NewYearsDayProject | a song a day blog

The Killers was one of the biggest bands in the early ‘00s, especially in the UK, where their single “ Mr. Brightside ” holds the record for the longest single to chart on the UK Singles Chart at 260 non-consecutive weeks. The band is an example of a band that peaked early. While the band has been releasing consistent quality music after their whirlwind successful debut album Hot Fuss , no subsequent release came close to their first album. After releasing three records with The Killers between 2004 and 2008, lead singer Brandon Flowers released his debut solo record Flamingo in 2010. After the album promotion cycle for Flamingo , The Killers released their fourth album, Battle Born in 2012. The band released their fifth album five years later, during which Flowers released his second album, The Desired Effect .  WHAT’S GOING ON IN YOUR HEAD NOW? In rock ‘n’ roll history, a lead singer recording a solo project is often an omen of the band’s implosion. For the handsome Brandon ...

  Did you have a good brat summer? This has been another incredible year for women in pop music, from Ariana Grande to Sabrina Carpenter , as women have dominated the pop charts. The competition for a number 1 album has been fierce with so many strong releases by Dua Lipa , Billie Eilish , and Chappell Roan so far failing to reach the summit of Billboard ’s 200 Albums Chart.  Besides the K-pop idol groups Twice and Stray Kids ; country singers Morgan Wallen and the late Toby Keith ; and rappers 21 Savage , ¥$ ( Kanye West and Ty Dolla $ign ), Future and Metro Boomin , Eminem , and Post Malone ; female pop singers held the number one spot for 22 weeks so far this year. Only Taylor Swift , Ariana Grande, Beyoncé , and Sabrina Carpenter have occupied the top spot as female pop acts.  SHOCK YOU LIKE DEFIBRILLATORS. Of the 22 weeks that the female pop superstars spent atop Billboard’ s 200 Albums Chart, Taylor Swift has claimed 17 of those weeks, and her latest album...

Brothers " Bear " and  "Bo" Rineheart  were born in Possum Kingdom, South Carolina, and raised in a church camp that their father, a pastor, managed. Forming  NEEDTOBREATHE   with  friends  Seth Bolt  and  Joe Stillwell , the band signed to  Atlantic Records  and released their sophomore record in 2007.  Opening for  Taylor Swift  on her  Speak Now Tour  in 2011, winning many  Gospel Music Association's Dove Awards , and receiving a Grammy nomination, NEEEDTOBREATHE   has gained acclaim both in the Christian Rock and secular markets. The band's 2016 record,  H A R D  L O V E , debuted at number 2 on the Billboard 200 albums chart list and is the band's bestselling record. The folksy lyrics of NEEDTOBREATHE speak of faith, love, and family. YOU'RE THE CATALYST OF HIGH HOPES.  The theme of the band's 2016 record comes from a long-seeded rivalry between brothers Bear and Bo, which escalated...

It starts with a single and maybe a B-side, then an EP of 4-6 songs. This is often followed by more singles and more EPs. Finally, we get the full-length studio record which may be reworked versions of the early singles and songs from the EP. These artists often struggle to fill a full concert set because they don’t have enough material. They often resort to playing covers of songs that influenced their early career. However, somewhere along the way, an artist, should they last, becomes prolific. The frequency of singles, EPs, and full albums increases. In the past when this happened, the artist had passed their radio prime. But today, we have artists like Drake and Taylor Swift in their prolific period and in their commercial prime. Sometimes artists get big enough to release whatever they want, and that's what has seemed to happen with the latest from Taylor Swift, The Tortured Poets Department , released last month to record-breaking streaming numbers.   FUCK IT IF I CAN’T HAV...

  Back to our somewhat weekly countdown of the top songs of last year ranked completely unscientifically by me. Now that we’re in the top ten, these songs either have some critical acclaim or I think that they are critically underrated. These are songs that resonated with me at a time when I wasn’t particularly in the mood to digest a boygenius record--no shade to the extremely talented musicians. So sorry Phoebe Bridgers , Julien Baker , and Lucy Dacus --I hope to get into the record soon. Also, sorry for the exclusion of Sufjan Stevens and Taylor Swift . I was too sad to listen to Javelin and I just dropped Taylor’s “ I Can See Yo u” in favor of a song that was actually new in 2023. 10. “ Chasing That Feeling ” by Tomorrow X Together . I just added this song because it’s been one of my recent favorites. While K-pop girl groups FIFTY FIFTY and NewJeans and BTS soloist Jung Kook had a big year in international acclaim, I feel like TxT was a little lower-key than a few years...