Country and pop giants return and a new star shines

Five-time Grammy winner and country music icon  Shania Twain  has signed to the Republic Nashville label - a division of Republic Records - and marked the occasion with the release of a brand new single,  Waking Up Dreaming, her first release since 2017. The Canadian legend has also released a brand new video, directed by Isaac Rentz, to accompany the track.

Of the release and new partnership Shania commented  “I couldn’t think of a better partner than  Republic Nashville. I’m honored and excited to be the label’s first artist and lead the charge of this new and exciting chapter. In this respect, it feels like a new beginning all around, and I’m embracing it wholeheartedly.”

Republic Records  co-founder and CEO Monte Lipman commented,  “Shania is one of the most influential and impactful artists of this generation. She’s a rare talent whose

legacy continues to resonate throughout the world.  We feel a tremendous amount of gratitude to support her new body of work, which is spectacular.”

Waking Up Dreaming  marks her first release in the five years since 2017’s critically acclaimed,  Now, which bowed at #1 on the  Billboard  Top 200 and #1 on the Top Country Albums Chart. It also arrives on the heels of her blockbuster career-spanning documentary  Not Just A Girl  which is now  streaming on NETFLIX. It was notably produced by  Mercury Studios  and directed by  Joss Crowley. To accompany the film, Shania also released the compilation album  Not Just A Girl  (The Highlights).

Twain, of course, as well as being a five-time Grammy winner, is one of music’s most renowned trailblazers. With five albums released and more than 100 million albums sold worldwide, she remains the top-selling female country-pop artist of all time. Her hits include  Any Man of Mine,  That Don’t Impress Me Much,  You’re Still the  One  and  Man! I Feel Like A Woman!  Shania was the first artist in history to release three consecutive diamond certified albums. Her first album in fifteen years,  Now, was released in September 2017 and debuted, as mentioned, at No. 1 on the Billboard Top 200 albums, making it the first female country release in over three years to top the all-genre chart. 

Additionally, the album landed at #1 on the Billboard Top Country album charts, also going to #1 in Canada, Australia and the UK. The release was followed by a year-long sold-out  NOW World Tour. Twain is currently performing at her second residency in Vegas called  Let’s Go!. That residency, at the Zappos Theater in Planet Hollywood Resort and Casino, kicked off with a sold out run and continues through the remainder of 2022.  On July 26, Netflix released  Shania Twain: Not Just a Girl, the brand-new, career-spanning documentary on Twain’s life and career.  And rumour has it that the queen of country-pop will return with new music before  the year is out. So watch this space!

OLLY MURS

After recently signing to EMI Records, chart-topper  Olly Murs  is back on December  2nd, making his return with the release of  Marry Me, his first new studio album in over four years, and the seventh  of his illustrious career.
Die of a Broken Heart is the album-opener and also its first single. And, right from the opening notes, you can hear why, too. In typical Murs fashion, it’s an instant ear-worm, a one-listen-and-you’re-hooked pop-reggae outlier. Get ready to either love it or hate it, because you're definitely going to be hearing it everywhere. 
As Olly himself describes it:  “It has that steel drum at the intro, which just gets in your head straight away. It has a very Gotye, ‘Somebody I Used to Know’ feel to it, with a touch of The Police – and just a coolness to it. That really excited me.”
Murs has written and recorded the album solely with  David Stewart  and  Jessica Agombar, who between them have had roaring success writing for BTS securing a Billboard #1, which was, might we just add, a #1 in over 100 countries. So what we're getting with  Marry  Me  is one album, three writers and no features.  “I've never done this before",  confessed the man himself. 

"It felt weird writing with the same people constantly. But I loved the routine, and the consistency. We just kept writing good songs. They had a great vibe and an enthusiasm, and hunger."
The singer, songwriter and - let's face it - solid-gold pop star, has been all over our screens recently, being front and centre as host of ITV’s  Starstruck  while also returning to the big swivelly chair on  The Voice. But in the artist world – the world that forged him - Olly has been off the radar for over four years. Now, the man who had four #1 singles and four #1 albums in a near-back-to-back run after bursting onto the scene with his double-platinum self-titled debut in 2010, is well and truly back.
The joy and energy of that creative process ripple and radiate out from  Marry Me. Case in point being the track  Go Ghost. The playfulness of the lyric is matched by the very eighties bounce of the track, like peak A-Ha but for the social media age. Murs met his partner in 2019, which was another big change in his world, and this life-changing jolt is reflected in another new song,  I Found Her,  a big tune with big energy and a big, soaring synth line.
Also bringing the good-time party vibes is  Dancing on Cars, a tune with an exuberant  Pull Up To The Bumper  feel. And if you’re gonna tap into anyone’s funky vibe, Grace Jones is the one, right? Then, after the dancing and the partying, comes the romance. Rounding out  Marry Me  is  Let Me Just Say. Surprisingly, the album’s closing track is the only ballad on offer. But it's not just a showcase for Olly’s effortlessly classy voice, but also for his deepest emotions.
Olly’s previous six albums and subsequent sold- out tours have all been enormously successful. The stats speak for themselves: six multi-platinum albums, four #1 UK  albums, four #1 UK singles, six million spotify monthly listeners, eight-hundred million Youtube views, and close on two  million tour tickets sold.
And Olly is sure to have people dancing – and maybe proposing too – in the aisles next year, when he gets back on tour. Last time round, in 2019, he sold 180,000 tickets for UK arenas. This time, he’s determined to go bigger, better, and louder, returning with twelve huge arena shows across the UK in April and May, including a special night at  London’s O2 Arena  on  April 29th.
This is the Essex-machine at his happiest, too. How do we know? The clue, we feel, is in the album title:  Marry Me.  The answer? Hint: she said yes…!

And does the pop God have anything else to declare – other, of course, than ‘I do’? 

“I'm buzzing! I've got my music. I know where I am now."

~ Tickets for Olly’s 2023 UK arena tour are available via pre-sale on Wednesday, October 12th for anyone who pre-orders the album, and on general sale Friday, October 14th at 9.00am.

DEBBIE

British musician  Debbie  is just twenty-two years old, but her talent and wisdom are not indicative of her young years. The Londoner has just released her stunning new single  Cherry Wine,  an  honest and heartfelt offering, reflecting on the anxieties social interactions often bring to the forefront.

"Sometimes I feel alone in a room full of people - it's like the ultimate brain fog, and I can't seem to get past my mental block and just socialise. 'Cherry Wine' is about me talking about how I feel awkward at times and need some Dutch-courage (aka Cherry Wine) in order to relax and get comfortable",  remarks the artist, revealing the inspiration behind the record. 

Signed to frontline label,  0207 Def Jam, Debbie’s new single is produced by highly sought-after British producer,  Fred Ball  and also features  British musician  Venna  on Saxophone duties and US rising star  Fridayy  (of whom recently featured on DJ Khaled's latest album) on backing vocals.  Cherry Wine  also arrives with an accompanying 'live'  session visual, beautifully shot in collaboration with  KOKO  at their newly-renovated Camden venue as part of their  Eclipse  series.

Singing since her early years, Debbie was raised on a restricted musical diet of Mary Mary and Kirk Franklin, the way music flows out of her makes her seem like a seasoned veteran; from her reflective but effortlessly relatable lyricism to her rich, resounding voice and her spiritual curiosity, she’s a careful blend of refreshingly new and intimately familiar. 

Though she has never sung publicly in church, singing has been a part of her for as long as she can remember. Cut to present day and catharsis is still at the heart of Debbie’s writing - a means of exploring new thoughts and expressing old frustrations.  Cherry Wine  is  another sublime introduction to a vital new voice in UK music.