WONGIE BALLAD OF THE WEEK: haim - hallelujah

haim - hallelujah

WONGIE BALLAD OF THE WEEK: jp saxe & julia michaels - if the world was ending

jp saxe & julia michaels - if the world was ending

WONGIE BALLAD OF THE WEEK: maroon 5 - memories

maroon 5 - memories

VIDEO PREMIERE: taylor swift - lover

dir: drew kirsch / taylor swift

WONGIE BALLAD OF THE WEEK: ben platt - ease my mind

ben platt - ease my mind
ben platt offers us yet another wonderful vocal track from his upcoming debut album 'sing to me instead'. the tony winner continues to visually tell a chapter of a failed love between him and charlie carver and in the process publicly come out on his own terms. can't wait to hear more from this album!!!

see the first video release, bad habit below:

ben platt - bad habit

WONGIE BALLAD OF THE WEEK: lake street dive - i can change

lake street dive - i can change
normally when you hear a lake street dive song, you're expecting an upbeat fun retro jam led by the thick soulful vocal of rachael price. so imagine my surprise listening to their new single 'i can change' from their upcoming album 'free yourself up'. instead of a jazzy four piece number, it's a thoughtful acoustic ballad which strips down their sound to just rachael and a guitar. it's immensely lovely and tells me that the new album will be expanding their talents to incorporate some new sounds. yaaay!

but don't fret, you can still listen to rachael soul out vocally on their album's 1st release 'good kisser':

lake street dive - good kisser (live)

and since we're such big fans, here is the song that introduced me to this glorious posse:

lake street dive - you go down smooth (live)

WONGIE BALLAD OF THE WEEK: p!nk - wild hearts can't be broken

p!nk - wild hearts can't be broken
released a few hours after her live performance on the grammys (see below), p!nk took to a simple white top and jeans approach for both versions giving us just the song to focus on. originally written for the film 'suffragette' (but didn't make the final cut), "wild hearts..." feels just as timely and inspirational these days and marks a perfect 3rd single release from her 'beautiful trauma' album. love it!

pink - wild hearts can't be broken (live @ grammys 2018)

GIVE THIS VERSION THE XMAS #1: ed sheeran & andrea bocelli - perfect symphony

ed sheeran & andrea bocelli - perfect symphony
ed has said that he plans on doing various duets for his uber ballad 'perfect' since the very beginning. so after getting queen bey for his 1st collab, he's gone and recorded this symphonic duet with opera singer andrea bocelli and its well... kind of perfect! i can only imagine who else he has up his sleeve! but regarding this version, just hearing andrea go into his sotto voice is enough to get lovely goosebumps!

WONGIE BALLAD OF THE WEEK: jacob banks - unknown (to you)

jacob banks - unknown (to you)
my fave baritone of the moment keeps on putting out beautifully emotional tracks (which are better experienced live if you ever get the chance) leading up to his debut album coming out next spring. 'unknown' is in fact a track that was released two years ago via his EP 'the paradox', but over the years of performing the song, jacob has found a new connection with it's sentiments and wanted to share it with his fans. the end result is just gorgeous. LOVE THIS GUY!

WONGIE BALLAD OF THE WEEK: luke sital-singh - killing me

luke sital-singh - killing me
oh the feels you're going to get from listening to luke's new single based on his grandmother who has survived over a decade after the death of her husband. the track also kicks off his latest album which is due later this year. gosh this song is sad...

WONGIE BALLAD OF THE WEEK: troye sivan feat betty who - heaven

troye sivan feat betty who - heaven
with a video celebrating those in the lgbtq community who fought for their rights leading up to the world we live in today, troye sivan offers a powerful visual history of how far the community has come (and will continue to evolve in the coming years). just wonderful.

WONGIE BALLAD OF THE WEEK: london grammar - rooting for you (live version)

london grammar - rooting for you (live version)
kicking off the new year with new music, london grammar offer up the sparse single 'rooting for you' with zero fanfare. it's wintry gorgeousness at it's finest and kicks off what i'm hoping will be an exciting year for the chilled out trio! just tell me you don't get goosebumps when the orchestra sweeps in!! lush!!!

want to hear more? here's the radio release:

WONGIE BALLAD OF THE WEEK: amber coffman - all to myself

amber coffman - all to myself
what a surprisingly retro borderline doo wop ballad (filtered through some modern phrasings cause this is amber coffman, possible ex of the dirty projectors!) amber calls this jam a love song to yourself. so slow dance like theres no one watching! hey amber does it!

WONGIE BALLAD OF THE WEEK: jarryd james feat broods - 1000x

jarryd james feat broods - 1000x
[UPDATE: now with new video!] what a lovely duet between jarryd james and georgia nott of broods! feeling very end credits of a soundtrack, this track also kicks off new album material from the australian singer songwriter which will hopefully come out in the fall. swoon!

since we're on a update kick, check out this soulful album cut from the upcoming 'high' that is pretty darn awesome:

jarryd james - sure love

WONGIE BALLAD OF THE WEEK: birdy - words

birdy - words
as the official 3rd single off her album 'beautiful lies', i have to admit that i haven't been as vocal about these releases as i've been of birdy's work in the past. call it a case of good music that just falls by the wayside of 'sexier' releases, but every time i hear tracks from this album i think to myself 'i must talk about it', then forget. well... forget no more as the latest track is a gorgeous ballad (co-written by aussie conrad sewell) that showcases the 20 year old's maturing confidence in her vocal styles. i gotta say, i've been playing this a few times already!

but don't think I haven't been listening to birdy, for those following my carmix 2016, you'll be well versed in these lovely remixes of birdy tracks below (which i've been listening to more than the originals)

birdy - wild horses (matrix & futurebound remix)

birdy - keeping your head up (jonas blue remix)

birdy - wild horses (sam feldt remix)

WONGIE BALLAD OF THE WEEK: aurora - half the world away (john lewis xmas 2015 theme song) / npr tiny desk concert

aurora - half the world away (video premiere)
getting the coveted theme song to front the annual john lewis xmas ad campaign has been very beneficial for past stars (ellie goulding, tom odell, lily allen) and this year 19 year old aurora gets the chance to pull at our heartstrings with her cover of the oasis hit "half the world away". all this means big things for the norwegian singer/songwriter who has been on our radar since the summer. with a debut album set for early next year, this is just the perfect track to create some crossover buzz.

wanna see the john lewis ad? here it is below:

john lewis christmas ad 2015 - #ManOnTheMoon

UPDATE: check out aurora performing her just released npr tiny desk concert:

aurora - tiny desk concert
"Runaway"
"Murder Song (5, 4, 3, 2, 1)"
"Running With The Wolves"

WONGIE BALLAD OF THE WEEK: conrad sewell - start again

conrad sewell - start again
already a big hit back in australia, this lovely single was the track that got the singer/songwriter signed to the US and is officially released this week. it's just the perfect fall track with the right hint of ennui to get us through these chilly days. expect big things!

WONGIE BALLAD OF THE WEEK: sara bareilles - she used to be mine ("waitress" musical)

[VIDEO PREMIERE: sara officially releases a video to pair up to theme song of her upcoming broadway musical]


sara bareilles - she used to be mine ("waitress" musical)
taken from the upcoming spring 2016 broadway musical 'waitress' (based on the classic movie), singer songwriter sara bareilles has expanded her skill set by writing its music and lyrics (which already has had a sold out run at the american repertory theater). if the rest of the music is as touching as this track, then expect some serious play during the award season next year. i'm just saying...

VIDEO PREMIERE: taylor swift - wildest dreams

taylor swift - wildest dreams
the song is yet another wonderfully swoony track from her '1989' album, but this time it has the even more swoony scott eastwood as the male lead and lush african landscapes shot by joseph kahn. there is nothing wrong here (tswift even plays over emotional in this!), just press play and well... swoon!

WONGIE BALLAD OF THE WEEK: jamie lawson - wasn't expecting that

jamie lawson - wasn't expecting that
the surprise 4 year old ballad that's found new legs since ed sheeran signed the uk singer/songwriter jamie lawson to his new imprint gingerbread records. the folkster is having a bit of a moment as he's gearing up for his major label debut featuring tracks from his previous catalog (like this gem) and also new material. with the current single 'wasn't expecting that' already charting in ireland, new zealand and australia's top 10, very soon world domination will be at hand. trust me, this'll be huge!

wanna see jamie's label boss ed cover his track? check it out below:

ed sheeran - wasn't expecting that (jamie lawson cover)