Today (February 9) sees the debut of Sade’s Solider of Love, the singer’s highly anticipated new CD that is her first since 2000’s Lovers Rock.
The first single released from Soldier Of Love, the title track, has been historic in that it is the first song to ever debut at No. 1 in monitored airplay and also the first vocal track to hit No. 1 on any monitored smooth jazz radio chart. “Soldier Of Love” debuted at No. 1 the first weekend in January on the Smooth Jazz Top 20 Countdown.
In addition to the No. 1 song, Sade’s 10-song CD features titles such as “The Moon and the Sky,” “Morning Bird,” “Long Hard Road,” “Bring Me Home” and “In Another Time.”
To hear the CD in its entirety and hear comments from Sade, go to smoothjazztop20.com and click on the Sade World Premiere banner.
Sade will be making a number of rare TV appearances to promote Solider of Love. She will be on the Today show today, in addition to 106 & Park on BET and The Late Show With David Letterman. She will perform Wednesday (February 10) on The View, Monday (February 15) on Ellen, February 16 on Jimmy Kimmel Live, and February 20 on The Wanda Sykes Show.
Grammy Award-winner Corinne Bailey Rae’s new CD The Sea entered the Billboard 200 at No. 7, selling more than 53,000 copies its first week. Her sophomore CD features the smooth jazz single “Closer.” She’s made several recent TV appearances to promote the CD, and is scheduled to perform March 1 on Late Show with David Letterman, March 8 on Jimmy Kimmel Live an April 4 on The Tonight Show With Jay Leno.
The Sea, whose 11 songs are all written by Bailey Rae, is her follow-up to her 2006 self-titled CD that included the smooth jazz hits “Put Your Records On,” “Like a Star” and “Trouble Sleeping.” She’s also had smooth jazz singles with two collaborations, the first with “River” from Herbie Hancock’s Grammy-winning River: The Joni Letters. The second was “Free,” a song from an album by bassist Marcus Miller.
Bailey Rae has announced 16 dates on a spring tour of North America. It starts April 9 in Vancouver, BC, and runs through May 14 in Baltimore. The tour, the singer’s first since 2007, includes a stop April 17 at the high-profile Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival in Southern California.
Singer and actress Queen Latifah and soul legend Bill Withers are now part of television history. Sunday’s (February 7) Super Bowl game between the New Orleans Saints and Indianapolis Colts – which the Saints won 31-17 – set a new all-time U.S. ratings high, besting the 27-year-old record held by the final episode of “M*A*S*H.” It drew 106.5 million viewers, smashing Super Bowl records and edging out 1983’s “M*A*S*H” finale, which had 105.97 million viewers.
The numbers are from Nielsen via CBS Sports.
Latifah sang “America the Beautiful” before Carrie Underwood’s version on the National Anthem. Withers’ was not involved in the festivities, but his song “Ain’t No Sunshine” was heard in an ad for the Dante’s Inferno video. The song was featured on Withers’ 1971 album “Just As I Am.” The Grammy Award-winning song went to No. 3 on the pop charts that year.
Viewership was up 8 percent from 2009’s Pittsburgh Steelers vs. Arizona Cardinals game, which was seen by a then-record 98.7 million viewers.
Smooth jazz saxophonist Michael Lington,a native of Copenhagen, Denmark, who became an American citizen in 2008 in Los Angeles, has once again been commissioned to perform for the Danish Royal Family. This time it is for HM Queen Margrethe II’s 70th birthday on April 16.
This is the fourth time Lington will perform for the Danish monarchy. He performed in 1990 for the Queen’s 50th birthday, in 2004 for Crown Prince Frederik’s wedding to Princess Mary, in 2009 for Prince Consort Henrik’s 75th birthday, and now for Queen Margrethe’s 70th birthday celebration.
Lington was a member of the Tivoli Boys Guard from 1978 to 1985. He’s not the only one in his family who has performed for royalty. “My step dad is the drum major for the Queen’s Guard. He knows the family. He was actually knighted seven years ago. This upcoming performance will be very excting.”
Lington released his first CD in 1997 and since then has offered six more. His latest, Heat, features the former No. 1 smooth jazz hit single “You and I.”
Grammy Award-winning vocalist Patti Austin was instrumental in helping mentor Quincy Jones and Lionel Richie make “We Are the World - 25 for Haiti.” “Here we are 25 years later,” Austin told Entertainment Tonight. “Sadly we have this horrible thing happen in Haiti, but fortunately we have this great piece of music to represent and hopefully raise more and more money to help this situation … We changed the phrasing a little bit, we changed a note here and there - and adapted it for this new crop of people that we have out there that are most recognizable.”
Stars who participated included Barbra Streisand, Celine Dion, Miley Cyrus, P!nk, Jennifer Hudson, The Jonas Brothers, Josh Groban, Natalie Cole, Snoop Dogg, Kanye West, Tony Bennett, Jamie Foxx, Nicole Richie, Jeff Bridges and Vince Vaughn, among many others.
Austin says her dream moment was getting to work with Streisand to produce her solo segment of the song. “I had a great relationship with her,” she told ET. “It was amazing to get into the studio with her and work on this wonderful line that she was going to sing that kind of introduces the melody for the first time.”
“We Are the World – 25 For Haiti” will premiere later this month during the opening ceremonies of the Winter Olympics in Vancouver on NBC.
Today (February 6th), Grammy Award-winning vocalist Natalie Cole celebrates her 60th birthday. Cole underwent a successful kidney transplant last May and is now recovered and touring. In fact, she’s performing tonight at the City Wintery in New York. On Wednesday (February 10) , she will be one of several artists invited to perform at the White House as part of In Performance at the White House: A Celebration of Music From the Civil Rights Era. The event will be televised Thursday on PBS stations.
It was in 1991 that Natalie, the daughter of jazz and pop legend Nat “King” Cole, released her most popular album, Unforgettable: With Love, a collection of jazz standards that also featured – thanks to modern technology – the title song “Unforgettable” as a duet with her late father. Today, she has more than 25 solo albums including her latest, Still Unforgettable. That CD won a Grammy for Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album.
Among Natalie’s many memorable songs are “This Will Be,” “Inseparable” and “Miss You Like Crazy.”
The Smooth Jazz Network will air the SadeSoldier of Love world premiere on Saturday (February 6). The nationally broadcast world premiere is being produced and distributed by the Smooth Jazz Network and will be hosted by Smooth Jazz Top 20 Countdown creator and host Allen Kepler. There will be behind-the-scenes commentary from Sade throughout the one-hour special, where she will share insight as to her process in creating an album, the theme of the release and personal feelings about her musical journey and dealing with fame.
More than 40 radio stations worldwide have already signed on to carry the world premiere throughout the weekend. Radio listeners and fans will have the rare opportunity to hear the CD in its entirety, along with Sade’s commentary, prior to the release date of this Tuesday (February 9). Soldier of Love is the first CD to be released by Sade since Lovers Rock in 2000.
The first single released from Soldier Of Love, the title track, has been historic in that it is the first song to ever debut at No. 1 in monitored airplay and also the first vocal track to hit No. 1 on any monitored smooth jazz radio chart. “Soldier Of Love” debuted at No. 1 the first weekend in January on the Smooth Jazz Top 20 Countdown, which is heard in 40 markets around the world and based on audience reach figures from Mediabase.
In addition to the No. 1 song, Sade’s 10-song CD features titles such as “The Moon and the Sky,” “Morning Bird,” “Long Hard Road,” “Bring Me Home” and “In Another Time.”
Sade will be making a number of TV appearances to promote Solider of Love. She will be on the Today show on Tuesday, in addition to 106 & Park on BET and The Late Show With David Letterman. She will perform Wednesday (February 10) on The View, February 15 on Ellen, February 16 on Jimmy Kimmel Live, and February 20 on The Wanda Sykes Show.
Soldier of Love track list
The Moon and the Sky - 4:27
Soldier of Love - 5:57
Morning Bird - 3:54
Babyfather - 4:39
Long Hard Road - 3:00
Be That Easy - 3:39
Bring Me Home - 4:06
In Another Time - 5:04
Skin - 4:14
The Safest Place - 2:43
Queen Latifah, Sean ”Diddy” Combs and Pharrell tonight (February 5) are hosting a two-hour concert and telethon to benefit victims of the devastating January 12 earthquake in Haiti.
Performing at SOS Saving OurSelves – Help for Haiti will be Robin Thicke, Wyclef Jean, Lil Wayne, Chris Brown, Drake, Justin Bieber, Keri Hilson and Monica. The event will be held at American Airlines Arena in Miami and air live on BET, MTV, VH1 and Centric at 8 p.m. ET, 5 p.m. PT.
Proceeds will aid organizations including Yele Haiti, CARE, Project Medishare and Children’s Safe Drinking Water.
Soul legend Bill Withers will get worldwide exposure this Sunday (February 7) during the Super Bowl game between the New Orleans Saints and Indianapolis Colts.
Everyone knows, of course, that this is when the high-profile, popular ads – reportedly costing up to $3 million for 30 seconds this year – are aired with the hope of making a buzz.
More than 100 million people in the U.S. alone are expected to tune in on Sunday, and they will hear Withers’ well-known song “Ain’t No Sunshine” in an ad for the Dante’s Inferno video game.
“Ain’t No Sunshine” was featured on Withers’ 1971 album Just As I Am. The Grammy Award-winning song went to No. 3 on the pop charts that year.
U.K.-based instrumentalist and producer Paul Hardcastle has decided to re-record his seminal worldwide dance hit “19” to reflect new times.
It was in 1985 that “19” debuted with its spoken-word, stuttering samples of a narrator talking about Vietnam War veterans. As the song makes clear, “19” was the average age of the Vietnam soldier. The song was so well-known that Simon Fuller, who was Hardcastle’s manager at the time, would go on to name his entertainment company 19 Management, responsible for American Idol.
Hardcastle has repeatedly said in the past that he would never re-record the song. But he’s changed his mind, and here’s why: “This just may open up a can of worms, but someone has to at least stand up and be counted,” he says. “Twenty-five years ago … the idea came about whilst watching a documentary which highlighted the plight of young men and women who fought in Vietnam. ‘In World War 2 the average age of the combat soldier was 26, in Vietnam he was 19.’ These words really made me stop and think …
“At the time, it all seemed a long way from home as Vietnam was an American war, but now it seems history is repeating itself. It’s now the 25th anniversary since the release of ‘19,’ only this time the documentary I am watching is about the British soldiers who would be serving in Afghanistan. I hear the words ‘I looked at my men, the average age was 19; my God, I’m taking boys to war.’ It was unbelievable, almost the same words that gave me the original idea to record ‘19.’ This was all sounding too familiar.
“I had it in my mind to do a remix for the 25th anniversary of the original track but after hearing that, I felt it would almost be an insult not to mention the British and others, who have lost their lives in recent years whilst doing their duty … so I rewrote the song completely.
“This time the song is written from the perspective of how I would see things if I was in the position of a young soldier being sent off to war. What’s interesting is the fact that a few years earlier I was approached by the BBC to remake ‘19’ to be included in their TV program Power to the People, which highlighted the fact that there were no British hospitals for soldiers returning from duty.
“At the time I declined, but having listened to the soldiers and even high-ranking Army officials from several TV documentaries, it appears that there are many who are unsure that the way we are going about things is the right way. Some even believe this can easily become another Vietnam scenario, which would be a catastrophe for all involved. I’m not here to preach or impose my opinion on anyone and, like with the original record, I leave you to make up your own minds …”
The trailer for the new “19” is now on YouTube. Hardcastle will release the single on April 19, and there will several remixes.
Today (February 9) sees the debut of Sade’s Solider of Love, the singer’s highly anticipated new CD that is her first since 2000’s Lovers Rock.
Grammy Award-winner Corinne Bailey Rae’s new CD The Sea entered the Billboard 200 at No. 7, selling more than 53,000 copies its first week. Her sophomore CD features the smooth jazz single “Closer.” She’s made several recent TV appearances to promote the CD, and is scheduled to perform March 1 on Late Show with David Letterman, March 8 on Jimmy Kimmel Live an April 4 on The Tonight Show With Jay Leno.
Singer and actress Queen Latifah and soul legend Bill Withers are now part of television history. Sunday’s (February 7) Super Bowl game between the New Orleans Saints and Indianapolis Colts – which the Saints won 31-17 – set a new all-time U.S. ratings high, besting the 27-year-old record held by the final episode of “M*A*S*H.” It drew 106.5 million viewers, smashing Super Bowl records and edging out 1983’s “M*A*S*H” finale, which had 105.97 million viewers..JPG)
Smooth jazz saxophonist Michael Lington,a native of Copenhagen, Denmark, who became an American citizen in 2008 in Los Angeles, has once again been commissioned to perform for the Danish Royal Family. This time it is for HM Queen Margrethe II’s 70th birthday on April 16.
Grammy Award-winning vocalist Patti Austin was instrumental in helping mentor Quincy Jones and Lionel Richie make “We Are the World - 25 for Haiti.” “Here we are 25 years later,” Austin told Entertainment Tonight. “Sadly we have this horrible thing happen in Haiti, but fortunately we have this great piece of music to represent and hopefully raise more and more money to help this situation … We changed the phrasing a little bit, we changed a note here and there - and adapted it for this new crop of people that we have out there that are most recognizable.”
Today (February 6th), Grammy Award-winning vocalist Natalie Cole celebrates her 60th birthday. Cole underwent a successful kidney transplant last May and is now recovered and touring. In fact, she’s performing tonight at the City Wintery in New York. On Wednesday (February 10) , she will be one of several artists invited to perform at the White House as part of In Performance at the White House: A Celebration of Music From the Civil Rights Era. The event will be televised Thursday on PBS stations.
The Smooth Jazz Network will air the Sade Soldier of Love world premiere on Saturday (February 6). The nationally broadcast world premiere is being produced and distributed by the Smooth Jazz Network and will be hosted by Smooth Jazz Top 20 Countdown creator and host Allen Kepler. There will be behind-the-scenes commentary from Sade throughout the one-hour special, where she will share insight as to her process in creating an album, the theme of the release and personal feelings about her musical journey and dealing with fame.
Queen Latifah, Sean ”Diddy” Combs and Pharrell tonight (February 5) are hosting a two-hour concert and telethon to benefit victims of the devastating January 12 earthquake in Haiti.
Soul legend Bill Withers will get worldwide exposure this Sunday (February 7) during the Super Bowl game between the New Orleans Saints and Indianapolis Colts.
U.K.-based instrumentalist and producer Paul Hardcastle has decided to re-record his seminal worldwide dance hit “19” to reflect new times.