Blog Posts by Craig Rosen

Like her many fans, my friends at Yahoo! Music have been anxiously awaiting the release of Keri Hilson's debut album, In A Perfect World..., for months. Those smart guys and gals at Y! Music had Hilson in studio for a performance and interview last summer, back when it seemed as if the album would be released shortly. At the time, they never could have guessed that it would be delayed for several months and that the emerging artists program would be transformed into a blog. But as luck would have it, the album wasn't released until Tuesday (March 24), so now I can write about it and we can show off Hilson's exclusive interview and performance. How's that for perfection? Check out Hilson performing "Energy" and let me know if it gets you going.

In case you didn't know, Hilson is much more than just another pretty singer with a beautiful voice; she's a songwriter, too. In fact, she's penned such hits as Britney Spears' "Gimme More," Usher's "Love In This Club, Part II," Mary J. Blige's

Sometimes people forget that rock 'n' roll isn't always supposed to be an intellectual exercise about meaningful lyrics and social commentary, but a down and dirty, sexy, raunchy, primal groove thang. The very phrase "rocking and rolling" is a euphemism for sex or dancing or it might even have a religious connotation, according to his handy-dandy Wikipedia entry. Funny, that all sounds a bit like a Prince record or maybe--if you lose the religion--the new single by Norwegian rock goddess Ida Maria.

Music lovers in the U.K. apparently agree, since the single "I Like You So Much Better When You're Naked" reached No. 13 there. I also dig the nod and wink to Andy Warhol and the Velvet Underground with the peeling bananas in the video, which is a happy coincidence because Time magazine compared Ida to "Nico, but with an abundance rather than an absence of feeling."

Unfortunately, I've yet to see Ida (pronounced ee-dah) live, but according to reports, the artist born Børli Sivertsen is one

Like recent featured act White Lies, the Script recently topped the U.K. album chart and are now setting their sights on America. But while White Lies draw inspiration from the sounds of '80s Brit post-punk acts like the Teardrop Explodes and Joy Division, the Script is an entirely different animal. Instead of focusing on one genre, the Irish trio attempts to mix it up with a whole slew of different influences.

"There are so many people who are going on iTunes now to mix and match songs from lots of different genres," Script front man Danny O'Donaghue told the BBC. "Why isn't there a band that can do the same thing? You have to be rock or hip-hop or pop. That's what excites us about the Script." It's nice that O'Donaghue finds his own band so exciting. 

If you're wondering how these Irish blokes ended up getting so funky, you'll find it all explained once you learn about their background. O'Donaghue and guitarist Mark Sheehan first worked together in the mid-'90s in the Brit boy band

I first heard Amadou & Mariam some weeks ago on KCRW's Morning Becomes Eclectic. After spinning "Sabali," the show's new host, Jason Bentley, noted that the West African duo would open some of Coldplay's stadium dates this summer. I made a mental note that I'd feature the duo in Who's Next in the coming weeks. Lo and behold, articles on Amadou & Mariam turned up in Time magazine and the Los Angeles Times in recent days, forcing my hand, which was just as well, since Welcome To Mali,the pair's latest album, was officially released in the U.S. today(March 24). Check out the video for "Sabali," a track from the album,below.

Asyou heard in the video, Mariam has a unique, angelic voice, made evenmore compelling with the use of AutoTune, while Amadou has created anirresistible musical bed in this track. Aside from making incrediblemusic, Amadou & Mariam have an incredible story. Thehusband-and-wife duo met in 1975 at the Bamako Institute for the YoungBlind in Mali. At the time, Adadou

Even if you're not familiar with Matt Nathanson, chances are that you've heard his music on television. Nathanson's songs have been featured on such TV shows as Scrubs, Privileged, NCIS, Women's Murder Club, Men In Trees, One Tree Hill, Newport Harbor, and Private Practice.

Yet the San Francisco-based singer-songwriter is not just some studio rat concocting music for TV, he's a real live touring musician. In fact, Nathanson kicks off his latest tour on April 7 at the Warfield in San Francisco on a bill that also includes Jack's Mannequin and Low Vs Diamond. Nathanson and his band will tour with Jack's Mannequin through early May before moving on to dates with Sugarland for the latter part of May, and August, September, and October.

Nathanson plays a brand of emotional adult pop not too dissimilar to John Mayer or Jason Mraz, but he's not some newcomer merely copping their style. Nathanson has been releasing records since the early '90s. He's had stints on indie and major labels and

Everyone loves Justin Timberlake. He was 'N Sync. He's a successful solo artist. He contributed to Janet Jackson's wardrobe malfunction at the Super Bowl. He collaborated with Madonna. He dated Britney Spears,Cameron Diaz, and Jessica Biel, and I'm sure he's moved on to somefabulous other babe now. But never mind all that. Can Justin Timberlakeboast about the fact that his father is Steve Earle, that he was named after Townes Van Zandt, and that he covers a song by one of my all-time favorite bands ever, the Replacements,on his new album? I think not. But Justin Townes Earle can because heis, he was, and he did. Check out Justin performing the Replacements'"Cant Hardly Wait" live at Belmont Arts & Music Festival in Chicagoin this fan-shot video clip.

The studio version of that fine tune is included on Earle's recently released sophomore effort, Midnight At The Movies,but this singer is more than just a mere interpreter of other's songs.Earle composed the album's other 11 tracks and

Sometimes you can get into a new artist via their friends and associates. That's the case with 88-Keys, the New York-based producer and hip-hop artist born Charles Misodi Njapa. After racking up production credits for artists ranging from Blackstar and Beanie Sigel to Macy Gray, 88 stepped up to the microphone and made his own album. The Death Of Adam dropped late last year, but 88's video featuring his friend Kanye West was just released. Don't let the video fool you. 88-Keys isn't 88. He's actually a 29 year old playing the character of the elderly Clifford, while Kayne portrays his old pal Rufus West.

It was the Kanye connection--West also has an executive producer credit on the album--and the clip "Stay Up! (Viagra)" that initially drew me to 88-Keys, but I think he's more than a one-video wonder. On further investigation, I found that 88 has pretty interesting taste in samples. He uses snippets of Paul McCartney & Wings' "The Note You Never Wrote," an album track from the band's

When I first heard Antony Hegarty, I have to admit, I wasn't a fan. He was featured on a couple of Lou Reed releases, first on the 2003 remake of "Perfect Day" included on The Raven, then he turned up again on Reed's 2004 release Animal Serenade singing the Velvet Underground's"Candy Says." Initially I wondered why Lou chose to muck up hisclassics by inviting some dude with a strange, otherworldly voice tosing on them.

Shortly thereafter, in 2005, I came across I Am A Bird Now, the second album by Antony & the Johnsons,and found myself transfixed by the band's haunting and unusual sound. Irealized Antony was the guy singing on those Lou Reed tracks, which Iwent back to and re-listened to after discovering that voice belongedto a hulking, six-foot something, transgendered British transplant.Turns out that Lou Reed is probably a better judge of talent than I am."He's a great guy, absurdly talented," Reed told The New York Times Magazine."It's these parts he can come up with, these ways