True Grit, the new film from Joel and Ethan Coen, has been winning over audiences since its release last month. The New York Times takes a look at the impact this popularity—its having "shocked Hollywood by burning up the box office"—might have at the Academy Awards. That the film score by Carter Burwell is ineligible for Oscar is a "shame," says the Los Angeles Times, "as Burwell’s work on True Grit is some of his grandest to date." It works "equally well for big-screen vistas and solitary contemplation."

Jessica Lea Mayfield's Nonesuch debut album, Tell Me, produced by The Black Keys' Dan Auerbach, is due out in just over a month, February 8, and is available for pre-order in the Nonesuch Store with an autographed 7” of the album’s first single. SPIN names Mayfield on of the 5 Best New Artists for January. Pitchfork has included Tell Me in its list of Records to Look Forward to in Winter 2011. American Songwriter has it in its list of Ten Albums We're Excited for in 2011, saying, "It's made up of twelve of Mayfield’s 'personal inner monologues,' and mixes emotional ballads with intelligent pop ditties."

The Black Keys are in New York City this week to kick off the new year and the new season of NBC’s Saturday Night Live with host Jim Carrey. This appearance comes after a monumentally successful 2010 for the duo, which they closed out with three sold-out New Year's shows at Chicago's Aragon Ballroom. The Chicago Tribune says the band is an example of "how modern artists can earn mainstream success without sacrificing integrity," their live show exhibiting the "combination of persistence and persuasion that helped the band own 2010."

Youssou N'Dour has been named among the world's 50 Great Voices according to NPR, a diverse list that also includes Björk, Asha Bhosle, Billie Holiday, Maria Callas, Robert Plant, and dozens of others—"awe-inspiring vocalists from around the world and across time." On NPR's All Things Considered, contributor Banning Eyre says that throughout his long and varied career, "N'Dour has remained on top, without question Senegal's most beloved singer."

Sara Watkins and her brother Sean were featured on NPR's Folk Alley over the holiday week. Sara discussed the many projects with she has been involved since her earliest days in Nickel Creek, not least her 2009 self-titled Nonesuch debut album, from which the two perform a number of songs live. She will guest-host A Prairie Home Companion on January 15 and will tour with The Decemberists starting later this month.

As 2010 draws to a close, and the Nonesuch Journal takes a bit of a hiatus till the start of 2011, it's time to take a look back and remember all the great and diverse music made by Nonesuch artists this year. Several of these artists and their 2010 Nonesuch releases were nominated for Grammy Awards; many have made music critics' year-end best lists. Here is a look back.

Wanda Jackson will ring in the New Year on Jools Holland's Hootenanny, airing on BBC Two starting at 11 PM on December 31. The 18th annual Hootenanny will feature Jackson's rendition of Amy Winehouse's "You Know I'm No Good," off her forthcoming album The Party Ain't Over, plus performances from Kylie Minogue, Vampire Weekend, Cee-Lo Green, Roger Daltrey, Toots Hibbert, and Secret Sisters, among many others.

True Grit—Joel and Ethan Coen's film adaptation of the 1968 Charles Portis novel, starring Jeff Bridges, Matt Damon, Josh Brolin, Barry Pepper, and newcomer Hailee Steinfeld—opens in movie theaters across North America tomorrow. The film's soundtrack, featuring a score by Carter Burwell, a longtime Coen brothers collaborator, is out today. Variety spoke with the composer about just what makes "Burwell in tune with Coen brothers."

Wanda Jackson will take the show on the road in Europe in February, following the release of her Jack White-produced album, The Party Ain't Over. The news comes just days after her two special New York City and Los Angeles shows sold out in a matter of minutes. The European tour kicks off February 5 at the Rockin' Race Jamboree in Málaga, Spain, then heads to Germany and Austria, where she'll be joined by Germany rockabilly performers Chris Aron & Band.

The Black Keys are set to close out what's been a banner year with a return to Chicago for sold-out New Year's Eve shows. Last year, bandmates Dan Auerbach and Patrick Carney rang in the new year with two nights at the Riviera. This time around, the band plays not two but three sold-out shows at Chicago's Aragon Ballroom December 30 and 31 and January 1. The Chicago Tribune's Greg Kot spoke with Carney and takes a look at all that's happened since those Riviera shows in what Kot calls their "breakthrough year."

AfroCubism was featured on NPR's All Things Considered on Sunday. "The group features musicians from Cuba and Mali," says host Guy Raz, "and it's a kind of hybrid of the best sounds from these two musical traditions." Guest Betto Arcos of Global Village says "every song is just fantastic." AfroCubism makes the year's best lists in the Boston Globe, as does David Byrne/Fatboy Slim's Here Lies Love and The Black Keys' Brothers, which tops a Minneapolis Star Tribune list. The Star Tribune 's classical music critic lists Steve Reich's Double Sextet / 2x5 and Gidon Kremer's De Profundis. The Los Angeles Times picks Brad Mehldau's Highway Rider among the best in jazz.

Stephen Sondheim was the subject of a feature article in the Guardian, in which he discusses is his first-ever book of collected lyrics, Finishing the Hat, which has topped many a year's-best list, not least the New York Times Sunday Book Review's 10 Best Books of 2010. Finishing the Hat is the Book of the Week on BBC Radio 4; Sondheim will read from it throughout the week. He was on The Colbert Report last week. His 80th birthday concert makes the Minneapolis Star Tribune's list of the Top 10 TV Moments of the Year, topping the year's "great musical moments."