Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
Mraz to donate album earnings
Jason Mraz has a new album coming out and he wants everyone to buy it and love it. But he’s not going to make a penny on it.
The two-time Grammy winner has promised to donate all earnings from sales and streams of his reggae album “Look for the Good” — including his $250,000 advance — to groups working for racial equality and justice.
“This is bigger than me,“Mraz said. “Now the CD itself has a purpose. The record itself actually can go out and serve.”
Sales will fund Black Lives Matter, San Diego Young Artists Music Academy, RISE San Diego, Grassroots Law Project, Center on Policy Initiatives and Equal Justice Initiative.
“For me, this is my cardboard sign up at the march. This is me putting my body and my music and my name on the line to say, ‘I stand with this movement and I want to help move this down the field toward a more equal and just world,’ ” Mraz said.
“Look for the Good” will be released Friday, which also is Juneteenth, a celebration of the end of slavery in the United States. Mraz vows to make donations to progressive groups annually on Juneteenth.
The 12-track album was recorded last summer but finds itself quite prescient, with uplifting messages of togetherness and unity.
The album includes the song “You Do You,” a collaboration with actress Tiffany Haddish, who raps the line “We gonna march until our voices get heard.”
12-year-old signs record deal:
Keedron Bryant, the 12-year-old who turned heads on social media with his passionate performance about being a young black man in today’s world, has signed a deal with Warner Records, and his poignant song will officially be released Friday.
Keedron’s powerful video, posted May 26, features the lyrics “I’m a young black man doing all that I can” from the song “I Just Wanna Live,” written by his mother. Friday’s release of the track coincides with Juneteenth.
Warner Records is donating 100% of the net profits of “I Just Wanna Live” to the NAACP, and for every stream of the song on Amazon Music, the company will donate $1 to the NAACP for the first 24 hours the song is out, giving up to $50,000.
2 Keillor books set for release this fall:
Garrison Keillor will have two books out this fall — a novel and a memoir — marking his first releases since sexual harassment allegations were made against the author and humorist three years ago.
Arcade Publishing announced Thursday that Keillor’s “The Lake Wobegon Virus,” which continues his popular “Lake Wobegon” series and ties it to the current pandemic, is coming Sept. 8. Two months later, Arcade will release “That Time of Year,” a reflection on his childhood and “a good life, including mistakes, regrets, and a few medical adventures.”
In his memoir, Keillor will address the harassment allegations.
June 19 birthdays:
Singer Tommy DeVito is 92. Actress Phylicia Rashad is 72. Singer Ann Wilson is 70. Actress Kathleen Turner is 66. Singer Paula Abdul is 58. Actress Mia Sara is 53. TV host Lara Spencer is 51. Singer Scott Avett is 44. Actress Zoe Saldana is 42. Singer Macklemore is 37. Actor Chuku Modu is 30.