Best Ensemble Collaborations of the 21st Century

Attention!!!

An ensemble collaboration is a song sung by more than two famous artists. A good collaboration is where some of the heavyweights in the industry get together to make a big hit or a colossal flop. While the century has not lapsed and I bet we will have many more awesome collaborations coming out, this list will be updated accordingly. However, this list is up to September 2015 and the best collaborations up to date. One cannot help but notice that Pitbull, Flo Rida and Lil Wayne seem to hog so many entries on this list along with Jennifer Lopez and Nicki Minaj. Kanye West, Timbaland and David Guetta have several entries since they tend to target heavyweights when producing albums. Justin Timberlake, Kesha, Eminem, Chris Brown, Macklemore and Dev also have some entries on the list. So here are the Best Collaborations of the 21st Century:

1. LMFAO ft. GoonRock & Lauren Bennett – Party rock anthem
2. Robin Thicke ft. T.I. and Pharrell – Blurred lines
3. Christina Aguilera, Pink, Mya & Lil’ Kim – Lady Marmalade
4. Macklemore & Ryan Lewis ft. Wanz – Thrift shop
5. Jay-Z ft. Rihanna & Kanye West – Run this town
6. Major Lazer & DJ Snake ft. MØ – Lean on 
7. Madonna ft. Timbaland & Justin Timberlake – 4 Minutes
8. Pitbull ft. Neyo, Afrojack & Nayer – Give me everything
9. Timbaland ft. Keri Hilson & D.O.E. – The way I are
10. Usher ft. Ludacris & Lil Jon – Yeah!
11. Far East Movement ft. The Cataracs & Dev – Like a G6
12. Mariah Carey ft. Joe & 98 Degrees – Thank God I found you
13. Timbaland ft. Nelly Furtado & Justin Timberlake – Give it to me
14. David Guetta ft. Nicki Minaj, Bebe Rexha & Afrojack – Hey mama
15. Nicki Minaj, Ariana Grande & Jessie J – Bang bang
16. Santana ft. Joss Stone & Sean Paul – Cry baby cry
17. Macklemore & Ryan Lewis ft. Ray Dalton – Can’t hold us
18. Dr. Dre ft. Eminem & Skylar Grey – I need a doctor
19. Akon ft. Colby O’ Donis & Kardinall Offishall – Beautiful
20. Taio Cruz ft. Kylie Minogue & Travie McCoy – Higher
21. David Guetta ft. Chris Brown & Lil Wayne – I can only imagine
22. Eminem ft. Dr.Dre & 50 Cent – Crack a bottle
23. Snoop Dogg & Wiz Khalifa ft. Bruno Mars – Young, wild & free
24. Diplo & Skrillex ft. Justin Bieber – Where are u now
25. A.R. Rahman & The Pussycat Dolls ft. Nicole Scherzinger – Jai ho!
26. 50 Cent ft. Timbaland & Justin Timberlake – Ayo technology
27. Ludacris ft. David Guetta & Usher – Rest of my life
28. Enrique Iglesias ft. Ludacris & DJ Frank E – Tonight (I’m fucking you)
29. B.o.B ft. Hayley Williams & Eminem – Airplanes Part 2
30. Tiesto ft. Wolfgang Gartner & Luciana – We own the night
31. Kanye West, 2 Chainz, Pusha T & Big Sean – Mercy
32. David Guetta & Chris Willis ft. LMFAO, Fergie – Getting’ over you
33. Mike Will Made It ft. Miley Cyrus, Wiz Khalifa & Juicy J – 23
34. Kanye West ft. Nicki Minaj, Bon Iver & Jay-Z – Monster
35. Bob Sinclar ft. Pitbull, Dragonfly & Fatman Scoop – Rock the boat
36. Chris Brown ft. Busta Rhymes & Lil Wayne – Look at me now
37. Will.I.Am ft. Jennifer Lopez & Mick Jagger – T.H.E.
38. Missy Elliot ft. Ciara & Fat Man Scoop – Lose control
39. David Guetta ft. Ne-yo & Akon – Play hard
40. Sasha Lopez ft. Broono & Andreea D – All my people
41. Jay Sean ft. Sean Paul & Lil Jon – Do you remember
42. Drake ft. Kanye West, Eminem & Lil Wayne – Forever
43. Nayer ft. Pitbull & Mohombi – Suave
44. Jennifer Lopez ft. Jadakiss & Styles – Jenny from the block
45. Will.I.Am ft. Miley Cyrus, French Montana & Wiz Khalifa – Feelin’ myself
46. Madonna ft. Nicki Minaj & M.I.A. – Give me all your luvin’
47. Kevin Rudolf ft. Birdman, Jay Sean & Lil Wayne – You made it
48. Sugarland ft. Little Big Town & Jake Owen – Life in a northern town
49. DJ Sammy & Yanou ft. Do – Heaven
50. Tom Boxer ft. J.Warner & Morena – Deep in love
51. Calvin Harris & Alesso ft. Hurts – Under control
52. Timbaland ft. David Guetta & Pitbull – Pass at me
53. Dev ft. The Cataracs & Tinie Tempah – Bass down low
54. Macklemore & Ryan Lewis ft. Mary Lambert – Same love
55. Richard Vission ft. Static Revenger & Luciana – I like that
56. Enrique Iglesias ft. Usher & Lil Wayne – Dirty dancer
57. David Guetta ft. Taio Cruz & Ludacris – Little bad girl
58. Jean Roch ft. Flo Rida & Kat Deluna – I’m alright
59. Chris Brown ft. Lil Wayne & Swizz Beatz – I can transform ya
60. Ke$ha ft. Lil Wayne, Wiz Khalifa, T.I. & Andre 3000 – Sleazy 2.0
61. Destiny’s Child ft. T.I. & Lil Wayne – Soldier
62. Britney Spears ft. Ke$ha & Nicki Minaj – Till the world ends
63. Keri Hilson ft. Ne-yo & Kanye West – Knock you down
64. New Boyz ft. The Cataracs & Dev – Backseat
65. DVBBS & Borgeous ft. Tinie Tempah – Tsunami (jump)
66. Zedd ft. Matthew Koma & Miriam Bryant – Find you
67. Brooks & Dunn ft. Vince Gill & Sheryl Crow – Building bridges
68. Avicii ft. Adam Lambert & Nile Rodgers – Lay me down
69. Wisin ft. Ricky Martin & Jennifer Lopez – Adrenalina
70. Jessie J ft. Dizzee Rascal & Big Sean – Wild
71. Rihanna, Kanye West and Paul McCartney – FourFiveSeconds
72. DJ Laz ft. Pitbull, Flo Rida & Casely – Move, shake, drop
73. Drake ft. Big Sean & 2 Chainz – All me
74. Bob Sinclar & Sahara ft. Shaggy – I wanna
75. Pitbull ft. Jennifer Lopez & Claudia Leitte – We are one (ole ola)
76. Lady Gaga ft. Space Cowboy & Flo Rida – Starstruck
77. ASAP Rocky ft. Drake, 2 Chainz & Kendrick Lamar – Fuckin’ problems
78. DJ Antoine vs. Timati & Kalenna – Welcome to St.Tropez
79. Omarion ft. Jhene Aiko & Chris Brown – Post to be 
80. Nadia Ali, Starkillers & Alex Kenji – Pressure
81. Timbaland ft. Nicole Scherzinger & Keri Hilson – Scream
82. Robin Thicke ft. Kendrick Lamar & 2 Chainz – Give it 2 U
83. David Guetta ft. Flo Rida & Nicki Minaj – Where dem girls at
84. Chris Brown ft. Lil Wayne, French Montana & Tyga – Loyal
85. Macklemore & Ryan Lewis ft. Schoolboy Q & Hollis – White walls
86. Nicki Minaj ft. Chris Brown, Drake & Lil Wayne – Only 
87. Cobra Starship ft. Leighton Meester & Flo Rida – Good girls go bad
88. Flo Rida ft. Sage the Gemini & Lookas – G.D.F.R.
89. Jennifer Lopez ft. Lil Jon & Flo Rida – Goin’ in
90. Florida Georgia Line ft. Luke Bryan & Jason Derulo – This is how we roll
91. Jennifer Lopez ft. Ja Rule & Cadillac Tah – Ain’t it funny
92. Enrique Iglesias ft. Pitbull & The WAV.s – I like how it feels
93. Far East Movement ft. Flo Rida & Sidney Samson – Change your life
94. Flo Rida with Three 6 Mafia & Sean Kingston vs. Tiesto – Feel it  
95. Alexandra Stan & Inna ft. Daddy Yankee – We wanna  
96. Sebastian Ingrosso & Alesso ft. Ryan Tedder – Calling (lose my mind)
97. Sean Kingston ft. Chris Brown & Wiz Khalifa – Beat it
98. Nelly ft. Paul Wall and Ali & Gipp – Grillz
99. Pitbull ft. T-Pain & Sean Paul – Shake senora
100. DJ Sava ft. Andreea D & J. Yolo – Free

Til the next ensemble…

At Ease!!!

Most Memorable TV Theme Songs of Our Time

Attention!!!

Growing up in the 90s we probably had the best experience when it came to serials on TV. From the cheesy family drama to the melodramatic soap operas we had it all. We even witnessed the rise and fall of the sitcom genre in the 2000s with the end of the great works such as Friends, Everybody Loves Raymond, Seinfeld and Frasier. It was in our teens that the reality shows became a hit starting off with Survivor. The quality of television during the late 90s and early 2000s was much higher than the mediocre adulterated crap that is spewed on TV at present, since nudity and extreme violence is used by almost all genres to capture an audience. Theme Songs for TV shows have now been set aside as the credits are shown whilst the program is aired since time given for a theme song could be used for commercials. Gone are the days when you would hum a TV theme in the shower or even remember that a show had a theme song. However, even today there are good theme songs from certain shows such as Suits, Revenge and Elementary. Therefore, here are the Most Memorable TV Theme Songs of Our Time:

1. Friends: Rembrandts – I’ll be there for you
2. The X-Files: Mark Snow – The X-Files
3. Robin of Sherwood: Clannad – Robin (The hooded man)
4. Ally McBeal: Vonda Shepard – Searchin’ my soul
5. That ‘70s Show: Cheap Trick – In the Street
6. Charmed: Love Spit Love – How soon is now?
7. Survivor: Russ Lundau – Theme
8. CSI: The Who – Who are you?
9. Xena: Warrior Princess: Joseph LoDuca – Kaval sviri
10. The Bold and the Beautiful: Jack Allocco & David Kurtz – High upon this love
11. Full House: Jesse Frederick – Everywhere you look
12. Tour of Duty: Rolling Stones – Paint it black
13. Married… with Children: Frank Sinatra – Love and marriage
14. Rosswell: Dido – Here with me
15. 7^th Heaven: Dan Foliart & Steve Plunkett – Theme
16. Who’s the Boss?: Larry Weiss – Brand new life
17. California Dreams: Guy Moon & Steve Tyrell – California dreamin’
18. Moonlighting: Al Jarreau – Theme
19. Knight Rider: Stu Philips & Glen A. Larson – Theme
20. Renegade: Mike Post – Theme
21. CSI: New York: The Who – Baba o’ Reilly
22. Suits: Ima Robot – Greenback Boogie
23. 3^rd Rock from the Sun: Ben Vaughn – Theme
24. Smallville: Remy Zero – Save me
25. Sunset Beach: Timothy Truman – Theme
26. Beverly Hills, 90210: John E. Davis – Theme
27. Sesame Street: Joe Raposo, Jon Stone & Bruce Hart – Can you tell me how to get to Sesame Street?
28. The Big Bang Theory: Barenaked Ladies – Theme
29. The Nanny: Ann Hampton Callaway & Liz Callaway – The nanny named Fran
30. Baywatch: Peter Cetera & Bonnie Ratt – Save me
31. America’s Funniest Home Videos: Jill Colucci – The funny things you do
32. Scrubs: Lazlo Bane - Superman
33. Coupling: Mari Wilson – Perhaps, perhaps, perhaps
34. Dawson’s Creek: Paula Cole – I don’t want to wait
35. One Tree Hill: Gavin de Graw – I don’t wanna be
36. Game of Thrones: Ramin Djawadi – Theme
37. Grey’s Anatomy: Psapp – Cosy in the rocket
38. Saved by the Bell: Scott Gale – Theme
39. House M.D.: Massive Attack – Teardrop
40. Gilmore Girls: Carole King – Where you lead
41. 30 Rock: Jeff Richmond – Theme
42. Law & Order – Mike Post – Theme
43. Prison Break: Ramin Djawadi – Theme
44. How I Met Your Mother: The Solids – Hey, beautiful
45. The OC: Phantom Planet – California
46. ER: James Newton Howard – Theme
47. Everybody Loves Raymond: Rick Marotta – Theme
48. Elementary: Sean Callery – Theme
49. Frasier: Kelsey Grammar – Tossed salads and scrambled eggs
50. The Amazing Race: John M. Keene – Theme
51. Melrose Place: Timothy Truman – Theme
52. Fringe: J.J. Abrams – Theme
53. The Hills: Natasha Bedingfield – Unwritten
54. Picket Fences: Stewart Levin – Theme
55. Desperate Housewives: Danny Elfman – Theme
56. Lost: Michael Giacchino – Theme
57. Hercules: Legendary Journies: Joseph LoDuca – Theme
58. Revenge: iZLER – Mortal vindication
59. JAG: Bruce Broughton – Theme
60. Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman: Jay Gruska – Theme
61. Growing Pains: Steve Dorff – As long as we got each other
62. Providence: Chental Kreviazuk – In my life  
63. Laguna Beach: Hilary Duff – Come clean
64. Weeds: Malvina Reynolds – Little boxes
65. Without a Trace: Reinhold Heil & Johnny Klimmek – Theme
66. Once Upon A Time: Mark Isham – Theme
67. The Sopranos: Alabama 3 – Woke Up This Morning (Chosen One Mix)
68. Seinfeld: Jonathan Wolff – Theme  
69. Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Nerf Herder – Theme
70. Malcolm in the Middle: They Might Be Giants – Boss of me
71. Everwood: Blake Neely – Theme
72. Ugly Betty: Jeff Beal – Theme
73. Sex & the City: Douglas J. Cuomo & Tom Findlay – Theme
74. Doogie Howser M.D.: Mike Post – Theme
75. Kenan & Kel: Coolio – Aw, here it goes

Till the next symphony…

At Ease!!!

Xposition - June 2014

Attention!!!

Well June kicked off with several awards ceremonies. Miranda Lambert, her husband Blake Shelton and Carrie Underwood won big at the 2014 CMT Awards on 4 June 2014 at the Bridgestone Arena, Nashville, Tennessee. Carrie Underwood snatched the Video of the Year for See You Again while Miranda Lambert was awarded the Female Video of the Year for Automatic and Blake Shelton was awarded the Male Video of the Year for Doin' What She Likes. The other winners were:

• Group Video of the Year: The Band Perry - Done.
• Duo Video of the Year: Florida Georgia Line - Round Here
• Collaborative Video of the Year: Florida Georgia Line ft. Luke Bryan - This is How We Roll

The Much Music Awards Video Awards was held on 15 June 2014 in Canada. Hedley won the Video of the Year as well as Pop Video of the Year for Anything. International Video of the Year - Artist went to Lorde's Royals and International Video of the Year - Group went to Imagine Dragons' Demons. Other awards included:

• International Video of the Year by a Canadian: Drake ft. Majid Jordan - Hold on, we're going home
• Fave Video: Hedley - Anything
• Fave Artist - Justin Bieber 
• Fave International Artist - Selena Gomez

The BET Awards 2014 kicked off at the Nokia Theatre LA on 29 June 2014. Beyonce lead the nominations with 6 followed by Jay-Z with 5. Performances included Jhene Aiko's The Worst, Nicki Minaj's Pills N Potions, Trey Songz's Na Na, Chris Brown's Loyal and Beyonce's Partition. However, surprisingly there were performances by Iggy Azalea and Robin Thicke as well. The big awards included:

• Best Female R&B/Pop Artist: Beyonce
• Best Male R&B/Pop Artist: Pharrell Williams
• Best Group: Young Money
• Best Collaboration: Beyonce ft. Jay-Z - Drunk in Love
• Video of the Year: Pharrell Williams - Happy
• Best New Artist: August Alsina
• Best Actress: Lupira Nyong'o
• Best Actor: Chiwetel Ejiofor
• Best Movie: 12 Years a Slave

Pharrell Williams' Happy was overthrown by Iggy Azalea ft. Charli XCX's Fancy during the first week of June and continued at its peak uncontested for the entire month. Ariana Grande ft. Iggy Azalea's Problem peaked at number 2 and was also consistent throughout the month. With these two hits Azalea has the distinction of being the first act since The Beatles to have hits at No.1 and 2 at the same time. Magic!'s Rude and Calvin Harris' Summer are both still rising in the charts which could mean they could prove to be the ones to dethrone Azalea from her throne. 

In the UK SecondCity's I Wanna Feel was the first No.1 for the month which was then superseded by Ed Sheeran's Sing. Ella Henderson who finished 6th place at the The X Factor 9 in 2012 peaked with her hit Ghost which stayed at the top for two weeks. The last numero uno for the month of June was Oliver Heldens & Becky Hill's Gecko (Overdrive). 

Other songs which became popular during the month were:

• Sam Smith - Stay with me
• Tiesto ft. Matthew Koma - Wasted
• Little Mix - Salute
• 5 Seconds of Summer - Don't Stop
• Usher - Good Kisser
• Ellie Goulding - Beating Heart

Til the next beat…

At Ease!!!

Best Football World Cup Songs of All Time

Attention!!!

The FIFA World Cup 2014 is reaching its peak and we are anticipating the outcome. Will it be Brazil? Turning towards the rhythmic side of the tournament spewing World Cup songs is now a trend as well as a highly paid business. Gone are the days when the Football World Cup was only about football. These days every aspect of the tournament is commercialized even the songs that are released. The much anticipated opening ceremony of Brazil 2014 was a dismal failure as Pitbull, Jennifer Lopez and Claudia Leitte were lip synching the already highly criticized song We are One. La La La by Shakira is to be the main event at the closing ceremony. Let's hope at least she will give the football fans what the performance that they want. Official songs became part of the FIFA World Cup since the seventh edition of the tournament held in Chile. Although the earlier songs were not major hits, it was Arrow's Hot, Hot, Hot in Mexico 1986 that paved the way for the dance oriented world cup songs. Now there are official songs endorsed by FIFA as well as those songs which are made famous by sponsors and broadcasters. Therefore, these are the Best Football World Cup Songs of All Time: 

1. Ricky Martin – The cup of life: France 1998
2. Shakira ft. Freshlyground – Waka waka (This time for Africa): South Africa 2010
3. Arrow – Hot, hot, hot: Mexico 1986
4. Il Divo ft. Tony Braxton – The time of our lives: Germany 2006
5. Shakira ft. Carlinhos Brown – La la la: Brazil 2014
6. Anastacia – Boom: South Korea/Japan 2002
7. Daryl Hall & Sounds of Blackness – Gloryland: United States 1994
8. K’Naan – Wavin’ flag: South Africa 2010
9. Vangelis – Anthem: South Korea/Japan 2002
10. Pitbull ft. Jennifer Lopez & Claudia Leitte – We are one (ole ola) Brazil: 2014
11. Chumbawamba – Top of the world (ole ole): France 1998
12. Luciano Pavaroti – Nessun dorma: Italy 1990
13. Jennifer Lopez – Let’s get loud: South Korea/Japan 2002
14. Crazy Frog – We are the champions (ding a dang dong): Germany 2006
15. R.Kelly ft. Soweto Spiritual Singers – Sign of a victory: South Africa 2010
16. Wisin ft. Ricky Martin & Jennifer Lopez – Adrenalina: Brazil 2014
17. Edoardo Bennato & Gianna Nannini – Un’estate italiana (To be number one): Italy 1990
18. Jean Michael Jarre & Tetsuya Komuro – Together now: France 1998
19. Ricky Martin – Vida: Brazil 2014
20. Jessy Matador – Allez ola ole: South Africa 2010
21. Ant & Dec – We’re on the ball: South Korea/Japan 2002
22. Adelen – Ole: Brazil 2014
23. Akon ft. Keri Hilson – Oh Africa: South Africa 2010
24. TKZee – Shibobo: France 1998
25. Voice of Korea/Japan – Let’s get together now: South Korea/Japan 2002

Til the next chord…

At Ease!!!