Our Lady Peace is in fighting form. The veteran Toronto band’s strong eighth studio album features legendary Canadian heavyweight boxer George Chuvalo on both the cover and the guitar ballad “Mettle.” Frontman Raine Maida sounds especially inspired on pumping, emotive tracks like “As Fast As You Can” and “Will Someday Change.”
He’s sold over 150 million records worldwide, singing about his beloved New York and supermodel wives and girlfriends like Christie Brinkley and Elle Macpherson. Yes, the Bronx-born Joel has led a charmed life. This Starbucks-only collection features all of the Piano Man’s biggest hits, including the Grammy-winning “Just the Way You Are.”
Although he’s renowned for r&b’s the Commodores and his own soulful solo hits, Lionel Richie was exposed to plenty of country sounds growing up in Tuskegee, Alabama. So it seemed like a natural idea to duet with some of country music’s biggest stars on 13 of his best-known songs. Says Richie: “I’m going back to where I wrote all of these songs in the first place.” What’s most surprising is not the range of singers—from Rascal Flatts and Tim McGraw to Willie Nelson—who join the Grammy- and Oscar-winning artist, but how well his songs adapt to countrified arrangements. “Stuck on You” perfectly suits the yearning rendition s...
She came to hip-hop attention with a series of mixtapes featuring her risqué rhymes and rapid-fire delivery. But Nasty Nicki remade herself as a flamboyant pop artist on her bestselling debut album, Pink Friday, which included several star-studded duets. Appearing with Madonna at the Super Bowl and performing the controversial, exorcist-themed “Roman Holiday” at the Grammys only heightened her profile. Now, with her fondness for colorful wigs, over-the-top costumes and supersized eyelashes, Nicer Nicki is ready for her close up. Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded is a brand new collection featuring a diverse range of styles and gues...
Spalding’s a serious jazz musician with a growing celebrity, having performed for President Obama and at the Oscars, making Vogue magazine’s “best dressed” list alongside Gwyneth Paltrow. The Afro-adorned singer-bassist’s latest CD blends r&b, pop and jazz and includes an adventurous cover of Stevie Wonder’s “I Can’t Help It.”
One of the most striking sights at this year’s Grammys was a banjo-playing Taylor Swift, wearing a baggy light-pink dress and her hair tied up in a loose braid. She looked like a loveable hillbilly gal—and drew a standing ovation for her rootsy performance. Now, the award-winning songstress offers two equally striking contributions to the T-Bone Burnett-produced soundtrack for The Hunger Games, the highly anticipated fantasy film starring Jennifer Lawrence. Swift teams up with folk duo the Civil Wars on the hushed ballad “Safe & Sound” and then abandons the haunting mountain sound for her frenzied rocker “Eyes Open.” Tayl...
Born to Guyanese parents, Fiona’s come a long way from her Toronto roots. Signed to Jay-Z’s Roc Nation and now living in the U.S., the sultry r&b singer recently won two Grammys and has a hot new album, featuring John Legend and powerful songs of heartbreak like “4 a.m.” and “Wrong Side of the Love Song.”
Although he records in Nashville, there’s nothing conventional about Reid’s brand of country music. The popular singer, who hails from Scotland and grew up in Quebec, shows off his soulful side on his seventh album, especially on songs like the robust title track and “Walking on Water,” his gospel-tinged duet with Serena Ryder.
Any one of the 108 million people who tuned into this year’s Super Bowl knew that Madonna’s next album was going to be a big deal. The Queen of Pop entered the half-time show in a golden chariot pulled by an army of Greek warriors. When she performed “Give Me All Your Luvin,” the single from her new album, the extravagant display became an all-out Madonna lovefest, with M.I.A. and Nicki Minaj as her sexy cheerleaders. MDNA proves that Madonna deserves all the hoopla and adulation. The world’s bestselling female artist, now 53, still has what it takes: irresistible pop songs backed by cutting-edge beats. From the driving opener “Girl Gone Wild” and the swirling “I’m Addicted” to the sunny pop...
Wonderfully eccentric, Gray would never release a predictable album of cover songs. Here, the six-foot-tall singer puts her inimitable spin on indie rock songs by Radiohead, Arcade Fire and others—all chosen to suit her distinctive voice. Gray doesn’t shy away from humor either, performing hilarious skits with the likes of Nicole Scherzinger.
