Corinne Bailey Rae Is Starbucks Latest Guest DJ

What do the Kinks, Sister Sledge and Beyoncé have in common?

They can be heard on a playlist curated for Starbucks by GRAMMY Award winner Corinne Bailey Rae. Starbucks customers can hear the special collection of music beginning today (May 20).

The Starbucks Entertainment team, which has overseen the programming of overhead music in Starbucks® stores for more than 20 years, recently invited several of their favorite artists to create playlists for the company’s more than 7,500 U.S. locations as part of the Guest DJ Series.

“We love curating and handpicking songs and we also know people who are amazing music curators,” said Holly Hinton, Starbucks director of curation. “For this set of playlists, we really asked artists to share what they’re listening to and what artists inspire them. We handed over the reins and knew they’d come back with something great.”

The Guest DJ series, which kicked off April 8, has also included playlists from Brittany Howard of the Alabama Shakes, Leon Bridges and Brandi Carlile. In addition to being played in Starbucks® stores, these playlists are available on the Starbucks profile on Spotify, or through the Starbucks mobile app under Now Playing. Customers can save the playlist to their favorites and take it with them using Spotify.

“It’s a really great way for artists to share the music that matters to them,” said Hinton. “The songs they send us cover so many genres and styles, and it’s such a cool insight into their personalities.”

Earlier this month, Starbucks offered customers an exclusive preview of “The Heart Speaks in Whispers” (Virgin Records), the most recent studio album from Bailey Rae. Starbucks customers were the first to hear the album in its entirety more than a week ahead of its national release.