Category Archive: Music

Pasek and Paul: Two Men & A Trophy

The dynamic duo has struck gold again! Benji Pasek and Justin Paul, appropriately known as Pasek and Paul, took home their first Grammy at last week's 60th Annual Grammy Awards. The team has raked up at several notable award ceremonies like the Grammys, Oscars and the Tony awards within the last year. This means that they are on their way to becoming the youngest to reach the entertainer’s holy grail, EGOT.

There are only 12 entertainers who have won an Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and a Tony Award, or EGOT, for their contributions to showbiz. Pasek and Paul are only an Emmy win away from joining the ranks of stars like Barbara Streisand, Whoopi Goldberg and Harry Belafonte.

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Partynextdoor: The Beat Goes On

In the hip-hop community, there is no denying that it pays to have connections. We’ve seen how producing performers like Drake attach their names to music acts, and almost instantly, a breakthrough artist is born. The Canadian rap master started his record label, October’s Very Own Sound, in 2012 as an offshoot of Warner Bros. Records. Since then, he has been monopolizing the Canadian rap scene, signing upcoming artists left and right. His first signee, Partynextdoor, has received much praise from rap critics and listeners in the span of just one year.

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Cortez Bryant: Keeping it Fresh

Wayne’s manager and long-time friend, Cortez Bryant is arguably one of the hardest working men in the hip-hop industry. As Chief Operating Officer of Young Money Entertainment and CEO of Bryant Management, he has transformed fresh new faces into hip-hop icons with his innovative business strategies. Despite his incredibly successful career, Bryant’s story is one of an ambitious friend that dove into the music industry with little experience. Rejecting other career paths, he put it all on the line for his high school friend. His vision was to transform a dream into a reality. With a strong work ethic and relentless spirit, he helped Wayne’s life aspiration come to fruition and established his own career as a leading businessman in the hip-hop industry.

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Blake Shelton: Country Rock

It was a giant step for Blake Shelton, actually it would have been for anyone. In 1994, just weeks after graduating high school, the Oklahoma born country singer packed his bags and headed for Nashville, Tenn., a place that established some of country music's biggest stars like Alan Jackson and Dolly Parton. “I was so naïve though – when you're seventeen, this [is] going to be easy – so, I never had a doubt that I was going to make it one day,” Shelton said in an interview with Country Music Television.

After years of working random jobs and playing his guitar in bars, the perseverance finally paid off for the young country-rock musician. In 1998, Shelton was signed to the now defunct Giant Records. He released his first single “Austin,” on his self-titled debut album.

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Julia Michaels: Behind the Scenes

Songwriters have long been the driving force behind the music industry. Their creativity, motivation and desire to be completely vulnerable shapes songs on the music charts that range from top 40 to Alternative. Songwriters are the foundation of the music industry. Their tireless efforts are usually unrecognized in favor of the performers. However, singer-songwriters are not  easily overshadowed, they are a part of a the package deal.. Rising singer-songwriter Julia Michaels exemplifies both characteristics with the rise of her hit single “Issues.” She finally stepped from behind the scenes after years of writing for other artists to show the world her beautiful voice. The songstress was born in a small town in Iowa before moving to Santa Clarita, California when she was six years old. Michaels, originally named Julia Carin Cavazos, is of Mexican-Puerto Rican background. Her father changed his name to John Michaels at the advice of a casting agent when he pursued his acting career in the early 90s. She kept the surname Michaels as a stage name.  

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Ray Davies: A Rockin Rollin Knight

The 1950s and 1960s was a monumental time for rock-n-roll. Stunning guitar riffs, powerful vocals, and magical piano notes became the basis for all kinds of different rock music, like alternative rock, soft and hard rock. In the 1960s, Sir Raymond Douglas "Ray" Davies, also known as Ray Davies, emerged as one of England’s alternative rock stars. Davies can play the guitar, piano, and harmonica, and he sings. He was the lead singer for his band, The Kinks, and has done solo work on the side. The musician is well into his seventies but he keeps on rockin and rollin.

Davies started his music journey and career in the 1960s after discovering his love for music while attending art school in England. In 1964, Ray Davies and his brother, Dave, started The Kinks and gained their first record label the same year. They quickly became known for their psychedelic, alternative rock music with guitar riffs and cool chords. The brother’s interest in England’s sociopolitical issues heavily influenced their word choice, and they became known for making struggles into music.

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