Focus Music Notes. "Out of the Blues". Popular music through the decades

The Weeknd has officially dropped his latest album, Dawn FM (XO/Republic Records). ( Friday, January 7, 2022 New York, NY) . The surprise release began with a compelling trailer for the project and the reveal of the album cover and track list earlier in the week. The album, deemed a “sonic experience” by The Weeknd, showcases a unique cast of features from Tyler, the Creator, Lil Wayne, Quincy Jones, Oneohtrix Point Never, and Jim Carrey. As a part of the rollout, The Weeknd appeared in “ 103.5 Dawn FM ”, a live stream experience which aired exclusively on the Amazon Music channel on Twitch and in the Amazon Music app. Exclusive merchandise for the evening, including a limited-edition hoodie, t-shirt, and sweatshirt commemorating the live stream, is available now at amazon.com/theweeknd and in the Amazon Music app. Fans will be able to purchase the merch for the next 48 hours. Listen to Dawn FM here Dawn FM Track Listing: Dawn FM Gasoline How Do I Make You Love Me? Take My Bre...

GRAMMY®, EMMY®, and Tony® Award-winning actor, singer, director, composer, playwright, and author Billy Porter unveils a brand new single entitled “Children” today. The single marks Billy’s debut under his newly minted joint partnership with Island UK and Republic Records. NEW YORK, NY (October 15, 2021) TAP>LISTEN TO “CHILDREN” HERE “Children” is a high-energy dancefloor anthem co-written with GRAMMY® Award-nominated songwriter MNEK [H.E.R., Dua Lipa] and Little Mix’s Jade Thirwell. Speaking about the inspiration behind the track Billy says, “It’s a song that is inspired by my life and everything I’ve gone through to get here.” The song begins wistfully, with Porter empathizing: See I know times are hard, Yeah I mean it from the heart You’re not losing the fight, love will make it alright Cos i’ve been there, done that, worn that dress, so you know mama knows it best A beat drop follows, kicking into a propulsive disco groove as Porter triumphantly promises: a change starts today...

Canadian pop songstress  JESSIA  released the official video to her latest single,  “I Should Quit” New York, NY on June 18 th 2021 – watch HERE . Directed by Nina Kramer, the carefree video highlights JESSIA’s struggle to accept her friends’ advice to stop making impulsive bad choices, while knowing that she should quit but in reality admits she has no intention of doing so. On the track, JESSIA says  “I’m really good at giving advice but not always good at taking it. I know what I SHOULD do but what’s the fun in always playing it safe? Sometimes you just need to fully accept that you are a hot mess.”  Recently, JESSIA   was featured as  Billboard Magazine’s  “ Chartbreaker ”  for the month of June. Her CRIA Gold-certified body acceptance anthem  “I’m not Pretty”  is currently Top 5 at Hot AC radio in Canada and features GRAMMY® Award-nominated artist Bebe Rexha on the official remix version of the track re...

THE WEEKND ANNOUNCES HIS RETURN TO THE GLOBAL STAGE WITH AFTER HOURS WORLD TOUR AHEAD OF ‘THE HIGHLIGHTS’ ALBUM & HEADLINING SUPER BOWL PERFORMANCE The 104-date global tour will kick off on January 14th in Vancouver at Pepsi Live at Rogers Arena with stops in Chicago, Dallas, Los Angeles, Miami, Paris, Berlin and more, before wrapping November 16th in London at The O2. The Weeknd’s FULL Pepsi Super Bowl LV Halftime ShowWATCH HERE The worldwide tour announcement comes just days ahead of the multi-platinum singer’s headlining Super Bowl performance, and also includes a handful of rescheduled dates shifting from 2021 to be a part of the After Hours World Tour in 2022. With the addition of 39 new tour dates, The Weeknd will also release  The Highlights  on Friday, February 5th.  The Highlights  is a way to present some of The Weeknd’s most notable works in one place.  While this isn’t a “Greatest Hits” album it does provide a new listener a rich for...

Kid Cudi just announced that his highly anticipated Man on the Moon III: The Chosen, his eagerly awaited seventh full-length studio album and the third instalment of his legendary Man On The Moon series will release this Friday, December 11th! Cudi returns with 18 new songs, inviting a cast of A-list collaborators to join him in space. These include anthems such as “Show Out” [feat. Pop Smoke and Skepta], “Lovin’ Me” [feat. Phoebe Bridgers], and “Rockstar Knights” [feat. Trippie Redd]. Not to mention, acclaimed director Nabil [Kanye West, Kendrick Lamar, Frank Ocean] has directed the music videos for “She Knows This” and “Heaven On Earth”—set to be unveiled soon. Check out the full track-listing below. In other big news, Cudi recently co-founded his own production and music management company Mad Solar backed by none other than Bron. Cudi blasted off into history with Man on the Moon: The End of Day in 2009. It has since gone double-platinum, garnered three GRAMMY® Award nomination...

NEW YORK, NY (October 30, 2020) – Today, 22-year-old singer, songwriter, actress, model and activist Paris Jackson makes her solo debut with a song and music video entitled “Let Down.” This notably marks her inaugural solo release for Republic Records. It also paves the way for her first full-length album, Wilted, arriving on November 13, 202 Written by Paris herself and produced by Manchester Orchestra's Andy Hull, “Let Down” tells a story of heartbreak through alternative-folk and singer-songwriter sounds and influences. Asserting herself as a creative chameleon, the track shows yet another side of the singer. Glassy acoustic strumming gives way to her lilting delivery as the soundscape envelopes airy synths and lithe guitar leads. Pensive lyrical poetry takes hold as Paris paints a picture of “eyes painted black, tragic paperback,” before she admits, “You were my all, and now, I fall to the ground.” The music video translates this spirit in a nostalgic vignette punctuate...

Weeks after Ariana Grande released the smash hit 'thank u, next', the hardest working woman in pop just dropped another song. Grammy Award®-nominated, multiplatinum, record-breaking superstar ARIANA GRANDE releases "Imagine", the new song lifted from her highly anticipated fifth studio album due to be released next year on Republic/Island Records . The brand-new song was produced by Happy Perez and Andrew "Pop" Wansel. Listen to "Imagine" below. After dropping the most anticipated video of the year 'thank u, next'. The noughties female-lead-movie inspired video moment has become the most viewed YouTube and VEVO video ever in 24 hours (with the premiere setting new record 829K viewers/ 427K Comments). The video now has over 170M views. 'thank u, next', spent the 6th week as the UK's Official #1 single and Ariana Grande has spent the longest time at #1 for a female artist in 2018. The track is still #1 on Spotify UK ...

Republic Records, in collaboration with Sony Pictures Entertainment, has released the Official Soundtrack Album for Spider-Man™: Into the Spider-Verse. The soundtrack features the previously released, RIAA Gold certified single “Sunflower (Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse)” by Post Malone & Swae Lee as well as new music from Nicki Minaj and Anuel AA, a collaboration entitled “Familia (Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse)” which also features Bantu. The full track listing can be found below. Phil Lord and Christopher Miller, the creative minds behind The Lego Movie and 21 Jump Street, bring their unique talents to a fresh vision of a different Spider-Man Universe, with a groundbreaking visual style that’s the first of its kind. Spider-Man™: Into the Spider-Verse introduces Brooklyn teen Miles Morales, and the limitless possibilities of the Spider-Verse, where more than one can wear the mask. “It was important to the filmmakers to give Miles’s world a soundtrack that not only...

TURTLENECK & CHAIN features collaborations with Akon, Justin Timberlake, Nicki Minaj and Rihanna – with more guest collaborators soon to be unveiled. The group premiered the music video “We’re Back!,” the third single off the new album on Late Night With Jimmy Fallon Friday April 1. The single was available on iTunes immediately following the video premiere, marking the beginning of the iTunes “Countdown to Turtleneck & Chain” promotion. The album's gold-selling first single, "I Just Had Sex (feat.Akon)", has already become a smash hit, with digital sales in excess of 500,000 since its December 18th release and YouTube views for the music video reaching over 75 million. The group also performed the song live at 2011 Comedy Awards with Akon and The Roots. The album's second single, "The Creep (feat. Nicki Minaj and John Waters)" has already garnered YouTube views in excess of 16 million and counting. And the single has everybody that hears it "...

Following the release of her debut EP ‘Because I Do’, Pearl and the Puppets will release the new single ‘Make Me Smile’ on August 16th. Pearl, AKA Katie Sutherland and her band The Puppets, have been receiving a steady stream of attention over the last year after winning the Scottish Sun’s New Band award and a performance on the BBC Hogmanay show on New Year’s Eve. With live shows so far including an appearance at The Great Escape, a headline Scottish tour and UK support tour with Alphabeat. Their debut EP was well received and performances at the likes of Secret Garden Party and T in the Park this summer along with a support slot with Elton John at Watford Football Club. Her second single ‘ Make Me Smile ’ is a feel-good summery pop song that has a breezy melody and catchy chorus that you can’t help but sing along to. A favourite in Pearl’s live set, it is perfect for the summer festivals and is sure to make even the most tired festival goer get up and dance. Three years ago Pea...