NEW SOUNDS

JUSTIN TIMBERLAKE

Justin Timberlake provided his voice for a character in the 2016 animated feature, "Trolls" and contributed a smash hit single, "Can't Stop The Feeling!" for the soundtrack. Now for the forthcoming sequel, "Trolls World Tour" (due in U.S. theaters on April 10th), Timberlake is back in the movie and has dropped a new single for the soundtrack. "The Other Side" is a bold, funky pop track that has the singer teaming with SZA (who we are still anxiously awaiting her follow-up to her 2017 debut album). This is a fine return to form after venturing out in to a Southern Americana sound with his last album, "Man of The Woods".



DIXIE CHICKS

After fourteen long years, the country music trio, Dixie Chicks have finally come back together to release new music. With Jack Antonoff on board as producer and co-writer, Natalie Maines and sisters, Emily Strayer and Martie Maguire have re-teamed to deliver "Gaslighter", the first single and title track of their upcoming eighth studio album. This catchy ditty seems to have been clearly inspired by Maines' recent ugly divorce from actor, Adrian Pasdar with implications of lying and emotional abuse. The album, which is due in May, is said to combine the band's early bluegrass music with the more countrified pop sound of their later records.



KATY PERRY

Katy Perry has delivered to us a new song, "Never Worn White". This lovely ballad (co-written with producer, Johan Carlsson) is about never before having the opportunity to wear wedding white but is ready to do so now with the man she truly loves. And if that man was Orlando Bloom, who would say no?  The music video for the song has Perry glowing and looking beautiful covered in flowers and in a long, flowing gown. And there is a message at the end of the clip which Perry reveals that she's has an upcoming joyful delivery.

STUPID LOVE

Lady Gaga, after spending a little time focusing on an acting career and achieving great success (which included an Oscar), has finally returned to her Little Monsters with new music. While it had leaked a few weeks ago, "Stupid Love" is now officially released with Gaga returning to the EDM-inspired sound that first brought her fame. Written with Bloodpop, Tchami and Max Martin, Gaga delivers a song with big vocals and throbbing beats that will get your feet a-moving.

While I would love to shout-out that this is a triumphant return by the singer, "Stupid Love" feels anti-climatic. Much like Taylor Swift's first single from her long-awaited new album last year, "Lover", Lady Gaga's new song features lyrics and a song structure that is far too simplified coming from an artist of her standing. Perhaps a few more listens might help me appreciate "Stupid Love" better yet that didn't change my feelings about Swift's "Me!". I'm still looking forward to see what else Gaga will come up with for her upcoming sixth studio album which appears it will be called "Chromatica"(with this title appearing at the end of the music video). And the clip (boldly announced to have been shot entirely on an iPhone 11 Pro by director, Daniel Askill) is set in a post apocalyptic, hyper-colored world with Gaga surrounded by young, multi-ethnic dancers who seemed to have wandered in from Burning Man.

NUMBER ONE FLASHBACK

Simon & Garfunkel held the number one position on the pop charts during this week in 1970 with "Bridge Over Troubled Water". This single would remain in this top spot for a total of six weeks and has become the duo's signature song. Written by Paul Simon, he was inspired by the line, "I'll be your bridge over deep water if you trust me" from the spiritual "Mary Don't You Weep" made famous by the Swan Silvertones with their 1958 recording. Simon had convinced Art Garfunkel to sing the song alone although his partner felt that Simon's vocal on the demo was far more effective.

The almost five-minute length of "Bridge" was considered problematic as most pop songs at the time were no longer than three minutes. But the duo's label, Columbia went ahead and released the complete version to radio and successfully broke that unwritten rule. "Bridge Over Trouble Water" became ranked as the number one song of 1970 by Billboard magazine and would win Simon & Garfunkel Grammy Awards for Record and Song of The Year.

This song is certainly one of Simon & Garfunkel's biggest hits and has been covered by many artists over the years. One of the most notable versions was by Aretha Franklin who completely reworked "Bridge" by delivering a full-on gospel rendition. Franklin's take also became very successful, reaching number one on the r&b chart, number six on the pop chart, selling over two million copies and won her a Grammy for Best Female R&B Performance.

Here is a live version of "Bridge Over Troubled Water" from Simon & Garfunkel during their 1981 New York performance in Central Park:



And as a bonus, here is Aretha doing a stirring live version of "Bridge" in 1971 in San Francisco:

TO DIE FOR

Sam Smith had released a collection of songs throughout the previous year and had hits with "Dancing With a Stranger", a duet with Normani; "How Do You Sleep?", a cover of the disco classic, "I Feel Love" and "Promises" with Calvin Harris. Now 2020 will finally see the release of their third studio album, "To Die For". The direction of this record will be focused less on the ballads which they are best known for and more on straight-forward pop-dance songs, The non-binary artist has just released the title track (co-written with their long-time collaborator, Jimmy Napes and Stargate) which happens to be one of their trademark ballads about heartbreak. The video for the song is an inventive film which features Smith as a lonely mannequin head in a store window who watches various happy couples passing by it. And to promote the song and the upcoming album due in May, Smith recently opened up a pop-up wig shop in the Soho area of London.

NO TIME TO DIE

Billie Eilish, one of the hottest pop music artists right now, has been assigned to deliver the theme song for the latest James Bond film, "No Time To Die". This is the twenty-fifth 007 feature (due out in the U.S. on April 10th November 25th)  and will most likely be the final appearance of Daniel Craig as the British spy. The eighteen year old has once again collaborated with her brother, Finneas O'Connell to co-write and produce the song. While "No Time To Die" does features dramatic orchestration and beautifully haunting vocals, I don't think this tune is nearly bold or memorable enough to ever become a true classic in the long canon of Bond theme songs. Eilish recently appeared on this year's Oscars to perform the Beatles' "Yesterday" during the in memoriam segment of the show and she could possibly be back next year as a nominee. Check out the song and judge for yourself:

NEW SOUNDS

HAYLEY WILLIAMS

One of my favorite songs of this new year is "Simmer" by Hayley Williams. And while this may be the singer's debut single, Williams is hardly a newcomer to the music scene. She helped form the band, Paramore in 2004 and remains the only original member of this pop-rock outfit. Some of Paramore's hits include "Misery Business", "Still In To You", "crushcrushcrush", "Decode" and "Ain't It Fun".  There is no official word that Paramore has broken-up but Williams knew it was time to a take a break from the years of writing and touring with the unit. She was ready to experiment a little further with her music and show other sides of herself lyrically. One example is with "Simmer" which touches on some specific forms of abuse she has experienced in her life. The thirty-one year old singer/songwriter will be first releasing an EP, "Petals For Armor I" on February 6th before the debut of her studio album, also called "Petals For Armor" in May. Check out the music videos for "Simmer" and the latest single, "Leave It Alone". Both clips (directed by Warren Fu) are connected with a dark and eerie imagery.





DOJA CAT

Like many aspiring musicians today, Doja Cat got her start by self-releasing her own music. After dropping a single, "So High" on Soundcloud back in 2013, this brought the then-eighteen year old some attention and lead to her being signed to RCA Records. The Los Angeles based singer, born Amala Diamini, released an EP, "Purrr!" the following year which helped raise her profile even further. In 2018, Doja Cat completed her debut album, "Amala" and her breakout single, "Juicy" featuring Tyga would appear on the deluxe edition of this record as well as her 2019 follow-up album, "Hot Pink". With her cartoon hyper-sexuality, an affinity to bubble-gum pink and a musical blend of aggressive hip-hop and sultry r&b, it would be easy to compare her to early Nicki Minaj. But Doja Cat certainly has her own distinctive style and flair that makes her standout all on her own. Her latest single, "Say So" is a great pop tune with a disco beat (aided by a sample of "Good Times" by Chic) that has gained in popularity due to it's use on the app, Tik Tok for several dance challenges.

The Pussycat Dolls began as a sexy burlesque troupe created by choreographer, Robin Antin before evolving in to a sexy pop music singing act. Lead by vocalist, Nicole Scherzinger, this girl group dominated the international charts beginning in 2005 and had many smash hits like "Don't Cha", "Stickwitu", "Buttons", "When I Grow Up" and "I Hate This Part". But after their brief burst of success (and selling over fifty million records worldwide), the Dolls came to a bitter end by 2010.  With the feeling that the spotlight was shinning too brightly only on Scherzinger, this created a rift among the other members of the group. However, time can heal many wounds and The Pussycat Dolls have reunited after ten years and released a new single. "React" features the return of most of the original Dolls (Melody Thornton decided to sit this out to focus on her solo career) and perfectly continues where this classic pop group left off. I think this may be one of the biggest hits of 2020. The music video for "React" has the Dolls looking like time has stood still and oozes with their trademark sensuality and slick dance moves:

THE 62ND ANNUAL GRAMMY AWARDS

With the messy scandal and controversy involving the Recording Academy and their now-ousted president along with the tragic and shocking passing of the legendary basketball star, Kobe Bryant and his teenage daughter, the 2020 Grammy Awards had a dark and heavy cloud to lift before the ceremony even began. But thankfully the show had host, Alicia Keys, appearing for the second time, to deliver a healing voice and positive energy to the somber audience. After asking everyone to hold Bryant in their hearts, she sang A cappella an incredibly moving version of "It's So Hard to Say Goodbye to Yesterday" along with Boyz ll Men who had a hit in 1991 with their cover.

The Grammys have always been about spectacle and big musical numbers and on that front, the show did not disappoint. Dedicating her performance to Kobe, Lizzo opened the show with the fiery ballad, "Cuz I Love You" and then put on display body positivity with an army of ballet dancers and her flute skills during her live version of "Truth Hurts".

Tyler The Creator may have started with a traditional r&b sound with assistance from Boyz ll Men and Charlie Wilson on "Earfquake" before he shifted to a lively punk/new wave energy while performing "New Magic Wand" with fellow bewigged blonde, male back-up dancers. And I loved his speech and his proud, teary-eyed mother who joined her son on stage to accept his win for Best Rap Album. Gary Clark Jr. brought fire and rage during his performance of "This Land", the title track of his Grammy-winning album which makes a compelling statement about his experience with racism in America.

I would have preferred to have seen less of Lil Nas X and his novelty country/rap hit, "Old Town Road" with his performance of the song extended beyond what was necessary with K-pop group, BTS, YouTube sensation, Mason Ramsey, DJ/producer, Diplo and Billy Ray Cyrus all brought on stage to join him. Aerosmith, the legendary rock group who received this year's MusiCares Person Of The Year award, struggled to bring vigorous life to their time on stage even with Run DMC joining them on their shared hit, "Walk This Way". The odd couple, country star, Blake Shelton and pop-punk singer, Gwen Stefani may have looked truly in love but their ballad, "Nobody But You" lacked actual passion.

And to promote an upcoming Grammy special to celebrate the music of Prince, Usher appeared to perform a number of the late funk master's songs. While he did a fair job on "Little Red Corvette", "When Doves Cry" and "Kiss", FKA Twigs. a Grammy nominee this year, joined him on stage but was shamefully regulated simply as a back-up dancer. This British pop-art performer should have definitely been given an opportunity to have done at least one song, perhaps bringing a more intriguing spin to this tribute to the Purple One.

But the highlights for me were the small yet emotional moments like Tanya Tucker, accompanied by Brandi Carlile, bringing depth and grit with her comeback country single, "Bring My Flowers Now"; Camila Cabello had nearly everyone in tears with the touching ballad, "First Man", dedicated to her father which she sang directly to him and Demi Lovato, who delivered a powerhouse vocal on "Anyone" , a heartbreaking song about her struggles with addiction, yet was so overcome before she even began that she had to start over.

And our fifteen time Grammy-winning host did not let anyone forget that she's still a vital musical artist. Early in the evening, Keys did an original song using the melody of Lewis Capaldi's hit, "Someone You Loved" which she name-checked some of the musicians who made an impact last year before returning later to perform her new single, "Underdog" which had Britney Howard joining her with a too short appearance on guitar.

Billie Eilish was the big winner of the evening, taking all four of the major categories with the eighteen year old being only the second artist ever to accomplish this feat (Christopher Cross was the first back in 1981). And Eilish surprised everyone with her low-key performance on the show by showing off her vocals with the ballad, "When The Party's Over" instead of the more expected frenetic energy we usually see from the artist.

Here is a partial list of winners of the 62nd annual Grammy Awards:

Album of the Year: Billie Eilish, "When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go?"
Record of the Year: Billie Eilish, "Bad Guy"
Song of the Year: "Bad Guy" - Billie Eilish O’Connell and Finneas O'Connell; songwriters (Billie Eilish)
Best New Artist: Billie Eilish
Best Pop Vocal Album: Billie Eilish, "When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go?"
Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album: Elvis Costello & The Imposters, "Look Now"
Best Pop Solo Performance: Lizzo, "Truth Hurts"
Best Pop Duo/Group Performance: Lil Nas X & Billy Ray Cyrus, "Old Town Road"
Best Rap Album: Tyler the Creator, "Igor"
Best Rap Song: "A Lot" - Jermaine Cole, Dacoury Natche, 21 Savage & Anthony White; songwriters (21 Savage featuring J. Cole)
Best Rap Performance: Nipsey Hussle featuring Roddy Ricch & Hit-Bo, "Racks in the Middle"
Best Rap/Sung Performance: DJ Khaled featuring Nipsey Hussle and John Legend, "Higher"
Best R&B Album: Anderson .Paak, "Ventura"
Best Urban Contemporary Album: Lizzo, "Cuz I Love You (Deluxe)"
Best R&B Song: "Say So" — Pj Morton; songwriter (Pj Morton Featuring Jojo)
Best R&B Performance: Anderson .Paak & André 300, "Come Home"
Best Traditional R&B Performance: Lizzo, "Jerome"
Best Rock Album: Cage The Elephant, "Social Cues"
Best Rock Song: "This Land" — Gary Clark Jr.; songwriter (Gary Clark Jr.) Best Rock Performance: Best Rock Solo Performance: Gary Clark Jr., "This Land"
Best Country Album: Tanya Tucker, "While I'm Livin'"
Best Country Song: "Bring My Flowers Now" - Brandi Carlile, Phil Hanseroth, Tim Hanseroth and Tanya Tucker; songwriters (Tanya Tucker)
Best Country Solo Performance: Willie Nelson, "Ride Me Back Home"
Best Country Duo/Group Performance: Dan + Shay, "Speechless"
Best Comedy Album: Dave Chapelle, "Sticks & Stones"
Best Dance/Electronic Album: The Chemical Brothers, "No Geography"
Best Dance Recording: The Chemical Brothers, "Got To Keep On"
Best Music Video: Lil Nas X featuring Billy Ray Cyrus, "Old Town Road (Official Movie)"
Best Music Film: Beyoncé, "Homecoming"
Best Compilation Soundtrack for Visual Media: Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper, "A Star Is Born"
Best Score Soundtrack for Visual Media: Hildur Guðnadóttir, "Chernobyl"
Best Song Written for Visual Media: "I’ll Never Love Again" - (Film Version), Natalie Hemby, Lady Gaga, Hillary Lindsey & Aaron Raitiere (Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper, A Star Is Born)
Best Remixed Recording: "I Rise (Tracy Young’s Pride Intro Radio Remix)" - Tracy Young (Madonna)
Best Instrumental Composition: "Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge Symphonic Suite" — John Williams; composer (John Williams)
Best Spoken Word Album (includes Poetry, Audio Books & Storytelling): Michelle Obama, "Becoming"
Producer Of The Year (Non-Classical): Finneas O'Connell