Internationally-renowned singer and actress Vanessa Williams will release her thirteenth album and debut for Concord Records entitled THE REAL THING, on June 2nd, 2009. The collection marks a return to her love for the rhythms of jazz and Latin music, a key part of her musical roots. In addition, THE REAL THING delves into the sophisticated pop and R&B that have been the hallmark of her dynamic musical career.
THE REAL THING is a passionate song cycle about relationships, and Williams hand-picked each song on the record as it relates to a phase of the modern-day love affair seen from a woman’s perspective. From the two new songs penned for the CD by Babyface (“Loving You” and “Just Friends”) to “Hello Like Before” by Bill Withers (Williams’ late father’s favorite artist) to Stevie Wonder’s “The Real Thing” to Bebel Gilberto’s “Close To You,” THE REAL THING taps into the wide breadth of Williams’ musicality and artistry.
“After playing a power-hungry character like Wilhelmina Slater on “Ugly Betty” on a soundstage for three seasons, it was a pleasure to step back into the recording studio and be myself behind the microphone,” stated Ms. Williams. “The familiarity and comfort of making music is always a joy to come home to. It was especially a treat to sing Phil Galdston’s “I Fell In.” Our biggest hit together was “Save the Best for Last.”
“Vanessa Williams in an artist of rare talent, depth and creativity,” states Concord Music Group executive vice-president of A&R, John Burk. “In this album she explores her musical range and influences perhaps more so than ever before. We couldn’t be more proud to have her as a member of the Concord family.”
With a career spanning over 20 years, Williams is the consummate performer. From her chart-topping pop star music career, to her Emmy-nominated role on “Ugly Betty” and her upcoming co-starring performance in the feature film “Hannah Montana: The Movie,” Vanessa Williams remains one of the industry’s most, versatile and accomplished artists. She has appeared in numerous films including “Soul Food,” “Eraser,” “The Pick-Up Artist” and “Shaft,” and has numerous television credits to her name as well as critically-acclaimed performances on Broadway in “Kiss Of The Spider Woman” and “Into The Woods,” which garnered her a Tony nomination.
Since the release of her first studio album, 1988’s The Right Stuff, Williams has garnered a total of 16 Grammy nominations, released seven albums of original material, as well as four compilations and two holiday-themed albums, selling millions of albums world-wide. She was nominated for yet another Grammy for her hit single, “Colors of the Wind,” from Disney’s “Pocahontas,” which went on to win an Academy Award, Golden Globe and Grammy for “Best Song In A Motion Picture.” THE REAL THING is her first studio album since 2005’s Everlasting Love.
Vanessa Williams’ charitable contributions are many and varied, embracing and supporting such issues as education, homelessness, abuse, women’s issues and health concerns, AIDS and anything having to do with children. She is also well-known for her outspoken support of gay rights, having won the Human Rights Campaign “Ally for Equality” award in 2008. She is on the Board of Directors of Special Olympics, as well as the Board or Advisors for the Westchester Children’s Museum and supports numerous other charitable and humanitarian organizations.
Check out the new video for Aaron Barnhart’s single “Day In Day Out” off his album Missing Pieces available now from Bonded Records/Fontana/Universal Music Group.
“Day In Day Out” video stream on Daily Motion:
http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x963bm_aaron-barnhart-day-in-day-out_music
“Day In Day Out” audio stream:
http://h1.ripway.com/Dielawn/Aaron%20Barnhart%20-%20Day%20In%20Day%20Out.mov
Bonded Records/Fontana/Universal Music Group, has officially announced the street date of the Aaron Barnhart debut album, MISSING PIECES, which will be released on May 26, 2009 and his single, DAY IN DAY OUT, which will be released nationwide USA, March 23rd, 2009.
The irresistible new single, DAY IN DAY OUT is released in the USA on March 23rd, 2009 through Bonded Records/Fontana/Universal Music Group. DAY IN DAY OUT is one of those rare pop songs that rounds-the-corner every once in a while and is instantly memorable. The debut album, MISSING PIECES, was as Aaron says, “a collection of songs that are a deep part of me and very close to my heart….”
In between shows and throughout the past twelve months, Aaron Barnhart set out to make an album that captured his sexy and powerful live sound. Being a purveyor of soulful music, he wrote MISSING PIECES to express his unique vision while maintaining a sound and feel that is universally appealing.
The album was recorded in Los Angeles over a 12-month period with renowned producer Stuart Brawley [who has over 32 million records sold worldwide, with such artists’ as Michael Jackson, Don Henley, Celine Dion, Josh Groban, Brandy, Avion, Lenka, and nominated for “Producer of the Year” at the Juno Awards]. The 10 tracks on the album showcase Aaron’s incredible musical range. Most of the songs on MISSING PIECES came to life with Aaron writing melodies and lyrics while performing for local Los Angeles crowds.
While recording MISSING PIECES, Brett Tuggle, Musician/Fleetwood Mac shared “I recently had the opportunity to hear a new artist named Aaron Barnhart. I was impressed by his talents as a singer/songwriter and musician. Aaron has that unique gift to be able to write a good song and deliver a vocal performance that is real and exciting to listen to. I believe Aaron has “the goods” to be a lasting force in music. Put on his new CD Missing Pieces, sit back and enjoy the ride…” Aaron recently helped Fleetwood Mac prepare for their upcoming tour and played auxiliary keyboards with the band.
With the announcement of the release date for Aaron Barnhart also comes confirmation of something that had been rumored in recent weeks: Aaron Barnhart is preparing for a series of live performances, coast to coast in the States, to accompany his new album.
Bonded Records CEO David McKenna in a recent interview, discussed MISSING PIECES, “This record is a true developing artist story. I am confident in its ability to stand out from the thousands of other new releases this year. From an incredible human being, we have an album here that has hits, and production unlike most independent label releases.”
Aaron Barnhart Tour Dates:
5/29 San Juan Capistrano, CA – Coach House
5/31 Solana Beach, CA – The Belly-Up Tavern
6/02 Sacramento, CA – Marilyns on K
6/03 San Francisco, CA – Red Devil Lounge
6/19 Ventura, CA – The Lodge
7/03 Ventura, CA – Zoey’s Café
Aaron Barnhart Official Site:
http://www.aaronbarnhart.com
and MySpace page:
http://www.myspace.com/aaronbarnhart
You knew this was coming: Susan Boyle got a makeover.
You may recognize that name as the Scottish sensation who wowed judges and audiences on Britain’s Got Talent a couple of weeks ago. To be fair, she looked like your standard, delusional American Idol contestant (albeit older), however the minute she started singing, she enchanted the world. Much ballyhoo was made about her look, and whether she should change it, because – let’s face it – there are more attractive ladies out there. However, there are not many people as talented as she, and therefore, should we care what she looks like if she’s got the pipes? There are plenty of attractive performers who can’t sing live worth a damn, so why not the other way around?
Don’t get TOO upset, though – they estimate her “makeover” only cost $50, including a dye-job for her graying locks and some new duds. Read more…
Check it out:
Seal just released yet another new music video! This time, he’s applying his signature style to Ann Peebles’ classic standard, “I Can’t Stand the Rain”. Check it out!
Check out the new music video for Dido’s single “Don’t Believe in Love,” in support of her third album, Safe Trip Home, available November 18. Accompanying each song on the album are eleven short films directed by independent filmmakers from throughout the world. The first five are currently available at www.safetriphome.com, where the remainder will be unveiled leading up to the release.
The journey is underway for Dido’s forthcoming album, Safe Trip Home, which will be released by Arista Records on the newly announced date of November 18, 2008.
Leading up to the release of her third album, film directors from around the world have been invited to make a series of short films to spotlight each of the album’s 11 songs. Filmed at locations though out the globe (Mumbai, Rio, Bangkok and more), each film will examine a day in life of people in different countries. Trailers for the first four films can be viewed online at: http://www.youtube.com/SafeTripHome.
In the coming weeks, Dido will host upcoming listening parties outside of London and Los Angeles, where Safe Trip Home will be played its entirety. Afterwards, she will meet fans.
Safe Trip Home is currently available for digital pre-order from the iTunes® Store (www.itunes.com). Customers who pre-order the album from iTunes will instantly receive Dido’s new single, “Don’t Believe In Love.” Two digital versions are available through iTunes: a standard and a deluxe that features bonus content. The deluxe version contains three bonus tracks “For One Day,” “Summer” and a remixed version of “Northern Skies,” a video for “Don’t Believe In Love,” digital liner notes, plus the pre-orders-only track “The Day Before The Day 5/4.”
Recorded in Los Angeles and London, Safe Trip Home is produced by Jon Brion (Fiona Apple, Kanye West, Rufus Wainwright, Eels), Ark—the new production company founded by Rollo Armstrong (Faithless) and Dido. The new album includes smoldering, soulful songs that feature Dido playing guitar, piano, bells and the trusty recorder she toured Europe with as a prodigious pupil of London’s Guildhall School of Music. She’s even responsible for some of the album’s drums (most notably on the sumptuously melancholy “Quiet Times.”). The record also includes “Grafton Street,” a song Dido co-wrote with Brian Eno.
Safe Trip Home follows the global, chart-topping success of Dido’s two previous albums: No Angel and Life for Rent.
Official Site Link:
His new album Something Else IN STORES SEPTEMBER 9…
Emerging artist L.P., who was Clear Channel’s Artist to Watch on their NEW! Program for June, has a new music video “Good With You”/”Cling To Me” from her upcoming album on SoBe Entertainment.
“Good With You”/”Cling To Me” video streams:
http://www.sobeentertainment.com/video/LP_GoodWithYou.wmv
http://www.sobeentertainment.com/video/LP_GoodVideo.ram
New York City’s much buzzed about songstress L.P. has just released the first single “Good With You” off of her soon to be named and highly anticipated record set to hit in early 2009 via SoBe Entertainment. L.P. was featured as Clear Channel’s Artist to Watch for their NEW! program in June and the single is quickly gaining traction in the AAA format.
Armed with a voice that weaves seamlessly between being fierce and vulnerable, L.P. can captivate an audience with a single note, and turn a crowd of strangers into rabid fans with just one song. Nothing iterates this point better than the story of SXSW 2006 where her live performance inspired a label bidding war. This ultimately led to her being signed by LA Reid himself to Island Records. While L.P. says it’s “nice” that she inspired the competition, the singer ultimately walked away from the deal with her songs in hand, the material that will be included on her forthcoming album on SoBe Entertainment.
L.P. has invited comparisons to Janis Joplin, Joan Jett, Gwen Stefani and Chrissie Hynde and has worked with go-to rocker Linda Perry who is a self confessed fan. The Washington Post call’s L.P. “. . . a punky rocker with the pipes of a belter,” while Entertainment Weekly exclaims “NYC moptop songwriter L.P. has toured the country and back, but nothing much spins her wheels off their axles” and Cincinnati City Beat offers up this piece of advice, “Tell a friend: L.P. is going to be huge.”
“Good With You” single buy links:
Amazon MP3 link
http://www.amazon.com/Good-With-You/dp/B0013DDL8Q/ref=pd_bbs_3?ie=UTF8&s=dmusic&qid=1214342632&sr=8-3
iTunes
http://phobos.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewAlbum?playlistId=266399375&s=143441&i=266399380
L.P. YouTube Channel:
http://www.youtube.com/lpsobe
L.P. Official Site:
http://www.lprock.com
and MySpace page:
http://www.myspace.com/lprock
“Island” Audio Streams:
www.concordmusicgroup.com
www.concordmusicgroup.com
Hear Music announced today that it has signed renowned singer-songwriter Carly Simon to release This Kind of Love, her highly anticipated first album of all-original songs in eight years. She joins the elite roster of Hear Music artists that includes Paul McCartney, Joni Mitchell and James Taylor. The album will be released at Starbucks Company-operated locations in the U.S. and Canada as well as traditional music retail on April 29, 2008.
This Kind of Love ranks among Simon’s most personal albums as well as one of her most stylistically diverse excursions with songs ranging from gorgeous melodies to driving rhythms. The CD is co-produced by Simon, Frank Filipetti and Jimmy Webb who also wrote or co-wrote most of the arrangements. Filipetti worked his talent as the engineer as well as producer. The three first teamed up for Film Noir, Simon’s album of standards that Webb produced in 1997.
The musical inspiration of the CD comes from Simon’s fascination with Brazilian music, whose rhythms are subtly infused throughout. Even though she grew up listening to such classic artists as Antonio Carlos Jobim and Luiz Bonfa, it was Simon’s recent discovery of modern-day Brazilian musicians Caetano Veloso and Jorge Ben that made her realize “you don’t have to be singing bossa nova or samba to get the essence [of Brazilian music]. There are songs that fit no one rhythm or generic type or song progression.”
Wanna buy it?:
http://www.concordmusicgroup
Carly Simon Official Site:
and MySpace:
http://www.myspace.com/carlysim
This Kind of Love Track Listing
PLAY
