NEW SOUNDS

OLIVIA DEAN

Olivia Dean, the British neo-soul singer, is back with the follow-up to her 2023 acclaimed debut, "Messy". She began to seriously pursue music at sixteen, teaching herself how to play the guitar, piano and writing songs. Dean went on to release two EPs which brought her attention and now her latest album, "The Art of Loving" is now out. This collection of alt-r&b offers her perspective on different forms of love and intimacy, revealing the now twenty-six year old performer's growth as an artist. The guitar-driven first single, "Nice To Each Other", which has recently reached the top-ten on the Billboard Global chart, simply asks the question "What if we were just nice to each other?" in a relationship. Now the latest single, "Man I Need" has become another world-wide hit. Dean will open for Sabrina Carpenter on some dates as well as her own The Art of Loving Live tour which will begin next year.





RAYE

The British singer, Raye has been using her big, soulful voice to reinvigorate pop music. Born Rachel Keen and raised in South London, Raye had been interested in pursing music since she was a child. After briefly attending the BRIT School for Performing Arts and Technology and dropping out due to feeling creatively stifled, she went off on her own to make it into music. At seventeen, Raye received notice for her self-released EP in 2014 and kept on recording and making connections in the industry. Her big breakthrough came in 2022 with "Escapism", a trip-hop styled pop song that clicked across the globe including the US. Now Raye is preparing to release her second album. The first single, "Where Is My Husband!" captures a retro girl group sound merged with hip-hop beats. Raye had also teamed with producer/musician, Mark Ronson last summer for the original song, "Suzanne" that was part of the APxMusic programme to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the Swiss watchmaker, Audemars Piguet.





KHALID

The pop-soul vocalist, Khalid has been making music professionally since he was teenager with his single, "Location" becoming a top twenty hit back in 2016. More hits followed for the El Paso, TX native with "Young Dumb & Broke", "Love Lies" (with Normani), "Eastside", "Better" and "Talk". But last year Khalid came out as gay after being outed. This has not changed anything for the singer except that now he no longer feels a need not to be completely honest as an artist. He has just released a new single, "Out of Body" from his upcoming fourth album, "After the Sun Goes Down". For the music video for this dance song, Khalid moves seductively with his male dancers, feeling much freer to generate a smoldering sensuality that he's not been able to reveal before. 

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

Fresh off his Oscar win for co-writing with Lady Gaga, "Shallow" from the musical-drama, "A Star Is Born", Mark Ronson has returned to creating his own music. "Late Night Feelings" is the British producer/musician's fifth album and he has rounded-up an eclectic group of all female artists to contribute to the project. Some of the talent includes Alicia Keys, Camila Cabello, Angel Olsen and Miley Cyrus who was a part of the first single, "Nothing Breaks Like a Heart", a country-disco track released late last year. The latest single is the title song and features the Swedish vocalist, Lykke Li. It is a shimmering dance track that is elevated by Li's sensual delivery. Look at to the music video for the track and here is Ronson and Cyrus live on "SNL" performing their song:





The one and only Cher was on The Tonight Show With Jimmy Fallon last week which spent the entire show paying tribute and honoring her amazing career. The musical based on her life, "The Cher Show" was recently on Broadway and the three actresses who played her plus the real deal came together to perform one of Cher's biggest hits, "If I Could Turn Back Time". It is an epic battle of the Chers and I'm sure I don't have to tell you who is the victor. Take a look:



I wasn't aware that "country rap" was actually a thing but Lil Nas X, at one point, impressively had his twangy trap tune, "Old Town Road" on the Billboard Hot 100, Hot Country and Hot R&B/Hip-Hop song charts all at the same time. However, Billboard removed the song from the country chart due to it "not having enough elements of today's country music". This move has ignited a serious conversation about what exactly makes something "country music" and how much did race play a part in this decision to remove the song from the chart? Anyway, Miley's daddy, Billy Ray Cyrus loved the song and teamed-up with Lil Nas X for a remix of the track. Have a listen:

Finally I had heard a song on the radio which I thought was a new Adele single. During further investigation, I was surprised to discover that this song, "You Say" was actually from contemporary Christian singer, Lauren Daigle. This song became her third number one on the Hot Christian Songs chart and Daigle's first crossover pop hit. While I do really like the song and admire the inspirational message, it still bothers me how Ms Daigle copies much of Adele's vocal style and production on this record. I guess that's nothing new in the music business but this is just a little too blatant for my taste. Have a listen and judge for yourself:

RANDOM SIGHTS + SOUNDS

Calvin Harris is on fire this year and seems like he's unable to make a wrong move. After some great collaborations with Dua Lipa and Sam Smith, the DJ turned producer has just dropped two new tracks with former Fifth Harmony member, Normani. One is "Checklist" that features WizKid and has a dance hall beat while "Slow Down" is a mid-tempo dance floor banger. They are both great songs and will definitely help give Normani an even bigger profile after her top-ten hit duet with Khalid with "Love Lies":





Here is some Chaka Khan, past and present. First, we go back to 1986 with "Love of a Lifetime", a song written and produced for her by Scritti Politti, a hot British band at the time who was best known for the hit, "Perfect Way". This song was a not a big success but I loved it. In the music video, what I find notable is Chaka's neon-colored hair which was long before it became trendy like today. And we have a new song, "Keep Reachin'", a funky jam for the recent Netflix documentary on Quincy Jones. Mark Ronson produced the track and together with Chaka's soaring vocals, it features the spirit of the legendary music maker.





Here is the newest single, "Money" by the hottest artist in hip-hop/rap right now, Cardi B and a couple of music videos that I find interesting:







Finally, we close with that '80's boy band, Duran Duran, who managed to deliver plenty of style and substance. When this British band first began, they were much closer aligned musically with the new-wave/new romantic scene before the 1982 album "Rio" and the music video for their smash, "Hungry Like The Wolf" helped pushed them in to the mainstream. While I liked their more commercial sound, I really enjoyed their early records. Let's look back on two of my favorite Duran Duran songs, "Planet Earth" and "Girls On Film" from 1981 with both of the music videos featuring adventurous and sensual imagery that would became a staple of the MTV generation:

NEW SOUNDS

BEYONCE

Beyoncé has just released a Platinum Edition of her recent, best-selling self-titled fifth album. In addition to a reissue of the original CD and DVD of music videos, this now includes another CD featuring two new songs, "7/11" and "Ring Off" and four previously-released remixes plus a DVD of live performances from The Mrs. Carter Show World Tour. This is probably more for the hardcore fan of the singer as the two new cuts, while pretty good, is not worth investing in if you already own the previous album.

Listen to "Ring Off" which seems to be about her mother, Tina Knowles. The song focuses on the painful end of her marriage while Beyoncé encourages her beautiful mama to remove that wedding ring and move on with her life.

"Ring Off" - Beyoncé (2014)

This video for the other new track, "7/11" is crazy but I love it:



IGGY AZALEA

This year, Iggy Azalea has become one of the biggest names in hip-hop pop thanks to her worldwide hits, "Fancy" and "Black Widow". A reissue of her debut, "The New Classic" is now out and called "Reclassified". It features six tracks from the first album and five new songs. The Australian rapper has gotten assistance on some of the tunes from Ellie Goulding ("Heavy Crown"), Danish electro-pop artist, MØ (the first single, "Beg For It") and Jennifer Hudson ("Trouble"). While it took me some time to warm up to Azalea and appreciate her music, I still don't see her as a great talent with a long career ahead of her.

Anyway, listen to my favorite track from "Reclassified":

"Trouble" - Iggy Azalea featuring Jennifer Hudson (2014)

Gwen Stefani disappointed with the lackluster first new music from her upcoming CD but has turned things around with the follow-up release. "Spark The Fire", co-written and produced by her fellow "Voice" judge, Pharrell Williams, is the type of high-energy track that we expect from the singer although it may be just a bit too similar to "Hollaback Girl" for it's own good. Check out the colorful video for the song that is on emoji overdrive:



I loved the new song "Uptown Funk" from Brit producer Mark Ronson as soon as I first heard it. With sizzling, funky horns, a touch of 1980's era Prince and Bruno Mars serving some James Brown inspired vocals, this jam is a modern classic. Here's the music video for this tune:



Finally, here is the video for the next single from my new fav, Sam Smith. "Like I Can" is a slick, black & white clip of Smith and his buddies roaming New York, looking sharp in tuxedos. Simple but effective:

MY FAVORITE MOMENTS IN MUSIC OF 2010

I was planning on rambling on about what a great year 2010 was in music but I have decided to simply just let the songs speak for themselves (although I can't resist making a comment or two here and there).

So, let's go back and hear (and see) just a few of my favorite songs from the past twelve months:

Mavis Staples - "Wrote A Song For Everyone" from "You Are Not Alone"

Miami Horror - "Holidays" from "Illumination"

Katy Perry - "California Gurls (feat. Snoop Dogg)" from "Teenage Dream [Explicit]"

Kanye West - "Lost In The World [Explicit]" from "My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy [Explicit]"

Hot Chip - "One Life Stand" from "One Life Stand"

Cee-Lo Green - "Fuck You" from "The Lady Killer [Explicit]"

Erykah Badu - "Get MuNNY" from " New Amerykah Part Two: Return Of The Ankh"

Here is the controversial music video for the first single off of the album, "Window Seat" that worked up a lot of people. It is a great art piece which was shot in Dallas in the location where President Kennedy was assassinated but is caused Ms Badu to be charged with disorderly conduct and fined $500 dollars. It just shows how people are more freaked out about the human body than by violence:



Lady Antebellum - "Need You Now" from "Need You Now [+digital booklet]"


Sade - "Soldier of Love" from "Soldier of Love"

Broken Bells - "The Ghost Inside" from "Broken Bells"

Goldfrapp - "Believer" from "Head First [+Digital Booklet]"

Nikki Minaj - "Your Love" from "Pink Friday [Explicit]"

Gorillaz - "Rhinestone Eyes" from "Plastic Beach"

Bruno Mars - "Just The Way You Are" from "Doo-Wops & Hooligans"

Janelle Monae - "Wondaland" from "The ArchAndroid"

Florence + The Machine - "Dog Days Are Over" from "Lungs"

Mark Ronson & The Business Intl - "You Gave Me Nothing" from "Record Collection [Explicit]"

Corinne Bailey Rae - "Closer" from "The Sea"

The Knocks - "Dancing With The DJ"

Karen Elson - "The Ghost Who Walks" from "The Ghost Who Walks"

Cut Copy - "Take Me Over" from "Zonoscope"

Robyn - "Body Talk" trilogy

This project was, for the most part, criminally ignore on the pop charts in the U.S and these songs should have been played on the radio. Shame on U.S radio programmers!

Robyn - "Dancing On My Own" from "Body Talk Pt 1"

Robyn - "Hang With Me" from "Body Talk Pt. 2 [Explicit]"

Robyn - "Stars 4-Ever" from "Body Talk Pt. 3"

Rihanna had a very good year with four singles hitting the top ten, with three of those going all the way to number one. I really like all of the songs but I love the music video for the song, "Rude Boy". It's got a great wild and colorful look plus it pays a brief homage to the outrageous Miss Grace Jones and artist Keith Haring: