NewYearsDayProject | a song a day blog

In 1996, Welsh singer-songwriter  Donna Lewis  released her debut single " I Love You Always Forever ." The understated, delicate pop song became an international hit. In the United State, it hit number 2 on the  Billboard Hot 100 , unable to take the top spot because of multiple versions of that counted as Los Del Rio 's version of  " Macarena ," the dance track that plagued '96. Lewis never matched the success of her debut single. SECRET MOMENTS SHUT IN THE HEAT OF THE AFTERNOON. Donna Lewis wrote the song "I Love You Always Forever" basing it on a 1953 novel, Love for Lydia by Herbert Ernest Bates. The lines from the chorus "I love you always forever, near and far closer together" appear in the novel, and Lewis' original title for the song was "Lydia." While Lewis had a few other minor hits, such as "At the Beginning," a duet with Richard Marx on the 1997 song for the Anastasia original soundtrack, "I Lov

On   December 4, 2015,  Troye Sivan  released his wildly successful first LP,  Blue  Neighbourhood .  Building a large Internet fanbase,  Blue Neighbourhood   peaked at #7  on the Billboard Hot 100 charts. The standard edition of  Blue Neighbourhood   contained  3 of the 10 songs from the previously released  Wild  EP . The LP, though, gave Sivan his first US Top 40 single, " Youth ." Four of the ten songs on  Blue   were singles, starting with " Wild ," a remix of which was rereleased with guest vocals by Alessi a   Cara as Sivan's fourth single from the album, which was a major hit in South Korea.     TRUTH RUNS WILD.  The final single, " Heaven ," was released on October 17, 2016. The  Jack Antonoff -produced single features a second verse from fellow Australian pop star,  Betty Who . After Sivan came out in a YouTube video in August of 2013, he became an LGBTQ+ icon, as he processed his sexuality in the lyrics of his music. Part of the promotion f

Pride month may be over, but the celebrations continue, and today we're bringing back Betty Who , a staple of the Pride Festival circuit. Today's song " I Can Be Your Man " is a late '90s rocker performed just 25 years later. In "I Can Be Your Man," Who delves into the ambiguity of friendships many of us in the community felt as we were growing up. I heard it talked about on the Leaving Eden podcast recently about how often LGBTQ+ youth will experience intense friendships and never be able to articulate it as attraction. In today's song, Who articulates this sentiment after a friend breaks up with her boyfriend, and the speaker offers to "be her man" despite being a female-identifying person. It's a fun summer track like to others I've compiled in the Apple edition of Summer Mix '23.   Read “I CAN BE YOUR MAN” by Betty Who on Genius

People that complain that there is no talent in music today are overlooking quite a few artists. My blog is full of talent young musicians from Betty Who to Charlie Puth who may not be the most popular musicians, but they have used classical and technical training to write and produce their own songs. Of course there are tons of other examples, but I mention both Who and Puth because, like  Laufey Lín Jónsdóttir, Icelandic singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist, these artists are all alumnus of Berklee College of Music , a prestigious school that has just as many famous graduates as famous dropouts. ME AND YOU AND AWKWARD SILENCE.  Laufey Lín Jónsdóttir, better know by her first name Laufey, was born to a Chinese mother and an Icelandic father. Laufey was raised on classical and jazz music. Her mother is a classical violinist, and her grandfather, Lin Yaoji was famous a violin instructor at the Central Conservatory of Music in China from which he graduated and also studied at

In 2022, Betty Who released her fourth record, BIG!   Who talked about the themes that would eventually contribute to this album on the Queerty podcast, talking about her embracing her tall stature and clothing choices, intentionally focusing on her masculine side. Who told host Cameron Esposito that she started wearing men's clothing because she could find them in her size, and then continued because she felt comfortable in them. The title track " BIG ," challenges all folks--women, men, and non-binary folks--to embrace what is true to themselves. I thought today's song would be the perfect introduction to 2023's Pride playlist. For this playlist, I've started by assembling 30 songs by LGBTQ+ musicians and allies. Let's have a great Pride month!  

In 1996, Welsh singer-songwriter Donna Lewis released her debut single " I Love You Always Forever ." The understated, delicate pop song became an international hit. In the United State, it hit number 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 , unable to take the top spot because of multiple versions of that counted as Los Del Rio 's version of  " Macarena ," the dance track that plagued '96. Lewis never matched the success of her debut single. SECRET MOMENTS SHUT IN THE HEAT OF THE AFTERNOON. Today’s version of “ I Love You Always Forever ” is performed by Australian pop star Betty Who , but I also recommend Mike Mains & the Branches version as well. Mike Mains & the Branches released their cover last year and is their most recent single. After an emotionally taxing record, When We Were in Love in 2019, "I Love You Always Forever" is a nice check in with the couple whose marriage was tested by events mentioned in the record. Betty Who's version w

On   December 4, 2015,  Troye Sivan  released his wildly successful first LP,  Blue Neighbourhood .  Building a large Internet fanbase,  Blue Neighbourhood   peaked at #7  on the Billboard Hot 100 charts. The standard edition of  Blue Neighbourhood  contained  3 of the 10 songs from the previously released  Wild  EP . The LP, though, gave Sivan his first US Top 40 single, " Youth ." Four of the ten songs on  Blue   were singles, starting with "Wild," a remix of which was rereleased with guest vocals by Alessi a   Cara as Sivan's fourth single from the album, which was a major hit in South Korea.     TRUTH RUNS WILD.  The final single, " Heaven ," was released on October 17, 2016. The  Jack Antonoff -produced single features a second verse from fellow Australian pop star,  Betty Who . After Sivan came out in a YouTube video in August of 2013, he became an LGBTQ+ icon, as he processed his sexuality in the lyrics of his music. Part of the promotion for  B

Artists often show off their influences when they play a cover. In 2004, Copeland released an EP of covers of songs by singer-songwriters from the '70s and '80s. While the band has moved into more experimental territory in recent years, know nothing stays the same shows the musical education, the melodies, the song structure from which Copeland came. Today's song was written by Billy Joel and released in 1977, and Billy Joel's version appears on the Spotify and AppleMusic version of the April 2022 Mixtape  because know nothing stays the same is a rare Copeland release. Copeland's covers EP is worth checking out, though. Hearing the band's unique take on the soft rock classics gave me a new appreciation for the band when I heard this EP, and I only wish it was more widely available. THE WORST SHE CAN DO IS THROW SHADOWS AT YOU. Now we come to Under the Covers,   Volume 3 (see below), naturally another YouTube Edition to the playlist because the main song on wh

Hurry Up, We're Dreaming contain's M83 's biggest hit, " Midnight City ." Everything on Hurry Up, is calculated to give listeners, including M83's sole member Anthony Gonzalez, the maximum amount of nostalgia. After a song-length, mood-setting intro, "Midnight City" builds on a riff for three minutes before climaxing in a saxophone solo, unheard in most music since 1988.* Track three, "Reunion," builds on layers of guitars and harmonies by one singer. This guitar-based M83 is a bit rare in their catalogue, as most of M83 is programing in synthesizers with touches of guitar here and there. But a guitar-based track is no-less nostalgic. It's that '80s chord progression heard in New Wave rockers and glam hair metal that sounded so cool to a young Gonzalez, listening to music in his bedroom growing up that bleeds into this song. The lyrics beg for a reunion with a loved one who has gone away.  A NEVER-ENDING DANCE. For today's post

  Australian singer-songwriter Jessica Anne Newham, better known by her stage name, Betty Who, released her debut album Take Me When You Go in 2014. In her three albums, Who has yet to have a mainstream pop hit, though she has three #1 singles on the US dance chart. She has toured with Katy Perry, Kylie Minogue, Kiesza, Panic at the Disco, and Kesha. Who graduated from Berklee College of Music and was a classmate of Charlie Puth. In 2014, she was featured on Troye Sivan's debut album Blue Neighborhoods on the track "Heaven." Who is a staple in the LGBTQ+ music scene; she herself came out as "queer and bisexual." Her song "Glory Days" talks about young adulthood, mentioning names of people she knows, and remembering fondly a boyfriend who has a bit of a bad reputation. From the big '80s synth intro to the provocative lyrics, "Glory Days" is a nostalgic summer night jam. BREAKING BACK INTO THE HIGH SCHOOL HALLWAYS. "It's really bes