(RNN) - Rock legend Robert Plant premiered his first single with his new band, the Sensational Space Shifters, on Monday via NPR.
The single, Rainbow, is a smooth soft rock tune that only the former Led Zeppelin singer could make this good. It gives us pretty high hopes for Sensational Space Shifters' upcoming album, lullaby and … The Ceaseless Roar.
"It's really a celebratory record, powerful, gritty African, Trance meets Zep," Plant said of the album in a release.
"The whole impetus of my life as a singer has to be driven by a good brotherhood. I am very lucky to work with The Sensational Space Shifters. They come from exciting areas of contemporary music," he added.
Lullaby and … The Ceaseless Roar drops Sept. 9. Visit www.robertplant.com for more information.
BET Awards
The popular 2014 BET Awards, hosted by Chris Rock, will see a slew of a big performers this year, including Pharrell Williams, John Legend, Usher, Lil Wayne, Robin Thicke and Nicki Minaj.
Jennifer Hudson, Trey Songz and Lionel Richie will be honored with the Lifetime Achievement Award and are also slated to perform.
For a full list of nominees, click here. The BET Awards air on Sunday, June 29 at 8 p.m. ET on BET.
Introducing … Kelsi Taylor
Kelsi Taylor doesn't have a website or a bio or a team of publicists. She describes herself (refreshingly) simply as a "15-year-old singer/songwriter … sharing my love of music."
That love shines through her delicate exhibition of mind-blowing cover songs on her YouTube channel, from A Fine Frenzy to her most recent cover, Youth by UK indie band, Daughter.
"That's where my heart is, I love indie alternative music," she said.
Taylor uploaded Youth to Vube, which is a YouTube for aspiring artists, just five days ago where it's already garnered more than 275,000 views.
The next step for this budding musician? Her own original material.
"I finally in the past year found what I love, the music I love and who I am as an artist ... seeing where it leads, that's my ultimate dream ... but for now, I'm just trying to get my name out there," she said.
America's audio addiction
Some of you may wonder why we dedicate an entire column to music news, but a recent study just goes to prove that we aren't wasting our time.
Americans listen to a little more than four hours of audio and music every single day, according to a study conducted by Edison Research.
Even though our current age of technology makes music more accessible than it has ever been, AM/FM radio still dominated participants' listening time with 52.1 percent. However, various new forms of audio now control 26 percent of listening time.
The survey was divided between seven categories: AM/FM radio, owned music, internet radio music, SiriusXM, TV music channels, podcasts and a miscellaneous "other" that we can only assume means audiobooks, live music, that man who won't stop humming in public, etc.
The survey involved 2,096 participants, all above the age of 13, who kept a 24-hour diary tracking his or her listening habits throughout the month of May.
The conclusion: America loves music, and will listen to it in a variety of ways.
And what better time for music lovers than now because music is as easily accessible as ever. Just flip on over to Pandora, iTunes Radio, Noisetrade, Brite, YouTube, Spotify or any other music site and you'll see what we're talking about.
"America is in a golden age of audio consumption. Seeing that Americans spend roughly a fourth of their waking day listening to some sort of audio confirms it," Edison President Larry Rosin said.
Music rocks, people. We didn't really need a study to tell us that but we'll take it.
For the full study results, visit http://bit.ly/1v2h4SC.
And if you love live music ...
The Music Midtown lineup is out.
John Mayer, Jack White, Lorde and the Zac Brown Band are among the acts taking over Atlanta's Piedmont Park Sept. 19 through 20.
Lane Del Rey, Run DMC and NEEDTOBREATHE will fill some of the time slots.
Tickets go on sale Saturday at 10 a.m. ET at www.musicmidtown.com.
No more musical chairs
After a few years of musical chairs, American Idol will finally seem some stability at the judges' tables.
All three judges - Jennifer Lopez, Keith Urban and Harry Connick Jr. - will return for the show's 14th season.
Ryan Seacrest will return for his 14th season as host.
Auditions for the new season start Wednesday in New Orleans and will hit Uniondale, NY, Nashville and San Francisco in the coming months.
New Releases
Ed Sheeran: X - June 23
Lana Del Rey: Ultraviolence - June 17
LINKIN PARK: The Hunting Party - June 17
Sam Smith: In the Lonely Hour - June 17
Jennifer Lopez: A.K.A. (Deluxe Version) - June 17
Upcoming Releases
Hillsong: No Other Name – July 1
Sia: 1000 Forms of Fear - July 8
Jason Mraz: Yes! - July 15
Morrissey - World Peace Is None of Your Business - July 15
And finally ...
No Diggity was the go-to '90s jam for a lot of people.
Postmodern Jukebox has turned the song on its hip-hop head, morphing it into something "Jessica Rabbit might have sung."
It's got a sultry, smooth jazz vibe we like.
Have a music tip? Drop us a line! You can also follow us on Twitter @AScottRNN and @ReporterJennRNN.
Copyright 2014 Raycom News Network. All rights reserved.
Rock legend Robert Plant premiered his first single with his new band, the Sensational Space Shifters, on Monday. (Source: Egghead06/Wikicommons)
