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Thursday

Wednesday

How 'Born This Way' Was Born: An LGBT Anthem's Pedigree

Fans of Lady Gaga gather outside a concert in Manila in 2012. Jay Directo/AFP/Getty Images hide caption

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Jay Directo/AFP/Getty Images

American Anthem

How 'Born This Way' Was Born: An LGBT Anthem's Pedigree

Lady Gaga's 2011 megahit has been praised as inclusive and criticized as exploitative. But there's a little history to the song's origins that isn't often discussed.

How 'Born This Way' Was Born: An LGBT Anthem's Pedigree

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Tuesday

Tuesday

For Many With Disabilities, 'Let It Go' Is An Anthem Of Acceptance

Caissie Levy performs as Elsa in the stage adaptation of Frozen, which opened on Broadway in 2018. Deen van Meer/Disney Theatrical Productions hide caption

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Deen van Meer/Disney Theatrical Productions

American Anthem

For Many With Disabilities, 'Let It Go' Is An Anthem Of Acceptance

The breakout song from Disney's Frozen has inspired many marginalized groups — but its message of rejecting stigma holds special resonance for disabled people and their families.

For Many With Disabilities, 'Let It Go' Is An Anthem Of Acceptance

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Saturday

Gladys Knight To Sing The Super Bowl's National Anthem, As A Perilous Fight Endures

Gladys Knight will "give the anthem back its voice," she said in a statement explaining her decision to sing the national anthem at Super Bowl LIII in spite of boycotts by other black artists. Kevin Winter/Getty Images hide caption

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Kevin Winter/Getty Images

Opinion

Gladys Knight To Sing The Super Bowl's National Anthem, As A Perilous Fight Endures

In a statement, Knight failed to balm an increasingly pronounced cultural rift that's come to dominate the conversation around this year's big game.

Monday

A Song Called 'Quiet' Struck A Chord With Women. Two Years Later, It's Still Ringing

Hundreds of singers joined MILCK and the Canadian choral group Choir! Choir! Choir! to perform "Quiet" at Toronto's Phoenix Concert Theatre in early 2017. Andrew Williamson/Courtesy of Choir! Choir! Choir! hide caption

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Andrew Williamson/Courtesy of Choir! Choir! Choir!

American Anthem

A Song Called 'Quiet' Struck A Chord With Women. Two Years Later, It's Still Ringing

Born as a vessel for one person's trauma, the song by MILCK became an anthem overnight after the 2017 Women's March. But it wasn't done growing.

A Song Called 'Quiet' Struck A Chord With Women. Two Years Later, It's Still Ringing

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Wednesday

Tiny Desk Sketches: An Illustrator's Year In The Front Row

Sketches of performers from NPR Music's Tiny Desk concerts. Top row, left to right: The Midnight Hour, dvsn, Dirty Projectors. Bottom row, left to right: Liniker e os Caramelows, boygenius, Florence + The Machine. Angela Hsieh/NPR hide caption

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Angela Hsieh/NPR

The Picture Show

Tiny Desk Sketches: An Illustrator's Year In The Front Row

NPR illustrator Angela Hsieh sketches Tiny Desk shows as they happen, capturing the musicians at a specific moment in time. Highlights include Yo-Yo Ma, the Wu-Tang Clan and Florence + The Machine.

Tuesday

Nina Simone's 'Lovely, Precious Dream' For Black Children

Nina Simone onstage at the Newport Jazz Festival in 1968. David Redfern/Redferns/Getty Images hide caption

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David Redfern/Redferns/Getty Images

American Anthem

Nina Simone's 'Lovely, Precious Dream' For Black Children

With "To Be Young, Gifted and Black," Simone aimed to capture joy in black identity amid bloody civil rights struggle. The song was addressed to children, but adults caught on, too.

Nina Simone's 'Lovely, Precious Dream' For Black Children

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Saturday

Wednesday

In Memoriam 2018: The Musicians We Lost

Soul singer Aretha Franklin poses for a portrait in 1964. Michael Ochs Archives/Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images hide caption

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Michael Ochs Archives/Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images

All Songs Considered

In Memoriam 2018: The Musicians We Lost

A look back at the extraordinary creative souls we lost in 2018, from producer Richard Swift and opera singer Montserrat Caballé to rapper Mac Miller and Aretha Franklin.

In Memoriam 2018: The Musicians We Lost

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Sunday

Friday

A Portrait Of A Subtly Changing Nashville From 25 Angles

Kacey Musgraves had one of country music's biggest albums of 2018, but it came only after she shrugged off any lingering obligation to pursue radio airplay. Christopher Polk/Getty Images for Stagecoach hide caption

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Christopher Polk/Getty Images for Stagecoach

More Best Music Of 2018

A Portrait Of A Subtly Changing Nashville From 25 Angles

If you look at it broadly, the country music scene can appear frustratingly stagnant, with little growth for women and trailblazers. But from every corner, a rising generation is making progress.