"My Sins Need Holy Water, Feel It Washing Over Me"

It's been a relaxing two weeks off for the GWDJ crew, but we're back after it starting with the most eye opening collaboration in recent memory. I say that with hesitancy as Eminem's new album is chalked full of interesting, high octane efforts like the one below. The sheer novelty of hearing Ed Sheeran's quietly powerful vocals mixed with Em's forceful bars is hard to put into words. I'm still trying to wrap my head around the gruff tone Eminem showcases on his new album, but there's no questioning his vigor and energy on the mic is alive and well. There's a lot to comb through with Revival, including collabos with Alicia Keys, Skylar Grey, and Pink to name a few, but early reviews have been positive. You can bet that as we put together a few end of 2017 mixes, there will be plenty of Eminem sprinkled throughout...#Revival



Eminem feat Ed Sheeran - River

Ed Sheeran's Perfect Gets a Chill House Makeover

Over the past year Ed Sheeran's Divide album has continued to gain momentum with each new single. It started off with a bang as Shape of You skyrocketed to the top of the charts and has continued to gain speed with the most recent single Perfect. In my eyes, the book-end singles are the best of what the album has to offer and deserve to be in the classic conversation.

Further cementing that notion is Robin Schulz's remix of Perfect. It's what you'd hope for if someone said "what if someone did a chill house flip of Perfect." The vocals from the original play really well over a quietly rhythmic beat. Matter of fact, the more I listen to it, the more I'm inclined to throw it on the Trop House mix. Whatever the categorization, it's a smooth mix that I'll be zoning out to over the next week...#Perfect



Ed Sheeran - Perfect (Robin Schulz Remix)

Videos of the Week March 17th

Another week in the book and another music video heavy top five. Those rumors about Fallon falling off a bit since Colbert won the election must be somewhat true considering the dearth of funny content coming across the radar of late. Nevertheless, the show goes on starting with crisp new videos from The Weeknd and Linkin Park. The former is what you'd expect from a video shot on another planet, while the latter is emotionally charged and dramatic as the lyrics suggest. BUT, it all paled in comparison to the massive uproar that Snoop caused with his slightly more than suggestive shot at Trump. He even got the old Donald to lash out on Twitter, which is nothing new, but interesting that the video was taken seriously.

Outside of the world of music videos, we got some fresh reaction from Chance the Rapper off his recent Grammy win. Hip Hop is lucky to have a well-spoken, genuinely good dude like him leading the way. He does a lot of good things and that's all in addition to the amazing music he's been churning out of late. Lastly, we got a fun behind the curtain look at how Ed Sheeran and UK rapper Stormzy feel about internet trolls. There's a lot of negativity in the world, so it's nice to see an example of how artists let it roll off their back. It may not quite have lived up to a Kimmel Mean Tweets, but it was a fun watch anyways...#InternetTrolls

The Weeknd feat Daft Punk - I Feel It Coming (Video)

Linkin Park feat Kiiara - Heavy (Video)

Snoop Dogg feat BADBADNOTGOOD & Kaytranada - Lavender (Video)

Chance the Rapper Complex Interview

Ed Sheeran and Stormzy Respond to Internet Trolls

Photo Credit: YouTube

Shape of You Gets Major Lazer'd

I fully understand you're probably sick of seeing me post every possible version of Ed Sheeran's Shape of You. Despite it's universal pop appeal, this is one track I bit on hardcore after the first listen. And of course, out of all the remixes and live performances I've shared, this one takes the cake for being most impressive.

I don't need to tell you how well Major Lazer's reggae trap vibe fits with the bubbly, dancehall sound of Shape of You. Then, you add in some stellar vocals from Nyla, which turn it into somewhat of a duet, and now we're talking. It's basically all the awesomeness of the original with more bass, some complimentary female vocals, and a sick drop. If you're not completely sick of the original by now, join me in heading on over to Spotify to do a couple laps around it...#ShapeOfYouRemix

Ed Sheeran - Shape of You (Major Lazer Remix feat Nyla & Kranium)

"For Her I Cut All My Players, Mess Up My Salary Cap"

Listening to Wale's remix of Ed Sheeran's new one makes me nostalgic. About a decade ago, you could count on at least one well known rapper to go in on every single catchy pop single. Now that EDM is eating up all the remix usage, hearing a hot 16 over an Ed Sheeran joint is a novelty.

One word of caution before pressing play below, it's basically the original track after Wale's verse. In other words, the remix basically ends at the 1:05, so feel free and carry on if you're not in the mood to hear Ed's infectious vocals. As a bonus here's his performance of the track at The Grammys last weekend. Needless to say he killed it when he built the beat from scratch and rocked it solo...#ShapeOfYou


Ed Sheeran - Shape of You (Wale Remix)

Videos of the Week January 13th

Strange week for videos in that it was dominated by odd music videos and quirky cover performances. Leading off is marshmello's video for his new single Summer where he shares a moment with Vine star Lele Pons. It's hard to hate on any video at a skating rink, but the added eye candy is always appreciated. Then there was the over the top 80s and creepy video from The Weeknd for Party Monster. Put it this way, his videos make you think that there may be some things going on in his head that we find hard to imagine.

Moving on from music videos with an endearing Fresh Prince Theme cover from Ed Sheeran. His new music is downright dope, so I'll be tuning in to anything his name is attached to in the near future. Speaking of a Midas touch, The Chainsmokers felt the need to release a hype video to drum up some excitement for 2017. No disrespect, but I have a hard time imagining this being as successful as 2016 was. They've proven me wrong many times, though, so I guess nothing should surprise me at this point.

Just when you thought this was turning into a music only post, you knew I had to mix in some silly with Fallon. This time he was on stage with Kevin Bacon doing a word spelling parody of The Kinks 1970s hit Lola. Before you listen, I challenge you to think of as many words that rhyme with Lola. Let's just say they came up with a few more creative things to rhyme than the mental list you just came up with. Needless to say, I'm humming Lola now as I write this, so it'll stick with you...#Lola

marshmello - Summer (Video) (feat Lele Pons)

The Weeknd - Party Monster (Video)

Ed Sheeran Covers The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air Theme Song

The Chainsmokers Are Out to Slay in 2017

Kevin Bacon and Jimmy Fallon Struggle to Spell Words to the 70s Hit Lola

Photo Credit: YouTube

"I'm in Love With the Shape of You"

After a year of radio silence, Ed Sheeran is back with a vengeance. This week he released two new singles that have generated enough buzz to carry the whole music industry. Without hesitation, my favorite of the two is Shape of You . While Castle on the Hill fits the instrument driven, inspirational ballad style that we've all grown to love from Ed, Shape of You is about as infectious as it gets for Pop music.

From the beginning of the track, the bubbly beat sucks you in as Ed winds up into a Jason Mraz-esque sing-song rap. Between the slightly Dancehall tempo and the ebb and flow between singing and rapping, I can't think of another track he's done that follows the same style. That type of stylistic exploration into something new and awesome is why Ed is one of the most talented artists in music. As I keep listening to the track, I can't get over the beat, which is something like a mix of Drake's One Dance and Sia's The Greatest. It's an exciting track and provides all the momentum needed for his upcoming ÷ album...#ShapeOfYou

Ed Sheeran - Shape of You

"If I'm Still Growing Up, Up, Up, Up"

Some artists or duos are so genuine that it's legitimately hard to dislike them. Sitting high atop my list undislikable artists is without question Macklemore & Ryan Lewis. If you know anything about their story, you understand how improbable their come up was and how hard they worked to get where they're at today. To sum up their schtick - they write from the heart, their production is unique, and they don't shy away from emotional topics.

Given all that and the fact that Macklemore just had a kid two months ago, it was no surprise that out of nowhere the dynamic duo dropped a new heartfelt ballad about parenting. The track would have been on point without the vocals of Ed Sheeran, but he took it to another level. There's so much good in this track from the lyrics to the open letter to the steadily soulful, piano let instrumental. It's a tall order, but my guess is when all is said and done, we'll be talking about this one in the same breath as Same Love...#SloanesSong

Macklemore & Ryan Lewis feat Ed Sheeran - Growing Up (Sloane's Song)

Thomas Jack x Felix Jaehn Trop House Vol 8

The Trop House mixes keep getting better and better as more DJs continue collaborating with Thomas Jack. For number eight, Thomas Jack enlisted the help of up and comer Felix Jaehn to weave together a full house of all your favorite new house tracks. You'll hear goodies like Felix's remix of Ed Sheeran's Photograph, Oliver Heldens' Shades of Grey, The Magician's Together and Robin Schulz's Headlights to name a few. The key takeaway here is there's a lot of new House music that you probably haven't heard yet and it's delivered in a stream of consciousness that will allow you to press play and walk away. It's interesting to note that the mix is less "tropical" sounding than many of the previous mixes, but if you're unhappy about that then you're splitting hairs at this point. Whatever it is, cooking, cleaning the house or even hosting people, give this one a full hour when there's room for some background tunage...#TropHouse

Thomas Jack Presents Tropical House Vol 8 Hosted by Felix Jaehn

Ed Sheeran's Photograph Goes Deep House

Riding high on the success of his most recent remix of OMI's Cheerleader, Felix Jaehn is back with another cooled out Deep House remix. This time he transformed Ed Sheeran's Photograph into a melodic, lounge quality hit. If you missed the original version from Sheeran's modern day classic album X, here's a quick recap...

Whether it's Deep House or Tropical House, the over-arching "chill" House movement is getting better and better. The bubbly chord progression on the remix below is about as relaxing as it gets when combined with the lethal vocals of Ed Sheeran. If you're on a beach somewhere celebrating Father's Day weekend, then this will be a perfect addition to that poolside playlist...#Photograph

Ed Sheeran - Photograph (Felix Jaehn Remix)

Videos of the Week June 5th

The top 5 this week featured a large dose of EDM, an interesting cover and a whole lot of silliness. Leading the way was Ed Sheeran's cover of Fetty Wap's Trap Queen that completely came out of left field. Who would have known such a bouncy track could hold up acoustically? On the EDM tip Eric Prydz came through with some crazy visuals with the help of Tron producer GMUNK and his 3D LED sugar cube. Crookers and Jeremih also concocted an interesting story to their latest single I Just Can't.

As fas as shenanigans, the Late Night hosts were all over that. Led by Fallon and Jason Statham's game of slap jack and the always funny mean tweets from Kimmel, there was plenty to laugh at. Some of those mean tweets took the gloves off man! The tweets are funny and all, but the reactions are why you keep watching...#NBAMeanTweets
Ed Sheeran - Trap Queen (Cover)

Jason Statham Plays Slap Jack with Jimmy Fallon

Crookers feat Jeremih - I Just Can't (Video)

Eric Prydz - Generate (Video)

NBA Players Read Mean Tweets on Kimmel
Photo Credit: YouTube

Videos of the Week March 20th

With SXSW being the talk of the town this week and hearing stories about how Snoop and Willie Nelson ate KFC in Amsterdam together, it's only fitting the lead off video of the week has to do with Jimmy Kimmel trolling attendees of the legendary festival. It's a little unnerving how quickly people are to pretend to know what they're talking about when it comes to music. My favorite was DJ Gluten and how his music is hard to tolerate...love it!

For the weekly Fallon spot, Ben Stiller made a quick cameo to do some really entertaining impromptu role playing. On them music front, it's getting a little ridiculous how great lyric videos are becoming. Case in point both Martin Garrix and David Guetta's latest videos for their new singles. One took the more cartoony route, the other took a more literal, real life entertainment angle. It makes you wonder if real videos are even worth it these days? Finally, rounding out the top 5 is a behind the scenes look at Ed Sheeran's tour. Yes, you read that right, he does in fact sing to cats around the four minute mark. I'm starting to think going on a worldwide tour should be on my bucket list...#Sheeran

Jimmy Kimmel Makes Up Band Names to Troll SXSW Attendees

Jimmy Fallon and Ben Stiller Role Play and Get Emotional Together

Martin Garrix feat Usher - Don't Look Down (Lyric Video)

David Guetta feat Nicki Minaj & Afrojack - Hey Mama (Lyric Video)

Ed Sheeran Tour Diary Part 2 Where He Sings Thinking Out Loud to Cats

Photo Credit: YouTube

Videos of the Week February 27th

Let's call it a "memorable" week for videos with a fun mix of new stuff, creative stuff and even a few covers. Kanye leads the way in the new stuff section with his debut of All Day at the Brit 2015 Awards. The track is chalked full of energy, but lyrically it's just a bunch of chest puffed out yelling. Hopefully there are more thoughtful tracks like Only One on his album, I've missed that side of 'Ye.

If you haven't listened to Big Sean's new album, you really are missing out. Skyscrapers is a stand out, but there's a lot more too. Ed Sheeran is a boss, so it only makes sense he remixed CoCo. Similarly, Fallon and Xtina nailed more than a few impressions, including a spot on one of Britney Spears by Ms. Aguilera herself. And last, but not least, a bit of novelty for the week. Kudos to the on fleek video editing by papakilatube for matching the Barney visuals to Straight Outta Compton...#Barney
Big Sean - Skyscrapers (Video)

Ed Sheeran - I'm in Love With the CoCo (Cover)

Kanye Performs All Day at 2015 Brit Awards

Jimmy Fallon & Christina Aguilera Play Wheel of Musical Impressions

Barney With Attitude - Straight Outta Compton

Photo Credit: Vevo

Videos of the Week October 10th

Unlike most weeks, there is a clear favorite video in this week's top 5. I don't know whether to applaud it for it's weird wilderness vibe or continue to question why Pharrell has some huge clothespins on his shirt. What I do know is that Gust of Wind is a great track and seeing huge prehistoric looking Daft Punk heads come to life to sing the hook felt appropriate. Beyond that, there was quite a bit of Hip Hop released this week with Logic's epic crime spree short movie and Ne-Yo's ode to pole dancers leading the way. The surprise of the week came from Ed Sheeran's dance moves. Evidently dude isn't just a great singer, he can also cut a rug when given a chance. Finishing out the week is the obligatory silly and entertaining Jimmy Fallon video featuring Steve Carell. In the video they take random quirky words and try to fit them into casual conversation. Hilarity ensues, making it a great pick to round out the top 5...#FallonTonight
Pharrell feat Daft Punk - Gust of Wind (Video)

Ed Sheeran - Thinking Out Loud (Video)

Jimmy Fallon & Steve Carrell Play Word Sneak

Logic - Under Pressure (Video)

Ne-Yo feat Juicy J - She Knows (Video)

Photo Credit: YouTube

"Your Soul Could Never Grow Old, It's Evergreen"

Couple of things to note about this post. First and foremost, you're probably going to notice the amount of Soundcloud embeds quickly dwindling over the next month. Unfortunately, they have been rendered almost completely useless by the three major labels. I understand why they made the decisions they did, but there has to be repercussions for turning your back on the artists and supporters who helped you build your platform to a $600 million empire.

Second, Ed Sheeran continues to be the king of the modern day acoustic ballad. If you haven't given a listen to his latest album x, there's plenty of reason for why it has gone gold or platinum in a handful of countries. This is the third single off the album and it might end up being my favorite when all is said and done. Chances are you lady likes this one slightly more than you, but that doesn't mean you shouldn't like it just as much...#ThinkingOutLoud

"This Love is a Baze I Saw Flames From the Side of the Stage"

Is it me or is acoustic funk making a resurgence? Whatever the case, it doesn't get more fresh than Ed Sheeran on the vocals and Pharrell guiding the way on the beat. Shoot, Ed even drops a few Hip Hop sounding bars for good measure on his new single Sing. I'd go as far to say, there's a Justin Timberlake vibe to the track below...

Word has it the funky little heat rock above is the first single off Ed's upcoming sophomore album x. Between his new one and Old School Love with Lupe Fiasco, you'd think he's starting to lean toward Hip Hop a bit with his new sound. Call me intrigued, I'm looking forward to hearing the whole thing when it drops in late June...#SING

"Gimme That Old School Love Right Now"

I remember about a decade ago when soulful R&B hooks were used on a weekly basis to compliment meaningful Hip Hop verses. It was a great chapter in music history that really represented Hip Hop's growing influence on pop culture. Stripped down soulful tracks like Lupe Fiasco and Ed Sheeran's Old School Love happen so infrequently now that when they come along they really stand out.

Forget the easy-listening, rolling, piano driven beat and beautiful hook by Ed Sheeran, the verses are what elevate this track to greatness. Whether anyone wants to give him credit, Lupe is one of the best storytellers in the game. If you have any doubt how well he's able to craft a meaningful, thought provoking narrative, give his third verse on the track a listen. It's deep, well-delivered and thought provoking all at once. And is it just me, or does this track sort of support the whole "after this one I'm done" sentiment from Lupe? It has the mood of a nostalgic swan song, which is probably what makes it so alluring, but it makes you wonder if he really might hang up the mic after his upcoming Tetsuo & Youth album. Let's all collectively hope that the album as a whole is as thoughtful and well-written as his first single...#OldSchoolLove

Lupe Fiasco feat Ed Sheeran - Old School Love

Mike Posner Joins The A-Team

If you were to ask for one artist that could appropriately cover @edsheeran's #1 single The A-Team, I'm not sure I could have suggested anyone better than @MikePosner. Not only does he have the vocal ability to match Ed's feathery vocals, but the subtle Hip Hop he was able to inject into the track that's nominated for a Grammy as Song of the Year.

Granted, my opinion is skewed because I like Mikey P and it's easy to say there isn't anyone who could have covered it better now that I've heard his version. Still, be one of the 53 million plus who have watched Ed Sheeran's version on YouTube...

Will A-Team win a Grammy tonight? It's a tough to predict that he'll beat Call Me Maybe and We Are Young, but either way, it'll be pretty cool to see him perform with Elton John on stage tonight, which is a pretty awesome accomplishment in and of itself...#Grammys
Mike Posner - The A-Team (Remix)