With life being busy, with the Fresh Friday Countdown wrapping up recently, no Sunday Spotlights, it's time for a mid-winter hiatus.
The blog will still leave here, with spring and summer features to come, it's time for a quick break. Recently there were four Album of the Year Nominations, with Vance Joy being the fourth.
As one of my last posts for a bit lets celebrate with some of the coolest cuts from this year's Album of the Year Nominations.
It's here! Break My Soul landed around lunchtime yesterday!
Break My Soul marks Beyoncé's first single release from a solo album in six years. It also serves as the lead single from the upcoming seventh studio album Renaissance.
In an interview with the British Vogue in June 2022, Beyoncé announced her upcoming seventh studio album Renaissance on July 29.
Describing it "her most ambitious musical project to date".
Originally intended to be released at midnight Eastern Time on June 21 to coincide with the 2022 June solstice, the song was released to music streaming service Tidal and YouTube two hours prior, yesterday.
So are you READY! Stream it below. I can't wait for this new album next month! First Drake getting his dance on, now Beyoncé!
How are we halfway (or more) through June. I have also neglected the regular Streaming... NOW! section of this blog. Recently you got four exciting Album of the Year Nominations, including this week's big feature record by Vance Joy.
So to recap some of this month's best releases let's look into some of them as below kicking off with the start of the months biggest releases, including former feature record from Post Malone.
BLESSED – Aussie Blackstar
Jaguar Jonze – Bunny Mode
Post Malone – Twelve Carat Toothache
Thornhill – Heroine
Tove Styrke – Hard
Miiesha – Smoke & Mirrors EP
Purity Ring – Graves EP
Onto Friday JUNE 10 with some impressive local and international releases.
BTS – Proof
Neneh Cherry – The Versions
Vance Joy – In Our Own Sweet Time
Polish Club – Now We’re Cookin’ In Hell
Finally onto JUNE 17. So many good new albums, get amongst some of the cuts right now.
Chris Cheney – The Storm Before The Calm
Example – We May Grow Old, But We Never Grow Up
Foals – Life Is Yours
Ry X – Blood Moon
The other issues is the data source I used to use for this section has also stopped posting. So there is a lot going on. Also from tomorrow, it's not featured here, however DRAKE will be your next feature star. It's a very different direction for the Canadian to be taking. So get ready for that from Monday AM!
In Our Own Sweet Time is the fourth and final Album of the Year Nomination for a big week of the Album of the Year race, for 2022.
The third studio album by Vance Joy, landed last Friday, it's also this week's feature record. You can view all the offical music videos below while streaming the album HERE.
The album features big radio hits like, Missing Piece, Don't Fade, Clarity & Every Side of You.
The album can be seen live during the Long Way Home Tour. Commencing in Darwin on 17 September.
Joy said that the album is about the idea of creating a life – and a world – with someone special, stating: "I'm always drawn to the idea of timelessness or that shared moment that takes you out of the chaos outside. If the world is crazy, you can retreat somewhere. It's always hard to think of the right title but I think that sums up the album perfectly."
Missing Piece was released as the lead single from the album on 21 May 2021. The song peaked at number 14 on the Australian Singles Chart and has been certified double platinum. The single made it onto the, seventeenth season of Grey's Anatomy. Wow!
So joining The Weeknd, Charli XCX and Kendrick Lamar, here is your first local Album of the Year Nomination for 2022. Well done Vance Joy.
Day three of BIG Album of the Year Nominations, it's the follow-up to 2017’s DAMN., Kendrick Lamar is back with, Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers.
Lamar's fifth studio album was released on May 13, 2022. After four albums with the label, the double album serves as Lamar's final project with TDE, of which he was one of the flagship artists.
The album features narration by Whitney Alford and Eckhart Tolle, along with a monster guest list. Blxst, Amanda Reifer, Sampha, Taylour Paige, Summer Walker, Ghostface Killah, Baby Keem, Kodak Black, Sam Dew, Tanna Leone, and Beth Gibbons of Portishead, all contribute.
Upon release, Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers was met with widespread acclaim from critics, who praised Lamar's lyricism and the album's scope. The album has so far spawned two singles; the European release N95 & the North American release Silent Hill.
It debuted at number one on the US Billboard 200, becoming Lamar's fourth US number-one album.
Upon release, Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers received the largest first day streams of 2022 on Apple Music, garnering over 60 million streams.
In the United States, the album debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 chart, opening with 295,000 album-equivalent units that consisted of 35,000 album sales and 258,000 streaming units (calculated from the 343.02 million on-demand streams the album's tracks received).
Whilst there is no HUMBLE. or DNA on the record (well yet for me), it's still a damn (get it) solid release. Joining Charli XCX (yesterday) and Tuesday's nomination of The Weeknd. The Album of the Year race for 2022 totally on! Come back tomorrow for one more Album of the Year Nomination concluding a massive week of Album of the Year activity. See you then.
Whilst The Weeknd was a monster chart smash worldwide, CRASH (like the Weeknd, this is also the fifth studio by today's nominee) is more of a captains pick. This album is pure perfect POP! Charli XCX, released CRASH on 18 March 2022. The album featured four top notch singles, Good Ones, New Shapes featuring Christine and the Queens & Caroline Polachek, Beg for You featuring Rina Sawayama, Baby along with two promo singles, Every Rule & Used to Know Me.
Charli's prior work was known for its experimental, hyperpop production, CRASH features a more conventional dance-pop sound.
Songs from the album include elements of pop music of the '80s and '90s, and Charli has cited Janet Jackson, among others, as a musical influence for the album.
Upon release, the album received generally positive reviews from music critics. Commercially, Crash is Charli XCX's most successful album to date, topping the charts in Australia, Ireland and the United Kingdom.
It also became her first top-10 album in New Zealand and the United States, and also her first top-20 album in Belgium, Canada, Germany, the Netherlands, and Switzerland.
The features on the record are dope. New Shapes is honestly one of my favourite tunes of 2022, by far! I have flogged this album, the remixes of the singles along with Charli's back catalogue. Her work over recent years has totally helped me get through/survive lockdowns, move forward and move on.
CRASH, totally deserves to be Album of the Year Nomination number two. The race for the Album of the Year is totally on now!
The Album of the Year Nomination race is back on for 2022! A little later than the kick off in 2021, 2022's first nomination was featured on last years winner record, Planet Her.
The Weeknd did a killer hook up on Doja Cat's winning record last year. You Right was a truly epic cut!
In 2022, Dawn FM is the fifth studio album by Canadian the Weeknd.
Released right at the start of 2022, January 7, 2022 gave birth to this interesting record.
Featuring narration by Jim Carrey, guest vocals from Tyler, the Creator and Lil Wayne, and spoken word appearances from Quincy Jones and Josh Safdie. The record also hooks up with producers like, Oscar Holter, Calvin Harris and Swedish House Mafia.
The Weeknd described the album's concept as a state of purgatory—a journey towards the "light at the end of a tunnel", serving as a follow-up to his fourth studio album After Hours (2020).
The album received widespread acclaim from music critics, who complimented its production and melodies.
Three singles have hit the radio thus far, including Les Mills RPM warm up tune, Take My Breath, Sacrifice and Out of Time. It also features the popular Swedish House Mafia tune Moth to a Flame, on the extended versions of the record.
The Weeknd promoted Dawn FM with an Amazon Music event on the album release day, in which he served as a disc jockey and played the album to an audience. He also promoted the album with a television music special on Amazon Prime Video that featured live performances, theater and performance art for a night out at the club.
Dawn FM reached number one in over 10 countries, including Australia, Canada, Ireland, the Netherlands, New Zealand and the United Kingdom. It debuted at number two on the US Billboard 200 chart.
To further support both After Hours and Dawn FM, the Weeknd plans to embark on the After Hours til Dawn Stadium Tour, which is scheduled to visit North America, Europe and Australia beginning in summer 2022.
The Weeknd completely deserves to be the first Album of the Year Nomination for 2022. More nominations to come, really soon. Stay tuned. But for now stream the album, see some visuals and live performances below. Until next time!
20 - Machine Gun Kelly - Maybe 19 - Florence + the Machine - Free 18 - The Kid LAROI - Thousand Miles 17 - Tones and I - Cloudy Day 16 - Swedish House Mafia/The Weeknd - Moth to the Flame 15 - Vance Joy - Don't Fade 14 - Hilltop Hoods - Show Business {Feat. Eamon} 13 - Flume - Say Nothing {Feat. MAY-A} 12 - Vance Joy - Clarity 11 - Jack Harlow - First Class 10 - Thelma Plum - Backseat of My Mind 9 - Tones and I - Eyes Don't Lie 8 - Dean Lewis - Hurtless 7 - Tate McCrae - she's all i wanna be 6 - Lizzo - About Damn Time 5 - Jax Jones - Where Did You Go? {Feat. MNEK} 4 - Lil Nas X - THATS WHAT I WANT 3 - The Kid LAROI & Justin Bieber - Stay 2 - Acraze - Do It To It {Feat. Cherish} 1 - Latto - Big Energy
Laura Jane Lowther, or otherwise known as Kučka (stylised in all caps; pronounced /ˈkʊtʃkə/;[1] Serbo-Croatian for "bitch") was one of those Vivid music performers last weekend.
I was super lucky to see her blast through her hits along with her latest track with Flume and Quiet Bison, Escape. Flume's new album is interesting so it was a nice take to see one of the tracks live.
Along with collaborations with Flume, Kučka has worked with Vince Staples & ASAP Rocky.
Her sophomore EP, Unconditional, was released in 2015. I saw her early on at a gig at Sydney Uni. She was great, young and super excited to be there alongside Cosmos Midnight, where they performed Walk With Me.
Kučka has worked with Flume multiple times, appearing on 2016's Skin, with Smoke & Retribution + Numb & Getting Colder. The again on 2017's Hyperreal and finally (until his latest album landed) also featuring on 2019's Hi This Is Flume, on Voices with Sophie. Who she played while dedicating the song to the memory of Sophie.
The debut album, titled Wrestling, was released on 30 April 2021. Featuring co-production from Flume, Nosaj Thing, Vegyn, and Exmoor Emperor. Featuring tunes like Real, No Good for Me and Drowning.
The show was fun. Despite being seated with some serious club vibes. I look forward to seeing where next for Kučka. She sounds amazing even on covers of Christina Aguilera and PJ Harvey.
To get you set up Sydney for the long weekend, take in some Kučka now. Bring on that icy, cold long weekend y'all!
