" last September. I consider myself a fan since her debut back in 2006 but had lost touch of the performer largely because there has been such significant gaps between new material and Rae's subsequent music didn't receive nearly enough promotion on this side of the Atlantic.  

What brought my attention to this music was Rae's latest single and video for the song, "He Will Follow You With His Eyes" which examines the complicated beauty standards that Black women are expected to endure in order to attract a mate. For this album (which is her first in seven years), Rae was inspired by a visit to a museum exhibition on Black history at the Stony Island Arts Bank in Chicago.  The songs came together from there with her thoughtfully offering her examination on the Black experience and the music ranges wildly from experimental jazz, garage rock and futuristic soul. "Black Rainbows" is a fascinating and insightful collection and worth a listen.





TORI KELLY

Tori Kelly has been making music professionally for a while, since her debut album, "Unbreakable Smile" back in 2015. After failing to get far during her time competing on "American Idol" almost fourteen years ago, Kelly took that opportunity to work on her craft, independently releasing music before signing to a major label and recording three studio albums, to impressively become an amazing musician.

Now just signed to a new label, Epic Records, Kelly is embarking on a new era with her image and sound. Gone is the bottle blonde tresses, now appearing with something closer to her natural color and Kelly has shifted her new music to honor the Y2K r&b and pop she listened to while growing up. With her fifth album simply titled, "Tori", the thirty-one year old performer takes us on a nostalgic trip back to the time of bucket hats, biker shorts (without a bike in sight), grunge rock and hip-hop flavored pop sung by boy bands were all the rage. The new single from the album, "Thing U Do" (which features a sample of Suzanne Vega's 1990 hit, "Tom's Diner") is a smooth throwback that still sounds fresh and modern.



And Dua Lipa is inching closer to releasing her next music collection. This latest single, "Illusion" released arrived with the announcement that her third album, "Radical Optimism" will be available on May 3rd. "Illusion" is another classic dance song from the artist that features French house music elements. The video was shot in Barcelona at the Piscina Municipal de Montjuïc, the same venue used for swimming during the 1992 Summer Olympics. And be sure to check out "Saturday Night Live" on May 4th when Lipa will be the host and musical guest on the comedy skit program

RANDOM SIGHTS + SOUNDS

After being named the season six winner of "American Idol", Jordin Sparks began a whirlwind of a pop music career at only the age of seventeen. It started with a self-titled debut album in 2007, which sold over a million copies and featured two top-ten singles; "Tattoo" and "No Air", a duet with Chris Brown, to appearing on stage (co-starring in the Broadway musical, "In the Heights") and screen (making her film debut in "Sparkle", the 2012 musical remake that features Whitney Houston in her final film role).

Now at the age of thirty-three, Sparks is married and a mother of a five-year-old son. Her career might have cooled down a bit but she's certainly not out of the game. A new single has been released, "Call My Name" which is a mature, intimate r&b ballad, far removed from the sweet pop-soul from her early days. And the music video features a more sensual side of Sparks (who appears with her husband, Dana Isaiah in the steamy clip) than we have previously seen from the singer. This is the first preview of music from her upcoming fifth album which is due out early next year.



Here is some new music to put a spotlight on from social media personality, Jessie Woo; queer electro-pop artist, Bronze Avery; the legendary soul-hip-hip queen, Mary J. Blige; dance-pop star, Dua Lipa and a charity single from Björk featuring Rosalía with proceeds going to combat open-pen fish farming in Iceland.

It's been about eight years since Gossip, the indie rock band made up of Nathan Hondeshell, Hannah Blue and Beth Ditto, called it quits. But time can change perspectives and the trio reunited to do a tour to celebrate the tenth anniversary of their 2009 breakthrough album, "Music for Men". From that gathering on the road, Gossip began to explore the idea of working together again as a band. Enlisting their "Music for Men" producer, Rick Rubin, who encouraged the reunion, they went to on record from thirty to forty songs together. This has led to their sixth album, "Real Power" due out in March. The first single, "Crazy Again" picks up where Gossip left off, with a quirky, electro-pop ballad enhanced by Ditto's unusually muted yet controlled vocals.

And I'm sad to announce that Jean Knight, best known for the sassy, 1971 hit, "Mr. Big Stuff", passed away from natural causes on November 26th at the age of eighty. The New Orleans native began her career finding some local success with several recordings before attracting the attention of producer Wardell Quezergue in 1970. Knight recorded several songs (which included "Big Stuff") with him, but no major labels were initially interested in releasing these demos. But when King Floyd's song, "Groove Me" (also recorded during those sessions with Quezergue) became a number one soul hit in early 1971, a producer at Stax Records remembered another song that Knight had recorded from that time. "Mr. Big Stuff" also went to number one on the r&b chart and reached number two on the pop chart. The song sold over two million copies and Knight went on to receive a Grammy nomination for Best R&B Feamle Vocal Performance. Knight would record several well received albums following this success, but "Big Stuff" would remain the biggest hit of her career.

BARBIE: THE ALBUM

Based on the world's most famous doll, "Barbie" is the first live-action movie of this iconic toy. Margot Robbie brings this plastic fashion doll to life and Ryan Gosling play Barbie's long-time boyfriend, Ken. Greta Gerwig has co-written (with her partner, filmmaker Noah Baumbach) and directed this comedy-fantasy and has attracted an impressive cast that includes Kate McKinnon, Issa Rae, Hari Nef, Simu Liu, Kingsley Ben-Adir with Will Ferrell as a toy company CEO and Helen Mirren as the narrator.



And the movie has an upcoming soundtrack, "Barbie: The Album". Mark Ronson, who is the executive producer of this record, was asked to get involved in curating the music by Gerwig to help match her vision for the film to feature the sounds of fun, high-energy pop. Ronson set about his mission and has assembled an impressive list of contemporary musicians to participate and the line-up is impressive; Lizzo, Charli XCX, Ava Max, Karol G., Haim, Khalid, Gayle, Fifty Fifty and Dua Lipa who released the first single, "Dance The Night". And Nicki Minaj and Ice Spice teamed up to bring some hip-hop on "Barbie World" which features a sample of the notorious '90's hit, "Barbie Girl" by the Danish Europop band, Aqua. Even Gosling, who showed off his musical abilities in the 2016 movie, "La La Land", has a track on the album called "I'm Just Ken".   

"Barbie: The Album" is due out on July 21st, the same day as the movie's release. Not all of the artists on the soundtrack have been revealed yet with some surprises still left to be announced. One of the first made public on July 6th was Billie Eilish with her musical contribution, "What Was I Made For?" with more mystery musicians on the horizon.

RANDOM SIGHTS + SOUNDS

In the summer of 2017, Calvin Harris released "Funk Wav Bounces, Vol. 1", a dance-pop-hip-hop collection that featured a number of impressive all-star vocalists which included Frank Ocean, Katy Perry, Travis Scott, Nicki Minaj and Ariana Grande. This volume proved to be a big global success with five hit singles. Now the Scottish DJ/producer feels it's time for a follow-up volume with "Funk Wav Bounces, Vol. 2". This is his first studio album in five years and due out later this summer. The first single, "Potion" has just dropped and features Brit-pop star, Dua Lipa and rapper, Young Thug. This funky Caribbean-flavored track teams Harris with Lipa for the first time since their smash hit, "One Kiss" back in 2018 while Young Thug appeared on the track, "Heatstroke" with Pharrell Williams and Grande from the first volume.



June is LGBTQ+ Pride month and to celebrate, here is a collection of talented artists, spanning different musical genres, who also happen to be out and proudly queer:













And while I do not watch "Stranger Things", I have heard that the show's current fourth season has used Kate Bush's 1985 tune, "Running Up The Hill (A Deal With God)" to great effect, helping to propel this song back up the charts across the globe. The song was Bush's highest charting in the US, reaching number thirty on the pop chart in it's initial run but now the British artist has her very first top-ten hit here. I have long admired the work of Kate Bush with her bold experimental style and offbeat sonic textures. And I loved the video for "Running Up The Hill" which features the singer performing interpretive dance. Alt-rock performer, Meg Myers had released her version of Bush's song in 2019 (and her cover is also benefiting from this resurgence) which maintains the spirit of the original yet is still distinctly innovative.

RANDOM SIGHTS + SOUNDS

Roland Orzabal and Curt Smith made up the English pop-rock band, Tears For Fears who found fame in the mid-1980's most notably with the songs, "Shout" and "Everybody Wants to Rule the World". After working together for ten years, the duo ended their musical relationship with a nasty split in 1991. While Orzabal kept Tears for Fears going as a one-man project (releasing a couple of albums) and Smith made his own solo album, the men would make amends in 2000. The reunited Tears For Fears released another album together, "Everybody Loves a Happy Ending" in 2004. And while Orzabal and Smith would tour occasionally over the ensuing years, there was no new music. That has changed as Tears For Fears have released a song, "The Tipping Point" which is the working title of their upcoming seventh studio album due out in February. The sixty year old musicians have been working on this project over the last ten years and the haunting, mid-tempo ballad deals with Orzabal's struggles with grief over the tragic loss of his wife, Caroline who died in 2017 after thirty-five years of marriage.



Please enjoy this collection of videos of new music by a few LGBTQ artists (and one long-time ally):









Kelis is back with a new single, "Midnight Snacks", the latest song by the artist that follows a theme on the art of eating. Following her 2014 album, "Food", a cookbook and a Netflix series on cooking with Cannabis, the forty-two year old performer is going in on what do when you have cravings late at night. And I'm pretty sure she's referring to food. . .

And for his thirty-second studio album, Elton John has released "The Lockdown Sessions", a duets collection that was recorded largely during the pandemic lockdown after the seventy-four year old performer was forced to put the brakes on his final tour, Farewell Yellow Brick Road. This is an impressive line-up of musicians who have participated on this album; we have John's musical peers like Stevie Wonder, Stevie Nicks and the late Glen Campbell. There are contemporary performers Miley Cyrus, Rina Sawayama, Charlie Puth and Olly Alexander of Years & Years on board. And we have Young Thug, Nicki Minaj and Lil Nas X to bring some hip-hop to the record. "The Lockdown Sessions" features covers and new material with the first single, "Cold Heart", a duet with Dua Lipa and remixed by by the Australian dance music trio, Pnau who combines elements of John's singles "Rocket Man", "Sacrifice" and "Kiss the Bride" on the track.

THE SONGS AND SINGERS THAT GOT US THROUGH A YEAR OF ISOLATION

I know I don't need to remind anyone about the challenges we faced as a society last year but thankfully we had plenty of distractions to help get us through that incredibly difficult time. One preoccupation was with music. In the New York Times Magazine's annual Music Issue, they have selected nineteen songs that made a big impact on listeners in 2020. What is explored is not only how the pandemic has affected our relationship to music but how these songs stimulated us, helping to actually bring us closer together while separated.

Click below to read the article:

19 Songs That Matter Right Now

THE RETURN OF DANCE MUSIC

There is no doubt that 2020 was a very challenging year. But thankfully we had music to help soothe us throughout these turbulent last twelve months. One of the highlights was the resurgence of dance music which has always brought joy and comfort during difficult times. This music was certainly important during the AIDS crisis and it's not surprising that dance is the direction that people gravitated towards this year, even though you couldn't get anywhere near a dance floor.

There were several great albums released; Lady Gaga's "Chromatica", Jessie Ware's "What's Your Pleasure", Dua Lipa's "Future Nostalgia", Charli XCX's quarantine-created album, "how i’m feeling now" and Kylie Minogue's aptly titled, "Disco" to name just a few that unabashedly made dance a central part of their sound. 

Vulture has assembled twenty-one of the best dance songs from 2020 that looked back on classic disco for inspiration and delivered fresh, reflective sounds that briefly assisted in helping us forget about all of the troubles happening in the world.

Click below to read the article:

The Best Dance and Disco Songs of 2020

2020 GRAMMY AWARD NOMINATIONS

When the Grammy Awards made the decision to make all categories gender-neutral in 2011, I was very concerned about the idea. With our society long being male-dominated, I was afraid that would be reflected in the nominations for music's highest honor. Initially, the nominations were fairly equal (much to my surprise) yet as time went on there began a shift with men gradually receiving far more recognition. This culminated in 2018 with women being barely acknowledged and receiving only seventeen awards out of eighty-six categories. And when this was called out, the then-President of the Recording Academy essentially told women that if they wanted to be a part of the industry they needed to "step up".

But with the recent announcement of the Grammy Award nominations for 2020, there was a notable shift in who received recognition. Women dominated this year in all categories and made historical firsts in the nominations. Beyoncé leads the pack with nine nominations which includes the single that celebrated Black culture and activism, "Black Parade" while Dua Lipa (for her dance-pop collection, "Future Nostalgia") and Taylor Swift (for the indie-rock album, "Folklore" created during quarantine) both followed with six each. In addition to Swift and Lipa, Jhené Aiko, with her alt-soul collection, "Chilombo" and the sister trio, Haim for their pop-rock album, "Women in Music Pt. III" also received nominations for Album of the Year. Other women who did well include alt-rocker, Brittany Howard with five for her debut solo album, "Jamie" along with Phoebe Bridgers, Billie Eilish and one of the hottest artists of the year, hip-hop performer, Megan Thee Stallion who all received four. And in the Best New Artist category, six of the eight performers nominated are women and in a major first, there are only females recognized for Best Rock Performance and the Best Country Album category has only female-led acts. 

Men weren't ignored entirely with Post Malone for his album, "Hollywood's Bleeding", alt-rockers, Coldplay's "Everyday Life", psychedelic soul act, Black Pumas and their self-titled debut album and (a bit of a head-scratcher), Jacob Collier, the twenty-six year old, British multi-instrumentalist and his jazz-pop collection, "Djesse Vol. 3" round out the Album of The Year category. Roddy Ricch, with his breakout hip-hop track, "The Box", received six nominations while Justin Bieber and DaBaby follow with four each. 

The 63rd Annual Grammy Awards will be held on January 31, 2021  March 14, 2021 under COVID-19 restrictions. The comedian, Trevor Noah will serve as host for the first time. 
 

Here is a partial list of the nominations for the 2020 Grammy Awards: 

Album of the Year:

"Chilombo" - Jhene Aiko
"Black Pumas (Deluxe)" - Black Pumas
"Everyday Life" - Coldplay
"Djesse Vol. 3" - Jacob Collier
"Women in Music Pt. III" - Haim
"Future Nostalgia" - Dua Lipa
"Hollywood’s Bleeding" - Post Malone
"Folklore" - Taylor Swift

Record of the Year:

"Black Parade" - Beyoncé
"Colors" - Black Pumas
"Rockstar" - DaBaby and Roddy Ricch
"Say So" -Doja Cat
"Everything I Wanted" - Billie Eilish
"Don’t Start Now" - Dua Lipa
"Circles" - Post Malone
"Savage" - Megan Thee Stallion featuring Beyoncé

Song of the Year:

"Black Parade" - Denisia Andrews, Beyoncé, Stephen Bray, Shawn Carter, Brittany Coney, Derek James Dixie, Akil King, Kim “Kaydence” Krysiuk & Rickie “Caso” Tice (Beyoncé)
"The Box" - Samuel Gloade & Rodrick Moore (Roddy Ricch)
"Cardigan" - Aaron Dessner & Taylor Swift (Taylor Swift)
"Circles" - Louis Bell, Adam Feeney, Kaan Gunesberk, Austin Post & Billy Walsh (Post Malone)
"Don’t Start Now" - Caroline Ailin, Ian Kirkpatrick, Dua Lipa & Emily Warren (Dua Lipa)
"Everything I Wanted" - Billie Eilish O’Connell & Finneas O’Connell (Billie Eilish)
"I Can’t Breathe" - Dernst Emile II, H.E.R. & Tiara Thomas (H.E.R.)
"If the World Was Ending" - Julia Michaels & JP Saxe (JP Saxe & Julia Michaels)

Best New Artist:

Ingrid Andress
Phoebe Bridgers
Chika
Noah Cyrus
D Smoke
Doja Cat
Kaytranada
Megan Thee Stallion

Best Pop Solo Performance:

"Yummy" - Justin Bieber
"Say So" - Doja Cat
"Everything I Wanted" - Billie Eilish
"Don’t Start Now" - Dua Lipa
"Watermelon Sugar" - Harry Styles
"Cardigan" - Taylor Swift

Best Pop Duo/Group Performance:

"Un Día (One Day)" - J. Balvin, Dua Lipa, Bad Bunny and Tainy
"Intentions,” Justin Bieber and Quavo
"Dynamite" - BTS
"Rain On Me" Lady Gaga and Ariana Grande
"Exile" -Taylor Swift and Bon Iver

Best Pop Vocal Album:

"Changes" - Justin Bieber
"Chromatica" - Lady Gaga
"Future Nostalgia" - Dua Lipa
"Fine Line" - Harry Styles
"Folklore" - Taylor Swift

Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album:

"Blue Umbrella" - Burt Bacharach and Daniel Tashain
"True Love: A Celebration of Cole Porter" - Harry Connick Jr.
"American Standard" - James Taylor
"Unfollow the Rules" - Rufus Wainwright
"Judy" - Renee Zellweger

Best Rock Performance:

"Shameika" - Fiona Apple
"Not" - Big Thief
"Kyoto" - Phoebe Bridgers
"The Steps" - Haim
"Stay High" - Brittany Howard
"Daylight" - Grace Potter

Best Rock Song:

"Kyoto" - Phoebe Bridgers, Morgan Nagler and Mashall Vore (Phoebe Bridgers)
"Lost In Yesterday" - Kevin Parker (Tame Impala)
"Not" - Adrianne Lenker (Big Thief)
"Shameika" - Fiona Apple (Fiona Apple)
"Stay High" - Brittany Howard (Brittany Howard)

Best Rock Album:

"A Hero’s Death" - Fontaines D.C.
"Kiwanuka" - Michael Kiwanuka
"Daylight" - Grace Potter
"Sound & Fury" - Sturgill Simpson
"The New Abnormal" - The Strokes

Best Alternative Album:

"Hyperspace" - Beck
"Fetch the Bolt Cutters" - Fiona Apple
"Punisher" - Phoebe Bridgers
"Jaime" - Brittany Howard
"The Slow Rush" - Tame Impala

Best Dance Recording:

"On My Mind,” Diplo & Sidepiece
"My High" - Disclosure Featuring Aminé & Slowthai
"The Difference" - Flume featuring Toro y Moi
"Both Of Us" - Jayda D
"10%" - Kaytranada featuring Kali Uchis

Best Dance/Electronic Album:

"Kick I" - Arca
"Planet’s Mad" - Baauer
"Energy" - Disclosure
"Bubb" - Kaytranada
"Good Faith" - Madeon

Best R&B Performance:

"Lightning and Thunder,” Jhené Aiko Featuring John Legend
"Black Parade" - Beyoncé
"All I Need" - Jacob Collier Featuring Mahalia & Ty Dolla $ign
"Goat Head" - Brittany Howard
"See Me" - Emily King

Best Traditional R&B Performance:

"Sit On Down" - The Baylor Project Featuring Jean Baylor & Marcus Baylor
"Wonder What She Thinks of Me" - Chloe X Halle
"Let Me Go" - Mykal Kilgore
"Anything For You" - Ledisi
"Distance" - Yebba

Best R&B Song:

"Better Than I Imagine" - Robert Glasper, Meshell Ndegeocello & Gabriella Wilson (Robert Glasper Featuring H.E.R and Meshell Ndegeocello)
"Black Parade" - Denisia Andrews, Beyoncé, Stephen Bray, Shawn Carter, Brittany Coney, Derek James Dixie, Akil King, Kim “Kaydence” Krysiuk & Rickie “Caso” Tice (Beyoncé)
"Collide" - Sam Barsh, Stacey Barthe, Sonyae Elise, Olu Fann, Akil King, Josh Lopez, Kaveh Rastegar & Benedetto Rotondi (Tiana & EARTHGANG)
"Do It" - Chloe Bailey, Halle Bailey, Anton Kuhl, Victoria Monét, Scott Storch & Vincent Van Den Ende (Chloe X Halle)
"Slow Down" - Nasri Atweh, Badriia Bourelly, Skip Marley, Ryan Williamson & Gabriella Wilson (Skip Marley & H.E.R.)

Best Progressive R&B Album:

"Chilombo" - Jhene Aiko
"Ungodly Hour" - Chloe X Halle
"Free Nationals" - Free Nationals
"F*** Yo Feelings" - Robert Glasper
"It Is What It Is" - Thundercat

Best R&B Album:

"Happy 2 Be Here" - Any Clemons
"Take Time" - Giveon
"To Feel Loved" - Luke James
"Bigger Love" - John Legend
"All Rise" - Gregory Porter

Best Rap Performance:

"Deep Reverence" - Big Sean featuring Nipsey Hustle
"Bop" - Da Baby
"What’s Poppin" - Jack Harlow
"The Bigger Picture" - Lil Baby
"Savage" - Megan Thee Stallion featuring Beyoncé
"Dior" - Pop Smoke

Best Melodic Rap Performance:

"Rockstar" - Da Baby feat. Roddy Ricch
"Laugh Now, Cry Later" _ Drake feat. Lil Durk
"Lockdown" - Anderson.Paak
"The Box" - Roddy Ricch
"HIGHEST IN THE ROOM" - Travis Scott

Best Rap Album:

"Black Habits" - D Smoke
"Alfredo" - Freddie Gibbs & The Alchemist
"A Written Testimony" - Jay Electronica
"King’s Disease" - Nas
"The Allegory" - Royce Da 5’9”

Best Rap Song:

"The Bigger Picture" - Dominique Jones, Noah Pettigrew & Rai’shaun Williams (Lil Baby)
"The Box" - Samuel Gloade & Rodrick Moore (Roddy Ricch)
"Laugh Now, Cry Later" - Durk Banks, Rogét Chahayed, Aubrey Graham, Daveon Jackson, Ron LaTour & Ryan Martinez (Drake featuring Lil Durk)
"Rockstar" - Jonathan Lyndale Kirk, Ross Joseph Portaro IV & Rodrick Moore (Da Baby featuring Roddy Ricch)
"Savage" - Beyoncé, Shawn Carter, Brittany Hazzard, Derrick Milano, Terius Nash, Megan Pete, Bobby Session Jr., Jordan Kyle Lanier Thorpe & Anthony White (Megan Thee Stallion featuring Beyoncé)

Best Country Solo Performance:

"Stick That In Your Country Song" - Eric Church
"Who You Thought I Was" - Brandy Clark
"When My Amy Prays" - Vince Gill
"Black Like Me" - Mickey Guyton
"Bluebird" - Miranda Lambert

Best Country Duo/Group Performance:

"All Night" - Brothers Osbourne
"10,000 Hours" - Dan + Shay & Justin Bieber
"Ocean" - Lady A
"Sugar Coat" - Little Big Town
"Some People Do" - Old Dominion

Best Country Song:

"Bluebird" - Luke Dick, Natalie Hemby & Miranda Lambert (Miranda Lambert)
"The Bones" - Maren Morris, Jimmy Robbins & Laura Veltz (Maren Morris)
"Crowded Table" - Brandi Carlile, Natalie Hemby & Lori McKenna (The Highwomen)
"More Hearts Than Mine" - Ingrid Andress, Sam Ellis & Derrick Southerland (Ingrid Andress)
"Some People Do" - Jesse Frasure, Shane McAnally, Matthew Ramsey & Thomas Rhett, songwriters (Old Dominion)

Best Country Album:

"Lady Like" - Ingrid Andress
"Your Life is a Record" - Brandy Clark
"Wildcard" - Miranda Lambert
"Nightfall" - Little Big Town
"Never Will" - Ashley McBryde

Best Americana Album:

"Old Flowers" - Courtney Marie Andrews
"Terms Of Surrender" - Hiss Golden Messenger
"World On The Ground" - Sarah Jarosz
"El Dorado" - Marcus King
"Good Souls Better Angels" - Lucinda Williams

Best Jazz Vocal Album:

"Ona" - Thana Alexa
"Secrets Are The Best Stories" - Kurt Elling Featuring Danilo Pérez
"Modern Ancestors" - Carmen Lundy
"Holy Room: Live at Alte Oper" - Somi With Frankfurt Radio Big Band
"What’s The Hurry" - Kenny Washington

Best Latin Jazz Album:

"Tradiciones" - Afro-Peruvian Jazz Orchestra
"Four Questions" - Arturo O’Farrill & The Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra
"City of Dreams" - Chico Pinheiro
"Viento y Tiempo: Live at Blue Note Tokyo" - Gonzalo Rubalcaba & Aymée Nuviola
"Trane’s Delight" - Poncho Sanchez

Best Compilation Soundtrack For Visual Media:

"A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood" - Various Artists
"Bill & Ted Face the Music" - Various Artists
"Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga" - Various Artists
"Frozen 2" - Various Artists
"JoJo Rabbit" - Various Artists

Best Music Video:

"Brown Skin Girl" - Beyoncé
"Life Is Good" - Future Featuring Drake
"Lockdown" - Anderson.Paak
"Adore You" - Harry Styles
"Goliath" - Woodkid

Producer of the Year (Non-Classical):

Jack Antonoff
Dan Auerbach
Dave Cobb
Flying Lotus
Andrew Watt

NEW SOUNDS

I have always had a take or leave attitude towards Miley Cyrus, usually leave in most cases. However with the recently dropped single from the twenty-seven year old performer, "Midnight Sky", I really loved the song after the first listen. This sparkling dance-pop track utilizes classic disco (and samples "Edge of Seventeen" from Stevie Nicks) to tell a story about finding inner strength and self-love through challenging times. This is the first single from "She is Miley Cyrus", the long-delayed seventh studio album from the singer which had been postponed due to some personal struggles including her marriage and separation with actor, Liam Hemsworth and the shutdown of the world due to the Coronavirus. There is no exact release date yet for the album.



While Dua Lipa's latest album, "Future Nostalgia" was already dance-floor ready, the British singer decided to take it up another notch. And that has lead to "Club Future Nostalgia", a remix collection of songs from the record that takes them in some interesting new directions. This mixtape forges 1990's house with 2020 pop music and a splash of 1980's soul. The first single released is "Levitating" which was remixed by the DJ, The Blessed Madonna and features Missy Elliott and the Queen of Pop, Madonna. It's been revealed that Mark Ronson will take on the song, "Physical" with Gwen Stefani but no additional info on other tracks has been made available at this time. But the album will be out on August 28th.



Alicia Keys has released another song from her forthcoming album simply called, "Alicia". "So Gone" is a guitar-driven ballad that teams the singer with the young alt-r&b artist, Khalid which results in a thrilling meeting of classic and contemporary soul. I love the music video which features actress, Sasha Lane. The clip, which takes place at a prom with Keys and Khalid as the live entertainment, humorously looks at our youth's obsession with their phones and creating social media content instead of interacting with the people right next to them.



Finally we have another generational musical pairing but this time in country music. The rising alt-country artist from Canada, Orville Peck comes together with fellow Canadian, the legendary, Shaina Twain on the new song, "Legends Never Die". This is the latest track from Peck's recently released EP, "Show Pony" which pays tribute to the style of country music he grew-up listening to and also features a cover of Bobbie Gentry's 1970 classic, "Fancy". The music video cleverly uses social distancing with Peck and Twain performing the song at a drive-in. I love seeing these two over-the-top performers, who never fitted comfortably in the traditional country music format, come together on this great track.

HOT AND FRESH OUT THE KITCHEN

Dua Lipa has provided a song for the upcoming action movie, "Alita: Battle Angel" and it looks like another hit for the hot, young singer from Britain. "Swan Song", which Lipa co-wrote with American hit-maker, Justin Tranter and an army of Swedish producers, is an empowerment anthem about staying focused and never losing faith which seems to fit perfectly with the theme of the film's cyber-punk manga character.



Country star, Maren Morris had one of the biggest pop hits of last year when she teamed-up with dance music producers, Zedd and Grey on "The Middle". This worldwide smash single received three Grammy nominations including Record of the Year. Many were curious if she would pull a "Taylor Swift" and abandon his country music success for the universal appeal of pop for her next album. We now have some idea as Morris has just dropped a new single called "Girl". While she sticks to her roots on this uplifting ballad in support of womanhood, the guitar-driven song will still be appealing to her newfound fans. No exact date has been set for the release of the follow-up album to her 2016 debut, "Hero" but Morris is preparing to hit the road for the Girl World Tour which will begin in March.



Ariana Grande may have another hit on hands with "7 Rings" but this time it's mired in a little controversy. Not one but two different artists have accused the singer of ripping off their music with 2 Chainz and New York rapper, Princess Nokia rumbling with accusations of "7 Rings" sounding too much like their songs. Ever since the ridiculous court ruling against Robin Thicke and Pharrell Williams over their "Blurred Lines" sounding too much like Marvin Gaye's 1977 song, "Got To Give It Up", it seems like even more artists are claiming their work is being stolen by other musicians. Now let's just keep it real; there isn't anything truly "original" anymore. You can find an influence of someone else's previous work in all of the arts. It's just that some of the "inspiration" is more obvious in some cases than with others. Here is the music video for Grande's tune and then you can listen to 2 Chainz's 2011 song, "Spend It" which he claims was used for her song. While there is certainly a similarity between the hook of the two songs, you be the judge:





And here is a fun take-off of "7 Rings" featuring Nyle DiMarco, the deaf male model who first found fame after winning on the reality competition show, "America's Top Model" and later the champ on "Dancing With The Stars" in 2016. The clip, directed by Jake Wilson, has DiMarco recreating Grande's video while signing the lyrics.

MY FAVORITE MOMENTS IN MUSIC IN 2018

I think 2018 was a great year in music that offered something for everyone. While hip-hop and rap continued to dominate the music industry, I'm particularly thrilled that good old-fashioned soul music found it's way back on the airwaves and the charts. We had young, new artists like Ella Mai, H.E.R., Daniel Caesar and Jorja Smith who are reviving the r&b tradition and the return of classic performers like Toni Braxton, Tank, Mary J. Blige, Ledisi and Tamia whose new music was actually getting played on radio. This is one trend I hope continues in to 2019. And to close out 2018, here are a few songs that I loved last year that I didn't get a chance to share: