2017 OSCAR NOMINEES FOR BEST ORIGINAL SONG

With the show just a few weeks away, the Oscars have announced who will be performing the nominees for Best Original Song during the telecast. This year, all the songs will be represented on the program with Lin-Manuel Miranda, the writer of "How Far I'll Go" from the Disney animated film, "Moana", performing the song along with the voice of the title character, Auli'i Cravalho. "The Empty Chair" from the documentary, "Jim: The James Foley Story" will be sung by writer, Sting. Justin Timberlake will do his inescapable pop hit, "Can't Stop The Feeling" he co-wrote for the animated film,"Trolls". And Emma Stone and Ryan Gosling will be spared embarrassing themselves in front of their peers by trying to sing live in front of them. Oscar-winner John Legend, who actually makes his living as a singer but made an acting appearance in the film, will perform the two songs nominated from the musical "La La Land", " "City of Stars" and "Audition (The Fools Who Dream)".

And who do I think will take the prize? Well, if it's a "La La Land" sweep as predicted, then " City of Stars" would be the best bet. If not, then perhaps Justin's feel-good "Trolls" song might sneak in there for the win. My personal choice would actually be "City of Stars" as it's a lovely, well-written, Hollywood-styled ballad that will stand the test of time.

But I guess we will have to tune in on February 26th to see who really wins during the 89th Annual Academy Awards.  Here are the five nominees for your listening pleasure:

"Audition (The Fools Who Dream)" from "La La Land", Music by Justin Hurwitz; Lyric by Benj Pasek and Justin Paul



"Can’t Stop the Feeling" from "Trolls", Music and Lyric by Justin Timberlake, Max Martin and Karl Johan Schuster



"City of Stars" from"La La Land", Music by Justin Hurwitz; Lyric by Benj Pasek and Justin Paul



"The Empty Chair" from "Jim: The James Foley Story", Music and Lyric by J. Ralph and Sting



"How Far I'll Go" from "Moana", Music and Lyric by Lin-Manuel Miranda

NEW SOUNDS

STING

After first finding success as the driving force behind the ska-rock band, the Police in the mid-seventies and later enjoying an equally successful career as a solo artist, Sting decided he was done with the life of a pop star around 2003. He certainly did not give up creating music as he explored classical using the lute and wrote a Broadway musical, "The Last Ship" based on his own childhood experiences. Not that it's really all that surprising but the sixty-five year old Brit has just returned to the rock arena with "57th & 9th", the singer's twelfth studio album. The title refers to the intersection in New York where he passed each day on his way to the studio. Recorded over three months, a relatively short period of time for a music project, Sting states it helped him not overthink the music and brought a sense of urgency to the songs. The album blasts through with hard-driving guitars and covers a range of topics that are of high interest to the singer right now like climate change, politics, aging and his own mortality.

Listen to Sting's first single, "I Can't Stop Thinking About You" which manages to feel familiar and fresh at the same time:



EMELI SANDE

Emeli Sandé began her professional career in music as a successful, go-to pop songwriter and producer before she dropped her debut "Our Version of Events" in 2012. This record quickly elevated her to a whole new level with it becoming a worldwide smash, particularly in England where it spent ten non-consecutive weeks at number one and became the best-selling album of the year. Only in the U.S. did Sandé not become a major sensation although the single, "Next To Me", received some airplay and peaked in the top thirty on the pop charts. That may change as the twenty-nine year old British performer has just recently released her follow-up, "Long Live the Angels". This new record does not easily fit in to the current pop atmosphere, offering moody, introspective songs that are far more spare and stripped down. But it's still her soulful voice, filled with deep emotion and electrifying power, that makes this collection truly effective.

Check out the music video for the first release from the album, "Hurts":



TOVE LO

Ebba Tove Elsa Nilsson had always loved music and began writing songs when she was a child in her native Sweden. As a teen, she performed with several rock and punk bands and while in music school in Stockholm developed a close friendship with Caroline Hjelt, who would later form the pop duo, Icona Pop. This soon led her to Los Angeles and the opportunity to work with Swedish producer Max Martin. Nilsson developed her skills as a songwriter and wrote for several pop acts including Icona Pop. She started self-releasing songs with her singing under her childhood nickname "Tove Lo" on-line and "Habits (Stay High)" began to receive some attention. With this new-found popularity, Tove Lo was signed to a recording contract, released an EP, then her debut album, "Queen of the Clouds" in 2014 which brought her international fame thanks to the songs "Habits" and "Talking Body". After having to take a forced break due to vocal-cord surgery, the now twenty-nine year old singer is finally back with "Lady Wood". The title comes from the singer's expression for an aroused female and these bold songs on the album reflect a 21st century young woman's raw and honest views on feminism, love and sexuality.

Take a look at the short film, "Fairy Dust", directed by Tim Erem, which in essence is a long-form music video and features the first five songs on "Lady Wood":

THE FIRST TIME: PART THREE

Here is another installment of the first time we heard the music of some great artists.


EURYTHMICS - "SWEET DREAMS (ARE MADE OF THIS) - 1983
Annie Lennox and David A. Stewart started off together in a British punk-rock band called, The Tourists and they were also a romantic item. Tensions within the band as well as desire to change musical directions caused the two to split from the Tourists. Despite also ending their romance, they decided to start a new band and called themselves, The Eurythmics.

They released their first album, "In The Garden" (1981) but it was not much of a success. This next album, "Sweet Dreams (Are Made Of This) (Remastered Version)" featured the international smash title track which combined cold synthesisers and Ms Lennox's warm voice. The song was also helped by the innovative music video and launched their career.

They went on to release eight albums, selling over seventy five million copies and had many top ten hits while continuing to change musical directions throughout before taking an unplanned hiatus starting in 1989. Each released solo albums during this time before reuniting and releasing "Peace" in 1999 which has remained their last album to date. Although they have not officially disbanded, there are no current plans for them to record any new music in the foreseeable future.

This is the first hit single:

Sweet Dreams (Are Made Of This).mp3

Also, here is the music video for the song:




STING - "DREAM OF THE BLUE TURTLES" - 1985

Gordon Sumner or as he is better known, Sting, a nickname he received after performing on stage wearing a black and yellow stripe sweater, was the lead singer and bass player of the hit British rock band, The Police before he decided to leave the band and start a solo music career.

For his first record, he gathered together a group of jazz musicians that included Branford Marsalis and together they created a jazz-rock fusion album. "Dream of the Blue Turtles" was a huge hit that sold over three million copies in the U.S. and featured two top ten singles. There was even a documentary film made of the recording sessions called, "Bring on the Night [Blu-ray]" (1985) that was directed by Michael Apted.

Sting has gone on to release seven more solo albums, won eleven Grammy Awards and has acted in many films.

This song started his solo career:

If You Love Somebody(Set Them Free).mp3


DONNA SUMMER - "LOVE TO LOVE YOU BABY" - 1975
American teenager, LaDonna Gaines was part of the European touring company of the rock musical, "Hair" when she settled in Munich, Germany to marry Helmut Sommer and try a music career.

"Love To Love You Baby" was actually her second album, now called Donna Summer, following, "Lady of the Night" (1974) but that had only been released in Europe and was a minor hit. She was reluctant to record the title song and actually first did it as a demo for another artist. The producers, Giorgio Moroder and Pete Bellotte loved what she did and talked her into allowing them to release her version. It was first released in Europe and was a modest success.

Casablanca Records president, Neil Bogart heard the song, loved it, had the song reworked and released it in America. It became a smash hit and that success traveled around the world. This album was quickly released, more hit songs followed and she soon became "The Queen of Disco".

At the end of the disco era, Donna Summer managed to continue making hit recordings by moving towards a pop-rock and R&B sound. She has released eighteen albums, won five Grammy Awards and has sold over 130 million albums worldwide.

Here is that song that was actually banned on some radio stations at the time:

Love To Love You Baby.mp3