RANDOM SIGHTS + SOUNDS

Kylie Minogue had released the album, "Disco" late in 2020, in part, to serve as inspiration to get people back on the dance floor after spending most of the year in isolation. And this fifteenth studio album has gone on to become one of Minogue's most popular, leading to a sequel of sorts with "Disco: Guest List Edition" which includes remixes of the singles from the album and new dance songs with duets featuring Jessie Ware, Years & Years and the disco legend, Gloria Gaynor. The music video for the latest single, "Can't Stop Writing Songs About You" with Gaynor has just been released, with these two dancing queens helping to bring a disco to life.



Here is a highlight of some interesting songs that I love :

If you may recall, New Kids of the Block (which is probably not a great name for a group whose members are now in their fifties) was a pop boy-band, made up of Jonathan Knight, Jordan Knight, Joey McIntyre, Donnie Wahlberg and Danny Wood, who were wildly popular in the late '80's and early '90's with such songs as "You Got It (The Right Stuff)", "Step by Step" and "Hangin' Tough" before disbanding in 1994. They first reunited fourteen years later and have continued to come together over the years to tour. Now NKOTB plans to hit the road this summer with another Mixtape Tour that will include other musical acts that were popular during their time; Salt-N-Pepa, Rick Astley, and En Vogue. And to help get people in the mood, the band has released a new song and video, "Bring Back the Time" that features their tour mates. This fun clip has the musicians spoofing music videos of different artists from the height of the MTV era. Let's see how many of these you will remember:

And the former member of the British boy-band, One Direction, Harry Styles has just dropped some new music. After the incredible success of his first two solo albums, fans have been anxiously waiting to hear what he will do next and Styles does not disappoint. The twenty-eight year old musician has been greatly inspired by the music from the past and with "As It Was", he delivers an '80's new wave vibe. Written by Styles with Kid Harpoon and Tyler Johnson (who also co-produced), the song is an introspective look at change and a feeling of loneliness. "As It Was" broke Spotify’s single-day streaming record by a male artist with 16.1 million streams in its first 24 hours. This is the first track off of Styles' upcoming album, "Harry's House" due out in May.

MY TUNE OF THE DAY

I am sure everyone is familiar with the empowerment anthem, "I Will Survive" made famous by Gloria Gaynor back in 1978. It was released in the glory days of disco and has endured to become a true classic as it was inducted in to the National Recording Registry for preservation and was the only winner of the very short-lived Grammy Award for Best Disco Recording.

While many people love this popular song, I have to admit I've never been much of a fan. I do admire the reassuring lyrics but (and really no shade intended) I think that Gaynor's take of the song is just okay and actually tend to turn the channel when it’s playing on the radio.

There have been several interesting covers of "I Will Survive" that have been made over the years from Diana Ross to alt-rockers, Cake. But my favorite is by Chantay Savage. The r&b vocalist transformed it in to a moving ballad in 1996 and it became a modest success. This version made it to number twelve in the UK, peaked at number twenty-four on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 and reached the top-five on the r&b/hip-hop chart.

RANDOM SIGHTS + SOUNDS

There will be LGBT pride celebrations starting this month and throughout the summer. In honor of that, here is an classic tune from the musical, "La Cage aux Folles" that still perfectly serves as an anthem for self-love and respect. Enjoy Gloria Gaynor's dance version of "I Am What I Am":

"I Am What I Am" - Gloria Gaynor (1983) mp3

Also in time for Pride, W Hotels and the Humans Right Campaign have teamed up with Jennifer Hudson to support marriage equality with this beautiful video for her song, "I Still Love You". Share your support with #TURNITUPFORCHANGE:



I've dug up a few more vintage dance tunes that share the theme involving men. Sure, they haven't aged well but they still can get the party started right:

"Macho Man" - Village People (1978) mp3

"So Many Men, So Little Time" - Miquel Brown (1983) mp3

"I Love Men" - Eartha Kitt (1984) mp3

I have to say I strongly disliked Rihanna's latest song, "Bitch Better Have My Money" but Kelly Clarkson must of heard something she liked. The singer cleaned it up, gave it a soulful spin and managed to make it worth another listen during a live performance on the BBC Live Lounge program:



Speaking of Ms Clarkson, she does have her own new music out. Her seventh studio release, "Piece By Piece" came out in February and the first single, "Heartbeat Song" is a solid pop tune but it's chart performance was slightly underwhelming. I think the follow-up, "Invincible" should change that. This is another great song about empowerment that the big-voiced singer is well-known for but this time, it's co-written by fellow big-voiced singer, the very busy, Sia:

"Invincible" - Kelly Clarkson (2015) mp3

Finally, we have former "RuPaul's Drag Race" contestant, Courtney Act serving female realness, both visually and vocally, on her new single, "Ecstasy"