The 2019 Tiny Desk Contest Winner Is...

Plus, what it's like to listen to Michael Jackson now.

YouTube This year, more than 6,000 artists entered the Tiny Desk Contest, our annual search for the best undiscovered musical talent in the United States. Bob Boilen, host and creator of the Tiny Desk series, led a panel of judges that included our colleague Rodney Carmichael; Abbie Gobeli, a DJ at KEXP, and Raul Campos, a host on KCRW; and some of our favorite Tiny Desk alums: Lucy Dacus, Jason Isbell and Ledisi. Our judges fell in love with plenty of new artists among those entries, but in the end, there was one song they couldn’t stop playing: “Erase Me” by Quinn Christopherson. His powerful song — a nuanced take on his experience as a transgender man coming to terms with the power of his voice — captivated us all. We can’t wait to bring Quinn to NPR HQ, where he’ll play his very own Tiny Desk concert before heading out on the Tiny Desk Contest On The Road tour. You can hear Quinn explain what inspired his entry in his interview with All Things Considered. From our Tiny Desk with big dreams, Marissa Lorusso and Lyndsey McKenna Featuring For some, the allegations against Michael Jackson in the documentary Leaving Neverland make listening to his songs a struggle, one that resists the comfort those songs once provided. Ann Powers confronts what it's like listening to Michael Jackson now. This week, two stories about music and crowdfunding: Facing financial ruin and homelessness, the wife of influential jazz guitarist Kenny Burrell launched a GoFundMe campaign to try to raise $100,000 to relieve their most immediate needs. And for John Zorn, realizing an ambitious, 11-album project was only possible through crowdfunding — except that the company he used, PledgeMusic, went bankrupt. And now it may cost him a lot of money. This week on All Songs Considered: Joe Talbot, frontman for the British rock group IDLES, talks about the band’s 2018 album, how Van Morrison's Astral Weeks changed his life and his tips for driving across Kansas while on tour. New Music Your newsletter editors are big fans of Carly Rae Jepsen, and we loved hearing her talk about her new album, Dedicated, with Morning Edition host David Greene. That album made our shortlist of the best new releases out this week, along with the ambitious new album by The National, the defiant music of rapper Megan Thee Stallion and more. With superhero stories topping the box office (looking at you, Avengers), who can blame the dynamic duo of Lizzo and Charli XCX for claiming they’re coming to save pop music? Earlier this week, the two released a collaborative track, “Blame It On Your Love.” Tiny Desk Amr Alfiky/NPR Dreamers, a collaborative album from intrepid string quartet Brooklyn Rider and jazz singer Magos Herrera, is an adventurous record with a strong current of social consciousness. At the Tiny Desk, they team up for a set of three transcendent songs steeped in Latin American musical traditions. Incoming A Tiny Desk unlike any you’ve ever seen: A video world premiere of Radiohead’s Jonny Greenwood’s “88 (No. 1),” performed by one of the most exciting ensembles in classical music. (We’ll talk to Jonny, too.) One More Thing The world lost a good one this week. What do you think of today's email? We'd love to hear your thoughts, questions and feedback: nprmusic@npr.org Enjoying this newsletter? Forward to a friend! They can sign up here. Looking for more great content? Check out all of our newsletter offerings — including Books, Pop Culture, Health and more! Need a new playlist? Follow NPR Music on Spotify and Apple Music! You received this message because you're subscribed to our NPR Music emails. |  Unsubscribe  |  Privacy Policy | NPR 1111 N. CAPITOL ST. NE WASHINGTON DC 20002