NewYearsDayProject | a song a day blog

  While Troye Sivan was clubbing in his home of Perth, Australia, between COVID lockdowns, the soundtrack may have included songs by fellow Aussie Kylie Minogue , an iconic pop star for a certain demographic for decades. But it’s not just the gay clubs where Kylie is famous. In fact, she is the highest-selling Australian female artist of all time. She is often called the “Princess of Pop” in Europe because of her sense of style and hit-making. In America, mainstream pop audiences probably know Minogue for her 2001 hit “ Can’t Get You Out of My Head ,” the singer’s most streamed song.  SOME MOMENTS ARE MAGIC. But pop music is much more than the Weekly Top 40, and the songs popular in Australia and Europe don’t always catch on in America. Kylie Minogue made several hits and even reached her Hot 100 peak before 2002 in the ‘80s with the number 3 hit “ The Loco-Motion ” in 1988 from her eponymous debut album. The song was a cover of a 1962 pop song written by Gerry Goffin and Carole Kin

  It’s been five years since Troye Sivan released his sophomore record, Bloom . Next month, the singer will release his long-anticipated third full-length studio album, Something to Give Each Other . In the heat of northern hemisphere summer, on July 13, the lead single, “ Rush ,” was released with a racy accompanying music video. Along with “Rush” and the album announcement on July 13, Sivan also released the artwork for the upcoming album.  Between the video for “Rush” and the cover art which features Troye Sivan’s head between the thighs of an apparently nude muscular man, it seems that the singer is continuing his horny era which began with his sophomore album.  TRUST THE SIMULATION. The time between Bloom and Something to Give Each Other was unintentional. In 2020, Sivan broke up with his long-term boyfriend, model Jacob Bixenman, which influenced several of the songs on the singer’s late-summer 2020 EP release, In a Dream . But Sivan doesn’t spend the whole EP pining about hi

Road trips are an opportunity to listen to music you don't usually listen to. The hours in the car and the new scenery take us out of our daily lives and let us experiment with something new. Sometimes we even bring part of that vacation home with us. Today's song is a vehicle to bring my Apple Music edition of Along for the Ride, a playlist I made for road trips. Today is unofficially known as the travel day for Korea's version of Thanksgiving, 추석, held on the harvest full moon which is tomorrow. Along for the Ride may have a lot of skippable tracks, but maybe you'll find something you like for driving.

Charlie Puth ’s third record, self-titled Charlie contains perhaps a higher percentage of mopey songs about being a “ Loser ” in love.  From “ That’s Hilarious ” in which the speaker laments losing a year of his life to a relationship that ended in heartbreak to the fast-paced “ Light Switch ” about a 11:30 booty call. Today’s song, “ Tears on My Piano ” takes direct inspiration from one of Taylor Swift ’s breakthrough hits, “ Teardrops on My Guitar .” The weepy song born out of heartbreak and mellow drama. Rather than analyzing this song, I thought it would be a good point to invoke the pathetic fallacy for this rainy weather and make my Apple Music edition of Rain. Enjoy it with a nice hearty soup!  

Last year, George Ezra returned with his third album, Gold Rush Kid . Like Ezra's previous two records, Gold Rush Kid topped the U.K. album charts . The singer-songwriter had interesting stories behind the recording of his previous records from a trip across Europe for his debut Wanted on Voyage and staying with a complete stranger in Barcelona in Staying at Tamara's. Returning to work with long-term collaborator Joel Pott , his long-term collaborator, Gold Rush Kid doesn’t have quite the backstory as the previous two records. But the otherwise sunny third installment from Ezra was born out of the singer’s struggles with OCD and nihilism. THERE’S NO ONE IN HERE LIVIN’ GONNA MAKE IT OUT ALIVE. For the second single from Gold Rush Kid, “ Green Green Grass ,” George Ezra was inspired by something he witnessed on a Christmas holiday in 2018 to the Caribbean island of St. Lucia. Ezra explained on Instagram that he and friends were sitting on the beach when loud music started pl

The Beaches are a Canadian indie rock band from Toronto, Ontario. The band consists of sisters Jordan and Kylie Miller , Leandra Earl , and Eliza Enman-McDaniel . They have released two studio albums The Late Show in 2017 and Blame Ex this year. The band has been praised for their catchy hooks, energetic live shows, and feminist lyrics. The band, originally named Done with Dolls , came to fame in Canada when they performed the theme to the teen drama Really Me in 2011. The band evolved into more of a rock sound with the addition of guitarist Leandra Earl. The band has had two number 1 songs on Canadian Rock radio, “ T-Shirt ” from The Late Show and “ Blame Brett ” from their latest record. I’M DONE DATING ROCKSTARS. The Beaches have been included on a number of Spotify playlists, growing their listenership outside of Canada, the only country in which they have charted. Their sophomore and self-released record Blame My Ex offers summertime vibes punctuated with breezy guitars. Le

Tyson Motsenbocker 's "High Line" always hits at just the right time when the air gets cooler. While the fall season starts in the United States with Labor Day, yesterday was the equinox which is the calendar mark of the first day of autumn. Two weeks ago I made a Spotify playlist as a harbinger of autumn. It's my favorite season so I want it to last longer. But I think an Apple Music edition is certainly necessary, too. So today, I present Autumn Mix 2023: Apple Music Edition.   

In today’s pop scene, there are more Taylor Swift s and fewer Adele s, at least in terms of output. Yes, both artists release music in the form of full-length albums, but Swift is constantly releasing music. Adele on the other hand waits years between albums to release new music. But the modern pop artist is continually generating music for their fans. The “post-album” single is now the thing, which may or may not lead to a deluxe edition of the album you paid good money for if you still music, but probably just streamed. Two years ago, Olivia Rodrigo shook up the pop chart, bringing pop-punk to the forefront again, and then after SOUR ’s album cycle, the singer kept a low profile.  FAME FUCKER. Olivia Rodrigo returned in June with “ vampire ,” her first single after SOUR with the first single from her album GUTS , released two weeks ago. The song drew immediate comparisons to the lead single from SOUR, “ driver’s license ,” for its mellow, piano-driven tone, which was only partially