NEW SOUNDS

Katy Perry has dropped some new music with "Watch It Burn", a hard-driving pop-rock song that recaptures the singer's classic sound. This track details about finally releasing some long, bottled-up anger in order to reclaim personal power after years of holding it back. The music video for the song is a cinematic, high production clip where Perry goes through several dramatic, physical transformations:



Chlöe Bailey and legendary producer, Timbaland have teamed up for a joint mixtape called "Resurrection". This inspired pairing combines Bailey's incredible vocals with Timba's bounce beats and smooth production, creating a classic '90's vibe with a contemporary feel. A highlight from the album is the track, "Better Than She Can":



Sam Smith has new music on the way with his fifth studio album, "Hazel Eyes" due out in August. The record is deeply personal for the singer and very romantic in spirit with the first single, "My Guy", a love ballad which Smith no longer being coy about who he is singing about:



Muni Long has been away for a while but she recently revealed that she had a serious health issue last year, having to undergo a double lung transplant after being told she only had about a week to live due to complications with pneumonia. Thankfully, she has recovered with the singer/songwriter returning to music with a ballad, "Richest" which is about the true wealth in life is being in love:



"Baby, Can We?" is the latest single from Dawn Richard and it's a duet with fellow alt-soul artist, Durand Bernarr. Coasting along lyrics from Aretha Franklin‘s 1972 classic hit, "Day Dreaming", the former Danity Kane member captures the desire to flee from daily life with a potential lover on this track:



"She’s My Religion" is the latest single from Willow's upcoming eighth studio album, "The Thread" due out in July. This provocative song is about using love, spiritual growth, and a feminine spirit as a guide, rather than a formal, traditional religion:



And Jennifer Lopez teams up with the Brazilian musician and DJ, Alok for "Everything's Fine". There are two versions of this song with each offering a different perspective on the same emotional story. Exploring the stories people tell themselves in order to convince themselves to keep moving forward, one take is more intimate and beat driven called "AM" while the other is a clearly dance floor-oriented "PM" version.

MY FAVORITE MOMENTS IN MUSIC 2021

Another year has come and gone and during that time, I have shared the music that I have loved throughout. Here is a small collection of songs that were some of my favorites that I didn't get a chance to highlight:

TRANSPARENTSOUL

It was a little over a decade ago when ten year old, Willow Smith had an unexpected international smash hit with the pop confection, "Whip My Hair".  And while it's certainly a fun song, I'm sure her being the daughter of the actors, Will and Jada Pickett Smith helped bring some additional attention that made the track really take off. After this burst of success, Willow wanted to be taken seriously as an artist, becoming more involved in the creation of her music. She experimented with different sounds, venturing in to neo-soul and experimental pop.

Now at the age of twenty, Willow is moving in to very different musical direction. Her latest single, "Transparentsoul" ventures in to the sounds of '90's pop-rock. Inspired in part by her mother's former nu-metal band, Wicked Wisdom, Willow has teamed up with Travis Barker of Blink-182 on a high-energy record that's about seeing right through fake people. This seems to be the first single off an upcoming new album so it will be interesting to see what the rest of the record will sound like. Here is the music video for the song with Willow decked out in punk attire, giving us full on rock & roll performance.

25 SONGS THAT TELL US WHERE MUSIC IS GOING

With each generation, pop music has reflected the mood, attitude and spirit of the times while in the process, provide the perfect soundtrack to their memories. For their annual music issue, New York Times magazine has once again selected 25 songs they think best tell us where music is heading. These songs represent topics and sounds that ideally express the current state of the world and perhaps, shaping what's to come. Some of these tunes come from well-established artists (Katy Perry, Bruno Mars, Taylor Swift) and cult figures (Lana Del Rey, Tracey Thorn, Perfume Genius) but most are emerging musicians who have already sparked interest (Camila Cabello, SZA, Cardi B) and those who are sure to eventually do so (Young Fathers, Big Shaq, DJ Taye). Their songs cover subjects that are hardly new: love and loss; success and failure; feminism and femininity; addiction and recovery. But they communicate their ideas in a way that is darker, gaudier and just plain weirder then people may be used to hearing, making these tunes all the more thrilling.

Here are a few of my favorites from the songs selected but click below to read the article:

25 Songs That Tell Us Where Music Is Going

HAIR WHIPPED: UPDATE

Willow Smith's music career is now in high gear as the new music video for her first single, "Whip My Hair" has just been released. It's a great video with a futuristic vibe with plenty of hair whipping and I love her look in it. But the thing that amazes me the most is how poised and confident she comes across in this clip, quite impressive for a nine year old. It's quiet clear that show biz is in her blood.

Take a peek:

HAIR WHIPPED

Willow Smith, the nine year old daughter of movie star/rapper, Will Smith and his actress/singer wife, Jada Pinkett has leaked her first song entitled, "Whip My Hair". Willow also acts and in addition to her brother, Jaden who happens to star in the hit movie remake of "The Karate Kid", that Smith family is just an entertainment machine.

Ms Smith's song is a cute hip-hop tune with the trendy auto-tune gliding her vocals through the track. She has just been signed to Jay-Z's Roc Nation record label, so I'm sure you will be hearing a lot more from this adorable little girl in the future.

This song made me think of Rihanna vocally (Jay-Z happened to have signed her to Def Jam when he ran the label) and she happens to have an unreleased track called, "Whipping My Hair".

Coincidence?

I think not.

Here are the two songs for you to compare:

Whip My Hair - Willow Smith

Whipping My Hair - Rihanna