The widely considered global god of rap, Eminem, turns 42 today. To celebrate we have a playlist of his top 10 latest hits straight from his official YouTube Vevo channel.

Along with his extensive career in rapping, record producing, songwriting and acting, he’s also a dedicated father to now 18 year old Hailie and adopted daughters Whitney, 11 and Alaine, 20. (How time flies!) We all recall his poignant song Mockingbird which told the story of their struggle as a family, released in 2004 featuring his girls when they were just tots. Now, 10 years later and Eminem is going stronger than ever. As of June 2014, he has been deemed the best-selling hip-hop artist of all time, having sold 45,160,000 albums and 31,000,000 digital singles. He is the second best-selling male artist of the Nielsen Soundscan era, and the sixth best overall selling artist in the United States.

A very happy birthday indeed to Marshall Bruce Mathers III, Eminem, and The Real Slim Shady!

Tap any video title to open it in Creation 5!

1.) Guts Over Fear – Eminem ft. Sia

This conquering collaboration with Australian singer Sia is from his upcoming compilation album Shady XV. The track was officially released to iTunes late August of 2014 after premiering in trailers for the film The Equalizer starring Denzel Washington. The album now has an official release date of November 28, 2014. What’s so inspiring about this track is the clear message in his lyrics that we can all take with us through any obstacle we face in life.

2.) Headlights – Eminem ft. Nate Ruess

Released February 5, 2014 as the fifth single on his eighth studio album The Marshall Mathers LP 2. Eminem collaborates with band member from Fun, Nate Ruess in this touching song. Through the lyrics and music video we see a rekindling of love between Eminem and his mother. Over the years we’ve experienced through his confessionary songs and true-to-life movies that their relationship was at best dysfunctional. This one could be classified as a tear-jerker if you’re not careful.

3.) The Monster – Eminem ft. Rihanna

This is the fourth time rap sensation Eminem and pop sensation Rihanna, come together to make music history. Released back in 2013 on October 29, the song relates to the singers coming to grips with their inner demons.

4.) Rap God – Eminem

Premiering on YouTube back in early October of 2013, it was released as the third single from his eighth studio album, The Marshall Mathers LP 2.
Unbelievably, or believably, Eminem managed to spit a total of 1,560 words on this track, earning him a place in the Guinness Book of World Records for ”Most Words in a Hit Single.” The video also won the 2014 MTV Video Music Awards for Best Editing.

5.) Survival – Eminem

First released as a pre-order bonus for the Call of Duty: Ghosts video game. The song is the second single from Eminem’s album The Marshall Mathers LP2 and debuted at N°17 on the US Billboard Hot 100 before swiftly moving up to N°16.
The chorus features vocals performed by Liz Rodrigues of the music group ”The New Royales”

6.) Berzerk – Eminem

This was the first single off the album The Marshall Mathers LP2. The video won the Outstanding Video Award at the Detroit Music Awards ceremony, 2014. Debuting at N°1 on the UK R&B charts and obtaining a whopping 362,000 downloads in just the first week after it’s release in the US.

7.) Space Bound – Eminem

Shooting back to 2010 when Space Bound was released as the 10th track on his album Recovery. The song has an atmosphere of sadness and loss of hope reflecting Eminem’s love life. The music video features Sasha Grey, a former pornographic actress who plays the part of his hypothetical girlfriend. His girlfriend betrays him, and this sparks the two sides of Eminem to unfold, one loving and sensitive, and the other violent and crazy.

8.) No Love – Eminem ft Lil Wayne

Sampling the song What Is Love by Haddaway and featuring gangster rapper Lil Wayne, it was an interesting combination of sounds by two of the hottest MCs in the game. Foreseeably well received by fans worldwide, the music video follows the theme of bullying, and how retaliation against hateful people comes about.

9.) Love The Way You Lie – Eminem ft. Rihanna

The original demo to this song was written and sung by singer-songwriter Skylar Grey. Eminem took it a step up when introducing his intense versus and then had Rihanna’s powerful voice on the chorus. With five grammy nominations and multiple awards in pretty much every major ceremony in the industry, it is no surprise that the video clip broke a YouTube record when released for Most Hits in One Day, being 6.6 million.

10.) Not Afraid – Eminem

Released as the lead single on his 2010 album Recovery, it won:
Best Rap Solo Performance at the 53rd Grammy Awards,
Best Male Video and Best Hip-Hop Video at the 2010 MTV Video Music Awards.
Best Hip-Hop Video at the 2011 MTV Video Music Awards and
Outstanding National Single and Outstanding Video at the Detroit Music Awards.
If that’s not enough to prove what a great song this is, then I don’t know what to tell ya!

Honorable Mention: The Real Slim Shady – Eminem

This isn’t a recent hit, but we couldn’t resist!

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Apple has done it again! Just when you thought the hype was slowing down they have again stepped into the spotlight and revealed the world’s thinnest tablet. They also released an iPad Mini 3, a 5K resolution iMac, a souped up Mac Mini and the new operating system OS X Yosemite. But it was the iPad Air 2 that stole the limelight in last nights keynote presentation.

The iPad Air 2 might be thinner than a pencil – its only 6.1 mm thick – but with its 64-bit A8X processor its a powerhouse as well. It’s the same size – 9.7-inch, 1536 x 2048 264ppi display – as its predecessor, but there is zero gap between its screen layers allowing Apple’s design team to shave off an incredible 1.4 mm. This video explains it graphically:

Tap any video title to open it in Creation 5.

iPad Air 2 – Reveal

Other new features for the iPad Air 2:

– The much talked about anti-reflective coating which reduces glare by 56%. Not bad!
– Apple’s new A8X processor, delivering a 40% faster CPU performance and more than double the graphical capability of the original iPad Air.
– Rear camera upgrade to an 8-megapixel iSight with a f/2.4 aperture and auto HDR. Can shoot video in 1080p and slow mo footage in 720p. Lots of new shooting modes are available including Panorama, macro and burst.
– Front-facing FaceTime HD camera with a a f/2.2 aperture on the front for selfies and video calling.
– The M8 motion co-processor (found in iPhone 6)
– Faster WIFI
– Touch ID fingerprint scanner
– Supports 20 different LTE bands (wireless internet) which is more than any other tablet on the market
– Battery life is approx. 10 hours for general usage
– A barometer for atmospheric-pressure monitoring
– Available in Space Grey, Silver and Gold options

Both tablets are available for pre order today (Friday October 17) with a release date slated for the end of next week.

How much does it all cost?

To find out more about these tablets and the other products Apple launched last night in California visit www.apple.com

Watch the entire October 2014 Keynote here

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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, ‘Burt Bacharah & Hal David’, click here.

Carole King
“Carole King: The Library of Congress Gershwin Prize for Popular Song” is a concert hosted by the President and Mrs. Obama East Room of the White House. The concert includes performances from Gloria Estefan, Billy Joel, Jesse McCartney, Emeli Sandé, James Taylor and Trisha Yearwood. President Obama presents the Gershwin Prize for Popular Song to Carole King during the event.

Grammy Award-winning singer-songwriter Carole King began her career in the 1960’s, when along with her then husband Gerry Goffin, wrote more than 25 charts hits, many of which have become standards. King found success as a performer with the album Tapestry which topped the US album charts for 15 weeks in 1971 and remained on the charts for more than 6 years! Between 1955 and 1999 she wrote 118 hits on the Billboard Hot 100 and 61 hots on the UK charts. In 2005 music historian Stuart Devoy found her the most successful female songwriter on the UK singles charts 1952–2005.

King has made 25 solo albums during her career, her most recent non-compilation album was Live at the Troubadour (2010) – a collaboration with James Taylor that reached Nº 4 on the charts in its first week and has sold over 600,000 copies. She has 4 Grammy Awards to her name and was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame for her songwriting. She received the Library of Congress Gershwin Prize for Popular Song in 2013 – the first woman to be so honoured.

“Carole King’s body of work reflects the spirit of the Gershwin Prize with its originality, longevity and diversity of appeal,” commented Dr. James H. Billington, the Librarian of Congress.

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 you 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 450,000 downloads on the App Store!

Tap any video title to open it in Creation 5!

In Performance at the White House: Carole King: The Library of Congress Gershwin Prize for Popular Song (May 2013)

01. Carole King – Beautiful
02. Trisha Yearwood, Gloria Estefan & Emeli Sandé – Will You Love Me Tomorrow
03. James taylor – Up On The Roof
04. Gloria Estefan – It’s Too late
05. Trisha Yearwood – So Far Away
06. Billy Joel – The Loco-Motion
07. James Taylor & Billy Joel – Cryin’ in the Rain
08. Jesse McCartney – Home Again
09. Emeli Sandé – (You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman
10. Carole King – Jazzman
11. Carole King – I Believe in Loving You
12. Carole King – I Feel the Earth Move
13. Carole King, James Taylor & Full Cast – You’ve Got a Friend

Full Concert (55 mins)

President Obama honours Carole King

Not all performances are available on YouTube as separate videos, just these five.

Trisha Yearwood, Gloria Estefan & Emeli Sandé – Will You Love Me Tomorrow

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2RxiD5RJRIg

Gloria Estefan – It’s Too late

Billy Joel – The Loco-Motion

Emeli Sandé – (You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman

Carole King – I Believe in Loving You

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Here we present our collection of recent weird, wonderful and on occasion completely off-the-wall music videos featuring some of the biggest names in the movie business…

Famous actors have been appearing in music videos for many years. A trend kicked off in the nineties with many huge bands featuring young actors in their videos such as Aerosmith’s Crazy, starring Alicia Silverstone and Liv Tyler, Bruce Springsteen’s Dancing in The Dark featuring a young Courtney Cox, Tom Petty’s portrayal of a young rock star’s rise and demise played by Johnny Depp in Into the Great Wide Open to name but a few. 

Tap any video title to open it in Creation 5.

Beastie Boys – Make Some Noise

The Beastie Boys’ Make Some Noise is a must-see featuring Elijah Wood, Seth Rogan and Danny McBride as the Beastie Boys (mouthing along quite impressively to the words) while they carry on their party throughout town. During the video there is literally a famous actor on every street corner (and a few in a limo) with Rashida Jones, Will Arnett, Rainn Wilson, Jason Schwartzman, Mary Steenburgen, Ted Danson, Amy Poehler, Steve Buscemi, Chlöe Sevigny, Maya Rudolph, Kirsten Dunst, David Cross, Orlando Bloom, Will Ferrell, John C. Reilly and Jack Black in cameo roles.

Ke$ha – Blow

Ke$ha’s Blow featuring James Van Der Beek of Dawson’s Creek and more recently Don’t Trust the B—- in Apartment 23 fame, is a comical portrayal of the two stars at a party. Here, James displays some pelvic thrusting (also known as dancing) and Ke$ha makes out with a unicorn in a suit on their path to a confrontation of amusing insults –  resulting in a bizarre rainbow effect laser gun shoot down (!). None of the unicorns were injured in the filming of this video.

Sigur Rós – Fjögur píanó

Sigur Ros’ Fjögur Píanó has Shia LaBeouf showing off his ballet moves in this eerie portrayal of a couples’ post-coital depiction of how they got their cuts and bruises. The journey continues as they go on a magical mystery tour with lollipops! A haunting transformation from the young star’s performance in… Transformers! Lots of butterflies, tears and nudity; be warned.

Eminem – Love The Way You Lie ft. Rihanna

Eminem teams up with Rihanna to give Shia’s Transformers co-star Meghan Fox a run for her acting money in Love the Way You Lie as she portrays a girl in a serious, tumultuous relationship with Lord of the Rings star Dominic Monaghan. Meanwhile, lots of things set on fire and Rihanna is über-cool as ever…very Eminem.

Aerosmith – Jaded

Aerosmith’s Jaded stars a beautiful young Mila Kunis in an ‘Alice in Wonderland meets Eyes Wide Shut’ portrayal of a young girl who appears to have everything but is incapable of feeling. Her inability to experience emotion is the basis of the video until her lost, lonely and jaded self finally ‘finds the forest’ A.K.A her inner self and for the first time she sheds a tear…Hurrah! There are, of course, some classic Steve Tyler leg kicks and microphone hugging to boot.

Justin Timberlake – What Goes Around…Comes Around

Justin Timberlake’s What Goes Around Comes Around stars the stunning Scarlett Johansson in this short film-style music video. The two meet for the first time, the sultry Johansson plays hard to get (for about 5 seconds) but leaves the party with Timberlake after a little persuasion. They subsequently flick from making out clips, her faking a drowning, then make out some more with a few fire jugglers in between and some singing, he then claims she’s ‘the one’ to her and his best friend, does a bit more singing – cue fire jugglers – a lot more making out and then hey presto she cheats on him with said best friend. The result is a nasty confrontation, followed by a car chase between Johansson and Timberlake with a crash and burn ending. Justin proves his karma-based song title choice right as Scarlett gets what she deserves (according to him anyway), and all in just over nine minutes!

Cobra Starship: Good Girls Go Bad ft. Leighton Meester

Cobra Starship’s Good Girls go Bad is a collaboration as well as an acting role for Gossip Girl star Leighton Meester looking stunning and a long way from her prissy role as Blake. The guys from Cobra Starship open an underground club below their convenience store, the entrance being a walk in fridge, where the good girls get the opportunity to go bad. Leighton joins in the fun and throws in shades of her Gossip Girl role spending a lot of time on her phone as “Good Girl”, only to turn out to be an undercover cop who busts the bad boys for their illegal subterranean dance venue.

The Rolling Stones – Anybody Seen My Baby

The Rolling Stones’ Anybody Seen My Baby stars the beautiful Angelina Jolie sporting a shaved head and a Gaultier-esque corset strutting stormily through the streets of New York to evade Mick Jagger’s attempts at finding her.

Jenny Lewis – Just One Of The Guys

Jenny Lewis’ Just One of the Guys stars Kristen Stewart, Anne Hathaway and Brie Larson in a very amusing depiction of them looking rather more like Beastie Boys than beautiful actresses! Anne Hathaway even sports a rats tail (apparently her own styling touch) while Jenny and the girls manage to make tracksuits and moustaches look somehow appealing. Kristen Stewart is spookily good at being a lad…or just one of the guys.

Vampire Weekend – Giving Up The Gun

Jake Gyllenhaal surprisingly stars in a fair few music videos, unsurprisingly they are very diverse; one being Jamie Foxx’s Blame It, featuring TPain and starring the big names of Forrest Whittaker, Ron Howard and Samuel L. Jackson. This is a pretty typical “in da club” type video but worth a look to see all of the above. Another Jake appearance is in The Shoes’ Time to Dance where he turns American Psycho and slaughters lots of people in this seriously grim and gruesome video which doesn’t have much to do with the song! Warning; very gory and disturbing. So we went with a third Jake find where he appears briefly (literally) in some tiny sport shorts playing a monochrome game of indoor tennis against a girl in Vampire Weekend’s Giving up the Gun!

Gorillaz – Stylo

Gorillaz’ Stylo video is basically a car chase involving the cartoon characters and a very Die Hard-esque Bruce Willis. Say no more.

Flying Lotus – Tiny Tortures

Flying Lotus and their Tiny Tortures video features our favourite hobbit Elijah Wood on a spiritual, dreamy journey after magically gaining a robotic arm having apparently lost his own. Interesting!

Lady Gaga – Paparazzi

If you are inspired to watch Lady Gaga being thrown off a balcony by the gorgeous True Blood actor Alexander Skarsgard, then tune in to Paparazzi and get a glimpse of the Swede’s reaction to his on-screen lover as the pair struggle when in the limelight. She, of course, does not die but her stardom is in serious jeopardy, and so after some typical Gaga style costume changes and choreography she eventually gets her own back and poisons Skarsgard, which for some reason regains her stardom status (odd!)…the best part is probably LG’s mug shots at the end.

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While many popstars started at the bottom and worked their way up, others were born with silver spoons in their mouths. Whether it was handed to them or not these stars have made big names for themselves. Following in the footsteps of their successful parents, they’re now the ones in charge of staying in the limelight.

Tap any video title to open it in Creation 5.

Redfoo

Redfoo (née Stefan Kendal Gordy), the LMFAO front man and our favourite Speedo wearing shuffler, was born into the Gordy family in LA. Coming from a very long line of musicians in the R&B and Jazz world, Redfoo’s father, Berry Gordy, made his mark as the founder of Motown, making him the first African-American to own a record label. Redfoo’s fame and fortune has a very different style to that of his father, but tracks like Party Rockers and I’m Sexy and I Know It have earned him and the band worldwide recognition.

Redfoo – New Thang

Taylor Swift

Taylor Swift, the youngest songwriter ever hired by Sony at the sweet age of 14 (!) did not come from humble beginnings. Taylor was born in Pennsylvania and her father Scott, a financial adviser for Merryl Lynch, has a history of bank presidency going back three generations. This, plus her mother’s financial background, did not manage to sway Taylor’s musical tendencies, she felt certain that a move to Nashville Tennessee was necessary to develop her career in country music. The family put their trust in her and Miss Swift has been pounding out hit after hit ever since proving her idea to be a good one as her fan base continues to flourish while her music continues to encapsulate the experiences of the girl next-door. Her biography is already extensive and über-impressive with Grammy Awards coming out of her ears and a fifth album coming out very soon.

Taylor Swift – Shake It Off

Willow & Jaden Smith

Willow & Jaden Smith, siblings born to superstar parents Will & Jada Pinket Smith, have been raised with more like diamond spoons in their mouths. These two have had fruitful careers acting in blockbuster movies and launching their own music careers whilst still in their early teens. Their parents provided an alternative attitude to raising them whereby being ‘told off’ was not something they did. Perhaps this assisted in their early successes or maybe it’s just that mummy and daddy knows everyone in the business? Either way, their careers are already booming and they’re both constantly noted in the press for their recent tweets, restaurant choices, appearance, friends and dates (as well as their acting and singing of course).

AcE ft. Jaden & Willow Smith

Miley Cyrus

Miley Cyrus (née Destiny Hope Cyrus), fortunate daughter of the famous country singer Billy Ray Cyrus, became famous as a teen actor on the Disney channel as Miley Stewart. The sweet, sickly Hannah Montana alter ego has long been drowned in the media attention Miley has deliberately developed over the past few years. She has worked, twerked and jerked the media into a frenzy with her vulgarities, promiscuity and down-right disregard for the eyes of the general public to rid herself of her Disney persona and create a new career path. Whatever her goal she has reached superstardom with her most recent creation of herself, it will be interesting to see what she morphs into in the future.

Miley Cyrus – Wrecking Ball

Robin Thicke

Robin Thicke was born into a showbiz family with famous actor, TV host & songwriter father Alan Thicke and mother, American singer and actress Gloria Loring for parents he was destined to be in the limelight. He has collaborated with many of the big names in music but attained worldwide fame with the hit Blurred Lines in 2013. For which we owe Miley’s twerking development a lot of credit. Thanks Robin.

Robin Thicke – Lost Without U

Lady Gaga

Lady Gaga or Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta, as her family once knew her, was brought up in an affluent situation on Manhattan’s Upper West Side but claims that her family worked hard to get where they did and originally came from lower class families. Due to their hard work, and her fortunate upbringing, Gaga was given every opportunity to develop her talents going to all the best performing arts schools and mixing with the “right” people to find her path to success. And didn’t she just waltz up that path in a meat dress? Her crazy outfits and appearances sometimes seem to cloud the fact that Gaga is a very talented lady and has achieved a lot in her career to date becoming one of the world’s biggest and, despite her ever-changing appearance, most recognizable stars.

Lady Gaga & Tony Bennett – But Beautiful

Jordin Sparks

This 6th season winner of American Idol was not unused to fame and fortune growing up as her father, Phillippi Sparks, played defensive back for the New York Giants. Sparks had the luxury of homeschooling in order to focus on her singing. Her privileged upbringing and money spent on her voice training has done her proud with numerous awards behind her; an NAACP Image Award, a BET Award, an American Music Award, a People’s Choice Award and two Teen Choice awards. This, and her record sales, made her not only the youngest winner of American Idol, aged 17, but one of the most successful to date.

Jordin Sparks – Battlefield

Adam Levine

Lead singer of Maroon 5 had a well healed start to life with wealthy father, Fred Levine, being the founder of US chain store giant M. Frederic. Levine attributes his musical path choice to his mother playing him music from Fleetwood Mac, The Beatles and Simon & Garfunkel from a young age. After a failed band experience Levine moved to New York and shed his sheltered upbringing for an eye opening street view of Manhattan and got to grips with the R&B and Hip Hop scene. Following some major successes Maroon 5 re-hit and conquered the big time when they released Moves like Jagger which became a monster hit and launched them into major stardom. Levine touched base with his roots recently when launching a fashion line 222 (named after a guitar he designed alongside First Act) in partnership with his father.

Maroon 5 – Maps

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The up-and-coming deep house producer/songwriter Momo Khani was introduced to music at a young age whilst singing in a church choir. Since then, he knew that music would always be a big part of his life. His passion continued to develop as he begun taking an interest in various instruments, mainly piano and guitar, and in 1990 he joined a punk rock band in Vienna, as lead drummer for two years.

In 2008 Momo moved his roots to Marbella, in southern Spain, where he created Dirty House Studio, composing and remixing different sounds in collaboration with other artists. His use of a wide range of instruments and production techniques help him to create a fresh and innovative style. He has an army of fans on SoundCloud and Facebook and his single Drop Your Love, released in 2013, put him on the deep house music map. 

Interview by Sarah Gatward

In 2008 you created your own company ‘Dirty House Studio’, what made you to get back into music after such a long break?
I have always been ready to make music, it has always been there and when the circumstances were correct, the idea to make a production studio actually came to me in my sleep.

‘Dirty House Studio’ is a great name, how did it come about?
It actually happened by coincidence, whilst construction of the studio was in process my house was full of plaster and dirt, and it was just a dirty house studio.

Who are your main musical influences? 
Red Hot Chili Peppers, Daft Punk, Moby, Quincy Jones, etc… too many to name, the world is full of influences.

Your first big single ‘Drop Your Love’ was released in 2013 and has been widely praised for its lyrical dexterity, did you write it yourself?
90% of the lyrics I wrote myself, the other 10% I finalized with the help of the singer of the track, Adam Graham.

Momo Khani – Drop Your Love ft. Adam Graham (Tap on video title to open in Creation 5)

Likewise with your newest single ‘Again’, the instrumental side is delicious. Do you play/compose it yourself?
Absolutely. Originally it only existed as an instrumental, that I composed myself. When I started to collaborate with Blackmouth, he came up with the lyrics to the song, and of course then sang them.

Momo Khani – Again ft. Blackmouth

All your singles seem very different from each other, is there a reason for that? 
I wouldn’t say they are that different from each other, deep house has a lot different styles whilst keeping within it’s category. It also has a lot to do with my mood and the artist I’m working with at the time.

Could you give us a summary of what the process of creating a single is like?
It constantly differs. Belle Epoque took me 2 weeks to write, whereas Again took me 2 years. I get a melody in my head, I play it. Another idea comes, I write it down. I’m in a certain mood, I get inspired by songs I hear and things around me. Normally 90% of production happens in the first few days! The last 10%, the perfecting of a song is what takes the longest. I also don’t finalize the song, I use the help of professional studios for the mix down and polishing of the tracks, as my studio is only equipped for production.

In 3 words, how would you describe your sound?
Smooth like butter.

You’ve collaborated with a wide range of artists, local and international, it must be a fantastic experience.
Yes – a great experience. Each one of them has inspired me with their style. However, I don’t marry artists, I’m always on the lookout for new artists and I know there’s so many out there, so I try not to work with the same artist twice.

Momo Khani – Belle Epoque

Being a songwriter/producer is clearly your passion, is it your livelihood as well?
No it isn’t and that’s where I get lucky. I’m financially unattached from music production, which makes it a real passion and in a way I think that’s what makes the music so special.

What’s the reaction to your music been like so far? Have you received a lot of positive feedback from fans?
Yes, 99% positive feedback! Since I’m not completely mainstream people only listen to the songs and comment if they are into this kind of music, they give the music a chance and most of the time they end up loving it.

Momo Khani & Jay Saccone – Infinity ft. Phill Kullnig

You’re a producer and songwriter, do you also like to Dj?
No. Although in this digital age, it’s sometimes the only way to break even with all the outgoing costs you have in production. I have had some great offers recently but my record label won’t allow me – for at least the next two years anyway.

Changing topic, something we always like to know, what’s playing on your iTunes right now?
My music! Most of my inspiration comes straight from my head, I’m not listening to a lot of other music right now.

Both your latest singles have been chart toppers on the iTunes Electronic charts, what does the future hold for Dirty House Studio?
I’m actually in the process of moving to a new studio and by January 2015 I will start production again. For now, I have a few summer songs on my mind and maybe even an EP….

Follow Momo Khani on:
Soundcloud
Facebook
Dirty House Studio’s Facebook

Momo Khani chose our Sunday Sessions this week. Click here for the playlist.

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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 week’s post, Fiesta Latina, click here.

Burt Bacharach & Hal David
“In Performance at the White House: Burt Bacharach & Hal David, The Library of Congress Gershwin Prize for Popular Song” was a concert hosted by President and Mrs. Obama in the East Room of the White House. The concert included performances from Sheryl Crow, Michael Feinstein, Diana Krall, Lyle Lovett, Mike Myers, Rumer, Arturo Sandoval, Sheléa and Stevie Wonder. President Obama presents the Gershwin Prize for Popular Song to Bacharach during the event.

This legendary concert was the first time that the Gershwin Prize honor has been awarded to a songwriting team. Just like the siblings for whom the Gershwin Prize is named, Bacharach and David are a pianist and lyricist respectively. The Grammy- and Academy Award-winning pair have collaborated for more than a half-century, since their first hit together, “The Story of My Life” in 1957, both have been nominated and honored with every major award bestowed by the music industry. Today, their songs continue to be recorded by such artists as Diana Krall, Alicia Keys, John Legend, Cyndi Lauper and the cast of the television show Glee.

Burt Bacharach has been for six decades one of the most-honored and successful composers of our times with three Academy Awards, eight Grammy Awards, 48 Top Ten hits and nine number one songs including Alfie, Arthur’s Theme, Close To You, Do You Know The Way To San Jose, I Say A Little Prayer, Walk On By, What The World Needs Now Is Love and Wishin’ And Hopin’.

Hal David was one of the greatest American songwriters of the postwar era. Raindrops Keep Fallin’ on My Head, This Guy’s in Love With You and I’ll Never Fall in Love Again are just three of the hits in a string of standards written by this Academy Award and Grammy Award winner.

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 450,000 downloads on the App Store!

In Performance at the White House: Burt Bacharach & Hal David: The Library of Congress Gershwin Prize for Popular Song (2012)
01. Sheryl Crow and Lyle Lovett – I’ll Never Fall In Love Again
02. Arturo Sandoval and Stevie Wonder – Make It Easy on Yourself
03. Diana Krall – The Look of Love
04. Sheléa and Arturo Sandoval – Anyone Who Had a Heart
05. Mike Myers – What’s New Pussy Cat
06. Rumer – A House is Not a Home
07. Lyle Lovett – Always Something There to Remind Me
08. Sheryl Crow – Walk On By
09. Michael Feinstein – Close to You
10. Stevie Wonder – Alfie
11. President Obama awards the Gershwin Prize to Burt Bacharach and Hal David
12. Burt Bacharach and All Performers – What the World Needs Now is Love

Tap on any video title to view in Creation 5.

Full concert

Sheryl Crow and Lyle Lovett – I’ll Never Fall In Love Again

Arturo Sandoval and Stevie Wonder – Make It Easy on Yourself

Diana Krall – The Look of Love

Sheléa and Arturo Sandoval – Anyone Who Had a Heart

Mike Myers – What’s New Pussy Cat

Rumer – A House is Not a Home

Lyle Lovett – Always Something There to Remind Me

Sheryl Crow – Walk On By

Michael Feinstein – Close to You

Stevie Wonder – Alfie

President Obama awards the Gershwin Prize to Burt Bacharach and Hal David

Burt Bacharach and All Performers – What the World Needs Now is Love

Behind the Scenes

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Despite the fact that we live in an increasingly on-demand entertainment culture of streaming and DVRs, the live music business continues to thrive. Fans dream of their once-in-a-lifetime experience to see one of their favourite artists bestow the world with their magic in an intimate venue in front of a small but precious crowd. Those of you who have experienced it first hand can concur that it’s the ultimate fulfillment, magical and unexplainable, it leaves you on a massive high.

Although investors refer to live shows as a “perishable experience”, they also know that the experience is a high yielding one too. In 2013, Live Nation reported $2 billion in revenue. In 2014, House of Blues Entertainment CEO Ron Bension admitted “overall for our portfolio, we’re up in show and ticket sales… it’s a good business if you can withstand the cycles, and we’ve been able to do that”.

More than just doubling their portfolio in the last three years, Live Nation has “made a huge commitment to artist development”, Bension continues. “We’re starting to help [developing acts], and we’re seeing evidence of that as we see bands work with us from 300-capacity rooms to 3,000-seat rooms”.

The Live Nation portfolio includes about 80 clubs and theatres, including House of Blues, Fillmore, Tabernacle, Palladium and Irving Plaza. According to Billboard, Live Nation clubs’ annual ticket sales amount to an approximate $300 million. Two words: Holy Moly!

1. The House of Blues, Orlando, Florida

The House of Blues grew out of Isaac Tigrett’s (founder of The House of Blues) deep love for “the Blues”. Isaac’s goal was to make the music of the rural south, including Blues, Rhythm and Blues, Gospel, Jazz and Roots-based Rock & Roll, known to the world. The very first House of Blues opened in Cambridge, Massachusetts, in 1992. Dedicated to “education and celebrating the history of Southern Culture and African American artistic contribution to music and art”, today, The House of Blues is located across the US, with venues in Orlando, Washington, Dallas, Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles and more.

http://www.houseofblues.com/

House of Blues

2. Tabernacle, Atlanta

The Tabby, first established in 1996 as a music venue, was originally a Baptist Church. The 106-year-old historical building was converted into one of the most popular music concert halls in the US and is known today for having showcased some of the hottest acts of our time, including Guns N’ Roses, Bob Dylan, Prince, Robbie Williams and Adele amongst many more.

http://www.tabernacleatl.com/

3. The Fillmore, Silver Spring, Maryland

In the mid 1960s, The Fillmore Auditorium in San Francisco became the centre point for psychedelic music and counterculture in general. “For more than 40 years, the legendary Fillmore name has stood as the link between some of the most influential artists in music and their fans”. Pink Floyd, Santana, Cream, Otis Redding, Aretha Franklin and Miles Davis. The Silver Springs, Maryland, venue opened in 2010 as part of a campaign to extend the original San Francisco Fillmore Auditorium’s brand across the US – You can now find a Fillmore venue in San Francisco, North Carolina, Detroit, and Denver.

http://www.fillmoresilverspring.com/

4. The Hollywood Palladium, California

The Hollywood Palladium is located at 6215 Sunset Boulevard, famous worldwide for being the epitome of a place where dream comes true. First opened in 1940, the killer venue has housed the most legendary acts around. Today, the venue continues to be a major pop reference in TV and film and a place where you can enjoy live music every night of the week.

http://www.thehollywoodpalladium.com/

5. Irving Plaza, New York

The world famous ballroom-style music venue, Irving Plaza, has served as a Polish Army veterans’ headquarters, a swing music ballroom, a rock venue, and has also hosted church services. It was in 1978 that the hall was converted into a rock music venue and saw the likes of B-52, Ramones, Talking Heads, U2, Bob Dylan, Eric Clapton, Pearl Jam, Dave Matthews Band and Red Hot Chili Peppers rock the club, establishing the venue as a premium location for punk and new wave in the US.

http://www.irvingplaza.com/

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BBC Music launched last night and 27 global stars came together to cover ‘God Only Knows’.

The ensemble – named ‘The Impossible Orchestra’ – were revealed last night (October 7) at 8pm when all of the BBC – television, radio and online sites – premiered the track.

Pharrell Williams, Sir Elton John, Stevie Wonder, One Direction and Sam Smith were among the iconic artists that came together to perform a a cover of the Beach Boys’ classic 1966 hit ‘God Only Knows’.

BBC Music – God Only Knows

Brian Wilson – Beach Boys star and writer of the song said: “I just feel so incredibly humbled that the BBC would choose ‘God Only Knows’ to promote their new music initiative. All of the artists did such a beautiful job I can’t thank them enough. I’m just honoured that ‘God Only Knows’ was chosen. ‘God Only Knows’ is a very special song. An extremely spiritual song and one of the best I’ve ever written.”

The launch of ‘God Only Knows’ is a very significant moment for the BBC, and BBC Music is their strongest commitment to music in 30 years. Bob Shennan, Director of BBC Music said of the song: “God Only Knows showcases the power and potential of music – a modern masterpiece which inspired musicians and music fans nearly 50 years ago, but which continues to inspire today with its timeless beauty and quality…What’s more, the recording will be sold to raise funds for Children in Need, which makes this project even more worthwhile.”

The performance was brilliantly led by my music producer Ethan Johns and performed by the BBC Concert Orchestra. All the artists involved performed free of charge. Bob Shennan commented, “This ‘impossible’ orchestra is a celebration of all the talent, diversity and musical passion found every single day throughout the BBC. Our audiences are very clear in their passion for music and that’s why BBC Music exists: to create, curate and celebrate music – for the love of it.”

We can look forward to the BBC Music Awards on December 11 which is a return of landmark music content on BBC One. The BBC already churns out over 41,000 hours of music a year across TV, Radio and Online, spanning all genres, but this moment is still a very special one and confirms the BBC’s supportive role in the UK music industry.

Who stars in the video?
Brian Wilson, Beach Boys star, composer and producer of original song, is joined by:
Sir Elton John, One Direction, Pharrell Williams, Stevie Wonder, Jake Bugg, Lorde, Emeli Sandé, Chris Martin, Kylie Minogue, Paloma Faith, Sam Smith, Florence Welch, Chrissie Hynde, Brian May, Dave Grohl; classical musicians Alison Balsom, Martin James Bartlett, Danielle de Niese and Nicola Benedetti; folk performer Eliza Carthy; Senegalese singer Baaba Maal; jazz performer Jamie Cullum; British Asian Music star Jaz Dhami; the BBC’s Zane Lowe, Lauren Laverne, Katie Derham, Gareth Malone and Jools Holland; and the wonderful vocals of the Tees Valley Youth Choir and of course, the BBC Concert Orchestra.

– Find out more about BBC Music by visiting their website.
– You can also find out more on the BBC Media Centre website.
– Follow @BBCMusic on Twitter – the hashtag is #LoveBBCMusic
– See how ‘God Only Knows’ was made.

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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, Country Music, click here.

Tap any video title to play it in Creation 5.

Fiesta Latina

“In Performance at the White House: Fiesta Latina” is a concert hosted by the President and Mrs. Obama on the South Lawn of the White House. The concert includes performances from Marc Anthony, Jimmy Smits, Pete Escovedo, Gloria Estefan, José Feliciano, George Lopez, Thalía, Tito “El Bambino”, the Bachata music group Aventura, and the Chicano rock band Los Lobos, with Sheila E. leading the house band.

In his opening address President Obama talked about the music that helped define a nation:
“During Hispanic Heritage Month we are honored to be joined by this country’s most successful and innovative performers of Latin music. Like our own latino community, Latin music is not easy to define. Although it takes many forms its spirit of diversity also unifies us. At its heart are the West African rhythms brought by slaves in the Caribbean, the guitars first carried to the new world by the Spanish conquistadors, it incorporates the accordians played by German immigrants, the flutes and drums used by indigenous peoples and the beats born in cities like New York and Miami. And even though it’s constantly evolving and changing, Latin music speaks to us in a language we can all understand – about hope and joy, sorrow and pain, friendship and love. It moves us and tends to make us move a little bit ourselves. In the end, what makes Latin music great is the same thing that makes America great – the unique ability to celebrate our differences while creating something new.”

“In the words of Gloria Estefan “the most beautiful things in this country have the flavour of other places.” So to all of you who are watching please enjoy some truly global music from some of the most talented artists in the world. I can tell you that the West wing, the East wing and whatever other wings we have here at The White House, have been looking forward to this evening for quite sometime. Enjoy! Thank you!”

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 450,000 downloads on the App Store!

In Performance at the White House: Fiesta Latina (October 2009)

01. Gloria Estefan – No Llores
02. Marc Anthony – Valio La Pena
03. Thailía – Amor a la Mexicana
04. Los Lobos – Medley
05. Shiela E and Pete Escovedo – Oye Como Va
06. Tito el Bambino – El Amor
07. José Feliciano – En Aranjuez con tu Amor
08. Marc Anthony – I Need to Know
09. Gloria Estefan and All Performers – Mi Tierra

Gloria Estefan – No Llores

Marc Anthony – Valio La Pena

Thailía – Amor a la Mexicana

Los Lobos – Medley

Shiela E and Pete Escovedo – Oye Como Va

Tito el Bambino – El Amor

José Feliciano – En Aranjuez con tu Amor

Marc Anthony – I Need to Know

Gloria Estefan and All Performers – Mi Tierra

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