On Friday, Rihanna surprisingly dropped a whole new album without much pre-warning. The record, her eighth, is called Anti, and from preliminary personal listenings and reviews, it's somewhat of a departure for the 27 year-old singer. The first single and most talked about song from Anti is her newest collaboration with R&B singer/rapper Drake. The tune is called Work and it's pretty darned good. It was radio's most-played song on its first day of release and for good reason. Check it out...
*Note: All of the clips available on YouTube as of this moment feature the audio version of the song without Drake's vocals. The song is pretty cool either way and once an authentic vid of the duet comes out, we'll share it here.
One of my favorite songs of all time reached a huge milestone the other day, and I mean huge. On Monday, Shakira's theme song for the 2010 World Cup, Waka Waka, reached the exclusive milestone of one billion page views on YouTube, putting the Colombian singer in company with Adele's Hello, Psy's Gangnam Style, Justin Bieber's Baby, and Wiz Khalifa's See You Again (The Citizen). The uplifting and fun song brings me back to my Saturday nights at Splash a few years back, and so this news gets a resounding YES from me. Check out Waka Waka...
I won't tear the sack up, punk you'd better back up
Try and play the role and the whole crew will act up
Happy Friday! Well it's been a long week and I think it's time for a party, don't you? Here's an awesome, Friday party jam from back in the days of the early 90's when hip hop met dance and all things were good. So get out ya seat and jump around...
I was being a little nostalgic last night, listening to some of my favorite dance tunes of just a few years ago and when this one came on I knew I had to post it! Mesmerizing...
Here's a beautiful ballad by British recording artist Jessie Ware. The tune was co-written with Ed Sheeran and there are also a couple of great remixes of the song out there. Check out Say You Love Me...
The supremely talented Sia is back with a new album called This Is Acting, due to be released in just a few days. The record is her 7th studio album in almost nineteen years and follows her moderately successful 2014 album 1000 Forms of Fear. This marvelous tune is the album's first single, and it was originally written for Adele's 25 (The Brit phenom is given songwriting credit on the song), but was rejected at the last moment. Rihanna also is reported to have rejected the tune, but luckily this talented Aussie can belt one out all by her lonesome. Check out the upliftingly beautiful Alive...
It's been a really long time since I've posted anything P!nk, who is waaaayyyy overdue for a new album. But she can take all the time she wants, because so what, she's a rock star.....
Today's tune is an alternative, nostalgic gem that's resonated with music listeners everywhere as it's become the highest charting single ever for alternative hip hop band Twenty One Pilots. Check out Stressed Out...
Back in the late 90's and early 2000's, Basement Jaxx was one of the funkiest dance music producers around, and here's one of their biggest, and funkiest, hits. Enjoy and Happy Friday!
Here's Nick Jonas' most recent single, off of the re-release of his big eponymous album from 2014. It's very different unlike what the general radio-listening public has heard from the 23 year old crooner. It's dark and moody and some opine that it's about ex-flame Selena Gomez. Who cares? I like the song Check out Area Code...
It's been a long time since Flo Rida has put out one of his great signature rap/dance jams. I mean, sure he's had a few singles here and there, but to me he hasn't reached that irresistible intensity he's had on such classics as Low, Club Can't Handle Me, or Good Feeling. Well, I think he scores again with My House, a jam with a nice, bouncy groove and great hook. Check it out...
In remembrance of the latest passing, here's a song I wouldn't ordinarily post, It came out in May of 1975, when I was just ten years old. I certainly remember it from the radio way back when, but it never really was my style of music. Anyway, I just read on ABC that this was Frey's favorite Eagles song, and thus worthy of a post. Rest in Peace Glenn Frey, and the rest! Here's One of These Nights...
Happy Monday everyone, especially to those of you who are lucky enough to be off from work in observance of Martin Luther King Day today. Here's a great dance jam by the unlikely collaboration of Brit electronic artists and one Miss Jennifer Hudson. It's one of my favorites off of G.C.'s Sirens album and if you love some great dance stuff, then check out Go All Night...
It feels like deja vu all over again as for the second straight Sunday, I'm posting a song dedicated to someone who had a birthday on Saturday. Last week it was Pat Benatar and this week it's the beautiful Aaliyah, who would have been 37 years old yesterday.It's hard to believe that she's been gone almost 15 years already. Where does the time go? Anyway, here's one of her biggest hits, from the soundtrack to the film Romeo Must Die, and it's got a message we should all remember. Check out Try Again...
Here's a sweet, new, tropical house jam by Norwegian deejay/producer Kygo. Singer Maty Noyes' vocals are as sweet as the tune and if you click play below you just may find a new song to love...
Here's a Flashback Friday that goes all the way back to 1980 and Pat Benatar's earliest smash and one of her most recognizable hits ever. This song would set the stage for what was to come in the early days of this brash rock chick's in your face early style. The song reached the #9 spot on Billboard's Top 100 and always has em' singing along. Check out Hit Me With Your Best Shot...
We continue our week-long tribute to the great Pat Benatar with what is arguably her most beautiful song. It's the "other song" I was speaking of yesterday that was her highest charting single alongside Love Is a Battlefield, peaking at #5. This one earned her a Grammy nomination for Best Female Pop Vocal and is a favorite amongst her fans. If you were around in 1984, you're sure to know it and love it, so click play below and check out We Belong...
Love Is a Battlefield came out in late 1983, when Pat Benatar was at the very top of her game. The song and the video added a whole new dimension to Benatar's rock-oriented style, adding elements of dance into the mix and doing so very successfully. This, and tomorrow's Song of the Day, tied as her two highest charting songs ever (Can you guess what the other song is?). Here's Love Is a Battlefield...
We continue our week-long tribute to Long Island native Pat Benatar with the lead single off of her 1980 album, Crimes of Passion. The song is a remake of a 1966 tune by The Young Rascals and it's good old-fashioned rock n roll at its best. Here's a little known fact I found out whilst making this post: Pat Benatar's You Better Run was the second video to ever play on MTV, after the famous channel's debut of the Buggles' Video Killed the Radio Star (Songfacts.). Well how about that?!?!?!!! Happy Tuesday!
As you may or may not have heard, rock legend David Bowie passed away earlier Sunday after a long battle with cancer. He was 69. To read the full story, check out NBC News, and in the meantime, check out one of his best...
I saw a post yesterday on Facebook, quite accidentally, of someone wishing Pat Benatar a happy 63rd birthday. (I can't believe she's 63!) Well, I couldn't help but want to post a song for the occasion, even if it's a day late. Then I got to thinking, Pat Benatar, a Long Island girl, deserves a very special honor, and so we'll be posting a whole week's worth of posts of Pat Benatar songs to light up your week.
If you were around in the late 70's/early 80's and beyond, you have to have at least one or two or even several of Pat Benatar tunes in the soundtrack of your life. I know I do. Though she hasn't charted a single since 1986's All Fired Up, Pat had amassed 15 Top 40 hits prior to that, with 4 of them hitting the top ten. Here was her debut single from 1983's Get Nervous album. It's one of her most memorable tunes and has been covered many times since. Relive and enjoy the sweetness of Shadows of the Night...
I mentioned in my Top 50 Dance Songs of 2015post how much I loved The Chainsmokers, an up and coming dance music production team, and here's another reason why. Waterbed starts off not sounding like a real dance tune, but by the chorus, you'll be feeling like you're poolside someplace tropical and you're gonna wanna shake your a** like a waterbed...
Here's one of my favorite tunes off of Robin Schulz's Sugar. This one's very pleasant and uplifting and I simply love singer Aleesia's sexyish voice. I woke up with it in my head this morning and knew I had to post it. Check out Love Me Loud...
I'm, dancing and I'm feeling fine Been so long I don't know why Turn up the lights This is my time, this is my time...
I got to thinking, or rather singing in my head, this song after posting yesterday's Song of the Day, featuring dance music diva Crystal Waters. Most people know Crystal from her early hits, 1991's Gypsy Woman and 1994's 100% Pure Love, but she's had a couple of really good dance hits since then that haven't been as popular, but are even better. Case in point, this 2003 gem is a dance anthem through and through...kinda reminds me of Kool the Gang's Celebration...well, the music in it anyway. Check out My Time...
Here's a recently discovered dance anthem featuring an old favorite, house diva Crystal Waters. It's been a really long time since we've heard anything from her, and though this one's not as good as some of her past house tracks, it does have that anthem-feel to the music, which I always love. Check out Synergy...
I am truly sorry to all you "Swifties" out there, but I still don't see what is so great about her. Perhaps I'll get some flak for this, but I just don't think her music is all that. In fact, I think that a lot of her songs sound pretty similar, and thus kinda boring, yet everything she does seems to be the "best ever" in everybody else's eyes. Case in point, on Thursday night, New Year's Eve, Ms. Swift dropped a new video for her song Out of the Woods on the New Year's Rockin' Eve telecast. The next day, my inbox was flooded with all sorts of adjectives for the vid and the song...stunning, vibrant, powerful, catchy, exquisite, captivating, blah, blah, blah, and that was all from one little article. The video is alright, but I guess what it comes down to is musical taste, and hers doesn't tickle mine. In fact, the only song of hers I love is Shake It Off, which to me is unique and fun. The rest...meh! So anyway, for what it's worth, here's Out of the Woods...
Here's a song I found on a compilation album I downloaded recently on iTunes called 30th Century Records Compilation. It's by a Glasgow-based pair of brothers who call themselves Apache Sun. On the band's webpage, Kris Mitchell and Pete Bruce dub themselves a "psych-rock band," and that just about sums up their unique sound. Everything I've read about and heard from them since I discovered this song has been aces all the way and I am definitely a new fan.
This particular tune has been culled an enchanting and haunting psychedelic nugget with the Arabesque chords emphasizing their exotic side and emitting a noir magic taken from a fairytale that's suitable only for adults ( Sound Injections). Exactly! I loved Club Noir the first time I heard it...kind of reminds me of a song from a James Bond film soundtrack, or even something great to jam to at a rock club. Check it out...
This was a song I should have posted yesterday, but somehow forgot to do so. As I am sure you have heard by this point, singer Natalie Cole passed away on Thursday at the age of 65. Word is that she had been battling several health issues and she ultimately died from congestive heart failure. I was never a huge fan of Miss Cole, but being a music fan I was always aware of her. In fact, as I write this, her song gospel-tinged disco hit, This Will Be, is playing in my head. For today's post, however, I can't not post this, one of her most memorable and a technical marvel at the time, a duet with her father, beloved crooner Nat King Cole, on one of his biggest hits. Check out Unforgettable...
Bob Sinclair has been making great dance music for years now, and this newest project of his, featuring the powerful and oh so dancey voice of Dawn Tallman is simply fun. Check out Feel the Vibe...
Here's three-plus minutes of gender-bending neo-disco fun with Aussie recording artist Nervo, with a little star power thrown into the mix. Kylie Monogue and Jake Shears lend their pipes and Nile Rodgers his guitar in this tune from Nervo's debut album, Collateral. Check out The Other Boys...
Well now that you've checked out my Top 50 Dance Songs of
2015, it's time to look at my favorite pop tunes from the year. Since dance music is mainly my thing, this
pop list will only include my favorite 20 songs for the year 2015, with of
course some honorable mentions. Like my
dance tunes list, this one is based solely on my own musical taste and what I
listened to the most this year. I hope
you'll agree with most of them. Now, on
to the list...
#20 - Lay It All On Me - Rudimental, featuring Ed Sheeran
I know that the monumentally talented Ed Sheeran had a lot
of other songs to hit the big time in 2015, but my favorite of them all was
this guest spot on Rudimental's Lay It
All On Me.
#19 - All About That Bass - Meghan Trainor
Here's a retro feeling tune by newcomer Meghan Trainor that
was simply everywhere earlier in the year when it was at its peak. It was cutesy at first, but got old
fast. It's still good enough, though, to
have hit my top twenty. Check it out on John's
Music World.
#18 - Riptide - Vance Joy
Here's another late 2014 tune from Aussie Vance Joy that
carried its way into 2015. I'm not
really sure exactly how well it fared here, but I simply love the melodies, the
lyrics and the vocals, too. Check out Riptide...
#17 - Cheerleader - OMI
Here's a reggae-ish tune that was resurrected from three years
prior to become a smash hit this year. I
first discovered it on Spotify and then suddenly I was hearing it
everywhere. Check it out right here.
#16 -Lean On - Major Lazer & DJ Snake
This one scored high on my Top 50 Dance Songs of
2015, and it has enough of a pop flavor to score here, too.
#15 - FourFiveSeconds - Rihanna, Kanye West & Paul
McCartney
Here's what I wrote about this
superstar collaboration when I first posted it the day after the Grammys:
Okay, so despite the participation of one ignorant idiot in
this trio, I'm posting this tune after actually liking it for the first time
after seeing it performed at the Grammys the other night. I had the
notion of posting it a lot earlier, but upon the first few listens I really
didn't like it too much, but now I kinda do!
There was a lot of mystery to the singer of this song when
it was first released. I'll admit, I
thought the Justin Bieber lookalike in the video was "Fancy," but
it's not. The singer was born to the
name Jake Hagood, and he's got a really smooth, suave voice. The song reminds me a little of a 50's
ballad, perhaps, and it's really good.
Check out Goodbye...
#13 -Shut Up and Dance - Walk the Moon
This is not one of my favorite songs...I think I've heard it
about a zillion too many times, but it is a great, fun tune and it deserves a
spot in the top 20 of the year. It was
my final Song of the Day post of the
year and you can check it out right here.
#12 - Jealous/Levels - Nick Jonas
Here's a double entry at #12 as Nick
Jonas picked up where he left off in 2014 with the rising popularity of Jealousand an awesome new track called Levels,
which you can check out right here.
#11 - Want to Want Me - Jason Derulo
Here's a fun and happy tune that's so nice, I posted
it twice this year.
#10 - Love Me Like You Do - Ellie Goulding
Ellie Goulding has had a nice 2015, and it all began with
this beautiful love song from the Fifty Shades
of Grey soundtrack. Check it out
right here.
#9 - On My Mind - Ellie Goulding
Yes, Miss Ellie has had a nice 2015 and from the sounds of
her new album Delirium, 2016 is going
to be even better. Check out the
radio-friendly On My Mind...
#8 - Shake It Off - Taylor Swift
Yes, Taylor Swift has had quite a few songs to hit it big in
2015, and though this was a late entry for last year, it still got a lot of airplay
this year and is by far my personal favorite of her songs. Check out Shake
It Off.
#7 - Where Are U Now? - Skrillex & Diplo, with Justin
Bieber
As I mentioned in my Top
50 Dance Songs of 2015, this soulful and hypnotic tune started off a
big year for Justin Bieber, whose voice seems to have matured into a very
golden one. Surely one of my favorite
tunes of the year.
#6 - Ex's and Oh's - Elle King
It seems that newcomer Elle King picked up where Meghan
Trainor left off, with some light-hearted and retro fun that's simply irresistible. Check it out right here...
#5 - Love Yourself - Justin Bieber
So if you love, the way, you look that much, then maybe you
should go and love yourself...
Justin Bieber's latest single off of his Purpose album is a tender, in-your-face
ballad that's just soooo much fun to sing along to. Check it out on John's
Music World.
Can you tell I've become a Belieber this year? Lol.
Anyway, this one is so pleasant and so danceable and fun, I just
couldn't help myself but to put it here at #3.
Check out the fun video for Sorry
right here.
#2 - Hold My Hand - Jess Glynne
Now here is a song that I do not know anyone that doesn't
like it. It's so spiritual, so uplifting
and fun I get all oogey when I listen to it.
Hehe. Check it out on John's Music World right here.
#1 - Hello - Adele
Ah, 2015 saw the much-anticipated of Adele and her new
record 25. If anyone had been wondering if the 25
year-old phenom from England still had it after a much-heralded 21 record, they've gotten their answer
with this one. Adele's newest record is
simply spectacular from start to finish and in a much more light-hearted way
than before. You go girl! I posted the tune here today as my first Song of the Day for 2016 and you can
check it out by clicking the link. So hello
from the other side...
So there ya go, my 20 favorite pop songs from 2015. Like I said, you may or may not agree with me
on some of my choices, but you can't deny that they all made a splash in
2015. Please keep checking into John's Music World for more Songs of the
Day, music news and most of all, music appreciation. After all, doesn't music = life?
Here are some honorable mentions from the pop music world
that didn't quite make it into my Top 20:
In just a short while I'll be publishing John's World's Top 20 Songs of 2015 and I figured why not post one of them here today. Adele has had a marvelous 2015, especially the last couple of months of it, and this was the song that started it all. Happy New Year!
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