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

This summer, hip hop's pre-eminent Renaissance man DJ Khaled unleashed “Kiss The Ring” his highly anticipated sixth studio album and second release on Cash Money Records. The Grammy Award-nominated multi-platinum producer, personality, and recording artist continues to up the ante with each record, and this latest offering is no exception. Right out of the gate, the album's lead single "Take It To The Head" featuring Chris Brown, Rick Ross, Nicki Minaj, & Lil Wayne is a powerhouse anthem. It features soulful vocals from Chris Brown, an icy, airtight flow from Rick Ross and sexy savoir faire from Nicki Minaj and Lil Wayne's inimitable, impenetrable rhyming. Khaled fires off his biggest hook yet over undeniable production and locks in unison with an A-list posse surrounding him. It's shaping up to be another smash. “Kiss The Ring” comes hot on the heels of an amazing year for Khaled. In 2011, he received his first Grammy Award nomination for the hit &quo

Earlier this year Somebody That I Used To Know was a worldwide smash, now Gotye returns with his new single I Feel Better on the 3rd September . Somebody That I Used To Know, which was released in the UK in February, has been a universal hit; to date it has sold over 10 million, topped the charts in 18 countries (iTunes #1 over 40 countries) including the UK where it has sold over 1 million and still sits in the Top 20. Somebody That I Used T0 Know spent 8 weeks at the top of the US Billboard Hot 100 chart and broke the record for a No.1 hit across four Billboard charts in the same week. The video has tallied up an astonishing 281 million YouTube hits and is still averaging over a million hits a day. I Feel Better is the contrasting new single that showcases Gotye's keen genre-hopping ability and remarkable vocal range. It is a joyous, up tempo track that revisits the Motown sound of Learnalilgivinanlovin, which was the breakthrough single from Gotye’s first album Like Drawing Bl

Jess Mills came out of the blocks with her first offering in 2011 with the Breakage produced ‘Vultures’ quickly followed by her debut single proper, ‘Live For What I’d Die For’, both of which set the stage for her career as a solo artist . Jess had previously provided guest vocals for Breakage’s own material (namely 2011’s Top 40 hit Fighting Fire), which led the two to work together in the studio on her own music. Jess also toured the world as the live vocalist for Leftfield while her path to pop stardom was being forged. 2012’s ‘Pixelated People’ went further to prove Jess’s talents as a songwriter. A talent which at every turn is underpinned by her unwavering love of dance music, a genre, both underground and mainstream, that has shaped Jess as a person and musician since as early as she can remember. ‘For My Sins’ is her new single hot from the studio where she’s been holed up writing and recording her debut album in recent months. This new offering, as well as part of the album,