Happy Friday folks! This week’s I’m highlighting the latest songs from Grammy-winning artist, Sam Smith, EDM hitmaker Kygo with his remix of one of Donna Summer’s timeless songs, pop singer MAX featuring SUGA of mega hit sensational K-pop group, BTS, alternative band LANY and last but not least, indie pop artist Rachel Platten.
“Diamonds” by Sam Smith
4x Grammy-winner, Sam Smith returns with their latest single off their upcoming third studio album, Love Goes which drops October 30th!
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic this year, Smith had to delay the release of SS3 which was originally titled, To Die For from May 1st, to June 5th and ultimately til this fall at the end of next month. Overall, this album cycle took up two years of his life to make. So in that span of time, a lot of events and personal life moments definitely were captured in this album’s essence. They call “each song a separate story” and that the process of making the new record was “magical, therapeutic, and FUN.”
See the full letter he posted to his fans here:
This single follows the release of “My Oasis” back in July which featured Nigerian singer-songwriter, Burna Boy. Smith also teamed up with Demi Lovato in the charted single, “I’m Ready” earlier this year. Both songs will appear in the new album’s tracklist.
In “Diamonds,” Smith doesn’t hold onto material love anymore. They dance solo in this upbeat electropop track showing confidence and poise while illustrating the navigation of this new chapter in life without this lover who took them for granted.
Are you looking forward to hearing the rest of Smith’s third album soon? What do you think about this new song? Share your comments below.
“Hot Stuff” by Kygo & Donna Summer
Kygo returns with another remix of another legendary artist! This time he’s taking on The Queen Of Disco a.k.a. the late Donna Summer’s dance classic, “Hot Stuff.” It follows his previous remixes of Tina Turner’s “What’s Love Got To Do,” and the late Whitney Houston’s “Higher Love.”
In the music video for “Hot Stuff,” we see Madelyn Cline and Chase Stokes, two of the stars of Netflix’s hit drama, “Outer Banks” as the two lovers seen having a blast together. They definitely have that lovey-dovey couple vibe to them and shown great chemistry in this video. It must’ve been a really enjoyable time producing this on set in Carolina Beach, North Carolina.
Like the original version from 1979, this iteration will also put you in high spirits after listening to it. Put this on your feel good playlists today and dance to your heart’s content!
I wonder what Kygo will do next!?! He’s been picking so many iconic songs from equally iconic artists lately for his remixes. Which artist would you like to see him reimagine next? Let me know in the comments box down below.
“Blueberry Eyes” by MAX feat. SUGA of BTS
This is the summer of fruit based songs! Harry Styles can claim the watermelon but pop singer MAX has rightfully done justice for the blueberry!
MAX has made a tender love song for all those couples out there who are living on cloud 9 with each other. His real life wife, Emily stars alongside him in the music video and they are expecting their first child later this December. I enjoy all the blue aesthetics/wardrobe they wore in making this video. I thought it was a cute and sweet video from start to finish.
BTS member Suga lends his vocals for a verse. The two are very good friends and this is the second time they have worked together. See: “Burn It” for the first instance in which MAX was the featured artist and Suga was the leading vocal under his other stage name Agust D.
In a short message attached to the video, MAX cites:
“Bringing this music video to life has been such a special experience. I wanted it to feel as if Disney magically made a baby with Wes Anderson in the world of Colour Vision with every bit of our souls intertwined. Emily is my actual wife and she is really pregnant right now with our first child, so art imitates life in a fun way with this video. We studied and memorized all of the Korean lyrics to Suga’s incredible and romantic verse and all of the blueberries in the bathtub ended up being reused to create limited edition blueberry dyed blueberry eyes shirts. This video is a piece of our hearts and I hope it sparks the same magic in you viewing it as it did for us creating it. Thank you to Suga for being so brilliant on this song and more importantly for being a wonderful friend. Much love.”
For what’s been a crazy 2020 thus far, it’s comforting to hear songs like this one, so you should definitely add this to your playlists this week.
“cowboy in LA” by LANY
Continuing the warm loving sentiments is this latest tasting from LA based alternative band, LANY’s upcoming third album, Mama’s Boy. In “cowboy in LA,” lead singer Paul Jason Klein brings up his Oklahoma roots and how it’s made him a unique, caring and respectful man he is today. He wants to take things nice and slow with his date and thinks beautiful things and places like the sunset, swaying palm trees and Malibu respectfully are all pale in comparison to his lover. Instead of going to the club or going to a crowded place, he would rather do something more romantic 1 to 1 in order to establish a deeper connection with each other.
It’s such a nice mellow track to listen to and overall, the lyrics were beautifully written. This song follows the release of “Good Guys,” “If This Is The Last Time,” & “You!” earlier this summer. 10 more unreleased tracks are going to be a part of the next album so expect all the feels coming October 2nd!
“Soldiers” by Rachel Platten
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Singer-songwriter Rachel Platten is back everyone! Now as an independent artist, she penned another powerful anthem for you all to hear. On her socials, she revealed why she wanted to release this song:
“Its my answer to all the division and confusion around us. I really believe that we NEED art and beauty of all kinds right now to help remind us who we are and that we all have the same beating hearts. So this is my little call to creators of all kinds – we need YOU.”
She goes on to say that “we need your brave voices and your truth. Keep sharing your beauty. We might fall but we won’t break!”
Personally, I admire her career thus far, and I love that she’s not doing it all for just the fame, and the glitz and glamour. If you loved “Fight Song,” this is like the continuation of that song. You can definitely feel the loving connection in this ballad as evident by the reassuring chorus, “No matter how the light may fade/We’ll carry on, it’s how we’re raised/Yeah, we might fall/But we won’t break/Yeah, we won’t break.”
Overall, it’s such a heartfelt song that deserves your attention this week and I hope you add this one to your playlists as well! May this song give you strength in what’s been a challenging year thus far!
I’m excited to hear what’s next for Platten and what her next album will sound like. How about you? Share your feelings in the comments box below. 🙂
That wraps up this week’s edition of New Music Friday here at Philip’s Music Corner. If you liked what you read and want to stay updated on all future blog postings, then kindly hit the follow button below. Thanks! Stay safe and happy listening! 🎵 😄
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