Arts & Entertainment

Whole lotta covers

Many returning acts stick to tried-and-true material for new releases

Published

14 years ago

March 1, 2012

Out singer/songwriter Rufus Wainwright returns with his seventh studio album "Out of the Game" to be released May 1. (Photo by Tina Tyrell; courtesy the Karpel Group)

This spring brings the release of several albums from icons, “American Idols,” Broadway divas and more. Some artists, such as Madonna and Adam Lambert, are releasing long-awaited returns to the music scene, while others are reworking their sound or releasing covers projects.

After a successful performance at the halftime show of the Super Bowl this year,Madonna’s long-awaited new album, “MDNA” drops March 26. The album will have 15 tracks, including first single “Give Me All Your Luvin'” and her Golden Globe-winning, “Masterpiece.”

Adam Lambert, of “American Idol” fame, has his second album, “Trespassing,” slated for a March 20 release. The out singer acted as an executive producer and co-wrote many of the tracks, working with guest artists such as Pharrell Williams, Sam Sparro and Bruno Mars.

Tony winner Idina Menzel, best known for her work on Broadway in “Wicked” and “Rent,” has a new CD and DVD coming out March 6 for her PBS special, “Idina Menzel Live: Barefoot at the Symphony.” The concert, recorded in Toronto, will feature Broadway numbers and reworkings of songs such as Lady Gaga’s “Poker Face” and Sting’s “Roxanne.” Taye Diggs, Menzel’s husband, also makes a guest appearance.

Another “American Idol” alum Clay Aiken has a new album “Steadfast” coming out on March 26. This new album comes on the heels of the out singer’s participation on the NBC’s reality series “The Celebrity Apprentice.” The album is an extension of Aiken’s previous album, “Tried and True,” with an original song, “Bring Back My Love” and covers of songs by Neil Sedaka and Connie Francis.

Gay singer/songwriter Rufus Wainwright has teamed up with producer Mark Ronson for his newest album “Out of the Game” to be released May 1. This is Wainwright’s seventh studio album and features musicians such as the Dap-Kings, Nick Zinner of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs and Wainwright’s sister, Martha Wainwright.

Local gay indie singer/songwriter Tom Goss releases “Lost Songs and Underdogs” on April 3. Goss holed up in a one-room cabin in rural Virginia, turned off his phone and computer and wrote the project during a time of soul searching. He calls it “direct, honest” and his “most intimate” project yet. It’s available in a couple editions with various bonus tracks and perks. Go to tomgossmusic.net for details.

Pop singer Katy Perry is releasing a special edition of her album “Teenage Dream” on March 27. The new album, entitled “Teenage Dream: The Complete Confection,” will feature the original 12 tracks plus three new ones, a Tommy Sunshine megamix of Perry’s previous six singles, the Kanye West version of “E.T.,” the Missy Elliot version of “Last Friday Night (T.G.I.F.)” and an acoustic version of “The One That Got Away.”

Grammy-winning R&B singer Macy Gray returns with a new album “Covered,” set to release March 26. The album features 16 covers including Gray’s take on the Eurythmics’ “Here Comes the Rain Again,” the Yeah Yeah Yeahs’ “Maps” and even Metallica’s “Nothing Else Matters.”

Lionel Richie has a new album coming out on March 26, “Tuskegee.” The album includes 13 tracks, each one featuring a different country act with Richie, such as the Rascal Flatts joining him on “Dancing on the Ceiling,” Jennifer Nettles on “Hello” and Shania Twain on his classic duet with Diana Ross, “Endless Love.”

Bruce Springsteen is back on March 6 with “Wrecking Ball,” his 17th studio album. The album features 11 new recordings including “We Take Care of Our Own” and two bonus tracks on the special edition.

Coming off a touching tribute to Etta James at the Grammys, Bonnie Raitt has a new album, “Slipstream” slated to drop April 10. This is her first studio album in seven years and will feature renditions of classics songs by artists such as Bob Dylan and more.

The Counting Crows have a new album, also coming out April 10, entitled “Underwater Sunshine (or What We Did on Our Summer Vacation).” They too are covering Bob Dylan with their own rendition of “You Ain’t Going Nowhere,” as well as Big Star’s “The Ballad of El Goodo” and “Ooh La La” by The Faces.

And don’t forget local drag queen Shi-Queeta-Lee’s debut single “My Name is LOVE,” about making a difference and stopping the hate and bullying. The single is available for download at cdbaby.com/cd/shiqueetalee for $1.29.

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Photos

PHOTOS: Denali at Pitchers

‘Drag Race’ alum performs at Thirst Trap

Published

9 hours ago

April 14, 2026

Michael Key

Denali performs at the Thirst Trap Thursday drag show at Pitchers DC on April 9. (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)

Denali (@denalifoxx) of “RuPaul’s Drag Race” performed at Pitchers DC on April 9 for the Thirst Trap Thursday drag show. Other performers included Cake Pop!, Brooke N Hymen, Stacy Monique-Max and Silver Ware Sidora.

(Washington Blade photos by Michael Key)

Arts & Entertainment

In an act of artistic defiance, Baltimore Center Stage stays focused on DEI

‘Maybe it’s a triple-down’

Published

1 day ago

April 13, 2026

Baltimore Banner

Last year, Baltimore Center Stage refused to give up its DEI focus in the face of losing federal funding. They've tripled down. (Photo by Ulysses Muñoz of the Baltimore Banner)

By LESLIE GRAY STREETER | I’m always tickled when people complain about artists “going political.” The inherent nature of art, of creation and free expression, is political. This becomes obvious when entire governments try to threaten it out of existence, like in 2025, when the brand-new presidential administration demanded organizations halt so-called diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programming or risk federal funding.

Baltimore Center Stage’s response? A resounding and hearty “Nah.” A year later, they’re still doubling down on diversity.

“Maybe it’s a triple-down,” said Ken-Matt Martin, the theater’s producing director, chuckling.

The rest of this article can be found on the Baltimore Banner’s website.

Books

Susan Lucci on love, loss, and ‘All My Children’

New book chronicles life of iconic soap star

Published

2 days ago

April 13, 2026

Terri Schlichenmeyer

(Book cover image courtesy of Blackstone Publishing)

‘La Lucci’
By Susan Lucci with Laura Morton
c.2026, Blackstone Publishing
$29.99/196 pages

They’re among the world’s greatest love stories.

You know them well: Marc Antony and Cleopatra. Abelard and Heloise. Phoebe and Langley. Cliff and Nina. Jesse and Angie, Opal and Palmer, Palmer and Daisy, Tad and Dixie. Now read “La Lucci” by Susan Lucci, with Laura Morton, and you might also think of Susan and Helmut.

When she was a very small girl, Susan Lucci loved to perform. Also when she was young, she learned that words have power. She vowed to use them for good for the rest of her life.

Her parents, she says, were supportive and her family, loving. Because of her Italian heritage, she was “ethnic looking” but Lucci’s mother was careful to point out dark-haired beauties on TV and elsewhere, giving Lucci a foundation of confidence.

That’s just one of the things for which Lucci says she’s grateful. In fact, she says, “Prayers of gratitude are how I begin and end each day.”

She is particularly grateful for becoming a mother to her two adult children, and to the doctors who saved her son’s life when he was a newborn.

Lucci writes about gratitude for her long career. She was a keystone character on TV’s “All My Children,” and she learned a lot from older actors on the show, and from Agnes Nixon, the creator of it. She says she still keeps in touch with many of her former costars.

She is thankful for her mother’s caretakers, who stepped in when dementia struck. Grateful for more doctors, who did heart-saving work when Lucci had a clogged artery. Grateful for friends, opportunities, life, grandchildren, and a career that continues.

And she’s grateful for the love she shared with her husband, Helmut Huber, who died nearly four years ago. Grateful for the chance to grieve, to heal, and to continue.

And yet, she says of her husband: “He was never timid, but I know he was afraid at the end, and that kills me down to my soul.”

“It’s been 15 years since Erica Kane and I parted ways,” says author Susan Lucci (with Laura Morton), and she says that people still approach her to confirm or deny rumors of the show’s resurrection. There’s still no answer to that here (sorry, fans), but what you’ll find inside “La Lucci” is still exceptionally generous.

If this book were just filled with stories, you’d like it just fine. If it was only about Lucci’s faith and her gratitude – words that happen to appear very frequently here – you’d still like reading it. But Lucci tells her stories of family, children and “All My Children,” while also offering help to couples who’ve endured miscarriage, women who’ve had heart problems, and widow(ers) who are spinning and need the kindness of someone who’s lived loss, too.

These are the other things you’ll find in “La Lucci,” in a voice you’ll hear in your head, if you spent your lunch hours glued to the TV back in the day. It’s a comfortable, fun read for fans. It’s a story you’ll love.

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