SHOWTIME! We continue our series of ‘In Performance at the White House’ – a series of concerts created to showcase the rich fabric of American culture in the exclusive setting of the nation’s most famous home. To see last weeks post, Women of Soul, click here.
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Memphis Soul
This incredible show was taped in the East Room of the White House and celebrates the timeless classics of Memphis Soul. Hosted by President and Mrs. Obama, the all-star concert includes performances by Alabama Shakes, William Bell, Eddie Floyd, Steve Cropper, Ben Harper, Queen Latifah, Cyndi Lauper, Joshua Ledet, Sam Moore, Charlie Musselwhite, Mavis Staples and Justin Timberlake, with Booker T. Jones as music director and band leader.
The concert honored the memorable soul sounds from the mid- to late-1960s that came from Memphis, Tennessee and pays homage to Memphis, a segregated city in the 1960s where many whites and blacks nonetheless came together to make soulful music, a mix of gospel and potent rhythmic grooves — known today as “Memphis Soul.” President Obama said in his opening speech “It’s the music that challenged us to accept new ways of thinking with four timeles words ‘Can you dig it?’”
Download these shows and add them to your music library This is part of a 10-week series that we will be running on our blog, with the music videos conveniently separated into individual performances so that you can save and download your favourite artists, or the whole show if your prefer. Creation 5’s YouTube feature lets you download videos so you can watch offline when you’re travelling and enjoy great music on-the-go. Don’t forget that you can download Creation 5’s YouTube In-app purchase absolutely FREE, which normally costs €4.49 ($4.99), as we currently have a promotion running in celebration of hitting 400,000 downloads on the App Store.
01. Intro [President’s speech] 02. Sam Moore & Joshua Ledet – Soul Man 03. Mavis Staples – I’ll Take You There 04. Justin Timberlake & Steve Cropper – (Sittin’ On) The Dock of the Bay 05. Eddie Floyd – Knock on Wood 06. Alabama Shakes, Steve Cropper & Booker T – Born Under a Bad Sign 07. Queen Latifah – I Can’t Stand the Rain 08. William Bell – You Don’t Miss Your Water 09. Joshua Ledet – When a Man Loves a Woman 10. Ben Harper & Charlie MusselWhite – I’m In I’m Out And I’m Gone 11. Sam Moore – When Something is Wrong With My Baby 12. Cyndi Lauper & Charlie Musselwhite – Try a Little Tenderness 13. Finale, Full Cast – In The Midnight Hour
The music for HBO’s fantasy Game of Thrones TV series is composed by one of the greatest film composers, Ramin Djawadi. Yes, that’s right, the man behind the Iron Man theme, and who has also written scores for Pacific Rim, Prison Break and Person of Interest.
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The Game of Thrones’ Main Title has become very popular and is recognised by almost anyone who knows anything about TV. Due to its popularity, the main theme has been covered many times and in several genres, including Jazz, Indie, Classical, 80’s, and has even been sung by goats!
‘Originality’ is an understatement. See just how creative one can be and check out the many ways in which one can approach a song and reinterpret it with complete ‘originality’.
Enjoy a medieval and non-medieval afternoon of Game of Thrones delights!
“In a world where summers span decades and winters can last a lifetime, the crown of Westeros comes with a price. Betrayal, lust, intrigue and supernatural forces shake the four corners of the Kingdom, from the scheming south and the savage eastern lands, to the frozen north and the ancient Wall that protects the realm from the darkness beyond. Kings and queens, knights and renegades, liars and noble men vie for power in the bloody struggle for the Iron Throne”.
The New Orleans Swamp Donkeys perform the theme song to Game of Thrones at the legendary B.B. King’s Blues Club in Times Square, NYC. This one is a particularly good rendition of the song. Let’s get jazzy!
“This just happened…” the Scottish synth-pop trio wrote, after recording the Game of Thrones theme song on a smartphone camera. They were bored in the studio and started playing it. “It wasn’t a cover. It was a joke!” says the band. Imagine how amazing it could sound if they really did record it for real!
Eargasm alert! This cello rock cover of the Game of Thrones theme is a beautiful and powerful interpretation, with wonderful sounds. I might even like this more than the original version!
It’s incredible just how many sounds one can produce with one human voice, one violin and a little bit of foot stomping. This cover is glorious. It lifts you up above the ground and has you floating amongst the clouds, across the mountaintops.
So much effort was put into composing the music and recording the video to this cover. These guys capture the essence of the Game of Thrones theme and add their very own style to it.
Check out what you can do with just two harps and one audio tape. This cover of the Game of Thrones theme portrays the medieval and fantasy-like atmosphere of the fantasy series. It’s beautiful and idyllic. A very fitting video, filmed around a ruined castle, where the blonde twins look like they’ve come straight out of one of the scenes. Indeed, they “serenade the 7 kingdoms”. The Harp Twins (as you may know them) have previously performed for President Obama, at the President Lincoln Bicentennial Celebration.
This cover is actually incredible and requires a lot of talent and a hell of a lot of practice. This is awesome! It’s enchanting and pretty and mysterious. We want more!
Nicki Minaj released her Anaconda video last night. If you like butts this video is for you! You’ll never see so many butts again! Definitely NSFW.
The self-proclaimed “Queen of Rap” twerks her way around the jungle then gives Drake a scandalous lap dance. The pretty weird and extremely raunchy clip was directed by Colin Tilley. You could call it an ode to the human posterior.
The video was released at the stroke of midnight on Wednesday August 20 – the 31-year old rapper tweeted: “My babies r trending it already. Let’s go! #AnacondaVideoAtMidnight.”
The OTT sexiness started when she released the sexy cover art on Instagram on July 24, where she is seen posing in a bit of pink string with her butt centre stage. On many digital stores there is a Parental Advisory sticker over the offending cheeks.
In 2012, Anaconda was recorded by five-time Grammy Award-winning musician Missy Elliott, but due to undisclosed reasons Elliott shelved the track and it was then re-recorded by Minaj.
In the US, the song debuted at Nº 3 on the Digital Songs chart selling 141,000 digital downloads in its first week. Anaconda will be released in the UK on October 5 through Cash Money Records. The track follows Pills N Potions and is the latest single from Nicki’s forthcoming third studio album The Pink Print.
How do you get people to watch your Emmy Award show? Bring Breaking Bad’s Bryan Cranston and Aaron Paul back together for a hilarious comedy sketch – Barely Legal Pawn.
The last episode of the hugely popular Breaking Bad series was a long 11 months ago and hope is diminishing that we’ll ever see Bryan and Aaron return to their beloved Breaking Bad roles. NBC came up with the bright idea of a faster reunion. With the 2014 Emmy’s just 4 days away they’ve cooked up a brilliant sketch also starring Veep’s Julia Louis-Dreyfus.
The three do a brilliant spoof on those pawn-show reality shows to promote the Emmy’s, sponsored by Audi. The 6-minute sketch sees Julia in character as herself wanting to pawn one of her past ‘Seinfeld’ Emmys and trying to negotiate with the dodgy pawn shop owners – Bryan and Paul – for a good price. Telling you any more of the story would be a spoiler!
The 66th Primetime Emmy Awards are a ceremony held to honour the best in US prime time television from June 1, 2013 until May 31, 2014, as chosen by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. To see the Nominees visit the Emmy website.
The 2014 Emmy Awards will air on NBC this Monday 25 August, hosted by Seth Meyers. Normally, the awards show broadcasts on a Sunday, but Monday was chosen this year so that there was no conflict with the 2014 MTV Video Music Awards.
Did you ever dream of putting Alicia Keys and Jack White, Madonna and Lil Wayne, 5ive and Queen, in the same studio to record a song together? The answer is no… never in a million years! Strangely and fantastically, some of these collaborations are brilliant. Others just sound utterly bizarre. Prepare for the unexpected while two “worlds” come together to create one “world”… with two dimensions.
Linkin Park, Jay Z & Paul McCartney – “Numb Encore/ Yesterday”
Linkin Park, Jay Z and Paul McCartney came together at the 2006 Grammy Awards to perform a medley of “Numb Encore” and “Yesterday”, a strange collaboration that unexpectedly sounded pretty damn good! Who would have thought that one of the greatest rock bands, one of the greatest rappers of our time, and one of The Beatles, could sound good together? Nobody!
Eminem ft. Elton John – “Stan”
What an unusual collaboration for a duet! The Grammy’s always seem to bring incredible talents together to perform on stage. Here’s yet another brilliant performance at the 2001 Grammy Awards, with Eminem and Elton John joining forces. Eminem was under a lot of media pressure at the time due to his homophobic lyrics and the performance was quite the hype. After finishing their number, the two talents hugged it out on stage and held one another’s hand as a symbol of a unity.
Tony Bennett duet with Dani Martín – “Are You Havin’ Any Fun?”
Strange, right? The mythical Tony Bennett collaborating with one of Latin music’s biggest stars, Dani Martín? Tony Bennett came out with a “Viva Duets” album (2012) to perform his classic songs with the help of some younger stars, including Dani Martín, Marc Anthony, Chayanne and Gloria Estefan. Bennett said in a statement: “Latin music has always been about melody and harmony and a lot of soul, so there was a very close artistic connection with each duet guest. I am absolutely thrilled about the record.” Bennett has recently come out with a “Duet II” album, featuring Lady Gaga, Carrie Underwood and Amy Winehouse. What a brilliant idea for an album!
Barcelona is a single that was released by Queen’s legendary frontman, Freddie Mercury, together with one of the greatest operatic sopranos of all time, Montserrat Caballé. While Caballé’s and Mercury’s vocals are backed by a full orchestra, the song reflects Mercury’s love for opera and the ways in which the genre has influenced his singing and songwriting. The song was one of Mercury’s greatest solo hits and reached No8 in the UK Singles Chart. Curiously, it was Caballé that approached Mercury and summoned him for the task of producing the song and submitting it as the theme for the 1992 Olympics. It’s a magical duet. Bring on the goosebumps!
Michael Jackson and Eddie Murphy – “Whatzupwitu?”
This song is definitely one of the “weirdest, most terrible-yet-wonderful songs of the 90s.” The lyrics are right up MJ’s street, about saving the world. But why did he jump on Eddie Murphy’s album to collaborate on this song? Despite the music video’s title as “breakthrough” video, MTV deemed it the third worst music video in history. Indeed, it’s a “magical freak show”, with animated hearts floating around MJ’s head and music notes flying around Eddie Murphy’s, while Murphy imitates MJ’s classic dance moves. Enjoy!
Flaming Lips and Ke$ha: “You Must Be Upgraded”
In 2012, Flaming Lips and Ke$ha got together to record “You Must Be Upgraded” for the album Flaming Lips and Heady Fwends, after Ke$sha texted Wayne Coyne (frontman) to see if she could jump on their album and collaborate with them. Not only did they accept, they had planned to release a full album together entitled, Lip$ha. Unfortunately, though, the album release was mysteriously called off in November 2013, after Cole tweeted: “As of now… sadly there will be no Lip$ha… I can’t say why… it is sad”.
Alicia Keys and Jack White: “Another Way to Die”
The White Stripes’ Jack White and R&B singer Alicia Keys got together to perform the Bond theme song for Quantum of Solace (2008). Keys thought that by combining The White Stripes’ “very raw, very cut and dry” sound with hers, they could do “something really interesting that mixes rock and soul together, blues and emotion, and it could be really touching.” Time Magazine said that apart from having “no audible chemistry” and “no chorus”, “the lo-fi guitar fuzz suits Bond about as well as a rented tux.” Do we love it or hate it?
Nelly and Tim McGraw: “Over and Over”
In 2004, Nelly and country legend Tim McGraw paired up to collaborate on their hit song “Over and Over”, which topped the UK charts and reached the top ten in 11 other countries. Nelly expressed he wanted to work with McGraw because “he’s badass, he’s got game and he’s got a fine bitch!” – a comment McGraw responded to with: “that’s what Nelly said and I had to respect him for that.” What’s more, McGraw “couldn’t wait to work with him”. This song summons so many memories – we love it!
Madonna and Lil Wayne: “Revolver”
This collaboration is pretty weird and doesn’t make any sense, but it’s actually quite good! “Revolver” featured on Madonna’s greatest hits compilation “Celebration”(2009). The single release included remixes by David Guetta and Afrojack, which won the Grammy Award for Best Remixed Recording. The lyrics are about love and weapons, with a chorus that reads: “My love’s a revolver”. The song became controversial after the 2012 Aurora shootings, as the lyrics glamorise weapons. The single reached number four on Billboard’s Hot Dance Club Songs in the US.
5ive and Queen: “We Will Rock You”
Did this actually happen? 5ive, the UK’s biggest boyband (at the time) covered Queen’s famous song “We Will Rock You” for their second studio album “Invincible” (1999). The song itself featured two members of Queen – Brian May (guitarist) and Roger Taylor (drums). The song charted at No1 in the UK Singles Chart and became 5ive’s second No1 single and their ninth consecutive top hit. Let me tell you that this collaboration is quite original.
Kanye West and Justin Vernon (of Bon Iver): “Lost in the World”
Kanye featured some interesting guests on his “My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy” album. Bon Iver was by far the most unexpected and, even more unexpectedly, it turned out to be one of the best collaborations on the album. Justin Vernon creates a great atmosphere on the track, with his soft and emotional vocals that somehow blend in really well with Kanye’s rap verses. Indeed, according to Alex Denney (NME), their performance works to “quite brilliant effect… it frames Kanye’s inner demons in a universal way, recasting Vernon’s semi-mythical woodland retreat as his own cipher for spiritual replenishment.”
Norah Jones and Dave Grohl: “Virginia Moon”
The gorgeous Norah Jones teamed up with Dave Grohl from the Foo Fighters for her 2010 “Featuring” album to record the beautiful Bossa Nova ballad “Virginia Moon”. Her soothing tone fits Grohl’s soft, raw voice like a glove.
Snoop Lion and Miley Cyrus – “Ashtrays and Heartbreaks”
The result of this collaboration is pretty strange. The pair teamed up in 2013 to record the lead single for Snoop’s twelfth studio album “Reincarnated”. The song gathered 1 million streams on its first day of release. The song is a tribute to their loved ones who they have lost and is also about smoking weed. The lyrics read: “Tonight there’s gonna be a whole lotta smoke in the air/ Blow it hard for the ones who ain’t there”. The music video highlights life’s ups and downs – a subject the pair sure knows a little about.
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Taylor Swift has unveiled the lead single from her upcoming album – Shake it Off. It’s bobby, poppy and sure-to-be-a-hit! We love it! It’s all about ignoring the haters and staying true to yourself.
The track is the lead single from her “very first, documented, official pop album”, and it’s titled 1989. The title of the album is from the year Taylor was born and the inspiration from the late-80’s pop music.
“I’ve been working on a new album for two years,” Taylor said during Monday night’s (August 18) webcast. “I like to work on albums for two years, because I feel like two years gives you enough time to grow and change … This is a bit of a rebirth for me. I woke up every single day that I was recording this record not wanting, but needing to make a new style of music that I had never made before.” Taylor said of the album “it’s the most sonically cohesive album I’ve ever made.”
Shake it Off was made in collaboration with Max Martin and Shellback. The music video premiered on Monday night and now, not even 24 hours later, it has close to 4 million views. Hardly surprising really when you consider that Taylor Swift IS the biggest selling artist of all time. Her last 4 albums gained 7 Grammy awards and she has sold more than 100 million copies worldwide.
The video is directed by Mark Romanek, someone that Taylor has always wanted to work with, and it features a myriad of brilliant dancers with Taylor joining in. Mark agreed to shoot the video after listening to the song just once.
Taylor performed the song live at the top of the Empire State Building (above image). “To be honest with you, it’s kind of scary up here,” she first said whilst atop the Empire State Building. “I have a new song I’m going to play you in 30 seconds. The idea [behind the song is] that I’ve had to learn a pretty tough lesson in the last couple of years: People can say what they want about us, at any time … and we cannot control that. The only thing we can control is our reaction to it. I figure we have two options: We can let it change you … option two is you just shake it off.”
The new album 1989 is available now for pre-order and will officially be released on October 27, 2014.
Ella Henderson is proving herself to be a powerhouse in the music world.
Having soft-released the music video for her second single Glow last week, she also dropped a familiar heart-break ballad on SoundCloud called Missed – the original song she performed on X-Factor almost two years ago at the age of 16. Despite having only performed the song for a few seconds, the crowd instantly pushed her on to the finals. After two years, we finally get to hear the full version!
(Edit: The track was only available for a limited time – it has now been removed from her SoundCloud page.)
Today, Ella just premiered a live acoustic rendition of her new song ‘Yours’. This enchanting track has been lifted from her forthcoming studio album, Chapter One, which will go on sale on September 22 and include ‘Glow’, ‘Missed’ and her international chart-topping hit ‘Ghost’.
We finally have new images for Sin City: A Dame to Kill For, the second exciting instalment by director Robert Rodriguez, taking place in the cult comic book universe created by Frank Miller.
The highly anticipated sequel to Sin City returns with the joint efforts of the graphic author and Texan director. Following the same strategy as in the first run, they are planning to remix several stories from the comic, as well as additional arcs that Miller created specifically for the film.
The first part is titled “The Fat Loss” once again starring Jessica Alba and Bruce Willis as main characters of the plot. We will also get to see “The Long Bad Night”, with the young Joseph Gordon-Levitt playing a gambling aficionado who makes the grave mistake of winning a card game against one of the most powerful men in the city of sin. There’ll also be pieces from “Just Another Saturday Night” by Micky Rourke and “A Dame To Kill For” which provides the backbone for the entire film, starring Josh Brolin and Eva Green. Dwight (Josh Brolin) will seek vengeance on the woman who betrayed him, the mysterious and ruthless Ava Lord (Eva Green), leaving us and the ruthless streets of Sin City, witness to all the wrath, pure hatred and blood.
A curious highlight we can look forward to in the film, will be the noteworthy appearance of the chameleon-like singer Lady Gaga who will play Bertha, a bar waitress in one of the pieces. This is the second time that she’s taken to working with Robert Rodríguez, first time being her portrayal of The Chameleon, a villain from Machete Kills.
The castofSin City: ADame To KillFor will also star Christopher Meloni, Ray Liotta, Juno Temple, Dennis Hayspert, Rosario Dawson and Michael Madsen.
We will finally see the reunion of action monsters Frank Miller and Robert Rodriguez, 10 years after their first successful collaboration, which will crash land in the major US cinemas on the 22nd of August. However, there are still no news of a release date of the highly anticipated film in the rest of the world.
Chris Brown returns to the music scene with the release of a new music video called New Flame. It’s got a smooth mid-tempo R&B beat, featuring two luxurious stars, Usher and rapper Rick Ross. In addition to these popular artists, Verse Simmonds and Eric Bellinger spice up the video.
New Flame is a new single from Chris’ new album “X”, which will be the 6th studio album for the young artist after a long break since Fortune back in 2012. After numerous setbacks and delays, Rihanna’s ex-lover has set the final release date to 16th of September.
The video, shot on the same set as Work Bitch! by Britney Spears, oozes elegance and without a doubt, Chris Brown’s signature choreography, a sea of beautiful young women and everybody clad in white.
In this clip Chris, Usher and Rick Ross are all completely dressed in white, as well as the glamorous beauties in their bikinis. Well, all but one mysterious lady, wearing an elegant red gown. The main focus falls on Chris Brown’s epic dance skills, Usher’s enchanting charisma and Rick Ross’ bullet-quick phrasing, performing shirtless from atop of a throne, adorned with gold necklaces – with a typical gangster look. The video eventually unravels to the precise choreography and highlights an enormous flaming X as the backdrop, referencing Brown’s latest works.
The artist himself announced the premiere of the video, not even 24 hours ago, on Twitter with “I got a special gift for the fans today! #NewFlame #XTheAlbum”.
After hearing Fine China, Don’t Think They Know with the passed Aaliyah, Love More featuring Nicki Minaj, Loyal and now New Flame, the world is ready for whatever Chris has planned to launch, in less than a month. We’re expecting a promising album with other high-flyers such as Pharrel Williams and Timbaland.
David Guetta has released a Spaghetti Western style music video for his hot summer hit Lovers On The Sun. The Good, The Villains and The Sexy battle it out in the scorching desert heat.
Ray Liotta (Goodfellas star) plays the head villain in this special effects-filled extravaganza. The veteran Hollywood star is intent on torturing the hero of the video but fortunately he is saved in the nick of time by a sexy heroine with magical powers.
The summer blockbuster track features soulful vocals from Sam Martin and is co-produced by Avicii. The song is soaring up the charts in the US, Australia and Europe and now that it has been paired with this great visual it will probably top the charts. It’s already peaked in the Top 10 in more than a dozen countries – this is obviously a ‘double DJ power’ anthem.
Lovers On The Sun is taken from Guetta’s latest EP of the same name, which was released in June this year. This suitably epic visual premiered on August 12.
