best new voice [music] (sofa awards 2012)
The ninth annual sofa awards… keep coming back as more recipients are revealed throughout the rest of the year…
The best place to learn about new music is on this site. But, the second best place to learn about new music is by finding out who your favorite artists are listening to themselves. In an interview this past spring, American Idol’s Haley Reinhart mentioned Alabama Shakes. I immediately checked them out and within seconds of pressing play, was sold. With a voice that is a reminiscent of both Minnie Ripperton and Janice Joplin – yeah, I know – Shakes’ frontwoman, Brittany Howard, is a guitar-playing, rabble-rousing, roof-raising blues/rock/soul gift from God. The buzz started building around time for the South By Southwest Festival and only exploded after Shakes’ fiery showing there. And fiery it is; there’s nothing pretty about the way Howard attacks the stage, getting downright gritty when she sings, the raw emotion dripping like sweat from every pore. Culminating in a well-deserved Grammy nomination for Best New Artist, Alabama Shakes has the momentum behind them to stay in the forefront for years to come.
Alabama Shakes, “Hold On,” official video
Alabama Shakes, “You Ain’t Alone,” filmed in Chattanooga, Tenn.
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other 2012 sofa awards:
best place to purchase a school bus and hang it on your wall
best reason to have a cup of coffee
most creative way of throwing stuff together and turning it into usable art
best reason to judge a book by its cover
best place to meet an up and coming somebody
best reason to pay for premium cable
michelle obama award for physical fitness
best thing to hit reality tv since nene leakes
best reason to watch the lowest-rated show in history
most decadent reason to book a flight to nashville
best reason to partake in sex and drugs. and sushi.
best blend of comedy and drama
best show for Kleenex to support with ad purchases
most unintended-yet-infectious lyrics
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Not yet following me on Twitter? Get on the sofa: @josephrileyland
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