Damiano David, the front man for the popular Italian rock band, Måneskin, has recently released a side project. David, along with fellow musicians, Victoria De Angelis, Thomas Raggi and Ethan Torchio, first came together to form a band as high school students in Rome back in 2016. They chose the name "Måneskin" (which means "Moonlight" in Danish) and developed their skills by playing on the streets for tips. The band soon worked their way on to the Italian version of "X-Factor", finishing in second place. This lead to a recording contract with Måneskin releasing their first album, "Il ballo della vita" that featured a mix of Italian and English-language rock songs. Måneskin's next big achievement was representing Italy in the Eurovision Song Contest in 2021 and creating a bit of an upset by winning the finals with their song, "Zitti e buoni (quiet and well-behaved)". This victory helped to drive even more buzz for the band with their previous recordings receiving some new found interest throughout Europe including their cover of the Four Seasons' 1967 hit, "Beggin'" that reached the top-ten in the UK and even charting in the US.
The twenty-six year old singer's debut solo album, "Funny Little Fears" is a clear shift in musical direction from his band, with a softer, pure pop sound. David began writing for the album in Los Angeles (in part to be closer to his current girlfriend, musician Dove Cameron), working with numerous songwriters and producers, and ended up with about seventy songs. This was narrowed down to fourteen English-language tracks which expressed a more personal and sensitive side of the artist, songs that might not fit as well with his band. David plans to hit the road this fall, beginning in Warsaw on Septemeber 11th, that will take him around the world to promote the album.
Here is a collection of new music that I'm connecting with at the moment: Devonté Hynes, better known as the British performer and producer, Blood Orange, has a new track that features the Durutti Column, Tariq Al-Sabir, Caroline Polachek and Daniel Caesar; Christine and the Queens join forces with disco legend, Cerrone for a cover of his 1977 hit, "Supernature" which is remixed by Purple Disco Machine; the pop stylist, Kim Petras is back with "Polo" that has her in a techno-driven vibe; Tinashe teams up with DJ and producer,Disco Lines for a remix to proclaim she wants "No Broke Boys" and an inspired paring of Norah Jones and John Legend with "Summertime Blue"
I am sad to report that Walter Scott, one of the original members of the r&b group, The Whispers that found fame beginning in the post-disco era and shared lead vocal duties with his identical twin, Wallace, passed away on June 26th at the age of eighty-two. Formed in Watts, CA in 1963 with the Scott brothers along with Gordy Harmon, Marcus Hutson, and Nicholas Caldwell, The Whispers first became known as a thrilling live act. Harmon became seriously injured in a car accident in 1973 and was replaced by Friends of Distinction member, Leaveil Degree. The Whispers would get a recording contract but struggled to gain some traction with their music. By 1978, they signed with Solar Records and finally hit it big with the dance tune, "And The Beat Goes On". The song was their first number-one single on the r&b chart and crossed over to the Billboard Hot 100, peaking at number nineteen. More hits followed with "It's a Love Thing", "Keep On Lovin' Me" and "Rock Steady" which became their highest charting on the US pop chart, reaching number seven and their second number one on the R&B chart.
And Calvin Yarbrough of the r&b duo, Yarbrough & Peoples has died on June 19th at the age of seventy-one. Yarbrough and Alisa Peoples both grew up in Dallas, TX, and they had met taking piano lessons as young children. They grew-up to become professional musicians together and formed a group first called Grand Theft. An encounter on the road had them meeting Charlie, Ronnie, and Robert Wilson, who are better known as The Gap Band, and they introduced them to Lonnie Simmons, a songwriter and producer who went on to work with them to help put together their first album. In 1981, Yarbrough & Peoples released their debut, "The Two of Us" which featured, "Don't Stop the Music," that went to number one on the US Billboard R&B chart and also reached the pop chart, making it as far as number nineteen. This would become the most popular song by the duo (who would later marry in 1987) but had four more top-ten R&B hits before heading back to Dallas to start their own music production company in 1986.
One week after the uncomfortably dramatic events at the Oscars, the 64th annual Grammy Awards have put on their show following a decision to postpone from their January 31st date after a surge of the omicron variant. Unable to secure a venue in LA due to the date change, the Grammys moved to Las Vegas for the very first time, holding the event at the MGM Grand Garden Arena. Trevor Noah returned to host again, effectively delivering some much needed positive enthusiasm with his humor more good natured than biting. I guess it was unavoidable not to have the Will Smith incident mentioned at some point but it was brief (with Noah and Questlove, who had his winning moment upstaged by Smith's antics, both making quick jokes) and actually funny.
I don't know if it had anything to do with the location change or simply having the ability to perform once again in front of a large, mask-less crowd proved to be inspiring but every single performance throughout the night was absolutely electrifying. This event, for the first time in a long time, came across much more like a true celebration of music. And as Noah stated, the Grammys are like a concert where they give out awards.
Now even though there were not any bad moments, I still had some favorite performances. Following a taped message by President Volodymyr Zelensky, John Legend paid an emotional tribute to the people of Ukraine with a moving, new song, "Free" accompanied by Ukrainian performers, Mika Newton, Sluzanna Iglidan and Lyuba Yakimchuk. Chris Stapleton brought a blast of the blues to his country sound with a riveting rendition of "Cold". H.E.R. had a moment when she had Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis join her on "Damage" (which samples their song, "Making Love in the Rain") and then teamed up with rockers, Travis Barker and Lenny Kravitz to cover Kravitz's "Are You Gonna Go My Way". While the musicianship of BTS could certainly be up for debate, there is no denying that this K-pop boy band, who performed a thrilling version of their English-language hit, "Butter", are exceptional entertainers. And the In Memoriam began with a tribute to Taylor Hawkins, the drummer of Foo Fighters, who passed away almost two weeks ago and was supposed to appear on the show with his band who won three awards this evening. The rest of the segment featured Cynthia Erivo, Leslie Odom Jr., Ben Platt and Rachel Zegler, exquisitely blending their voices together to perform a medley of songs by Stephen Sondheim, which honored the award-winning theatrical composer who also passed away last year.
Jon Batiste went into the evening with the most nominations at eleven and ended up taking home the most Grammys with five including Album of the Year. Not only was the musician and bandleader one of the major highlights with his rollicking performance of "Freedom" but Batiste delivered one of the more meaningful acceptance speeches of the night. Silk Sonic, the retro-soul duo made up of Bruno Mars and Anderson .Paak, also did well, winning four awards that included Record and Song of the Year. They kicked off the show with "777", an appropriately themed tune about gambling from their slick, bedroom-ready album, "An Evening with Silk Sonic". Olivia Rodrigo, the nineteen year old who became one of the biggest pop stars of last year with her international smash debut, "Drivers License", won three Grammys including Best New Artist. On stage, she may have displayed the nervous energy of a novice yet remained a captivating force throughout her performance.
And special mention must be made about Lady Gaga who not only delivered a spectacular jazz number, paying loving tribute to her ailing musical partner, Tony Bennett (who at ninety-five had to retire last year due to the progression of his Alzheimer's disease) with "Love For Sale" and "Do I Love You?", but continued to display what a thoughtful and kind human being she is; small, simple gestures like making sure a very frail Liza Minnelli knew she had her at the Oscars and helping winner, SZA with the train of her dress as she struggled to the stage this evening on crutches. Gaga is truly a class act and could probably educate Smith on how to actually shine a light and uplift your fellow man.
Here is a partial list of the winners of the 2022 Grammy Awards:
Album of the Year: "We Are" - Jon Batiste
Record of the Year: "Leave The Door Open" - Silk Sonic
Song of the Year: "Leave the Door Open" - Silk Sonic - Brandon Anderson, Christopher Brody Brown, Dernst Emile II & Bruno Mars (songwriters)
Best New Artist: Olivia Rodrigo
Best Pop Vocal Album: "Sour" - Olivia Rodrigo
Best Pop Solo Performance: "Drivers License" - Olivia Rodrigo
Best Pop Duo or Group Performance: "Kiss Me More" - Doja Cat featuring SZA
Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album: "Love for Sale" - Tony Bennett & Lady Gaga
Best Dance/Electronic Music Album: "Subconsciously" - Black Coffee
Best Dance Recording: "Alive" - Rüfüs Du Sol
Best Rap Album: "Call Me If You Get Lost" - Tyler, the Creator
Best Rap Performance: "Family Ties" - Baby Keem and Kendrick Lamar
Best Melodic Rap Performance: "Hurricane" - Kanye West featuring the Weeknd and Lil Baby
Best Rap Song: "Jail" - Kanye West and Jay-Z - Dwayne Abernathy, Jr., Shawn Carter, Raul Cubina, Michael Dean, Charles M. Njapa, Sean Solymar, Kanye West and Mark Williams (songwriters)
Best R&B Album: "Heaux Tales" - Jazmine Sullivan
Best R&B Performance: "Leave The Door Open" - Silk Sonic and "Pick Up Your Feelings" - Jazmine Sullivan (tie)
Best Traditional R&B Performance: "Fight For You" - H.E.R.
Best R&B Song: "Leave The Door Open" - Silk Sonic - Brandon Anderson, Christopher Brody Brown, Dernst Emile II and Bruno Mars (songwriters)
Best Progressive R&B Album: "Table for Two" - Lucky Daye
Best Country Album: "Starting Over" - Chris Stapleton
Best Country Solo Performance: "You Should Probably Leave" - Chris Stapleton
Best Country Duo or Group Performance: "Younger Me" - Brothers Osborne
Best Country Song: "Cold" - Chris Stapleton - Dave Cobb, J.T. Cure, Derek Mixon and Chris Stapleton (songwriters)
Best Bluegrass Album: "My Bluegrass Heart" - Béla Fleck
Best Rock Album: "Medicine at Midnight" - Foo Fighters
Best Rock Performance: "Making a Fire" - Foo Fighters
Best Rock Song: "Waiting on a War" - Foo Fighters - Dave Grohl, Taylor Hawkins, Rami Jaffee, Nate Mendel, Chris Shiflett and Pat Smear (songwriters)
Best Metal Performance: "The Alien" - Dream Theater
Best Alternative Music Album: "Daddy’s Home" - St. Vincent
Best Latin Pop Album: "Mendó" - Alex Cuba
Best Musica Urbana Album: "El Último Tour Del Mundo" - Bad Bunny
Best Latin Rock or Alternative Album: "Origen" - Juanes
Best Gospel Album: "Believe For It" - Cece Winans
Best Americana Album: "Native Sons" - Los Lobos
Best American Roots Performance: "Cry" - Jon Batiste
Best Jazz Vocal Album: "Songwrights Apothecary Lab" - Esperanza Spalding
Best Jazz Instrumental Album: "Skyline" - Ron Carter, Jack DeJohnette and Gonzalo Rubalcaba
Best Latin Jazz Album: "Mirror Mirror" - Eliane Elias with Chick Corea and Chucho Valdés
Best Reggae Album: "Beauty in the Silence" - SOJA
Best Spoken Word Album (Includes Poetry, Audio Books & Storytelling): "Carry On: Reflections for a New Generation from John Lewis" - Don Cheadle
Best Comedy Album: "Sincerely Louis CK" - Louis C.K.
Best Compilation Soundtrack For Visual Media: "The United States vs. Billie Holiday"
Best Score Soundtrack For Visual Media: "The Queen’s Gambit" and "Soul" (tie)
Best Song Written For Visual Media: "All Eyes on Me" from "Bo Burnham: Inside" - Bo Burnham (songwriter)
Best Music Video: "Freedom" - Jon Batiste
Producer Of The Year (Non-Classical): Jack Antonoff
After spending time making holiday music, mentoring aspiring singers on "The Voice" and dabbling in country-pop with her fiancé, Blake Shelton, Gwen Stefani is returning to her musical roots with the sounds of her band, No Doubt. The singer has just dropped a new song called, "Let Me Reintroduce Myself". This self-referential track, set to a ska beat, announces that this is not a comeback for Stefani but simply about reminding people she's still around. And while it's a clever idea, I don't think the song is strong enough to get Stefani comfortably back on the charts. But perhaps it still might introduce her to a new generation of fans. Check it out and judge for yourself:
Aluna Francis is one half of the British electronic duo, AlunaGeorge with George Reid who burst on to the scene in the US with a remix by DJ Snake of the single, "You Know You Like It" in 2014. After working with Reid for over ten years, Francis decided to take a break and create music on her own. Aluna has released her debut solo album, "Renaissance" and this collection dives deeper in to the roots of dance music, reaching back to African rhythms, funk, early 80's house and garage music. Aluna explores the history and contributions of Black artists in the genre and how dance is much more than EDM. It's an interesting album, filled with unexpected beats and sounds working very well together.
Here are a few new Christmas videos for your holiday enjoyment:
And finally in the category of "If It ain't broke, remake it", Todrick Hall has reworked his hit COVID-inspired tune and video, "Mask, Gloves, Soap, Scrubs" in to a holiday-themed new version entitled, "Bells, Bows, Gifts, Trees". Sure, it's a little lazy but still quite fun and clever. And the video will put you in a good mood and deliver a some much needed Christmas spirit.
Everything that has been going on over the last few months has certainly proven to be difficult with so much upheaval and complicated challenges all occurring at the same time. We will get through this but what will happen down the road remains the big question. After all of the protests and activism, will there be real change for African-Americans and other marginalized people in this country? I am hopeful and optimistic as this feels different this time with people from across the entire globe standing in support of the idea that Black lives matter. Yet I also remain skeptical. Movements have come and gone in the past with minimal change and a continuing lack of meaningful conversation regarding the history and on-going plight of African-Americans in this nation.
One thing that comes from any movement is an inspiration to create art. This work comes in all forms to speak on the times, express motivating objectives and provoke serious discussion. Here are a few recent songs that will help uplift, energize and empower in this fight towards justice:
One name that was unexpected to hear during the announcement at this year's Grammy Award nominations was Tanya Tucker. Professionally singing since she was thirteen, the now sixty-one year old country music legend has had plenty of ups and downs throughout her career. But she has received plenty of praise and attention with her twenty-fifth album, "While I'm Livin'" with it receiving four nominations including Song of The Year. It has been over fifteen years since Tucker's last studio record of original material with musicians, Shooter Jennings and Brandi Carlile (who had her own career breakthrough after her Grammy nominations in 2018) stepping in to produce. Carlile, a hard-core Tucker fan, wrote a majority of the album with Tim and Phil Hanseroth while three songs are covers including Miranda Lambert's 2010 hit, "The House That Built Me". My favorite track is the nominated, moving ballad, "Bring My Flowers Now", where the album's title comes from, which focuses on appreciating your loved ones while they are still around to be appreciated.
Here are some videos of new music that I'm enjoying right now:
Alicia Keys, who will be hosting the 2020 Grammys this weekend for the second year in a row, has just dropped a new single. "Underdog" is an inspirational song that brings attention to the people out there struggling while offering encouragement to never giving up on their dreams. This is a powerful message that we really need to hear right now. This is the third single which delivers another preview of music from Keys' upcoming seventh album, "ALICIA" due out in March.
Out of all the categories of the Grammy Awards, the one that remains the most questionable, divisive and maligned is Best New Artist. While many of the winners did go on to have enduring and admired careers like Sade, The Carpenters, Mariah Carey, Tom Jones, Bette Midler, Adele and The Beatles, there are just as many artists who won this award that never repeated their initial success and the winning of this Grammy was the highlight of their careers. Anyone remember The Swingle Singers, Bruce Hornsby and the Range, Starland Vocal Band, Marc Cohn, Debby Boone, Evanescence and Milli Vanilli, who actually had their award rescinded after it was discovered that the duo did not sing a note on their album. The Wrap does a run-down of all the Grammy winners of this prize and the other nominees in the category. Some of the surprising losers include Elton John, Led Zeppelin, Kanye West, The Eagles, Elvis Costello, Green Day and Luther Vandross.
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:
For his very first Christmas album, "A Legendary Christmas", John Legend has incorporated holiday classics with original songs he has co-written. With Raphael Saadiq handling production, Legend puts his spin on "Silver Bells", "Christmas Time Is Here" and "The Christmas Song" while hoping to create a new holiday classic with his songs, "No Place Like Home", "Wrap Me Up In Your Love" and "By Christmas Eve". Stevie Wonder and Esperanza Spalding drop by on a couple of tracks. If you would like to hear these songs live, be sure to catch Legend on the road to promote the album which he began in November and run through the end of this month. Enjoy the music video for his version of "Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas" and a live performance of his original tune, "Bring Me Love" from his television Christmas special which features his wife, Chrissy Teigen:
KATY PERRY
Katy Perry had previously released an original Christmas song about four years ago and she has just released another holiday single. "Cozy Little Christmas" is available exclusively through Amazon Music and Perry (who co-wrote and produced the track with Greg Wells and Ferras Alqaisi) delivers a fun and catchy pop song about not wanting expensive gifts and would be perfectly happy simply snuggling-up with a loved one during the holiday.
With the show just a few weeks away, the Oscars have announced who will be performing the nominees for Best Original Song during the telecast. This year, all the songs will be represented on the program with Lin-Manuel Miranda, the writer of "How Far I'll Go" from the Disney animated film, "Moana", performing the song along with the voice of the title character, Auli'i Cravalho. "The Empty Chair" from the documentary, "Jim: The James Foley Story" will be sung by writer, Sting. Justin Timberlake will do his inescapable pop hit, "Can't Stop The Feeling" he co-wrote for the animated film,"Trolls". And Emma Stone and Ryan Gosling will be spared embarrassing themselves in front of their peers by trying to sing live in front of them. Oscar-winner John Legend, who actually makes his living as a singer but made an acting appearance in the film, will perform the two songs nominated from the musical "La La Land", " "City of Stars" and "Audition (The Fools Who Dream)".
And who do I think will take the prize? Well, if it's a "La La Land" sweep as predicted, then " City of Stars" would be the best bet. If not, then perhaps Justin's feel-good "Trolls" song might sneak in there for the win. My personal choice would actually be "City of Stars" as it's a lovely, well-written, Hollywood-styled ballad that will stand the test of time.
But I guess we will have to tune in on February 26th to see who really wins during the 89th Annual Academy Awards. Here are the five nominees for your listening pleasure:
"Audition (The Fools Who Dream)" from "La La Land", Music by Justin Hurwitz; Lyric by Benj Pasek and Justin Paul
"Can’t Stop the Feeling" from "Trolls", Music and Lyric by Justin Timberlake, Max Martin and Karl Johan Schuster
"City of Stars" from"La La Land", Music by Justin Hurwitz; Lyric by Benj Pasek and Justin Paul
"The Empty Chair" from "Jim: The James Foley Story", Music and Lyric by J. Ralph and Sting
"How Far I'll Go" from "Moana", Music and Lyric by Lin-Manuel Miranda
