Tag: broadway

RADAR Artist Reneé Rapp Dives Headfirst Into Her Music Career With a New Single, Album, and Tour

August 16, 2023

Renee Rapp sitting in a blue room facing the camera

Fans may already know 23-year-old Reneé Rapp from her theater and television careers. Now it’s time for the North Carolina native’s third act—and the one she’s most passionate about—her music career.

Music has always been a present and important part of her life, with Reneé starting to write and record songs when she was a teen. In 2022, she released her first single, “Tattoos,” and then followed it up with her EP, Everything to Everyone. Her pop-driven songs include a range of soft-spoken lyrics and belt-out-loud ballads.

As Reneé prepares for the release of her debut album, Snow Angel, on August 18, the star takes the title of Spotify’s newest RADAR US artist. RADAR, a global Spotify program, is dedicated to showcasing emerging and talented artists around the world through support and resources that help selected artists expand their audiences.

“It’s been incredible to watch Reneé’s growth over the past year—her talent is undeniable,” shared Ashley Graver, Spotify’s Head of Pop, Dance & Indie, Artist Partnerships. “We took an interest in Reneé early on when she had only released two songs and had yet to announce a single live show. Her sound and energy are unmatched. She has a wildly devoted fan base that constantly proclaims their love and has anointed her the next big pop star, and we’re excited to introduce her to an even bigger audience through RADAR.”

Through the RADAR program, Reneé is featured in the RADAR US social content series, which includes an exclusive interview with the artist and a stripped-back performance of a track off her new album. Additionally, she will receive marketing support throughout key milestones, like on-platform promotion, visuals in Times Square, a feature in RADAR’s quarterly partnership with Rolling Stone, and more. The singer is currently showcased on the cover of the RADAR US playlist, and her latest track, “Talk Too Much,” is featured prominently at the top.

“We are very excited to partner with Reneé through our RADAR program. Last year, our editors noticed her music not only because of the quality but also because of the way it was resonating with our users,” said J.J. Italiano, Spotify’s Head of Global Hits. “As we worked with Reneé and her team to help grow her audience on Spotify, we were taken by her passion, motivation, and ambition. When watching her perform as part of our Pop Rising On Tour program, it was immediately clear that she was connecting to fans in the real world as intensely as she was connecting with them on our platform. We’re honored to be a part of Reneé’s journey and looking forward to what’s to come.”

This fall, Reneé will embark on her Snow Hard Feelings tour with Alexander 23, a singer-songwriter and producer who worked with Reneé on the new album. Many shows are already sold out, proving that her presence doesn’t have to be on Broadway or TV screens for fans to flock to her. This is only the beginning for the actress and singer, and through RADAR, we hope to introduce Reneé’s catchy and captivating sound to even more audiences around the globe.

 

Fans can find music from Reneé, and other promising artists to watch, on our RADAR US playlist.

Spotify’s NYC-Focused Content Hub Gives the Concrete Jungle Its Spotlight

May 14, 2020

New York, New York: The city that never sleeps is a city that listens to Spotify a lot. Now, New Yorkers can access music and podcasts tailored for them 24/7—all in one convenient hub on Spotify. Named Listen Local: New York, this new hub includes music that celebrates New York’s unique culture and podcasts that give residents the information they seek.

From CBGB to Lincoln Center to Broadway, New York City’s long-standing relationship with music is like no other. Curated playlists on the hub will share songs recorded in iconic venues and by iconic New Yorkers. The hub will bring the city’s diverse music history to life, allowing users to explore the sounds of the Metropolitan Opera one minute and recordings from the Apollo Theater the next. 

If there’s one thing that’s true of New Yorkers, it’s their city pride and—more specifically—borough love. This hub includes playlists for each of the five boroughs based on the distinct listening habits of the Spotify users living there. But it’s also available globally, so whether you’re based in New Jersey or New Zealand, you can experience the same music that’s trending in Manhattan, Brooklyn, the Bronx, Staten Island, and Queens.

Spotify Listeners Are Getting Nostalgic: Behavioral Science Writer David DiSalvo and Cyndi Lauper Share Why

April 14, 2020

Photo credit: Helen Maybanks

With all the uncertainties of our current climate, music from decades past is striking a particularly strong chord. From April 1–7, we saw a 54% increase in listeners making nostalgic-themed playlists, as well as an uptick in the share of listening to music from the ’50s, ’60s, ’70s, and ’80s (with ’50s music listening increasing the most). But what exactly is driving this interest?

For the Record spoke with David DiSalvo, a behavioral science writer and author of What Makes Your Brain Happy and Why You Should Do the Opposite, to get his take. “Nostalgia is an extremely powerful force linked to memory,” he noted. “But it has a way of putting a rosier view on our memory. When we smell those chocolate chip cookies, it’s a link to memory that brings us back to a more stable, comfortable place in our lives. We can inhabit it in our minds and feel a level of support that most of us aren’t feeling right now because there is so much instability.”

DiSalvo also explained the powerful role music specifically plays. “Music, like smell, is one of those things with immediate access to that direct, nostalgic memory. It takes you back to that place. For example, everyone can remember the specific song they were listening to during their first kiss.”

Perhaps Spotify listeners are trying to recreate moments from their past to find comfort, calm, and a break from the day-to-day. When making or updating playlists, listeners have been adding plenty of throwbacks—just take a look at the most-added tracks to playlists from each decade:

And they aren’t the only ones feeling the nostalgic vibes. Artists, too, are thinking of days long gone.

We asked Cyndi Lauper, whose upbeat hit “Girls Just Want to Have Fun” is one of the most-streamed songs from the ’80s in the past week, for her thoughts on what’s driving folks down memory lane. “Music marks time for me. So when I hear a song, it brings me back to that exact moment in time. It also helps that I have a really good memory, but music has always been such an important part of my life. Like most, I have a soundtrack. Broadway cast recordings of The King & I and Funny Girl bring me back to when I was 5 and just discovering my voice and love for music.”

Cyndi is also featured prominently on All Out 80s, Spotify’s popular throwback playlist with over 7.1 million followers. She thinks there’s a good reason why the playlist is so popular.

“The music of the ’80s was melodic. That was the common thread and why music from the ’80s is so good. I know for me, my intention was to make music that people would want to listen to for years and years, for decades and decades, long after I was gone.” 

Though many listeners have taken to more “chill” music in the past few weeks, there is also something to be said for pausing on the present and getting down with your favorite oldies. According to DiSalvo, “There is a good part of ‘distraction.’ It plays a healthy role in giving us a break, a reset point when we are in deep anxiety and stress.”

Also looking for a break from the moment? Take a listen to some of the most popular tracks streamed by decade April 1–7:

’50s:

“Put Your Head on My Shoulder” – Paul Anka

“Johnny B. Goode” – Chuck Berry

“I Walk the Line” – Johnny Cash

“Dream A Little Dream Of Me” – Ella Fitzgerald, Louis Armstrong

’60s:

“Here Comes the Sun” – The Beatles

“Feeling Good” – Nina Simone

“(What A) Wonderful World” – Sam Cooke

Ain’t No Mountain High Enough” – Marvin Gaye, Tammi Terrell

“Fortunate Son” – Creedence Clearwater Revival

“Brown Eyed Girl” – Van Morrison

“Son Of A Preacher Man” – Dusty Springfield

’70s:

“Don’t Stop Me Now” – Queen

“Hotel California – 2013 Remaster” – Eagles

 “Sweet Home Alabama” – Lynyrd Skynyrd

“Dreams – 2004 Remaster” – Fleetwood Mac

’80s:

“Back in Black” – AC/DC

“Under Pressure – Remastered” – David Bowie, Queen

“Livin’ On A Prayer” – Bon Jovi

“Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This) – Remastered” – Eurythmics

“I Wanna Dance with Somebody (Who Loves Me) – Whitney Houston

“Girls Just Want to Have Fun” – Cyndi Lauper

’90s:

“Wonderwall – Remastered” – Oasis

“I Want It That Way” – Backstreet Boys

“Smells Like Teen Spirit” – Nirvana

“Wannabe” – Spice Girls

“…Baby One More Time” – Britney Spears

“No Scrubs” – TLC

 2000s:

“Lose Yourself” – Eminem

“Hey, Soul Sister” – Train

“Mr. Brightside” – The Killers

“Hips Don’t Lie (feat. Wyclef Jean)” – Shakira, Wyclef Jean

“Halo” – Beyoncé 

Podcasts more your thing? Get hooked on a ’90s earworm in the popular Reply All episode “The Case of the Missing Hit.”

Broadway’s Broadening Appeal

June 10, 2019

There’s a certain magic involved with attending a Broadway show—whether it be a Rodgers and Hammerstein revival, or a brand-new production from Anaïs Mitchell. And now, due to streaming, fans can experience that Broadway magic from the comfort of their headphones.

In fact, as streaming on Spotify has become more widespread, there’s also been an increase in streaming of the Broadway genre. From 2012 to 2018, we’ve seen an 81% surge. People are taking to Spotify to prep themselves for highly anticipated shows, re-live their favorites, or experience musicals they might not have gotten a chance to see.

Additionally, showtunes listeners complete Broadway albums in the prescribed song order at 124% higher a rate than that of people who complete non-soundtrack albums. There’s truly something to be said about experiencing a musical’s story the way the writers and composers intended.

In honor of the 73rd Tony Awards this past weekend, we looked into streaming of musicals over the last 90 days to see which performances have that everlasting Broadway magic.

Stream Hadestown, the Tony Award-winning best musical of 2019, below.

 

How Fans of ‘Be More Chill’ Streamed the Show to Broadway

April 1, 2019

When the curtain fell on the final performance of Be More Chill in September 2015 at Two River Theater in Red Bank, New Jersey, the cast and crew thought it was the end for the sci-fi–comedy–musical. They packed up their neon and metallic ’80s- and ’90s-esque costumes and gathered to record a cast album—a soundtrack they thought would be their only lasting mark. No one had taken the power of streaming into account.

Turns out, the story of Jeremy Heere’s yearning for high school popularity—which includes swallowing a bite-sized supercomputer (the Squip) with the promise of becoming cool—and the music accompanying his journey left more of a mark on the patrons of Two River Theater than the cast or creators realized. The soundtrack made its way around the internet and eventually appeared on Spotify with a growing trickle of streams. Then, in May 2017, plays on the platform exploded to over a million streams per month.

That’s when book writer Joe Tracz and composer Joe Iconis realized they could use technology to take their show about futuristic technology to Broadway.

Five Ways Music Can Help You Keep the Kids Entertained this Winter

January 15, 2019

If you’re a parent in the grips of cold winter weather, you may be feeling the strain of keeping kids happy, especially when they’re forced to be inside. But there’s no need to pull your hair out just yet—here are five ideas for using music to keep kids entertained when they’re feeling cooped up:

Make a Playlist (or ten)!

From as young as age one, kids tend to be exposed to popular music in some form or another, whether through lively Kidz Bop covers, TV shows, viral videos, or what their parents are listening to. And it doesn’t take long for your little ones to figure out—and express—what they like and don’t like. Building a playlist with your kids is not only a great way to keep up with what they’re into, but it also lets them know that their preferences count. Make an afternoon of creating multiple playlists to suit different occasions—commuting to school, baking, tidying up, dancing, homework—and let your kids drive the song choices.

You may need to dip into various playlists to throw out recommendations and help guide them, and be sure to include your own song picks, especially if the playlist will be streamed for everyone in the household. This is a great way to subtly teach your kids about songs or artists that are iconic or matter to you. Don’t underestimate even the youngest of kids; The Beatles’ “Blackbird” can be interesting to a four-year-old.

Make a Musical

Bring out the budding Andrew Lloyd Webbers and Lin-Manuel Mirandas in your household by having the kids come up with their own musical. Select a group of songs the kids can link together by acting out a scene or two in between tracks.

If your kids have seen Moana twenty-eight times and love it, maybe they’d love to recreate the movie by following the film’s soundtrack (incidentally, the most-streamed songs in Spotify’s popular Disney Hits playlist are Moana songs “You’re Welcome” and “How Far I’ll Go.”) (Tip: Dining chairs pushed together make a great boat.) But it doesn’t have to be a familiar plot; you can also choose four to five random, unrelated songs and challenge them to stitch the tracks together.

Raid the Kitchen; Make Some Noise

We admit this is a noisy one, but it’s fun. Dig out kitchen objects that could work as percussive instruments: pots and pans and wooden spoons, a sealed container filled with rice … you get the idea. Have the kids play around with the different sounds they can make— beating an overturned wooden salad bowl like a bongo is a good one—and when they have the idea, encourage them to play their kitchen instruments along to music. Lean on instrumental pieces for this one: There’s some great African drum music for inspiration, and a track like “Sing, Sing, Sing” from legendary bandleader Benny Goodman is on point. Not only does this (sometimes deafening!) activity help kids identify rhythm and beat, it gives them a sense of what it’s like to actually make music rather than just listen to it.

Paint by Music

Music gets the creative juices flowing, as does painting. So why not pair the two art forms together? Set up a dedicated area and have the kids expressively paint to music. Whether finger painting, splattering Jackson Pollock-style or using a good, old-fashioned paintbrush, let the tunes act as a guide to inform and inspire your kids’ artwork. And if your place winds up looking like a musical festival rolled into town, turn to the “Cleanup Song” to encourage the kids to help tidy up. (Good luck!)   

Throw a Dance Party

Little kids love to dance, so get them to work off some energy or get “the sillies” out with a dance party at home. Start by setting up: move the coffee table out of the way for more space, and set up a snack area. Maybe the kids could even make posters revealing the name or theme of the party, as well as invitations for friends and neighbors. Dress up! Work together on what music everyone will boogie to by making a dance-themed playlist, then crank it. For inspo: The most popular Kidz Bop songs on Spotify are “Shake It Off,” “Uptown Funk,” and “Havana”—all good songs to move to. Playing freeze dance is always a great way to keep kids on their toes. You could also deejay and take song requests from everyone to keep them engaged.

Ready to get started? Check out Spotify’s Sing Along playlist for some kid-friendly tunes that’ll have your little ones belting out in no time.

After 15 Years, ‘Wicked’ Continues to ‘Defy Gravity’

October 31, 2018

Ever since the curtain first rose on “Wicked’s” giant, mechanical dragon clock and the dancing citizens of Emerald City, Broadway has been changed “For Good.”

The untold story of the witches of Oz—Elphaba and Glinda—first captured the world’s imagination in Gregory Maguire’s 1995 novel “Wicked,” in which he envisioned a story where the two witches at the center of L. Frank Baum’s “The Wonderful Wizard of Oz” were not enemies, but best friends. (Fun fact: Maguire created Elphaba’s name out of the first sounds of L. Frank Baum’s name—“El,” “Fa,” and “Ba”—to create “Elphaba.”)

In October 2003, a song-and-dance-filled retelling of “Wicked” emerged on Broadway at Gershwin Theatre, with music and lyrics by Stephen Schwartz and script by Winnie Holzman. Idina Menzel, previously of “Rent” fame (and eventually to be known as Elsa in “Frozen”), starred as Elphaba alongside Kristin Chenoweth’s Glinda. The combination of pop-inspired show tunes, a unique yet familiar story, and powerful voices marked “Wicked” as a show that longtime theater aficionados and newcomers alike would soon come to love.

Add 15 years, and the streams of the Original Cast Recording show that love for “Wicked” continues to defy gravity.

Read into this: The top 3,000-plus “Wicked” superfans on Spotify are currently ages 20-29, but they would have been between 5 and 14 when the musical first premiered—an age of open imagination, ripe for the magic of Oz to take hold. Following them are the superfans in the 30-39 range, the 15-24-year-olds of 2003—those who might have even spent their own money to see the show. The next set of superfans are ages 13-19, emphasizing the timelessness of the show and the hold it now has on a new generation of “Wicked” lovers.

“Wicked” superfans also stay on top of the newest, hottest Broadway shows, listening in high frequencies to other Great White Way soundtracks like “Hamilton,” “Dear Evan Hansen,” and “Mean Girls,” and even movie soundtracks like “A Star is Born,” “The Greatest Showman,” and “Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again” in the past month. They also stream Ariana Grande and Taylor Swift when they’re looking for something a little less dramatic.

These superfans keep the “Wicked” star shining brightly on our constellation map of the top Broadway soundtracks on Spotify.

In this map, our data visualizer, Skyler Johnson, sorted each musical into constellations based on the connections between its top stars and the other singers with whom they share songs. In the “Wicked” constellation, Kristin Chenoweth and Idina Menzel steal the stage, accompanied by Norbert Leo Butz (who danced through life as Fiyero), Joel Grey (the Wonderful Wizard), and Christopher Fitzgerald’s Boq, (now Ogie Anhorn in “Waitress”).

After 15 years of near-nightly performances, world tours, and general Broadway magic, “Wicked’s” superfans have ensured that the musical remains as “Popular” as ever.

100 Years of Beauty: Kristin Chenoweth On Leonard Bernstein’s Legacy

August 24, 2018

With legendary composer and conductor Leonard Bernstein’s (1918–1990) 100th birthday on August 25, we set out to search the world of entertainment for those who found inspiration in his work. As it turned out, we didn’t have to look too hard. Avid Bernstein fans are always game to talk about his many works, ranging from beloved musicals such as West Side Story and Peter Pan, to classic operettas like Candide. But Bernstein didn’t just contribute lasting scores and scripts: He also had a profound influence on the way we listen to music.

The author, pianist, and lecturer has inspired generations of composers, songwriters, singers, and artists, including Broadway standout Kristin Chenoweth. Kristin, an Emmy and Tony Award-winning actress and coloratura soprano, is perhaps best known for originating the character of Glinda in Wicked, and for her roles in TV shows Pushing Daisies and The West Wing. For Kristin, Bernstein’s impact spans from encouraging originality, to engaging youth in the classics, and using music to make the world a better place.

Remembering a Legend—And His Legacy

Kristin often cites female singers across time and genres as role models—including Judy Garland, Sandi Patty, Dolly Parton, Bernadette Peters, and Dinah Washington—but credits Bernstein as her favorite composer. “My biggest regret in life is that I was too young to meet him,” she says. Every year on his birthday, the singer takes some time to recognize Bernstein, whether by quoting him in a speech or performing one of his works.

“My favorite piece that I’ve done [to honor him] is an aria from the operetta Candide,” she says. “It’s called ‘Glitter and Be Gay.’ I just love Candide; it’s one of my top-three pieces that he composed. I also love Trouble in Tahiti, which is a very cool little opera that he did. And ‘The Masque.’ They’re all very different, and that to me shows what kind of composer he was and what kind of mark he left on the world.”

One of Bernstein’s best-known works is West Side Story. Set in New York City, the loose take on Romeo and Juliet portrayed the gang war between the Jets and the Sharks, and first premiered in 1957. In its 2009–2011 Broadway revival, instead of English, the Puerto Rican characters’ lines were translated to Spanish, a twist that revamped the musical for a modern audience. The director stayed true to the material while making the show accessible for new fans—in a way Bernstein himself would have loved, Kristin says.

Modern theater-goers now enjoy timeless classics in venues other than the theater, like at concerts. For Kristin, singing Bernstein’s songs at her own shows means exposing audiences to a new genre or composer. She’s encouraging other artists to do it, too: “I would love to see a country band do a classic standard just like I sing country music or pop music in my concerts. I think there are no more rules anymore. And if Leonard Bernstein were alive today, he would one hundred percent agree.”