FOOTPRINTS IN THE SAND

LEONA LEWIS
SONGWRITERS: SIMON COWELL; RICHARD PAGE; DAVID KREUGER & PER MAGNUSSON
COUNTRY: U. K.
ÁLBUM: SPIRIT
LABEL: SONY BMG
GENRE: POP
YEAR: 2007
 
           Leona Louise Lewis(born 3 April 1985) is a British singer, songwriter, actress, model and activist. She was born and raised in the London Borough of Islington, and she attended the BRIT School for Performing Arts and Technology in Croydon. Lewis achieved national recognition when she won the third series of The X Factor in 2006, winning a £1 million recording contract with Syco Music. Her winner's single, a cover of Kelly Clarkson's "A Moment Like This", peaked at number one for four weeks on the UK Singles Chart and broke a world record by reaching 50,000 digital downloads within 30 minutes. In February 2007, Lewis signed a five-album contract in the United States with Clive Davis's record label, J Records.
          Lewis's success continued with the release of her debut studio album, Spirit (2007), which was certified 10× platinum in the UK and became the fourth best-selling album of the 2000s and one of the best-selling albums in UK chart history. According to the Official Charts Company, Spirit is the best-selling debut album by a female artist in the 21st century. The lead single, "Bleeding Love", spent seven weeks at number one in the UK and was the best-selling single of 2007. In the US, it was the best-selling single of 2008 and Lewis was proclaimed Best New Artist by Billboard the same year. In 2009, she released her second studio album, Echo, and recorded the theme song, "I See You", for the film Avatar.
        In 2011, Lewis released the single "Collide", a collaboration with Swedish DJ Avicii, and her debut extended play, Hurt: The EP. Her third studio album, Glassheart (2012), marked a new creative direction for Lewis, drawing inspiration from dubstep and electronic music. She began to record material for her first Christmas album during her Glassheart Tour, which took place in mid 2013. Christmas, with Love was released later that year and its lead single, "One More Sleep", peaked at number three in the UK. With this chart entry, Lewis became the first British female solo artist to reach the top five with eight singles, surpassing Olivia Newton-John's record of seven.
         In 2014, she made her film debut in Walking on Sunshine, and her fourth studio album, I Am, was released the following year. In 2016, Lewis made her Broadway debut as Grizabella in the revival of Andrew Lloyd Webber's musical Cats, and the following year, she signed a modelling contract with Wilhelmina Models. She then collaborated with Calum Scott on the single "You Are The Reason"(2018), and had a recurring role on the American television series The Oath(2019). In 2021, Lewis joined the Paramount Plus show Queen of The Universe as a judge.
        "Footprints in the Sand" is a song recorded by British singer Leona Lewis for her debut studio album Spirit(2007). It was written by Simon Cowell, David Kreuger, Per Magnusson, Richard Page, and produced by Steve Mac. The song was digitally released as Lewis's third single on 9 March 2008 in the United Kingdom. Sony BMG and Syco Music launched it as a double A-side with "Better in Time", and "You Bring Me Down" as the B-side.
           It is a R&B and pop song composed with a tempo of sixty beats per minute. It was written in a period of one day at Page's home in Malibu, California, with Cowell giving the idea to base it on the Christian poem "Footprints". The single's music video was filmed by British diretor Sophie Muller in Johannesburg, South Africa. The video describes social problems within the city, but ends with a message of hope. "Footprints in the Sand" became the official theme of the 2008 version of biennial charity programme Sport Relief, by BBC.
          The song received positive reviews from music critics, some of them noting its gospel sounds and Lewis's vocals being compared to American R&B singer Mariah Carey. "Footprints in the Sand" charted as a separate single in Ireland, the United Kingdom and the European Hot 100 Singles, whilst the double A-side appeared in Germany and Switzerland, and was certified gold in the UK by the British Phonographic Industry(BPI), in 2008. In the same year, Lewis performed the song for the first time in the UK live on the television programme Dancing on Ice. In 2009, the song was covered by Lucie Jones, a contestant of The X Factor, and by Julia Star from Swiss programme Die grössten Schweizer Talente.
You walked with me
Footprints in the sand
And helped me understand
Where I'm going
 
You walked with me
When I was all alone
With so much unknown
Along the way
 
I heard you say
I promise you
I'm always there
When your heart is filled with sorrow
And despair
 
And I'll carry you
When you need a friend
You'll find my footprints in the sand
 
I see my life
Flash across the sky
So many times have I
Been so afraid
And just when I
Thought I lost my way
You gave me strength to carry on
Thats when I heard you say
 
I promise you
I'm always there
When your heart is filled with sorrow and despair
 
And I'll carry you
When you need a friend
You'll find my footprints in the sand
 
When I'm weary
Well I know you'll be there
And I can feel you
When you say
 
I promise you
I'm always there
When your heart is filled with sadness and despair
 
And I'll carry you
When you need a friend
You'll find my footprints in the sand
When your heart is full of sadness and despair
 
And I'll carry you
When you need a friend
You'll find my footprints in the sand.

A BAD DREAM

KEANE BAND
SONGWRITERS: TOM CHAPLIN; RICHARD HUGHES & TIM RICE-OXLEY
COUNTRY: U. K.
ALBUM: UNDER THE IRON SEA
LABEL: INTERSCOP RECORDS
GENRE: ROCK
YEAR: 2006
 
            Keane are an English alternative rock band from Battle, East Sussex, formed in 1995. They met whilst at Tonbridge School together. The band currently comprises Tom Chaplin(lead vocals, electric/acoustic guitar), Tim Rice-Oxley(piano, synthesisers, bass guitar, backing vocals), Richard Hughes(drums, percussion, backing vocals), and Jesse Quin(bass guitar, acoustic/electric guitar, backing vocals). Their original line-up included founder and guitarist Dominic Scott, who left in 2001.
       Keane achieved mainstream, international success with the release of their debut álbum Hopes and Fears in 2004. Topping the UK charts, the album won the 2005 Brit Award for Best British Album and was the second best-selling British album of 2004. It is one of the best-selling albums in UK chart history. Their second album, Under the Iron Sea, released in 2006, topped the UK album charts and debuted at number four on the US Billboard 200. Their third álbum Perfect Symmetry was released in October 2008.
           In May 2008, both Hopes and Fears(number 13) and Under the Iron Sea(number 8) were voted by readers of Q magazine as among the best British albums ever, with Keane, The Beatles, Oasis and Radiohead the only artists having two albums in the top 20. In 2009, Hopes and Fears was listed as the ninth best-selling album of the 2000s decade in the UK. Their EP Night Train was released in May 2010. Their fourth studio álbum Strangeland was released in May 2012 and peaked at number one on the UK Albums Chart.
         Keane are known for using keyboards as the lead instrument instead of guitar, differentiating them from most other rock bands. The inclusion of a distorted piano effect in 2006 and various synthesisers were a common feature in their music which developed on the second and third albums. Keane have sold over 13 million records worldwide.
           After the release of their compilation álbum The Best of Keane in 2013, the band took a hiatus, lasting nearly 5 years.
          The band returned after the hiatus with new music, announcing their fifth studio album titled Cause and Effect on 6 June 2019 and releasing the lead single from the album "The Way I Feel". A collection of the songs were written by Tim Rice-Oxley during his divorce, and after discussions with Tom who had visited Tim the previous year, decided to proceed with recording the songs for the album. Cause and Effect was released on 20 September 2019. After the release of the album, the band embarked on the Cause and Effect Tour, visiting Europe and Latin America, before the remainder of the tour was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Why do I have to fly
Over every town, up and down the line?
And I'll die in the clouds above
And you that I defend, I do not love
 
I wake up, it's a bad dream
No one on my side, I was fighting
But I just feel too tired to be fighting
Guess I'm not the fighting kind
 
Where will I meet my fate?
Baby, I'm a man and I was born to hate
And when will I meet my end?
In a better time you could be my friend
 
I wake up, it's a bad dream
No one on my side, I was fighting
But I just feel too tired to be fighting
Guess I'm not the fighting kind
Wouldn't mind it if you were by my side
But you're long gone, yeah, you're long gone now, yeah
 
Where do we go?
I don't even know
My strange old face
And I'm thinking about those days
And I'm thinking about those days
 
I wake up, it's a bad dream
No one on my side, I was fighting
But I just feel too tired to be fighting
Guess I'm not the fighting kind
Wouldn't mind it if you were by my side
But you're long gone, yeah, you're long gone now, yeah.

O HOLY NIGHT

ANDRÉ RIEU
SONGWRITERS: ADOLPHE ADAM & ADOLPHE-CHARLES ADAM
COUNTRY: NEEDERLANDS
ALBUM: CHRISTMAS AROUND THE WORLD
LABEL: POLYDOR RECORDS
GENRE: CLASSICAL
YEAR: 2006
 
             André Léon Marie Nicolas Rieu(born 1 October 1949) is a Dutch violinist and conductor best known for creating the waltz-playing Johann Strauss Orchestra.
           He and his orchestra have turned classical and waltz music into a worldwide concert touring act, as successful as some of the biggest global pop and rock music acts. He resides in his native Maastricht.
             By December 2008, Rieu had achieved his 100th platinum accreditation in Australia and by May 2011, Rieu had sold over $50 million dollars worth of wholesale shipments of his CDs and DVDs in Australia and was the highest selling music artist in the Australian market between 2006 and 2011. 
         The lush orchestra of André Rieu, with the Belgian conductor leading the group while playing his violin like Johann Strauss II, often lives up to Rieu's self-styling as a modern-day Waltz King. Actually he doesn't program that many waltzes; his reference is the society orchestra that flourished a generation after the time of Strauss. Rieu puts together big concert spectaculars that wow the crowds in continental Europe and have proven equally effective during fundraisers of the U.S. Public Broadcasting System. The music heard on this disc was apparently taken from a DVD recorded in Germany -- the packaging gives no clue as to its origins, but German is the language in which Rieu addresses the audience. The Christmas program features a Japanese children's choir, singing in Japanese, as well as some familiar and not-so-familiar seasonal selections; the tracklist is given all in English, but several different languages are heard. For Anglophone listeners, there may be considerable charm in hearing the heavily German- (or Dutch-) accented versions of Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer, Winter Wonderland, and even Handel's "Hallelujah!" chorus from Messiah presented here, and there's no denying that the precise approach of the Japanese kids is something special to hear. Hardcore Rieu fans will likely enjoy this extravaganza, but the casual buyer is advised to sample one of Rieu's several other holiday albums, where the packaging more closely suggests what the buyer is actually getting. The release of this disc was likely timed to correspond with a Rieu tour of North America, slated for the end of 2006. Deck the halls with cross-merchandised apparel!
O holy night the stars are brightly shining
It is the night of our dear Savior's birth
Long lay the world in sin and error pining
Till He appeared and the soul felt it's worth
 
A thrill of hope the weary world rejoices
For yonder breaks a new glorious morn
 
Fall on your knees
O hear the angels' voices
O night divine
O night when Christ was born
O night divine o night
O night divine
 
Sweet hymns of joy in grateful chorus raise we
Let all within us praise His holy name
 
Fall on your knees
O hear the angels' voices
O night divine
O night when Christ was born
O night divine o night
O night divine.

THE LADY WORE BLACK

QUEENSRŸCHE
SONGWRITER: DE GAMO & TATE
COUNTRY: U. S. A.
ALBUM: THE WARNING
LABEL: EMI RECORDS
GENRE: HEAVY METAL
YEAR: 1984
 
          Queensrÿche/ˈkwiːnzraɪk/is an American heavy metal band. It formed in 1980 in Bellevue, Washington, out of the local band the Mob. The band has released 15 studio albums, one EP, and several DVDs, and continues to tour and record. The original lineup consisted of guitarists Michael Wilton and Chris DeGarmo, drummer Scott Rockenfield, bassist Eddie Jackson, and lead vocalist Geoff Tate.
          Queensrÿche has sold over 20 million albums worldwide, including over 6million albums in the United States. They are considered one of the leaders of the progressive metal scene of the mid-to-late 1980s, and often referred to as one of the "Big Three" of the genre, along with Dream Theater and Fates Warning. The band received worldwide acclaim after the release of their 1988 album Operation: Mindcrime, which is often considered one of the greatest heavy metal concept albums of all time. Their follow-up release, Empire, released in 1990, was also very successful and included the hit single "Silent Lucidity". The band has received three Grammy Award nominations for songs from both albums. In 1998, drummer Rockenfield received an individual Grammy nomination.
              Also in 1998, guitarist and primary songwriter Chris DeGarmo left the band for personal reasons, returning briefly in 2003 to write and record the Tribe album. Over the years, his replacements have been Kelly Gray, Mike Stone, and Parker Lundgren. Following a highly publicized backstage altercation before a show in São Paulo, Brazil, in April 2012, Tate was fired from the band and replaced with then-Crimson Glory singer Todd La Torre. In response to his dismissal, Tate and his wife Susan (who served as the band's manager from 2005 to 2012) filed a lawsuit in a Washington court, claiming that he was wrongfully terminated. The ruling in the preliminary injunction was that both parties were allowed to use the name Queensrÿche until a court ruling or a settlement decided who would get to use the name. A settlement was reached on April 17, 2014, in which founding members Wilton, Rockenfield and Jackson were awarded the rights to the band trademark, continuing to perform with the lineup that additionally includes lead vocalist La Torre and guitarist Lundgren.
           During the time both parties could use the name Queensrÿche, Tate created his own lineup featuring former guitarist Gray and musicians from bands including Blue Öyster Cult, Ozzy Osbourne, Whitesnake, Dio, AC/DC and Quiet Riot. This version of Queensrÿche with Geoff Tate released the album Frequency Unknown on April 23, 2013, while Queensrÿche (with La Torre replacing Tate) released their eponymous album on June 24 and 25, 2013 (European and American release date, respectively). Both bands toured in 2013 and 2014.
       The Warning is the first studio album by American progressive metal band Queensrÿche, released on September 7, 1984, and reissued on May 6, 2003, with three bonus tracks.
            In 2019, Metal Hammer ranked it as the 13th best power metal album of all time.
On a lonely walk this morning
A light mist in the air
Dark clouds laughing at me in silence
Casting shadows through my hair
 
In the distance I saw a woman
Dressed in black with eyes of grey
She wore her pain like a shackled spirit
Eternal life was her debt to pay
 
The lady wore black
It's the sign of the prisoners lives
The lady wore black
See the years through the tears in her eyes
The lady wore black
Her mystic powers calling me
The lady wore black
Her love can set me free
 
The wind song whispered a warning
Telling me to beware
Of the quiet shadowed woman
And of the sadness I would share
 
We sat for sometime together in silence
Never speaking in words
Of all her thoughts she spoke with her eyes
And I listened remembering all I heard
 
The lady wore black
It's the sign of the prisoners lives
The lady wore black
See the years through the tears in her eyes
The lady wore black
Her mystic powers calling me
The lady wore black
Her love can set me free
 
The words she spoke were of forgotten lives
And of all knowledge gained
Mem'ries I had and didn't know why
With a smile she explained
I should have listened to the wind's cold warning
And walked the other way
I touched her soul and now I bear her sentence
But for her love I'll gladly pay
 
The lady wore black
It's the sign of the prisoners lives
The lady wore black
See the years through the tears in her eyes
The lady wore black
Her mystic power calls to me
The lady wore black
Her love can set me free.