It was intended to be the year the music industry returned to normal.
Fun wait, right?
For periods of time, this seemed possible. Amphitheater concerts with their surroundings have flourished more frequently, club exhibitions have reduced attendance or required evidence of vaccination, and some stadium getaways began after a heist in 2020, adding the Rolling Stones’ “No Filter” excursion (the biggest profit of the year at $115. 5 million) and Hella’s mega excursion with Green Day/Weezer.
But in the fall, when the Delta variant of the coronavirus trampled on tour buses and dining spaces in the scenes, even the most vigilant were not spared the headaches of postponements and cancellations. Just ask KISS, the Doobie Brothers, the Zac Brown Band, Stevie Nicks. and various artists on various stops of the regularly cheerful Jingle Balls of iHeartRadio.
We will continue to look to 2022 with optimism. But first, let’s take a look at some of the musical moments that made 2021 memorable, despite the obstacles.
With a mix of incisive and emotionally heartbreaking lyrics about young love upside down and an emerging refrain, which would be “Driver’s License,” the burgeoning Disney singer-songwriter catapulted (“High School Musical: The Musical: The Series”) into a firecracker throwing his own crushed pills filled with cheeky pop songs. Rodrigo’s year skyrocketed with that of his debut album “Sour” and culminated with seven impressive Grammy nominations and the announcement of a global excursion starting April 2.
It’s still highly unlikely that “After Hours,” one of the best-selling, breathless albums of 2020, failed to generate a Grammy nomination for singles for the 2021 rite (postponed until March due to the coronavirus). to the astonishing snub by accusing the Recording Academy of corruption, a fee he denied, but later that year brought new voting protocols, and promised to refuse to send long-running paintings for Grammy review. the Super Bowl halftime display in Florida for a visually striking, if conceptually confusing, display.
Without escaping disappointment, Swift boldly announced in 2019 that once her contract with Big Machine Records ended, she would begin re-recording the six albums she created on the label to regain her masters, which had been unceremoniously sold. an investment firm. Skillfully incorporating the slogan “Taylor’s Version” into the re-recordings, Swift introduced note-by-note versions of “Fearless” in April and “Red” in November and filled them with a plethora of extras for the faithful. With 4 more albums in the works (“Taylor Swift”, “Speak Now”, “1989” and “Reputation”), enthusiasts can expect an additional bonus in 2022.
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After 460 days of silence, Madison Square Garden came back to life on June 20 with the first major stadium concert not only in New York, but among the first in the country. Dave Grohl and his rock crunch gang thrilled and sold – outside and vaccinated crowd with songs that took on a new resonance (“It’s in the moments ones, they inform you to live again”), the deyet of The Dee Gees (the band’s triyete to the Bee Gees) and a special appearance through Dave Chappelle (singing Radiohead’s “Creep”). More than the return of rock to the country’s highlight, it marked what at the time seemed like a promising return to coherent live music.
Oh, yes. The impulsive rapper invited enthusiasts to fill Atlanta’s Mercedes-Benz Stadium last July to listen to an unfinished edition of his album “Donda. “And then he never left construction (at least for several weeks as he continued to polish and twist songs while living in a makeshift room in the stadium locker room). An infinitely advanced edition of “Donda” presented to some other organization of more than 35,000 enthusiasts on the Atlanta site (all paying up to $100 per ticket price for the honor) in early August. He then headed north, to his hometown of Chicago, for a third “listening event,” uh, at Soldier Field, where he was joined through Marilyn Manson, DaBathrough, and his ex-wife Kim Kardashian (wearing a wedding dress, no less). “Donda” as a piece of music is imperfect but interesting. But West’s advertising genius is what it’s like to recognize value.
After months of speculation, it came in the form of a 20-second black-and-white Instagram clip highlighting a cassette (look, kids), a look in the rearview mirror of Adele’s piercing eyes, and some notes of a lovely piano. The “Easy on Me” single, Adele’s first single to land a few weeks later, sent The into a frenzy of anticipation for “30,” the British superstar’s first album in nearly six years that arrived in mid-November. The release remained at number one on the Billboard two hundred for five consecutive weeks and, in an industry obsessed with streaming, sold over a million copies. Next stop, Vegas.
Despite the band’s omnipresence, on Broadway, in theaters, like lazy jokes, ABBA’s resolve to release their first album in 40 years moved the dialophile who inhabits each of us (don’t argue, he’s here). The songs on “Voyage” fit the brilliant perfection of “Waterloo” or “Dancing Queen”, some tracks (“Don’t Shut Me Down” and “I Still Have Faith In You”) evoke a pleasant dose of nostalgia. You’re still not convinced that ABBA’s virtual avatar/tour starting in May in London will be one thing and their nod to the Grammy for ‘Faith’ is extraordinarily out of place, but for now we’re just going to close and enjoy them. .
Although the piano-pop master returned to his periodic stadium appearances at the end of the summer, the genuine exhalation that COVID might not spoil it all this year came with the return to his cathedral, the stall where Joel has sold more than 70 gigs since he began his only monthly residency in 2014. His return to his roots was magical; a list of 25 songs steeped in 50 years of hits and album cuts along with the genuine inner voice that something so special could never have covered. With in-apartment displays scheduled through July, you shouldn’t miss the chance to see it in your local country.
Omicron and the Arts: More Cancellations and Postponements
After months of (virtual) court appearances and legal confusion, Spears, despite everything, was released from Father Jamie’s guardianship. His unwavering enthusiasts sparked the motion #FreeBritney in 2008, when Jamie was given control of his assets to protect his well-being. But in recent years, the rallying cry has become more pronounced as documentaries and Spears’ own public testimony have revealed the checkpoint she has endured. Two months before the legal termination of the guardianship, California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed an invoice called #FreeBritney as a measure to reform guardianship.
For the casual fan, watching nearly 8 hours of John, Paul, George and Ringo sitting in various studios as they create what would become their album “Let It Be” is as exhilarating as hunting in the sand. But even the least fanatical Beatles deserve to watch in awe of McCartney’s sheer genius (the way “Get Back” almost comes out of it is impressive), the tacit intellectual connection between him and Lennon (his crazy reruns of “Two of Us” is simply adorable), the band’s constant glue that is Starr, and Harrison’s discreet contributions. But the most valuable fact of director Peter Jackson’s work (which airs on Disney) are the realities that the quartet enjoyed each other, bitterly, and that Yoko Ono, in fact, did not break the Beatles.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Ye’s ‘Donda’, Adele’s Return and More of the Best Musical Moments of 2021