 Who: Christina Grimmie Where: New Jersey and Los Angeles What: Pop When: 2011-2016 Sounds Like: Selena Gomez on Steroids This has to be one of the hardest posts I've ever written. Let's start off to when I discovered her. It was 2011 and I was a sixth grader at the time. Because Spotify wasn't popular yet, I always found my artists through Itunes or YouTube. I was scrolling through suggested videos on YouTube when I came across Christina's cover of "Rolling in the Deep." I was amazed to say the least. This girl was something special. Her fame grew and she eventually opened for Selena Gomez on various tours. I was lucky enough to attend one the concerts and her stage presence captivated the whole audience. She then auditioned for The Voice in 2014 and recieved third place in the competition. I'm so grateful that she lived an adventerous life and shared her love of music with us before she died. But this death has hit me much harder than Bowie and Prince's did. She was only 22 when se passed. That's not even half the time she should've lived. Even though she experienced a lot in her lifetime, she still hardly experienced anything. She'll never get to find the love of her life. She'll never get to begin a family. She'll never get to see her kids grow up. She'll never achieve every single one of her goals and dreams. This is truly a tragedy and my prayers go out to Christina's family. RIP my beautiful angel.
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 Who: Tyler Hilton Where: Palm Springs, CA What: Acoustic Rock N' Roll, Americana When: 2003 Sounds Like: Gavin DeGraw, Needtobreathe This is probably the first time that I can't thank Spotify for finding an artist, but I'm forever grateful that I did. Tyler Hilton was a minor character in my favorite TV show One Tree Hill as Chris Keller- ignorant, egotistical, but extremely talented musician. His character was many of featured singers but he was definitely my favorite one. His music has a twist of rock and roll and mellow americana, which is something I haven't heard much of on the radio. That has to be my biggest pet peeve that artists like these don't get half as much recognition as they should. One Tree Hill fans will have to agree with me on this one, so I NEED everyone to stop and listen to this song because it's truly addicting.  Who: The Struts Where: Derby, Derbyshire What: Glam Rock When: 2010 Sounds Like: Queen, Poison The Struts is the definition of modern glam rock. I discovered this band when I was looking at the lineup of this year's Egdefest. Edgefest is an annual music festival in Frisco that alternative bands perform at and me being the high schooler I am, I couldn't afford tickets. It's a challenge wanting to go to all these concerts when I work at an ice cream store, but I will get to go to all the concerts I want when I open my own record label. The Struts is one of the bands on the concert lineup that really caught my attention. I love alternative music, but I feel like all these bands are trying so hard to be labeled "alternative" that the genre itself has become the opposite of that word. The Struts has a little bit of alternative, but their main focus is bringing back the 70's glam rock style and I love groups that revive old genres. It's a risky move bringing back an old trend because you never know how listeners will react, but sure enough, they've already caught the attention of a decent sized audience. They've even gone on tour with Motley Crue which is a huge accomplishment. Check them out!
When I was visiting my friend Kodi in Arizona, her family always played the Alt Nation Radio which played new, fresh alternative artists. When I heard COIN's song "Run," I was automatically enticed by their upbeat summer sounds. After listening to their whole self titled album (released in spring 2015), I realized that the whole album will definitely be my soundtrack for this summer. Their songs make you picture a fun, easy life hanging out by the pool and making endless memories with friends. This music will get me excited for the adventures yet to come Summer of 2016. Hear it from me first- this band will make it big the alt pop industry.  Who: Ty Mayfield Where: Tulsa, Oklahoma and Dallas, Texas What: Pop When: 2011 Sounds Like: A mellow Rixton or an upbeat Ron Pope I discovered Ty Mayfield September 11, 2014 when he opened up at the Alex and Sierra concert I attended. His set was so intimate with the fans. Only him and his guitar player on the stage and his music was so addicting. As soon as I got home from the concert, I found him on Spotify and put his album on repeat... His intentions to be a musician that focuses solely on the music and not the fame is refreshing to the music industry and I'm lucky to have a local as awesome as him. These past few weeks have been tough on me. I recently just got back from visiting my best friend who lives in Arizona and even though it was an amazing week for me, it was also bittersweet. I forget how great it is to have her around and it's hard when she lives in a different state. We always call each other, but it isn't the same as seeing her in person. And the way I cheer myself up is to call her or listen to music. It's true what they say about music healing the soul. Every time I have a bad day and need to be optimistic about the situation, I always listen to music and it makes me feel 100% better. Now I don't get sad about being away from her. I'm forever grateful that I even have the chance to have an amazing friend like her. Recently I've been listening to some upbeat acoustic and (of course) ska. I don't have a specific artist I'm focusing on, but here is a list of songs that are bound to cheer you up.
Dirty Heads-Cabin by the Sea Sublime with Rome-Take it or leave it JR JR- Gone Bishop- Wild Horses *Ballyhoo- Cali Girl Casey Abrams- Get out *Dylan Gardner- Let's get started *Colony House-Silhouettes *COIN- Run Marc Scibilia- How Bad do we need each other *Ty Mayfield-Find Another Fool Timeflies-All the way *wrote a blog about them. Go check them out in Grace's corner! HAVE A LOVELY WEEK AND USE MUSIC TO GET THROUGH YOUR ISSUES. Love you all.  Who: Ballyhoo! Where: Maryland What: Pop, Punk, Reggae When: 1995 Sounds Like: Sublime, Dirty Heads, Magic! Recently I've gotten into ska/reggae music due to my likings of Sublime and Dirty Heads. Maybe it's because of missing California or my desire to travel to small islands, but this is all I listen to. Ballyhoo's unique mix of punk and ska is so different from the music these days, and I'm surprised that after 11 years of being together, they're not more popular in the music industry. Their physical cd copies are difficult to find, and I have yet to find all, but I did find their album "Daydreams" for $5.99 after six months of hunting. I found it at Movie Trading Company and it was the only copy of any album in their system. I'm still looking for any Texas cd stores that have any in stock so fingers crossed! Aside from cd's, Ballyhoo is easily accessible. Find all their albums on Spotify and Youtube!  Who: Made Violent Where: Buffalo, NY What: Alternative Rock When: 2014 Sounds Like: The Strokes Yet another group that my friend Sami introduced to me, Made Violent has insanely rocking tracks on their latest self-titled EP. After releasing "Wasted Days" in 2014, Columbia records signed a record deal with them. After their EP was released February 2015, they had the honor of preforming at SXSW music festival in Austin, Texas. In my opinion their song "Two Toned Hair" is the best track on their EP because of their catchy chorus and guitar solo that makes you agressively bob your head as if you're at a rock concert. Check them out and tell us what you think!  Who: Jamie Lawson Where: Plymouth, England What: Acoustic, Singer/Songwriter When: 2000 Sounds Like: Ed Sheeran I think it's to the point that I can compare Spotify to the doorway of heaven because of the various artists I've discovered on it. I was listening to the Ed Sheeran radio and Jamie Lawson popped up as a suggested artist. His older song "Petals" popped up and I was instantly infatuated with his soft voice and acoustic guitar. We need more artists like Jamie. Artists that don't use the crap auto tune or over layering. Just simple. A little can take you a long way and Jamie is a perfect example of that. He's released 2 albums on independent record labels, but his career took off soon after he was signed on "Gingerbread Man Records," a record label that Ed Sheeran created. He's become known for his single "Wasn't Expecting That," but still needs some more recognition. His music is a perfect way to get ready for Thanksgiving break and the autumn weather. So put your fuzzy socks on, light a candle, wrap yourself in a blanket and listen to the anthem for fall.
This has to be one of my favorite artists at the moment right now. Alessia Cara's songs are meaningful, which most songs don't have nowadays. In her most popular songs, "Here", she talks about how she's at a party but doesn't understand the meaning of it. One of the lines makes me super happy at her, yet disappointed at society because they don't do this... "Somewhere with my people, we can kick it and just listen to Some music with a message, (Like we usually do) And we'll discuss our big dreams, how we plan, to take over the planet" There needs to be more artists with a positive message like her. Looking forward to new material. |
New Artists coming at you all the time.
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