Holiday 2013 - Christmas Across the Lands

"Christmas Across the Lands" now in its 14th year!

I'm very fortunate to say that one of my songwriting partners is none other than Randy Sherwyn from Sunny 106.3 WJPT in Fort Myers, Florida. Randy also happens to be the creator of the most popular Christmas music program in the world called "Christmas Across the Lands". As a result of being heard on American Forces Network for our military, the program is now heard in 177 countries across the world. Here is an excerpt from a recent WJPT press release:

"Randy Sherwyn, Program Director for Beasley Broadcast’s Sunny 106.3 WJPT-FM and 106.3 HD2 Solid Gold 106, will host the 14th annual “Christmas Across the Lands,” a 12-hour radio Christmas show that airs mainly on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day in markets across the globe. Locally, “Christmas Across the Lands” will be broadcast on Sunny 106 WJPT-FM beginning Christmas Eve Morning at 9:00 a.m. and will then run for 24 hours during Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. It will also air on Beasley Broadcast Southwest Florida sister station B103.9 WXKB-FM starting at 10 a.m. on Christmas Eve."

"Originating thirteen years ago as a heartfelt gift and tribute to our troops stationed overseas, as well as a holiday companion for all, “Christmas Across the Lands” is written, produced, and hosted by Randy Sherwyn. With Beasley Broadcast since 1991, Mr. Sherwyn updates and freshens the show every year, and once again “Christmas Across the Lands” for 2013 is an updated mix of music and interviews. New interviews include Richard Marx, Trans-Siberian Orchestra, B.J. Thomas, even Betty Lynn (aka Thelma Lou from “The Andy Griffith Show”) talking about that famous Andy Griffith Christmas episode."

You can stream "Christmas Across the Lands" both on Christmas Eve and Christmas by visiting Sunny 106.3 and clicking on the "Listen Live" link at the top.

I've written many songs over the years, but one of the most touching songs I've ever had the opportunity to be a part of was "Pretty Please Mister Santa". Fort Myers Sunny 106 DJ & Program Director Randy Sherwyn brought the lyrics to me in mid-2010 and when the writing and recording were done we both knew we had something very special. To date, two versions of the song have been recorded and here is a YouTube link to "Pretty Please Mister Santa" by Kris Ballerini:

That's all for this week folks - I wish you and your family a very Merry Christmas and a most joyous New Year 2014!

~Vincent James

November is UPON us - Please don't start the holiday music parade!

Greetings and Happy November 1st - Not exactly a holiday but being the first day after Halloween its does unofficially start the holiday season. I'm okay with that except please please don't start playing Christmas music until Thanksgiving. I mean if we start playing Christmas music on Thanksgiving we'll have 4 weeks to enjoy those wonderful holiday songs leading up to Christmas. But if we start hearing them anytime sooner, I guarantee we will be more than a little tired of "Silent Night", "Rudolph" and "Frosty" by the time Santa comes down the chimney. So lets keep Christmas music special and wait till the turkey's come to town :)

Zedd+Foxes = Clarity

One of my favorite songs this past month was originally released as Single of the Week by Itunes on October 2nd, 2012. It's called "Clarity" and was produced & co-written by German/Russian artist Zedd, and features English female singer Foxes. The music starts with a perfect piano & orchestral blend, then transitions quickly into the smooth silky voice of Louisa Rose Allen (aka Foxes). I absolutely love the melodic and haunting verses which build right into a powerhouse of a chorus hook. If you haven't heard this great tune yet please check out the video below for it.

New Song Voting Charts up at LoveSongs.com

We just updated our November "Vote for Your Favorite" Songs chart - October winners were "Night Train" by Jason Aldean and "My Kind of Night" by Luke Bryan. Yep that's right, country music ruled our Love Songs chart in October ha ha. Check out several new songs added for November and vote for your favorite here: Vote for Favorite Love Song

YouTube Music Awards this Sunday November 3rd

You heard right, we now have another Music Awards show to contend with, but this time it's got social media written all over it. Why? Because pretty much all the nominations and votes come from a social media source which is a pretty cool thing. For more info check out the info in today's USAToday article YouTube Music Awards - Top 40 Meets the Internet!. The show streams live on YouTube (where else) this Sunday November 3rd beginning at 6 PM ET.

That's all for today kiddies - we'll be back to you next week with another edition of music news and other fun musical tidbits. Stay safe and make that Halloween candy last last last!

Music, Love & Laughter

~Vincent James @ LoveSongs.com

Saturday Sept 28th is International LOVE SONGS Day!

Greetings All!

Did you know that Saturday September 28th is the 4th Annual International Love Songs day? Well unless your memory is as bad as mine is sometimes, you know now haaa. This is a day where you should send (or sing :)) your love a special song to let them know just how much you care. Email or text them a YouTube link to your special song this weekend and remember the loveeeee. For all you single guys and gals, maybe its time to send a song to the cutie you've been crushin' on lately and see what happens :) Nothing ventured nothing gained I always say. Check us out on Facebook at LoveSongs.com on Facebook and let us know what your favorite love song is.

Cool new song "Brave"out now by our "Love Song" gal Sara Bareilles - Don't be afraid to say what's on your mind - check it out here - ..

We recently fell into Fall Season and hope your season is goin' great so far. More love song news and updates coming soon!

Peace, Love & Laughter

~Vincent James @ LoveSongs.com

Special song for you this "Fathers Day"

Long ago, in a far away place (okay I haven't really moved and it wasn't THAT long ago :)). Anyhow, some years back, I wrote a song for my daughter Priscilla when she was just an infant. The lyrics talk about how hard it will be for us as parents to watch her grow up, and eventually leave the nest. Well that infant is now 16 years old, and just two years away from High school graduation. My wife and I are definitely starting to FEEEL it as she gets closer to adulthood. On one hand, we love watching our children grow up, and mature into young adults, then on the other hand it's going to be so hard to let them go some day.

"Your Love is a Miracle" is the song I wrote and below is a link a live video recording I did this week in honor of Fathers Day (and the Mothers Day just passed). Some of the lyrics:

"All that I love, now she's grown up...I'll miss the days..when she was here.."

For anyone who is a parent, perhaps you can relate to this. Or maybe you are the son or daughter watching your parents go through these mixed emotions. Either way, I hope you enjoy the song and video for "Your Love is a Miracle".

Happy Fathers Day to all the Dads out there this Sunday - enjoy some extra family time - your kids and you deserve it!

Peace, Love & Laughter,

~Vincent James @ LoveSongs.com

June is finally here and it's Hot HOT HOTTT

June is finally upon us and the temperature is scorching already. In my blog post just two weeks ago it was barely getting to 60 degrees, and now we've got a mini-heat wave of 90 and above. Would be nice to get some middle ground wouldn't it :)

Prayers for Oklahoma

Speaking of the weather, I was very sad to see that more tornados touched down in Oklahoma and surrounding area's yesterday killing some more folks. Tornado alley seems to be getting hit really hard and early this year. Praying for the families who lost loved ones and all those affected by this.

Love and Kidneys - Match made in Heaven

A Kansas City man proposed to his girlfriend at a KC Royals baseball game this week...this soon after she donated a kidney to him earlier this year (turns out she was a perfect match). This is definitely a feel good story that helps remind us how important organ donation is. Read more about this story here KC Royals fan proposes to donor girlfriend at the game.

PINK having FUN with "Just Give Me a Reason"

When I first heard this #1 song by PINK (and Nate Reuss from FUN), the haunting piano melody drew me in immediately. Then the touching lyrical story reminded me how fragile our love can be at times...lines like "You've been talking in your sleep...oh oh, things you never say to me...about our love..." coupled with the music will just get to you. If you haven't already heard it or want to to hear it again check it out here:

MAY Winners & Voting Charts updated for June

We had new winners in May - "Daylight" by Maroon 5 came in first with runnerup "Heart Attack" by Demi Lovato. We reset the chart and added several new songs this month. Also coming later this month, is the return of the Alltime Favorite Love Songs chart (soon to be followed by the Alltime Favorite Love Song artists), both back by popular demand!

That wraps it up for today folks - more stuff going on so will be back with another post soon. Till then please stay cool and be cooler haaaa :)

Music, Love & Laughter,

~Vincent James @ LoveSongs.com

Ringtones and Randy Jackson both on their way out

Over the last week we learned that ring tones and Randy Jackson are both on their way out. Okay so they aren't totally going away :) But business for cell phone ring tones is way way down from its peak of $600 million dollars in 2006 to about $ 160 million dollars last year. What's to blame for this huge drop in ring tone sales? Do you still use/buy ring tones? Or are you like most of us that customize our own ring tones from the songs we've already gotten? For some interesting insight on whats changing in the ring tone world here's an interesting CNN article Whatever Happened to Ring Tones?

As for Randy Jackson, he has simply decided that 12 years of American Idol is enough already. I really enjoyed the show in its early hey day with Simon, Randy (the Dawg man) and crazy Paula (sorry Paula, we really love you but you have to admit some of those episodes were a little loopy :)). But it just hasn't been the same these last several years. Even Simon's last year or two was a bit of a let down. So now the last man standing for American Idol is Ryan Seacrest and you have to wonder will we really be seeing Ryan for American Idol 25th Anniversary? If so I hope Idol finds a way to make it more interesting again like the early days.

Well it's a cold May day in Philly today (not quite 60 degrees Fahrenheit) and we are really looking forward to spring returning. By the time that happens we'll be back to you with another update next week!

Music, Love & Laughter,

~Vincent James @ LoveSongs.com

Happy MAY DAY - LoveSongs.com is officially a TEENAGER!

That's right, 13 years ago this month, we launched LoveSongs.com. Using the Way Back machine online you can see what LoveSongs.com looked like way back then here at: LoveSongs.com in May 2000. It's pretty amazing to click through the years and months and see how much the website have evolved since that basic website I put together and launched on May 1st, 2000.

Well now that we're officially a teenager, it's time to start rebelling against our parents :) So if you start to see us doing some crazy things, don't get too excited (or worried). It's probably just a phase we're going through ha!

International Love Songs has finally arrived

To help celebrate entering our teen years, we have launched the first draft of International Love Songs at LoveSongs.com. There are 9 countries and over 100 traditional and modern love songs listed between them. We will be adding new countries and songs each month. If you don't see your country or one of your favorite love songs from your culture please let us know.

Lots more coming up but that's all for today. Hope your enjoying the beautiful spring weather wherever the sun rises for you each morning. Talk to you all again soon!

Peace, Love & Happiness

Vincent James @ LoveSongs.com

April Fools - The Musics (and the Jokes) are On Us

Happy April Fools Day and hope you all don't get pranked too badly today :) If you're looking for some April Fools music we found a nice list on a Wondershare blog post check it out here: http://blog.wondershare.com/songs-about-fools-for-april-fools-day/

Some of the entries include "April Fools" by Dionne Warwick (who recently filed for bankruptcy, thats ironic) and one of my favorites "Fool on the Hill" by none other than the Beatles.

LoveSongs.com new look is two months old (almost ready to crawl :)

Our new look at LoveSongs.com is two months old this week and we want to thank everyone for all the wonderful feedback we've received about the new design. We couldn't be happier although we're still catching up on getting some of the initial content back online (i.e the rest of the Love Song lyrics :)). That mini-project will be complete by end of April (no foolin!) and after that look for brand new lyrics to be added each month.

International Love Songs is coming in April!!

Also coming in April is the official launch of the new International Love Songs section where we'll be featuring some of the most popular love songs from countries all over the world. If you are from outside the United States and have a favorite song from your country you'd like to see included, please like us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/vincentjameslovesongs and post your suggestion there.

That's all for today...we'll be back with another update mid-week (yes don't have a heart attack if you see us post more than once in a week...I realize it will come as quite a shock :)). Have a great April Fools Day and see ya soon!

~Vincent

Welcome to the BRAND NEW LoveSongs.com!!

Greetings and Happy February to all! We have finally relaunched the new and improved LoveSongs.com to the world (whew!). First off many many thanks to Vijaya and the very talented designers at The Thinking Hats in India. They did an amazing job giving the new LoveSongs.com the perfect look we were hoping for. A special thanks also to Martin from Uruguay who handled all the HTML/CSS coding work. I really can't thank Vijaya and Martin enough as the new LoveSongs.com would not be possible without them.

Over the next few days we'll be checking pages and links to make sure absolutely everything is working (Martin did all the complicated coding but I was responsible for linking everything up correctly :)). We'll also be working to convert the rest of our 3000+ song lyrics over to the new website format. New lyrics will be coming online every week and look for this to be complete by early March.

FREE Custom Love Song for Valentines - CONTEST

That's right, we are giving away two Custom Love Songs for Valentines Day this year. All you have to do is fill out our Custom Song Request form between now and next Monday Feb 11th and you will be automatically entered in the contest. We will be picking two winners at random on Monday Feb 11th @ Noon EST and the lucky winners will receive their completed song online in time to give for Valentines Day Feb 14th. To enter the contest please fill out the short entry form at CONTEST by this Monday Feb 11th @ Noon.

That's all for today except to say we have a lot planned for this year at LoveSongs.com . Look for updated content weekly and especially our new International Love Songs section launching in April. For now please have a gggreat Monday and don't forget Valentines Day is next Thursday Feb 14th it's sneaking up on all of us :)

Music, Love & Laughter,

~Vincent James @ LoveSongs.com

FREE Custom Love Song Contest for Valentines 2013

This year we're bringing back our very popular Custom Love Song contest for Valentines, and we're making it soooo easy to enter. Just click on any of our Custom Song Request links on the website. Tell us who the song is for and be sure to include your name and email address. Then just hit SEND and you're entered in the contest walaaa just like that :). All custom song requests between today 1/22 and Monday 2/11 will be included in the drawing. All contestants will receive an email confirmation within 24 hours confirming your contest entry. On Monday Feb 11th at 5 PM EST we will select two winners at random to receive a custom love song for their Valentines on Valentines Day 2/14. Imagine surprising your love with their own song on Valentines. Lets just say it would make for a pretty awesome Valentines Day and Night :)

We are also offering a special on our Gold Package Custom Songs for Valentines for just $ 189 ($ 100 off the regular price) from now through 2/14. So if your not one of our two lucky winners and would still like a song in time for Valentines you can place your order by Monday Feb 11th and receive it in time for Valentines Day (we're going to be a little busy that week :)).

That's all the big news for now...oh wait I almost forgot. We are finally relaunching our LoveSongs.com redesign on Friday Feb 1st. It's way overdue and we can't wait to show you all.

I hope you're all having a gggreat 2013 so far and if you're in the Northeast like we are I hope you're keeping warm cause it's absolutely freeeeeeezing out there.

Music, Love & Laughter,

~Vincent James @ LoveSongs.com