Britney Spears Performs at BBMAs

       Britney Spears took a trip down memory lane with a performance at the Billboard Music Awards on May 22. Honored with the Millennium Award, which has only ever been given to two other artists, Spears took to the stage to perform some of her greatest hits.

     Spears began with her 2013 single "Work Bitch," while walking across the stage with nothing short of confidence. Then she transitioned into "Womanizer." After that, Spears rode a giant guitar while singing her rendition of "I Love Rock 'N' Roll," which received a great amount of applause from the fans in the audience. The pop star continued with "Breathe On Me" and that went right into "Slave 4 U," which Spears performed with the dance sequence that accompanied the music video, released back in 2001. The final two songs in the performance were "Touch of the Hand" and the unmistakable "Toxic." After the almost 6 minute long performance, Spears received a standing ovation from the crowd.

Spears riding guitar during "I Love Rock 'N' Roll"

   This was definitely not Britney Spears' first encounter with an award. During her music career, which began at the mere age of 16, Spears has managed to win a total of 90 awards, including 8 Billboard Music Awards. These exceptional achievements paved the way for Spears to obtain the Millennium Award.

     Britney Spears became a star in 1999, after debuting her album, ...Baby One More Time, and releasing a video for a song by the same name. The song became an instant hit and climbed to the top of the Billboard Hot 100 chart. From there, Spears continued to dominate the pop industry, releasing a total of 8 studio albums and being dubbed the Princess of Pop throughout the 90s and early 2000s.

Britney performing 'Baby One More Time' in 2001

Britney Spears- Billboard Music Awards '16 Performance

THE STROKES

     With school winding down, time surely won't be an issue. This summer, let The Strokes feature in your playlist. Their last album Comedown Machine was released in 2013, and now three years later their album Future Present Past is getting rave reviews! Songs include Drag Queen, OBLIVIUS, and Threat of Joy. The lead singer Julian Casablancas is known for muffling his voice, and then releasing the lyrics weeks later. Muffled singing, and the use of the synth keyboard are key to this album. OBLIVIUS is a personal favorite.

Farewell Fabulous Music Fanatics

  This blog has been an adventure for me to discuss the music that both excites and interests me.  As for the future, I will be attending a concert in early August.  I'm going to see Halsey at Madison Square Garden, and I'm extremely excited.  She's an excellent performer who sends positive energy to any crowd she faces.  Sadly, I won'y post about it here because today is the last day of postings.

Fantasia

    One would be surprised to consider a movie with no spoken dialogue to be exciting. However, Fantasia is an exception, On May 20 and 21, the New York Philharmonic reintroduced their enthralling orchestra to the original animation and merged it with the 2000 version's animation.
     The orchestra seemed to reverberate the most when scenes were most meaningful, and seemed to be the jolliest at its most playful moments. For instance, there were segments of the movie when pastel colored centaurs frolicked across the screen and the orchestra successfully portrayed an emotion of impending doom with a loud slap of the drum, then the blaring horn of the trumpet, and predictably, a rain cloud surged across the screen.
      Fantasia is a movie whose music continues to introduce people of all ages to the basis of all music, instrumentals, The New York Philharmonic stimulates the imaginations of many with unexpected and drastic changes in volume in pieces like Toccata and Fugue in D Minor by Bach, and The Rite of Spring by Beethoven with scenes so vibrant in color, that it simply amplified the music, and made it that much more meaningful.
      With a skilled orchestra, and feathery style of animation, Fantasia remains to be an emblem of creativity captured through sparkling screens.
   

Brand New

  Brand New is an alternative rock band from New York who have enjoyed success beginning in 2000.  The band hasn't released an album since 2009 with Daisy, but has been working on a new one starting in 2011.  Last year at a show, the band preformed their first single since Daisy called "Mene".  The band didn't re;ease another single until last week under the name of "I am a Nightmare".  The song is a catchy alternative song that gets stuck in the head of most of its listeners.  
                             
  It's a different sound from the previous songs from the band, still with somewhat depressing lyrics.  It was exciting to find out they were releasing new music because it's something fans of the band have been waiting for.

GWEN STEFANI

    With hot pink hair and rainbow colored braces impossible to ignore, Gwen Stefani sashayed onto the scene, and remains an emblem of mainstream pop-punk.
     Recently, she released her new LP This is What the Truth Feels Like, and recently opened up about a duet she did with her country singer boyfriend Blake Shelton. Shelton wrote Go Ahead and Break My Heart, and it was supposed to reflect on  Stefani's divorce to Gavin Rossdale, and Shelton's big fear of his new girlfriend not liking his new song.
     Stefani continues to be a trendsetter, even after overcoming times of turmoil with having her husband Rossdale cheat on her with their childrens' nanny. She continued to move forward and for the 58 annual Grammy Awards, Stefani debuted a live music video on TV.  Stefani is a musician that will continue to evolve, but we'll just have to wait and see!
   

Meghan Trainor Fights Back

     Less than 24 hours after the music video for ''Me Too" uploaded, Meghan Trainor had the video taken down. The singer, who is known for making empowerment songs regarding body size, pulled the video because she claimed her waist had been digitally altered.

     Trainor discovered her altered size through social media, after fans sent her numerous photos on Twitter and Instagram of a skinnier version of herself in the video. “I saw fans posting it and was like, 'Why are fans ruining my waist? Are you kidding?’” Trainor said in a USA TODAY interview. “Then I went to the video and was like, 'Oh my god.'"

     The singer signed a deal with her record label, RCA, in order to re-release the music video and it is expected to be out on May 17.

     This isn't the first time Trainor has encountered issues  with companies or labels altering her body. Just four weeks ago, on April 14, Seventeen Magazine received a flood of negative tweets for photo-shopping Trainor on the cover of their commencement issue. 

Altered  photo of Trainor

Blink-182's Triumphant Return

                 The wait is over as on April 28, 2016, Blink released their first single, "Bored to Death" off their upcoming album California.  With the release of the song, the band also announced a tour beginning in July with special guests: A Day to Remember, All Time Low, and All American Rejects.

  This is the first single since Tom DeLonge left so people were worried that the sound would be different; but it seems the new addition of Matt Skiba is a success.  The  reception towards the new music is generally positive as they stayed true to their pop-punk roots.