NEW SOUNDS

MAREN MORRIS

Maren Morris broke through back in 2016 with her song "My Church" which was her first to reach the top ten of the US country singles charts. A recording contract with Columbia Nashville followed and she achieved more hit country singles. Morris dabbled in dance music a couple of years later, teaming with German record producer and DJ, Zedd and having their collaboration, "The Middle" become a smash international hit. After a few more successful albums, Morris has taken a page from Taylor Swift's playbook, moving away from pure country and has just released "Dreamsicle", a collection of modern pop that showcases another side of her impressive talent. Teaming up with a large number of the top producers in contemporary pop which includes Greg Kurstin and Jack Antonoff (who helped Swift on her journey into pop music), the politically outspoken Morris has delivered songs that express where she currently is in her life right now after recently ending her marriage to musician, Ryan Hurd and coming out as bisexual. She has planned to embark on her "Dreamsicle World Tour" to support the record with dates set across North America and Europe.





BARBRA STREISAND

With "The Secret of Life: Partners, Volume Two", Barbra Streisand offers a sequel to her popular 2014 duets album, "Partners". This collection, due out in June, has the legendary performer teaming-up with some of her musical contemporaries (Paul McCartney, James Taylor, Bob Dylan), pop music successors (Josh Groban, Sting, Mariah Carey, Tim McGraw) and current artists (Sam Smith, Laufey, Ariana Grande). The songs they perform range from pop standards to songs written by some of her duet partners. The first two songs released feature Streisand with the Irish rocker, Hoizer on a cover of Ewan MacColl's 1957 love ballad, "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face". And the former Beatle performs with Streisand, "My Valentine", a love song he had written for his album, "Kisses on the Bottom" back in 2011.

NEW SOUNDS

VICTORIA MONET

The original plan by r&b singer, Victoria Monét was to create a trilogy of EPs called "Jaguar" before her first album. However, after that first collection was released three years ago, the thirty-four-year-old performer has delivered "Jaguar II" which will now serve as her official debut album. This record continues Monét's musical journey of classic soul with a contemporary edge. She spent the early part of her career successfully writing songs for other music acts like Brandy, Chris Brown, Blackpink, Chloe x Halle and Ariana Grande before deciding to focus more on her own path as an artist. "Jaguar II" perfectly highlights Monét's gifts; sultry, smooth vocals which help elevate her songs of love, sexuality, pride and confidence. Be sure to check out Monét on the road now with The Jaguar Tour where she will cover North America and Europe through November.





MAREN MORRIS

Maren Morris made news recently by announcing that she was leaving country music because of her frustration with the industry's unwillingness to deal honestly with its long history involving racism, sexism and homophobia. Having been vigorously vocal in criticizing Nashville and what it currently represents for some time now, causing some rifts along the way, she has realized it was getting her nowhere. And while Morris might be departing from the business side of the genre, her music will likely remain deeply embedded in the roots of country. The thirty-three-year-old from Arlington, Texas is currently in the process of creating new music with production assistance from Greg Kurstin and Jack Antonoff who had helped Taylor Swift smoothly transition from country to pop. Morris has released a two-track EP called "The Bridge" that seems to highlight the potential new direction she's moving towards with the songs, "The Tree" and "Get the Hell Out of Here".





KIM PETRAS

The long-awaited debut of pop star, Kim Petras' first album, "Feed the Beast" was finally released in June. However, the album was met with a tepid reception. This collection of largely, generic dance-pop songs disappointed especially after all of the amazing singles Petras had released over the last few years which includes "Unholy", her smash hit duet with Sam Smith. But Petras had recorded an album two years ago that originally was supposed to be her official debut, but it was ultimately shelved by her label due to a major leak of the work. "Problématique" has now been released and the songs here captures more of the catchy, high-energy Euro-pop that first brought her attention. Two singles, "Future Starts Now" and "Coconuts" were released in 2021 to promote this album but were dropped from this release although "Coconuts" does appear on "Beast".

BLACK WOMEN IN COUNTRY MUSIC

When Maren Morris picked up her third CMA Award of the evening for Female Vocalist of the Year, the singer startled the audience by giving a shout-out to the African-American women in country music in her acceptance speech. Morris may have warmly praised these performers and their contributions to the genre however country radio has never put much effort in to touching their music. It's not like female country music artists have been getting the amount of airplay that they deserve but Black vocalists are not even seriously being considered for exposure on the format.

I think the resistance is very similiar to white performers who try to enter hip-hop and r&b. This viewpoint tends to come from people being irrationally suspect of any apparent outsider. And while that might be somewhat understandable, I know that most would agree that if the performer is heartfelt and talented in any musical genre, regardless of race or gender, they should be welcomed with open arms.

While I had heard of a few of the artists that Morris mentioned (Yola, Rissi Palmer, Rhiannon Giddens), most of them were new to me like Mickey Guyton, Brittney Spencer and Linda Martell. That made me think that a spotlight should be placed on some of these gifted performers and so here it is:

RISSI PALMER

Rissi Palmer came on the scene in 2007 with the aptly titled single, "Country Girl" which was the first song by an African-American female performer to chart on the Hot Country Songs chart in twenty years (which was Dona Mason with Danny Davis on a 1987 cover of "Green Eyes (Cryin’ Those Blue Tears)"). Palmer grew up being a fan of country and r&b before later deciding she wanted to pursue becoming a country performer. The road was definitely bumpy for the young singer but her first opportunity came from producers, Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis who wanted to sign the-then nineteen year old to a recording contract. However, Palmer turned it down since they wanted to mold her into a r&b singer and she knew that wasn't the direction she wanted to go.

Palmer finally got a record deal on her own terms, releasing a self-titled debut which featured the charting songs, "Country Girl" and "Hold On to Me". She also charted with a country cover of Jordin Sparks and Chris Brown's hit, "No Air" in 2008. Despite this promising success, Palmer still struggled to make her follow-up and released a children's album, "Best Day Ever" in 2013 that featured inspiring country-soul songs that kids and adults could enjoy. Palmer's last album to date was "Revival" in 2019, a critically acclaimed collection that features some of her most personal work, involving songs on love, racial tensions and self-acceptance.



MICKEY GUYTON

Born Candace Mycale Guyton in Arlington, Texas, she was inspired to become a country singer after watching a teenage LeAnn Rimes sing "The Star-Spangled Banner" before a baseball game. Mickey Guyton signed with Capitol Nashville in 2011 but has only released three EPs to date with "Unbreakable" in 2014, a self-titled record the following year and "Bridges" that came out in September. Guyton received attention for the song, "Black Like Me" which went viral during the Black Lives Matter protests earlier this year and she became the first African-American country artist to perform solo on this year's Academy of Country Music Awards with another single from the EP, "What Are You Gonna Tell Her? ".



LINDA MARTELL

Linda Martell was an early African-American pioneer in country music who had a brief yet extremely complicated moment of success in the genre. She was born Thelma Bynem in Leesville, SC, raised on gospel music and began her career singing R&B. Martell drifted towards country which lead to her meeting Shelby Singleton, a very successful music producer, and signed to his offensively named label, Plantation Records in 1969. She would release her debut album, "Color Me Country" the following year which featured the charting songs, "Color Him Father", "Bad Case of the Blues" and "Before The Next Teardrop Falls". This success would lead to appearances on the popular television show, "Hee Haw" and make Martell the first black woman to appear on the Grand Ole Opry.

But Martell had to endure hateful, racist taunts from audiences when she performed. She had sought advice from Charley Pride, the only other African-American performer in country at the time, and all he could recommend was to develop a thick skin and just focus on singing. This proved too much for her to bear and Martell would leave her music career behind. She became a school bus driver and a teacher for children with learning disabilities. Over the years, Martell would try from time to time to attempt a comeback but Singleton had effectively blackballed her in country music.

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.

REVAMP AND RESTORATION

While audiences have long enjoyed his theatrical costumes and energetic showmanship, it's been the music of Elton John that people have responded to for over fifty years. With his co-songwriter, Bernie Taupin (who John has worked with throughout most of his career), they have created songs that have appealed to everyone due to their eclectic mix of genres.

In celebration of their longtime creative partnership, two albums were assembled with the help of many performers who have gladly come together to interpret the team's musical history. With "Revamp", John enlisted contemporary pop artists to create new versions of his songs. These musicians include Coldplay, Sam Smith, Alessia Cara, Ed Sheeran, The Killers and Lady Gaga.

Mr. Taupin, a big country fan, oversaw "Restoration" which features several artists that range from legendary (Vince Gill, Emmylou Harris, Dolly Parton, Willie Nelson) to modern (Miranda Lambert, Chris Stapleton, Dierks Bentley, Kacey Musgraves) that rework the duo's classic and more obscure songs in a mellow country vein.

Miley Cyrus is the only artist that appears on both albums. But her take of "Don't Let The Sun Come Down On Me" on "Revamp" and particularly "The Bitch Is Back" on the country album come across painfully like karaoke versions of these songs.

Now at seventy-one, Elton John has decided to slow down and will be embarking on a three-year long farewell world tour which will begin in September. To be honest, I doubt he will never be on stage again after this tour but just in case, make sure you take this opportunity to check him out live.

For now, listen to a few of my favorite songs from both albums that I think truly honors the extraordinary work of Elton John and Bernie Taupin:

RANDOM SIGHTS + SOUNDS

Country music has been making a big impact on the pop charts lately and that has been reflected with an interesting merging of the sounds. Some recent examples include Maren Morris, a hot new artist with her 2016 debut, “Hero” reaching number one on the country album chart, is a part of an unusual duet with EDM artist, Zedd with the single, “The Middle”. This catchy dance track is not only burning up the international pop charts but it also serves as the song for Target’s spring style campaign. Chris Stapleton, a recent big winner at this year’s Grammys, taking home three awards including Best Country Album, has teamed up with Justin Timberlake on “Say Something”, the second single off his new album, “Man of the Woods”. This guitar-driven track is a nice blend of dance and country. And the least likely artist of them all is dance diva, Kylie Minogue who has just dropped from her upcoming fourteenth studio album, “Golden”, the single, “Dancing” which features an undeniable country twang.

And this year, we’ve sadly had the passing of two important musical artists. Dolores O’Riordan, the dynamic lead vocalist of the Irish alt-rock band, The Cranberries, passed away unexpectedly at the age of forty-six while in London for a recording session. No cause of death has been currently disclosed. In 1990, she became a part of the band initially called “The Cranberry Saw” before becoming The Cranberries. The group’s debut album, “Everybody Else is Doing It, So Why Can’t We?” in 1992 became an instant smash thanks to the singles, “Linger”and “Dreams”. Their follow-up in 1994, “No Need To Argue” featured the hit song, “Zombie” about the 1993 IRA bombing which reached number one in five countries and became The Cranberries ‘ biggest seller. The band took an extended break in 2003 to pursue individual interests before reuniting in 2009 to release an album and world tour. O’Riordan recorded two solo albums during their time apart; “Are You Listening in 2007 and “No Baggage”in 2009.

Dennis Edwards, who joined the legendary Motown r&b group, The Temptations in 1968 as their new front man, died on February 1st, just two days shy before what would have been his seventy-fifth birthday. He first began singing as a child in his father’s Detroit church before later joining the gospel group, The Mighty Clouds of Joy as a teenager. Despite his family's disapproval, Edwards decided to sing secular music professionally and performed with several bands. In 1966, he auditioned for Motown and was put on retainer. His first break came when he joined the Contours later that year. The group opened for the The Temptations on tour with members, Eddie Kendricks and Otis Williams noticing Edwards as they were considering replacing David Ruffin who was becoming increasingly difficult, largely due to his drug abuse. Ruffin was eventually fired and Edwards was brought in as his replacement as lead vocalist. He would continue to perform with The Temptations off and on until 1989. Edwards did pursue a solo career and had a hit single in 1984 with “Don’t Look Any Further”, a duet with Siedah Garrett. Edwards is survived by a daughter, Issa from his brief marriage to Ruth Pointer of the Pointer Sisters and she currently performs with her mother in the group.

MY FAVORITE MOMENTS IN MUSIC IN 2016

2016 was a difficult, challenging year in more ways than one. From a musical standpoint, it was upsetting due to the loss of some pretty important artists from Natalie Cole, David Bowie, Glenn Frey of The Eagles and Prince at the early part of the year to George Michael near the end. The only real comfort is that we still have their music which will keep them with us forever. I won't even get in to that crazy election and the tragic outcome. So, I'm just going to share some of the music from the previous year that I loved but didn't have a chance to cover here:

"Closer" - The Chainsmokers featuring Halsey (2016) mp3

"One Dance" - Drake featuring Wizkid & Kyla (2016) mp3

"Too Good" - Drake featuring Rihanna (2016) mp3



"My Church" - Maren Morris (2016) mp3

"80's Mercedes" - Maren Morris (2016) mp3







"Gold" - Kiiara (2016) mp3

"Close" - Nick Jonas featuring Tove Lo (2016) mp3

"Me Too" - Mehgan Trainor (2016) mp3