Rolling Stone Ranks “I’m a Slave 4 U” #4 on their “30 Sexiest Music Videos of All Time” List

 

Xtina Health magazine interview

 https://www.health.com/celebrities/christina-aguilera

 

 

Christina Aguilera Talks Confidence and Working Through Insecurities in the Public Eye

Christina Aguilera has been called the voice of a generation. Now she’s using that voice in a whole new way—to advocate for herself and focus on what makes her happy. 

By Bethany Heitman

 

Over the past 20 years, while Christina Aguilera has been topping the music charts, her voice has been described as soulful and powerful, with just a bit of grit. Interestingly enough, those words also perfectly reflect who she is in her life at this very moment. Having turned 40, the singer says she's been doing a lot of reflection and is determined to live every moment for herself—and to stop worrying about what others think.

 

As Christina talks about this goal, a mix of vulnerability and determination shines through. "No matter what I've been through—successes, childhood trauma, hardships—I still have a fighting spirit," she says. "I never want to stop learning and growing to be the best person I can be." 

 

Christina was just 9 years old when she commanded the stage on Star Search. At 13, she more than held her own on The All New Mickey Mouse Club alongside costars Justin Timberlake and Britney Spears. By 19, she had released her debut album and won a Grammy for Best New Artist. In 2002 came her album Stripped. With empowering anthems like "Beautiful," everything about the effort seems to message staying true to yourself. More albums followed, as did roles in movies and TV shows. The other role Christina takes very seriously: being "mama bear" to her kids—Max, 13, and Summer, 6.

 

So, hearing that she has gotten caught up with what others think? It's a bit surprising. And when we tell Christina that, she laughs—and says that as she's been more open, she's been getting this reaction more and more. But then, she's quick to insist that everyone has their struggles—even world-famous, award-winning singers. 

 

Has life slowed down for you at all in the past year?

Yes. I'd been on the road pounding the pavement for a year and a half. My Vegas residency was wrapping up for a bit right when everything shut down. Before that, I had been bouncing back and forth [touring] in Europe, Mexico, and Vegas. I had taken the kids with me. I'd hit the stage, then come back to the hotel. If the kids were still awake, I'd read them a book after coming off an exhilarating show and then try to wind down before traveling the next day. I felt like a Ping-Pong ball. Then, I was going to be working on new music. So I needed the clock to stop—which is what happened. Some amazing things came to fruition for me.

 

Like what?

It was a great time to be hunkered down in my house with my kids. I really got a moment to do little things, like be in my backyard, read books that had been on my to-read list, and go through my old diaries. I have this massive trunk of old diaries that I've literally kept from the past 20 years of my life. I was able to catch up on them and do some self-reflecting. It really forced me to be silent and take a look at myself. In some regard, I wasn't happy with a lot of things, and it's scary to face those feelings that, under normal circumstances, you don't have time to face because everyone is going, going, going. That grind is praised, but I think we're all understanding that having moments to self-reflect and just breathe are crucial. I've been working since I was 7 years old. When I'm not working, there's a heavy amount of guilt that I feel. It's been embedded in me since I was little—you're shamed if you don't want to keep up. As a child [entertainer], you're all pitted against one another, and other children are all about that grind too. It's a weird space to grow up in. 

 

Did turning 40 bring up any feelings?

You start asking yourself: "Why am I holding back in certain areas of my life? Who am I really living my life for?" And with age, you figure out that life is too short to waste time thinking about what other people think about you. I've realized I am making memories for myself and that I shouldn't worry about what other people think. 

 

You project such confidence—it's surprising to hear you've ever felt that way.

You know, I've been hearing that a lot lately because I've been super open and vulnerable. I've been approaching all of my writing sessions by being an open book and saying, "Look, this is how I felt." A lot of people have been like, "Wait, I had no idea you ever felt this way because you've always been a pillar of strength with your messages." Yes, I've always been grounded in knowing myself. But even in owning your truth and power, there are moments of weakness. I am not ashamed to say that I have my dark moments. 

 

Are you comfortable sharing any of them?

I experienced a lot of trauma in my childhood—I've spoken very openly about it. But I think that was just part of my path. I've definitely had struggles in the past with depression and anxiety—it's a constant battle to overcome a mind that is anxious, a mind that is always second-guessing. I was in a session last night, and I got into my head. Someone told me if I wasn't feeling it, we could call it. I had been feeling like I wanted to end it, but all it took was someone being supportive for me to be like, "Wait a second, I'm not giving up on myself like that—let's go, let's get it!" 

 

You're back in the studio—can we expect a new album?

I'm months away from anything being announced. I'm simultaneously working on my English record and the follow-up to my debut Spanish album—about 20 years overdue. I'm a perfectionist and want to give everything my best—especially because of the soul-searching I've done over the past year and the new perspective I have. I am reinspired and have reconnected with myself. I've fallen in love with music all over again, which is a really big thing to say, having spent my entire career in music. 

 

You've been in this industry for a long time—how have you seen it change?

When I was first becoming successful, there was a different mentality in terms of what was accepted or not accepted by the press and tabloids. There was no social media, so you didn't have an outlet to speak out on your own. You had to rely on journalists and how they reported on you. A lot of times, I'd read something and say, "Wait, I didn't say it that way." I'd feel betrayed. I was still at an age where I was understanding myself and life. Media, at the time, was also big on pitting women against each other. And there was a bullying mentality going on in the tabloids. It's tough to look back on.

 

The tabloids definitely put you through the wringer.

Sometimes you forget how bad it was because it was such the norm. I'm currently in Miami, and the other day, I was outside with my daughter. I was thinking I was under the radar. Then, I saw these pictures of us come out. I was really emotional about it because I've really tried to be more private. My previous house was right on the street, and tour buses would drive by and treat you like a zoo animal and talk s--- about you. The guy on the microphone would read out whatever tabloid story about me right in front of my son's bedroom. That's harassment, and it's petrifying. Seeing those pictures took me right back there. But then I was brought back to that message of: "Who am I living my life for? Me." 

 

You must be proud of the success you've had in such a tough industry.

I'm proud of my honesty. It's a really hard thing to stick to in this business, especially when you've grown up under a microscope at a time when society was very critical of young women. I've had to work through a lot of insecurities in front of everybody. Every setback has catapulted me forward. I think that's my fighting spirit. And, at the end of the day, living that truth and being honest has always propelled me forward.

 

Have you always felt secure in your own body?

I think we all have our good days and our bad days in how we feel about ourselves. Entering this business, I hated being super skinny. Once I turned 21, I started filling out a little bit, and I was loving my new curves. I appreciated having a booty. I've always said that women are way more interesting to look at than men! I have a hard time looking at the early pictures of myself because I remember feeling so insecure. I would never want to relive my 20s—you're so in your own head and finding your confidence. As you age, you stop comparing yourself to other people and start appreciating your own body and owning it.

 

Are there ways you're trying to instill those lessons in your daughter?

I am really careful if my daughter is there when I am doing photo shoots. I want to make sure that when she sees Mommy in hair and makeup that she realizes that's not what's important. If she needs my attention, I stop everything and look into her eyes and listen to her. I want to make sure she understands that this is part of Mommy's work, but that it's what I create that matters more. There's no right or wrong way when it comes to my kids. I just really try to encourage them to be their own selves. 

 

What are some of the ways you take care of your mental health?

I write a lot. Pen to paper has always been grounding and centering for me. Also, getting outside helps—even if it's just my backyard. Feeling grass under my feet and looking at trees and clouds helps. Yoga has also been instrumental in helping me. 

This is Health's Beauty Issue—what are your favorite beauty rituals?

I find so much joy in the cleansing process—stripping away all the makeup so it's just clean skin with some moisturizer, and putting a little feel-good spritzer on my face. And I love a beautiful hot bubble bath with all of my ingredients and oils! I really make it like a nourishing soup in there. 

 

What does beauty mean to you?

Accepting yourself is what beauty is really about. As much as I also love being a glam girl and playing dress-up for the camera, when it all comes off, that's what's ultimately most rewarding—being able to feel really good about who's staring back at you in the mirror, because you're owning all of it. 

Taylor Swift becomes the first female artist in history to debut nine consecutive studio albums at #1

 Taylor #1 debuts:

 

Fearless (Taylor’s Version)

Evermore 

Folklore 

Lover 

Reputation 

1989

Red

Speak Now

Fearless 

Taylor Swift's Re-Recorded 'Fearless' Tops Billboard 200 | Billboard

By Keith Caulfield

4/18/2021

Plus: She's the first woman with three new No. 1 albums in less than a year.

More than 12 years after Taylor Swift notched her first No. 1 album on the Billboard 200 chart in 2008 with her second studio set Fearless, she’s back atop the list with a re-recorded version of the album, titled Fearless (Taylor’s Version). The new set is her ninth No. 1 and scores the biggest week of 2021 for any album. It launches with 291,000 equivalent album units earned in the U.S. in the week ending April 15, according to MRC Data.

The original Fearless album debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart dated Nov. 29, 2008, and spent 11 nonconsecutive weeks atop the chart.

On Feb. 11, 2021, Swift announced she had re-recorded the 2008 album Fearless as Fearless (Taylor’s Version). The new 26-track album has re-recordings of all 13 songs on Fearless, along with the six bonus songs added to a 2009 reissue of Fearless (dubbed the Platinum Edition) and the 2010 single “Today Was a Fairytale.” Beyond those 20 re-recordings, Fearless (Taylor’s Version) also boasts six newly recorded “from the vault” songs that were written for the original Fearless album, but were never recorded and released until now.

ARTIST MENTIONED

Taylor Swift

Fearless (Taylor’s Version) is the only No. 1 album of its kind: a re-recording of an artist’s (own or another’s) previously released album.

Taylor Swift's Been 'In the Studio All Day' as 'Fearless (Taylor's Version)' Arrives at No. 1 on the Billboard 200

The Billboard 200 chart ranks the most popular albums of the week in the U.S. based on multi-metric consumption as measured in equivalent album units. Units comprise album sales, track equivalent albums (TEA) and streaming equivalent albums (SEA). Each unit equals one album sale, or 10 individual tracks sold from an album, or 3,750 ad-supported or 1,250 paid/subscription on-demand official audio and video streams generated by songs from an album. The new April 24, 2021-dated chart (where Fearless [Taylor’s Version] debuts at No. 1) will be posted in full on Billboard's website on April 20. For all chart news, follow @billboard and @billboardcharts on both Twitter and Instagram. 

Of Fearless (Taylor’s Version)’s 291,000 equivalent album units earned in the tracking week ending April 15, album sales comprise 179,000 (making it the top-selling album of the week), SEA units comprise 109,000 units (equaling 142.98 million on-demand streams of the album’s tracks) and TEA units comprise 3,000.

Re-recordings of older songs or albums are treated separately from their originals, with independent chart histories for each version. Thus, Fearless (Taylor’s Version) charts separately from the original album. The 2008 Fearless album falls off the new chart, after having re-entered a week earlier at No. 157 (chart dated April 17). In the latest tracking week, the 2008 Fearless album earned 6,200 equivalent album units (down 19%). Of that 6,200 sum, SEA units comprise 5,700 (down 21%, equaling 7.71 million on-demand streams of its tracks), album sales comprise 400 (up 15%) and TEA units comprise 100 (down 8%).

Let’s take a look at some of notable feats Swift achieves with the debut of Fearless (Taylor’s Version):

Ninth No. 1 Album: As Fearless (Taylor’s Version) marks Swift’s ninth Billboard 200 No. 1, she ties Madonna for the second-most No. 1 albums among women. Swift is closing in on Barbra Streisand’s all-time record among women of 11 No. 1 albums. Among all artists, The Beatles have the most No. 1s, with 19. Among all soloists, Jay-Z leads with 14. 

Taylor Swift Reveals the 'Fearless' Vault Song That Pointed to Her Pop Future

Biggest Week of 2021 by Units Earned: With 291,000 equivalent album units earned, Fearless (Taylor’s Version) scores the largest week for any album in 2021. It jumps past the previous high-water mark, set when Morgan Wallen’s Dangerous: The Double Album bowed at No. 1 with 265,000 units (chart dated Jan. 23). 

The Three Largest Weeks for an Album in the Last Eight Months All Belong to Swift: Since August of 2020, Swift has not only claimed three No. 1s, but also the three biggest weeks among albums in units earned. On the Aug. 8, 2020-dated chart, Folklore debuted at No. 1 with 846,000 units. Evermore arrived at No. 1 on the Dec. 26, 2020, chart with 329,000 units. And now Fearless (Taylor’s Version) starts with 291,000 units.

Biggest Week for a Country Album Since 2015: As Fearless (Taylor’s Version) bows with 291,000 units, it logs the largest week for a country album since 2015. The last country set to post a bigger frame was Luke Bryan’s Kill the Lights, which debuted at No. 1 with 345,000 units (Aug. 29, 2015-dated chart). (Country albums are defined as those that have charted on Billboard’s Top Country Albums chart. Both the original Fearless album and the new Fearless [Taylor’s Version] are charting on Top Country Albums.)

Fearless (Taylor’s Version) has the biggest week for a country album by a female artist since the Billboard 200 chart transitioned from an album-sales only ranking to an equivalent album units-based chart on the Dec. 13, 2014, survey.

Keith Urban First Heard New Taylor Swift Songs While Chilling at the Mall

Strong Sales: With 179,000 copies sold in its first week, Fearless (Taylor’s Version) logs the largest sales week for an album released in 2021, surpassing the opening week of Wallen’s Dangerous (74,000). Fearless (Taylor’s Version) also has the biggest sales week for any album since Swift’s last release, Evermore, sold 102,000 in its second week (Jan. 2-dated chart).

Largest Streaming Week for a Country Album by a Woman: Fearless (Taylor’s Version) bows with 109,000 SEA units -- totaling 142.98 million on-demand streams of the album’s tracks. That hefty sum marks the biggest streaming week for a country album by a woman.  It surpasses the previous record of 44.67 million streams tallied by songs on the Brenda Lee collection Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree: The Decca Christmas Recordings (Jan. 2, 2021, chart). The album was powered by Lee’s evergreen holiday track “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree.”

Swift also scores the biggest debut streaming week for a country album by a woman, blowing past Maren Morris’ former high-water mark of 23.96 million streams earned by Girl on the March 23, 2019-dated chart. (Morris had a hand in helping Swift to her record -- she’s featured on the Fearless [Taylor’s Version] song “You All Over Me [Taylor’s Version] [From the Vault].)

The biggest streaming week registered by any country album remains Wallen’s Dangerous, with 240.18 million streams registered in its debut frame (chart dated Jan. 23). 

Taylor Swift Wanted to 'Stay Very Loyal' to Initial Melodies of 'Fearless' on 'Taylor's Version'

Swift Now Has Three of the Top Five-Selling Albums of 2021: In terms of traditional album sales, Swift already has three of the top five-selling albums of 2021 so far. Wallen’s Dangerous is tops with 218,000 copies sold, Fearless (Taylor’s Version) is No. 2 with 179,000, Carrie Underwood’s My Savior is No. 3 with 114,000, Folklore is No. 4 with just over 111,000 and Evermore is No. 5 with a little under 111,000. 

Shortest Wait Between New No. 1 Albums by a Woman: Swift waited just four months between the first weeks at No. 1 for Evermore (Dec. 26, 2020) and Fearless (Taylor’s Version) (April 24, 2021). That’s the shortest gap between new No. 1 albums by a woman. Swift beats her own record, set with the four months and two weeks between the first weeks at No. 1 for Folklore (Aug. 8, 2020) and Evermore.

The last time an act had a shorter wait between No. 1s before Swift was BTS, when the group waited a little over three months between Love Yourself: Tear (June 2, 2018) and Love Yourself: Answer (Sept. 8, 2018). Prior to that, Future achieved a first by landing back-to-back new No. 1s in successive weeks in 2017 (with his self-titled album March 11, 2017 and HNDRXX on March 18, 2017).

First Woman With Three New No. 1 Albums in Less Than a Year: With eight months and two weeks between the first weeks at No. 1 for Folklore, Evermore and Fearless (Taylor’s Version), Swift becomes the first woman in the 65-year history of the chart with three new No. 1s in less than 12 months. Previously, the fastest a female artist had notched three new No. 1s was just under 14 months, when Donna Summer topped the list with Live and More (Nov. 11, 1978), Bad Girls (June 16, 1979) and On the Radio: Greatest Hits Volumes I & II (Jan. 5, 1980).

The last act to score three No. 1s faster than Swift was Future, when he logged his first three No. 1s in just six months and three weeks with DS2 (Aug. 8, 2015); What a Time to Be Alive, with Drake (Oct. 10, 2015); and Evol (Feb. 27, 2016).

Kylie’s DISCO debuts at #1 on the UK charts, biggest opening of 2020 & makes chart history

 

Congratulations to Kylie Minogue, who claims this week’s Number 1 on the Official Albums Chart with her new collection DISCO, setting an incredible new Official Chart record in the process.

Kylie’s 15th studio album debuts at the top with 55,000 chart sales – the biggest opening week of 2020 so far. DISCO is the star’s eighth UK Number 1 album and Kylie’s biggest opening week in 10 years, since 2010’s Aphrodite.

 

This week's result means Kylie sets a new Official Chart record, becoming the first female artist to score a Number 1 on the UK’s Official Albums Chart in five consecutive decades - in the ‘80s, ‘90s, ‘00s, ‘10s and ‘20s. See where all of Kylie’s hit singles and albums have charted.

 

"Official Charts Company, thank you so much!" Kylie told OfficialCharts.com. "DISCO has entered the charts at Number 1! I don’t know what to say, I’m lost for words, thank you to everyone who has supported this album and this campaign, it means the world to me. I’m so touched that it’s made it’s way to your hearts. I love it!”

 

Kylie’s DISCO was the best-seller of the week both physically and on digital downloads, plus also claims one of the fastest-selling vinyl albums of the year, with 13,500 copies sold on wax.

An eighth Number 1 means Kylie also now surpasses the likes of Sir Elton John, Sir Cliff Richard and George Michael in the all-time league of acts with the most UK Number 1 albums.

Wait...I Have A Website...

 Damn... Sorry I have not posted in a long ass time.  I have been doing a lot of house/personal projects and I really really want to get to posting at least once a week and I do hope that I can do that. I did really good last year and I really want to get back to that. Anyways I am about to post a new one literally right after this.

Taylor Swift Achieves Seventh No. 1 Album on Billboard 200 Chart

Taylor Swift Achieves Seventh No. 1 Album on Billboard 200 Chart & Biggest Week of 2020 With 'Folklore'

 

Taylor Swift’s Folklore flies in at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 albums chart, capturing the biggest week for any album since Swift’s last release, 2019’s Lover.

 

Folkore was released with little advance notice on July 24 and earns Swift her seventh No. 1 album.

 

Folklore starts with 846,000 equivalent album units earned in the U.S. in the week ending July 30, according to Nielsen Music/MRC Data. That marks the largest week registered for any album since Swift’s own Lover, which debuted at No. 1 on the Sept. 7, 2019-dated chart with 867,000 units.

 

Further, in the last four years, the three biggest weeks for any album have been racked up by Swift. Dating back to July of 2016, the three largest frames for any album are: Swift’s Reputation (1.24 million units, Dec. 2, 2017-dated chart), Lover (867,000) and Folklore (846,000).

 

Folklore’s debut of 846,000 equivalent album units is led by 615,000 in album sales, 218,000 in SEA units (equating to 289.85 million on-demand streams of the tracks on the album), 209,000 in album sales and 13,000 in TEA units.

 

Seventh No. 1 Album: Folklore marks Swift’s seventh No.  1 on the Billboard 200 albums chart, tying her with Janet Jackson for the third-most leaders among women in the history of the chart. Ahead of them on the leading ladies list are Barbra Streisand, with 11 No. 1s, and Madonna, with nine. Among all acts, The Beatles have the most No. 1 albums, with 19.

 

Before Folklore, Swift topped the chart with Lover (No. 1 for one week, Sept. 7, 2019-dated chart), Reputation (No. 1 for four weeks, 2017-18), 1989 (No. 1 for 11 weeks, 2014-15), Red (No. 1 for seven weeks, 2012-13), Speak Now (No. 1 for six weeks, 2010-11) and Fearless (No. 1 for 11 weeks, 2008-09).

 

Most No. 1 Debuts Among Women: All seven of Swift’s No. 1 albums have debuted at No. 1 -- a record among female artists. Beyoncé, Lady Gaga, Madonna and Britney Spears are tied with the second-most debuts at No. 1 among women, with six each. (Beyoncé, Gaga and Spears each have a total of six No. 1 albums -- and all of them also debuted at No. 1. Meanwhile, six of Madonna's nine total No. 1s debuted atop the list.)

 

Among all acts, Jay-Z has the most debuts at No. 1, with 14. All 14 of his No. 1 albums have debuted at No. 1.

 

2020’s Biggest Week for an Album, and Biggest for Any Album Since Swift’s Last Release, Lover: Folklore’s start of 846,000 equivalent album units marks the largest week for 2020 for any album. It blows past the previous high, which was registered just last month by the opening stanza of Juice WRLD’s Legends Never Die (497,000 units in the tracking week ending July 16; as reflected on the chart dated July 25).

 

In addition, Folklore nabs the biggest week for any album since Swift’s last release, Lover, less than a year ago. It launched atop the list dated Sept. 7, 2019, with 867,000 units earned in the week ending Aug. 29, 2019.

 

Lover was released on Aug. 23, 2019. Unlike the surprise-released Folklore, Lover was preceded by months of traditional promotion, which began with the release of the set’s first single, “Me!,” featuring Brendon Urie, on April 26, 2019.

 

Also, while Lover was available widely to purchase at all retailers in its first week, including Target, which carried four deluxe CD editions of the set, Folklore had a limited availability at retail in its first week. Folklore was only sold via Swift’s official webstore or via digital retailers. Folklore will be released on CD widely to all retailers on Aug. 7.

 

Swift Has the Three Biggest Weeks for Any Album in the Last Four Years: In the last four years, the three biggest weeks for any album have been racked up by Swift. Dating back to July of 2016, the three largest frames for any album were tallied by the debut weeks of Swift’s Reputation (1.24 million units, Dec. 2, 2017-dated chart), Lover (867,000) and Folklore (846,000).

 

The last time anyone not named Taylor Swift had a bigger week than Folklore was Drake, who saw his Views album launch with 1.04 million units at No. 1 on the May 21, 2016-dated chart.

 

Biggest Sales Week for an Album Since Lover: Folklore sold 615,000 copies in its first week, marking the largest sales frame for any album since Swift’s Lover sold 679,000 copies in its debut week (Sept. 7, 2019-dated chart).

 

As noted above, in Folklore’s first week of release, the album was only available to purchase through Swift’s website and digital retailers.

 

During the album’s first week, Swift’s webstore sold over a dozen physical/digital album bundles (with a CD, vinyl LP or cassette, plus the digital album). All of the physical/digital bundles delivered the digital version of the album upon purchase to the customer, while the physical version will ship to the customer later. Sales of such bundles -- where two formats of the same album are bundled together -- are counted as one sale, with the album configuration sold determined by the first version of the album that is fulfilled to the customer.

 

Swift’s store additionally sold an array of merchandise/digital album bundles.

 

‘Folklore’ Is Already 2020’s Top Selling Album: With 615,000 copies sold of Folklore in its first week, the album has already become 2020’s top selling album. It surpasses the previous top-seller, BTS’ Map of the Soul: 7, which has sold 574,000 since its release on Feb. 21.

 

First Act to Have Seven Different Albums Sell at Least 500,000 in a Single Week: As Folklore sold 615,000 copies in its first week, Swift becomes the first act to have seven different albums each sell at least 500,000 copies in a single week, since Nielsen Music/MRC Data began electronically tracking music sales in 1991. Swift previously achieved half-million sales frames with the debut weeks of her last six full-length studio albums: Lover (679,000, in 2019), Reputation (1.216 million, in 2017), 1989 (1.287 million, 2014), Red (1.208 million, 2012), Speak Now (1.047 million, 2010) and Fearless (592,000; 2008).

 

Swift was previously tied with Eminem, who has seen six of his albums each sell at least 500,000 copies in a week.

 

Largest Streaming Week of 2020 for an Album by a Woman: Folklore garnered 218,000 SEA units in its first week, which equals 289.85 million on-demand streams of its songs in its first week. That’s the biggest streaming week of 2020 for any album by a woman, and the biggest by a non-rap album this year. The only albums to generate bigger streaming frames in 2020 are two rap titles: Juice WRLD’s Legends Never Die, with 422.63 million in its opening week, and Lil Uzi Vert’s Eternal Atake, with 400.42 million and 348.72 million in its first and second weeks, respectively.

 

Folklore’s 289.85 million streams also mark the second-biggest streaming week ever for an album by a woman, behind only the debut frame of Ariana Grande’s Thank U, Next (307.07 million; chart dated Feb. 23, 2019). 

So it's been 3 Months...

So sorry for not posting. Things have been super wild lately. My job ended at the end of January then in the middle of February I had a nasty fall and got a nasty bone contusion on my left knee. Now in lovely March it's been crazy with the Covid 19.  Honestly I want a refund for 2020 please. I really need to post more.

Music Heaven

Merry Christmas Everyone

Sorry again for not posting a lot (although I did better than the past couple of years). I got a job in August and got promoted last week. However, the job is closing in January (booooooo). So I will be back to posting at least twice a week (unless the music scene is boring AF). I hope everyone has a great holiday season. See yall sometime in 2020.

MH

Forbes: Tinashe’s ‘Songs For You’ proves that creative control is best left to the artists

The evil truths behind record labels and corporate music ownership took center stage this week as Taylor Swift publicly struggled—and triumphed—to be allowed to perform her old songs at the American Music Awards this weekend. The kerfuffle highlighted a large problem for many artists in the industry: despite their success being built on the songs they perform (and in many cases, write and/or produce themselves), they legally have no ownership or say in what actually is allowed to be done with their music, and are often pushed in different musical directions depending on labels’ sales and trend projections.

This was certainly the case for triple-threat performer Tinashe when she was signed to RCA Records. When she was finally released from her contract at the top of this year, it was clear that she was gearing up to release music that aligned more with the sounds of her independently created mixtapes than with the countless pop&B singles that she released throughout the decade.

Songs For You, Tinashe’s fourth studio album and eighth project overall, is the culmination of a years-long saga that her fans have been waiting for. With Nashe now having full creative control over her work, a masterpiece that combined the best elements of her dreamy R&B mixtapes and her scattered pop records was only inevitable for so long.


The album’s release was preceded by two contrasting singles: “Die A Little Bit” with British rapper Ms Banks and “Touch & Go” with 2019 Grammy nominee 6LACK. With Tinashe now in charge of writing, producing, and releasing all her music—something she thankfully has lots of experience doing with her independently released mixtapes—she’s able to fully do what she wants to do and create music that comes completely from her soul. “None of my older music has ever affected me like this new music has,” she even says about the creative process behind Songs For You. “This shit really cracked me open.”


The 15-song tracklist spans many of the sounds that Nashe has dabbled in on previous projects: hip hop, crunk&B, neo-soul, sophisti-pop, and at times, just good old fashioned R&B. Songs like “Life’s Too Short” and “Stormy Weather” will recall memories of her Reverie mixtape for longtime fans, while attitude-filled uptempo tracks like “Perfect Crime” and MAKJ collab “Save Room For Us” pull the best pop, R&B, and hip hop sensibilities from her acclaimed debut LP Aquarius. She even samples herself on “So Much Better” with G-Eazy, reworking “Midnight Sun” from her Black Water mixtape into a trip hop delight.

There’s something for everyone on Songs For You, which speaks more to Tinashe’s artistry than it does her intent: her sound refuses to be defined by traditional definitions, and she’s musically creating a lane that has desperately needed to be paved in the 2010s. It’s a shame that most outlets have already published their best albums of the decade lists, because Tinashe squeaked in at the last minute with an undeniably strong contender.

 

https://www.forbes.com/sites/cmalone/2019/11/21/tinashes-independent-songs-for-you-album-proves-that-creative-control-is-best-left-to-the-artists

8 things left out of Taylor Swift’s Rolling Stone interview

Taylor Swift had a lot to say in our recent cover story (on newsstands now), tracing her eventful path to Lover, her political views and many other topics in a lengthy, revealing interview. There was even more to the caffeine-fueled conversation, which Swift made it through on four hours of sleep after staying up greeting fans at her parents’ Nashville house. Here are some highlights:

 

On releasing “The Archer” after “Me” and “You Need to Calm Down.” 

That’s sort of the world in which a lot of the album lives. It’s weird, because in pop, I love hooks and bop and catchy melodies so much. And I also love writing the songs  you need to ugly cry to. So I really enjoy “You Need to Calm Down” and the brattiness of “damn, it’s 7 a.m.,” and then the next song being like, this is how I feel about myself in my lowest moments… It was unexpected when people liked “The Archer” seemingly sort of unanimously, I was like, What? This doesn’t happen to me. This almost feels like foreign and strange.

 

On Lover‘s place in her catalog.

Reputation was so far from what I usually do. And Lover feels like a return to the fundamental songwriting pillars that I usually build my house on. It’s really honest; it’s not me playing a character. It’s really just how I feel, undistilled. And there are a lot of very personal admissions in it. And also, I love a metaphor. I love building on the metaphor for a very long time. You know, the whole of Reputation was just a metaphor, but this is a very personal record. So that’s been really fun.

 

Writing the title track of Lover
I was sitting up at the piano up in my loft, and I had the chorus. It just kind of happened immediately. It was one of those ones that I wrote very very, very quickly. And I was working out the cadence of the first verse and it just sort of fell together. But then I took some time to write the bridge because I wanted to really level up with that bridge. That one would for me would be less of a ranting bridge and more of a story-time fable type bridge. Sometimes I like to imagine a bridge as like a sort of fairy-tale lullaby fable expanding upon a song that has been not as detailed until that point. “Can I go where you go/ Can we always be this close forever and ever” is less detail and you realize like, oh, it just got really personal in the bridge. It expands on it all.

 

On her creative burst circa 2016
I was writing constantly. And a lot of the things I was writing ended up being songs for Reputation. So after 1989, I didn’t write really anything. After I made 1989and put it out, did all the promo stuff, went on tour… The Grammys happen, which is like this unbelievable blitz of excitement, followed by me going, “Oh my god, what am I going to make next?” I had no idea what to make next, because I was so proud. 1989 — I’m still so, so deeply proud of that record. But I was like, where do we go from here? I have no idea what comes after this. And so, when my life took a very dramatic shift, all of a sudden I knew what to make next — which is a strange dichotomy to feel like, ‘whoa, this is all really weird, twisted, dark and dramatic, but I can’t stop writing.’

 

I think I would have made Reputation whether or not I actually put out the album or ever made another album again. That album was a real process of catharsis, and I thought I experienced catharsis before, but I’d never had until that album, because it was creating this strange defense mechanism. And, I’d never really done that in that exact way before. The only  way I’d done it in the past, was with “Blank Space,” which I wrote specifically about criticisms I had received for supposedly dating too many people in my twenties. I took that template of, OK, this is what you’re all saying about me. Let me just write from this character for a second.

 

On the Reputation Tour
That’s just such a fun album, Reputation. I’m so proud of how that whole process was because I’d never had an album that made more sense to people after they came to the concert. Literally people would be like, I came to the show and now I completely love the record. Now I get the record. Whereas before with1989, I felt like it was such a great listen but it was harder to portray it live because when you when you see it live, you’re like, “Oh, I love that song and now she’s performing it live.” But it never had songs that came alive live.

 

With Reputation, I wanted to keep my head down, not say anything, but work harder than I ever worked. It was really motivational for me to just have the stadium tour to prepare for and prove myself almost. My career was in a weird spot, but still have that kind of ignite something in you to work harder, to practice longer, to think of bigger, better concepts for the live show. I was thinking, if anything can pull me out of  this weird disillusionment I have with the way that things have gone in my career that I was feeling back then, I knew it would be playing live. If I could be proud of the live show and if I could feel that connection with fans, that would remind me of why I love this.

 

On being less caught up in chart battles
I’m just a little more chill about stuff like that now. Obviously, you want to do well, and you want to do things that people like and you want people not to make fun of you for that. A lot of the pressure that I feel in my career is just the fact that I’m compared to everything I’ve ever accomplished in the past and also new artists. I can’t live in that pressure cooker. Charts — I truly, truly do not understand how they work anymore. My friend Ed [Sheeran] is such a chart monger. He’s obsessed with how it works and the math of it. I have no idea what goes on with the math with it now, it used to be so easy. I don’t even get how, people get a big release week, because they they sold T-shirts, or they sold concert tickets with their albums. It’s just very confusing. But I was stoked about the “ME!” music video getting that many YouTube views. I was like, well, that’s like, that’s something to write home about.

 

On the longevity of songs
I think it often takes a lot of time for people to understand how they feel about music. And I know that now because there’s a song on Red called “All Too Well” that I’m really, really proud of, and it took people about three years to note that that was one of the best songs. I didn’t see that starting to pop up  when people would talk about my music until about two or three years after the album had its moment. So one thing that’s actually really comforting about music — and I know that people consume at a crazy speed now — but I think that things settle for people after a long period of time. My music kind of assigns itself to maybe a moment in somebody’s life; that’s the way that my fans usually describe it. So when you’re dealing in memory curation in a way, if they have memories that include one of my songs, they go and they live their lives and those memories become further in the past and more nostalgic to them, and the music becomes more important to them.

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.rollingstone.com/music/music-features/taylor-swift-moments-that-couldnt-fit-in-our-cover-story-890700/amp/