Janet Devlin’s new single, “Houston,” arrives as a gleeful contradiction, a two-stepping Americana anthem for the sovereign state of one. It has all the upbeat, country-rock fixings for a roadside sing-along, yet its heart is miles away, floating in a self-imposed, wonderfully stubborn vacuum. The track opens, and you’re ready for a communal good time; instead, you find yourself at a party where the...

Norway's many fjords are responsible for the birth of a celebrity. Ella Lockert, with her boundless vitality and undoubted skill, has always been a force to be reckoned with from the day she was born. Imagine a little Ella illuminating the stage as the smallest Santa possible in the song "Putti Plutti Pott." Add to that her singing in the children's chorus at the Norwegian Opera,...