Lean On Me / Love’s In Need Of Love Today (Stevie Wonder)
Lady Madonna (Paul McCartney)
Rainbow (Kacey Musgraves)
I’m Still Standing (Elton John)
Safety Dance (Jimmy Fallon And The Roots)
Carnaval (Maluma)
What A Wonderful World (Camilla Cabello & Shawn Mendes)
River Cross (Eddie Vedder)
A Change Is Gonna Come (Lizzo)
You Can’t Always Get What You Want (The Rolling Stones)
Higher Love (Keith Urban)
African Giant / Hallelujah (Burna Boy)
People (Jennifer Lopez)
Stand By Me (John Legend & Sam Smith)
Wake Me Up When September Ends (Billie Joe Armstrong)
Sunny (Billie Eilish)
Soon You’ll Get Better (Taylor Swift)
The Prayer (Andrea Bocelli, Celine Dion, John Legend, Lady Gaga & Lang Lang)
Rise Up (Andra Day)
Black And White (Niall Horan)
Aaj Bhi (Vishal Mishra)
Purple Hat (Sofi Tukker)
The Bones (Hozier & Maren Morris)
Mad World (Adam Lambert)
I Will Never Let You Down (Rita Ora)
Rainbow (Kesha)
Nocturne in B Flat Minor, Op. 9, No. 1 (Lang Lang & Gina Alice Redlinger)
No Me Doy Por Vencido (Luis Fonsi)
Memory (Jennifer Hudson)
Drive (Black Coffee & Delilah Montagu)
Mr Brightside (The Killers)
Sajna Ve (Lisa Mishra)
Stolen Dance (Milky Chance)
See You Again (Charlie Puth)
Coffin (Jessie Reyez)
Troublemaker (Picture This)
Flashlight (Jessie J)
The Light (Common)
Robarte Un Beso (Sebastian Yatra)
I Want To Hold Your Hand (Ben Platt)
Together We Are One (Delta Goodrem)
I Save The World Today (Annie Lennox)
I Shall Believe (Sheryl Crow)
Mas Futuro Que Pasado (Juanes)
Love Me Like You Do (Ellie Goulding)
People, I’ve Been Sad (Christine and the Queens)
Everybody’s Got To Learn Sometime (Zucchero)
Better Together (Jack Johnson)
Praying (Kesha)
Malome (Cassper Nyovest)
Super Power (Adam Lambert)
Drinkee (Sofi Tukker)
Let’s Fall In Love For The Night (FINNEAS)
Caution (The Killers)
I’ll Be There (Jess Glynne)
Good Over Here (Sho Madjozi)
For You (Rita Ora & Lian Payne)
God Is Love (Common)
Mountains (Christina and the Queens)
Bad Habit (Ben Platt)
Winona Ryder (Picture This)
Es Por Ti (Juanes)
Attention (Charlie Puth)
Brown Skin Girl (Leslie Odom Jr)
Sunshine Girl (Billy Ray Cyrus)
Burn (Ellie Goulding)
Everyday Is A Winding Road (Sheryl Crow)
Take Me To Church (Hozier)
Balance Ton Quoi (Angele)
Un Ano (Sebastian Yatra)
With You (SuperM)
Despacito (Luis Fonsi)
Bang Bang (Jessie J)
What I’m Leaving For (Lady Antebellum)
There Must Be An Angel (Annie Lennox and Lola Lennox)
Slow Hands (Niall Horan)
Bigger Love (John Legend)
Hallelujah (Jennifer Hudson)
What do you think the world will remember when the year 2020 rolls around to a close? What will be the defining moment of the year that people will look back on- and say ‘this was the year in one word, or one phrase or one sentence’? Would it be the raging bushfires that tore through Australia, dismantling houses and homes, bringing us all to our knees as we felt what the land down under felt? Would it be the various announcements of new movies and TV shows, ranging from Mulan, Trolls World Tour, I Still Believe, Onward and The Way Back; to Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist, Messiah, Awkwafina is Nora from Queens, Star Trek Picard, Council Of Dads, and Defending Jacob? Would one of the defining moments of the year be the upcoming Twenty20 Cricket World Cup, scheduled to play in Australia and New Zealand in October and November this year? Or how about the reboots of Party Of Five, High Fidelity, The Baby Sitters Club, Lizzie McGuire, Saved By The Bell, Gossip Girl and many more already aired/slated to air in the future on TV? No, no, no, no and no. None of what I said will ever be remembered come the end of this year. Because also in 2020, a debilitating, cruel and harrowing virus swept the globe. Coronavirus, or COVID-19 for short, needs no explanation. It is the one thing that will be long remembered past the last day of 2020- as well as its effects on TV, movies, sport, and every other facet imaginable. We don’t need to go into the nitty-gritty of this global pandemic (for that there is Wikipedia), but the long and short of it is that by February/March, almost every single country in the world was in a lockdown- each country of varying degrees. Some countries are still in lockdown, and the upcoming 2020/2021 TV season is in limbo at the moment.
For Australia- where I live- we never fully went into lockdown. As in ‘cut the country off and live in isolation for however long’! Yet back in March (which some would say was too late of a time to start making proactive decisions!), many places were closed (such as pubs, clubs, cinemas, gyms, outdoor gatherings for a large amount, restaurants and cafes limited to takeaway only), and others remained open- such as schools, supermarkets such as Woolworths, medical centres, pharmacists, and other ‘essential service’ roles. The result was me having a six week break at home from the beginning of April to the middle of May- just a few weeks ago, whereby I relaxed, helped clean out the garage, powered through with some more company work that I was behind in, as well as renew this site for 3 more years and steadily progressed through reviews. I also binge watched a few TV shows… simply because. Yet more than ever throughout my time at home- and beyond; I clung onto music and the power of God speaking through any type of music and any genre as well. It’s because I truly believe that God can use anything (and I do mean anything!) to draw us closer to Him- and thus it was throughout the past couple of months or so that my love for mainstream music, and all of the subtle nuances and hidden meanings that could be interpreted to be about God, excelled and exponentially grew.
Even so far back as a year ago, I was quite hesitant to listen to much mainstream music, having grown up in a Christian home and being immersed in CCM almost all the time. In fact I somewhat expressed doubts of the longevity of Jon’s Momentous Mondays blog post series considering that the bulk of artists being discussed probably weren’t even believers at all- Jon’s faith could’ve been on shaky ground when listening to artists who would lead him astray. Yet throughout the past year, I’ve been listening to Jon’s week-to-week artists (as well as the artists I’m talking about for my own blog series about future music influencers!), and my view has changed dramatically. No longer do I think that mainstream music is the enemy. Rather, God can use both CCM and mainstream music to further His kingdom and to help us all grow as people. Artists like Avril Lavigne, Josh Groban, U2, Train, Rascal Flatts, Lady Antebellum, Jess Glynne, Rachel Platten, Little Mix, Selena Gomez, Demi Lovato, Echosmith, Martina McBride, OneRepublic, Daughtry, Faith Hill, Evanescence, Ed Sheeran, Michael Buble… the list goes on- of all of the artists who have shown me that music can be inspiring no matter the belief or lack of belief… and we’re not finished yet in terms of number of blogs!
But Christian music still holds a place in my heart- as we are singing about our salvation and certainty of our eternal home in heaven because of Jesus’ death and resurrection. Throughout the six weeks at home, I listened to Christian music… but there was something that occurred in April that I reckon is one of the most history-defining moments in recent times. And it was this. An 8 hour live stream- a fundraiser to help celebrate the essential workers and to help alleviate some of our pain and suffering with joy and togetherness. I know, I know, this event in April seemed wishy-washy… however you all can make up your own mind- as you read of the synopsis of the event here on Wikipedia, or below for what is officially the description and also recap of the night according to TV Line.
For me, one of the defining moments over the past six weeks was that my family and I watched more live streams and online concerts than probably any other period in my whole life. And I’ve found out that they’re actually pretty enjoyable. From Easter Across America and Gather 2020, to Hope Rising 2020 and various other Passion Live streams; I’ve now officially become someone who will continue to watch live streams with a passion and an eagerness like never before. Now you all may not be big on live streams. Sometimes it’s like a telethon. It’s like a fundraiser. It’s like a ‘call the number on the screen and we’ll guilt trip you every 2 minutes and asking you why you’re not ringing the phone number and we’ll keep hammering home this message until you’re sick of it’ kind of thing. Or it’s like a concert with artists at home in their pj’s looking like they’re going through the motions. And maybe the quality of such material isn’t that great overall- live streams can indeed cut in and out. But kudos and my congratulations need to go out to Global Citizen, the WHO and also to Lady Gaga who organised this event and made it happen. For the 6 hour live stream on Facebook and Youtube, and for the 2 hour live stream (also on digital platforms, but on international TV channels as well!). Even though I do not listen to any of Lady Gaga’s music, how prowess as an event organiser and passion in her songs on the night could not and cannot be denied. Yet at times while I was watching the show (because… it’s a once in a lifetime experience, even though it was borne out of a terrible time!), I kept thinking- an 8-hour live stream full of mainstream artists? Uniting for a cause of…. togetherness? Solidarity? Some of these guys could be Christians, but uniting with everyone around the world who may not be of the same faith as you simply because we’re all affected by this pandemic? Some would say that this live stream, though somewhat engaging, is in fact overkill- that 8 hours is too much! However for someone who has watched almost every musical performance of the night, as well as seen almost every inspiring message from the night as well- I reckon this show is vital to rewatch again (on Facebook and also on the Youtube links below!). if not for the speaking, then certainly for the music.
Because just over a month ago, the album One World: Together at Home released everywhere, featuring 79 songs from the night. As they were recorded. Not as redone studio versions. But raw, unfiltered, personal, emotional, honest and vulnerable. Now if you’re a hard core fan of these artists (like Jessie J, Niall Horan, Common, Ben Platt, Rita Ora, Ellie Goulding, The Killers, Luis Fonsi, Kesha, Kacey Musgraves, Billie Eilish, Adam Lambert, Jennifer Hudson and Jennifer Lopez to name a few), then One World: Together at Home is the perfect album for you to revisit your favourite performances of the night, to rediscover the feeling of togetherness and comradery, and to maybe find some new artists to enjoy. However if you’re like me and was only semi-excited for the night, only saw the performances not that intensely, and have only been interested in mainstream music for a little while… then this album isn’t the album for you to download fully… but maybe a few songs will inspire and encourage you. Certainly tracks like “Hallelujah”, “The Prayer”, “I’ll Be There”, “What I’m Leaving For”, “Praying”, “I Shall Believe”, “Flashlight”, “Higher Love” and “See You Again” to name a few- are compelling and impacting no matter the artist- these are the tracks that are/will be timeless, and they’ve certainly impacted and encouraged me when I listened to them on the night.
So I guess if you didn’t have the chance to be impacted on April 18th, then the album/youtube playlist is for you to cherry pick songs here and there. It’s inconceivable to think that every song will strike a chord with you all the time. Yet a dive into this unique project is a must. You may find some new favourite melodies for this season of quarantine that we are still in, and maybe an album to listen to beyond this time. So as I end this review (and let you know that I overall loved these performances, even though some of you may not!), let me leave you with some of my thoughts about quarantine and COVID-19, and how God is working and showing us glory in the grind. How God is using the worst situation ever to shine a light on Himself. And let me also remind you all that despite the chaos and the madness that God is faithful. And let me remind you all that anything can be used by God to give us comfort and peace- so for that reason alone, let us dive back into One World: Together At Home. Second time around or third time around- you may be amazed by what you find.
10 songs to listen to: Hallelujah, The Prayer, I’ll Be There, What I’m Leaving For, Praying, I Shall Believe, Flashlight, Higher Love, The Bones, See You Again
Score: 4.5/5
RIYL: OneRepublic, Selena Gomez, Switchfoot, Needtobreathe, Jars Of Clay, Andrew Peterson, Martina McBride, Kelly Clarkson, Sara Bareilles, Ronan Keating, Rachel Platten