Music & Culture

British singer Sam Smith has just released his debut album, In the Lonely Hour.

Music & Culture

A Young Man's Loneliness, And His Soulful Falsetto

9:28am February 09, 2015

by NPR Staff

The 22-year-old British singer Sam Smith broke through as the high-note voice snaking through an international club anthem. Now, he's written and recorded a debut album about love and loss.

Queue Listen Now

Beyonce performs onstage during the 2014 MTV Video Music Awards. The singer is up for six Grammy Awards, including Album of the Year.

Live-Blogging The Grammy Awards

9:42pm February 08, 2015

by NPR Staff

Linda Holmes and Stephen Thompson get together for the seventh time to live blog the Grammy Awards.

Photographer Chris Stein in the reflection of Debbie Harry's sunglasses.

A Place That Can't Exist Again: Blondie's New York

2:19pm February 08, 2015

by Meredith Ochs

Chris Stein's photos in Me, Blondie and the Advent of Punk Rock document a city that is barely recognizable today.

Queue Listen Now

Nile Rodgers (left) and Pharrell Williams (right) on stage with Stevie Wonder during a performance of Daft Punk's "Get Lucky" during the 2014 Grammy Awards.

Music & Culture

On The Grammy Stage, Collaborations Will Rule

2:24pm February 07, 2015

During a Grammy telecast that's over three hours, only a dozen or so awards are handed out — but there will be a boatload of performances, most with more than one marquee musician on stage at a time.

Queue Listen Now

The sound salvation, cleaning up the nation.

Music & Culture

Radio, Radio: How Formats Shaped, Splintered And Remade Pop Music

12:57pm February 07, 2015

by Eric Weisbard

Over the second half of the 20th century, radio gave music its deepest connection to Americans. By splitting the dial into different formats, it produced a pop scene of striking diversity.

Kevin Burdette stars in Everest as Beck Weathers, a Dallas doctor who survived a deadly blizzard on the mountain in 1996.

Music & Culture

The Cold Wrath Of Nature, Given Operatic Voice

11:48am February 07, 2015

by Bill Zeeble

The new opera Everest tells the story of a real-life expedition on world's highest mountain — and the unforgiving blizzard that interrupted it.

Queue Listen Now

Grammys Show Producer Explains The Origin Of Onstage Mashups

11:45am February 07, 2015

Katy Perry, Sam Smith, Meghan Trainor and Taylor Swift are just a few of the musicians up for Grammy Awards. NPR's Scott Simon speaks with the executive producer of the award show, Ken Ehrlich.

Queue Listen Now

Music & Culture

A Friday Surprise: Alan Gilbert Will Leave The New York Philharmonic

7:45pm February 06, 2015

by Anastasia Tsioulcas

After eight seasons, the Philharmonic's very first homegrown conductor will leave the orchestra at the end of the 2017 season. Hear an interview with Gilbert about his decision to depart.

Music & Culture

Lennie Tristano: Cool Reputation, Hot Jazz

1:52pm February 04, 2015

by Kevin Whitehead

Fresh Air jazz critic Kevin Whitehead reviews a newly released 1951 live recording by the pianist's sextet at Chicago's Blue Note club.

Queue Listen Now

Missy Elliott (left) joins Katy Perry during the 2015 Super Bowl Halftime Show.

Music & Culture

'We Need Her': At The Super Bowl, Missy Elliott's Incredible Return

11:39am February 04, 2015

The rapper and producer hasn't released an album of new songs since 2005, but on Sunday night her old hits were more than enough.

Queue Listen Now