Year 6, Day 14

Good Morning! Today's song is Wishing Girl by Lola Marsh.

Lola Marsh is actually an Indie pop band from Israel, so give it up for Israel today! They've been active since 2013 and are made up of Gil Landau, Yael Shoshana Cohen, Mati Gilad, Dekel Dvir, and Ran Gil currently. The idea formed in 2011 when the first two had an impromptu jam session at a party. After that they spent time writing some music, and added more people to their forming group. They started playing in clubs and quickly got noticed and signed. They gained popularity in 2014 after performing at a music festival. Their debut single came out in 2015 and became one of the top ten viral tracks in the States. They continued to perform at festivals, gaining popularity until being signed. Their EP came out in 2016, followed by an album in 2017. After that they toured Europe's music festivals. Since then they've done more performances, released a live session and done some covers. I really like them and I hope you guys do too.

Peace.

Year 6, Day 13

Good Morning! Today's song is Mess Her Up by Amy Shark.

Amy Shark is the stage name for Amy Louise Billings who is an Australian singer active since 2014. There isn't too much information on her, but from what I've found out she starting putting up videos in 2014, gaining popularity until winning Pop Song of the Year in 2016. After that she went on a national tour. Around that time she released another single, which gained so much popularity that it caused a bidding war between labels who wanted to sign her. By the end of the year, she signed with Sony. In 2017 she won Artist of the Year, and named Apple's UpNext Artist. Since then she's appeared on a couple late night shows performing her music. In 2018 she released a new single, which a couple radio hosts decided to promote in a big way, then she released her debut album later that year. Later in the year she performed at the Commonwealth games, which is basically a mini summer Olympics for current and former British colonies. That equals out to around 50 countries being invited, but there are only 6 that have been there every year. One of those is Canada which I found pretty cool because I didn't know my country participated in this at all, let alone every event since the 30's. Anyway, back to Amy. The song I'm showing you is one of her more recent songs that YouTube recommended to me which I'm glad about. It's such a good find and I hope you enjoy it as much as I have.

Peace.

Year 6, Day 12

Good Morning! Today's song is Cannonball by Skylar Grey featuring the X Ambassadors.

Skylar Grey is the stage name for Holly Brook Hafermann whose been active since 2004. She started off as part of a folk duo with her mom called Generations, before moving into songwriting in 2005. She was also featured on a Fort Minor's song, which went on to be top 4 on the Billboard Hot 100. She made and released a debut album in 2006 and opened for a lot of artists on tours. After, she toured with Duncan Sheik in his band, contributing to his album released in 2009. The next year she released an EP independently. All of this was done under the name Holly Brook, but after that point she switched to the stage name which basically wiped her slate clean. She wrote Love The Way You Lie which became a huge hit for Eminem and Rihanna, and earned Skylar a Grammy. She got signed and continued writing huge hits for other artists, and finally debuted under the new name performing one of the songs she helped write at the Grammy's in 2011. She released her debut single later that year. As of now, she's got two albums under this name out and another planned for sometime this year, but she mainly writes songs for others so you've undoubtedly heard a lot of her work already. If you're curious you should go look them all up, you'll probably be surprised.

Peace.

Year 6, Day 11

Good Morning! Today's song is Waves by Dean Lewis.

So Dean Lewis is a singer from Australia active since 2016. This is arguably his most famous song. He got into music after being inspired by Oasis, and became a little obsessed with their material, using it as a template to learn to write music. He signed with a label in 2014, and then a bigger label in 2016. He released this song as his debut single, and it has since been featured on a handful of popular TV shows. He released an EP in 2017 that won him five ARIA awards, and released some singles that have since gone platinum. In 2018 he released a single that stayed on the top of the charts for five weeks, and hitting top 5 in other countries. He released his debut album earlier this year, so if you like the song check that out.

Peace.

Year 6, Day 10

Good Morning! Today's song is Ready by Kodaline.

So Kodaline is an Irish band made up of Steve Garrigan, Vinny May, Jr., Jason Boland, and Mark Prendergast. As this group they've been active since 2011, but they were active earlier since 2005 under a different name. The first performance was in 2006 under the name 21 Demands in a talent competition, where they came in second. The next year they were able to release a single through the company who ran the talent show's website. That song topped the singles chart in Ireland, becoming the first independent track to do so. The band released their first EP in 2012 after they changed the name. It got a lot of radio play, and was nominated for BBC's Sound of the Year. They released their debut album the next year. Songs from it were used for a lot of different TV shows and movies for the next couple years, and iTunes had the option of some extra songs on a deluxe version. They announced their next album at the end of 2014, and it was released in 2015. In 2017 they released another single (which will be shown later), followed by another single in 2018 in preparation for the album which was released later in the year. There hasn't been anything yet this year, but I'm sure there will be soon, so keep an eye out.

Peace.

Year 6, Day 9

Good Morning! Today's song is Iris by The Goo Goo Dolls.

The Goo Goo Dolls are a rock band that have been around since 1986. The members have included Johnny Rzeznik, Robby Takac, George Tutuska, and Mike Malinin; although currently only the former two are in the band still. The name of the band actually comes from a True Detective ad for a toy. The guys have said that it was the best they could come up with for the gig they had that night, and since then it stuck. Their first album came out in 1987 with another out in 1989. They played the underground music scene around the States, then released another album in 1990. They finally hit mainstream success with their album in 1993. They recorded another album, kicked Tutuska out and hired Malinin, then went on tour. Their 1995 album has been heralded one of the most successful alt rock album of the 90's. Unfortunately it was followed by a legal dispute with their label for royalties. Once it got settled they had another album out in 1998 with a different label which went for a more straight rock sound. This song was written after that for a soundtrack and got nominated for three Grammys. They also released in on their next album, and then followed that up with a compilation album in 2001. They're still going strong with a live album out in 2018 and lots of other stuff earlier than that which I skipped over because it's as steady a progression as earlier in their career. You can look it up if you're curious, but for now enjoy the song.

Peace.

Year 6, Day 8

Good Morning! Today's song is Flares by The Script.

I feel like I've done this review before, but let's just do it again in case not. So these guys are an Irish band who have been active since 2001 and are made up of Danny O'Donoghue, Mark Sheehan, and Glen Power. Danny and Mark were childhood best friends and in a boy band together called Mytown, before moving to LA to do songwriting. They spent awhile doing that pretty successfully before moving back to Dublin where they met Glen. He had been doing solo stuff when he hooked up with the rest of them and is just kind of clicked. They were signed in 2005 and released their debut album in 2008. It was a huge hit topping the charts around Europe. The next album came out in 2011, and the third in 2012. In between all that they played a bunch of shows and generally hit their peak. Their next album came out in 2014 and is considered a prequel to the debut album, made up of songs they wrote on the road after shows. The release was followed by an almost year long tour and then by a year long hiatus which is a well earned break. They came back and released another album in 2017 which did good even though critics hated it. Since then they've been playing more shows and I haven't heard anything about another album, but there is plenty to listen to right now if you like this one.

Peace.

Year 6, Day 7

Good Morning! Today's song is In This Life by Chantal Kreviazuk.

Chantal Kreviazuk is a Canadian singer whose been active since 1996 when her first album was released. It took a year before it was released in the States, so when it was coming out there, she was already winning a Juno. Her next album came out in 1999, and resulted in her winning two Juno awards. Her third album came out in 2002, followed by more in 2005 and 2006. She's had a ton of albums, and has done music for all kinds of pop culture throughout her career as well as writing for other artists. If I listed it all it would be a huge post, but the gist is that if you have seen movies, TV or listened to popular songs in the 2000's, you've probably been exposed to her work. Look it all up if you're curious.

Peace.

Year 6, Day 6

Good Morning! Today's song is Broken Wings by Mr. Mister.

So this is a pop rock band that was active from 1982 until 1990. The members include Richard Page, Steve George, Pat Mastelotto, and Steve Farris. Page and George started out by founding a band called Pages which had good reviews on their music, but never quite managed to break out, so they disbanded in 1981. The next year they got together with the other guys and tried again. Each of them were familiar with the industry, doing session work for other artists, so it was a good fit. The first album was released in 1984, and after offers came pouring in for Page to replace people in other bands including Toto. He declined. Their second album came out the next year and it's what shot them to success. That's the album this song is from. They toured with a bunch of famous artists and then released a third album which didn't chart. In 1988 Farris left the band, and the rest of them joined Paul Clark as his backup recording two albums. The second one was never released by the label and the band broke up pretty quickly after that. The album did eventually get released in 2010 on Page's own label in collaboration with Sony Music. Anyway, I hope you enjoy this blast from 80's past because I do.

Peace.

Year 6, Day 5

Good Morning! Today's song is One Last Time by Jaymes Young.

Jaymes Young is the stage name for Jaymes McFarland, who is an American singer who was active from 2013 until 2018. He started singing and playing guitar when he was 14 and was always one of his passions. He got signed in 2013, releasing his first EP and touring with London Grammar. Then in 2014, he released his second EP, supported Vance Joy on his tour and was featured on a David Guetta album. In 2016 he worked on co-writing music with another musician called ZHU which would be featured on that musician's album. In 2017 he released his debut album, but then in 2018 he said he was stepping away from the Jaymes Young project, possibly permanently. I assume he will come back to the industry in some capacity, but maybe not under this moniker. So in any sense, if you like him, keep an eye out for his stuff.

Peace.

Year 6, Day 4

Good Morning! Today's song is Wonder by Lauren Aquilina.

Lauren Aquilina is a English singer whose been active since 2011. She played music and sang from a young age, and after a recital where she sang a Lady Gaga song, she uploaded the recording to Facebook. The man that would become her manager saw it, and started working with her towards her first EP which came out in 2012. The album did well on iTunes, and with performances around Norway she gained more attention. She toured the UK in 2013 as her popularity increased in Malta, which is where her parents are from. By 2014 she had released two more EP's and was signed to a label. She released her debut album in 2016, but a few months later announced it would be her last album and left the music scene. I'm not sure why she left, but she returned to music in 2018 with a single, and with plans for an EP later this year. So I guess we'll all see what happens.

Peace.

Year 6, Day 3

Good Morning! Today's song is This Year's Love by David Gray.

David Gray is an English musician whose been active since 1992, although he didn't start to get commercial success until 2000 with the re-release of his fourth album. This one didn't just gain him some success, but exploded his career, breaking records and he still holds today. In 2001, with the success garnered, he released two albums of songs from older albums and unrecorded songs written in that era. In 2002, he released a new album with new material, and while not as popular as the one from 2000, it still hit number one on the charts. His next album came out in 2005, after he took a hiatus due to exhaustion. Critics praised this one as a return to his old sound, but it still had failures, so Gray went on hiatus again for 2006. For the next while we only saw performances and compilation albums from him, until his next albums in 2009 and 2010. After that he went silent again until signing to a new label and releasing a tenth album in 2014. In 2016 an album of his greatest hits was released, and a Spotify playlist was made in the same vein but one that cycles through his songs, changes over time depending on the popularity of the song through the service. Although this is already a pretty impressive career in overall quantity of music, he's still going strong with another album being released earlier this year. So give his music a try, because there is a lot more where that came from.

Peace.

Year 6, Day 2

Good Morning! Today's song is Surprise Yourself by Jack Garratt.

Jack Garratt is a singer from England who has technically been active since 2005 even though he only released his debut album in 2016. He was writing his own music at twelve and could play multiple instruments, then a year later in 2005 he decided to enter the Junior Eurovision Song Contest. He came in last place. He's talked about that moment since, saying that he was doing it for attention and not the love of music. While he was in university he signed with a label and began working on an album and got featured on BBC in 2012. Soon after he scrapped that album because he wasn't proud of what he was writing. So he completely changed up his music and released an extended play in 2014. It garnered him a lot of attention, leading to live performances at festivals and even a supporting role on a Mumford and Sons tour. In 2016 he won a Critic's Choice at the Brit Awards, which he followed up with by releasing his debut album. It's an interesting history and a good song so I hope you enjoy it.

Peace.

Year 6, Day 1

Good Morning! Today's song is Lullaby Love by Roo Panes.

Hi guys, so I know I normally start us off with something fun and happy, but my time away I've not really been feeling that so I'm going to start us off slow. I find this song and video very calming, making it a perfect choice. Roo Panes is English singer Andrew Panes who has been active since 2012. The Roo name is actually his nickname from childhood because he fell into a river in a similar fashion as the Winnie the Pooh character. His career started with modeling when he signed a contract with Burberry that included recording music. Since then he has made three EP's and three studio albums, the most recent of which came out just last year. Like I said before this song mellows me out and makes me feel less stressed, so I hope you guys enjoy it too.

Peace.