Current Mood

Unholy
Sam Smith

Sam Smith got in touch with his Devilish side at the Grammys Sunday night. Honestly he's on to something. That is where I'm at presently and it reflects my Current Mood to the bone.

Everything is coming up naughty in my corner of the universe and it's all because I've made friends out of my demons. That way they work with you, not against you. 

Thoughts and Feelings of the twisted kind coarse through my blackened soul and my evil veins. 

Manifesting in some fiendish fun of the secular kind...

Time is ticking, off I go Minions, there's debauchery to spread!!!

Sam Smith on IG -

https://www.instagram.com/samsmith/?hl=en 

Serving Donna Summer Realness: Lady Gaga

Dancing Queen
Lady Gaga

"It wasn't love, it wasn't love
It was a perfect illusion (Perfect illusion)
Mistaken for love, it wasn't loveIt was a perfect illusion (Perfect illusion)" - Perfect Illusion, Lady Gaga

After a powerful ballad, 'Till It Happens To You that should have won the Oscar over that anemic Bond Theme crooned by Sam Smith, and a cracker jack collaboration with Tony Bennett - Lady Gaga is back to pop music with a vengeance. Her latest single Perfect Illusion has dropped!

This is powerhouse dance, pop stuff with a twist of rock thrown in for good measure and the smartest thing our Lady has done? She took a cue from the late great Donna Summer, let me explain.

I was never a huge fan of disco/dance in the eighties, but Ms. Summer was the exception to that rule. Why you are asking? Because of really excellently produced, written and most of all sung dance music, "yes" her powerful vocals were the focal point of the music, Perfect Illusion is that kind of dance music, simply the best the genre can offer.

You go Gaga! If this is any indicator of what the rest of the album is going to be like, well count me in! Teaming up with Mark Ronson does a Lady good!!!

Listen to Perfect Illusion after the jump!

Go Gaga at:
www.ladygaga.com/

Happy Leap Year!

Lady Gaga & Sexual Assault Survivors
@ The Oscars

Yes, today is that day that happens once every four years another day gets added to the shortest month of the year, February 29th, Happy Leap Year!

After what will go down in history as one of the worst Oscar telecasts ever, I felt a need to reflect on the best moment of the evening. Lady Gaga performing her song that addresses the issue of sexual assault Till It Happens To You. 

Not only did Gaga give a knock out performance, she was bravely joined on stage by actual survivors of sexual assault. This song was robbed of the Oscar in my opinion giving it to Sam Smith for an anemic Bond Theme instead.

Then another piece of Oscar magic happened Brie Larson who won for best actress for Room hugged each and every one of those who took a stance with our Lady on stage as they exited. Check out the video below.

Have a terrific February 29th, you won't get this day again for another four years!!!

And The Oscar Goes To...

Does anyone out there really care who wins the Oscars anymore? I know I don't, but it is fun to watch the spectacle that accompanies it. 

Below are 7 Things my friends at E! think you should know about the Oscars. I will re-iterate for those who may not be in the loop, that I really have no passion for covering award shows, thus I re-post whatever catches my fancy.

Of those 7 Things the two I am personally excited for are Chris Rock Hosting and of course the musical performances!

Here are E!'s top 7 Things, enjoy the show!

1. Rock the Boat: For weeks, fans have been speculating as to what Chris Rock will say and do when he host's tonight show. The guessing games only continued when he posted a tweet Friday with the words, "See you Sunday…#BlackOut #Oscars." Will the #OscarsSoWhite controversy be addressed? Watch what happens!

2. Thanks Academy: This year's producers are trying to make acceptance speeches a little more engaging. So what's their plan? Nominees were asked to submit a list of the people they'd like to thank. Those names will then run across the bottom of the screen while the winners fill this 45-second maximum time requirement.

3. Leo's Time: From the SAG Awards to the BAFTAs, Leonardo has been able to pick up the Best Actor trophy all season long thanks to his role as frontiersman Hugh Glass in The Revenant. After six Oscar nominations over his career, this has to be his year, right? Before you place your bets, though, don't forget that he's up against Bryan Cranston, Matt Damon, Michael Fassbender and Eddie Redmayne.

4. Boycott: Because of the #OscarsSoWhite controversy, some stars have made it clear that they will not be attending the show. Jada Pinkett Smith, Will Smith and Spike Lee are opting to pass on the event. 

Meanwhile, Selma director Ava DuVernay and Creed director Ryan Coogler are opting to attend a special event in Michigan titled #JusticeForFlint.

5. Red Carpet Magic: Ryan Seacrest is back on the carpet with a front-row seat to all the gowns, tuxedos and fashion for tonight's show. During Live From the Red Carpet, the pro will be chatting with all the big stars. Giuliana Rancic, Kris Jenner,Zanna Roberts Rassi and Ashley Graham will also be close by to dissect all the hot looks.

6. The Weeknd's Big Weekend: Three of the five nominees for Best Original Song have been given the opportunity to perform their songs live at the Dolby Theatre. Audiences can look forward to Sam Smith's "Writings on the Wall," The Weeknd's "Earned It" and Lady Gaga's "Till it Happens to You." In an added twist, The Foo Fighters' Dave Grohl will also be on-hand for a "special performance."

7. A-list Alert: If you're favorite Hollywood star isn't nominated, that doesn't mean you won't see them at the Oscars. The Academy has announced that familiar faces including Reese Witherspoon, Kerry Washington, Sofia Vergara, John Legend and Jennifer Garner are just some of the stars expected to present awards tonight.

Cheyenne Elliott Brings It!

Cheyenne Elliott

Dauman Music/Tarpan Records’ powerhouse new vocalist Cheyenne Elliott debuts on the
Billboard Dance chart at #42 with a bullet this week with “With You”. The hands-in-the-air
club anthem celebrates that special someone who helps us feel alive. While most beats
releasing to dance floors today lean toward Electronic fare, Elliott’s track presents a more
classic, disco vibe. Written by Cheyenne and Lisa Gressett along with Whitney Houston’s
longtime collaborator Narada Michael Walden, “With You” is a fun, upbeat, warm and
inviting song. Narada, named by Billboard as one of the "Top Ten Producers With the
Most Number One Hits", also produced the track. Club remixes are by DJ Jamie Sanchez,
Denny Tsettos with Lenny M. and Giuseppe D., Tunnelmental Experimental Assembly, and
The Booda. “With You – The Remixes” is available on iTunes and all major online music
retailers now from Dauman Music/Tarpan Records.

Cheyenne Elliott hails from a family of musical royalty. Her grandmother is five-time
Grammy Award winner Dionne Warwick. Her cousin is Whitney Houston and uncle is hit
music producer Damon Elliott. Her aunts are Dee Dee Warwick and Cissy Houston. Her
father, David Elliott, is an accomplished musical artist and songwriter. He penned Luther
Vandross’ Grammy Award winning hit, “Here and Now.”

Wow! That's some pedigree! Well let's not keep you waiting here she is Ms. Cheyenne Elliott!

MS: Congratulations on the success of "With You." What I love about the song is normally in dance music the vocals are overshadowed by the music, your vocals on "With You" are not .

CE: No, we made sure that they were very prominent and not too over edited either. A lot of time you have very auto-tuned voices over dance music, we wanted to make it feel very natural but with that dance behind it, which I love!

MS: This is my kind of dance music, I can't handle the other kind.

CE: Right there's too much going on. This is just really raw, my vocals and the dance track. I thought it was a great combination.

MS; Given your background did you come out of the womb singing?

CE: (laughs) Basically, yes. It's a literal thing I have been singing since before I can remember. It's never not been a thing in my life.

MS: How could it not be?

CE: How could it not?

MS: You co-wrote "With You."

CE: Yes, with my Mom ( Lisa Gressett) and Narada Michael Walden. All three of us had a lot of creative input in the song which was awesome!

MS: I've heard your favorite Whitney Houston song is "I Wanna Dance With Somebody."

CE: That song makes me feel great, and I love feel good songs. Everything about that song was just her, it's amazing!

MS: You do see how "With You" relates to that song I assume.

CE: Definitely! There's little hints and sprinkles of  "I Wanna Dance With Somebody" within "With You" which we really tried to incorporate in it.

MS: Rumor has it you are a big Fiona Apple fan.

CE: Oh, I love Fiona Apple, oh my God! "Shadowboxer: is one of my all time favorite songs! If you ever ask me to go see Fiona Apple I will be first in line. She is everything to me!

MS: I know you are all about the positive, and Fiona isn't really negative, but...

CE: Yeah, when people meet me and ask me who my favorite artist is and I say Fiona Apple, they're like: "Huh? Didn't see that one coming" it's like a plot twist. (laughs)

MS: How were you the bartender on "Watch What Happens Live" when you are under age? (laughs)

CE: I was the bartender and I couldn't legally drink yet. It was a lot of fun! Andy Cohen was so warm and welcoming. Really the whole staff at the Bravo Clubhouse were so nice and relaxed. I felt no pressure it was a lot o fun!

MS: Is there a cover of song you would like to do?

CE: Oh, I actually do have a cover of "Lego House" by Ed Sheeran on my fan page that we released recently. I love that song, that is music that I personally love, Ed Sheeran, John Legend, Sam Smith, if you look through my iPod those are the top twenty five recently played.

Cheyenne & Her Grandmother, Dionne Warwick

MS: Give a fond musical memory you have of being with your family.

CE: One fond memory that was fun that we all got to do, Whitney, Myself, My Grandmother, Whitney's Mom, My Cousins, My Dad...the entire family, got together and recorded a song for Tyler Perry's "Daddy's Little Girl." Having a group of people that is your family all in the studio at once is an amazing experience! You're recording a song, and everybody sings and they're amazing, you are overwhelmed by all of these voices coming together. I was really young at the time and I remember closing the song with a little lick, I was just coming into my own vocally and finding out who I was as singer. I remember Whitney being so encouraging, she couldn't believe the progress I had made in 10 years. She heard me and was really inspiring and motivating, I remember her clearly being uplifting and making me feel great about my little solo. That was one of the greatest moments of my life!

Have Cheyenne "With You" at:

https://www.facebook.com/OfficialCheyenneElliott
https://instagram.com/ce927/
https://twitter.com/thecheyelliott
http://daumanmusic.com

Kevin "Renegade" Olusola

Cellist, beatboxer, producer, Grammy winner and one fifth of Pentatonix. That is how most of you know Kevin "KO" Olusola. 

Perhaps you didn't know he is also a Renegade. Yes, Kevin's first EP Renegade is out tomorrow, March 10th.  

Less than an hour after the EP surfaced on iTunes, The Renegade EP, which features Olusola’s world famous celloboxing (simultaneously playing cello and beatboxing), landed at #1 on the Classical Album Chart.  Simultaneously, his rendition of Sam Smith’s “Stay With Me” shot to #1 on the Classical Singles Chart, with a companion music video, which "KO" premiered on YouTube in conjunction with it. 

MS: Rumor has it you have a new EP coming out?

KO: Oh my god, I am ecstatic, I am beside myself! I can't believe it is real and it's happening. It's very exciting!

MS: What prompted you to do Renegade?

KO: I feel that I've gained a lot of skills now that I have been in Pentatonix a while for inspiration. I wanted to put something out that was a cohesive sound of all those experiences that I can elaborate on.

MS: So, how does it feel to be a Grammy Award Winner?

KO: It's amazing and surreal. When I say "Oh yeah we won a Grammy" that doesn't come out of most people's mouths. To know that I can say that is very humbling.

MS: Very few people have one, it's really cool. 

KO: Exactly!

Renegade!

MS: On your EP, this may or may not sound weird to you. Probably not, when you played Sam Smith's Stay With Me, I heard singing even though there wasn't any. 

KO: Wow! You understand it. That is the sound I am going for! The people who I have admired as instrumentalists are people like Santana. He was a singer first and his medium for that voice was his instrument. So that's why when people say that the cello is the instrument that is the closest to the human voice, I had to take it that step further. How do I actually reproduce this sound so people can actually hear a voice and say "Wow!" I tried to create a sound around it. I'm so happy you said that, that means a lot to me, Thank You.

MS: BTW I remember you playing Renegade at The Orpheum in Los Angeles, CA.

KO: Oh yeah, absolutely! 

MS: You always get a solo at a Pentatonix concert which is nice.

KO: Thank you, I appreciate it. It took me so long to put all of the elements together so when I was offered the solo I thought why not just go for it!

MS: Curious people want to know. What made you want to cover Heart Attack by Demi Lovato?

KO: It had an edgy quality to it...electronic, tech, hardcore, which I love! What attracted me to it was I did not think people could ever think the piece could be done with the cello and the beatboxing. So I took it and said: "Let me try it." 

                                                           "Stay With Me"

MS: You have created an original music category: Celloboxing.

KO: No one else is Celloboxing, sure why not, let's do it. (laughs)

MS: You've also played Carnegie Hall as well.

KO: Oh yeah. I did it on two different occasions one was my senior year in High School as a cellist, a solo. Then I did it in my first year of college on saxophone. Two different experiences at Carnegie Hall. I feel very honored that I have had that opportunity.

MS: How does it feel to be on the classical music charts? 

KO: It's so weird to contemplate that people are actually going out and buying the music that I'm creating. I'm overwhelmed.

MS: You're like Lindsey Stirling she is a Rock Star on the violin, you are a Rock Star on the cello.

KO: Oh thank you! I appreciate that! When you think about it now this alternative sound is popularized and now has wide mass appeal. Lindsey is amazing, she really paved the way for it an created it, in how she presented what she did. There are so many ways to be heard now, it's amazing!

MS: How did you discover your inner Beatboxer?

KO: It wasn't anything that I thought of. I just kind of did it when I was young. It was this song by Musiq Soulchild called Juslisten and it had this hook at the very beginning of the song, that inspired me, that's when I started Beatboxing a lot more. 

Go Celloboxing with Kevin at: 

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KO1Music
Twitter: https://twitter.com/kolusola
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/kolusola
Order The Renegade EP on iTunes: http://smarturl.it/RenegadeEP   

My Quick Take On The Grammy's

Annie Lennox - Queen of the Night 

Opening with AC/DC pleased this Rock N Roll dudes heart, yes, it truly is a Highway To Hell people! 

While I was a huge Madonna fan once that was so Confessions On A Dance Floor ago.

Madonna so sucked last night it was like a vacuum on it's last legs - I am over gay men who are drooling over her performance. (hey being one I have a lot of them on my Facebook page, so this is first hand experience.)

Annie Lennox was IT last night, she had the last werd! 

Have loved her since the Eurythmics and all of her solo work is bomb! 

Although Hozier is very talented I was annoyed and over hearing his song Take Me To Church. My spin instructor has been playing it every class for the last 3 months, I go Saturday and Sunday, do that math!

Note to Kanye West, quit always defending Beyonce you jackhole. She was tre' boring last night. If people weren't already asleep by the end of the show, they sure would have dozed off then. 

Taylor Swift, quit getting down, white girl you have no rhythm and it's uncomfortable when the camera cuts to you and you pretend to. 

Katy Perry is a lovely and gracious loser.

Congratulations Sam Smith, the appeal is lost on me.

Love Beck, but I did not even know he had an album out last year.

Jessi J. & Tom Jones, that was cool. Not a show stealing performance like Annie Lennox, but fifty shades of cool none the less.

Pentatonix so glad you won, you deserved it for your Daft Punk medley.

Yeah, I'm done, I said it was a quick take, capice? 

Until next year!

Pentatonix Mash-Up Sam Smith

Photo: Jiro Schneider

With the release of the latest Pentatonix CD, PTX Vol. 3 only three weeks away, September 23rd to be exact.

PTX has dropped a new video for one of the album's songs "La La Latch" by Disclosure that Mashes-Up  featured artist on the single Sam Smith.

Yes, Pentatonix has mashed Sam Smith up and mashed him gooooooood!

Keep on keepin' gang!

                                                                     La La Latch
Where in the world is Pentatonix?

Find out at:

www.ptx-official.com
www.youtube.com/ptxofficial
www.facebook.com/pentatonix
www.twitter.com/ptxofficial