Just finished listening to this album “Pretty Idea” by Amber Mark. I love the retro R&B vibe of this album. Amber has such a unique voice and the production is on point. There are a few generic songs on her, but generally really good.

Really enjoyed this documentary about St Peter, his grave and his relation to the Vatican City and specifically the St Peter’s Basilica.

Last night on “The Point of View” hosted by Phemelo Motene on Kaya 959 we spoke about creative environments and how they nurture talent, specifically The BRIT School and some of their alumni. Here’s the podcast. Hope you enjoy 😉 iono.fm/e/1635595

Although the visuals were very impressive the storytelling was boring, the acting was over-the-tip and the movie was about 2 hours too long. The thing I enjoyed most about the movie was the theme song. Miley Cyrus and Mark Ronson killed it.

The original version of this album, “The Story”, was released in 2007. For its 10 year anniversary a covers version was released featuring various famous musicians. Proceeds of the sale of the album benefited the War Child Charity. I thoroughly enjoyed this reinterpretation of this exceptional album

This show is considered the 2nd most attended concert by a solo female artist in history, 1,6 million people on Copacabana Beach in Brazil in 2024. Although there some moments I didn’t get, in general I thought it was really good. Madonna is still the Queen

This morning on “The Music Corner” hosted by Gugs Mhlungu on 702 we celebrated Mary J Blige’s legacy and music on the occasion of her 55th birthday. Happy birthday to the Queen of Hip-Hop/Soul. omny.fm/shows/weeken...

After 18 years of teaching I’ve been reflecting on the journey and the way the Educational Ecosystem has been sullied by well-meaning, but sometimes misguided parents. This is the topic of my new Medium article. Hope you enjoy 😉 shelrochaleal.medium.com/the-educatio...

I was so excited to watch this documentary about Led Zeppelin and it was very disappointing. The whole thing included these massive musical interludes, which although were good, disrupted the storytelling. I started getting very annoyed.

As we come to the end of 2025 I reflect on one of the most tumultuous & rewarding years of my life. A creative career is demanding, I guess the way one approaches The Journey yields constructive outcomes. My @Medium article explores some these adventures shelrochaleal.medium.com/the-journey-...

I love a good murder mystery and this one was particularly good. Uzo Aduba was excellent in the lead role, who was a modern interpretation of Sherlock Holmes. It’s such a pity that the series was cancelled after the first season, as I thought the concept was so good.

To celebrate the 25th anniversary of the release of her Christmas album, Christina Aguilera did a special performance on top of the Eiffel Tower and this is the album. Some of the arrangements are amazing and yet others are a little confusing.

As a music person people always ask me what my favourite songs are and 15 years ago I started writing this series of Medium articles. This is the 2025 edition and features some of my favourite jams of the year. Hope you enjoy 😉 shelrochaleal.medium.com/my-favourite...

This Chris Isaak album is quite good. Not the best thing I’ve heard but it did the things. He reminded me of Elvis in certain parts. His voice generally works for this genre. Worth a listen, but not the best.

I know this movie was slated by critics, but tjarrra I haven’t laughed like this in a very long time. Jack Black killed as “Satan”. Such a cute movie. I mean it was very predictable, but the journey was a vibe.

This is my #PerformanceObsession and Jam for the day. Robin Thicke is such a phenomenal artist. He just oozes Soul and this song is like a Christmas version of “What A Fool Believes” by The Doobie Brothers (1979). Hope you enjoy 😉 open.spotify.com/track/44db5y...

Watched this nugget the other night. Jim Carey outdid himself with this performance. This movie did what movies should do and transport the audience to another reality. It is just a classic.

So I thought I’d go down this Christmas road. Bing Crosby is the OG Christmas guy. He is the biggest selling Christmas artist of all time and probably the King of Christmas. This was a real treat. The arrangements and production reminded of a Charles Dickens book.

RIP Chris Rea who passed yesterday from a short illness at the age of 74. The man had such a smooth and haunting voice, who regaled us with 25 studio albums. The soundtrack of my younger years. #ThanksForTheMemories #ThankUForTheMusic #RIP 🙌🏽🙏🏽😞 🕊️

This Christina Perri album was quite good. Although there were many Christmas standards, at least it was short and to the point. I wasn’t ecstatic about her pronunciation of certain words. Dragging out certain vowel sounds. It was a thing artists did at one point. Agggg. Anyway. Worth a listen.

I followed my viewing of “Conclave” with this documentary about Conclaves, just so that I could gain a deeper understanding of how these things actually work. Very interesting.

Last year I heard most of the albums in this series, about 8 albums. This is the last one in the collection and it’s a collective of the best songs from previous albums. My favourite track is Tom Petty and The Heartbreaker’s “Christmas All Over Again”.

Anything about the Catholic Church interests me and this movie is about the election of a fictitious Pope. I found the whole process really interesting and certainly worth a watch.

At the end of every year I reflect on the year that was and my favourite brands. The idea behind this article is to delve into the thinking behind my these brands. This year I have included more South African brand than before. Hope you enjoy 😉 shelrochaleal.medium.com/my-top-10-br...

This song is my #PerformanceObsession of the moment. Marcia Hines was a big star in Australia, but now in her 70s she has decided to release this track, which sounds like it was released in the Disco era. open.spotify.com/track/0qUSGo...

In the last few weeks Kylie has had a No. 1 album and now single, “XMAS”. It is her first No. 1 single since “Slow” (22 years ago). It is also her first Christmas #1, breaking Wham’s two year streak at the Christmas #1.

Mariah Carey has now taken back her record. In 1995 Mariah & Boyz II Men broke the record for the longest stay at No1 with “One Sweet Day”, 16 weeks at No1 USA. She held the record for 23 years and then Lil’ Nas X & Billy Ray Cyrus took the record in 2018 with “Old Town Road”..

This album is a collection of Christmas songs produced by the legendary David Foster, performed by some of the industry’s greatest stars. This album embodies David Foster’s genius as a producer. Definitely with a listen.

I was reluctant to watch this, but after some convincing, I decided to give it a chance. Tjarrrrr. This is worth a watch. My goodness, there was so much I didn’t know.

Pop Music is constantly looking for new inspiration, but the one constant seems to be a love affair with Eastern Musical traditions. In my new Medium I explore this influence and reflect on five Pop songs that embody this reality. Hope you enjoy 😉 shelrochaleal.medium.com/tiger-pop-a4...

The first movie didn’t make much sense to me and this one even less. There were so many holes in the storyline, but I must admit the lead actress, Lupita Nyong’o, was exceptional. A true talent.

This album by Gregory Porter is the perfect balance between old Christmas standards and new compositions. Furthermore, Gregory has the best voice for Christmas. This album is a winner 🏆

I recently finished reading this book, which was so overhyped. I’m not a big fan of these self-help books, because the authors also give a one size fits all solution to everything, and this one was no different. Also, if a person hasn’t figured this stuff on their own by now 🙄

What an amazing experience to present the Best Engineered Album award to Peter Pearlson for Thandiswa Mazwai’s “Sankofa” album at the SAMAs on Sunday night. Here is the YouTube link (1h05min). #SAMA31 www.youtube.com/live/I_CldDZ...

More scenes from last night’s #SAMA31 ceremony. What a vibe!!!

#SAMA31 Let the party begin

The calm before the storm tonight 🤣 SAMA 31 Rehearsals for tonight SABC 1 8pm

Last week I appeared on the Eurovision Context Podcast Christmas episode in which we shared gifs and reflected on the Junior Eurovision Song Contest entrants, which is taking place today. Hope our predictions were accurate. open.spotify.com/episode/57o2...

This was a fascinating documentary about an iconic actor and comedian. He comes across very normal in the movie, albeit in a massive mansion in Los Angels 🤣 I love that he tries to not get wrapped up in Hollywood BS.

Although this album contains mainly Christmas standards, I really enjoy CeCe Winans’ voice and the songs were beautifully arranged. This is a festive album that I think any Christmas music lover would enjoy.

After releasing this album 10 years ago, it finally goes to No1 in the UK. This Kylie Minogue story is one of tenacity and perseverance. Sometimes accolades don’t come when we plan them, they come when they must 🙌🏽 www.theguardian.com/music/2025/d...

It was such an honour to serve the Department of Higher Education as a National Research Fund Peer Reviewer 🙌🏽🙏🏽

Was moved when I received this award at the Academy of Sound Engineering “Year End” function, which was voted for@by my colleagues. #Grateful.

Just finished listening to this Christmas album by Clay Aiken. It featured largely featured covers of Christmas standards, the arrangements were insipid and the arrangements average. This album lacked imagination. I would give this a skip.

Thursday was the commemoration of when the South African constitution was delivered to Nelson Mandela (1996) and Friday the anniversary of his passing (2013). On Point of View on Kaya FM we reflected on songs about Madiba. Here’s the podcast. Hope you enjoy 😉 iono.fm/e/1625825

In my latest Medium article I focus on performances that changed the course of music history. These include performances by Michael Jackson, Madonna, The Beatles, Sinead O’Connor and Céline Dion. Hope you enjoy 😉 shelrochaleal.medium.com/the-art-of-l...

Looking forward to being a presenter at this year’s SAMAs 🎉🙌🏽

This is a repackaged version of the *Nsync Christmas album titled “Home For Christmas”. What I love about this album is that most of the songs are original, which is such a relief from all the Christmas standards. Worth a listen.

Finished watching this documentary series about this woman who was obsessed with chimpanzees and was willing to do anything to remain connected to her primates…and not in a good way. Fascinating watch.

Pursuing a career as an artist can sometimes be difficult and not always recognised. Yet creatives rule the world. For that reason creatives need to be intrinsically motivated. That is the theme of my latest Medium article. Hope you enjoy 😉 shelrochaleal.medium.com/managing-cre...