Celine Dion just joined Twitter. That breaking news has nothing to do with today's A-Sides session. It's just sort of a media advisory for fans of the French melody maker who want to tweet her questions as to why she historically hits herself in the chest each time she hits a high note. Having said that, today's artists are a reason to get excited about - perhaps even as animated as a certain Canadian superstar gets when approaching a chorus. The first act, Parachute, just released their third album Overnight last week, and finds the band's signature pop-rock sound intact. The Charlottesville, VA band filmed an A-Sides in New York City last week, and performed their killer lead single "Can't Help." That tune was co-written by OneRepublic's Ryan Tedder, a man who has more hits than Rod Carew. Watch them perform it and talk about it below. You're welcome.
Amanda Brown came thisclose to winning season three of The Voice, and she should have. But, whether she won the whole thing or not, she's poised for greatness. Why? Because she has a huge voice with amazing control, and makes it all seem as effortless as drinking a cup of coffee on a rainy Sunday morning. Last Monday, the New York singer performed a poignant song "Fly Away" with EMW Music Group producers Ben Lindell and Doug Larsen on A-Sides and fittingly, the song soared. See what I did there? It works because birds fly AKA soar. It's a funny play on words that they didn't teach me in my journalism college classes. Anyway, let me explain the special song and project before posting the embed video codes.
Lindell and Larsen recently released their debut album Shuffle with 100 percent of the proceeds going toward the VH1 Save The Music Foundation. The innovative producers' "LP" features a bunch of up-and-coming artists including Brown - all of whom created this art to help make sure kids have a forum to make some of their own. "Fly Away" is among the tracks, and Brown kills it. The trio discussed the standout track, and how the project came together. Brown, in particular, discussed her debut album that's in the works. Watch it all below, and support music education by downloading the album today. "Yeah man" as Usher might say. Do it.
About A-Sides Music
Jon Chattman's "A-Sides Music" series usually features artists (established or not) from all genres performing a track, and discussing what it means to them. This informal series focuses on the artist making art in a low-threatening, extremely informal (sometimes humorous) way. No bells, no whistles -- just the music performed in a random, low-key setting followed by an unrehearsed chat. In an industry where everything often gets overblown and over manufactured, I'm hoping this is refreshing.