The opening seconds of Brett Copeland’s single, "I Wanna Live", don’t ask for your attention; they stage a hostile takeover. This is a song that feels less written and more clawed out of a desperate moment, built with the kind of volcanic energy that powers revival tents and bar-room brawls. Copeland’s voice is the main event—a raw, muscular instrument that sounds like it's been...

Welcome to Joe Lington, a charming soul singer whose singing can turn any room into a party in an instant. Lington's journey is the stuff of stories. It started with piano classes with Lisa Gold Gervais and ended with him singing solo in a church group. Not long after Lington started to write songs about singers like Sisqo and Keith Sweat, he started to explore...