Last Year was Complicated

It definitely was. And Nick Jonas knows this too well. After all, it's the title of his third solo album released earlier this year. Heard Close, featuring Tove Lo? Well that song is from this album.

As Jonas released a new album, he brought something else to the plate. This is a documentary series on YouTube focusing his life back in the spotlight. It has three episodes so far, documenting the album release to the promotion and reception. In these 7 minute videos he gets candid about his personal life like we've never seen before. He reveals more about his new album and what inspired it. Takes us behind the scenes of the bruising video shoot Close with Tove Lo, and getting the album cover photo up there. And yes, it involved real glass. That must have hurt.

What is most admirable is how honest he is with us about himself. He shows us his imperfections as a human being, and the stress it takes to be a famous artiste like him. In episode three, we see him show up for countless interviews and performances for many consecutive days. We also witness a mishap that gets him left by a train where his crew is in. Even celebrities are not spared from these worldly unfortunate incidents.
Through all these celebrity challenges, Nick manages to look good in his expensive leather jackets. He also commands a huge fan (girl) following in Europe. And sings like a demigod. But last year still remains complicated.

In Common

Have you ever heard a song that completely explained how you felt at that moment? Like it was made for you? And you were meant to come across it? For me it's magic. Like finding your soul mate. You thank the heavens for making that artiste create that song. Because it becomes a temporary soundtrack for your life. You listen to it every day. Hum it on your way to school or work. It becomes your song. And no one can take it away from you.

There's one song that has done that for me. I know you know it. In Common by Alicia Keys. This song always comes to mind whenever I meet someone I have way too much in common. And I feel, yeah this is normal. If Alicia experienced it, so should I. Sometimes I get tempted to sing the song to that person. But I keep it to myself. They already know how the song goes.

Music is for everyone

There is a song for everything. There is music for happiness and for sadness. You will not miss a song, or millions, talking about the situation you are currently going through. Break up, loss, celebration, encouragement. There are even songs that talk about drugs and enhance the feeling. Songs for the club and songs for the church. Basically, music exists for almost every theme. Every single human experience. Of course some themes are more saturated than others; like partying, sex, and money which we hear every single day on TV and radio. But if you look carefully, you will find any kind of music you desire. There is no need to suffer alone. Or hate on a particular kind of music, as it was made for a certain crowd for a particular situation.

Enough of YouTube audios

So many new songs are being released everyday on YouTube, I can't keep up. Maybe I should stop trying. And just wait to hear them on radio. But it is likely that most of them won't make it to radio. They aren't mainstream enough. They don't fit into the guidelines. They fail to talk about sex, or naked girls, or lots of money. Instead they focus on real life emotions and experiences. But nobody cares about those. It if isn't sexy, it won't sell. To media that is.

I guess that's why they are first released on YouTube.

But let's talk about the high number of daily music releases. What are these artistes trying to do, overpower us with their music? Make them the thing we talk about most? Or are they just competing to see who'll release the most new songs? But what happened to that norm of releasing a new song together with it's video? Don't we enjoy it more that way? Isn't that the point of YouTube?

YouTube is not a music site. It's a video sharing website. So artistes, please stop it with the millions of new audios every week. I'm not going to listen to any other new audio on YouTube. We want videos!

The new experimentation

There's a new trend going on in the music industry. Musicians are doing things differently. They are getting out of their comfort zone. They are experimenting. With lots of things. No, I'm not talking about drugs. This is about music. Which can be considered as a drug.
So maybe I am.
Nowadays, it is not strange to hear your favorite musician singing on top of a dancehall beat. Or collaborating with a musician from the Caribbean. It is not news for Beyonce to release a rock song. Or country. Things are changing. Artistes are no longer afraid to try out new sounds that are away from their forte. They are slowly exploring new genres one by one, making them work. And most of them have succeeded in making hits. It all comes to show that music is music. Whether it is reggae, pop, blues, funk or rock, we will enjoy it. As long as the music is by our favorite artistes.

The Wizkid global effect

25-year old pop prince from Nigeria, Wizkid is rocking the world. First, he wowed and entertained Africans with his catchy dance and Afrobeat jams. His 2014 album Ayo churned hits like Caro, In My Bed and Show You The Money. With these, he proved to be one of the best male artistes not only in Nigeria but all around the Africa. You could constantly hear his hits all the way in Nairobi clubs as well as Soweto pubs.

It seems that Wizkid not only wants to conquer Afirca, but the world too. He has spread his wings and flown out of the coup to other fields. After winning and being nominated for several international awards, he has caught the attention of global artistes. This was first witnessed on social media when American artist Alicia Keys posted a video of her dancing to "Caro". After this phenomenon, he has been seen with other famous artistes and even worked with them. Last year, appeared in Major Lazer's album Peace is the Mission, featuring in the dancehall jam "Boom" together with Ty Dollar Sign, Kranium and MOTi. As if that wasn't enough, he surprised us earlier this year with a Drake collaboration.One Dance is one of 2016's hottest summer jams, no doubt. His latest mega collaboration that can be witnessed is "Shabba", a hiphop jam that features American megastars French Montana and Chris Brown. And Trey Songz! The Star Boy is now part of the global entertainment elite, a mere boy from the crowded Nigerian city of Lagos. But he is not done yet, he still has a couple of songs up on his sleeve that he will hopefully release this year.

We celebrate Wizkid as he continues to fly high our African flag on the global stage. One YouTube user said something about Wizkid going international will make his music become mediocre. Let's just hope that these collaborations will not strip him off his star quality that made us fall in love with him in the first place.

What next after a big break

Every musician gets one chance. A chance to prove themselves to the world. To show off their individual talent or skill. It all starts with their first hit song. Yes. Right now, an artiste whose name we don't know yet is producing a song that will be sang worldwide. This will be their big break. Everyone will get to hear their new song and many will love it. It could be their debut track, or their fifteenth song. But in that one moment, they become famous.

Almost every artiste I know started out like this. It all began with one song that put them in the spotlight. But what happens after it? Well, they usually take different routes. Three to be specific. The first is one I call 'abracadabra'. The hit maker basks in the global attention for a while. Soon, they run away from the stage with their new found millions. They disappear as if they never existed. Nobody knows where they went and why. And they just become somebody that we used to know. We call these, one hit wonders.

The second group works harder than the first. After one successful single, they use it to launch their music career. This means that they release song after another in order to stay relevant. They put a lot of effort to promote their new music before they are forgotten. If they keep up with more great songs, they become stars known all around the world.

And then there's the third. This one includes artistes who neither vanish nor try too hard. They enjoy the limelight for as long as it lasts. Once it's gone they don't chase it like group two. Instead, they continue making their own kind of music. Even though they don't remain famous doesn't mean they are forgotten. During their hit moment, they attract new fans who look for more of their music even when it's not so mainstream. And they continue making and performing underground music to their few loyal fans. I think this is my favorite.

If you were an musician, which among the three paths would you pick?

Music, the antidote to chores

Don't you just hate doing chores. Washing your dirty linen, or cleaning the dishes after a hearty meal. I do. But it's not something we can avoid. Few of us can, and that is only when we have helps at our beck and call. Like rich people, and socialites. Away from material wealth, how can we deal with doing annoying jobs for most of our lives? Well there's only one thing that helps me in these difficult moments.

That's music.

There's just something about music that makes chores feel much easier. And less boring. Maybe its the sounds distract you from the task at hand. And you can happily scrub that dirty sweatshirt. Or music is that secret motivator that can get you do almost anything. Like working out in the gym. Or even rake the fallen leaves on a hot afternoon. It has a certain power that is quite unexplained. It enables you to do some of the most mundane things and feel good about it. Music even helps people to workout using those heavy machines in the gym. So whenever you have to do something tiring or that you don't particularly like doing, remember one thing. It's not what job you're doing, but what music you're listening to.