Two musical artists that has been largely out of sight and greatly missed are Lady Gaga whose last album was released four years ago although she has been busy lately making movies and made a recent appearance performing in French in a musical number during the opening ceremony of this year's Olympics. And the last time we heard from Bruno Mars was with his collaboration with rapper, Anderson .Paak as a retro soul act, Silk Sonic about three years ago.
Now these two pop music superstars have come together to release a new song, "Die With a Smile". This guitar-driven soft rock track is about dying happily as long as you have the one you love in your arms, with the song charged by the powerful, soulful vocals that each is known to deliver. The music video for "Die With a Smile" (directed by Mars and Daniel Ramos) features Gaga and Mars playing characters of a lounge act in matching suits performing the song in a television studio set with manequins as audience members. Both of these artists are rumored to have new albums on the horizon and this might mean we should be seeing them out very soon.
After her dazzling performance during the opening ceremony for the Paris Olympics, many Americans were left wondering who is Aya Nakamura? Since 2017, the West African born, French national, Nakamura has become wildly popular in her adopted country with five number one singles and selling well over a million copies.
The twenty-nine year old artist did have to endure racially motivated protests by far-right nationalists to the ideal of her representing France before the ceremony. But enthusiastic support from politicians, the media and her fans prevailed with Nakamura, looking dazzling in gold, delivering an exceptional performance of a medley of her popular songs before the Olympics.
She was born Aya Danioko in the Republic of Mali in West Africa. Her family migrated to France when she was a child, growing up in the suburbs outside of Paris. Danioko had an interest in fashion and studied to become a designer. However, her desire began to wan while in school, leading her to shift towards a career in music. In 2014, she took on the surname "Nakamura" from a character on the sci-fi television series, "Heroes" and put together her first single, releasing it on Facebook. Nakamura continued working on her music which lead to her being signed with Parlophone Records two years later.
Her debut album, "Journal Intime (Diary)" became a major hit in France with the help of the song, "Comportement (Behavior)". This was followed up with "Nakamura" in 2018, an album which had six singles reaching the top-ten in France (with "Djadja" and "Copines (Friends)" peaking at number one) and achieving Diamond status which are sales of a half million copies. This success also brought attention to Nakamura from across the globe, earning nominations from the MTV Europe Music Awards and BET Awards. With her most recent album, "DNK" from last year, Nakamura continues to be a popular international performer, reaching Platinum status in sales. Here is a brief sampling of the music by Aya Nakamura:
After spending almost ten years in a nasty, legal battle against her former producer, Łukasz "Dr. Luke" Gottwald, Kesha finally reached a settlement out of court last year. The thirty-seven year old pop singer also completed her contract of the three albums she still owed Gottwald's label, Kemosabe Records with "Gag Order" released last year.
Now Kesha is completely a free woman, able to make music on her own terms. She has signed with new management and started her own record label, Kesha Records. And she has dropped a brand new single, "Joyride". This electro-pop track (written by Kesha, Madison Love and Zhone, who also produced the song) about self-fulfillment captures the vibe of her early sound yet feels very fresh and modern. There is an unofficial video out there of "Joyride" which is a collection of popular memes set to Kesha's song.
NORMANI
Ever since her band, Fifth Harmony had gone on an indefinite hiatus back in 2018, Normani has been working towards releasing her debut solo album. And she has been busy: working with dance DJ, Calvin Harris and releasing an EP together in 2018, having worldwide top-ten hits duetting with Sam Smith on "Dancing With a Stranger", with Khalid on "Love Lies" and "Wild Side" featuring Cardi B, and releasing a popular solo single, "Motivation" in 2019. But the album, despite several announcements over the past few years, had failed to materialize.
The wait is over and Normani's debut has finally been delivered. "Dopamine" is a vibrant collection of contemporary r&b, hip-hop and pop with an impressive assembly line of the hottest producers on board to help the singer with her vision. Normani has stated that this album is a representation of her evolution as an artist, creatively expressing everything she has gone through to get to this moment. Here are a few of my favorite tracks from "Dopamine":
And here is a collection of new sounds that I'm digging right now which includes a dance track by "Pose" actress, Michaela Jaé; the new song by rising alt-pop artist, Remi Wolf; the latest from musician-turned-actor (star of the Netflix series, "Young Royals"), Omar Rudberg and the unexpected yet intriguing musical pairing of alt-music goddess, Lana Del Rey and hip-hop musician, Quavo:
Janet Jackson has been in the spotlight since she was seven years old after being drawn into the family musical act, The Jacksons (which had beenstarted by her five brothers)by her controlling father when they began an engagement in Las Vegas during the mid-'70's. This lead to the family all being a part of a television variety show where the world got a chance to see the budding talent of this precocious child. More acting followed, appearances on the tv programs, "Good Times" and "Fame", but her father, Joseph, who was also her manager at the time, decided the then-fifteen year old should begin to make music. With no real creative input, Jackson's first two albums were fairly generic collections of r&b-pop that were met with modest attention.
After making the decision to take more control over her future recording endeavors, Jackson fired her father, was paired with two promising musicians/producers by her label and together made an album that introduced a dynamic new artist and changed the course of her career.
Jackson has been in this business for a long time, for a little over fifty years. And she has weathered the mercurial nature of a career in the performing arts, continuing to inspire and influence as one of the most distinguished global artists in popular music.
Having foolishly missed the Together Again Tour when Jackson made a stop at the Hollywood Bowl last summer, I was determined that wasn't going to happen again when the second leg of the tour rolled back into Los Angeles on June 8th at the Kia Forum.
A tiered curtain rises above a tall platform in the center of the stage to reveal Jackson, swaddled in an oversized jacket cape, as she begins the concert with "Night", a track from her criminally overlooked last studio album, "Unbreakable" from almost ten years ago. Once losing the draping and looking resplendent in one of her Thom Browne designed, sparkling bodysuits, she continues with "2Nite", a deep cut from "Discipline", "Rock With U", another single from the album and "SloLove" from her eighth album, "Damita Jo". Jackson had stated that on this part of the tour she was going to change up the setlist to revisit some popular non-singles from her previous albums and songs she had never performed live. She doesn't disappoint with her selections but hearing the hits is what brought her fans out to the show and she doesn't disappoint here either.
Jackson continues on with a few more obscure songs before reaching "Got 'Til It's Gone", the first single from her critically acclaimed 1997 album, "The Velvet Rope", Jackson's early venture into hip-hop which brought music legend, Joni Mitchell along for the ride with a sample of her "Big Yellow Taxi" used on the track. The beloved hits followed fast and furious; "What Have You Done For Me Lately", "Nasty", "The Pleasure Principle", "Love Will Never Do (Without You)" and "When I Think of You" which she reminds us was her very first number one single way back in 1986.
As with all of her previous road shows, Jackson is constantly surrounded by a group of backing dancers. But this time, surprisingly, they are all-male performers. Perhaps she felt that this time she was the only female energy needed for her show. At the age of fifty-eight, Jackson appeared to have no issue keeping up with these dancers, who are certainly more than half her age, delivering moves that were smooth and full of vigor.
And since she was doing a lot of moving on stage, a backing track was used to assist her vocals but let's be perfectly clear, Jackson's mic was turned on. This was evident when Jackson slowed things down with a medley of her well-known ballads which included "Come Back to Me" and "Let's Wait Awhile". During the song, "Again" from her 1993 movie, "Poetic Justice", Jackson chose to let the audience sing most of this Oscar-nominated love ballad. I have to say this is one of my major pet peeves at concerts since I did not pay to hear a chorus of voices bleat out a song instead of the artist. I will admit that I was quite impressed that the crowd knew all the words to this tune.
This two hour concert serves as a vivid reminder of what a vital performer and impressive musical artist that Jackson has remained. We are long overdue for new music from Jackson who I believe still has much to offer contemporary pop. After the tour concludes in the fall, I hope she will be inspired to put forth some fresh musical expressions in the very near future.
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".
It is sad to report the passing of Angela Bofill, the gifted jazz and r&b vocalist/songwriter, on June 13th at the age of seventy. Bofill had suffered two strokes in 2006 and 2007, leaving her mobility and speech impaired. But through extensive physical therapy, she regained some speech and movement which allowed her to participate in "The Angela Bofill Experience" in 2011, a stage show where she recounted her life and career while singers, Phil Perry and Melba Moore performed many of Bofill's beloved songs.
The Cuban-Puerto Rican singer began her professional career after meeting Dave Grusin and Larry Rosen, both musicians, producers and owners of the jazz label, GRP Records. They produced her 1978 debut, "Angie" which properly put on display her incredible vocal prowess as well as her songwriting abilities where she wrote four of the eight tracks. The single, "This Time I'll Be Sweeter" became Bofill's first hit, reaching number twenty-three on the Billboard Hot R&B chart. Her follow-up album, "Angel of the Night" became an even bigger success, reaching the top-ten on the jazz and r&b charts as well as cracking the top-forty on the pop album chart.
Bofill moved over to Clive Davis' label, Arista Records in 1981 with an agenda to help her gain more crossover appeal. She recorded a total of five studio albums over five years during her time with Arista, which featured more dance-pop and soul. While Bofill continued to achieve moderate success on the r&b chart, she was unable to become a considerable presence on the pop chart.
After taking some time off to raise her daughter, Shauna, Bofill returned to music in 1988, releasing "Intuition" on a new label, Capitol Records and getting back to her musical roots of jazz and blues. Her final studio album was "Love in Slow Motion", released in 1996.
Lady Gaga had released her sixth studio album, "Chromatica" in May 2020, which also happened to be right in the middle of a worldwide pandemic. At the time, it didn't seem like a great plan since she was unable to properly promote or tour for the album. But this record proved to be very helpful during this stressful period of time, offering pulsating dance grooves with the song lyrics providing some much needed themes of unshakable optimism and a pursuit of healing. Gaga was finally able to hit the road two years later with the Chromatica Ball, a twenty-date, all-stadium concert tour that took her across the globe.
Now "Gaga Chromatica Ball", the concert recorded during the stop in Los Angeles at Dodger Stadium, has premiered on HBO and MAX on May 25th. This filmed live show covers the entire two hour concert with visual interludes directed by Nick Knight. I have to say I'm surprised that "Chromatica Ball" bypassed the possibility of a theatrical release, especially since Gaga has just of a rabid fan base like Swift and Beyoncé who I'm certain would have turned out to pay to see this performance on the big screen. Anyway at the end of the program, there is a plug announcing that new music from Gaga is on the way.
CYNDI LAUPER
With her thrift store attire and neon colored hair with one side of her scalp shaved off, most people didn't know what to make of Cyndi Lauper when she first appeared in the music scene. But once she revealed that formidable voice with her 1983 debut album, "Girls Just want To Have Fun", Lauper would become greatly admired for her style and talent.
Since the success of the dance-punk title track (which has since gone on to become a girl-power anthem) and the follow-up single, "Time After Time", a moving ballad that became her first number one hit, Lauper has continued to astonish with not only her music but even some acting appearances, winning an Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actress In A Comedy Series in 1995 and a Tony Award for writing the original score for the musical, "Kinky Boots".
The now seventy year old artist is the focus of a new documentary, "Let the Canary Sing" from filmmaker, Alison Ellwood that began airing on Paramount+ on June 4th. The film explores her emerging from a scrappy New York performer to a quirky pop music star to an outspoken activist who has been a long-time ally to the LGBTQ+ communities, aggressively pushing for greater inclusion and acceptance.
Lauper has just announced she's about to embark on The Girls Just Wanna Have Fun Farewell Tour to begin this fall, stating she wanted to properly thank her fans for sticking by her all these years while still in good shape.
KYLIE MINOGUE
Kylie Minogue has been a major worldwide pop star since the late '80's who has gone on to sell well over eighty million records. But it's taken until last year with her dance hit, "Padam Padam" for Minogue to be truly appreciated here in the US with the Australian singer winning her first Grammy Award for the song. To help celebrate Pride month, you will be able to catch the live concert special, "An Audience With Kylie" on Hulu beginning on June 5th. This show was performed at the legendary Royal Albert Hall in London back in December, with an audience that included some star-studded attendees, where she performed her greatest hits and songs from her latest album, "Tension". Here is a clip of Minogue performing live from the program one of my all-time favorites from her, "Love At First Sight".
And Minogue is also featured on the just released single from the masked country artist, Orville Peck. Slightly changing musical directions, Peck has also brought in dance music DJ, Diplo on the track, "Midnight Ride" a dance song that still has some twang, which will be featured on his upcoming duets album, "Stampede". The single made it's premiere live by Peck and Minogue during her set at Outloud Festival at WeHo Pride last weekend.
.jpg)
.jpg)
