A Time To Love - Press Releases
Billboard Magazine
Wonder Unveils Video, New Album Release DateGail Mitchell, L.A.
May 10, 2005
Stevie Wonder unveiled the first music video to feature video description technology for blind and visually impaired music fans yesterday (May 9) in Los Angeles. As previously reported, the standard and description-enhanced clip (narrated by Busta Rhymes) for "So What the Fuss" will be premiered tomorrow via Yahoo! Music.
"The whole point is that there are 10 million people who are blind or have low-vision and are not able to enjoy the experience of seeing music videos," said Wonder. "Why shouldn't we be able to experience that? I don't want this to be the last video description video; this is far bigger than me. We need to do everything to make the playing field of technology fair."
Joining Wonder were Motown president Sylvia Rhone, "Fuss" video director Paul Hunter and Linda Idoni, West Coast director of operations for the Media Access Group of WGBH. The Boston public television station pioneered the video description technology in 1990 and wrote the "Fuss" narration.
Attendees, who included members of the media and students from the Foundation for the Junior Blind, donned black blindfolds emblazoned with the title of Wonder's forthcoming album, "A Time 2 Love," to fully experience the Rhymes-narrated version. The video is set in an apartment and its surrounding neighborhood.
Talking about his new album, Wonder said the long-awaited/much delayed project is now slated for a June 14 release. The album is comprised of 16 tracks, with two bonus cuts earmarked for release in foreign markets. According to Wonder, these 18 tracks are three shy of the total number of songs on his groundbreaking double-album, "Songs in the Key of Life."
Among the album's additional selections are the title cut (co-written by labelmate India.Arie) "From the Bottom of My Heart" and "Positivity." Wonder also noted that another song he originally wrote a while back for Luther Vandross, "My Love Is on Fire," will appear on "A Time 2 Love" as well as on the Vandross tribute album being assembled by BMG North America chairman/CEO Clive Davis.
Though he declined to reveal the name of the second single, Wonder said the video for it would also feature the video description technology. As for rampant rumors that he will stage a concert this summer in New York, Wonder would say only that he "hopes to be there soon" after he delivers the album to Motown and his wife delivers a new child, due May 13 (Wonder's own birth date).