The half-a-billion views YouTube video I mentioned yesterday is Rosalía’s collaboration with Colombian Reggaeton singer J Balvin, titled ‘Con Altura.’
The single and video were released in advance of Rosalía’s upcoming third album and quickly marched up the charts in Spanish-speaking countries, reaching #1 in Spain, Colombia, Mexico, the Dominican Republic and Venezuela.
Sometimes there’s a feeling in the air right before an artist gets really big. You can sense it’s coming.
I feel that way right now about Rosalía, a Spanish flamenco/electro-pop singer-songwriter who is poised for major mainstream success. She already has a video with half a billion views on YouTube, so it’s a bit odd to talk about her being under the radar, but in terms of U.S. stardom, I think it’s right around the corner.
Happy Birthday to my father, who turns 76 today! Last year I posted a Frank Sinatra video to honor my dad’s 75th birthday, so I have little confidence that this year’s Random Weekend selection will live up to that.
But let’s spin the wheel and see what the Random iTunes Fairy has in mind for my father.
OK… a cover of Elton John’s classic ‘Your Song’ by English pop singer Ellie Goulding. He could have done far worse.
The last — and only — time I featured a song from Arcade Fire’s 2007 album Neon Bible was on April Fool’s Day in 2013.
I had just spent three weeks writing a song-by-song dissection of the band’s celebrated 2010 album The Suburbs (a surprise Album of the Year winner at the Grammys) and my regular readers were not happy. So I mischievously suggested I was about to launch into another couple of weeks analyzing Neon Bible. Good one, me!
For people who like throwing around the word “snowflake,” right-wing racists sure are a sensitive bunch. The latest news to get MAGA panties in a bunch is Disney’s announcement of Black singer-actress Halle Bailey as Ariel in the upcoming live-action The Little Mermaid remake.
Apparently racists believe there was an actual little mermaid who was white. Is that it? More likely, they just don’t like to see people of color get nice things.
Meet Me In Montauk 