Voted by entertainment staffers of the news cooperative, Lizzo dominated the pop, R&B and rap charts in 2019 with songs like 'Truth Hurts' and 'Good As Hell.'

The end of a year is a time to celebrate the best new music that hit our ears in the past 12 months — and also to remember the remarkable lives and storied careers of people on the music scene who passed on. For the Honey Do list this Saturday, Dec. 28 on The Current,…

We're right in the middle of so many holidays - Kwanzaa, Hanukkah, in that space right between Christmas and New Years Eve - so let's take a listen to some songs that mention the "middle" or "between" in the lyrics for today's 9:30 Coffee Break. Happy Holidays!

“That ain’t Lake Minnetonka,” Prince famously said to Apollonia after she “purified herself” in Purple Rain. He wasn’t lying: it was a section of the Minnesota River in the small town of Henderson, about 50 miles southwest of Minneapolis. For years, the exact spot where the iconic scene was filmed was hard to find. After talking…

Happy holidays, and a big thank you to Cecilia Johnson for trusting me to take on this feature! She rounded up her favorite videos of the year in last week’s edition, and I’m stoked to be taking over just before the new year. Send videos to fridayfive@mpr.org if you’d like to be considered, and I’ll…

From the time he first appeared on the Minnesota music scene as Jay Smart, the artist now known as J.S. Ondara has captivated listeners both here and, increasingly, around the world. A native of Kenya, Ondara’s always had a global view — but his musical sights were set on the United States, and the Recording…

Songwriter Allee Willis passed away this week at the age of 72. She was known for writing the uber-famous songs "I'll Be There For You" for The Rembrandts and "September" and "Boogie Wonderland" for Earth, Wind & Fire among many other songs and scores. So for today's 9:30 Coffee Break, what songs do you want to hear with nonsense/gibberish words and phrases in them?

For Prince fans visiting the Twin Cities, it’s easy to find landmarks like Paisley Park, First Avenue, the Purple Rain house, and a growing number of murals. A new interactive guide on the Prince estate’s official website helps fans to zero in on the Minneapolis where Prince grew up: his homes, his schools, the venues where…

Last week we featured songs that have a mention of bells somewhere in the lyrics, and we want to take one dive deeper into this topic today. For today's 9:30 Coffee Break, what songs do you want to hear that feature the sound of sleigh bells? Bonus points if it's NOT a holiday song.

Part of the fun of holiday music season, for those who celebrate, is hearing endless variations on some of the world’s sturdiest songs. Whether it’s Eric Clapton paying tribute to Avicii (?!) with an EDM “Jingle Bells” or Lydia Liza rewriting “Baby It’s Cold Outside,” there’s never a shortage of new ways to hear a…