Year 7, Day 291

Morning! Today's song is Shingaling by Tom Swoon.

Photo (cropped) by: DJLucasNolan

Tom Swoon is Dorian Domasiak who was active from 2009 to 2017. He started under the name Pixel Cheese, releasing a couple remixes. He released his debut song in 2012 then switched to Tom Swoon, and toured with Avicii. He continued to release songs throughout his career, both original and remixes until an idiotic decision ruined his career and someone else's life. In 2017 he was drunk driving, and killed a man, so his career is over now because he's currently in jail. I don't condone drunk driving, and I hate to think of all the times I was in the car with my dad while he was under the influence growing up, and frankly it's a miracle nothing ever happened. No one should ever take the chance. It's not just your life you could ruin because you didn't think it through. It's really not hard to call a cab or get someone to be the designated driver. Make the effort please, and let this guy be the example of what not to do. 

Peace.

Year 7, Day 290

Morning! Today's song is Am I Wrong by Nico & Vinz.

Photo by: Warner Bros Records

These guys are a Norwegian duo active since 2010 and made up of Kahouly Nicolay Sereba and Vincent Dery. Originally they started as a duo under the name Envy, debuting in 2011 at a festival and earning a first place prize for new artists. They released a mixtape, followed closely by their debit single the same year. Their debut album was released in 2012, landing in the top 40 of the Norwegian charts. This song was released in 2013, and marks when the group transitioned from Envy to their current moniker, a change that came when they got signed and their was another group with the same name. The music video is filmed throughout Africa and is meant to showcase the positive of the continent, since usually all the news about it has a negative air. Their next album was released in 2014, followed by an EP in 2015. They've had some features on songs by other artists such as Alesso and David Guetta, and have had their stuff featured in film and games. Their third album was set to come out in 2016, though I'm not sure if it did, but they did release another EP in 2017. Since then it's been said they're working on another album so they're still kicking around and I guess we'll see more from them soon. 

Peace.

Year 7, Day 289

Morning! Today's song is Galway Girl by Ed Sheeran.

Photo by: Harald Krichel

So I spent six hours with my cousin yesterday and have held onto the fun identifier that somehow is mine now... although she really does have way more in common with my sister than me, so I'm only the favorite because I'm actually in town. We watched a movie, I fed her chicken fingers, she attempted to do a puzzle then got bored and instead switch to a Disney channel show. Her parents actually had to fight to get her out the door to leave, and they succeeded... half an hour after her normal bedtime. She also said our chicken fingers are better than the ones her mom gets and that she'd rather watch movies with me than her parents and wanted to come back today. All things she said in front of her parents. Luckily they shout her down about coming over today because I need time to recharge. I don't spend a lot of time around kids and they are just way too energetic for me. So here's hoping I'm recharged for the next time she pops up.

Peace.

Year 7, Day 288

Morning! Today's song is I Want You by Andrew Allen.

Hey guys, so this isn't a band write up today, but it is a group I've featured before so hopefully that's alright with you guys. I'm in a rush because my uncle is bringing my cousin over to see me today. She's... I think eight now... and has decided I'm cool, so she asked her dad to bring her here to see me. I truly don't know why I'm suddenly the fun one because I've literally never had that identifier before. I guess you watch an anime once for twenty minutes together and suddenly you're BFFs. But so while I had today slotted for me to sit down and figure out a song order for the rest of the year, instead I'm scrambling to finish this before she pops up. So that's all you get today. Hopefully I'll catch upon my prep tomorrow, but for now enjoy the song.

Peace.

Year 7, Day 287

Morning! Today's song is Rockstar by A Great Big World.

Photo by: SurfingSalmon

These guys are an American duo made up of Ian Axel and Chad King, and active since 2011. They met in university and started writing together, then Axel tried his hand at a solo career, releasing an album with the songs they had written together. In 2011 one of their songs was used in all kinds of pop culture stuff, leading to them going on tours supporting a couple different artists. In 2012 they officially took the name A Great Big World, and then released an EP. They were signed in 2013 and released an EP with them. A song of theirs got noticed by Christina Aguilera, leading to a version with her in it and lots of large scale performances thanks to its popularity. They released their debut album in 2014, followed by another in 2015. They've been releasing a few singles since then, and also have apparently been working on a musical the last few years which is why they've somewhat disappeared. I'm intrigued so I hope they finish whatever they're working on. Until then, we can enjoy this song. 

Peace.

Year 7, Day 286

Morning! Today's song is Let Me Love You by Ne-Yo.

Photo from: JeffDam

So Ne-Yo is Shaffer Chimere Smith, a singer, actor, dancer, and producer active since 1998. He started in a group called Envy with the pseudonym Go Go until the group disbanded in 2000. He got signed to a label, but promptly dropped before he could make any music, but one of his songs was remade by another singer, leading to him getting recognition as a songwriter. He spent years writing for other artists, and his breakthrough came from another song called Let Me Love You (although they are different), done for and released by the artist named Mario in 2004. After that songs success, Jay Z signed Ne-Yo to Def Jam, where Ne-Yo released his debut album in 2006, followed closely by his second album in 2007. His third album came out in 2008, earning him some Grammy nominations. He did a couple collaborations and a Greatest hits album in 2009 before releasing his next album in 2010, followed by some movie roles and more songwriting credits for big name artists. In 2012 he switched labels, releasing his fifth album on the new one, which is where this song that he co-wrote with Sia came from. He did more artist collabs before releasing his next album in 2015, and has continued to collaborate and make music, and even do some cameos, since then. Most recently this year he was on the Masked Singer as one of the contestants, so he's still around if you wanna go check him out.

Peace.

Year 7, Day 285

Morning! Today's song is Black or White by Michael Jackson.

Photo from: White House Photo Office

Alright since I already did his early career with the last song, I'm going to focus on the second half of his career here. His fifth solo album in 1979 marked the change in his career soundwise and making him a stand alone artist. His next album in 1982 was Thriller with got him seven Grammys and became an institution in the music world with a lot of hits, this song being one of them. He went on the Victory Tour in 1984 with his family. In the late 80's his skin color changed because of some medical conditions and the efforts he made to combat those, and along with the public scrutiny came many more outrageous stories about him, some that Michael reportedly spread himself and some made up by the media. His next album came out in 1987 which was followed by a world tour. He released another album in 1991, then did the Superbowl halftime show in 1993. After that he continued making music and touring, got married, got divorced, was in and out of courts, and got addicted to drugs. He died in 2009 of a heart attack, but it was technically caused by an overdose. I know a lot of you have heard the stuff about him, and know I glossed over a ton of serious shit in the middle, but I just can't write about it. I don't want to know more than what I pick up just existing in the world, but if you guys want to get into all the court stuff I'm guessing there are documentaries that are easy to find. 

Peace.

Year 7, Day 284

Morning! Today's song is Human Nature by Michael Jackson.

Photo by: Zoran Vaselinovic

We're doing a double day artist starting today to get through the whole career, so enjoy. Michael Jackson's career starts with his siblings and their group, and since I have multiple songs from him to show I'll split his career in two. First his career in a group, then his career solo. So let's start with The Jackson 5. They were a sibling group and started out with Tito, Jermaine, Jackie, Michael, and Marlon. They started winning a lot of talent shows, so their dad Joe started booking them gigs. They were signed in 1967 and started performing at strip clubs and opening for Bobby Taylor & the Vancouvers. They eventually got signed to a bigger label that had turned them down twice before, and it marked a jump in their career. They opened for The Supremes then released their debut single along with two more which all topped the charts. They came out with four albums in a year riding the success, becoming the label's main focus, and Right On! magazine's cover darlings. In 1971 the label promoted Michael going solo to keep increasing their sales, followed by Jermaine doing the same. While they both were successful solo, the group overall declined and split with the label in 1975. There was a lawsuit which led to them needing to change their name to The Jacksons. They joined a different label and released an album in 1976 which didn't chart well, and then next album did even worse. Finally they got full creative control and their next two albums from 1978 and 1980 were successful. They kept releasing albums and doing performances, but as Michael got bigger it overshadowed them until he left in 1984. So that's all until next time, and we'll pick it up from his solo career. Enjoy! 

Peace.

Year 7, Day 283

Morning! Today's song is For Once In My Life by Stevie Wonder.

So Stevie Wonder is Stevland Hardaway Morris and has been active in the industry since 1961. In that time he's released 26 records, been nominated for 70 awards, and has won 25 Grammy's. He's also received a Lifetime Achievement award which he got in 1996. He was born premature, and because of the time in the incubator from that, he became blind through a condition known as retinopathy of prematurity. He played instruments since he was really young, and at 11 sang his first song for a musician in The Miracles, who took him to Motown, leading to him being signed. His first two albums were made while he was still 11, and were released in 1962. He hit number 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 at 13 and kept releasing music, some being hits continuously through his childhood. At 21 he let his contract expire before releasing two independent albums, then signed another contract with Motown. He got his first Grammy at 24, and another the next year. He hit his peak popularity in the 80's, still releasing lots of music, and also doing some TV appearances. In the 2000's he didn't release many albums himself, but he did make songs for other people and appear on albums and stage with many individuals, along with doing touring. He had said he was working on an album in 2013 but we haven't seen that yet. I've gone super vague and left out a ton of stuff just for the sake of not making this too long, but he's had a seriously incredible career, and you guys should look him up. 

Peace.

Year 7, Day 282

Morning! Today's song is I'll Stand By You by The Pretenders.

The Pretenders are a band active since 1978 and currently made up of Chrissie Hynde, Martin Chambers, Nick Wilkinson, James Walbourne, Eric Heywood, and Carwyn Ellis. Their previous members include James Honeyman-Scott, Pete Farndon, Robbie McIntosh, Malcolm Foster, Bobby Peterson, Blair Cunningham, T.M. Stevens, Johnny Marr, Adam Seymour, Andy Rourke, and Andy Hobson. The original grouping was active from 1978 until 1982, releasing their debut album in 1980, another following the next year. In 1983, only two members were still alive, and they continued with a new lineup until 1989, releasing two albums in that time. Some disputes led to the band having one member left and going on a year long hiatus. Then in the 90's, Hynde hired session players in order to make the next album before forming a new version of the group. This group lasted for a decade, releasing five albums. In 2012, they regrouped again. The live group continued with them, although the album in 2016 consisted only of Hynde and session musicians. Their eleventh album was supposed to be released earlier this year, but has been postponed, so stay tuned. 

Peace.

Year 7, Day 281

Morning! Today's song is Unchained Melody by the Righteous Brothers.

Photo from: Orange County Archives

The Righteous Brothers began in 1962 with Bill Medley and Bobby Hatfield after their old group The Paramours split up. They adopted the name the Righteous Brothers, which was apparently a nickname that black marines on the El Toro base had for them. They released a couple of albums and toured with both The Beatles and the Rolling Stones early in their career. In 1964 they became the first white group to sign with Philles Records, and this song came out the next year. The duo split up in 1968 so Medley could pursue a solo career, while Hatfield kept the group name and teamed up with Jimmy Walker for a few years. They never reached much success with that lineup and disbanded in 1971. By 1974 both original members teamed back up, announcing their return, but ultimately did not truly return until 1981 due to the death of Medley's first wife and his need to be a parent first. They would tour on and off, and Medley continued to do solo work, but a resurgence of popularity didn't come until the 90's when this song was used in the movie Ghost. Hatfield died in 2003, effectively putting an end to the group while Medley continued his solo work. Then in 2016 he decided to revive the group, being joined by Bucky Heard. They both have talked about the place of Hatfield, that he could never be replaced, but they are instead working to honor his memory. Over their career, this group collectively has released 15 albums, five compilation albums, and a number of singles. They've also been nominated for a couple Grammy's and were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2003. This song is done with the original two guys, but there are as I've said a couple versions of the group if you want to go check out those other ones. Happy listening! 

Peace.

Year 7, Day 280

Morning! Today's song is Leaving On A Jetplane by John Denver.

So I had to take a break from my computer for awhile because I strained my eyes so bad that I literally couldn't look at the screen. I'm still not 100% so I'm going to bang out the quick posts I've got half ready and if I run out and disappear for a little I apologize in advance. So John Denver is a very well known artist active from 1962 until 1997. Over that time he released 25 albums, including one the year he died in a plane crash. Knowing how he died makes this song hit a little different and it's kind of freaking me out so I'm just going to leave it here and let you listen to the song and enjoy it for what it is.

Peace.

Year 7, Day 279

Morning! Today's song is See It So Clear by Tom Chaplin.

Photo from: MACSURAK

Tom Chaplin is an English musician active since 1997. He started out in a band in 1995 with his friends called the Lotus Eaters which was a cover band, before changing the name to Cherry Keane in 1997. It was named after a friend of Chaplin's mother, but they ended up dropping the Cherry from the title. He took a gap year in South Africa, so they didn't play their first gig until 1998. The lead singer left the band in 2001 and was replaced in the role by Chaplin, along with playing the organ and piano on some tracks. They've released six albums from 2004 up to 2019, with a four year hiatus that happened starting in 2014. During that hiatus, Tom Chaplin did solo work, releasing his debut album in 2016. He did a tour and also did a Christmas album in 2017. Obviously this is one of his solo songs, but I'm curious how the sound changes from just his stuff to that which he does with the band. It's worth comparing. 

Peace.

Year 7, Day 278

Morning! Today's song is Waiting by NEEDTOBREATHE.

Photo from: Needtobreathe

NEEDTOBREATHE is a christian rock band active since 1998 and made up of Bear Rinehart, Bo Rinehart, Seth Bolt, and Josh Lovelace. The name comes from a Greek parable from Socrates about seeking God. They released an album and two EP's independently before signing with a label in 2005. Since then they've released six albums, a number of EP's, and have toured with a lot of different artists. They've also been nominated for and won a ton of awards, so check them out. 

Peace.

Year 7, Day 277

Morning! Today's song is Animals by Lawson.

Lawson is an English band active since 2009 and made up of Andy Brown, Ryan Fletcher, Joel Peat, and Adam Pitts. Originally the group had been called The Groves, but they changed it to pay homage to the doctor who performed brain surgery on Brown, saving his life. They started out doing acoustic covers of popular songs and playing gigs around the UK before being signed in 2011. They supported a bunch of people on tours in 2012 while working on their debut album which came out at the end of the year. They had released singles ahead of time which increased their popularity. They did a bunch of touring, including coming to the US and Canada before releasing a prepackaged version of their album in 2013. They were working on their next album through 2014 to be released in 2015, but that got pushed by a year when Brown had to be hospitalized because of his liver. Brown started a solo country career in 2017, with the band seemingly on hiatus for it, his album coming out in 2018. Then the group came back in 2020 signed to a new label and releasing a single. So they are back now and you can keep an eye out if you're interested. 

Peace.

Year 7, Day 276

Morning! Today's song is Grow Up by Olly Murs.

Photo by: Harald Krichel

Olly is yet another artist who got his start on X Factor. I will say one thing for the show, they find good musicians. He had actually auditioned twice before and failed to get through the pre-show competition, but third time is the charm. He missed his twin brother's wedding to keep going on the show, but in the end he didn't win. He did get enough exposure though that he was able to build up a career. He signed to a label in 2010 and has been consistently releasing music ever since. His stuff has always been on my playlist for when I was in school because it improved my mood and chilled out my nerves. This song is really no different, but the main message in it is something that always makes me think of my dad. No lie I wish I could tell him to grow up without facing any consequences. Since I can't I'll say it here with the featuring of this song. 

Peace.

Year 7, Day 275

Morning! Today's song is Curious by Hayley Kiyoko.

Photo by: Ralph Arvensen

Hayley Kiyoko Alcroft is an actor and a musician, active since 1998 when she started doing commercials as a kid. Since then she's moved on and been in movies and TV shows, which is where I first know her from. In 2007 she was asked to join a girl group called the Stunners. They had a couple record deals and a couple of singles with plans to release a full album, but the group broke up in 2011 before they could do so. She decided to focus on her own music instead, and released her first EP in 2013. Her second EP, written with James Flannigan was released in 2015, followed by another EP the next year. This song is off of Hayley's debut album, released in 2018, followed by her supporting Panic at the Disco on their tour. She released singles throughout 2019, culminating in her fourth EP that was completed in 2020. If you listen to her discography, and even just this song, you can see that much of it focuses on LGBT relationships. It's because Hayley herself is a lesbian, and is trying to help normalize that so people don't have to struggle with it the way she did growing up, which I find commendable. She also does dancing, and a reason I love this song so much and wanted to feature it was because of her work with Anze Scrube, a choreographer who I've also mentioned before. In this video you can also see how quirky Hayley is which makes me like her that much more. Anyway, hope you enjoy it.

Peace.

Year 7, Day 274

Morning! Today's song is Salute by Little Mix.

Photo from: infogibraltar

So I've written about Little Mix before. They're a girl group who was put together in 2011 on the X Factor UK, after each of the girls auditioned individually. The group has been made up of Perrie Edwards, Leigh-Anne Pinnock, Jade Thirlwall, and Jesy Nelson, although Jesy left the group last year for mental health reasons. In fact, she said that she was miserable the whole time they were a group because of the comparisons people were making between the girls. It sucks that she felt that way, but I'm glad she left if that's how she felt. So far the group has released six albums, the first from 2012 and the most recent from 2020. I was really into the group back when I was taking my marketing course, but I kind of lost touch with their stuff, so this is the first time I've heard this song. And I can tell you the last couple days it's been living rent free in my head. I've listened to it so many times, it's truly ridiculous, so I thought I needed to get it up and featured while I'm still in the obsession phase. Hopefully you like it as much as I do.

Peace.

Year 7, Day 273

Morning! Today's song is One Eye Open by Lola Blanc.

Photo by: Tolga Katas

So Lola Blanc is the stage name for Kandice Melonakos, a singer active since 2009. She was born in Germany, but has been in the States most of her life and her childhood is way crazier than most peoples. Her dad worked for the CIA, and her mom was a motivational speaker, who got brainwashed into some bad things that I'm not going to get into. Blanc has done writing and acting as well as music on her own, co-writing a song that eventually became used for Britney Spears. She's also written pieces for Vice about her experiences as a child and in the music industry. For acting, she has appeared in American Horror Story, Life in Pieces, and in a couple indie shorts. In 2019 she co-founded a female horror film making collective called Fatale Collective, creating a short for Fantastic Fest that won an award. For music the only thing that comes up so far in an EP released in 2016, but she has a full plate of creative commitments so I'm not too surprised. I do look forward to more though, and hopefully you do too. 

Peace.

Year 7, Day 272

Morning! Today's song is Smile by Nat King Cole.

Photo from: Dan Perry

Nathaniel Adams Cole started in music the same way a lot did at that time: in church because his family was involved. He learned to play the organ really young, but started formal lessons later at age 12. By 15 he left school to pursue music, forming a trip that recorded music for a label including stuff for a musical revival. He ended up touring with them and marrying a member of the cast. He did a lot to pave the way for colored musicians which is amazing, the King Cole trio sponsored their radio show becoming the first program on air sponsored by a black musician, and a decade later he hosted the Nat King Cole Show on NBC becoming the first African American host on television. He was the one to pull the plug on the show in 1957, but the show had been failing for awhile because no one would sponsor it. He continued to thrive in the music industry singing in English and doing Spanish songs. He experimented with other genres over the years, but is mostly a jazz guy. He was married twice, the second one just six days after the divorce went through, and his second wife was actually contemplating divorce because he was having an affair when they found out he had lung cancer. He was a heavy smoker (as most people were then) and only had months to live. He continued making music, including another album, then died in 1965. Throughout his life he had to deal with a lot of racism, but he was a strong guy and made it through. So I hope you appreciate him and the song. 

Peace.

Year 7, Day 271

Morning! Today's song is All The King's Horses by Karmina.

Photo from: Kellyrud1

Karmina is a sibling duo active since 2006 and made up of Kelly Rudisill and Kamille Rudisill. The name comes from the Latin word for song. They went to school at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, then went to Thornton School of Music, earning bachelor degrees. Kelly also got a masters. Then while Kelly was part of the Olympic soccer development team, Kamille was singing and dancing, even teaming up with Josh Groban. As a group, the girls started entering music competitions, and won 27 of those. They earned a record deal in 2006, releasing their debut album in 2008. Since then they've released two more albums, the most recent in 2020. Their songs have been used in a lot of things so you might already know some. I guess you'll have to see. 

Peace.

Year 7, Day 270

Morning! Today's song is Devil Devil by MILCK.

Photo from: UN Women

MILCK is the stage name for Connie Lim, an American singer. The moniker is a play on the initials in her name. Her parents immigrated from Hong Kong, and her father became a doctor with Lim seeming to follow, studying pre-med at UC Berkeley. She's been playing piano since she was a kid, writing her first song at age seven, then joined an a capella group in college. She ended up leaving college to focus on music, auditioning for The Voice, and getting signed although that didn't work out. She's been doing music for longer, but got a jump start in the industry in 2017 when her song became an anthem for the Women's March in DC. It was performed by her and an a capella group multiple times throughout the event, and after. She performed at the March the next year, and released her debut too in 2018. Most of her career has been her performing at events, but she does have music so check that out. 

Peace.

Year 7, Day 269

Morning! Today's song is What A Shame by Leyla Blue.

So Leyla Blue is a brand spanking new artist, with this video only going up four months ago, an the song itself only coming out a year ago, so there's not a lot of information I have about her. She's apparently an 18 year old New Yorker, and is slowly getting popular. She's released a couple of singles, but doesn't have an EP or album yet so that will happen in the future. My feelings on this song are echoed in a lot of the comments on the video so I'm not gonna get into it. I'm kinda curious to see how her career will progress as it goes on, so I hope you'll join me on keeping tabs on her career.

Peace.

Year 7, Day 268

Morning! Today's song is Straight To Hell sung by Kiernan Shipka.

 

Okay let's talk about The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina. It started out so promising, and though the actors carried it as much as they could, there is no cure to bad writing. I'm looking at you Part 4. I personally loved it when it first came out, my sister and I watched it multiple times, and were really looking forward to it. Then Part 4 was a disappointment because it was just lazily done. There's a really good explanation in detail of how the show was brought down when it could have been great here of you have the time to watch it. He's more critical of it than I am, but I enjoy the deep dive. As far as the musical comments 12 minutes in, I agree even though I love musicals but I do still find it funny so I'm putting this song in as an ode to the musical envy the show creator has. Seriously go watch this guy's analysis, it's so good. And I at least can thank the show for introducing me to some exceptional actors that I'd never seen before that I'll be keeping an eye on in the future, Kiernan Shipka being one of them. So despite the crash and burn ending of the show, I do think it's worth seeing at least the first two seasons. So if you haven't yet, maybe check it out, but if not that's okay too.

Peace.

Year 7, Day 267

Morning! Today's song is Don't Call Me Up by Mabel.

Photo by: Harald Krichel

So Mabel is Mabel Alabama-Pearl McVey, a singer active since 2015. There are many singers in her family, including her mother whose a Swedish singer, and a lot of her siblings. She was born in Spain, but is based in England. She was a gifted child, which led to an anxiety issue that her parents encourage her to manage through music, so she started writing songs starting at age 4. When she was 15 she went to a Stockholm music school for three years before coming back to England. She released her debut single in 2015 then got signed, releasing a couple more singles through 2015 and 2016. She released her first EP in 2017, collaborated with Mot3s for some songs, then opened for Harry Styles on his tour. She got nominated for Breakthrough British Act in 2019, releasing a mixtape and her debut album the same year. So far this year she's been teasing her upcoming album, so I'm sure we'll see that very soon. Keep an eye out.

Peace.

Year 7, Day 266

Morning! Today's song is Dead by Madison Beer. 

Photo by: Glenn Francis

Madison Beer has been active since 2012, posting covers on YouTube. Justin Bieber saw one and shared it, leading to her going viral and getting signed. She then did the theme for a TV Show and joined Cody Simpson on a re-release of one of his songs. Her debut single came out in 2013 and was working on an album that ended up being scrapped. She released her second song in 2014, then was featured on a song from Mako in 2015. She also released a single in 2015, this one featuring Jack & Jack. Her first EP came out in 2018. She spent the rest of 2018 and 2019 releasing singles before announcing her debut album slotted to come out in 2020. So that should be there now for you to check out. Enjoy. 

Peace.

Year 7, Day 265

Morning! Today's song is So Hot You're Hurting My Feelings by Caroline Polachek.

Photo from: Treefort Music Fest

So Caroline Polachek is an American singer active since 2005. Originally she was part of a duo with Aaron Pfenning called Chairlift, releasing an EP in 2007. They released their debut album in 2012, but then announced their breakup in 2016. She started doing solo work in 2013, performing as Ramona Lisa and releasing a debut album in 2014. She released her second album in 2017 as CEP, and then finally started using her name on her releases in 2019, including singles, collaboration project, and album. She's been a part of other collaborations over the years that you can check out if you want. There's been remixes done and released this year so she's still around and I'm sure we'll see more from her soon.

Peace.

Year 7, Day 264

Morning! Today's song is Something Better by Audien featuring Lady Antebellum. 

Photo by: Copeland.powell

This will be a quick one because these are both artists I've featured before. So Audien is Nathaniel Rathbun, a DJ whose been active since 2009. He only technically has one album from 2019, but his career is long and full, with many notable collaborations, some of which I've featured before on here. Lady Antebellum is a country group whose been active since 2006, made up of Hillary Scott, Dave Haywood, and Charles Kelley. Throughout their career they've released nine albums, starting in 2008 and with the most recent out this year. So they have lots for you to check out. They've taken a lot of hits lately about their name because of the racial influence of the word antebellum which literally translated means "before the war" but in usually used in context of the civil war, as in before colored people were liberated. So they decided to change their name to Lady A in 2020, although that moniker already belongs to a blues singer named Anita White whose had it for 20 years so I imagine they wont be keeping that moniker for long...especially since White herself has called them out on the tone-deaf move. I guess we'll have to wait and see how it resolves. As for what I think, if you're going to do it for the reasoning they did then don't do a half measure and pick an entirely new name. Otherwise what was the point? 

Peace.

Year 7, Day 263

Morning! Today's song is Get Some by Ghosted featuring Kamille.

So I tried to do a write up for this song, but I honestly can't find much of anything. They really haven't posted much music on YouTube and not for years, then their Facebook page has zero group information on it and their faces (I assume it's them) is blacked out in the photos...so I'm not going to bother digging more than that for an overview. Sorry. And if I can't write about the main artist it feels kind of weird to do a write up about the feature artist so I'm not going to, but I will mention that Kamille is still very much in the music industry and is actually a Grammy winner so check her out. 

Peace.

Year 7, Day 262

Morning! Today's song is Love You Like That by Dagny.

Photo by: Justin Higuchi

I've already written about Dagny so we're just going to do highlights. She's a Norwegian singer active since 2009. She released some singles with one label before staring her own to release her debut album in 2020, and has even done some acting. This song was one of her singles, and through it she actually has a writing credit on a Katy Perry song, because it uses a sample from this song. At least Katy Perry is actually crediting the artists she's taking from this time. I still remember the issue with Sara Barielles on the song written with Jack Antonoff. I know Sara said she doesn't really care and that there's no reason to be mad about it, but it's still bad form on Perry's part, so I'll give her some props today for seeming to learn from the experience. Anyway, I like this song a lot and Dagny is a really promising artist so you should keep an eye out for her. 

Peace.

Year 7, Day 261

Morning! Today's song is Brisa by Iza.

Iza is the stage name for a Brazilian singer named Isabela Cristina Correia de Lima Lima whose been active since 2016. I think she's the first Brazilian artist I've featured, if not ever then at least in a really long time, so give it up for Brazil today! She started singing and performing at church events after her family moved to Natal, but she moved to Rio de Janeiro where she was born after getting a degree in advertising. After that she started a YouTube channel. I don't really know the how for her getting into the industry, but she's been releasing music since 2016. She's also been featured on television a couple of times, and released an album in 2018. It's an interesting find courtesy of YouTube so give it a listen. 

Peace.