Month: March 2021

Popular country music recording artist Jason Owen is back with a rollicking version of one of John Denver’s most iconic songs – ‘Thank God I’m a Country Boy’.

The single is the first release from Jason’s new upcoming album – ‘Jason Owen Sings John Denver: The Acoustic Sessions’ which will be released mid-May. The X Factor star will tour nationally with the album from August onwards.

Jason’s new album follows on from the huge success of his first tribute album to John Denver – ‘Jason Owen Sings John Denver: The 20th Anniversary Album’ which spent seven weeks in the ARIA charts. A national followed including shows at The Sydney Opera House.

“I’m probably one of the biggest John Denver fans in the entire country, and have been ever since I was a boy,” says Jason. “The very first song I ever performed on a national stage was the Denver classic ‘Annie’s Song’ when I was first on the X Factor back in 2012. ‘Thank God I’m a Country Boy’ is one of my all-time favourites and is something I have always related to given my country upbringing in Albert, NSW. Plus it’s a great foot-tapping song with a lot of heart!”

In between putting the finishing touches on the album in 2020, Jason used the down-time of social restrictions to make enormous inroads with his charity Doin It for Rural Aussie Kids which supports regional and isolated kids in Australia.

Jason was recently nominated for two awards in the 7News Young Achiever NSW/ACT Awards 2021, which will be announced April 30. He picked up both a Freemasons of NSW/ACT Community Service Award nomination for his charity work, as well as an Ausgrid Indigenous Achievement Award nomination for his commitment to Indigenous communities.

In December last year Jason undertook a gruelling road trip covering 8,000 kms in 10 days across New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to personally deliver funds, Christmas gifts and groceries to around 800 children at 21 schools affected by bushfires, drought and the fallout of COVID 19. The road trip is an annual initiative and main focus of the charity which Jason established in 2019.

Following his star turn as runner up of the X-Factor, Jason soon launched his debut album ‘Life Is A Highway’ which debuted at number one on the ARIA Country Chart and number five on the Australian National ARIA Chart. He has since released albums ‘Friday Night’ containing his first original hit ‘Damn Right’, as well as ‘Proud’, his first all-originals album celebrating his First Nations background.

Jason is now one of Australia’s most popular country artists having entertained audiences around the country including the Tamworth Country Music Festival, CMC Rocks the Hunter, the ACE Awards and the Sony Foundation’s Wharf4Ward event raising funds for youth cancer care.

Thomas Iannucci is a 2x Hawaiian Grammy (Nā Hōkū Hanohano) award-winning hip hop artist of Italian and Filipino ancestry from Kaua’i, Hawaii. Iannucci has been the recipient of several notable awards, including the Nā Hōkū Hanohano Awards for Best Hip Hop Album in 2018 and 2020, and the Best Hip Hop Song (Finalist) in the 2016 National John Lennon Songwriting Contest. Iannucci is also an outspoken advocate for social issues within Hawaii.

Sonny Sandoval is a singer, rapper, and musician from San Diego, California. Sonny’s musical style crosses genres, from rock to hip hop to reggae; he is perhaps best known as the leader singer of Grammy-nominated, multi-platinum band P.O.D.

2/1/21
Honolulu, Hawaii
2x Hawaiian Grammy (Nā Hōkū Hanohano) award-winner Thomas Iannucci and Honolulu-based production team The Brewz have teamed up with Sonny Sandoval, the lead singer of multi-platinum selling, Grammy-nominated band P.O.D. to release “Rage,” an upbeat, Cali Roots/Hawaiian Hip Pop fusion track that is the perfect way to start the new year.
“With everything going on, we wanted to give people something they could feel inspired by.” said Iannucci in a statement. “And in Hawaii, to ‘rage’ is a pidgin slang term that means ‘to party,’ so we thought it would be cool to take all the ‘rage’ we’re seeing right now in the media and flip it to mean something more positive. That way, we can all ‘rage on!'”
“Rage,” which can be found on Iannucci’s 3rd studio LP, “Doubting Thomas,” is out now.

The latest project from Jimmie Allen entitled, “Bettie James”, combines his deep love of family and genre-spanning taste in music. The star-studded collaboration project is a seven-track EP – released July 2020 – that features a wide array of music hitmakers: Brad Paisley, Charley Pride, Darius Rucker, Mickey Guyton, Nelly, Cyrus, The Oak Ridge Boys, Rita Wilson, Tauren Wells & Tim McGraw.

The EP’s title is a tribute to Allen’s late grandmother, Bettie Snead, who passed away in February 2014 and his late father, James Allen, who passed away in September 2019. “My dad and grandmom were two completely different people, but both played a huge part in my life,” Allen says of the motivation for the project. “Since they died, I have been wanting to leave trails of their legacies throughout my music.”

Each artist on the project has touched the life of Allen, his grandmother and father in some way, allowing their legacies to weave seamlessly throughout “Bettie James”. The result is a musical composition of love, heartbreak, perseverance, hope and faith. Jimmie’s current single “Freedom Was A Highway” pairs Allen with his friend and Country music superstar Paisley for a breezy, windows down track that joins Allen’s distinctively breezy grooves with a Paisley signature guitar solo. The two trade lyrics inspired by Allen’s upbringing in Delaware and reminisce over the nostalgia of more carefree, youthful days where simpler moments like innocent childhood crushes reigned supreme.

“Bettie James” has garnered 120+ million streams since its release, along with critical acclaim for the music, the historic nature of various collaborations, and its subsequent place in country music history. NPR calls the project an “announcement of [Allen’s] arrival” and a “huge step for country” while Billboard hails it “a powerful statement from a developing voice.” The EP appeared on several “Best of 2020” lists including Billboard, Rolling Stone and Sounds Like Nashville.

Rolling Stone describes “Why Things Happen” – which brings together three generations of Black country artists in Allen, Darius Rucker and Charley Pride – as “part polemic, part proclamation, and part prayer… opening up space for the artists to bear witness.”

Reflecting on Allen’s wide-ranging musical sensibilities, Music Row notes of the project: “While some artists still in the early sunrise of their careers, with a handful of hits to their credit, would be focused solely on extending their chart successes, it’s clear that Allen’s goals for his music are loftier than mere chart hits and No. 1 parties-he’s striving for music that testifies to his full spectrum of creative abilities.”

On July 13, 2021, Allen will publish his debut picture book, My Voice Is a Trumpet, with Flamingo Books, an imprint of Penguin Young Readers. Illustrated by veteran illustrator Cathy Ann Johnson, the book is a powerful story about speaking up for what you believe in, at any age. In My Voice Is a Trumpet, all voices are as diverse as the characters and heard loud and clear – from voices that roar like a lion, to voices small as a bee, all it takes is confidence and a belief in the goodness of others to change the world. “It’s very important to me that kids learn at a young age that they have a voice, and that it is powerful. It is up to us as adults to teach them to use their voice to encourage and show love,” Allen says of his first ever book. “Being a father of two kids, I try to encourage them to be themselves and love everyone around them. I’m hoping this book inspires at least one child and they always remember their voice is a trumpet.”

For more than 20 years, homegrown country trailblazer Adam Brand has thrilled listeners from all walks of life with soulful songs of life’s most universal experiences, from love to loss and everything in between. In 2021, Adam is poised to release stirring new single ‘I’m Coming Home’.

Showcasing Adam’s sensitive yet passionate vocal performance, ‘I’m Coming Home’ is a soaring, heartfelt song of devotion for everyone who has ever felt the sting of separation from a loved one, and tasted the incomparable joy of reunion.

” ‘I’m Coming Home’ cuts straight to the heart of what people all over the world are feeling,” Adam says of the song. “There are families separated by borders, stuck in countries that are not their home, some merely in the neighbouring state but unable to return to loved ones because of this new and strange world that has been forced on us all. These words haven’t just been sung: they have been lived.”

“Right now, we all just want to be home,” Adam says of the song’s message. “That’s the tug on our hearts at the moment. It’s not about the disconnection – it’s about the re-connection.”

Adam Brand has taken home 12 Golden Guitars, and has been nominated for six ARIA Awards. Across 15 studio records, the tireless artist has racked up three platinum and five gold albums, and claimed eight CMC Oz Artist of the Year Awards – more than any other artist.

Beginning with Built for Speed (2002) , Adam’s studio outings have routinely taken out the No.1 spot on the ARIA Country Albums Chart. Most recent release Speed Of Life (2020) landed at the No.6 spot on the overall ARIA Albums Chart (Adam’s sixth release to crack the Top 10), and netted Adam two Golden Guitar nominations for Album of the Year and Male Artist of the Year. Career-retrospective double-disc compilation Milestones…20 Years (2018) also broke the Top 10 of the ARIA Albums Chart.

As dozens of No.1 hit singles attest, Adam is no stranger to chart success. Adam’s albums consistently soar to pole position on the charts. There Will Be Love (2012), My Side of the Street (2014), and Get On Your Feet (2017) were all No.1 on the ARIA Country Albums Chart and broke into the Top 10 of the overall ARIA Albums Chart, with There Will Be Love peaking at No.4, My Side of the Street at No.5, and Get On Your Feet at No.7. There Will Be Love also netted Adam two Golden Guitar nominations.

Adam has released numerous CMC No.1 film clips, and supported Taylor Swift on her US tour in 2011.

Recently returned to the stage after a 16-month hiatus while he recovered from vocal cord surgery, Adam Brand is ready to bring ‘I’m Coming Home’ and a whole slew of captivating new songs to listeners and audiences across the country.

Today, alternative pop singer and songwriter bülow shares a brand new single entitled “First Place.” The single is featured today on Apple Music’s New Music Daily and The Zane Lowe Show at 12:00p ET.

On the track, she nods to her roots as a busker on the streets of London by incorporating an airy guitar riff and unshakable organic beat. Highlighting her dynamic range, it builds towards a clever goodbye as she sings wryly, yet melodically on the refrain, “we were never friends in the first place, so why you tryna be my friend now?” It’s an intimate and infectious bop, to say the least.

About the song, she commented, “It’s about somebody who wants your attention but isn’t very genuine. Since we weren’t friends, why do you care today? I definitely went through this experience with a couple of people who only reached out when it was convenient for them. Quarantine was a big light to see who was actually in my life for the right reasons and who care about what was going on. Sonically, it pushed me in the direction I’m headed.”

The new single picks up where she left off on last year’s Frank Ocean cover “Lost.” The latter gathered 1.5 million Spotify streams and paved the way for more to come.

After racking up just shy of half-a-billion streams and receiving acclaim from Vice, Pigeons & Planes, Billboard, Vogue UK, and more, bülow has learned to trust her gut when it comes to music. The songstress infuses alternative pop with clever observations, personal confessions, and boundary-breaking spirit underpinned by live instrumentation. Spending the first eight years of her life in Germany, she moved to England with her family and started busking by the time she turned eleven. She has lived everywhere from Holland to Toronto and channeled a musical wanderlust into her songwriting. Along the way, she dropped three Eps-Damaged Vol. 1 [2017], Damaged Vol. 2 [2018], Crystalline [2019], and The Contender [2019]-and collaborated with everyone from Ty Dolla $ign, Mura Masa, and The Chainsmokers to Fall Out Boy and MadeInTYO. Not to mention, she graced the bills of festivals such as Lollapalooza, Bonnaroo, and Osheaga and shined on NBC’s The Today Show . As the world slipped into quarantine during 2020, she
settled in Holland and musically turned back the clock. Nodding to favorites from her parents’ record collection, she re-embraced formative influences, including Bob Dylan, Johnny Cash, Kate Bush, Janis Joplin, Joni Mitchell, and The Shins. Creative freedom defines her forthcoming new music, kicked off by the guitar-driven “First Place.”

The 25-year-old singer-songwriter Allison Ponthier has released her debut single, “Cowboy,” today via Interscope Records. The song is today’s Apple Music World First track featured on The Zane Lowe Show. “Cowboy” is both a touching homage to her Texan roots and a bold coming out statement that finds the Brooklynite telling her story only the way she can. Listen to “Cowboy” HERE.

“Cowboy” is accompanied by a bold, statement-making video that perfectly pairs with the new artist’s visually evocative lyricism. “I mostly just try to make music that speaks to me,” she says, “because I know there’s no way I’m the only person in the world who’s felt like this.”

“Saw the cutters through barbed wire / I didn’t know I could come out,” Ponthier sings over gauzy guitar tones, referencing the journey from Texas to New York that it took for her to accept her own sexuality. “Cowboy” ushers new listeners into a fully realized world of sound and sight, a place where difference is endlessly celebrated through melodies and harmonies that are both familiar and new all at once. Written entirely by Ponthier, the song is co-produced by Sam O.B., Michael Freesh, Otis English, and Brandon Shoop.

Directed by the visionary Jordan Bahat (responsible for Christine and the Queens’ “Girlfriend”), the “Cowboy” video finds Allison rambling through field and forest as the stars twinkle behind her and UFOs circle above her. It’s equal parts aesthetically high camp and emotionally warm, with the singer paying tribute to her Bible Belt roots and fascination with eccentrics like Elvira and Vincent Price in both her red-carpet ready styling and winking visual references (including a horse in a skeleton onesie and a dancing carton of smokes). “Cowboy” is, in every sense, the B-movie homage of your wildest dreams. “I probably watch movies more than I listen to music,” she says of the video. “That’s why all my songs are stories.”

The first release from Ponthier’s forthcoming debut EP, “Cowboy” echoes Ponthier’s main mission as an artist: “A lot of my songs are about being uncomfortable in your own skin but getting to know yourself better, figuring out who you really are.”

Revered songwriter Andrew Farriss is set to release his debut self-titled solo album this month. The outlaw-inspired country release has been a passion project for more than a decade, and sees Andrew setting his feet firmly in a music direction that is all about the storytelling. To coincide with the album, Andrew is releasing a new single, ” Run Baby Run”, a track that combines old-time reverie with an outlaw country sentiment.

Co-written with Bruce Wallace and Phil Barton in Nashville, Run Baby Run” embodies the feeling of freedom, and the concept of getting away from it all. “The idea that you can just run, you can ride your horse, you can get into your car, or you can drive off down the highway,” says Andrew. “It is a feel good kind of song. The idea of the song is about being liberated, you always want to feel like you are young, and may the young forever run free.”

The film clip for “Run Baby Run” was filmed near Gympie, in the Amamoor State Forest and National Park. The clip features the historic Mary Valley Rattler, a heritage steam locomotive. Vibrantly vivid with circus performers and vaudeville characters, it showcases the story of a heroine in trouble. For Andrew, this storytelling aspect was an important part of the songwriting process for “Run Baby Run”.

Early on, Andrew was particularly moved by the thought process of ‘movers and shakers’ and wanted to carve a story around this concept. “There are some people who are happy to fly under the radar,” he says. “And there are some people who want to be movers and shakers in the world. If you are going to be a mover and shaker, you have to run baby run. I knew those two phrases, I had to have in a song. I like the second verse in particular. Singing a song for the lost and disillusioned in the world! People want to feel like they have a purpose, why we are here, we have a good code to live by and that is what the song is all about.”

When it came to recording “Run Baby Run”, Andrew hand-picked some of the best players in Nashville to join him on the song. Recorded with Larry Beaird at his studios, the track features Eddie Bayers (drums), Jimmy Nicols (keyboards), Eli Beaird (bass), Justin Ostrander (electric guitar) and Justin Schipper (pedal steel). Like many of the songs recorded for Andrew’s debut release, the song fell into place in the studio, as the musicians and Andrew laid all the instrumentation down live.

“Run Baby Run” is the third single from Andrew’s self-title forthcoming solo album. His previous singles – “Good Momma Bad” released at the start of 2020, and “Come Midnight”, released in 2019 – have already garnered strong radio support. Andrew’s solo album was originally slated for release in March 2020, however, it was put on hold due to COVID-19. Never one to stop working, Andrew instead released his EP “Love Makes The World”, which spawned two hit singles, the title track and the empathetic All The Stars Are Mine” .

Rising Australian singer-songwriter Georgia Mae has released her brand new single and official video for ‘Let You Go’ via Lemon Tree Records/Sony Music Entertainment Australia.
Georgia explains the song: “‘Let You Go’ is about moving on from a shitty relationship. One of those ones that’s like a reoccurring nightmare. It’s about letting go of the late nights, the stupid lust, the fighting and the crying. About standing up for what you know is best for you, and getting rid of that person that’s only causing you drama. It’s a song about moving out of the dark and into the light. I wanted it to be a bop and empowering, like almost a celebration of finally letting someone crap go.”
Since graduating with a scholarship from the Queensland Conservatorium of Music with a degree in Music Technology, Georgia has released six singles, played multiple shows across Australia and has been nominated for Queensland’s ‘Most Promising Female Songwriter’ and ‘Best Female Pop Artist’ at the Queensland Music Awards.
Georgia’s aptitude for music, sound and instrumentation has taken her across the world to San Francisco and Los Angeles; from working in sound design at the esteemed Skywalker Sound, to working as a writer and recording artist for US TV Shows like ‘Keeping Up With The Kardashians’, and most recently at Warner Bros. Studios.
Georgia’s emotional pop sound stems from warm experiences and fond memories, laced with a curiosity for adventure and obsession with surrealism. Georgia takes pride in storytelling, by creating a space for human connection, joy, reverie and escapism.

Sydney-based, Gold Coast-raised pop siren Charley today makes her debut mark with the single ‘Hard For Me’ out via EMI Music Australia.

Written on the singer-songwriter’s first trip to the fast evolving US music hub of Nashville almost three years ago, and produced by Stephen Schmultz, Hard For Me is a glossy & fun yet fiercely honest pop anthem, an embracement of female sexuality & falling hard and fast in love.

“Me and my boyfriend had kind of just gotten back together again at that point. All of the butterflies were heightened again. I just wanted to write a song about how I felt about him and how it gave me such a rush when I looked at him. Everyone has been there! When you just… melt.”

Co-written with Schmultz alongside Tom Jordan & Mitch Thompson, who make up the Sydney-via-Nashville duo Seaforth, the song is the result of what Charley refers to as “the best session I’ve ever done in my life.”

Hard For Me has been “a long time coming,” Charley notes. “And as a Virgo, I am not patient.” “In my head, this has always been my debut release. It’s got such a special place in my heart. I’ve had such a vision for every single part of it.”

Part of that vision is a self-written direction treatment for the official video, directed by MY Media Sydney’s Mitchell McKay. A professionally trained makeup artist, Charley’s video looks are self-designed for the Clueless-inspired clip that takes the potently visual lyrics of Hard For Me and brings them to life, with a huge pop of colour & sass. Watch the video here

Born in Sydney into a multi-generational musical family, Charley grew up on the Gold Coast, raised on a healthy combo of starring in local musicals, Kelly Clarkson and The Veronicas CDs on her discman. A move back to her birth city in 2017 opened the window for Charley to find her musical kinship, discovering a mentor in UK superstar Jessie J before regularly collaborating with Australian pop limelights including Xavier Dunn, CXLOE & Carla Wehbe and revisiting the pairing with Seaforth that made Hard For Me possible.

Stay tuned for more from Charley via EMI Music Australia.

Lous and the Yakuza have released new track “Je ne sais pas” featuring multiplatinum Italian superstar Sfera Ebbasta. Produced by hit maker Shablo, “Je ne sais pas” is now available on all DSPs, listen to the track here.

“Je ne sais pas” is a melancholic introspection about the setbacks of artist life. This definitely finds a singular resonance within the current context. Lous and Sfera gracefully join their voices and energies into this track, working like a mutual and voluptuous remedy to their respective doubts.

Lous and the Yakuza’s debut single “Dilemme” is certified Platinum in Italy and Lous has just announced her participation to the biggest Italian TV show Sanr emo Festival early March, where she will be performing in front of 15M+ TV viewers.

“Je ne sais pas” follows the release of Gore – Lous’ Debut album – last Octoberand her fantastic breakthrough journey in the global music landscape.