It's hard to believe but it has been twenty years since the release of Beyoncé sophomore album, "B'Day" and to celebrate, the artist has just delivered "B'Day: 20th anniversary edition". This collection has remastered the original album and features nineteen additional tracks with remixes and previously unreleased bonus songs that includes "Morning Dew (Donk)" and "Can I Watch You" with Pharrell. But what is most noteworthy about this edition is that Beyoncé is leaning even heavier with Spanish-language songs with "Amor Gitano", a duet with Alejandro Fernández, "Cuerpo Tumbao (Get Me Bodied)" with Maluma (and samples Celia Cruz’s "La Negra Tiene Tumbao") and a new version of "Irreemplazable (Como La Flor)" that samples vocals from the late "Queen of Tejano Music", Selena.
Some new sounds I'm enjoying includes Adéla, the singer, songwriter and dancer from Slovakia, who has just released her debut album, "Prima" and the latest single, "Nicole Kidman" pays homage to the Oscar-winning actress; Chlöe and Timbaland have dropped another song from their upcoming collaboration with "World on Fire"; the British nu-disco band, Jungle has just released their fifth studio album, "Sunshine" and a single, "Come Back To Me"; Luca is an emerging artist bringing a vintage soul vibe into his music and the latest single from the Harlem-born, twenty-three year old performer is "Sympathy", Rising British artist, Charlie Jeer has teamed with fellow Brit singer/songwriter, Cat Burns for a guitar-driven song, "Small Talk" and Victoria Monet has revealed another song from her upcoming album, "Juicy"
And I will close by paying tribute to Cassandra Wilson, the distinctive jazz vocalist who transcended the sound by blending blues, country, and folk music into her work, has sadly passed away on September 1st at the age of seventy. Born in Jackson, Mississippi, she began her musical journey studying classical music and learning to play the piano, clarinet and guitar as a child. While attending college, Wilson would spent her nights performing with R&B, funk, and pop cover bands. Wilson moved to New Orleans after graduating and emersed herself in the jazz scene there before moving to New York in 1982. This was when Wilson would truly begin to develop her style as a singer by becoming one of the founding members of the M-Base collective where they expressed a new way of creating jazz music. In 1986, Wilson recorded her debut album, "Point of View" which included a few original songs she wrote or co-wrote. But is was her third album of standards, "Blue Skies" that helped gained Wilson some notice and helped her get signed to Blue Note Records in 1993. Her debut on the label, "Blue Light 'til Dawn" was Wilson's true breakthrough, a collection of originals and intriguing covers that included the Monkees, Joni Mitchell and Hank Williams, that gave her critical and commercial acclaim. Her follow-up, "New Moon Daughter" in 1995 would reach number one on Billboard Jazz Album chart and win her the Grammy Award for Best Jazz Vocal Performance. Wilson would release "Traveling Miles" in 1999, a well-received tribute album to Miles Davis, who was one of her greatest influences, with music inspired by his artistry.
Victoria Monét has just dropped a new song from her long awaited second studio album, "Frequency of Love" which should be available in October. The single, "Reach Out" from the Grammy award winning songwriter and performer with production by Kaytranada and D’Mile is another sensual r&b jam that looks at a woman tired of waiting for a lover to contact her and deciding to move on. The visuals for this song, filmed in sepia with direction by Dave Meyers and dynamic choreography from Sean Bankhead, is sultry and stylish, filled with impressively imaginative dance moves.
Some new songs I'm enjoying at the moment includes the latest music from Kelly Clarkson, the very first "American Idol" winner who is in the middle of the final season of her popular talk show, with "I'd Be Lyin'" that feels very much like the classic sound from the early days of her pop career; the alt-hip-hop artist, Syd has delivered her third studio album, "Beard" and a highlight is the song, "Callin'" that features Blu June; Orville Peck has returned to music after a brief stint on Broadway with "Too Little, Too Late" that has a more rockabilly vibe and the newest single from his upcoming fourth album, "Mule" due out in September; "Mexico Honey", the latest single from Kacey Musgraves' album, "Middle of Nowhere", is a bit of a departure from the country artist as the ballad features Latin pop and hip-hop sounds; the new single from the progressive soul performer, Steve Lacy, "Doom" is an adventurous alt-rock song with an equally potent music video; and Cardi B has dropped a surprise single, "Ah Ha" that shows she still ain't worried about her haters.
And this year marks the thirtieth anniversary since the release of Mariah Carey's fifth studio album, "Daydream". There is a new collection, which is officially titled, "Daydream: 30th Anniversary Edition", that will include the original album plus unreleased bonus tracks, rare demos, live performances and remixes. When the record was released, "Daydream" marked a creative shift for Carey as she blended R&B, hip-hop and pop sounds smoothly together for the first time. The album debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 chart and featured the hit singles, "Fantasy", "Always Be My Baby" and "One Sweet Day", Carey’s duet with Boyz II Men that was on top of the US pop chart for sixteen consecutive weeks. "Daydream" is also one of the best-selling albums of all time, with over twenty million copies sold worldwide.
And Kavinsky, the influential French DJ and producer, has passed away on July 28th at the age of fifty. The cause of death is not known at this time. Born Vincent Pierre Claude Belorgey, he had spent his early years as an actor before deciding to turn to music. "Kavinsky" was a stage persona he had created, a red-eyed, blue-skinned zombie who created electronic music. Belorgey had appeared as an actor in Quentin Dupieux's 2007 feature film, "Steak" and contributed music as Kavinsky for the first time. He went on to release three EPs which included "Nightcall" with the title track used during the opening credits of the 2011 film, "Drive", directed by Nicolas Winding Refn. Kavinsky wouldonly release two studio albums during his career, "OutRun" in 2013 and "Reborn" in 2022.
After spending her time emoting musically on the big screen and dazzling audiences with her performance in the two-part film musical, "Wicked", Ariana Grande is returning to her pop music career. "Hate That I Made You Love Me" is the lead single off of her upcoming eighth studio album, "Petal" which is due out at the end of July. Teaming once again with frequent collaborators, Ilya Salmanzadeh, and Max Martin, the song is a bit of a departure for Grande with this synth-pop ballad having a subtle, minimalist vibe. "Hate That I Made You Love Me" deals with her complicated relationship with fame and the public scrutiny that comes with it, especially commentary regarding her appearance and body. The humorous video for the song, directed by Christian Breslauer and features actor, Justin Long, plays like a short film that involves a man who has apparently murdered his wife (played by Grande) and buried her body while he is continuously being haunted by her. Grande has also begun her long awaited Eternal Sunshine Tour on June 6th which will take her through the US and Canada before concluding in September with a ten-date stop at the O2 Arena in England.
June is the month where we celebrate Pride and here is a collection of LGBTQ+ artists who have new music out: for his upcoming sixth studio album, "Adam", Adam Lambert digs into the sounds of '90's electronic and alternative rock with the first single, "Eat U Alive"; free from her label, pop diva, Kim Petras is now independently releasing her music and the latest song is "Brutalist"; the queer Nashville-based country group, the Cowgays (made-up of solo artists, Brooke Eden, Chris Housman, and Adam Mac) have released a campy tune, "Good Hoedown"; the English synth-pop act, La Roux has dropped a new track, "Cabin Fever" from their upcoming album, "Old Flames"; Frankie Grande is currently appearing in the Broadway production of "Titanique" and has delivered a fast-paced "Pride anthem" of the number he does in the show, "I Drove All Night"; David Archuleta has dropped his latest dance-pop tune, "Love For Free" and the electroclash performer, Slayyter has the single, "Dance..." from her second studio album, "Worst Girl in America".
And with her next album, "Confessions II" due out on July 3rd, Madonna is moving into overdrive to promote this dance music collection. First she was involved with doing some playfully sexy promo on the gay networking app, Grindr and then did a mini concert in the middle of Times Square in NYC. Now, the Queen of Pop has released "Confessions II – The Film". This fourteen minute visual album directed by TORSO features the first six tracks from the upcoming album. The short film made its premiere on June 5th at the Tribeca Festival and was released three days later on YouTube. Filled with wild imagery and many notable famous faces, this dazzling musical film is an impressive reminder of what a powerful and enduring force she is as a visual stylist and performer.
Last month, the Brit pop singer, Charli XCXmade a bold proclamation with "I think the dance floor is dead, so now we're making rock music". Many of her fans were taken aback by this statement since she made her name by creating energized music that you could dance to since her breakout single, "Boom Clap" back in 2014. But the singer/songwriter, born Charlotte Aitchison, was actually doing a little promoting for her newest bit of music, "Rock Music". And while this track has an edgy and rough vibe, it's not exactly a hardcore rock song but more guitar-driven with a dance beat driving the tune along. Charli has been busy: contributing music for the soundtrack of Emerald Fennell's adaptation of "Wuthering Heights" and performing as an actor in the films, "The Moment", "Faces of Death" and the upcoming Gregg Araki comedy-thriller, "I Want Your Sex". But she has not abandoned her pop music career with "Rock Music" being the first release from her seventh studio album with no title or street date revealed just yet.
Here's a round up of some intriguing new music: the soul music legend, Chaka Khan is back with "Chakzilla", an oddly titled funky dance track (with production by Greg Kurstin) which also happens to be the title of her upcoming studio album, Khan's first in seven years; the latest single from Harry Styles, "Dance No More" has the former boy band member busting out some serious dance moves in the music video; the Swedish artist, Tove Lo has dropped a raw and edgy new single, "I'm Your Girl, Right?" with an equally oddball video; "Five Past Three" is an electropop single from the Chainsmokers’ newest EP, "Love Is Kind", which is a collaboration with the Swedish performer, Oaks; and Sir Paul McCartney has his twentieth solo album, "The Boys of Dungeon Lane" on the way with the song, "Home to Us", is a duet with his former bandmate, Ringo Starr.
The 2026 Eurovision Song Contest recently concluded on May 16th with thirty-five countries competing for the top prize of the best international original pop song. Held at Wiener Stadthalle in Vienna for the contest's 70th edition, Dara from Bulgaria won the Grand Prize for "Bangaranga", a dance-pop song with the title taken from Jamaican Patois and has been translated as "a joyful kind of disorder". This song, the first win for this country, won both the jury vote and televote, the first entry to do so since 2017. The runner-up was from Israel with "Michelle" by Noam Bettan and in third is "Choke Me" by Romania's Alexandra Căpitănescu. Several countries had declined to participate this year in protest at Israel's inclusion in the contest due to the on-going Gaza war.
Clarence Carter, the blind soul singer behind the hits, "Patches" and Strokin'", passed away on May 13th at the age of ninety. Born in Montgomery, Alabama, Carter (blind since birth) attended the Alabama School for the Blind in Talladega and later went to Alabama State University, graduating with a Bachelor of Science degree in music. After pursuing music professionally with friend, Calvin Scott in 1960, the duo formed the C & C Boys and recorded several singles but none of them gained much traction commercially. Six years later, Scott was seriously injured in an auto accident with Carter deciding to continue as a solo performer.
His first break came the following year with "Tell Daddy", his answer record to Etta James' hit, "Tell Mama", which reached the top forty on the r&b chart. Carter joined Atlantic Records which began a string of hits on the R&B and pop charts, starting with "Slip Away", "Too Weak to Fight", "Snatching It Back" and the naughty, "Back Door Santa". Carter's biggest hit came in 1970 with his version of "Patches", originally recorded by Chairmen of the Board, which reached number two in the UK and number four on the U.S. pop chart. The record would sell over one million copies and win the Grammy Award for Best R&B Song.
Carter's career would cool down following this but he did have one more hit record with "Strokin'" in 1986. While the song was considered too raunchy to actually be played on the radio, it was discovered by fans with it being played on jukeboxes and later found even bigger success when it was included on the soundtracks for Eddie Murphy's remake of "The Nutty Professor" and the 2011 crime-drama, "Killer Joe". Carter was briefly married to Candi Staton, who began as one of his background singers, in 1970 and they had a son together, Clarence Carter Jr., before divorcing in 1973.
We'll be seeing a lot of the actress, Anne Hathaway over the next couple of weeks. First she will be seen on the big screen in "Mother Mary" from writer/director, David Lowery on April 24th. In this psychological-drama musical, Hathaway plays a pop singer called Mother Mary who reunites with her estranged best friend and former costume designer (played by Michaela Coel) on the eve of her comeback performance. The original songs in the film will be available on a soundtrack album, "Mother Mary: Greatest Hits" set for release on April 17th. Hathaway is performing the songs and a couple of the tracks have been released. "Burial" (written by Jack Antonoff and Charli XCX) delivers a "Lady Gaga" vibe while "My Mouth Is Lonely For You" feels like a "FKA Twigs" track and it should since it was co-written by the artist (who makes a screen appearance in "Mother Mary").
Then on May 1st, the long awaited sequel to the 2006 high-fashion comedy, "The Devil Wears Prada" hits theaters worldwide with Hathaway reprising her role as Andrea Sachs along with Emily Blunt, Stanley Tucci and Meryl Streep as fashion editor, Miranda Priestly. An original song for the movie's soundtrack, "Runway" teams up Lady Gaga and Doechii for a euphoric house music song. Andrew Watt, Bruno Mars, Cirkut and D'Mile all co-wrote and produced this track.
The alternative R&B artist, Kelela makes her highly anticipated return after three years with "idea 1" who co-wrote and produced the track with PinkPantheress; Kehlani, who won two Grammy awards this year for her smash r&b single, "Folded", is back with new music delivering "Back and Forth" that features Missy Elliott; Saint Harison, the Brit singer/songwriter, has released a soulful ballad, "Stuck" from his upcoming EP, "Ghost"; another British act trying to gain some traction in the US is Flo, a classic girl hip-hop/soul group, that has dropped the lead single, "Leak It" from their upcoming second album
And I will close by paying tribute to the passing of two artists: Dash Crofts, one half of the the soft rock duo, Seals & Crofts, passed away on March 26th at the age of eighty-seven. Born Darrell George Crofts in Cisco, Texas, he got his nickname "Dash" when he was a baby. Crofts first started playing the piano as child before switching to the drums as a teenager. In high school, he played in a band where he met the saxophone player, Jim Seals. The two decided to try their luck as professional musicians by moving to Southern California in 1958. They briefly joined a rock band, the Champs before Crofts was drafted and spent two years with the Army. By 1969, they started recording under "Seals & Crofts" and by their second album, "Summer Breeze" with the title track becoming a top-ten pop hit in 1972, the duo had a string of popular songs. Seals (who died in 2022) and Crofts would part ways as an act in 1983 but would reunite for a concert tour in 1991 to 1992 and again in 2004 after the duo recorded their first new album since 1980 and also final recording together, "Traces".
And one of the pioneers that would greatly influence hip-hop culture,Afrika Bambaataa has passed away on April 9th. The Bronx native, who was was an originator of breakbeat DJing, died from complications of from prostate cancer and was sixty-eight. Born Lance Taylor, he was exposed to the ideologies of the Black Liberation Movement through his parents as a teen as well as the sounds of their eclectic record collection. After wining an essay contest that earned him a trip to Africa, Taylor was inspired by the sense of community while he was there and determined create one in his own neighborhood. Adopting the name, "Afrika Bambaataa Aasim", he set about creating the "Bronx River Organization" which was a positive alternative to the street gangs that infiltrated the Bronx and that he had once been affiliated. Bambaataa soon turned his attention to music after hosting several block parties and forming the Universal Zulu Nation which brought together socially and politically aware rappers and graffiti artists. Inspired by the emerging electronic music scene, he released "Planet Rock" in 1982 with the Soul Sonic Force that merged electro beats and hip-hop. The single, produced by Arthur Baker, reached the top five on the US R&B and Dance charts.
Sienna Spiro, a rising pop-soul singer from the UK is gaining attention on this side of the pond with her single, "Die on This Hill", The twenty year old has been performing and writing songs since she was ten, inspired by the records of her parents that included Frank Sinatra and Nina Simone and the hip-hop that was playing during her youth, dropping out of high school at sixteen to pursue music full time. As is common these days for aspiring musicians, Spiro posted clips of herself singing covers and original songs on social media. Two years ago, she released her first single, "Need Me". Spiro released more music and began performing around London, making an impression at the All Points East music festival. Last year, she released an EP, "Sink Now, Swim Later" on Capitol Records and went on tour throughout Britain. In October, the power ballad, "Die On This Hill", co-written by Spiro with Omer Fedi and Michael Pollack, was released and has gone on to become an international top-ten smash. Spiro is currently putting together her debut album and is in the middle of a headlining tour in the US.
Here is a round-up of new sounds that I'm listening to at the moment: "American Girls", the second single from Harry Styles' recently released album, "Kiss All the Time. Disco, Occasionally"; Mary J Blige is back in fine form with a soulful ballad, "More Than a Lover"; Another single, "Ride" from Jessie Ware's upcoming sixth studio album, "Superbloom" is a shimmering dance track with the video featuring actor, James Norton; Bebe Rexha teams with Brit electro band, Faithless for a high energy, house track, "New Religion" and the first single by country artist, Kacey Musgraves, "Dry Spell" from her next album, "Middle of Nowhere" due out in May.
The sounds of classic disco, which enjoyed the height of its popularity during the mid-1970's, has climbed back up onto the current music charts. Donna Summer's 1978 version of Jimmy Webb's trippy ode to the Los Angeles site, "MacArthur Park" and Anita Ward's 1979 number one worldwide smash hit, "Ring My Bell" both recently made it back to the top ten of the iTunes music chart. Alysa Liu had skated to Summer’s song during the 2026 Winter Olympics and won the gold medal, helping this disco track receive rejuvenated popularity. A viral TikTok trend with "Ring My Bell" made sales and streaming of this song skyrocket this month. Ward, who went from schoolteacher to overnight disco star, only enjoyed success with this one song while Summer had a far more extensive and influential career before passing away in 2012, still known to the world as "The Queen of Disco". Let's get back on the dance floor and get lost in the beat of these songs with the entire seventeen minute epic version of the "MacArthur Park Suite" (which includes another charting single, "Heaven Knows") and Ward performing her hit on the British program, "Top of the Pops":
The first time I had heard of Durand Bernarr was when I saw the clip of him racing to the stage during this year's Grammys to accept the award for Best Progressive R&B Album and delivering a humorously exuberant speech of joyous gratitude. But I must shamefully admit that I had not heard of Bernarr's album, "Bloom" which won him the prize. So I immediately set about listening to his record and now understand completely why he was the recipient of this honor.
The Cleveland, Ohio native was surrounded by music, raised by parents who were involved in the business with his mother being a music teacher and vocal coach and his father was an audio engineer. After learning production by working with his father, Bernarr began his professional career posting videos on YouTube and released a mixtape that featured his versions of popular songs of the day in 2009. Another mixtape that was covers of Erykah Badu songs lead to him working with her as a backing vocalist. Bernarr went on to record some EPs and collaborate with various other artists as a featured vocalist or providing background vocals. He received attention with "Wanderlust" in 2022 and "En Route" was Grammy nominated for Best Progressive R&B Album in 2024. Openly queer, Bernarr is an artist to watch who is boldly pushing r&b in exciting new directions.
Taylor Swift has released the music video for her single, "Opalite" which came together following her appearance on the British chat program, "The Graham Norton Show" and features the guests that was on her episode; Karyn White has finally returned to music with "You Gonna Want Me Back" that has the r&b vocalist, who made a splash with her self-titled debut back in 1988, delivering a fresh, midtempo groove;No Na is an Indonesian girl group that is receiving attention on this side of the world thanks to their latest single, "Work" and their energetic music video.
Another artist I slept on was Rochelle Jordan and her third studio album, "Through The Wall" released last year. This collection is an explosive mix of funky progressive soul and sleek electronic sounds that will leave you exhilarated as you are dancing through the night. Born in London and raised in Toronto, Jordan has been creating music since 2012, releasing her debut album, "1021" two years later which featured fairly traditional r&b. But it wouldn't be until almost seven years later when she would return with her follow-up, "Play with the Changes" which was due to some health issues and a battle with her former label over her artistic expression. With this album, Jordan was able to experiment further with underground dance and house, finding that she was in her element. A performer who is not sonically aggressive, Jordan prefers to keep her luxurious beats smooth and steady to help elevate the dance floor.
And I will close by paying tribute to Chuck Negron, one of the vocalists of the pop-rock group, Three Dog Night, who passed away on February 2nd at the age of eighty-three. Born and raised in New York, Negron (whose father was nightclub performer, Charles Negron) sang in local vocal groups as a teen. He headed to Los Angeles after being recruited to play basketball at CAL State. His interests soon returned to music and in 1967, Negron, along with fellow singers, Cory Wells and Danny Hutton came together to form a musical group called Redwood, They were briefly signed to the Beach Boys' imprint record label, Brother Records. But during recording sessions, Brian Wilson was producing their demos and not happy with their sound. The rest of the Beach Boys soon wanted him to concentrate on their band's next album so Redwood was dropped. Not long after, these vocalists assembled their own backing band with Ron Morgan on guitar, Floyd Sneed on drums, Joe Schermie on bass, and Jimmy Greenspoon on keyboards and became "Three Dog Night" which refers to the practice of using dogs for warmth in the outback with "three dogs" indicating a freezing night.
Beginning with their 1968 self-titled debut album that featured their first pop hit, "One" which was a cover of Harry Nilsson's song, Three Dog Night went on to have twenty-one top-forty singles including three reaching number one. But legal battles, internal conflicts and drug abuse, the band imploded by 1976. Negron had his own struggles with serious drug addiction, even living for a period on Skid Row in Los Angeles, before seeking recovery and finally getting clean by 1991. He found his way back to music, recording four solo albums including "Negron Generations" from 2017 which featured him with two of his daughters. Here are a couple of Three Dog Night songs that Negron sang lead vocals on:
It's not like we haven't heard from Bruno Mars. He has been busy as a part of some recent, wildly popular musical collaborations with Lady Gaga, Rosé and the super-duo, Silk Sonic with Anderson .Paak. But it has been ten years since his own last studio album, "24K Magic". That is finally about to change as Mars has just announced the upcoming release of his fourth album, "The Romantic" due out on February 27th. There had been rumors of this record coming over the last three years with producer, D'Mile recently joining the project and co-producing with Mars. The first single, "I Just Might" is another blast of retro funk that Mars puts his own special spin on, a sound he has been exploring for some time, particularly with Silk Sonic. Mars has also announced that he will be hitting the road with The Romantic Tour which begins in April and takes the singer through North America and Europe.
Following his recent foray into French pop, the Lebanese-American singer, Mika is back with an upcoming English-language album, "Hyperlove" and the second single, "Immortal Love"; The Swedish pop artist, Robyn has dropped another single, "Talk To Me" from her forthcoming ninth studio album, "Sexistential"; Ari Lennox has another song, "Twin Flame" that will be on the long awaited third album from the r&b vocalist, "Vacancy"; and PinkPantheress teams with Zara Larsson for a new version of the single, "Stateside" from her remix album, "Fancy Some More?":
The legendary Dolly Parton has rounded up fellow artists, Lainey Wilson, Miley Cyrus, Queen Latifah, and Reba McEntire, with a new recording of her 1977 song, "Light of a Clear Blue Morning" to raise money for pediatric cancer research at Monroe Carell Jr. Children's Hospital in Nashville. Parton had explained that she had originally written this as a "song of deliverance" when she was dealing with the pain from her break with longtime musical and business partner Porter Wagoner in 1974 in order to further her career. "Light of a Clear Blue Morning" has gone on to be covered by many artists since then including Parton herself who rerecorded this inspirational song two previous times before this recent version.
And finally, I would like to pay tribute to a couple of musicians we lost recently: Carl Carlton, a soul music hit maker, died on December 13th. The Detroit native had been recovering from a stroke he had in 2019. Carlton was seventy-three. He began his professional career as child, first performing under the name "Little" Carl Carlton, a publicity stunt that brought attention to Stevie Wonder who had achieved success around this time. After signing to a recording label, Carlton released some singles with the song, "Competition Ain't Nothing", becoming popular in the UK northern soul scene in 1968.
But his real breakthrough would come six years later with his version of "Everlasting Love" (which was first a hit for Robert Knight in 1967) reaching number eleven on the Billboard R&B chart and number four on the Billboard Hot 100 pop chart. A royalty dispute with his new label, ABC Records would prevent Carlton from recording for a period of time. He would join a new label and find his way back on the charts in 1981 with the single, "She's a Bad Mama Jama (She's Built, She's Stacked)". This popular funk song would reach number two on the r&b chart, earn Carlton a Grammy Award nomination for Best R&B Male Vocal Performance and continue to be a staple for soundtracks and music sampling.
Chris Rea, the British blues rocker, passed away on December 22nd at the age of seventy-four. He had been struggling with several health issues since the turn of the century which included pancreatic cancer, diabetes and a stroke in 2016. Born in Middlesbrough, North Riding of Yorkshire, England, Rea bought his first guitar in his early twenties and self taught himself how to play. A fan of the blues and American rockers, Rea became a member of the rock group, Magdalene and would begin singing after the vocalist failed to show for a gig. In 1973, Rea went on to form his own band which lead to him getting signed as a solo artist to Magnet Records. His debut album, "Whatever Happened to Benny Santini?" was released in 1978. The first single, "Fool (If You Think It's Over)" was only a minor hit in the UK but went on to reach number twelve on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and earning him a Grammy nomination for Best New Artist. Rea would go on find greater success in his native country, recording twenty-five studio albums throughout his career with several charting songs on the UK pop chart. But Rea would never tour in North America, preferring to remain closer to his family than away from them for months at a time.
Following the less than warm reception to her last album, "143", Katy Perry has wasted no time to return with some new music. First performed live during the Lyon, France leg of her Lifetimes Tour earlier this month, "Bandaids" is a pop-rock ballad about dealing with the end of a relationship. This seems to reflect Perry's current state of mind as she's currently experiencing this with her recent break-up with actor, Orlando Bloom. A new album also appears to be on the horizon but no additional information has been revealed to date. The clever music video for "Bandaids", co-directed by Perry and Christian Breslauer, seems inspired by the horror franchise, "Final Destination" with Perry appearing in numerous horrific accidents.
Here are a few new music highlights: the Swedish performer, Zara Larsson has dropped a fresh remix of her dance-pop track, "Midnight Sun" (which helped earn Larsson her first Grammy nomination) that features Muni Long; best known as an actress, Hilary Duff has had some success as a pop singer and after almost ten years returns to music with a new single, "Mature" and an album due out soon; country crooner, Orville Peck recently released an EP, "Appaloosa" that includes this ballad, "Drift Away"; Perfume Genius has the latest single, "Me & Angel" from his seventh album, "Glory" and "FMT" (which stands for "F*ck My Type") is a guitar-driven, r&b ballad by Summer Walker about prioritizing a partner who genuinely chooses her and not settling for unhealthy relationships.
It has been twenty years since the release of "Confessions on a Dance Floor", the tenth studio album by Madonna. And to celebrate this milestone, a Twenty Years Edition has been released. This anniversary collection features the entire original album (seamlessly strung together like a DJ set), B-sides and remixes. It has also been announced that Madonna is not only returning to her long-time label Warner Bros. Records but it has been teased that there is a sequel of sorts to "Confessions" on the way. Not a lot of details on that yet but we should have that to look forward to next year. In the meantime, here are a few tracks from this album.
And finally, Ace Frehley, the lead guitarist of the costumed rock band, Kiss, passed away on October 16th at the age of seventy-four. Born Paul Frehley on April 27, 1951 in The Bronx, he received a guitar as a Christmas present when he was twelve, teaching himself how to play the instrument. He had gotten involved in street gangs around this time, which is when he got the nickname "Ace" but began to lose interest when music became more of a priority. Frehley began playing in local bands during high school and later got a job as a roadie for Jimi Hendrix. He drifted from several bands and worked many odds jobs to make a living before he saw an ad in The Village Voice looking for a guitarist.
When he went in to audition, he met rhythm guitarist, Paul Stanley, bass guitar player, Gene Simmons and drummer, Peter Criss. He was hired and they became Kiss in 1973. The band decided to paint their faces and create stage personas for live performances with Frehley becoming "Space Ace". They released their self-titled debut the next year and while there was no hit single, the record went gold on the strength of promoting the album and touring. With a frenzied style of guitar playing, Frehley became one of the popular rock players during the 1970's.
In 1978, each member of Kiss released a self-titled solo album with Frehley having a hit single "New York Groove", a cover of a 1975 song by the British glam-rock band, Hello, reaching number thirteen on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart. After Criss was voted out of the band in 1980, Frehley became frustrated by the musical direction of Kiss and was always outvoted as the replacement drummer had no vote. Two years later, Frehley would quit Kiss. Forming his own band, Frehley's Comet in 1984, he returned to his preferred heavy metal rock and enjoyed a brief time of success. In 1996, all four original members of Kiss reunited to tour and record an album, "Psycho Circus" before disbanding again by 2002. Frehley would go on to continue his solo career, with his latest album, "10,000 Volts" released last year, until his health had begun to decline recently.
Tyler, The Creator has brought an eccentric vision and innovative sound to hip-hop since his debut solo album back in 2009. Now with his ninth studio album, "Don't Tap The Glass", The Creator (born Tyler Okonma) has continued to push the sonic boundaries of what is considered hip-hop. Recorded during his Chromakopia: The World Tour that began earlier this year and the shortest album (at twenty-eight minutes) of his career, Tyler has delivered an unpredictable collection that boldly fuses house, techno and funk in exciting and colorful ways. Two singles have been dropped to support the album: "Sugar On My Tongue" is an electro-beat driven tune describing how tasty his lady is to him. While "Ring Ring Ring" is a blast of techno-funk that has him calling his lover who he misses, desperately hoping she'll answer.
Here is a round-up of new songs that is on my playlist: Sabrina Carpenter's follow-up album, "Man's Best Friend" is out now and the latest single, "Tears" is a disco-pop track with the video featuring actor, Colman Domingo in drag; After co-writing several songs for Gracie Abrams, Audrey Hobert has just released her debut single, "Sue Me"; Former American Idol contestant, Johnny Keyser, who now goes by John K, has continued his career in music with his recent third studio album, "Salt + Light" and the single, "Never Been in Love"; singer/actress, Reneé Rapp has delivered a soulful kiss-off with a live version of "I Think I like You Better When You're Gone" from her second studio album, "Bite Me"; r&b vocalist, Kehlani has a new single, "Folded" which asks a lover to reconsider after they're hasty break-up and Doja Cat has returned with an '80's inspired dance track, "Jealous Type" which is co-written and produced by Y2K and Jack Antonoff.
And a new single from Lady Gaga, "The Dead Dance" has been released. This pulsing synth-pop song is part of the soundtrack for the second season of "Wednesday" with the singer making an appearance on the supernatural comedy show based on the character in "The Addams Family". Tim Burton directs the black & white music video for "The Dead Dance" which features Gaga, in an eerie gothic setting, as a cracked porcelain doll that comes to life.
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