Aloe Blacc Signs New Partnership with BMG, Releases New Song “I Do”

Posted on February 16, 2020 by Tom Castaneda

Aloe Blaccis saying “I Do”to BMG…

The 41-year-old Panamanian American has signed a new global recordings partnership with BMG.

Blacc, whose distinctive vocals can be heard on the late Avicii‘s soaring hit “Wake Me Up,” paired the announcement with the release of a Valentine’s Daysingle, “I Do.”

Inspired by his decade-long marriage to Australian recording artist Maya Jupiter, “I Do” is the first single from Blacc’s upcoming fourth album, to be released later this year via BMG.

“Aloe is an exceptional artist and creative, who’s got the talent to carry people away with his voice and diverse musical style,” said Dominique Casimir, EVP Continental Europe Repertoire and Marketing, BMG. “We are immensely proud to release his new album and are honored that he has placed his trust in BMG.”

The power ballad “I Do” sees the singer open up for the first time musically about his private life. “I wanted to create a song for Maya that was personal and universal,” Aloe said. “Luck brought us together, despite living halfway across the world with a vast ocean between us. ‘I Do’ is the perfect representation of the profound love we share.”

To mark their anniversary, Blacc surprised his wife with a renewal of their vows ceremony, which will be seen in behind-the-scenes cuts for his music video.

Blacc released his debut solo album Shine Through in 2006 and follow-up Good Things in 2010. Boosted by the global chart success of breakthrough hit “I Need a Dollar” – the theme song to HBO‘s How To Make It In America – Good Thingsreached gold sales status in several global markets. His third album, Lift Your Spirit, debuted at No. 4 on the Billboard 200albums chart, earning a Grammy Award nomination for best R&B album.

Aside from his solo projects, Blacc is widely known for his collaborations with the late Avicii (born Tim Bergling), co-writing and performing vocals on 2013’s “Wake Me Up” and on 2019’s “SOS,” the first single following Bergling’s passing.

Blacc to Appear at This Year’s ASCAP “I Create Music” Expo

Posted on January 27, 2017 by Tom Castaneda

Aloe Blacc is about to Expo himself…

The 38-year-old Panamanian American singer-songwriter is among the 17 hit songwriters and producers announced for the 12th annual ASCAP “I Create Music” Expo, which runs April 13-15 at the Loews Hollywood Hotel in Los Angeles.

Blacc joins a roster that includes Desmond Child, Ashley Gorley, Darrell Brown and ASCAP president Paul Williams.

The Expo will also feature sessions with a new generation of songwriters, including: Bibi Bourelly and Deputy who teamed up for Rihanna‘s “Bitch Better Have My Money” (Deputy was also a producer on J.Cole‘s 2016 4 Your Eyez Only); the production trio Captain Cuts, whose hits include a co-write on Walk The Moon‘s “Shut Up and Dance;” and country songwriter Matt Jenkins, whose wrote “Setting the World on Fire,” recorded by Kenny Chesney featuring P!nk.

“We are elated to have some of today’s top songwriters and producers joining us for this year’s ASCAP “I Create Music” EXPO,” said Williams in a statement. “Some have been creating music for a long time; others have just enjoyed the success of their first hit song. All will be excited and ready to share their personal experiences and hard-won knowledge with ASCAP EXPO attendees.” Williams, a multiple-Grammy and Oscar winning songwriter, will moderate EXPO’s annual legislative panel.

Other panelists include: London-based producer Harmony Samuels (Fifth Harmony, Ariana Grande, Chris Brown, Jennifer Lopez, Maroon 5); Ryan Leslie, a Grammy-nominated producer and musician who founded SuperPhone and has produced songs for Britney Spears, Beyonce and New Edition; Brett McLaughlin and Britten Newbill were co-writers on Daya’s 2015 single “Hide Away;” songwriter/producers Matt Rad and Steve James (“In the Name of Love,” Martin Garrix feat. Bebe Rexha); Big Taste (“Company,” Justin Bieber); and Rooty (“Too Little Too Late,”Jojo).

As for the veterans: Blacc attended his first Expo in 2010 and soon after worked with Avicii on their hit “Wake Me Up,” which sold over 11 million units worldwide.

At 2015’s Expo Blacc interviewed the legendary Bill Withers;

The American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP) has some 600,000 members and represents more than 10 million copyrighted works. It is owned and governed by its writer and publisher members.

Blacc to Perform During Game 7 of the NBA Finals

Posted on June 19, 2016 by Tom Castaneda

It’s a star-spangled Sunday for Aloe Blacc…

The 37-year-old Panamanian American singer-songwriter will provide the night’s entertainment with a special rendition of the National Anthem before tonight’s winner-takes-all game between the Golden State Warriors and the Cleveland Cavaliers in Game 7 of the NBA Finals.

In addition to performing “The Star-Spangled Banner,” the Grammy-nominee will also

offer the crowd at Oakland’s Oracle Arena a special halftime performance.

Blacc helmed the vocals for Avicii‘s 2013 hit “Wake Me Up” and unleashed his third album Lift Your Spirit in 2013.

Don’t miss Blacc and Game 7 tonight when the game airs live tonight at 8:00 pm ET on ABC.

Blacc & Avicii’s “Wake Me Up” is the Most Shazamed Song of All Time

Posted on December 11, 2014 by Tom Castaneda

There’s no need to wake (me) up Aloe Blacc from this dream…

The 35-year-old Panamanian American singer-songwriter, who earned two NAACP Image Award nominations earlier this week, has made Shazam history.

Blacc forms part of the most Shazamed song of all time. Avicii‘s hit “Wake Me Up” featuring Blacc’s vocals has collected more than 19 million queries on the music app to date.

Close behind is Robin Thicke‘s “Blurred Lines” with T.I. and Pharrell Williams with more than 18 million queries, Gotye‘s “Somebody That I Used to Know” featuring Kimbra with over 16 million, Passenger‘s “Let Her Go” with over 15 million, and Clean Bandit‘s “Rather Be” featuring Jess Glynne with over 14 million.

The numbers are now free to track, thanks to the music platform’s relaunch Wednesday. The app’s 100 million monthly mobile active users can now note the number of Shazams each song has ever had and whose music is next to join the new Hall of Fame.

Shazam’s Platinum Hall of Fame honorees — musicians whose tracks have collected more than 15 million queries — will receive a custom award designed and manufactured exclusively by Cristaux.

Additionally, users can also uninterruptedly stream their Rdio and Spotify playlists and charts from inside the app, and scroll through other exclusive content.

Lovato Leads the Pack of Latino Teen Choice Award Winners with Two Surfboards

Posted on August 11, 2014 by Tom Castaneda

Demi Lovato is the Latina teen choice…

The 21-year-old part-Mexican American singer/actress and former The X Factor judge took home two awards at the 2014 Teen Choice Awards, which were held at Los Angeles’ Shrine Auditorium on Sunday.

Lovato, who opened the TCA Awards show with an energizing performance of her hit single “I Really Don’t Care,” was named the Choice Summer Music Star: Female.

In addition, Lovato’s “I Really Don’t Care” was named the Choice Summer Song at the fan-voted awards.

Lovato, who was nominated for seven awards, now raises her career Teen Choice Award tally to 12 surfboards since 2009.

But Lovato wasn’t the only Latina to take home two awards…

Selena Gomez was named Choice Female Hottie during Sunday night’s show.

As previously announced, the 22-year-old half-Mexican actress/singer was also handed the Ultimate Choice Award, a special prize awarded by TCA organizers to the ultimate entertainers. Previous honorees include Britney Spears, Justin Timberlake, Ashton Kutcher, Reese Witherspoon, Sarah Michelle Gellar and Mike Myers.

Meantime, Lea Michele picked up the award for Choice TV Actress: Comedy for her performance on Fox’s musical dramedy Glee. It’s the 27-year-old part-Spanish actress and singer-songwriter’s third consecutive win in the category.

Shakira picked up her first TCA Award in four years for Choice TV Reality Personality – Female for her acclaimed role as a coach on NBC’s The Voice. It’s the 37-year-old Colombian singing sensation’s second surfboard, having previously been named Choice Others: Activist in 2010.

Aloe Blacc earned the first Teen Choice Award of his career.

The 35-year-old Panamanian American singer-songwriter earned the Choice EDM Song honors for collaborating with Avicii on the hit single “Wake Me Up.”

YouTube star Bethany Mota and all-girl group Fifth Harmony also took home surfboards for Choice Web Star: Female and Choice Single Group respectively.

Here’s the complete list of 2014 Teen Choice Awards winners:

2014 Teen Choice Award Winners

MOVIES

Choice Movie: Action
“Divergent”

Choice Movie Actor: Action
Theo James, “Divergent”

Choice Movie Actress: Action
Shailene Woodley, “Divergent”

Choice Movie: Sci-Fi/Fantasy
“The Hunger Games: Catching Fire”

Choice Movie Actor: Sci-Fi/Fantasy
Josh Hutcherson, “The Hunger Games: Catching Fire”

Choice Movie Actress: Sci-Fi/Fantasy
Jennifer Lawrence, “The Hunger Games: Catching Fire” and “X-Men: Days of Future Past”

Choice Movie: Drama
“The Fault in Our Stars”

Choice Movie Actor: Drama
Ansel Elgort, “The Fault in Our Stars”

Choice Movie Actress: Drama
Shailene Woodley, “The Fault in Our Stars”

Choice Movie: Comedy
“The Other Woman”

Choice Movie Actor: Comedy
Kevin Hart, “Ride Along”

Choice Movie Actress: Comedy
Emma Roberts, “We’re the Millers”

Choice Movie Villain
Donald Sutherland, “The Hunger Games: Catching Fire”

Choice Movie Scene Stealer
Nat Wolff, “The Fault In Our Stars”

Choice Movie Breakout Star
Ansel Elgort, “Divergent” and “The Fault in Our Stars”

Choice Movie Chemistry
Ansel Elgort, Nat Wolff and Shailene Woodley, “The Fault in Our Stars”

Choice Movie Liplock
Shailene Woodley and Ansel Elgort, “The Fault In Our Stars”

Choice Movie Hissy Fit
Jonah Hill, “22 Jump Street”

Choice Summer Movie
“22 Jump Street”

Choice Summer Movie Star
Channing Tatum, “22 Jump Street”

TELEVISION

Choice TV Show: Drama
“Pretty Little Liars”

Choice TV Actor: Drama
Ian Harding, “Pretty Little Liars”

Choice TV Actress: Drama
Lucy Hale, “Pretty Little Liars”

Choice TV Show: Fantasy/Sci-Fi
“The Vampire Diaries”

Choice TV Actor: Sci-Fi/Fantasy
Ian Somerhalder, “The Vampire Diaries”

Choice TV Actress: Sci-Fi/Fantasy
Nina Dobrev, “The Vampire Diaries”

Choice TV Show: Comedy
“The Big Bang Theory”

Choice TV Actor: Comedy
Ross Lynch, “Austin & Ally”

Choice TV Actress: Comedy
Lea Michele, “Glee”

Choice TV: Animated Show
“The Simpsons”

Choice TV: Reality Competition Show
“The Voice”

Choice TV: Reality Show
“Keeping Up With The Kardashians”

Choice TV Villain
Dylan O’Brien, “Teen Wolf”

Choice TV Reality Personality – Male
Adam Levine, “The Voice”

Choice TV Reality Personality – Female
Shakira, “The Voice”

Choice TV Male Scene Stealer
Tyler Hoechlin, “Teen Wolf”

Choice TV Female Scene Stealer
Candice Accola, “The Vampire Diaries”

Choice TV Female Breakout Star
Sasha Pieterse, “Pretty Little Liars”

Choice TV: Male Breakout Star
Brett Dalton, “Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.”

Choice TV: Breakout Show
“Faking It”

Choice Summer TV Show
“Wipeout”

Choice Summer TV Star: Male
Tyler Blackburn, “Pretty Little Liars”

Choice Summer TV Star: Female
Ashley Benson, “Pretty Little Liars”

MUSIC

Choice Male Artist
Ed Sheeran

Choice Female Artist
Ariana Grande

Choice Music Group
One Direction

Choice Electronic Dance Music (EDM) Artist
Calvin Harris

Choice R&B/Hip-Hop Artist
Iggy Azalea

Choice Rock Group
Imagine Dragons

Choice Male Country Artist
Hunter Hayes

Choice Female Country Artist
Taylor Swift

Choice Country Group
Lady Antebellum

Choice Country Song
“This is How We Roll,” Florida Georgia Line featuring Luke Bryan

Choice Single Female Artist
“Problem,” Ariana Grande featuring Iggy Azalea

Choice Single Male Artist
“Sing,” Ed Sheeran

Choice Single Group
“Bo$$” – Fifth Harmony

Choice R&B/Hip-Hop Song
“Fancy,” Iggy Azalea featuring Charli XCX

Choice Rock Song
“Pompeii,” Bastille

Choice EDM Song
“Wake Me Up,” Avicii feat. Aloe Blacc

Choice Love Song
“You & I,” One Direction

Choice Break-Up Song
“Story of My Life,” One Direction

Choice Music Breakout Artist
Austin Mahone

Choice Music: Breakout Group
5 Seconds of Summer

Choice Summer Song
“Really Don’t Care,” Demi Lovato featuring Cher Lloyd

Choice Summer Music Star: Female
Demi Lovato

Choice Summer Music Star: Male
Jason Derulo

Choice Summer Music Star: Group
5 Seconds of Summer

Choice Summer Tour
One Direction, “Where We Are Tour”

FASHION

Choice Female Hottie
Selena Gomez

Choice Male Hottie
One Direction

Choice Smile
Harry Styles

Olay Fresh Effects Breakout Star Award
Odeya Rush

SPORTS

Choice Male Athlete
LeBron James

Choice Female Athlete
Serena Williams

OTHER

Candie’s Choice Style Icon
Zendaya

Choice Comedian
Kevin Hart

Choice Web Star: Female
Bethany Mota

Choice Web Star: Male

Tyler Oakley

Choice Web Star: Comedy
Our2ndLife

Choice Web Star: Music
Shawn Mendes

Choice Web Star: Fashion/Beauty
Zoe Sugg (“Zoella”)

Choice Web Star: Gaming
PewDiePie

Choice Web Collaboration
Troye Sivan & Tyler Oakley – The “Boyfriend” Tag

Choice Social Media King
One Direction

Choice Social Media Queen
Katy Perry

Choice Twit
One Direction

Choice Viner
Cameron Dallas

Choice Instagrammer
Miley Cyrus

Choice Fanatic Fans
#Directioners

Fifth Harmony Receives First MTV Video Music Awards Nomination

Posted on July 17, 2014 by Tom Castaneda

Camila Cabello, Lauren Jauregui and Ally Brooke Hernandez and their fellow Fifth Harmony band mates have earned their first MTV Video Music Awards nomination…

The all-girl girl, formed by Simon Cowell during the second season of Fox’s The X Factor, earned the nod in the MTV Artist to Watch category for its “Miss Movin’ On” video.

Fifth Harmony is up againstSam Smith’s “Stay With Me,” 5 Seconds of Summer’s “She Looks So Perfect,” Charli XCX’s “Boom Clap” and Schoolboy Q’s “Man of the Year.”

Aloe Blacc has also earned his first MTV Video Music Awards nod.

The 35-year-old Panamanian-American singer is nominated alongside Avicci in the Best Pop category, againstPharrell Williams’ “Happy,” Iggy Azalea ft. Charli XCX’s “Fancy,” Jason Derulo ft. 2 Chainz’s “Talk Dirty“ and Ariana Grande ft. Iggy Azalea’s “Problem.”

Meanwhile, Pitbull is nominated in the Best Collaboration category alongside Ke$ha for their Billboard Hot 100 No. 1 song “Timber.”

Starting Thursday, fans can vote in VMA categories by visiting vma.mtv.com. Nominees for best lyric video, which will be voted on through social media, will be announced at a later date. Voting for MTV Artist to Watch will be done via text messaging to 22444 with the nominee’s name.

The MTV VMAs air live from The Forum in Inglewood, Calif., on Sunday, August 24, at 9:00 pm ET, with previously announced performances fromAriana Grande, Usher and 5 Seconds of Summer. Additional performers will be announced later.

Here’s the full list of nominees:

VIDEO OF THE YEAR
Iggy Azalea ft. Charli XCX – “Fancy”
Beyonce ft. Jay Z – “Drunk in Love”
Pharrell Williams – “Happy”
Sia – “Chandelier”
Miley Cyrus – “Wrecking Ball”

BEST HIP HOP
Eminem – “Bezerk”
Drake ft. Majid Jordan – “Hold On (We’re Going Home)”
Childish Gambino – “3005”
Kanye West – “Black Skinhead”
Wiz Khalifa – “We Dem Boyz”

BEST MALE
Pharrell Williams – “Happy”
John Legend – “All of Me”
Ed Sheeran ft. Pharrell – “Sing”
Sam Smith – “Stay With Me”
Eminem ft. Rihanna – “Monster”

BEST FEMALE
Iggy Azalea ft. Charli XCX – “Fancy”
Beyonce – “Partition”
Lorde – “Royals”
Ariana Grande ft. Iggy Azalea – “Problem”
Katy Perry ft. Juicy J – “Dark Horse”

BEST POP
Pharrell Williams – “Happy”
Iggy Azalea ft. Charli XCX – “Fancy”
Jason Derulo ft. 2 Chainz – “Talk Dirty”
Ariana Grande ft. Iggy Azalea – “Problem”
Avicii ft. Aloe Blacc – “Wake Me Up”

BEST ROCK
Imagine Dragons – “Demons”
Arctic Monkeys – “Do I Wanna Know”
The Black Keys – “Fever”
Lorde – “Royals”
Linkin Park – “Until It’s Gone”

MTV ARTIST TO WATCH
Sam Smith – “Stay With Me”
5 Seconds of Summer -“She Looks So Perfect”
Charli XCX – “Boom Clap”
Schoolboy Q – “Man of the Year”
Fifth Harmony – “Miss Movin On”

BEST COLLABORATION
Beyonce ft. Jay Z – “Drunk in Love”
Ariana Grande ft. Iggy Azalea – “Problem”
Pitbull ft. Kesha – “Timber”
Chris Brown ft. Lil Wayne and Tyga – “Loyal”
Eminem ft. Rihanna – “Monster”
Katy Perry ft. Juicy J – “Dark Horse”

MTV CLUBLAND AWARD
DJ Snake & Lil Jon – “Turn Down for What”
Zedd ft. Hayley Williams – “Stay the Night”
Calvin Harris – “Summer”
Martin Garrix – “Animal”
Disclosure – “Grab Her!”

BEST VIDEO WITH A SOCIAL MESSAGE
Angel Haze ft. SIA – “Battle Cry“
Avicii – “Hey Brother”
Beyonce – “Pretty Hurts”
J. Cole ft. TLC – “Crooked Smile”
Kelly Rowland – “Dirty Laundry”
David Guetta ft. Mikky Ekko – “One Voice”

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
30 Seconds to Mars – “City of Angels”
Beyonce – “Pretty Hurts”
Arcade Fire – “Afterlife”
Gesaffelstein – “Hate or Glory”
Lana Del Rey – “West Coast”

BEST EDITING
Eminem – “Rap God”
MGMT – “Your Life Is a Lie”
Zedd ft. Hayley Williams – “Stay the Night”
Beyonce – “Pretty Hurts”
Fitz and The Tantrums – “The Walker”

BEST CHOREOGRAPHY
Sia – “Chandelier”
Beyonce – “Partition”
Usher – “Good Kisser”
Michael Jackson ft. Justin Timberlake – “Love Never Felt So Good”
Jason Derulo ft. 2Chainz – “Talk Dirty”
KIESZA – “Hideaway”

BEST DIRECTION
DJ Snake & Lil Jon – “Turn Down for What”
OK Go – “The Writing’s on the Wall”
Miley Cyrus – “Wrecking Ball”
Beyonce – “Pretty Hurts”
Eminem ft. Rihanna – “The Monster”

BEST ART DIRECTION
DJ Snake & Lil Jon – “Turn Down For What”
Iggy Azalea ft. Charli XCX – “Fancy”
Eminem – “Rap God”
Arcade Fire – “Reflektor”
Tyler, The Creator – “Tamale”

BEST VISUAL EFFECTS
DJ Snake & Lil Jon – “Turn Down For What”
OK Go – “The Writing’s On the Wall”
Disclosure – “Grab Her!”
Eminem – “Rap God”
Jack White – “Lazaretto”

Blacc to Release Repackaged and Enhanced Edition of “Lift Your Spirit”

Posted on July 8, 2014 by Tom Castaneda

It appears Aloe Blacc is ready to lift your spirits even further…

The 35-year-old Panamanian-American singer, riding high this year on the success of his third album Lift Your Spirit and the singles “The Man” and “Wake Me Up,” tells Billboard that he and his record label, Interscope, “are going to repackage the album” this summer for a uniform collection comprised of all the songs he released globally during the campaign.

“I recorded about 40 songs, and you can only release 10 or 12 of them at a time,” Blacc explains. “The European version of the album had a different set of songs than the (American) version, a couple of songs that were different, so we’re going to get them all together and release all of the songs from across the world so that everybody gets every song and no territory is complaining about not having any particular song.”

Blacc adds that, “It was never my intention to release so many songs. I wanted to just have 10, but we had way more material than we expected that we considered worthy. But I think that’s OK. I think it’s OK to give people more than they expected.”

Blacc hopes to have the set ready “by the end of the summer or, probably, the beginning of the fall.”

Meanwhile, he says he’d like to release a follow-up to Lift Your Spirit “hopefully early next year” but acknowledges “maybe that’s too soon. It depends on what the label says. I’m definitely ready to release more music, because I’ve just got so much stuff recorded and so many other songs that I’m eager to record.”

Blacc has had no trouble staying busy outside of the study, with heavy touring — including dates opening for Bruno Mars — and a spot as a guest coach on Adam Levine‘s team during the latest season of The Voice.

He’s also featured on the track “The World is Ours” from the One Love, One Rhythm FIFA World Cup album, and he’s getting ready for his film debut in Get On Up, the James Brown biopic in which he plays Famous Flames guitarist Nafloyd Scott.

“That was a different challenge, it really was,” Blacc says. “Acting is something that requires a lot of patience, a lot of skill, a lot of internal reflection. It’s a whole new muscle I’m going to continue to develop, either writing screenplays and my own scripts or finding the best roles out there to challenge this new skill.” A dearth of information about his character, meanwhile, actually proved to be a blessing for Blacc.

“I had to learn it all,” he explains. “there isn’t much information about that time in (Brown’s) career available, no photos I could find of Nafloyd Scott on Wikipedia or anything. He wasn’t really part of the meteoric rise of James Brown — he quit the band because of personality conflicts, before it really took off. So it was all about having to learn from the script and some of the archival footage that was available. But it did make it a little bit easier to create my own character, which was nice for the first time doing this.”

Blacc Lends His Voice to Coca-Cola’s World Cup Anthem “The World is Ours”

Posted on April 16, 2014 by Tom Castaneda

The world is Aloe Blacc’s… At least when it comes to the upcoming 2014 World Cup.

The 35-year-old Panamanian American singer-songwriter is adding a little soul to a new version of Coca-Cola’s World Cup anthem, a mash-up between the Coke campaign theme “The World is Ours” featuring David Correy and an original song by Blacc.

Following his second appearance at Coachella this Friday (April 18), Blacc will join Correy in a performance of the song at L.A. Live on Saturday when the FIFA World Cup trophy tour makes its final stop in Los Angeles.

“A World Cup song in any capacity is a fantastic opportunity to share music with the entire world,” Blacc tells Billboard. “It’s a blessing for me, especially because it’s the kind of music I want to make, uplifting and inspirational. It just fit right, it made sense to get involved.”

Blacc, who appears on Avicii‘s “Wake Me Up” and has earned a current Billboard Hot 100 Top 10 single “The Man,” brings his vocal muscle, melody and some new lyrics to Coke’s Brazilian-rooted, club-friendly soccer song.

More than twenty versions of the anthem have already been recorded by Correy, Brazilian percussionists Monoblanco and a team of international artists.

“The World is Ours by David Correy X Aloe Blacc,” available on Spotify and iTunes as a single, will be included on the official World Cup album, On Rhythm, One Love, due out May 12.

“The way I wanted to do it was to write my own song,” Blacc says of his contribution to the Coke anthem. “Something that felt a little bit more like me, that wasn’t too much of a dance song.”

Blacc’s album Lift Your Spirit, debuted and peaked at No. 4 on the Billboard 200 chart, and rose to No. 1 on the R&B Albums chart. One track on Blacc’s album was produced by Rock Mafia, who produced “The World is Ours,” and provided Coke’s connection to Blacc.

“It was great to do a mash up between my song [“Hello World“] and David Correy’s song,” Blacc adds. “The message that I wanted to convey was oneness. I’ve been lucky enough to have my music accepted in countries all over the world. And everywhere I go I recognize music, sports entertainment being something that brings us all together. Football, soccer is something that makes us all one; its like a religion in a lot of places.”

Growing up in Orange County, where he was raised by his Panamanian parents, Blacc played soccer, in addition to learning the trumpet, and later, getting involved with hip hop.

“Almost all of the guys I went to school with played soccer in some form or fashion so it doesn’t escape anybody,” he says, adding that in his case, playing the sport was inevitable. “My Dad was the coach, I had to.”

Blacc Earns Two iHeartRadio Music Award Nominations

Posted on March 27, 2014 by Tom Castaneda

It’s a nice Wake (Me) Up moment for Aloe Blacc…

The 35-year-old Panamanian-American singer, songwriter is the leading Latino finalist for the first-ever iHeartRadio Music Awards, which will air live on NBC on May 1 from the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles.

Blacc earned two nominations for writing and performing vocals on Avicii‘s “Wake Me Up,” which has charted at #1 in 22 countries.

Blacc, who is set to perform at the upcoming Nickelodeon‘s Kids’ Choice Awards, is nominated in the EDM Song of the Year and Best Lyrics categories.

But Blacc isn’t the only Hispanic artist nominated…

Pitbull and Ke$ha picked up a nomination for Best Collaboration for their chart-topping hit “Timber.”

The 32-year-old Cuban American rap superstar reached the summit on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, as well as the Pop Songs chart. It has sold more than 2.5 million downloads, according to Nielsen SoundScan.

Meanwhile, Demi Lovato is nominated in the Best Fan Army category. The 21-year-old part-Mexican American singer/actress has 21.5 million followers on Twitter, as well as 4.4 million followers on Instagram.

The iHeartRadio Music Awards telecast will feature “this year’s biggest artists and songs” along with “live performances, never-before-done duets and collaborations,” including performances streamed from other venues in Los Angeles.

Nominees for the awards were based on results from the newly introduced iHeartRadioChart, which compiles airplay-based listener feedback and performance data, digital streaming data from the iHeartRadio platform and sales, social video data and tags from Big Champagne and Shazam. The data was compiled by Mediabase based on data from the past 12 months.

Here are this year’s nominees:

Artist of the Year:
Imagine Dragons
Justin Timberlake
Macklemore & Ryan Lewis
Maroon 5
Rihanna

Song of the Year: 
“Hold on We’re Going Home” – Drake ft. Majid Jordan
“Mirrors” – Justin Timberlake
“Radioactive” – Imagine Dragons
“Stay” – Rihanna ft. Mikky Ekko
“The Monster” – Eminem ft. Rihanna

Best Collaboration:
“Holy Grail” – Jay Z ft. Justin Timberlake
“Stay” – Rihanna ft. Mikky Ekko
“Suit & Tie” – Justin Timberlake ft. Jay Z
“The Monster” – Eminem ft. Rihanna
“Timber” – Pitbull ft. Ke$ha

Best New Artist: 
Florida Georgia Line
Icona Pop
Imagine Dragons
Lorde
Macklemore & Ryan Lewis
Passenger

Country Song of the Year:
“Boys ‘Round Here” – Blake Shelton
“Highway Don’t Care” – Tim McGraw with Taylor Swift
“It Goes Like This” – Thomas Rhett
“Mine Would Be You” – Blake Shelton
“That’s My Kind of Night” – Luke Bryan

Hip-Hop/R&B Song of the Year:
“Blurred Lines” – Robin Thicke ft. T.I. & Pharrell
“Hold on We’re Going Home” – Drake ft. Majid Jordan
“Holy Grail” – Jay Z ft. Justin Timberlake
“Pour It Up” – Rihanna
“Started From the Bottom” – Drake

EDM Song of the Year:
“Get Lucky” – Daft Punk ft. Pharrell
“Stay the Night” – Zedd ft. Hayley Williams
“Summertime Sadness” – Lana Del Rey ft. Cedric Gervais
“Sweet Nothing” – Calvin Harris ft. Florence Welch
“Wake Me Up” – Avicii feat. Aloe Blacc

Alternative Rock Song of the Year:
“Demons” – Imagine Dragons
“Do I Wanna Know?” – Arctic Monkeys
“Pompeii” – Bastille
“Royals” – Lorde
“Safe and Sound” – Capital Cities

Best Lyrics:
“Wake Me Up” – Avicii (Vocals by Aloe Blacc)
“I Love It (ft. Charli XCX)” – Icona Pop
“Say Something” – A Great Big World feat. Christina Aguilera
“Same Love” – Macklemore & Ryan Lewis
“Wrecking Ball” – Miley Cyrus

Best Fan Army:
Arianators – Ariana Grande
Little Monsters – Lady Gaga
Lovatics – Demi Lovato
Mahomies – Austin Mahone
Rihanna Navy – Rihanna
Swifties – Taylor Swift

Blacc to Perform at the Nickelodeon Kids’ Choice Awards

Posted on March 12, 2014 by Tom Castaneda

Aloe Blacc is set to make his first appearance at the 2014 Nickelodeon Kids’ Choice Awards.

The 35-year-old Panamanian-American singer will perform at the March 29 fan-voted awards ceremony, which will be hosted by Mark Wahlberg.

Blacc, best known for his single “I Need a Dollar,” will perform a medley of his recent hit songs “Wake Me Up,” which he co-wrote with Avicii, and “The Man.”

“Wake Me Up” has charted at No. 1 in 22 countries.

“Looking forward to my very first Kids Choice Awards performance. Can’t wait to sing ‘Wake Me Up’ and ‘The Man’ with all my fans,” said Blacc.

Blacc’s most recent television appearances include The Voice, The Ellen DeGeneres Show and Dancing with the Stars.

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