Alongside the new Vampire Weekend, the album I’m most looking forward to this spring is Dua Lipa’s latest. That’s because the pop singer-songwriter simply does not miss.
Her self-titled 2017 debut was wall-to-wall bangers, and she somehow topped it with 2020’s Future Nostalgia. That album, a disco revival with a decidedly modern sensibility, dropped right when the COVID quarantine started and helped keep legions of fans sane during that difficult period.
My knowledge of Lizzy McAlpine begins and ends with the song ‘Ceilings,’ which my daughters love. I would have predicted that she was around 20 years old and working on her first album.
Turns out I’m not far off on the age. McAlpine is 24. But the Philly-based singer-songwriter already has two full-length albums under her belt and a third on the way next month. So I guess I better get on board before I’m too far behind.
I first learned about Maggie Rogers from my daughter Fiona, who loved the song ‘Dog Years’ back in the late 2010s.
I then watched the viral video of Pharrell Williams listening to her song ‘Alaska’ during an NYU class in 2016. It’s hard not to both appreciate her talent and root for her success after watching that gem.
Somehow, though, I’ve never taken the time to dig deeper into her music. She has released two studio albums and several EPs since 2017, plus two independently produced albums before that, but I haven’t listened to any of them.
The week of March 13, 2004, saw Usher atop the Billboard Hot 100 with ‘Yeah!,’ which occupied the #1 spot for 12 consecutive weeks that year.
At #2 is ‘One Call Away’ by Chingy, an artist I had never heard of until he showed up on Throwback Weekends in August (with ‘Right Thurr‘) and November (with ‘Holidae In‘). Those tracks peaked at #2 and #3, respectively.
Throwing back to the week of March 12, 1994, we find Swedish pop band Ace of Base atop the Billboard Hot 100 with ‘The Sign.’
Late last year, I featured the band’s previous hit, ‘All That She Wants,’ which peaked at #2. That song, plus today’s track and ‘Don’t Turn Around,’ which reached #4, all showed up on the band’s debut album, Happy Nation. To be more precise, they showed up on the U.S. version of that album, which had a different track order than the initial Denmark release and added three new songs (including ‘Don’t Turn Around’ and ‘The Sign’).
Meet Me In Montauk 