Today’s/Tomorrow’s Top 40: 2023 Grammy Edition…Lizzo, Harry Styles, Beyonce, Brandi Carlile, Wet Leg, Bad Bunny, Willie Nelson and Encanto!

The 2023 Grammy Awards took place last night in Los Angeles. If you watched any of the show I hope that you did so armed with the vast knowledge you have accrued from a year of good reading on this very blog about many of the stars who were making news in the world of music this past year. If not then today’s post will bring you up to speed. So let’s take a quick run through some of the top award winners from last night’s show. You can read all about them in the links below.

Record of the Year: “About Damn Time” by Lizzo.

Winning the Grammy for Record of the Year caps off a memorable year for Lizzo. Not only did she have some of the biggest hits if the year but she also launched an online dance craze, as well as courting controversy in some quarters by playing an historically important glass flute at The Library of Congress. Lizzo is the real deal and then some. To read all about her accomplishments, click here.

Album of the Year, Best Pop Vocal Album: Harry’s House by Harry Styles.

Harry Styles had a tremendously successful year last year. I wrote about him several times because of his hits “As It Was” and “Night Talking”. You can read all about Mr. Styles here and here.

Best Dance/Electronic Recording, Best Traditional R&B Performance, Best R&B Song: Renaissance by Beyonce.

Beyonce had herself quite a night at the Grammy Awards and quite a year again overall. You can read all about her award-winning album, Renaissance here. You can also read about her past successes in the Top 500 Songs in Modern Music History here and here.

Best Rock Performance, Best Rock Song, Best Americana Album: Broken Horses by Brandi Carlile.

Brandi Carlile was one of the most deserving winners last night. She has been an under-the-radar superstar in the world of music for quite some time now. Last night’s Grammy wins should elevate her firmly into the public spotlight. Carlile does a lot of good work beyond the walls of her studio. You can read all about this accomplished singer here.

Best Alternative Music Performance, Best Alternative Music Album: “Chaise Longue” by Wet Leg.

Wet Leg are a new duo who burst on to the music scene in a big way in 2022. Read all about who they are and why they were successful here.

Best Country Solo Performance, Best Country Album: A Beautiful Time by Willie Nelson.

What a night for a young man who has been winning awards longer than I have been alive! I never wrote about Willie Nelson for Today’s/Tomorrow’s Top 40 last year but I did write about him twice for The Top 500 Songs in Modern Music History. So, if you wish to go back down Memory Lane and read those posts, click here and here and enjoy!

Best Musica Urbana Album: Un Verano Sin Ti by Bad Bunny.

He opened last night’s show with as energetic an opening as there has been in quite some time. If you watched that and found yourself wondering who the heck Bad Bunny was then wonder no more. Bad Bunny was the most streamed artists in the entire world for the third year in a row last year. He is the face of music in this digital, international age. You can read more about him here.

Best Compilation Soundtrack for Visual Media: Encanto by Various Artists.

When I first started writing for the Today’s/Tomorrow’s Top 40 series almost a full year ago, the Encanto soundtrack was featured in Edition #1. Encanto is a fabulous movie that celebrates Colombian music in the most delightful and colourful manner. If you have never watched the movie then grab yourself some popcorn and settle in. It is fully deserving of all of the accolades that have come its way, including last night’s Grammy win for Best Soundtrack. You can read all about it here.

For a full list of all of the “Winners” and Nominees from the 2023 Grammy Awards, you can visit the official website of the Grammys by clicking here. Congratulations to everyone on this list. Thank you all for a year of terrific music in 2022.

***As always, all original content contained within this blog post remains the sole property of the author. No portion of this post shall be reblogged, copied or shared in any manner without the express written consent of the author. ©2023 http://www.tommacinneswriter.com

Today’s Top 40: The Stories Behind the Biggest Hits of Today…Song Position: #35

The songs listed in this post were found using the Top 40 charts of the following music organizations: CHUM-FM, CFNY-FM, KEXP-FM, Billboard Magazine, Spotify and BBC Radio 1. All songs listed below occupied position #35 on their respective music lists from this past week. So, let’s take a quick look at today’s songs, and then a bit of a longer look at the song in today’s spotlight: Ojitos Lindos by Bad Bunny.

Woman by Doja Cat (Spotify)

Rapper extraordinaire…Doja Cat.

My two daughters really like Doja Cat. My youngest daughter, Sophie, particularly so. When I asked Sophie about why she liked Doja Cat so much, she responded that it was a combination of Doja Cat being a good singer with a pleasing voice, the songs having a good beat, and that the songs and videos she puts out all seem to have a theme of female empowerment woven into them. Sophie is also drawn to Doja Cat because she is a tiny woman and resembles her other favourite singer Ariana Grande quite a bit in body type. Seeing a successful female role model being sexy and self-assured means a lot to girls like Sophie. For me, having viewed several of her videos, I think they are all kind of the same. If you like your heroes to be pixie like, scantily clad and bringing the men in their world to heel, then Doja Cat is for you. For what it is worth, the video for the song “Woman” is fairly indicative of who Doja Cat is. If you like watching and listening to it, then you will like her other songs, too. Doja Cat has won a Grammy and many Billboard and MTV video awards for her songs and is definitely one of the rising female Soul and Hip Hop stars out there today.

Don’t Forget My Love by Diplo and Miguel (BBC Radio 1)

Diplo and Miguel.

Diplo made his name in the genre of electronic dance music as a DJ. He is known mostly because of the various collaborations he has engaged in over the years. In no particular order, he has put out music with Beyoncé, Shakira, Justin Bieber, Madonna, Britney Spears, Ellie Goulding, No Doubt and today’s featured star, Bad Bunny. This particular collaboration is with a singer named Miguel. The song “Don’t Forget My Love” is actually a groove-filled song that is pleasant to listen to. It will get your toes a-tapping and hands a-clapping. The videos for this song are another matter altogether. There are two “official” videos. The first one involves Diplo trying to warn Miguel that there is something amiss with Miguel’s new girlfriend. The video is bizarre at times, and the big reveal at the end might come off as disturbing to some viewers. The second video shows Diplo and Miguel engaging in one of the newest marketing strategies for artists these days, and that is attempting to stage a surprise, unannounced pop-up concert in various spots in NYC. This video reminds me a little of how the police broke up The Beatles rooftop concert at Abbey Road Studios, as well as when U2 put out their video for “The Streets Have No Name”. It may just be me, but I think I would like the song better without watching the videos. But, check it out and decide for yourself.

Ctrl + Alt + Del by Rêve (CHUM-FM).

Briannah Donolo aka Reve.

“Ctrl + Alt + Del” is a song that has been playing on the radio in my hometown for quite awhile now. It is sung by a Canadian girl named Briannah Donolo who goes by the stage name, Rêve. I have to be honest and admit that I always thought this song was from a band when I heard it on the radio. But, it is from this one girl who got her big break by singing the Canadian national anthem at Montreal Canadiens hockey games. Donolo sang the US anthem with a bit of a dance-oriented flair, that combined with her raven-haired good looks, helped make her a viral internet sensation. Donolo parlayed that internet fame into a recording contract and now has a Top 40 hit in Canada on her hands. “Ctrl + Alt + Del” are computer keyboard keys, for those who may not have known. If you press all three at the same time, it will act as an alternative way to shut your computer down. This song is certainly a catchy one that, if the US market becomes involved, will make Rêve one of the rising stars of 2022/23 for sure.

Road Runner by Turnstile (CFNY-FM)

Turnstile in Concert.

John Lydon, former lead singer of The Sex Pistols, as well as his second band, Public Image Limited, once sang a song that contained the line, “Anger is an energy”. The line meant that there was something potentially dangerous and lethal about the emotional anger possessed by many young people in society as it existed in the UK in the early 1980s. When channeled properly, anger as an energy can be used as a weapon against the powers that be. Well, every generation seems to have reason to gripe about their circumstances and leading today’s cry against conformity and politicians and greedy billionaires is a group called Turnstile. Their latest song, “Roadrunner”, is three minutes of pure anger and energy. It is loud and fast and performed with reckless abandon. These guys remind me of some of the early hardcore US punk bands such as Black Flag and Bad Brains. I am sure that this won’t appeal to very many of you, but the overarching importance of knowing about it is that there are segments of the teenage/20-something population who feel as though they have been dealt a bad hand because of COVID and lockdowns and rising house prices and so on…and they are ticked off! “Road Runner” by Turnstile is that anger unleashed in song.

Blood Money by The Lounge Council (KEXP-FM)

The Lounge Society.

The Lounge Council are a UK band who mine much of the same ground as does Turnstile. However, they do so in a more melodic manner. This is not to say that their music isn’t loud at times, but it does appear to contain less pure rage and more pure musical skill than what you get from Turnstile. Their videos are kinda interesting in a quirky sort of way that you have to see for yourself to completely appreciate. I am not sure that this song will end up on anyone’s personal playlist but it is worth checking out. “Blood Money” is anger expressed subtly.

Ojitos Lindos by Bad Bunny (ft. Bomba Estéreo) (Billboard)

The man they call…Bad Bunny.

Bad Bunny is the stage name of a Puerto Rican rapper named Benito Antonio Martinez Ocasio. I knew something was up with Bad Bunny a few weeks ago when I was researching for a previous “Today’s Top 40” post and went to check the Spotify chart and found every song from Bad Bunny’s latest album in the Top 20! As it turns out, Bad Bunny has arguably had the most successful run of any performer during the time of the pandemic. In the past two years, Bad Bunny…who only sings in Spanish…is the most streamed artist in any genre in the entire world. His latest video was streamed 111 million times during the first two weeks it was out. Ocasio is a social media phenomenon who has made a name for himself as a rapper, a professional wrestler in the WWE, as a style icon, and will soon be joining the Marvel family in a 2024 movie called El Muerto where he will play a starring role as an anti-hero. Neither my wife nor I had ever heard of him, and yet it seems like everyone else on the planet has heard of him and are singing his praises. I am flabbergasted that someone who sings in Spanish has taken the English-speaking world by storm. But, truly he has. If you want instant street cred with your grandchildren, mention Bad Bunny.

Bad Bunny, like a lot of modern day artists, likes to perform with other artists. So, many of his songs are collaborations. He has worked with Drake before, and now, for this video, he is working with a duo named Bomba Estéreo from Colombia. Bad Bunny has stated that he wants to improve the reach of Latin music and musicians throughout the Americas, and he has no plans to deviate from releasing Spanish-speaking albums and using his platform to showcase other Latin American artists. So far, mission accomplished. In case you don’t know who Bad Bunny is either, in the video, he will be the one with the stylish sunglasses. Just so ya know.

***As always, all original content found in this post remains the sole property of the author. No portion of this post may be reblogged, copied or shared in any manner without the express written consent of the author. ©2022 tommacinneswriter.com