HOT AND FRESH OUT THE KITCHEN

Dua Lipa has provided a song for the upcoming action movie, "Alita: Battle Angel" and it looks like another hit for the hot, young singer from Britain. "Swan Song", which Lipa co-wrote with American hit-maker, Justin Tranter and an army of Swedish producers, is an empowerment anthem about staying focused and never losing faith which seems to fit perfectly with the theme of the film's cyber-punk manga character.



Country star, Maren Morris had one of the biggest pop hits of last year when she teamed-up with dance music producers, Zedd and Grey on "The Middle". This worldwide smash single received three Grammy nominations including Record of the Year. Many were curious if she would pull a "Taylor Swift" and abandon his country music success for the universal appeal of pop for her next album. We now have some idea as Morris has just dropped a new single called "Girl". While she sticks to her roots on this uplifting ballad in support of womanhood, the guitar-driven song will still be appealing to her newfound fans. No exact date has been set for the release of the follow-up album to her 2016 debut, "Hero" but Morris is preparing to hit the road for the Girl World Tour which will begin in March.



Ariana Grande may have another hit on hands with "7 Rings" but this time it's mired in a little controversy. Not one but two different artists have accused the singer of ripping off their music with 2 Chainz and New York rapper, Princess Nokia rumbling with accusations of "7 Rings" sounding too much like their songs. Ever since the ridiculous court ruling against Robin Thicke and Pharrell Williams over their "Blurred Lines" sounding too much like Marvin Gaye's 1977 song, "Got To Give It Up", it seems like even more artists are claiming their work is being stolen by other musicians. Now let's just keep it real; there isn't anything truly "original" anymore. You can find an influence of someone else's previous work in all of the arts. It's just that some of the "inspiration" is more obvious in some cases than with others. Here is the music video for Grande's tune and then you can listen to 2 Chainz's 2011 song, "Spend It" which he claims was used for her song. While there is certainly a similarity between the hook of the two songs, you be the judge:





And here is a fun take-off of "7 Rings" featuring Nyle DiMarco, the deaf male model who first found fame after winning on the reality competition show, "America's Top Model" and later the champ on "Dancing With The Stars" in 2016. The clip, directed by Jake Wilson, has DiMarco recreating Grande's video while signing the lyrics.

DANCING WITH A STRANGER

Normani, a member of the girl-group. Fifth Harmony who are on an indefinite hiatus, has been actively moving on as a solo performer but has recently become the Queen of the duets. Following her successful collaborations with Khalid, 6lack, and Calvin Harris, the only twenty-two year old singer has recently teamed-up with another prominent pop artist; Sam Smith.

"Dancing With a Stranger" is a song Smith wrote while on tour supporting his last album, "The Thrill of It All" and by chance he was in the recording studio at the same time Normani was there. As a big fan of her band, Smith jumped at the chance to invite her to sing with him on the track. This sensual, mid-tempo dance tune is a perfect way to kick off the year.

NUMBER ONE FLASHBACK

Lady Gaga has impressed audiences and critics alike with her exceptional performance of an aspiring singer last year in the fourth movie version of "A Star Is Born". She has won several critics awards and might even be nominated next week and could potentially win an Oscar. This Number One Flashback  looks back when Lady Gaga's early breakthrough single, "Just Dance" was on top of the U.S. Billboard chart this week in 2009. She co-wrote the song with Akon (who had his own successful music career) and RedOne who also produced the track and her first number one song helped kick off her amazing journey as an international pop superstar.

Much like the character she played, Stefani Germanotta struggled for years trying to make her career happen. She paid her dues by playing numerous small gigs around New York City and passing around her demos before actually getting a record deal with Def Jam Records. However, she was dropped a few months later.

Discouraged but not giving up, she was inspired by the Queen song, "Radio Ga Ga" and took on the name "Lady Gaga". She teamed-up with performance artist, Lady Starlight who helped her develop a stage persona and they performed together, most notably at the 2007 Lollapalooza music festival. Gaga got a publishing deal with Sony and began writing songs for the label's hot pop acts. After hearing Gaga sing, Akon was quite impressed. He began using her as a vocal guide on his demos and eventually helped her get a new recording contract. She later met RedOne and he worked on some tracks for her debut album on Cherrytree Records. The album, "The Fame" was released in 2008 and was met with some resistance from radio stations saying the record was too dance-oriented and underground. But Lady Gaga was confident that there was an audience for her music and the rest is history.

MY FAVORITE MOMENTS IN MUSIC IN 2018

I think 2018 was a great year in music that offered something for everyone. While hip-hop and rap continued to dominate the music industry, I'm particularly thrilled that good old-fashioned soul music found it's way back on the airwaves and the charts. We had young, new artists like Ella Mai, H.E.R., Daniel Caesar and Jorja Smith who are reviving the r&b tradition and the return of classic performers like Toni Braxton, Tank, Mary J. Blige, Ledisi and Tamia whose new music was actually getting played on radio. This is one trend I hope continues in to 2019. And to close out 2018, here are a few songs that I loved last year that I didn't get a chance to share:

NEW SOUNDS

MITSKI

An artist that I just recently became aware of is Mitski. I had heard buzz about the indie-rocker with her 2016 album, "Puberty 2" when it appeared on several Best Album of the Year lists but I didn't further investigate. The twenty-eight year old singer-songwriter released her fifth studio album, "Be The Cowboy" back in August and it has received even greater acclaim and appeared on even more year-end Best Album lists. This time I made it my mission to listen and I'm so glad I did.

"Be The Cowboy" is a thrilling collection of quirky sounds and sharp, heartfelt lyrics. With most just barely over two minutes or less, these songs are brief sonic explosions of confessional reflection on love, relationships and disappointment surrounded with a lush production provided by her longtime collaborator Patrick Hyland. This is one album you should check out as soon as possible. Here are two music videos for a couple of tracks:





MESHELL NDGEOCELLO

Another artist who I wasn't aware had released a new album until it appeared on some Album of the Year lists is Meshell Ndegeocello. The fifty year old musician, who has been credited with helping spark the neo-soul movement back in the 1990's, had dropped her twelfth album, "Ventriloquism" back in April.

Don't let that the record only features covers of classic soul and funk songs make you hesitate on giving it a chance. These songs, beginning with Lisa Lisa & Cult Jam's "I Wonder If I Take You Home" and featuring George Clinton's "Atomic Dog", TLC's "Waterfalls", Tina Turner's "Private Dancer" before closing with "Smooth Operator" by Sade, are almost unrecognizable as Ndegeocello brilliantly gives each one a radical reworking with spare, jazzy grooves. This record is truly unexpected and extraordinary.

THIS CHRISTMAS DAY

I think Jessie J, the British pop-soul vocalist, is vastly underrated as a singer and hasn't become nearly as popular here in the US as I think she should. The singer, born Jessica Cornish, has recently released her fifth album but it is unexpectedly a Christmas collection. "This Christmas Day" features many of the familiar holiday classics like "Jingle Bells", "Silent Night", and "White Christmas" yet they are delivered in great jazzy-flavored soul renditions. What is even more impressive is that Jessie J was able to attract several top names to produce the album. That includes David Foster, Babyface (who also provided vocals on their take of "The Christmas Song"), Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis and Rodney "Darkchild" Jerkins who also co-wrote the title track with Jessie which is the only original song on the album. I think this is one of the better modern Christmas albums out there and you should definitely check it out. Here are a few tracks for you to preview:

A GIFT SUGGESTION

If you are looking for a gift and they are a fan of classic soul music, I have a suggestion that might help you out. Bruce Talamon, a photographer who focused on black entertainers, has recently released a beautiful photo book, "Bruce W. Talamon: Soul. R&B. Funk. Photographs 1972-1982". This breathtaking collection, published by Taschen, features his images which document most of the popular acts of the era who were making influential music, with many of the pictures that have never been seen before.

Talamon, who was one of the very few African-American photojournalists working at the time, took a look back over his forty year career and the roughly five thousand photos he had taken during that time to put this book together. He had made it clear to his editor that he wasn't interest in only showing these performers on stage but also using the more intimate, behind-the-scenes moments with these musical talents.

All of the major players of the day are certainly present like Stevie Wonder, Diana Ross, Marvin Gaye, Jackson 5, Earth, Wind & Fire, James Brown, Parliament-Funkadelic and Aretha to name just a few. But there are also remarkable pictures of performers who had a briefer moment of fame like Billy Paul (who was Talamon's first cover assignment), Thelma Houston, The Dramatics, The Stylistics, and Johnnie Taylor. There is a section of the book devoted to Don Cornelius and his groundbreaking dance television program, "Soul Train" and the 1972 "Wattstax" benefit concert held at the LA Coliseum and featured the hot acts of the day, Isaac Hayes, Albert King, The Bar-Kays and the Staple Singers.

This is an incredible book that would make the perfect gift or perhaps even own yourself.

Bruce W. Talamon: Soul. R&B. Funk. Photographs 1972-1982