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It's time again for my daily Eurovision spotlight leading on to this year's Eurovision Song Contest being held in Tel Aviv, Israel. You can catch up on the whole series so far by clicking here . And now we go on to the country that gave what I feel is the best Eurovision song of all time... For the amount of years that Austria has been taking part in the competition, they have had a really spotty record of late. Besides that win in 2014, which I will get to later, the country had been in a sort of slump, either making the bottom of the finals if not qualifying at all. But last year Cesár Sampson turned that around with his soulful pop through a sonically Hozier homage of " Nobody But You ", which actually won the finals jury vote but came in third overall due to a lackluster televote result. With a winning template that could be improved on, and no national finals to worry about a left-field entry, would the central European nation find victory again? Austri

" Come To My Window " - Melissa Etheridge from the album Yes I Am (1993) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #25 (four weeks) Weeks in the Top-40: 26 Today's song of the day comes from rock singer/songwriter Melissa Etheridge , who grew up in Kansas to modest means, and started her music career when she moved to Boston to attend the revered Berklee College of Music. She didn't finish there, though, and again relocated to Los Angeles, where gigging in bars eventually led her to a deal with Island Records. Her self-titled debut album was released in 1988, and suffice it to say it her style of heartland rock with a gruff and decidedly female voice was something really never heard before. I remember turning my head when hearing her debut single " Bring Me Some Water " on Philly rock radio for the first time, and mouth agape, thinking "WHO IS THAT" seemingly possessed and tortured woman in love. That style was exclusively male, with the Mellencamps and Spr

"Sweet Delight" was a club hit for the R&B/disco family act Woods Empire. Appearing on their sole album Universal , the song was written by Floyd Dixon and Marvin Charlot. As the B-side of the 12" single with " The Boogie's Gonna Get You ", the song rose to #38 on Billboard magazine's Disco Top 100 chart in 1981. "Sweet Delight" also charted on its own at #68 on the R&B chart as well...

" No Excuses " - Alice In Chains from the EP Jar Of Flies (1994) Billboard Hot 100 peak: did not chart Billboard Hot 100 airplay chart peak: #48 This week's "robbed hit", like the one from Nirvana last week, was not released as a single in the U.S., but got so much radio love that it just missed the top-40 on the airplay chart in Billboard magazine. This one is from another grunge/hard rock band from Seattle, Alice In Chains . Led by guitarist Jerry Cantwell, along with singer Layne Staley whose previous band provided this act's name, and drummer Sean Kinney and bass player Mike Starr, the band got together in the late 1980s. Their debut full-length album Facelift was released in 1990, and shortly after the band scored their first rock radio hit with " Man In The Box " which hit #18 on Billboard 's Mainstream Rock chart. The song would go on to be nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Hard Rock Performance, which went to Van Halen&#

As I run down the lineup of the second semi-final's in this year's Eurovision Song Contest in Tel Aviv, it's time again for today's Eurovision spotlight, focusing on the individual countries and singer performing there. You can check out the rest of the series so far by clicking here . This time out we come to the country with the second-best number of wins at six, and who has hosted the event six time as well... Last year Sweden was trying to continue their winning average of 13 top ten finishes since 2000. With the ultra-smooth dance-pop of "Dance You Off" by Benjamin Ingrosso, the country wound up in seventh place, with surprisingly low results from the televate. As much as I love me some Scandi-pop, I felt this song too lifeless and calculated... This year, the country's national selection program, Melodifestivalen , chose yet another male dance-pop singer to represent Sweden. Could this one be different than the last six guys they've se

" Pumps And A Bump " - Hammer from the album The Funky Headhunter (1994) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #26 (one week) Weeks in the Top-40: 7 Today's song of the day comes from rapper (MC) Hammer , who had dropped the honorific from his recording moniker for his third full-length album Too Legit To Quit , which spun off a pair of top ten pop hits with title track " 2 Legit 2 Quit " and movie spin-off " Addams Groove ". But with the extravagant costs of the two music videos for these, as well as the bank-busting tour behind the album, and whether or not he knew it Hammer was just too expensive for that sort of payback. Dropping his longtime business partner Fenton Pilate (which resulted in settled litigation) and signing to Giant Records, where he released his next record The Funky Headhunter . The lead single from the project would be " It's All Good ", which tried to introduce another phrase like "Too Legit To Quit" to the co

"O Ba Ba" was a cut on the album The Tea Dance from disco singer/songwriter D.C. LaRue. The album charted as one on Billboard 's National Disco Action Top-40, spending two weeks at #2. It was a concept album that drew on the underground gay club experience...

I'm rolling through the second semi-finals running order in my Eurovision spotlight, focusing on the countries and artists taking part in this year's Eurovision Song Contest being held in Tel Aviv, Israel next month. You can catch up on the rest of the series so far by clicking here . And now we come to the first Scandinavian country to win the even back in the 1960s... Last year Denmark brought the "Eurovision" to Eurovision with their viking epic "Higher Ground" by singer Rasmussen. With a live performance that wowed the audience, he ended up in ninth place with a huge chunk of the televote (5th place there)... It had everything we wanted in a "Eurovision" song, costumes, harmonies, characters, and flags! So when I started watching this year's national final in the country, called Dansk Melodi Grand Prix 2019 , I was hoping for something that would give me that sense of excitement. And I did. And it didn't win. Out of ten entri

" Sweet Potatoe Pie " - Domino from the album Domino (1993) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #27 (two weeks) Weeks in the Top-40: 8 Today's song of the day comes from rapper Domino, who had scored a top ten pop hit in the beginning of 1994 with " Getto Jam ". Shawn Ivy's next single would possibly be taken as a joke on the bad spelling of Vice President Dan Quayle on the virtues of "Sweet Potatoe Pie". Written by Domino with producer DJ Battlecat over a subtle sample of Soul II Soul's "Back To Life", it would follow the debut up the charts as well... "Sweet Potatoe Pie" became Domino's second and final top-40 pop hit in May of 1994. The song also climbed to #13 on the R&B chart in Billboard magazine, while peaking at #3 on their Rap Singles Chart. None of the other tracks from his debut did well enough to chart. The following year, Domino contributed the track " Tales From The Hood " to be the title

" Ring My Bell " was a massive club hit for singer Anita Ward. Appearing on her debut album Songs Of Love , the song was written and produced by Frederick Knight. The single spent a week at #1 on the Disco Top 80 chart in Billboard magazine, as well as topping the pop and R&B charts in America as well. (Click below to see the rest of the post)

It's time again for today's Eurovision spotlight, focusing on the countries and singers taking part in the annual Eurovision Song Contest this year being held in Tel Aviv, Israel. You can catch up with the series posts so far by clicking here . And now we come to a country that two years ago was so close to entering that their song was on the official CD soundtrack, but couldn't foot the bill... Yes, in 2016, Romania had owed dues from the event, and were effectively banned from competing, even though what would've gone, "Moment Of Silence" from Ovidiu Anton, made it to the promotion CD of the event. They've since paid up, and have been back in each year, but last year's " Goodbye " from the rock group The Humans just missed qualifying for the finals, placing 11th in their semi-final, a shocker for a country who has made it each year since the semi-finals were in place in 2004. And for me as well, being one of my favorites going in, and

" Back and Forth " - Aaliyah from the album Age Ain't Nothing But A Number (1994) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #5 (one week) Weeks in the Top-40: 21 Today's song of the day comes from the gone-too-soon R&B legend Aaliyah , who was born in New York City and raised in Detroit, where she started her music career early, appearing on Star Search talent show when she was ten. Her uncle, Barry Hankerson (Gladys Knight's one-time husband), got her signed to his Blackground record label, and was paired up with the man who would become indelibly connected to her, R. Kelly. As the producer and songwriter for her debut album, Age Ain't Nothin' But A Number , the record had his sonic stamp on it. The first single from the set, "Back & Forth", was a street-smart yet smooth bit of post-new jack swing that sported a hook that you usually hear on rap records, spelling her name before she sang. It became her first big hit off the block. But while the

Frankie Crocker, one of the most popular radio DJs of the 1970s, gathered together a group of studio musicians under the moniker Frankie Crocker's The Heart and Soul Orchestra to record disco music. In 1977, for their self-titled second album , the act covered one of the most revered underground nuggets of the genre, "Love In C Minor", originally recorded by French disco legend Cerrone. Crocker's orchestra's version of the song climbed to #4 on Billboard magazine's National Disco Action Top-40 chart, as well has making it to #46 on the American pop chart and #85 on the R&B list. It would be the group's only charting hit. Crocker died of pancreatic cancer in 2000.

Hey everyone, Friday's here, and it's time to run down my top 100 "hit" tunes from the previous week. Neo-Gaga singer Ava Max climbs into the #1 spot, while Ellie Goulding (pictured above) moves up a notch in the top ten. Former big hits from Luke Combs and Jordan Davis drop off my list, while songs from the Head & The Heart, Lil Peep/iLoveMakonnen/Fall Out Boy, and Sigrid make the biggest jumps (moves of 10+ places highlighted in red ). The roof! The roof! The roof better not be on fire! This Week          Song/Artist (last week's position in parentheses) --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1. Sweet But Psycho - Ava Max (2) 2. Ready To Let Go - Cage The Elephant (4) 3. Beautiful Crazy - Luke Combs (1) 4. Dancing With A Stranger - Sam Smith & Normani (5) 5. Giant - Calvin Harris f/Rag N' Bone Man (3) 6. Without Me - Halsey (6) 7. Close To Me - Ellie Goulding & Diplo

I'm back with today's Eurovision spotlight, focusing on the countries and artists taking part in the annual Eurovision Song Contest being held this year in Tel Aviv, Israel. You can catch up on the rest of the series so far by clicking here . And now, one of the newer countries in the competition... Out of the three Baltic countries that were once part of the Soviet Union - Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania - Latvia was the one country that started strong but has really underperformed recently. They have failed to qualify for the finals in the last two years, and in the last ten years only made the big show twice. Last year, jazzy singer Laura Rizzotto came in 12th with her respectable but straightforward song "Funny Girl", which was lost in the very competitive second semi, which threw powerhouses like Russia, Romania, and Poland under the bus. This year, they bring another intimate song of love and obsession. Can they do better on the second try? Latvia - &quo

" Regulate " - Warren G & Nate Dogg from the albums Above The Rim (Original Soundtrack) and Regulate...G Funk Era (both 1994) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #2 (three weeks) Weeks in the Top-40: 18 Today's song of the day comes from rappers Warren G (Warren Griffin) and Nate Dogg (Nate Hale), who with Nate's cousin Calvin Broadus, or "Snoop Doggy Dogg", started out as a group called 213. After Snoop broke through with the Dr. Dre-produced album Doggystyle , and the top ten hit " What's My Name? ", 213 broke up, and eventually Dre, Warren's stepbrother, helped him and Nate get a step up in the music biz by bringing them to John Singleton to contribute a track to the movie Poetic Justice starring Tupac Shakur and Janet Jackson. The result, "Indo Smoke" by Mista Grimm featuring Warren G & Nate Dogg, was a minor hit on the pop (#56) and R&B (#63) chart, but it created enough buzz to have them signed to rap/hip-hop lab

"Beautiful People (We Just Love You)" was a club single for the Dutch disco-covers band Stars On, who were most famous for their Beatles medley single " Stars On 45 ". Released in 1983, this record is a mash-up of two 60s nuggets, and though it never got much traction on the charts, it was a DJ favorite in the early 80s in Russia and the Netherlands...

Hey folks, it's time for today's Eurovision spotlight, covering the countries and artists that will be participating in this year's Eurovision Song Contest being held next month in Tel Aviv, Israel. You can catch up with the rest of the series so far by clicking here . And now, on to the country who won it first... The alpine country of Switzerland, smack dab in the middle of Europe, has been a mainstay in the contest, only missing out four years (when rules had lower-scoring countries unable to compete the following year, stupid rule, glad it's gone). Anyhoo , the country has not had much luck lately, only qualifying for the finals twice in the last fourteen years (and even then, not reaching the top ten). Last year the pleasant but forgettable rock of ZiBBZ placed 13th in the semi final with " Stones ". Perhaps importing in an act from Los Angeles (albeit of Swiss-born siblings) diluted the faithfulness to the contest, and while it wasn't horrid, i

" I Swear " - All-4-One from the album All-4-One (1994) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #1 (eleven weeks) Weeks in the Top-40: 26 Today's song of the day comes from the soul/pop vocal group All-4-One , who had nabbed themselves a big pop hit in the spring of 1994 with an acappella remake of the doo-wop classic " So Much In Love ".  Their next single would be another cover, but of a more recent song. "I Swear", written by Gary Baker and Frank Myers, was originally released on country singer John Michael Montgomery's second album Kickin' It Up . It was a massive hit on country radio, spending a month at #1 on Billboard magazine's airplay chart, and eventually ended up the top country single of 1994. The song also almost made the pop top-40, peaking at #42... Atlantic Records brought in soft-rock king David Foster to produce All-4-One's version, which just drops the acoustic instruments for synths and focuses on the group's voic

" Put Your Body In It " was the first club hit for R&B/pop/Broadway singer Stephanie Mills. Appearing on her third album What'cha Gonna Do With My Lovin' , the song was written by producers James Mtume and Reggie Lucas. The whole album charted as one item on Billboard 's Disco Top-80, where it peaked at #8 and spent 35 weeks on the chart. "Put Your Body In It" as well as album cut " You Can Get Over " were listed in the chart entry...

I'm heading through the second semi-finals of this year's Eurovision Song Contest in Tel Aviv , Israel, and today I make it to the country I had as my #1 favorite last year. You can check out the rest of the series so far by clicking here . And on we go... And now I come with the former Soviet Republic of Moldova, who have been doing their best in the last couple of years. Along with the triumphant return of "epic sax guy" in Sunstroke Project in 2017, last year the country surprised most everyone (including myself) with their act DoReDos, who used a simply cheap stage prop to tell a story and give life to a song that ended up in the top ten, "My Lucky Day". Here's the video that split screens the live performance with the rehearsal behind the prop doors. Mind you, they may not have been perfect in their vocals, but in pure entertainment value this was a showstopper... So the last two years they've had top ten success with quirky but entert

" I'll Take You There " - General Public from the album Threesome (Original Soundtrack) (1994) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #22 (two weeks) Weeks in the Top-40: 13 Today's song of the day comes from the British new wave group General Public, fronted by two members of the seminal ska/punk/reggae band the (English) Beat, Dave Wakeling and "Ranking" Roger Charlery. With their first album All The Rage , and with members of Dexy's Midnight Runners, the Specials, and the Clash, the group scored a top-40 pop hit in the beginning of 1985 with the effervescent pop nugget " Tenderness ". A year later, the band released their sophomore effort, Hand To Mouth , which got lesser notice, missing any charts in the UK, and spinning off two minor dance hits in America with " Too Much Or Nothing " (#21) and " In Conversation " (#23) (the former popped on to the Canadian chart at #83). It wasn't a surprise, since the sound on this recor