Normani, a member of the girl-group. Fifth Harmony who are on an indefinite hiatus, has been actively moving on as a solo performer but has recently become the Queen of the duets. Following her successful collaborations with Khalid, 6lack, and Calvin Harris, the only twenty-two year old singer has recently teamed-up with another prominent pop artist; Sam Smith.
"Dancing With a Stranger" is a song Smith wrote while on tour supporting his last album, "The Thrill of It All" and by chance he was in the recording studio at the same time Normani was there. As a big fan of her band, Smith jumped at the chance to invite her to sing with him on the track. This sensual, mid-tempo dance tune is a perfect way to kick off the year.
After it was announced that Camila Cabello was departing Fifth Harmony, the X-Factor created female singing group, at the height of their success to pursue a solo career, my initial reaction to the news was that we would never hear from her again. But how very wrong I was.
She had already begun taking steps to break out on her own while she was still in the group by collaborating with Shawn Mendes on a duet they wrote together, “I Know What You Did Last Summer”. The song reached the top twenty on the U.S. pop chart and then Cabello provided the hook on Machine Gun Kelly’s single, “Bad Things”. This song made it to number four on the pop charts in 2016 and Cabello was soon out of Fifth Harmony and ready to get to work on a solo album.
Cabello first continued working with other artists on their singles including a song for the “The Fate of the Furious” soundtrack which she teamed up with Pitbull and J. Balvin on “Hey Ma” with the Spanish-language remix doing very well in Latin America. Her first official single as a solo artist was “Crying In the Club” and released last May. It was a modest success but didn’t really make her particularly noticeable in the crowded dance-pop field. It would be her follow-up that would cause a major shift in her aspiring career.
Using her Cuban heritage for inspiration, the Miami-raised singer co-wrote “Havana”, a sensual, mid-tempo dance track driven by a Latin-flavored beat. This song became an international smash last year, reaching number one in several countries including Britain and the U.S. This prompted Cabello to alter the direction of her debut album and "Camila" which was released last month, features far more elements of Latin music and r&b than was originally planned. This certainly helped the twenty year old singer stand out and the album debuted at number one on the U.S. Billboard 200 album chart. Enjoy a sample of a few of my favorite tracks from the album:
First up, here are some interesting music videos I like:
After taking some time off to get married and have her first child (it's a girl!) last year, Jessie Ware didn't seem to have wasted anytime getting back to music. The British songstress has just released two new songs. "Midnight" is a haunting uptempo ballad delivering what we love about Ms Ware as it features her sensual vocals and sophisticated songwriting. While "Selfish Love" is another ballad but guitar-driven with a slight bossa-nova beat that presents a completely different vibe from the singer. Look for her upcoming third album, "Glasshouse" in October. In the meantime, check out the music videos for these songs:
I recently just heard one of his songs from back in the day and it made me wonder; what happened to Christopher Cross? This singer, born Christopher Geppert and originally from San Antonio, Texas, released his debut album back in 1979 and it was an immediate success. His collection of soft rock tunes included the hits, "Ride Like The Wind", "Never Be The Same" and the number one single, "Sailing" which helped sell five million copies of the album. Cross would go on to win five Grammy Awards including Best New Artist and Album of The Year. His follow-up album in 1983, "Another Page", continued the hits with "Think of Laura", "All Right" and included "Arthur's Theme (Best That You Can Do)" from the Dudley Moore comedy, "Arthur" which would go on to win an Oscar for Best Original Song. But after all this immediate pop success, the easy-listening rock of Christopher Cross soon wasn't having much of an impact on the charts. He's still around making music and about to embark on a cross-country North American tour. Here are a couple of songs that I love from Christopher Cross:
Another year has come and gone and with it, a year's worth of great music. I shared some my favorite songs throughout 2015 but here are a few more that loved I want to recognize:
