Is it Monday already?! Why do weekends seem to speed by too fast?

The saving grace of Monday is that Monday means music! For this new year, the 4M crew is operating a bit differently. If you have a theme idea, submit your request by email. Each person’s suggestion(s) will be credited accordingly – unless someone wants to volunteer for the monthly co-host spot, then we won’t be looking for anyone to fill it in 2023. It’s tough to commit for 4-weeks. The object is to keep things fun!

For this week, our theme was chosen by our furriends at Angelswhisper2011 (Granny with Peachy & Stippie) suggested love songs with Valentine’s Day coming up. Other options are to pick Valentine song titles or band names or you can even do a Valentine’s Day musical acrostic. Whatever you do, just have fun with it!” Let’s get this love party started!

Let’s start with a brand new song these two country stars collaborated on. It’s a romantic song that illustrates the journey of two ex-lovers who find their way back to each other after realizing they were meant to be together.

I hate that old front door I let you walk out of / Hate the California king where we made love / Hate the drink in this cup, hate the next one too / I hate that cracked screen phone, you’re not picking up / I hate the way midnight keeps kicking up memories / Like a maze I can’t get through / But I still love you / I still love you

One of the artists said:

“Billy is one of my best friends from just a million years ago, and we’ve always loved making music together. We have the same taste in our voices. We’ve always [been] known to sound really good together. He had me sing on his record years ago, and I just felt like it was time and we wanted to do another [song] together.”

Get ready for magic, here’s Jessie James Decker and Billy Currington with “I Still Love You”:

Next up, while this song may have landed on the main artist’s pop album, when you get down to it, it is a textbook -me-wrong song. One of the country duo said that the whole experience, from start to finish, was all good. He was quoted as saying:

“It was amazing working with Bebe on ’Meant To Be,’ you know from the first night writing it together to getting to watch it come to life in the studio and kinda dreaming it up together.”

Without further ado, here’s Bebe Rexha featuring Florida Georgia Line with “Meant to Be”:

Next up is a song that was previously shared that fits very well in this week’s theme. This artist co-wrote and co-produced this song with her Chromatica producer,  penned for Top Gun: Maverick, the sequel to the 1986 blockbuster movie in which Tom Cruise reprises his role as Captain Pete “Maverick” Mitchell. The cinematic power ballad marks this artist’s return to writing and producing original music for a motion picture following 2018’s A Star is Born.

The song finds the singer comforting someone who is hurting. She tells them to take her hand and let it all out as she holds onto them. She assures them things will get better and God will answer their prayers. The artist worked on the song for years before completing the track. She said:

“I wanted to make music into a song where we share our deep need to both be understood and try to understand each other. A longing to be close when we feel so far away and an ability to celebrate life’s heroes.”

The lyrics took on a greater resonance after the trials and tribulations of the COVID-19 pandemic era. The artist described the song as a “love letter to the world during and after a very hard time.”

The motion picture version also features additional layers and scoring by film composers Harold Faltermeyer and Hans Zimmer. Faltermeyer composed the “Top Gun Anthem” and the end credit song “Mighty Wings” for the original Top Gun movie.

The music video finds the artist performing the song on a dusty air-force runway and in an airplane hangar. She dons the original aviation bomber jacket that Tom Cruise wore as Maverick in the 1986 movie, and also wears similar aviator shades. Top Gun: Maverick filmmaker Joe Kosinski directed the visual, which also features clips from the movie and pulls imagery from the 1986 Top Gun in nostalgic flashback form.

Here’s the inimitable Lady Gaga with “Hold My Hand”:

Last, but certainly not least, is another song I previously shared, but it definitely works for this week’s theme, and ending on major goosebumps is always a good thing. The artist recorded this song for the soundtrack of the Marvel movie Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. The song is also a tribute to the late actor Chadwick Boseman, who died in 2020 of colon cancer. Chadwick played King T’Challa, the protagonist in the original 2018 Black Panther film.

Nigerian singer-songwriter Tems wrote the stirring song alongside Swedish composer Ludwig Göransson, Black Panther director Ryan Coogler, and the artist. Tems was quoted as saying:

“After speaking with Ryan and hearing his direction for the film and the song, I wanted to write something that portrays a warm embrace from all the people that I’ve lost in my life. I tried to  what it would feel like if I could sing to them now and express how much I miss them.”

This song is the artist’s first solo musical output since 2016, so it was a huge coup for the Black Panther franchise. She was the director’s first choice for the soundtrack, in part because she became a mother in May 2022. He said:

“We knew she was at a point in her  as well where she was focusing on different things – focused on business, motherhood, which is a big theme in our film. We were holding out hope that maybe it could work out and boy did it for this song.”

Get ready for goosebumps, here’s the inimitable Rihanna with “Lift Me Up”:

That’s a wrap for this week – see you on the dance floor!

Now on to the particulars of Monday’s Music Move’s Me:   Photobucket

I have the supreme honor and privilege of being a co-host with the inimitable Xmas Dolly and our musical cohort, the awesome Cathy from Curious as a CAThy, and Alana of Ramblin’ with AM!

Want to join in the fun? It’s easy – just find a tune that rocks your boat, post it and link up – don’t forget to grab Xmas Dolly…er, um, I mean her button…over at her place here. Check out Xmas Dolly’s sidebar for the random themes we sport each week – and you can always ask for a specific theme of music you like, too. Check out the other music lovahs and let’s jam!

INTRODUCING OUR “SPOTLIGHT DANCER”:

Granny’s lovelies Stippie & Peachy from Angelswhisper2011

6 Comments

  1. Hey Stacy,

    Jessie James Decker was on DWTS this past season. I really liked this duet, “I Still Love You”. It’s pretty. We saw the new Top Gun film but I don’t remember the Lady Gaga song. Probably because it doesn’t sound like what I’m used to hearing by her. Nice song picks for this week. Have a boogietastic week, my dear!

  2. Nice playlist – my favorites were the last two songs. I still haven’t watched the original Black Panther (I have it recorded) and hope to – one of these days.

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