RANDOM SIGHTS + SOUNDS

Céline Dion's inability to sing properly due to a rare neurological disorder is absolutely one of the great tragedies for pop music. A fascinating yet heartbreaking new documentary (now streaming on Amazon Prime), "I Am: Celine Dion" from filmmaker Irene Taylor has Dion going into great detail about this secret she had kept from the public and her fans for many years. The film not only looks back on her illustrious career but Dion allows the camera to capture her struggles with this illness and her valiant attempt to rehabilitate enough to possibly make a triumphant return to the stage 

The film is broken down into sections: from explaining what her body goes through with Stiff Person Syndrome; her loving yet challenging childhood of being one of fourteen children; having her three sons with the love of her life, René Angélil who began as her manager then her husband before passing away in 2016 and the harrowing moment when Dion goes through a severe seizure. Open, vulnerable and very charming, Dion holds nothing back, revealing herself to be a determined, fierce fighter. There is a soundtrack for the film which highlights her career in song and six music scores by Redi and Ekland Hasa. A new remix of the ballad, "Love Again" also appears on the record which was the title track from the romantic-comedy released last year where Dion made her acting debut playing a heightened version of herself.

Here is a round-up of some new music that has caught my attention: "Aright", the new single from Victoria Monét's debut album, "Jaguar II" with a music video that shows off her incredible dance moves while paying a little visual tribute to Janet Jackson; Mette, a rising actor, dancer and musician, has released a dance-pop single, "Bet"; Another actor/musician is Moses Sumney who has dropped his latest project, an alt-r&b track, "Vintage"; the second album from Omar Apollo, "God Said No" is out now with an interesting video for the recent single, "Done With You" and Bronze Avery has a sexy new video out for his perfect summer song, "Heatwave":











Ariana Grande has a single called, "The Boy is Mine" off her album, "Eternal Sunshine". That title brings to mind to some people the classic '90's r&b duet that featured Brandy and Monica. Grande was very aware of that and cleverly had these two make a brief appearance in the music video for her song. And she has gone one step further by having Brandy and Monica performing on the remix of "The Boy is Mine". Also let's take a look back at "The Boy Is Mine" with Brandy and Monica from 1998:

Françoise Hardy, the French chanteuse and style icon, passed away on June 11th at the age of eighty. Hardy came to fame as a singer of the yé-yé musical wave that emerged in the 1960's. She didn't have a major impact here in America but in France, Hardy was an important and influential figure in pop music and fashion. She recorded over thirty albums during her career, singing not only in her native French but also in English, Italian and German. One of her most popular songs was "Comment te dire adieu (How To Say Goddbye To You)" which was released in 1968. Originally recorded by Margaret Whiting in English two years earlier as "It Hurts To Say Goodbye", Hardy heard an instrumental version of the song and had Serge Gainsbourg write French lyrics. Hardy made a few films, usually playing a singer, which includes cameos in the comedy, "What's New, Pussycat?", Jean-Luc Godard's "Masculin Féminin" and the Hollywood racing drama, "Grand Prix".

2023 GRAMMY AWARD NOMINATIONS

The 2023 Grammy Award nominations have been announced and women dominate all the major categories with SZA and her sophomore alt-soul release, "SOS" received the most nominations with nine including Album of the Year. Indie rocker, Phoebe Bridgers (which includes her work with boygenius) and r&b vocalist, Victoria Monét each follow with a total of seven nods while Taylor Swift, Olivia Rodrigo, Billie Eilish, and Miley Cyrus, all received six.

Jon Batiste is the only male artist to be recognized for Album of the Year (who won the prize two years ago for "We Are") for his concept record, "World Music Radio". The debut studio album of boygenius, "The Record", an indie-rock supergroup which consists of Bridgers, Julien Baker and Lucy Dacus; Janelle Monáe's latest Afrobeat inspired collection, "The Age of Pleasure"; and Lana Del Rey's psychedelic-pop record, "Did You Know That There’s a Tunnel Under Ocean Blvd" fill out the Album of the Year category along with Swift's "Midnights", Cyrus' "Endless Summer Vacation" and Rodrigo's follow-up album, "Guts".

This is a record year for Swift, with an overall total of twelve wins and a career year-to-date of forty-six nominations, who now holds a Grammy record with her nomination for Song of the Year with "Anti-Hero", making this her seventh in the category, the most held by any songwriter. And the Recording Academy has added three new categories this year: Best African Music Performance, Best Alternative Jazz Album and Best Pop Dance Recording.

The 66th annual Grammy Awards will be held on Sunday, February 4, 2024 and can be viewed on CBS and Paramount+. Here is a partial list of the nominations of the 2023 Grammy Awards:

Album of the Year:

"The Record" - boygenius
"The Age of Pleasure" - Janelle Monáe
"World Music Radio" - Jon Batiste
"Did You Know That There’s a Tunnel Under Ocean Blvd" - Lana Del Rey
"Endless Summer Vacation" - Miley Cyrus
"Guts" - Olivia Rodrigo
"SOS" - SZA
"Midnights" - Taylor Swift

Record of the Year:

"Worship" - Jon Batiste
"Not Strong Enough" - boygenius
"Flowers" - Miley Cyrus
“What Was I Made For?" - Billie Eilish
"On My Mama" - Victoria Monét
"Vampire" - Olivia Rodrigo
"Anti-Hero" - Taylor Swift

Song of the Year:

"A&W"— Jack Antonoff, Lana Del Rey & Sam Dew, songwriters (Lana Del Rey)
"Anti-Hero" — Jack Antonoff & Taylor Swift, songwriters (Taylor Swift)
"Butterfly" — Jon Batiste & Dan Wilson, songwriters (Jon Batiste)
"Dance the Night" (From the Motion Picture, "Barbie") — Caroline Ailin, Dua Lipa, Mark Ronson & Andrew Wyatt, songwriters (Dua Lipa)
"Flowers" — Miley Cyrus, Gregory Aldae Hein & Michael Pollack, songwriters (Miley Cyrus)
"Kill Bill" — Rob Bisel, Carter Lang & Solána Rowe, songwriters (SZA)
"Vampire” — Daniel Nigro & Olivia Rodrigo, songwriters (Oliva Rodrigo)
"What Was I Made For?" (From the Motion Picture "Barbie") — Billie Eilish O’Connell & Finneas O’Connell, songwriters (Billie Eilish)

Best New Artist:

Coco Jones
Gracie Abrams
Fred Again..
Ice Spice
Jelly Roll
Noah Kahan
Victoria Monét
The War and Treaty

Best Pop Vocal Album:

"Chemistry" - Kelly Clarkson
"Endless Summer Vacation" - Miley Cyrus
"Guts"- Olivia Rodrigo
"- (Subtract)" - Ed Sheeran
"Midnights" - Taylor Swift

Best Pop Solo Performance:

"Flowers" - Miley Cyrus
"Paint the Town Red" - Doja Cat
"What Was I Made For?" - Billie Eilish
"Vampire" - Olivia Rodrigo
"Anti-Hero" - Taylor Swift

Best Pop Duo/Group Performance:

"Thousand Miles" Miley Cyrus featuring Brandi Carlile
"Candy Necklace" - Lana Del Rey featuring Jon Batiste
"Never Felt So Alone" - Labrinth featuring Billie Eilish
"Karma" -Taylor Swift featuring Ice Spice
"Ghost in the Machine" - SZA featuring Phoebe Bridgers

Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album:

"To Steve with Love: Liz Callaway Celebrates Sondheim" - Liz Callaway
"Pieces Of Treasure" - Rickie Lee Jones
"Bewitched" - Laufey
"Holidays Around the World" - Pentatonix
"Only The Strong Survive" - Bruce Springsteen
"Sondheim Unplugged (The NYC Sessions), Vol. 3" - Various Artists

Best Dance/Electronic Music Album:

"Playing Robots into Heaven" - James Blake
"For That Beautiful Feeling" - The Chemical Brothers
"Actual Life 3 (January 1 - September 9 2022)" - Fred Again..
"Kx5" - Kx5
"Quest For Fire" - Skrillex

Best Pop Dance Recording:

"Baby Don’t Hurt Me" - David Guetta, Anne-Marie and Coi Leray
"Miracle" - Calvin Harris featuring Ellie Goulding
"Padam Padam" Kylie Minogue
"One in a Million" - Bebe Rexha & David Guetta
"Rush" - Troye Sivan

Best Dance/Electronic Recording:

"Blackbox Life Recorder 21F" - Aphex Twin
"Loading" - James Blake
"Higher Than Ever Before" - Disclosure
"Strong" - Romy & Fred Again..
"Rumble" - Skrillex, Fred Again.. & Flowdan

Best R&B Album:

"Girls Night Out" - Babyface
"What I Didn’t Tell You (Deluxe)" - Coco Jones
"Special Occasion" - Emily King
"Jaguar II" - Victoria Monét
"Clear 2: Soft Life EP" - Summer Walker

Best R&B Performance:

"Summer Too Hot" - Chris Brown
"Back To Love" - Robert Glasper Featuring SiR & Alex Isley
"ICU" - Coco Jones
"How Does It Make You Feel" - Victoria Monét
"Kill Bill" - SZA

Best Traditional R&B Performance:

"Simple" - Babyface Featuring Coco Jones
"Lucky" - Kenyon Dixon
"Hollywood" - Victoria Monét Featuring Earth, Wind & Fire & Hazel Monét
"Good Morning" - PJ Morton Featuring Susan Carol
"Love Language" - SZA

Best Rap Album:

"Her Loss" - Drake & 21 Savage
"Michael" - Killer Mike
"Heroes & Villains" - Metro Boomin
"King's Disease III" - Nas
"Utopia" - Travis Scott

Best Rap Performance:

"The Hillbillies" - Baby Keem Featuring Kendrick Lamar
"Love Letter" - Black Thought
"Rich Flex" - Drake & 21 Savage
"Scientists & Engineers" - "Killer Mike Featuring André 3000, Future and Eryn Allen Kane
"Players" - Coi Leray

Best Melodic Rap Performance:

"Sittin' On Top of the World" - Burna Boy Featuring 21 Savage
"Attention" - Doja Cat
"Spin Bout U" - Drake & 21 Savage
"All My Life" - Lil Durk Featuring J. Cole
"Low" - SZA

Best Country Album:

"Rolling Up the Welcome Mat" - Kelsea Ballerini
"Brothers Osborne" - Brothers Osborne
"Zach Bryan" - Zach Bryan
"Rustin' In the Rain" - Tyler Childers
"Bell Bottom Country" - Lainey Wilson

Best Country Solo Performance:

"In Your Love" - Tyler Childers
"Buried" - Brandy Clark
"Fast Car" - Luke Combs
"The Last Thing on My Mind" - Dolly Parton
"White Horse" - Chris Stapleton

Best Country Duo/Group Performance:

"High Note" - Dierks Bentley Featuring Billy Strings
"Nobody's Nobody" - Brothers Osborne
"I Remember Everything" - Zach Bryan Featuring Kacey Musgraves
"Kissing Your Picture (Is So Cold)" - Vince Gill & Paul Franklin
"Save Me" - Jelly Roll with Lainey Wilson
"We Don't Fight Anymore" - Carly Pearce Featuring Chris Stapleton

Best Americana Album:

"Brandy Clark" - Brandy Clark
"The Chicago Sessions" - Rodney Crowell
"You're The One" - Rhiannon Giddens
"Weathervanes" - Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit
"The Returner" - Allison Russell

Best Rock Album:

"But Here We Are" - Foo Fighters
"Starcatcher" - Greta Van Fleet
"72 Seasons" - Metallica
"This Is Why" - Paramore
"In Times New Roman..." - Queens of The Stone Age

Best Rock Performance:

"Sculptures Of Anything Goes" - Arctic Monkeys
"More Than A Love Song" - Black Pumas
"Not Strong Enough" - Boygenius
"Rescued" - Foo Fighters
"Lux Æterna" - Metallica

Best Alternative Music Album:

"The Car" - Arctic Monkeys
"The Record" - boygenius
"Did You Know That There's a Tunnel Under Ocean Blvd" - Lana Del Rey
"Cracker Island" - Gorillaz
"I Inside The Old Year Dying" - PJ Harvey

Best Jazz Vocal Album:

"For Ella 2" - Patti Austin Featuring Gordon Goodwin's Big Phat Band
"Alive At The Village Vanguard" - Fred Hersch & Esperanza Spalding
"Lean In" - Gretchen Parlato & Lionel Loueke
"Mélusine" - Cécile McLorin Salvant
"How Love Begins" - Nicole Zuraitis

Best Jazz Instrumental Album:

"The Source" - Kenny Barron
"Phoenix" - Lakecia Benjamin
"Legacy: The Instrumental Jawn" - Adam Blackstone
"The Winds of Change" - Billy Childs
"Dream Box" - Pat Metheny

Best Latin Pop Album:

"La Cuarta Hoja" - Pablo Alborán
"Beautiful Humans, Vol. 1" - AleMor
"A Ciegas" - Paula Arenas
"La Neta" - Pedro Capó
"Don Juan" - Maluma
"X Mí (Vol. 1)" - Gaby Moreno

Best Contemporary Blues Album:

"Death Wish Blues" - Samantha Fish and Jesse Dayton
"Healing Time" - Ruthie Foster
"Live In London" - Christone "Kingfish" Ingram
"Blood Harmony" - Larkin Poe
"LaVette!" - Bettye LaVette

Best Gospel Album:

"I Love You" - Erica Campbell
"Hymns (Live)" - Tasha Cobbs Leonard
"The Maverick Way" - Maverick City Music
"My Truth" - Jonathan McReynolds
"All Things New: Live in Orlando" - Tye Tribbett

Best Global Music Album:

"Epifanías" - Susana Baca
"History" - Bokanté
"I Told Them..." - Burna Boy
"Timeless" - Davido
"This Moment" - Shakti

Best Reggae Album:

"Born For Greatness" - Buju Banton
"Simma" - Beenie Man
"Cali Roots Riddim 2023" - Collie Buddz
"No Destroyer" - Burning Spear
"Colors Of Royal" - Julian Marley & Antaeus

Best Comedy Album:

"I Wish You Would" - Trevor Noah
"I'm An Entertainer" - Wanda Sykes
"Selective Outrage" - Chris Rock
"Someone You Love" - Sarah Silverman
"What's In a Name?" - Dave Chappelle

Best Audio Book, Narration, and Storytelling Recording:

"Big Tree" - Meryl Streep
"Boldly Go: Reflections on a Life of Awe and Wonder" - William Shatner
"The Creative Act: A Way of Being" - Rick Rubin
"It's Ok to Be Angry About Capitalism" - Senator Bernie Sanders
"The Light We Carry: Overcoming in Uncertain Times" - Michelle Obama

Best Score Soundtrack for Visual Media (includes Film and Television):

"Barbie" - Mark Ronson and Andrew Wyatt, composers
"Black Panther: Wakanda Forever" - Ludwig Göransson, composer
"The Fabelmans" - John Williams, composer
"Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny" - John Williams, composer
"Oppenheimer" - Ludwig Göransson, composer

Best Song Written for Visual Media:

"Barbie World" (from "Barbie: The Album") - Naija Gaston, Ephrem Louis Lopez Jr. and Onika Maraj, songwriters (Nicki Minaj and Ice Spice featuring Aqua)
"Dance the Night" (from "Barbie: The Album") - Caroline Ailin, Dua Lipa, Mark Ronson and Andrew Wyatt, songwriters (Dua Lipa)
"I’m Just Ken" (from "Barbie: The Album") - Mark Ronson and Andrew Wyatt, songwriters (Ryan Gosling)
"Lift Me Up" (from “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever — Music from and Inspired By") - Ryan Coogler, Ludwig Göransson, Robyn Fenty and Temilade Openiyi, songwriters (Rihanna)
"What Was I Made For?" (from "Barbie: The Album") - Billie Eilish O’Connell and Finneas O’Connell, songwriters (Billie Eilish)

Songwriter of the Year (Non-Classical):

Edgar Barrera
Jessie Jo Dillon
Shane McAnally
Theron Thomas
Justin Tranter

Producer of the Year (Non-Classical):

Jack Antonoff
Dernst "D’Mile" Emile II
Hit Boy
Metro Boomin
Daniel Nigro

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".

JAGUAR

Victoria Monét has been creating popular, chart-topping songs for a number of years. But it's been other artists who have largely benefited from her songwriting talent. Some of the musicians who have recorded songs co-written by Monét include Nas, T.I., Chrisette Michele, Fifth Harmony, Chris Brown, Chloe x Halle, Brandy and most notably, Ariana Grande. Monét has worked on the singer's last four albums including "Thank U Next" which she received two Grammy Award nominations for Album of The Year and Record of The Year for "7 Rings".

Raised in Sacramento, CA, Monét was passionate about poetry, dance and music as a child. She became interested in music production and got in touch Rodney Jerkins through social media. The producer also known as "Darkchild" was in the process of assembling a girl group and invited the teenage Monét to join. The act was signed to Motown Records yet never released any music. Monét decided to move away from performing and focus on songwriting which lead to her meeting Sean Combs to write a song for his 2010 Diddy Dirty Money album project.

Monét would sing on her demos with the hope that a record label would hear them and want to sign her. And that is exactly what happened with Atlantic Records and she was signed to the label. Monét would release two EPs, "Nightmares & Lullabies: Act 1" in 2014 and a follow-up in 2015, "Nightmares & Lullabies: Act 2" yet they failed to generate much attention for the singer.

But it would be Monét's songwriting that actually brought her attention and success. Now after years of writing for other artists, she has saved some songs for herself with her recently released first studio album, "Jaguar".  The collection certainly spotlights her gift as writer and the twenty-seven year old singer delivers sensual, groove-driven r&b. Yet the production doesn't do enough to make these songs and Monét stand out in a distinctive way. I definitely admire "Jaguar" and I hope we will hear more from Victoria Monét the singer.