Recently in Music Category

If you saw Where the Wild Things Are this week and loved it -- or if your children are too young for it but want to enjoy Sendak on film, try the Sendak collection from my favorite Scholastic Storybook series. It includes not only the title story but other Sendak favorites like "In the Night Kitchen" and the wonderful Nutshell classics that teach letters ("Alligators All Around"), numbers ("One Was Johnny"), and the months ("Chicken Soup with Rice") to wonderful songs by Carole King. Our family favorite was the one about Pierre, who learned not to say "I don't care!"

Disney star Tiffany Thornton sings the classic "Some Day My Prince Will Come" on the spectacular new release of Disney's very first animated feature, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. It is a two=DVD set with both Blu-Ray and regular DVDs and a lot of extras, including a sneak peek at the upcoming "Princess and the Frog." I got a chance to talk to Tiffany about what it feels like to take on a song that is so well-known.

How did you get involved with this project?

I did the song "Let it Go" for "Hatching Pete," but I was more rapping, and then I did a song for DisneyMania called "If I Ever Knew You," and I hope I impressed them enough that they were willing to give me the opportunity to do this, and they flew out a producer from Nashville named Mark Hammond who was incredible to work with. I'm blessed to have been given the opportunity. I love this song because it's not like a techno twist which is what you do a lot of times when you want to amp up a song that was originally a ballad. It has the ballad but also a mid-tempo, almost an up-tempo feel when it kicks in, so I hope people will enjoy that.

This is one of the classic Disney songs. How do you make it yours?

Mark did such a great job reconstructing the song. I'm really going to give him all the credit. He knew how to bring my voice out, get it to sound ethereal and princess-like but also to sound also like myself. I'm from Texas so I have that country thing in my voice going on. And I do all the background vocals, the harmonies and all of that stuff.

What is the most fun thing about singing for you?

The honest of it, really. I love acting and singing so much and could never pick one. With acting it's fun to pretend to be someone else and that's awesome, it's like playing dress-up. But with singing, it's you, being vulnerable, putting this voice out there, knowing people may criticize you and ridicule you. Because people are like that with music. Music is very expressive for a lot of people. I went through a break-up a few months ago and I was listening to Taylor Swift saying "Were you in the room when we were talking about that? How do you know all those things?" Music is really close to my heart and I just want to make sure people can feel that when I sing.

And who besides Taylor Swift is on your iPod?

Demi [Lovato]'s album that just came out, Here We Go Again, is incredible. I listen to her song "Got Dynamite" every time I go to the gym. And "World of Chances" which she wrote with John Mayer is a great song. At my photo shoot yesterday I listened to a lot of Carrie Underwood. And I love James Morrison and The Script, Matt Nathanson. I love those gritty guy voices. And Sara Bareilles I think is amazing.

If you could do any Disney song next, what would it be?

"Once Upon a Dream" from "Sleeping Beauty."

When did you know you wanted to be a performer?

From day one! We put on performances in my front yard. I was always wanting to be in the spotlight. I made up songs, I wanted to be a cheerleader.

I was super-into really powerful singers. My mom and I jammed out to BeBe & CeCe Winans, Celine Dion, Whitney Houston. I'm not a singer because I'm on a Disney show; I'm a singer because God gave me a gift and I want to share it with the world.

And so what's next?

I'm going to be singing a duet with Kermit the Frog in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade!

From the film "The Jazz Singer," the third version of the story previously made with Al Jolson and Danny Thomas. Neil Diamond sings the beautiful prayer heard each year on the Day of Atonement. And yes, that is Laurence Olivier as his father.

A sweet new year to everyone.

Barbra Streisand sings the traditional Rosh Hashanah song, Avinu Malkeinu - Our Father Our King. L'Shana Tova! A sweet new year to all.

It goes to 11.

Davis Guggenheim ("An Inconvenient Truth") has made a documentary featuring three generations of guitar gods: Jimmy Page (Led Zeppelin), The Edge (U2), and Jack White (The White Stripes). But it is not about the musicians. It is about guitars, and passion, and hearing, and sticking it to the man, and art, and music, and the sublime that brings all of those things together. It is a joyous yowl from the depths of existence that soars to the ears of the celestial choirs, where it makes them pause and smile and, if such a thing is possible for angels, envy the humans who get to make such sounds and even those of us who get to listen to them.

We spend time with each of these musicians. The archival clips are surprising and delightful and it is pure pleasure to see these men return to places and instruments that are especially meaningful to them and to listen in as they talk to each other and demonstrate their comments with riffs and techniques. They say that successful musical performers fall into three categories: rock star, performance artist, and musician. These three men are above all musicians. At times they seem to embody music itself, with aural imperatives mortals can only gasp at. Their utter commitment is moving and inspiring. Rock on.

Please watch this X Factor clip of Danyl Johnson singing "I Get By With a Little Help From My Friends" in what the notoriously critical Simon Cowell calls the best first audition he has seen since the show began. Johnson,...

I love this Slate article by Kim Gittleson on the best and worst uses of the classic jazz album, Kind of Blue, by Miles Davis, in film and television. The list includes an action film with real-life jazz-lover Clint Eastwood...

Forty years ago, it seemed for one brief moment as though a disastrous, mud-soaked music festival that attracted so many people it had a larger population than all but one city in the state could be the beginning of a...

Lisa Mathews and guitarist Mikel Gehl once wrote songs for grown-ups as the indie rock group Love Riot. But now, as Milkshake, they write lively and singable songs for children. I spoke to Lisa about the similarities and differences of...

Here's Mary J. Blige singing the title song from Tyler Perry's upcoming movie, starring Taraji P. Henson and featuring Blige and Gladys Knight....

As I take off for Comic-Con, I want to share my all-time favorite comedy video short. Enjoy!...

The Absolutely Mindy Show on Sirius/XM's Kids Place Live is in big time need of an official theme song and is inviting everyone to write one for her. Send in your submission of between 30-60 seconds on a CD by...

Seattle-based teachers-turned-music group Recess Monkey came to Washington DC to play at XM Radio and Jammin' Java this week and I was lucky enough to see them perform before a wildly enthusiastic crowd of very excited kids and very happy...

Many thanks to my pal Brandon Fibbs for sharing this adorable video from the Japanese pop group Sour. This was filmed entirely with webcams and the participants are Sour fans from around the world. Think of it as a high-tech...

Another "moon" movie moment -- Audrey Hepburn sings "Moon River" in Breakfast at Tiffany's....

I am thrilled that songs from one of my favorite performers, Regina Spektor are featured in two of this summer's biggest movies. "Better" appears in "My Sister's Keeper" and "Us" is in the trailer and on the soundtrack for "500...

The latest in Disney's popular karaoke series is Disney Channel, Vol. 1, with sixteen tracks, half with vocals and half without, so you can provide your own singing. Selections include songs from "High School Musicals" 1, 2, and 3, "Hannah...

In the documentary Young @ Heart, we saw how elderly people singing rock songs gave the music a resonance and power that even its platinum-record-selling originators could not have imagined. And now we see the way that children led their...

Our deepest gratitude for the honor and sacrifice of all who have served our country....

Be sure to watch the amazing documentary The Hip Hop Project tonight and see the extraordinary work by Chris "Kazi" Rolle in encouraging young people to tell their stories. He gives kids who feel invisible a chance to own their...

The Baby Grands make music for children and their families. The songs are singable and lots of fun. Now they are giving families a chance to make their kids and dogs part of a montage in a new video for...

No review because they didn't show it to critics, but here's a shot from the new Jonas Brothers concert film....

As Jack Black explains in School of Rock, rock music is about sticking it to The Man. That takes on a wider meaning when the sticking is coming from young girls. In this documentary about a music camp in Portland,...

The Steady Diet of Film blog has a brilliant analysis of the sources for Beyoncé's hit video, "Put a Ring on It." It is not just wise and witty, it is an entertaining glimpse into the combination of mash-ups, wikis,...

Merry Christmas!...

Olivia Olson sings Mariah Carey's "All I Want for Christmas is You" in this clip from "Love Actually." And here is Mariah's version:...

The Beatles used to send out special Christmas greetings to their fan club members: And they released "Christmas Time (Is Here Again)" in 1968: Former Beatles Paul McCartney and John Lennon each created Christmas songs that have become seasonal favorites....

Adam Sandler's silly song about Jewish celebrities has become almost as much of a Hannukah tradition as spinning the dreidel. Happy Hannukah!...

We saw B.J. Thomas perform at the Birchmere tonight. His voice is marvel, wonderfully clear and supple. He sang all the hits, "Hooked on a Feeling," "Rock and Roll Lullabye," "Eyes of a New York Woman," "Don't Worry Baby," "Somebody...

Kevin McCarthy reviews films as "BDK" and hosts a weekly radio broadcast. Check out his interview of Hans Zimmer, whose score is one of the defining elements of the year's biggest movie, The Dark Knight. Zimmer's discussion of the development...

I'm getting ready for one of my favorite events of the year, Comic-Con in San Diego. It began in 1970 with a few dozen comic collectors swapping comics and stories. This year, all 125,000 passes were sold out long before...

"Mamma Mia" is a good reason (as if we need one) to revisit some ABBA classics featured in the movie: Take a Chance on Me Gimme Gimme Gimme Money Money Money All of ABBA's promotional clips like these were directed...

Some of country's brightest stars sing some of Disney's most hummable tunes on this new release. It's a pleasure to hear soundtrack hits like Rascal Flatts' "Life is a Highway," from "Cars" and Tim McGraw's "Wherever the Trail May...