ANN'S MUSIC PICK:
DRAKE

In the music and hip-hop world, Drake is the guy to watch. 
His real name is Aubrey Drake Graham. He originally became known for playing character on the television series Degrassi: The Next Generation.

In November 2009, Lil Wayne released a statement announcing that Drake's first studio album, Thank Me Later, had been completed; the album was released June 15 and debuted at number one on the Billboard 200.  
 
He has an interesting story. His father is an African American from Memphis. His mother is a white Jewish Canadian. He attended a Jewish day school and had a Bar Mitzvah. His parents divorced when he was five, and he was raised by his mother in Toronto's upscale Forest Hill neighborhood but spent summers with his father in Memphis. He attended high school at Forest Hill Collegiate Institute, where he began acting, but did not graduate.

Drake Graham has worked with several other hip-hop artist such as Lil Wayne, Jeezy, Kanye West, Eminem, and Jay-Z. With the success of his mixtape turned EP So Far Gone, Graham has been nominated for several awards including the Grammys; even being selected to perform at the 2010 Grammy awards. Graham also won several awards, including two Juno Awards in 2010 for Best New Artist, and Rap Recording of the Year.

ANN'S MUSIC PICK:
PALOMA FAITH

My music pick this month: Paloma Faith.

She is great!

She is a quirky, independent, cleaned up Amy Winehouse with the theatrics of Katy Perry and the costumes of a toned down Lady Gaga. The trend these days is for female singers to have a big stage performance that includes big costumes and offbeat voices.

Faith's first foray into music began when she mimicked Etta James and Billie Holiday whom she admires and cites as influences for her own work.

Her debut CD had the song Stone Cold Sober the fourth official single. My personal favorite is Upside Down.

During a performance at a cabaret show, Faith was scouted by an A&R man from Epic Records, who invited her to sing for the manager of the label. Twenty minutes into the audition, Faith asked the manager to turn his phone off and when he refused she just walked out. Nine months later, the manager called her back and offered her a contract saying - he had seen many acts since and none had been as memorable as hers.

ANN'S MUSIC PICK:
RUFUS WAINWRIGHT


My newest music pick: Rufus Wainright

Singer and song-writer Rufus Wainwright, born in Rhinebeck New York, has managed to carve out a unique space for himself in the world of contemporary pop music.

Affectionately referred to by Elton John as "the greatest songwriter on the planet" and praised by The New York Times for his "genuine originality," Rufus Wainwright has established himself as one of the great male vocalists and songwriters of his generation.

He is the son of folk singers Loudon Wainwright III and Kate McGarrigle, and brother of Martha Wainwright but Rufus has achieved his success by carving out his own singular sound in the worlds of rock, opera, theater, dance and film. He delves into many different genres and synchronizes them all beautifully.

His latest CD All Days Are Nights: Songs for Lulu has been described as "an exquisite, profoundly intimate grab bag of not necessarily complementary musical ideas".

ANN'S MUSIC PICK: BELLERUCHE


My newest music pick: hip-hop blues soul group Belleruche

Influenced by vintage blues records, punk girl drummers, obscure 60's cover bands and experimental west coast turntablists, they describe their sound as 'Turntable Soul Music' and soulful jazz.

They are a 3 piece London based band whose influences vary from the likes of Nina Simone to Jimi Hendrix.

They've gained popularity in the UK underground music scene.

Their debut album is called 'Turntable Soul Music'

MUSIC TREND:
ROLLING STONES DOCUMENTARY

They are called the greatest rock band of all time...and now you can be a fly on the wall to the history of the Rolling Stones.

There's a new one-hour documentary that premieres at the Cannes Film Festival that is fascinating music history. It's called: 'Stones in Exile' and it tells of the Stones' 1971 tax-induced exile to the south of France, where they holed up and played hard in Keith Richards's rented chateau.

It looks at the myths surrounding 'Exile on Main Street' almost 40 years ago, drugs charges at the time and all. There is lots of vintage footage in the film. 'Exile' came from the Stones' most vibrant period, right after 'Sticky Fingers.'

The Stones had just signed with Ahmet Ertegun and Atlantic Records, escaping from their old contract with Allen Klein and Decca and London Records. Mick Jagger had just married Bianca, and they were on top of the world.

'The Stones in Exile' documentary stars: Mick Jagger, Keith, Charlie, Mic Taylor, Bill Wyman, along with Sheryl Crow, Will.i.am, Jack White, Benicio Del Toro and Martin Scorsese.

It's executive produced by Mic Jagger, Keith Richards, Charlie Watts and Andrew Ruhemann.

If you're a fan, all of this comes along with a new full-length version of the album 'Exile on Main Street,' which will now have 10 extra tracks in addition to 'Tumbling Dice,' 'Happy,' 'Sister Morphine' and all the classic songs we already know from the original.

Ann's Music Pick:
Daniel Merriweather


One of my favorite artists overseas today is Daniel Paul Merriweather from Melbourne, Australia. His genre is R&B, meets neo-soul, meets acid jazz. He begun back in 2002, but is now booming in popularity. He's great. Daniel was voted best new act in Europe last year, and claims that Stevie Wonder, Prince and Herbie Hancock were his major influences. His first commercially released album was last June, and it reached #2 on the UK charts. The album was preceded by the hit singles "Change" and "Red". “Red” is my favorite song today.

Janet Jackson:
Two Disc Greatest Hits

Janet Jackson's latest song "Make Me" from her two disc greatest hits CD released in November 2009 is definitely worth picking up. 16 tracks are on the first CD, and 18 on the second, including smash hits from her previous releases. In addition, Janet's duet track with her brother Michael Jackson, "Scream", also appears on the list. The new compilation is titled "Number Ones" with Nelly, Q-Tip and Joni Mitchell. This year will also bring another film starring Janet as she joins Tyler Perry in his sequel, “Why Did I Get Married Too”, followed by a new album slated to release during the first quarter of 2010, available on Janet's site.

Grammy Awards:
Going Digital

The Grammies are going digital. Voting members are now able to stream and judge the submissions online. There are 12 thousand voting members throughout the United States.

This technology is made by a Toronto-based company called ‘Yangaroo'. This company will also allow the Grammies to avoid making and shipping all of those CDs with printed promotional materials.

Meantime, if you or someone you know wants to become the next musical sensation, they may want to go to Grammy Camp, put on by the academy here in Los Angeles. The idea is to bring high school students from all around the country. Here, they meet experts from the music industry on things like being a musician, an engineer, and lighting director.

For more, visit grammyintheschools.com.

STATE OF THE ART:
NEW PORTABLE RECORDING STUDIO

Now turning to a truly state-of-the-art and trendsetting creation for those who dream of Hollywood movies or music fame. It's a high-definition recording studio. A bit bigger than those old photo booths, but a full working mini studio. Coming to a mall near you, it looks like a time machine and sounds a little like karaoke but inside it's a full-fledged high tech audio and video recording studio. It's called MyStudio.

There is Hollywood-style green screen technology with a choice of more than a thousand HD virtual backgrounds. If you can't choose one of their backdrops, you can upload your own! These booths are perfect for audition tapes, music videos and mini movies for a modeling video resume, comedy, promos, and sales pitches. There are five musical instrument plug-ins, so you can record with your own instruments. The best part is that MyStudio has teamed up with EMI Music Publishing so you're allowed to legally record and post songs from some of their artists, so you get a professional sounding studio quality session for a mere $20.00 for five minutes!

CARLOS SANTANA SETS UP IN VEGAS

Carlos Santana has been doing well and can now be seen regularly at his new show at the Hard Rock Hotel. The 11-time Grammy winner performs nightly at the rebuilt The Joint at The Hard Rock. His show includes hits such as Black Majic Woman and Maria Maria among others.

Raised in Tijuana, Mexico, Santana learned his own musical lessons from his father a mariachi violinist. He says he once saw his father on the violin play call-and-response with a bird in the backyard.His father told him, 'See if you can talk to birds, you can definitely talk to people's hearts, that was the biggest lesson that he taught me." His residency is a trend now and natural progression for the Las Vegas hotel industry increasingly attracting top acts.

In the show, Santana and his fellow players play a groove that is Latin and African...drums, congas, timbales and many other percussion instruments in the mix. Projected images of all kinds of dancers -- beautiful women, a young child, African ritual celebrants, American street partyers -- make you want to get up and dance. Tickets start at $79.00 USD.