NewYearsDayProject | a song a day blog

Katie Gavin ’s solo debut album What a Relief is due out next week on October 25th. The MUNA singer showed a change in musical direction from her first single “ Aftertaste ,” which took the electric-pop singer into ‘90s country. The second single, “ Casual Drug Use ,” took a more acoustic folk sound than its predecessor. In August Gavin joined The Japanese House on stage at the Greek Theater to perform their collaboration “ Morning Papers ” from The Japanese House’s 2023 album In the End It Always Does . Then during the encore, Gavin premiered her latest single, “ Inconsolable ,” which The Japanese House’s Amber Bain praised as “the best song ever written” according to Bain and her girlfriend. According to MUNA’s podcast Gayotic, Gavin said that her new album was a collection of songs written since 2020. Most of the songs were produced by Pheobe Bridgers’ producer Tony Berg, but between sessions with Berg, Gavin collaborated with Mitski and Amber Bain. FULL OF BEDS WHERE NOBODY

  This fall, Shawn Mendes  comes back with a country album--or at least that's what it sounds like from the first three singles. On  Shawn , Mendes' fifth studio album, the singer says he writes about his struggles with love and mental health, particularly after he canceled the world tour supporting his fourth album Wonder . The first single, " Why, Why, Why " sees Mendes maybe the most candid in his lyrics, discussing a failed relationship and almost becoming a father. Many pop critics have criticized Mendes's music for lack of substance in the past, arguing that he was just a "hot guy with a guitar." His new album will be a very personal work from a maturing musician. Shawn is set to drop on October 18th. Watch "Shawn Mendes: How to Let Go of Your Past Self and Fully Embrace Who You've Become Today" on the podcast On Purpose with Jay Shetty : Read “Why Why Why” by Shawn Mendes on Genius. Music video: Lyric video:

Hearing IU always reminds me that spring is on the way. Commonly called South "Korea's Sweetheart," the 30-year-old singer-songwriter and former teen singer, born Lee Ji-eun (이지은), explains the meaning of her stage name as "You and I become one through music." Today's song comes from her 2014 EP of covers of folk/rock ballads made popular in the '80s and '90s, A Flower Bookmark . The song was written by Kim Chang Wan and originally recorded with his punk-rock band Sanulrim (산울림, meaning Mountain Echo ), which was a hit in 1984. Kim also is featured on the IU cover version. Although the IU version was not released as a single, it was featured in an SK Telecom commercial and was often played in cafes, grocery stores, and everywhere in Korea in 2014 and still today. The original version was used in the zeitgeist drama Reply 1988 (음담하러 1988)   SADNESS BLOOMS AS COSMO FLOWERS AT THE TRAIN STATION. Today I'll present my final Romantic Mix  version

The second single from the 2006 album Eyes Open  after the album opener and rocker, " You're All I Have ," "Chasing Cars" is the most recognized song by  Snow Patrol . The band's frontman and songwriter Gary Lightbody said that he wrote the song after sobering up after a white wine binge in the garden of producer Jacknife Lee 's cottage. Lightbody told Rolling Stone  that "Chasing Cars" is "the purest love song I've ever written. There's no knife-in-the-back twist." He stated that "all the other songs I've written have a dark edge." While the song and video for "Chasing Cars" don't have a dark side, the connotation the song has with dramas like Grey's Anatomy and One Tree Hill  certainly wields the knife so carefully left out by the songwriter.  LET'S WASTE TIME CHASING CARS. As tempting as it is to make a Bad Romance playlist or Sad Romance playlist, I've decided to make my Spotify al

There was a video I watched that made the case that Britney Spears created the arc of the former teenage pop star. The sweet-to sexy-to diva (minus the conservatorship) has been followed by both female and male stars. We can see a little Britney in Ariana Grande , Lindsay Lohan , and Selena Gomez . You could argue that  Justin Bieber or (minus the sexy) Disney stars like Shia LaBeouf might fit into that arc. At 18 years of age, Shawn Mendes was one of the biggest teen stars. His second album, Illuminate, became his second album to top the Billboard Hot 100. Yet, as of 2021, the 23-year-old star has yet to pull a Britney. In 2016, Brendan Dazen in an article  for Her Campus  described Mendes as "A naïve 18-year-old who happens to look an Abercrombie model." The author notes that when Mendes turned 18, he became a sex symbol, striking provocative poses in magazines and filming shirtless music videos, but unlike Grande and Spears, Mendes' lyrics aren't overtly sexual.

Shawn Mendes's first four albums all debuted at number one on Billboard's Hot 200 Album Chart. Born in 1998, he holds the records of being the youngest artist ever to achieve a number one record, the youngest artist ever to achieve two number one records, then three number one records, then four number one records. Like Troye Sivan, Charlie Puth, and Justin Bieber, Mendes gained popularity through posting his songs--first covers, then originals--on YouTube. Handwritten, Mendes's debut album was released in 2015 when the singer was sixteen years old. Filled with acoustic guitar ballads, like the UK number 1 hit, "Stitches," audiences found that the Canadian self-taught guitar-playing singer's music was  refreshing voice in pop music.  "Imagination" was released on  Handwritten (Deluxe Edition)   and is a straight-forward pop song about teenage infatuation.  MAYBE THIS WILL BE THE NIGHT. Erasmus said in his magnum opus The Praise of Folly , "Every