Rueben's Ramblings

Music has always been an important part of my life ever since I was a child listening to music while sitting in the middle of my big brothers’ shared bedroom on the their old 1970’s turntable then listening to my big boom box and later the Walkman I had in the 1980’s all the way through to my iPod in the 2000’s to now my Pandora and Spotify accounts.

I wake up to music every morning rather than a buzzing alarm; and then I go to bed with music on my phone [again, thank you Pandora!]. Music may not mean to everyone what it means to me, but it does play a crucial part in television, Broadway, theatres and the box office.

The following are my choices for top performers for 2021:

Female Artist of the Year: H.E.R.

H.E.R. (born Gabriella Wilson) was my choice for The Jimi Hendrix-Alicia Keyes Combo, aka Best R&B performer, last year. This time around she is the Female Artist of the Year as throughout 2021, she performed “America the Beautiful during the pre-game festivities for Super Bowl LV; she co-wrote, co-composed and co-produced the song “Fight for You” for the movie Judas and the Black Messiah, which won Best Original Song for the 2020-2021 Academy Awards; her single “Damage” topped the R&B radio charts; and her debut album ‘Back of My Mind’ was released in the summer. Additionally, she will make her feature film debut in the upcoming adaptation of The Color Purple in the role of Squeak.

Here is the video for “Fight for You”:

She is Back! (The Most Welcome Return): Adele

Adele has been a top performer since her debut studio album entitled “19” [the age she was when the album was released] came out in 2008 and garnered her Grammy Award for Best New Artist. She followed that up with a new album entitled “21” two years later; that album became the world’s best-selling album of the 21st century. Her next album “25” came four years later; and the lead single “Hello” became the first song in the US to sell over one million digital copies within a week of its release. Five years later, her new album “30” was released in November 2021. A week after her new single “Easy on Me” was released, it surged to number one on the Hot 100, becoming her 5th chart-topping single. The album has since become the biggest album debut of 2021; and she recently performed at the Griffith Observatory in Los Angeles and was interviewed by Oprah Winfrey for the first time on American TV. And, starting in January 2022 she will have a Vegas residency at Caesar’s Palace; Weekends With Adele will find the singer performing two shows every weekend from January through April.

Here is the video for “Easy on Me”:

New Artist of the Year: Olivia Rodrigo

Olivia Rodrigo is a teen phenom singer-songwriter and actress, who got her start at the ripe young age of 13 in the Disney Channel series Bizaardvark for which she starred for three years. She then moved on to be part of the ensemble cast of the Disney+ mockumentary series High School Musical: The Musical: The Series. She signed with Interscope and Geffen Records in 2020 and her debut single “Drivers License” was released in 2021, which quickly topped the charts. Her debut studio album ‘Sour’ received critical acclaim and has earned her 7 Grammy nominations. She had three consecutive number 1 songs, making her the first artist ever to accomplish this feat and ‘Sour’ broke Spotify’s global records for biggest opening week by a female artist ever.

Here is the video for “Driver’s License”:

Best Musical Theater Duo: Abigail Barlow and Emily Bear

Abigail Barlow, 23, and Emily Bear, 20, are the new “It girl” millennials, making waves thanks to their much-buzzed about concept album ‘The Unofficial Bridgerton Musical’ they created together. Abigail is a singer, cover artist and TikTok Star while Emily is child piano prodigy, who has gone on to become a composer, songwriter and singer.

After bingeing the Netflix series Bridgerton (like the millions of other viewers) at the end of 2020, Abigail knew it was meant for the stage. She wrote the beginning of two songs, put them up at TikTok and the response was astonishing, which included responses by cast members of the series and countless Broadway stars. Abigail reached out to Emily, her writing partner for the previous year and a half, and they finished those two songs and quickly began working on translating the period piece drama into a musical, prolifically composing, orchestrating and producing 15 original songs in 6 weeks, in real time, live on Instagram and sharing them on TikTok. They have since made countless appearances on TV, podcasts and even performed on the stage at the Kennedy Center at 50 alongside Glee alum Darren Criss. Their concept album has also earned them a 2022 Grammy nomination for Best Musical Theater Album.

You can listen to all of the songs (15 in total) from “The Unofficial Bridgerton Musical” here [make sure to use the pull down menu to the right of the video to listen to each song]:

Top Rock Song: “Bang!” by AJR

The song “Bang!” by the American indie pop trio AJR is composed of multi-instrumentalist brothers Adam, Jack and Ryan Met may have been released in February of 2020, but it became their highest-charting song, peaking at number 8 on the Billboard Hot 100 by January of 2021. The trio have been nominated for Favorie Pop Duo/Group by the American Music Awards, Top Duo/Group and Top Rock Artist by the Billboard Music Awards and Alternative Rock Artist of the Year by the iHeartRadio Music Awards. The single “Bang!” won for Top Rock Song” at this year’s Billboard Music Awards.

Here is the video for “Bang!”:

Favorite (but Over-Hyped) Pop Group: BTS

The Korean pop group BTS was formed back in 2010 but they didn’t debut until 2013. They originally started as a hip hop group, but their music style has evolved over the years. The septet consists of members Jin, Suga, J-Hope RM, Jimin, V and Jungkook. They co-write and co-produce much of their own music. Their hit single “Dynamite” came out last summer, and this year’s hit summer single “Butter” became THE song of the summer.

Here is the video for “Butter”:

Music for Real Life: Nurse Lori Marie Key

The 29-year-old Michigan nurse, Lori Marie Key, who worked in a COVID unit, was captured on video during a daily huddle for a shift change belting out the somber song “Amazing Grace” on the floor of St. Mary Mercy Hospital at the height of the pandemic last April. That song brought a moment of relief and teary smiles to the faces of her co-workers; and, of course, the video went viral.

Because of that exposure, Key was invited to perform the song at a memorial, held at the Lincoln Memorial reflecting pool that was augmented with 400 lights to represent the (then) 4000,000 American lives lost to COVID-19, which was ahead of the Inauguration of then President-elect Joe Biden

You can see the original video of Lori Marie Key signing “Amazing Grace” at St. Mary Mercy Hospital that went viral below:

And here Key sings “Amazing Grace” at the COVID Memorial on January 19:

Favorite New R&B Duo: Silk Sonic

Bruno Mars and Anderson .Paak, who was Mars’s opening act in 2017, have joined together to form the new R&B Duo Silk Sonic. They released their debut single “Leave the Door Open” in March of this year and their debut album ‘An Evening with Silk Sonic’ was released in November. The duo made their TV debut at the 63rd Annual Grammy Awards and performed at the 2021 iHeartRadio Music Awards. They went on to win Best Group at the BET Awards 2021 and they won Favorite R&B Song at the American Music Awards. Their musical style is very reminiscent of 1960’s/1970’s funk-retro.

Here is the video to “Leave the Door Open”:

Top Male R&B Artist: Jon Batiste

Jon Batiste is a veteran jazz keyboardist, who is also the musical director of The Late Show With Stephen Colbert, is considered a musical genius and just so happens to be a member of one of New Orleans’ legendary musical dynasties. He served as a co-composer alongside Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross on the 2020 animated movie Soul, earning an Oscar as well as a Golden Globe Award for Best Original Score. His 5th solo studio album ‘WE ARE’ came out in March of this year on Verve Records; and his live EP ‘Live at Electric Lady’ was released exclusively to Spotify this summer. He has earned an impressive 11 nominations (more than any other artist) for the 2022 Grammy Awards; eight for ‘WE ARE’ and three for Soul.

Here is the video for his single “Freedom”:

Best Duo Performance: Eric Church and Jazmine Sullivan

Country star Eric Church, who has been on the music scene since 2006, and R&B singer-songwriter Jazmine Sullivan, who has received 15 Grammy nominations [tying Bjork as the female artist with the most Grammy nominations without winning] ,joined forces at Super Bowl LV this past February to sing “The Star-Spangled Banner.” According to one review (https://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/music/ct-ent-super-bowl-national-anthem-eric-church-review-20210208-yhjrzxtjf5cvpcj2wjnz6q35je-story.html) they “blended their vocals beautifully to create a memorable, enjoyable rendition” of the National Anthem.

Check out the video of Eric Church and Jazmine Sullivan at the Super Bowl via YouTube here.

Top Country Artist: Gabby Barrett and Mickey Guyton {Tie}

Pennsylvania native Gabby Barrett competed in the 16th season of American Idol in 2018 at the age of 18, coming in third place. This led her to signing a deal with Warner Music Nashville, with her debut single “I Hope” being released in July of 2019, which came from her debut studio album ‘Goldmine.’ This single went on to become an international crossover hit for Gabby, but it took a wild two-year journey to get there. As of this summer, the single had become the biggest song of 2021, dominating country radio.

Here is the video for “I Hope”:

Texas native Mickey Guyton has been part of the music world since 2011, but has been singing since she was a little girl. She did audition for American Idol, but was cut just before the live shows for the top 24. Last year, she made an impression on the world of country music by being the first black woman to ever perform solo at the 55th Academy of Country Music Awards. Her debut studio album ‘Remember Her Name’ came out this September, and that album includes the single “All American,” which is a unifying anthem that Guyton says “embodies everything that makes America special.”

Here is the video for “All American”:

What singer or band has been your “go-to” music during the pandemic? Which singles were the stand-outs for you this year? What song did you get sick of hearing on the radio? What was the top album in your opinion? Please share your thoughts on the music of 2021 below.

TOMORROW: Box Office Standings