2025 GRAMMY AWARD NOMINATIONS

The nominees have been announced for the 2025 Grammy Awards with Kendrick Lamar leading the nominations with nine, including Record, Song and Album of the Year, for his album, "GNX". The rest of the Album of the Year nominees include Lady Gaga, also one of the most nominated artists for Grammys with seven for her recent studio album "Mayhem"; the Latin music superstar, Bad Bunny is up for three awards in the top categories for his latest album, "Debí Tirar Más Fotos" and a total of six nominations; Sabrina Carpenter also received six nominations for her album, "Man"s Best Friend" as well as fellow actor/musician Leon Thomas for his second studio album, "Mutt"; Justin Bieber has been recognized for his recent pop-soul collection, "Swag"; "Chromakopia", the album from alt-hip-hop artist, Tyler, The Creator, has a total of five nominations and the hip-hop duo, Clispe has been recognized for their fourth recording collaboration, "Let God Sort Em Out".

This year sees the introduction by The Recording Academy of two new categories: Best Album Cover and Best Traditional Country Album. While honoring album cover art seems long overdue, the splitting of the country music album category from "traditional" and "contemporary" seems to be as a direct result of Beyoncé's win in this category last year for her alt-country work, "Cowboy Carter", clearly disturbing some members of the Academy. However from the look of the nominees in these categories it appears to be very arbitrary on the selections with no obvious reasoning on the distinction of what makes an artist modern or traditional country.

The 68th annual Grammy Awards will be revealed on Sunday, February 1, 2026 at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles. CBS will air the award show and stream it live on Paramount+.

Here is a partial list of the nominations for the 2025 Grammy Awards:

Album Of The Year:

"Debí Tirar Más Fotos" – Bad Bunny
"Swag" – Justin Bieber
"Man’s Best Friend" – Sabrina Carpenter
"Let God Sort Em Out" – Clipse
"Mayhem" – Lady Gaga
"GNX" – Kendrick Lamar
"Mutt" – Leon Thomas
"Chromakopia" – Tyler, The Creator

Record Of The Year:

"Debí Tirar Más Fotos" – Bad Bunny
“Manchild” – Sabrina Carpenter
“Anxiety” – Doechii
“Wild Flower” – Billie Eilish
“Abracadabra” – Lady Gaga
“Luther” – Kendrick Lamar with SZA
“The Subway” – Chappell Roan
“Apt” – Rosé and Bruno Mars

Song Of The Year:

“Abracadabra” – Lady Gaga (Songwriters: Lady Gaga, Henry Walter and Andrew Watt)
“Anxiety” – Doechii (Songwriter: Jaylah Hickmon)
“Apt” – Rosé and Bruno Mars (Songwriters: Amy Allen, Christopher Brody Brown, Rogét Chahayed, Omer Fedi, Philip Lawrence, Bruno Mars, Chae Young Park, Theron Thomas and Henry Walter)
“Debí Tirar Más Fotos” – Bad Bunny (Songwriters: Marco Daniel Borrero, Scott Dittrich, Benjamin Falik, Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio, Hugo René Sención Sanabria, Tyler Thomas Spry and Roberto José Rosado Torres)
“Golden” – Huntr/x:  (Songwriters: Ejae and Mark Sonnenblick)
“Luther” – Kendrick Lamar with SZA (Songwriters: Jack Antonof, Roswita Larisha Bacha, Matthew Bernard, Scott Bridgeway, Sam Dew, Ink, Kendrick Lamar, Solána Rowe, Mark Anthony Spears and Kamasi Washington)
“Manchild” – Sabrina Carpenter (Songwriters: Amy Allen, Jack Antonoff and Sabrina Carpenter)
“Wildflower” – Billie Eilish (Songwriters: Billie Eilish O’Connell and Finneas O’Connell)

Best New Artist:

Olivia Dean
Katseye
The Marias
Addison Rae
Sombr
Leon Thomas
Alex Warren
Lola Young

Best Pop Vocal Album:

"Swag" – Justin Bieber
"Man’s Best Friend" – Sabrina Carpenter
"Something Beautiful" – Miley Cyrus
"Mayhem" – Lady Gaga
"I’ve Tried Everything But Therapy" (Part 2) – Teddy Swims

Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album:

"Wintersongs" - Laila Biali
"The Gift Of Love" - Jennifer Hudson
"Who Believes In Angels?" - Elton John & Brandi Carlile
"Harlequin" - Lady Gaga
"A Matter Of Time" - Laufey
"The Secret Of Life: Partners, Volume 2" - Barbra Streisand

Best Pop Solo Performance:

“Daisies” – Justin Bieber
“Manchild” – Sabrina Carpenter
“Disease” – Lady Gaga
“The Subway” – Chappell Roan
“Messy” – Lola Young

Best Pop Duo/Group Performance:

“Defying Gravity” – Cynthia Erivo & Ariana Grande
“Golden” – HUNTR/X 
“Gabriela” – KATSEYE
“APT.” – ROSÉ, Bruno Mars
“30 For 30” – SZA With Kendrick Lamar

Best Dance Pop Recording:

“Bluest Flame” – Selena Gomez & benny blanco
“Abracadabra” – Lady Gaga
“Midnight Sun” – Zara Larsson
“Just Keep Watching” – Tate McRae
“Illegal” – PinkPantheress

Best Dance/Electronic Album:

"EUSEXUA" - FKA twigs
"Ten Days" - Fred again..
"Fancy That" - PinkPantheress
"Inhale/Exhale" - RÜFÜS DU SOL
"F— U SKRILLEX YOU THINK UR ANDY WARHOL BUT UR NOT!!" - Skrillex

Best R&B Album:

"BELOVED" - GIVĒON
"Why Not More?" - Coco Jones 

"The Crown" - Ledisi
"Escape Room" - Teyana Taylor
"MUTT" - Leon Thomas

Best Progressive R&B Album:

"BLOOM" - Durand Bernarr
"Adjust Brightness" - Bilal
"LOVE ON DIGITAL" - Destin Conrad
"Access All Areas" - FLO
"Come As You Are" - Terrace Martin & Kenyon Dixon

Best R&B Performance:

“YUKON” – Justin Bieber
“It Depends” – Chris Brown Featuring Bryson Tiller
“Folded” – Kehlani
“MUTT (Live From NPR’s Tiny Desk)” – Leon Thomas
“Heart Of A Woman” – Summer Walker

Best Rap Album:

"Let God Sort Em Out" – Clipse
"GLORIOUS" – GloRilla
"God Does Like Ugly" – JID
"GNX" – Kendrick Lamar
"Chromakopia" – Tyler, The Creator

Best Rap Performance:

"Outside" - Cardi B
"Chains & Whips" - Clipse Featuring Kendrick Lamar & Pharrell Williams
"Anxiety" - Doechii
"tv off" - Kendrick Lamar Featuring Lefty Gunplay
"Darling, I" - Tyler, The Creator Featuring Teezo Touchdown

Best Alternative Music Album:

"SABLE, fABLE" – Bon Iver
"Songs Of A Lost World" – The Cure
"DON’T TAP THE GLASS" – Tyler, The Creator
"moisturizer" – Wet Leg
"Ego Death At A Bachelorette Party" – Hayley Williams

Best Traditional Country Album:

"Dollar A Day" – Charley Crockket
"American Romance" – Lukas Nelson
"Oh What a Beautiful World" – Willie Nelson
"Hard Headed Woman" – Margo Price
"Ain’t In It for My Health" – Zach Top

Best Contemporary Country Album:

"Patterns" – Kelsea Ballerini
"Snipe Hunter" – Tyler Childers
"Evangeline vs. The Machine" – Eric Church
"Beautifully Broken" – Jelly Roll
"Postcards from Texas" – Miranda Lambert

Best Country Solo Performance:

“Nose On The Grindstone” – Tyler Childers
“Good News” – Shaboozey
“Bad As I Used To Be” – Chris Stapleton
“I Never Lie” – Zach Top
“Somewhere Over Laredo” – Lainey Wilson

Best Country Duo/Group Performance:

"A Song To Sing" - Miranda Lambert And Chris Stapleton
"Trailblazer" - Reba McEntire, Miranda Lambert and Lainey Wilson
"Love Me Like You Used To Do" - Margo Price & Tyler Childers
"Amen" - Shaboozey & Jelly Roll
"Honky Tonk Hall Of Fame" - George Strait & Chris Stapleton

Best Americana Album:

"Big Money" – Jon Batiste
"Bloom" – Larkin Poe
"Last Leaf On The Tree" – Willie Nelson
"So Long Little Miss Sunshine" – Molly Tuttle
"Middle" – Jesse Welles

Best Latin Pop Album:

"Cosa Nuestra" – Rauw Alejandro
"BOGOTÁ" (Deluxe) – Andrés Cepeda
"Tropicoqueta" – KAROL G
"Cancionera" – Natalia Lafourcade
"¿Y ahora qué?" – Alejandro Sanz

Best Score Soundtrack For Visual Media (Includes Film And Television):

"How To Train Your Dragon" – John Powell, composer
"Severance: Season 2" – Theodore Shapiro, composer
"Sinners" – Ludwig Göransson, composer
"Wicked" – John Powell & Stephen Schwartz, composers
"The Wild Robot" – Kris Bowers, composer

Best Album Cover:

"Chromakopia" - Shaun Llewellyn & Luis “Panch” Perez, art directors (Tyler, The Creator) 

"The Crux" - William Wesley II, art director (Djo)
"Debí Tirar Más Fotos" - Benito Antonio Martinez Ocasio, art director (Bad Bunny)
"Glory" - Cody Critcheloe & Andrew J.S., art directors (Perfume Genius)
"moisturizer" - Hester Chambers, Ellis Durand, Henry Holmes, Matt de Jong, Jamie-James Medina, Joshua Mobaraki & Rhian Teasdale, art directors (Wet Leg)

Songwriter Of The Year (Non-Classical):

Amy Allen
Jessie Jo Dillon
Edgar Barrera
Tobias Jesso Jr.

Producer Of The Year (Non-Classical):

Dan Auerbach
Cirkut
Dijon
Blake Mills
Sounwave

RANDOM SIGHT + SOUNDS

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.

2024 GRAMMY AWARD NOMINATIONS

The 2024 Grammy Award nominations have been announced and once again, women are dominating in this year's race which includes, for the very first time, that no men were nominated for "Best Pop Vocal Album". And with eleven nominations, Beyoncé has become the most nominated artist in the history of the Grammys (breaking the tie with her husband, Jay-Z) for her alt-country album, "Cowboy Carter". This album is just one of eight competing for Album of the Year with the other nominees are the flute driven, instrumental album, "New Blue Sun" from André 3000 who has been best known as a hip-hop performer; "Short n’ Sweet", the breakthrough album by the latest pop sensation, Sabrina Carpenter; "Brat", the British pop artist, Charli XCX's first major hit on this side of the Atlantic; fellow Brit, Jacob Collier and his breakout collection of alternative jazz, "Djesse Vol. 4"; "Hit Me Hard and Soft", the latest from the edgy pop artist, Billie Eilish; the alt-pop debut from Chappell Roan, "The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess" and last year's winner of this prize, Taylor Swift for her album, "The Tortured Poets Department".

The 67th annual Grammy Awards will be presented live on Sunday, February 2, 2025 from Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles. The ceremony will also stream on Paramount+. Here is a partial list of this year's nominations:

Album of the Year:

"New Blue Sun" – André 3000
"Cowboy Carter" – Beyoncé
"Short n’ Sweet" – Sabrina Carpenter
"Brat" – Charli XCX
"Djesse Vol. 4" – Jacob Collier
"Hit Me Hard and Soft" – Billie Eilish
"The Rise And Fall Of A Midwest Princess" – Chappell Roan
"The Tortured Poets Department" – Taylor Swift

Record Of The Year:

“Now and Then” - The Beatles
“Texas Hold ‘Em” - Beyoncé
“Espresso”- Sabrina Carpenter
“360” - Charli XCX
“Birds of a Feather” - Billie Eilish
“Not Like Us” - Kendrick Lamar
“Good Luck, Babe!” - Chappell Roan
“Fortnight” - Taylor Swift Featuring Post Malone

Song of the Year:

“A Bar Song (Tipsy)” - Sean Cook, Jerrel Jones, Joe Kent, Chibueze Collins Obinna, Nevin Sastry & Mark Williams, songwriters (Shaboozey)
“Birds of a Feather” - Billie Eilish O’Connell & Finneas O'Connell, songwriters (Billie Eilish)
“Die With a Smile” - Dernst Emile II, James Fauntleroy, Lady Gaga, Bruno Mars & Andrew Watt, songwriters (Lady Gaga & Bruno Mars)
“Fortnight” - Jack Antonoff, Austin Post & Taylor Swift, songwriters (Taylor Swift Featuring Post Malone)
“Good Luck, Babe!” - Kayleigh Rose Amstutz, Daniel Nigro & Justin Tranter, songwriters (Chappell Roan)
“Not Like Us” - Kendrick Lamar, songwriter (Kendrick Lamar)
“Please Please Please” - Amy Allen, Jack Antonoff & Sabrina Carpenter, songwriters (Sabrina Carpenter)
“Texas Hold ‘Em” - Brian Bates, Beyoncé, Elizabeth Lowell Boland, Megan Bülow, Nate Ferraro & Raphael Saadiq, songwriters (Beyoncé)

Best New Artist:

Benson Boone
Sabrina Carpenter
Doechii
Khruangbin
Raye
Chappell Roan
Shaboozey
Teddy Swims

Best Pop Vocal Album:

“Short n’ Sweet” - Sabrina Carpenter
“Hit Me Hard and Soft” - Billie Eilish
“Eternal Sunshine” - Ariana Grande
“The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess” - Chappell Roan
“The Tortured Poets Department” - Taylor Swift

Best Pop Solo Performance:

“Bodyguard” - Beyoncé
“Espresso” - Sabrina Carpenter
“Apple” - Charli XCX
“Birds of a Feather” - Billie Eilish
“Good Luck, Babe!” -Chappell Roan

Best Pop Dup/Group Performance:

“Us” - Gracie Abrams Featuring Taylor Swift
“Levii’s Jeans” - Beyoncé Featuring Post Malone
“Guess” - Charli XCX & Billie Eilish
“The Boy Is Mine” - Ariana Grande, Brandy & Monica
“Die With a Smile” -Lady Gaga & Bruno Mars

Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album:

"À Fleur De Peau" - Cyrille Aimée
"Visions" - Norah Jones
"Good Together" - Lake Street Dive
"Impossible Dream" - Aaron Lazar
"Christmas Wish" - Gregory Porter

Best Dance/Electronic Album:

“Brat” - Charli XCX
“Three” - Four Tet
“Hyperdrama” - Justice
“Timeless” - Kaytranada
“Telos” - Zedd

Best Dance Pop Recording:

“Make You Mine” - Madison Beer
“Von Dutch” - Charli XCX
“L’Amour de Ma Vie [Over Now Extended Edit]” - Billie Eilish
“Yes, And?” - Ariana Grande
“Got Me Started” - Troye Sivan

Best Dance/Electronic Recording:

“She’s Gone, Dance On” - Disclosure
“Loved” - Four Tet
“Leavemealone” - Fred Again & Baby Keem
“Neverender” - Justice & Tame Impala
“Witchy” - Kaytranada Featuring Childish Gambino

Best R&B Album:

"11:11 (Deluxe)" — Chris Brown
"VANTABLACK" — Lalah Hathaway
"Revenge" — Muni Long
"Algorithm" — Lucky Daye
"Coming Home" — Usher

Best R&B Performance:

“Guidance” — Jhené Aiko
“Residuals” — Chris Brown
“Here We Go (Uh Oh)” — Coco Jones
“Made For Me (Live On BET)” — Muni Long
“Saturn” — SZA

Best Traditional R&B Performance:

“Wet” — Marsha Ambrosius
“Can I Have This Groove” — Kenyon Dixon
“No Lie” — Lalah Hathaway Featuring Michael McDonald
“Make Me Forget” — Muni Long
“That’s You” — Lucky Daye

Best Rap Album:

"Might Delete Later" — J. Cole
"The Auditorium, Vol. 1" — Common & Pete Rock
"Alligator Bites Never Heal" — Doechii
"The Death Of Slim Shady (Coup De Grâce)" — Eminem
"We Don’t Trust You" — Future & Metro Boomin

Best Rap Performance:

“Enough (Miami)” — Cardi B
“When The Sun Shines Again” — Common & Pete Rock Featuring Posdnuos
“Nissan Altima” — Doechii
“Houdini” — Eminem
“Like That” — Future & Metro Boomin Featuring Kendrick Lamar
“Yeah Glo!” — GloRilla
“Not Like Us” — Kendrick Lamar

Best Rock Album:

“Happiness Bastards” - The Black Crowes
“Romance” - Fontaines D.C.
“Saviors” - Green Day
“TANGK” - Idles
“Dark Matter” - Pearl Jam
“Hackney Diamonds” - The Rolling Stones
“No Name” - Jack White

Best Rock Performance:

“Now and Then” — The Beatles
“Beautiful People (Stay High)” — The Black Keys
“The American Dream Is Killing Me” — Green Day
“Gift Horse” — IDLES
“Dark Matter” — Pearl Jam
“Broken Man” — St. Vincent

Best Alternative Music Album:

"Wild God" — Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds
"Charm" — Clairo
"The Collective" — Kim Gordon
"What Now" — Brittany Howard
"All Born Screaming" — St. Vincent

Best Alternative Music Performance:

“Neon Pill” — Cage The Elephant
“Song Of The Lake” — Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds
“Starburster” — Fontaines D.C.
“Bye Bye” — Kim Gordon
“Flea” — St. Vincent

Best Country Album:

"Cowboy Carter" — Beyoncé
"F-1 Trillion" — Post Malone
"Deeper Well" — Kacey Musgraves
"Higher" — Chris Stapleton
"Whirlwind" — Lainey Wilson

Best Country Solo Performance:

“16 CARRIAGES” — Beyoncé
“I Am Not Okay” — Jelly Roll
“The Architect” — Kacey Musgraves
“A Bar Song (Tipsy)” — Shaboozey
“It Takes A Woman” — Chris Stapleton

Best Country Duo/Group Performance:

“Cowboys Cry Too” — Kelsea Ballerini With Noah Kahan
“II MOST WANTED” — Beyoncé Featuring Miley Cyrus
“Break Mine” — Brothers Osborne
“Bigger Houses” — Dan + Shay
“I Had Some Help” — Post Malone Featuring Morgan Wallen

Best Americana Album:

"The Other Side" — T Bone Burnett
"$10 Cowboy" — Charley Crockett
"Trail Of Flowers" — Sierra Ferrell
"Polaroid Lovers" — Sarah Jarosz
"No One Gets Out Alive" — Maggie Rose
"Tigers Blood' — Waxahatchee

Best Folk Album:

"American Patchwork Quartet" — American Patchwork Quartet
"Weird Faith" — Madi Diaz
"Bright Future" — Adrianne Lenker
"All My Friends" — Aoife O’Donovan
"Woodland" — Gillian Welch & David Rawlings

Best Gospel Album:

"Covered Vol. 1" — Melvin Crispell III
"Choirmaster II (Live)" — Ricky Dillard
"Father’s Day" — Kirk Franklin
"Still Karen" — Karen Clark Sheard
"More Than This" — CeCe Winans

Best Jazz Vocal Album:

"Journey In Black" — Christie Dashiell
"Wildflowers Vol. 1" — Kurt Elling & Sullivan Fortner
"A Joyful Holiday" — Samara Joy
"Milton + Esperanza" — Milton Nascimento & Esperanza spalding
"My Ideal" — Catherine Russell & Sean Mason

Best Jazz Performance:

“Walk With Me, Lord (Sound/Spirit)” — The Baylor Project
“Phoenix Reimagined (Live)” — Lakecia Benjamin Featuring Randy Brecker, Jeff “Tain” Watts & John Scofield
“Juno” — Chick Corea & Béla Fleck
“Twinkle Twinkle Little Me” — Samara Joy Featuring Sullivan Fortner
“Little Fears”— Dan Pugach Big Band Featuring Nicole Zuraitis & Troy Roberts

Best Latin Pop Album:

"Funk Generation" — Anitta
"El Viaje" — Luis Fonsi
"GARCÍA" — Kany García
"Las Mujeres Ya No Lloran" — Shakira
"ORQUÍDEAS" — Kali Uchis

Best Comedy Album:

"Armageddon" — Ricky Gervais
"The Dreamer" — Dave Chappelle
"The Prisoner" — Jim Gaffigan
"Someday You’ll Die" — Nikki Glaser
"Where Was I" — Trevor Noah

Best Score Soundtrack For Visual Media (Includes Film And Television):

"American Fiction" — Laura Karpman, composer
"Challengers" — Trent Reznor & Atticus Ross, composers
"The Color Purple" — Kris Bowers, composer
"Dune: Part Two" — Hans Zimmer, composer
"Shōgun" — Nick Chuba, Atticus Ross & Leopold Ross, composers

Best Song Written For Visual Media:

"Ain’t No Love In Oklahoma [From “Twisters: The Album”]" — Jessi Alexander, Luke Combs & Jonathan Singleton, songwriters (Luke Combs)
"Better Place [From “TROLLS Band Together”]" — Amy Allen, Shellback & Justin Timberlake, songwriters (*NSYNC & Justin Timberlake)
"Can’t Catch Me Now [From “The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes”]" — Daniel Nigro & Olivia Rodrigo, songwriters (Olivia Rodrigo)
"It Never Went Away [From “American Symphony”]" — Jon Batiste & Dan Wilson, songwriters (Jon Batiste)
"Love Will Survive [From “The Tattooist of Auschwitz”]" — Walter Afanasieff, Charlie Midnight, Kara Talve & Hans Zimmer, songwriters (Barbra Streisand)

Best Compilation Soundtrack For Visual Media:

"The Color Purple" — (Various Artists)
"Deadpool & Wolverine" — (Various Artists)
"Maestro: Music By Leonard Bernstein" — London Symphony Orchestra, Yannick Nézet-Séguin, Bradley Cooper
"Saltburn" — (Various Artists)
"Twisters: The Album" — (Various Artists)

Best Music Video:

“Tailor Swif” — A$AP Rocky
“360” — Charli xcx
“Houdini” — Eminem
“Not Like Us” — Kendrick Lamar
“Fortnight” — Taylor Swift Featuring Post Malone

Songwriter Of The Year:

Jessi Alexander
Amy Allen
Edgar Barrera
Jessie Jo Dillon
Raye

Producer Of The Year (Non-Classical):

Alissia
Dernst “D’Mile” Emile II
Ian Fitchuk
Mustard
Daniel Nigro

RANDOM SIGHTS + SOUNDS

Bryan Ferry, the front man of the glam rock outfit, Roxy Music, is still creating music more than fifty years after forming the group, which disbanded in 1983. The now seventy-eight year old musician has announced a career-spanning music collection appropriately entitled, "Retrospective: Selected Recordings" that will feature eighty-one tracks from his solo career and due out in October. Ferry has also released a new song, his first in ten years, and teamed up with Trent Rezner and Atticus Ross of Nine Inch Nails to help create the track. "Star" features vocals by artist, Amelia Barratt and offers a different sonic approach than what we usually hear from the mod rocker with edgy, techno beats. Ferry has promised this is just the beginning with more original music on the way.



Here are a few songs that I am enjoying at the moment: "Taste", the latest from the new pop sensation, Sabrina Carpenter who has just released her sixth studio album, "Short N' Sweet" with the music video for the song inspired by the 1992 dark comedy, "Death Becomes Her" and features actress, Jenna Ortega; Megan Thee Stallion's "Mamushi" is a bilingual hip-hop track that features Japanese rapper, Yuki Chiba; rising dance-soul artist, Jae Stephens has a new song, "Body Favors"; Another remix from Charli XCX from her "Brat" album with "Guess" that has Billie Eilish on board; and the American DJ, the Blessed Madonna has teamed-up with the Australian dance queen, Kylie Minogue for a throbbing new party song, "Edge of Saturday Night".

And I will close by paying tribute to two artists who have recently passed away: Greg Kihn, the rocker who found fame in the 80's with the hit songs, "The Breakup Song (They Don't Write 'Em)" and "Jeopardy", died on August 13th at the age of seventy-five. Born in Baltimore, Kihn had a dream of becoming a professional musician after seeing the Beatles on "The Ed Sullivan Show" as a teenager. After spending time learning to write songs and playing guitar with several bands in local bars, Kihn made the move to California to try his luck, landing in Berkeley. In 1976, Kihn was signed to a local record label, Beserkley and recorded three albums that didn't generate much attention.

Four years later, he formed a group called, the Greg Kihn Band but they still struggled to breakthrough. But it was with the 1981 album, "Rockihnroll" and the single, "The Breakup Song" that brought Kihn his first taste of pop music success with the song reaching number fifteen on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart. Two years later, Kihn had an even bigger hit with "Jeopardy" which made it to number two on the US pop chart. That would pretty much be the end of Kihn's charting success but he would continue to make music over the following years. He also became a Bay Area morning radio DJ for a classic rock radio station in 1996, holding the job for fifteen years, and went on to write four novels.

Maurice Williams, with his band, The Zodiacs, was the the writer and lead vocalist behind the r&b classic, "Stay". He died on August 5th at the age of eighty-six. Music had been an important part of his life since he was a child through his church where his family members performed. As a teen, he formed a gospel group called Junior Harmonizers. But doo-wop soon captured his attention and the group became the Royal Charms. The band went through several other name changes before settling on "the Zodiacs", taking the name from a short-lived British car.

In 1959, Williams and the Zodiacs recorded several demos in search of a breakthrough and the final song they did was "Stay", written years before by Williams. The song became a smash hit and is the shortest to reach the top spot on the US Billboard Hot 100 at one minute and thirty-six seconds. There were several covers of "Stay" including Jackson Browne's popular live version in 1978. This song would achieve even greater success as being a part of the soundtrack to the 1987 movie, "Dirty Dancing". Williams would continue to record and tour up until his death.

RANDOM SIGHTS + SOUNDS

It's been fifteen years since actor and musical artist, Vanessa Williams has released new music. She had a thriving pop music career since the late 1980's but had recently decided to put her main focus on acting on the screen and stage. Yet unexpectedly Williams has dropped a new single, "Legs (Keep Dancing)" that is the first from an upcoming album due out later in the year. Inspired by the memoir, "The Legs Are The Last To Go" by the legendary, trailblazing actress, Diahann Carroll, the sixty-one year old Williams decided it was not too late to resume her recording career. The music video for this dance bop displays Williams in fine form, showing off her legs and some impressive, high energy moves. But Williams has not given up on acting as she is set to return to the stage in London's West End, as Miranda Priestly in Elton John's musical adaptation of "The Devil Wears Prada".

The alt-r&b duo, Lion Babe, that features vocalist, Jillian Hervey and producer, Lucas Goodman have also just released a new dance track, "So Pretty". This New York based outfit have been blending classic soul and electronic beats since 2012 and with their latest release, "So Pretty" delivers a shimmering house music song about feeling confidently beautiful on the inside and on the outside. For the video, looking and sounding very much like her mother, Vanessa Williams, Hervey is seen strutting around the city looking glamourous and fierce.



Here are a few recent songs that I am enjoying: "Espresso", the latest pop single from actress/singer, Sabrina Carpenter which is her first to reach the top-ten in several countries including the Billboard Hot 100; The song, "Make You Mine" from Madison Beer with the music video inspired by the horror-comedy, "Jennifer's Body"; Tinashe is back with "Nasty" which proclaims that she's looking for a freak and "Magnificent", the most recent song unearthed from the seemingly, unlimited musical vault from the late and highly prolific artist, Prince.









And I just recently watched again "Sweet Charity", the 1969 movie adaptation of the stage musical which was based on the Fellini film, "Nights of Cabiria". And while it does not work entirely for me, what makes the film truly stand out is the direction and choreography of Bob Fosse, making his screen directorial debut. He began first as a chorus dancer in the movies before heading to the Broadway stage, working his magic to become an acclaimed choreographer and later a director. Fosse's success continued as he returned to film, making five features and winning the Best Director Oscar for the musical, "Cabaret" in 1972. Here is the incredible number of "Big Spender" from "Sweet Charity" which features Paula Kelly and Chita Rivera that is a marvel in movement and sound.