What a day to be alive! Madonna kicked off the Madame X era with "Medellín" and then revealed the album's covers and star-studded tracklist. Let's start with the already-iconic artwork. The Queen of Pop channels Frida Kahlo on the standard edition (my favorite), while her trademark platinum blonde locks are back for the deluxe edition. As for the tracklist, well there's a lot to process. Song titles...

And she's back! Madonna kicks off the Madame X era this morning (April 17) with "Medellín." A collaboration with Colombian superstar Maluma, the mid-tempo banger is a reggaeton-infused, oddball delight. "I took a pill and had a drink, I went back to my 17th year," the Queen of Pop begins the song over mellow, Latin beats courtesy of Mirwais. "Allowed myself to be naive, to be someone I've never been."...

She did it again! Beyoncé pulled off another surprise early this morning (April 17) by dropping a live album to accompany her Netflix documentary. Homecoming: The Live Album is a 40-track opus that comprises her already-legendary 2018 Coachella performance as well as a couple of bonus tracks. Let's start with those because new Beyoncé is always a blessing. The Queen of pop, R&B and all other genres...

It took 47 years, technological innovation and a couple of court cases to bring Amazing Grace to theaters, but those struggles pale in comparison to the payoff. The fabled footage gives the viewer a front-row seat at one of Aretha Franklin's most iconic performances. The Queen of Soul's voice remained unsurpassed until the very end, but the chance to witness a young, transcendent Aretha at the very...

The K-Pop Kings have done it again! Today (April 12) BTS returns with their latest album MAP OF THE SOUL: PERSONA, and it is a predictably massive success. The legendary septet has been on a hot streak for some time now. Last year, they made history by topping the Billboard 200 not once but twice. Not only that, but they broke into the Top 10 on the Hot 100 with their mega-infectious "FAKE LOVE." And...

Every now and again, a song comes along that changes the whole trajectory of an artist's career. That's exactly what happened when SYML unleashed "Where's My Love." The sparse, haunting ballad caught fire on Spotify — the song is closing in on 200 million accumulated streams — and earned syncs in an eclectic array of movies and TV shows. As such, Brian Fennell (his real name) had to readjust his...

With K-Pop Kings BTS breaking records with each new release and US outfits like Why Don't We and PRETTYMUCH exploding in popularity, boy bands are taking over the world. Joining them at the forefront is CNCO. Recent singles "Reggaetón Lento" and "Hey DJ" racked up more than one billion streams between them and spawned star-studded remixes. Those collaborations gave Erick Brian Colón, Christopher...

Billie Eilish faces her darkest fears and paints them in painstaking detail on her debut album, WHEN WE ALL FALL ASLEEP, WHERE DO WE GO?. In doing so, the 17-year-old phenom takes the next step on the path she has been paving since her breakout single "Ocean Eyes" went viral in 2016. Three years into her career, and she is yet to release a bad song. Her perfect record continues with the release of...

From Rocky to Cool Runnings, cinema is rife with feel-good tales of underdogs defying the odds. The latest addition to the genre is Teen Spirit. Only instead of duking it out in a boxing ring or pummeling down an icy bobsled track, the heroine of this film takes on a very different challenge. Namely, the ruthless world of TV talent shows. Max Minghella's first feature is a gritty fairytale with a fully...

Hozier joined the ranks of Ireland's musical elite (U2, Van Morrison, The Cranberries and so many others) when "Take Me To Church" stormed the charts in 2014 and 2015. The 29-year-old backed it up with a mega-selling, critically-adored debut LP and then spent the next two and half years on the road. Instead of rushing back into the studio, the breakout star found a bungalow in the Irish countryside...

K-Pop Queens Red Velvet have their eyes set on global domination this year. The group has been extending their reign with some serious bangers since launching in 2014. Last year, they unleashed a slew of content including their most recent mini-album RBB. The project contained their second all-English track "RBB (Really Bad Boy)" and hit the number 2 spot on Billboard's World Albums chart. In 2019,...

After penning hits for the likes of Camila Cabello, Kygo and Charli XCX, Sasha Sloan launched her own artist project in 2018. The path from songwriter to pop star is increasingly well-travelled, but few make the journey with such a fully-fledged sense of identity and purpose. Take the titles of her two excellent EPs, Sad Girl and Loser. The 23-year-old's music is unashamedly emo, grappling with issues...