RnB, Soca, Soul, Rap, Reggae, Rock, Hip Hop, Jazz, Dancehall, Spoken Word, Quotes, Photographs, Each Post On The #SoultrainAfterDARK Blog Is Dedicated To Inspire & Uplift, To Encourage & Motivate
Friday, November 6, 2020
Avant Can We Fall In Love [#SongOfTheDAY] [July 10, 2020]
Myron Lavell Avant [born April 26, 1978], also known as Avant, is an American R&B singer, songwriter, and a stage-play actor, born in Cleveland, Ohio. He is known for his songs "Separated", "Read Your Mind", and "Makin' Good Love". He has produced three Platinum-selling albums. He has released 15 singles and 7 albums.
Avant has five siblings and he is the youngest of them all. He did not belong to a wealthy family and grew up watching his mother struggle to provide the best to her children. His mother encouraged him to improve his music skills by playing classic R&B artists like Smokey Robinson, The Supremes, and Marvin Gaye. He was passionate about music since his childhood. He pursued acting during his high school education at Cleveland School of the Arts. After graduating from high school, he worked a few factory jobs.
Avant began writing songs at the age of 14. He independently released his debut single "Separated" in 1998. It was a song based on a failed romantic relationship. The single created a buzz and was played on the radio. It helped him land a deal at Magic Johnson Music. In 2000, he released his debut album, My Thoughts, which sold more than 1.3 million copies in the United States and 4.4 million worldwide. It was released by MCA Records. His debut album featured a duet with the 1983 René & Angela ballad "My First Love". It reached the top 5 of the R&B charat and helped boost Wyatt's career. He released his second album, Ecstasy, in 2002. It featured another of his top ten hits, "Makin' Good Love". His third album, Private Room, was released in 2003, and reached number four on Billboard's R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart. A track from the album, "Read Your Mind", was ranked 13th on the Hot 100. A remix featuring Snoop Dogg appeared on the promotional vinyl and was released on September 30, 2003. In 2006, Avant released his fourth album Director, which topped the R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart and debuted at number four on the Billboard 200. Its lead single, "When It Hurts", reached number 91 on the Hot 100. Avant was featured in the remix of Lloyd Banks' song "Karma" from the 2004 album The Hunger for More. He also made a cameo appearance in the 2004 feature film BarberShop 2: Back in Business. His self-titled fifth album, Avant, was released on December 9, 2008. Avant later signed to Verve Forecast and released his sixth studio album The Letter [formerly titled Wake Up] on December 21, 2010, featuring production from the likes of The Pentagon; Mike City; Marshall Leathers; and Kajun. Avant cites R. Kelly as his biggest influence and inspiration. His eighth album The VIII was released on September 25, 2015. In 2019, Avant returned with the single "Not Gone Lose" and signed a label deal to release the album Can We Fall in Love, which was released in July 2020.
Avant was nominated for Best R&B/Soul Single at the Soul Train Music Awards in 2001 for his debut single, "Separated". He was again nominated for Best R&B/Soul Single at the Soul Train Music Awards in 2007 for his single, "4 Minutes".
Avant suffers from lupus and has taken up a vegan diet to help manage its effects.
Courtesy: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Avant_(singer)
NPR Music Tiana Major9: Tiny Desk [Home] Concert [Live November 6, 2020 London, England]
Ascending R&B talent Tiana Major9 welcomes us into her South London home with a band she assembled for her Tiny Desk [home] concert. Tiana gained the music world’s attention in August when Adele took to Instagram to call the song “Same Space?” “absolutely stunning!!” [The post was liked more than 430,000 times.] I was lucky enough to witness a private Tiana showcase in Los Angeles several months earlier, where I was moved by the refined nature of her voice. She begins her Tiny Desk with an ending of sorts: the devastating “Collide,” written for the final sequence of Lena Waithe’s critically acclaimed film Queen & Slim. Later, she shows off her range and timbre on “Think About You,” a stunning love song that infuses elements of jazz, alternative R&B and her Jamaican roots. The sweetness in its refrain “I need more hours in the day … just to think about you” feels like a blueprint for how to spend the third wave of quarantine. --- Courtesy: Abby O'Neill NPR Music
Saturday, October 31, 2020
In Memoriam: Michael Jackson Smooth Criminal [1987]
"Smooth Criminal" is a song by American singer Michael Jackson from his seventh studio album Bad [1987]. It was written by Jackson, and produced by Jackson and Quincy Jones. It was released as the album's seventh single on November 14, 1988. It features a fast beat with lyrics about a woman who has been attacked in her apartment by a "smooth criminal". The refrain "Annie, are you OK?" was inspired by Resusci Anne, a dummy used in CPR training. "Smooth Criminal" peaked at number seven on the Billboard Hot 100, becoming the sixth top 10 single from Bad. It also peaked at number two on the Billboard Hot Black Singles chart. It was certified 2x Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America [RIAA]. The song reached number one in Belgium, Iceland, the Netherlands and Spain. Though "Smooth Criminal" was not one of the Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles, in retrospective reviews it has been regarded as one of the best songs on Bad and one of Jackson's signature songs. It has appeared on numerous greatest hits albums and was performed on all of Jackson's solo tours. The music video for "Smooth Criminal" premiered on MTV on October 13, 1988. The video is the centerpiece of the 1988 film Moonwalker. The 1930s influenced setting and Jackson's white suit and fedora pays tribute to the Fred Astaire musical comedy film The Band Wagon. In the video, Jackson and the dancers perform an "anti-gravity lean" that appears physically impossible. "Smooth Criminal" was re-released in 2006 as a single as a part of Jackson's Visionary: The Video Singles boxset. Rolling Stone ranked the song sixth on their list of the 50 Best Michael Jackson Songs, writing that it was "his best blend of R&B groove and rock edginess, and a turning point in his shift toward darker, harder-edged material".
Courtesy: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smooth_Criminal
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