10 Greatest Contributions of the 90s to Music


Attention!!!

Well we all know that the 90s were definitely the best decade for music (well at least I do). Although I am a fan of the 60s, 70s and the 2000s, nothing can beat the 90s with its plethora of genres branching into further sub-genres and laying the foundation for the future of coming eras. 60s had its Beatles and Elvis etc. 70s had the peak of Disco and the 80s, well there was nothing special about that decade. The 2000s introduced Electro pop, Romanian pop, K-Pop and several genres of rock, hip-hop and house music to the industry. However, the 90s was a memorable decade due to most of its achievements, accomplishments and contributions to the industry.

1.     Influx of Boy Bands and Girl Groups
The 90s witnessed the entrance of a host of boy bands and girl groups in mainstream pop such as the Spice Girls, Backstreet Boys, NSYNC, 98 Degrees, 911, Destiny’s Child, TLC, Eternal, All Saints, B*Witched, Cleopatra, Hanson, 3T, Boys II Men, Five, Westlife, New Kids on the Block, Take That, Boyzone, No Mercy, Damage, The Moffats, BBMak, SWV, Wilson Phillips etc.

2.     90s Alternative Rock
Alternative rock music emerged and took over as the most popular genre of rock during the decade. This genre’s distinction from mainstream rock is expressed primarily in a distorted guitar sound, subversive and/or transgressive lyrics and generally a nonchalant, defiant attitude. Legendary bands such as Nirvana, Pearl Jam, R.E.M., Creed, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Goo Goo Dolls, Alice in Chains, Third Eye Blind, Green Day, 3 Doors Down, Counting Crows, Hootie and the Blowfish, Smashing Pumpkins, Garbage, No Doubt etc. had their roots in the 90s.

3.     90s Eurodance
Although it emerged in the latter part of the 80s, eurodance established itself as a clear genre in the 90s. It combines elements of disco, techno and electro music and a chorus rich in melodic vocals and the verses mostly being rapped. Ace of Base, La Bouche, 2 Unlimited, ATC, Culture Beat, Real McCoy, Haddaway, Whigfield, Snap!, Fun Factory, Twenty 4 Seven, Vengaboys, DJ Bobo, Dr.Alban, Cappella, Captain Hollywood Project, Corona, Le Click, Alexia, Centory, Amber, Rozalla, Aqua, Eiffel 65, Mr.President etc. are some who became extremely popular during the decade.

4.     Entrance of Britney Spears, Enrique Iglesias, Ricky Martin, Christina Aguilera, Marc Anthony and Jennifer Lopez
The decade saw the entrance of various artists and bands to the music industry but the entrance of Britney, Enrique, Martin and Lopez was definitely a highlight as the foursome with their hits Baby One More Time, Bailamos, Maria, Genie in a Bottle, I Need to Know and If You Had My Love clearly made an impression worldwide as they have now gone onto become six of the biggest selling artists of all time.

5.     Whitney Houston, Elton John, Janet Jackson and Santana reach their peak
While Whitney, Elton, Janet and Santana were not new names to the music scene in the 90s, the biggest hits of their careers were during the decade. Whitney’s cover of Dolly Parton’s I Will Always Love You became a global sensation. Elton John’s second rendition of Candle in the Wind sung for late Princess Diana is the biggest selling single of the 90s. Janet’s That’s The Way Love Goes and Santana’s Smooth reached the top in almost all the countries they charted.

6.     Make Way for Vocal Heavyweights
The decade undeniably recognized talent and was rich with artists with brilliant vocals and the 90s witnessed the start of singers such as Celine Dion, Mariah Carey, Andrea Bocelli, Sarah Brightman Michael Bolton, R.Kelly, Seal etc.

7.     Oh! Those Sappy Country Love Songs
While there can be several types of love songs, there are certain slow country types which are extremely sappy and due to their extremely romantic nature are chosen for weddings. The decade witnessed the floodgates being swung open by the likes of Shania Twain, Faith Hill, Tim McGraw, LeAnn Rimes, Lonestar, Kenny Chesney and Martina McBride and their hits You’re Still The One, Breathe, It’s Your Love, How Do I Live, Amazed, You Had Me From Hello and I Love You.  

8.     Mixed Pop Bands
While the boy bands and the girl groups were flourishing during the decade we can see that there were bands composed of a mixture of teenage girls and boys sprouting like mushrooms all over the world all based in mainstream pop like Steps, Solid HarmoniE, S Club 7, The Corrs, Ace of Base, ATC, No Doubt, Vengaboys, A*Teens etc.
 
9.     Ladies enter Rap & Hip-Hop
Whilst hip-hop and rap continued to gain mainstream success in the 90s female artists and bands entered the genre, which was heavily dominated by men and managed to gain significant commercial success. Iggy Azalea and Nicki Minaj can thank Missy Elliot, Salt-N-Pepa, Lauryn Hill, Queen Latifah, Lil’ Kim and Foxy Brown etc. for their efforts and attempts in establishing a feminine presence in the genre.

10. The Macarena
This is the Gangnam Style of the 90s and I believe if social media was as popular as it is now, the quirky dance track Macarena by Los Del Rio with its unique dance moves would have achieved even more commercial success and influence at the time. It is considered as the number one dance song of all time by Billboard and is ranked at No.7 on Billboard’s All Time Top 100.

Till the next beat…

At Ease!!!

My Favorite Hits of 2014


Attention!!!

Last year was in fact quite depressing when it came to those songs that became mainstream hits. Although I have a penchant for mainstream hits, the songs that became popular in 2014 were mainly pop, which quite mediocre according to my taste. Of course I was addicted to the top ten hits on this list and the 25 most played songs playlist on my iPod is a witness to this. The biggest hits of 2014 which are Happy by Pharrell Williams and All About That Bass by Meghan Trainor are not on this list, as I actually find these two hits extremely overrated and annoying. Most of the overrated hits last year such as Iggy Azalea's Fancy, Sam Smith's Stay With Me, John Legend's All Of Me and Ed Sheeran's Thinking Out Loud are also not on this list. There were some meaningful songs like Prayer in C, Cool Kids, Someday and Ghost. Some artists have two entries on the list such as Pitbull, Enrique Iglesias, Iggy Azalea, Tinie Tempah, David Guetta, Sam Martin, Hardwell, Imagine Dragons and Taylor Swift. So here are my favorite hits of 2014:
  1. Lilly Wood and the Prick – Prayer in C (Robin Schulz Remix)
  2. will.i.am ft. Miley Cyrus, French Montana & Wiz Khalifa – Feelin’ myself
  3. Tinie Tempah ft. Ella Eyre – Someday (A place in the sun)
  4. Echosmith – Cool kids
  5. Iggy Azalea ft. Rita Ora – Black widow
  6. Enrique Iglesias ft. Gente de Zona & Descemer Bueno – Bailando
  7. Troye Sivan – Happy little pill
  8. Magic! – Rude
  9. DVBBS & Borgeous ft. Tinie Tempah – Tsunami (Jump)
  10. Fall Out Boy – Centuries
  11. David Guetta ft. Sam Martin – Lovers on the sun
  12. Pitbull ft. John Ryan – Fireball
  13. Hardwell & Joey Dale ft. Luciana – Arcadia
  14. Linkin Park – The final masquerade
  15. Taylor Swift – Blank space
  16. Wisin ft. Ricky Martin & Jennifer Lopez – Adrenalina
  17. Imagine Dragons – Warriors
  18. Enrique Iglesias ft. Pitbull – I’m a freak
  19. Maroon 5 – Animals
  20. Calvin Harris – Summer
  21. Jason Derulo ft. Snoop Dogg – Wiggle
  22. Ariana Grande ft. Iggy Azalea – Problem
  23. The Script – Superheroes
  24. Lady Antebellum – Bartender
  25. Rixton – Me and my broken heart
  26. American Authors – Best day of my life
  27. Coldplay – A sky full of stars
  28. Cheryl Cole ft. Tinie Tempah – Crazy stupid love
  29. Ella Henderson – Ghost
  30. Tiesto – Red lights
  31. Ellie Goulding – Beating heart
  32. Calvin Harris ft. John Newman – Blame
  33. Ed Sheeran – Don’t
  34. George Ezra – Budapest
  35. Taylor Swift – Shake it off
  36. Calvin Harris ft. Ellie Goulding – Outside
  37. Imagine Dragons – I bet my life
  38. Nicki Minaj – Anaconda
  39. The Chainsmokers – #SELFIE 
  40. Shakira – Dare (la, la, la)
  41. Martin Garrix & Jay Hardway – Wizard
  42. Hardwell ft. Matthew Koma – Dare you
  43. OneRepublic – Love runs out
  44. Clean Bandit ft. Jess Glynne – Rather be
  45. DJ Snake & Lil Jon – Turn down for what
  46. Tiesto ft. Matthew Koma – Wasted
  47. MKTO – Classic
  48. Zedd ft. Matthew Koma & Miriam Bryant – Find you
  49. Lana Del Rey – West coast
  50. David Guetta ft. Sam Martin – Dangerous
Till the next beat…

At Ease!!!

Best Dance Hits of 2014


Attention!!!

2014 has been an extremely lousy year for dance music. With traditional pop music gaining momentum in the mainstream music scene, proper dance music has taken a back seat. Happy, All About That Bass and Shake It Off proved to be extremely popular at parties whereas Calvin Harris, David Guetta and Harwell the only EDM artists who came up with good hits this year failed to impress anyone. Robin Schulz was definitely the DJ to follow as he came up with two brilliant remixes. Hip hop music managed rather poorly to come up with hits like Anaconda, Wiggle and Don't Tell 'Em, but those hits do not stand out compared to those of yesteryear. Latin dance music scored rather well together with the FIFA World Cup Songs and Anthems by Shakira, Pitbull, Wisin and Enrique Iglesias.

However, the best dance hit this year goes to Turn Down for What by somewhat unknown DJ Snake and rapper Lil Jon. Heavily reminiscent of Baauer's Harlem Shake. Second place is now the heavily overplayed Bailando by Enrique Iglesias ft. Gente de Zona, Descemer Bueno and Sean Paul. So here are the Best Dance Hits of the 2014:
  1. DJ Snake & Lil Jon – Turn down for what
  2. Enrique Iglesias ft. Gente de Zona, Descemer Bueno & Sean Paul – Bailando
  3. Calvin Harris – Summer
  4. Lilly Wood and the Prick – Prayer in C (Robin Schulz Remix)
  5. Ariana Grande ft. Iggy Azalea – Problem
  6. The Chainsmokers – #SELFIE 
  7. DVBBS & Borgeous ft. Tinie Tempah – Tsunami (jump)
  8. Shakira – Dare (La, la, la)
  9. David Guetta ft. Sam Martin – Lovers on the sun
  10. Jason Derulo ft. Snoop Dogg – Wiggle
  11. Pitbull ft. John Ryan – Fireball
  12. Martin Garrix & Jay Hardway – Wizard
  13. will.i.am ft. Miley Cyrus, French Montana & Wiz Khalifa – Feelin’ myself
  14. Hardwell & Joey Dale ft. Luciana – Arcadia
  15. AronChupa – I’m an Albatraoz
  16. Wisin ft. Ricky Martina & Jennifer Lopez – Adrenalina
  17. Clean Bandit ft. Jess Glynne – Rather be
  18. Calvin Harris ft. John Newman – Blame
  19. Nicki Minaj – Anaconda
  20. Taylor Swift – Shake it off
  21. Inna – The cola song
  22. Hardwell ft. Matthew Koma – Dare you
  23. Enrique Iglesias ft. Pitbull – I’m a freak
  24. Jessie J, Ariana Grande & Nicki Minaj – Bang bang
  25. Ariana Grande ft. Zedd – Break free
  26. Calvin Harris ft. Ellie Goulding – Outside
  27. Alesso ft. Tove Lo – Heroes (we could be)
  28. Cheryl Cole ft. Tinie Tempah – Crazy stupid love
  29. Meghan Trainor – All about that bass
  30. Iggy Azalea ft. Charli XCX – Fancy
  31. Afrojack ft. Wrabel – Ten feet tall
  32. Jeremih ft. YG – Don’t tell ‘em
  33. Tiesto – Red lights
  34. Mr. Probz – Waves (Robin Schulz Remix)
  35. Jennifer Lopez ft. Iggy Azalea – Booty
  36. David Guetta & Showtek ft. Vassy – Bad
  37. Pharrell Williams – Happy
  38. Iggy Azalea ft. MO – Beg for it
  39. Cash Cash ft. Bebe Rexha – Take me home
  40. Krewella – Enjoy the ride  
  41. DJ Fresh vs. Jay Fay ft. Ms. Dynamite – Dibby dibby sound
  42. Chris Brown ft. Lil Wayne & Tyga – Loyal
  43. Tiesto ft. Matthew Koma – Wasted
  44. Kiesza – Hideaway
  45. Oliver Heldens & Becky Hill – Gecko (overdrive)
  46. Pitbull ft. Jennifer Lopez & Claudia Leitte – We are one (ole, ola)
  47. David Guetta ft. Skylar Grey– Shot me down
  48. Mark Ronson ft. Bruno Mars – Uptown funk!
  49. Bobby Shmurda – Hot nigga
  50. Michael Jackson & Justin Timberlake – Love never felt so good
Till the next beat…

At Ease!!!

Xposition - December 2014

Attention!!!

December is course that time of the year where you analyze the sales, the streams and the radio plays to compile those much awaited year end lists of the best hits of the year. The most significant among these is the Billboard Year-End Hot 100. This year the list calculated data from December 7, 2013 to November 29, 2014 and therefore Taylor Swift's Blank Space will not be part of the list. So the top 10 of this year are:
  1. Pharrell Williams - Happy
  2. Katy Perry ft. Juicy J - Dark Horse
  3. John Legend - All of Me
  4. Iggy Azalea ft. Charli XCX - Fancy
  5. OneRepublic - Counting Stars
  6. Jason Derulo ft. 2 Chainz - Talk Dirty
  7. MAGIC! - Rude
  8. Meghan Trainor - All About That Bass
  9. Ariana Grande ft. Iggy Azalea - Problem
  10. Sam Smith - Stay With Me
From last year we have top hits still on the list such as:
  • Avicii - Wake Me Up
  • Miley Cyrus - Wrecking Ball
  • Katy Perry - Roar
  • Imagine Dragons - Radioactive
  • Robin Thicke ft. Pharell & T.I. - Blurred Lines
  • Naughty Boy ft. Sam Smith - La La La
  • Lorde - Royals
In the UK the Official Top 100 Biggest Songs of 2014 were also released. And the top 10 are:
  1. Pharrell Williams - Happy
  2. Clean Bandit ft. Jess Glynne - Rather Be
  3. John Legend - All of Me
  4. Mr.Probz - Waves
  5. Ed Sheeran - Thinking Out Loud
  6. Ella Henderson - Ghost
  7. Sam Smith - Stay With Me
  8. Meghan Trainor - All About That Bass
  9. Pitbull ft. Kesha - Timber 
  10. George Ezra - Budapest
It is interesting to note that Happy topped both the charts in UK and US and that All of Me and All About That Bass is No.3 and No.8 respectively. However, it is clear that both year-end chart top tens are heavily influenced by mainstream pop. 

The nominations for the Grammy Awards 2015 were also announced in December, altogether 83 awards, one more than in 2014. Iggy Azalea's Fancy, Sia' Chandelier, Sam Smith's Stay With Me, Taylor Swift's Shake It Off and Meghan Trainor's All About That Bass are all nominated for the Record of Year. With the exclusion of Fancy the other four are competing alongside Hozier's Take Me To Church for Song of the Year. Iggy Azalea, Bastille, Brandy Clark, HAIM and Sam Smith are all vying for Best New Artist. 

Victoria's Secret Fashion Show 2014 was held in December and the coveted spots to perform went to Taylor Swift, Hozier, Ariana Grande and Ed Sheeran. Taylor Swift performed her chart topping Blank Space and her new single Style. Ariana Grande performed a medley of her hits Problem, Break Free, Bang Bang and Love Me Harder. Ed Sheeran performed Thinking Out Loud and Hozier performed Take Me To Church. 

The charts during December did not have many changes as Taylor Swift's Blank Space continued its reign at the top spot in the US throughout the month and will probably continue for some time in January 2015 as well. Selena Gomez's The Heart Wants What It Wants entered the top 10 at No.6 gaining a boost by her heartrending performance at the American Music Awards and Meghan Trainor's second hit Lips Are Movin' also climbed to No.4. We will just have to wait and see whether singer is capable of producing two consecutive top hits. Mark Ronson ft. Bruno Mars' Uptown Funk entered the top 10 and also Ed Sheeran's Thinking Out Loud which had already topped the charts in the UK.

In the UK Take That's These Days claimed the top spot for the first week of December and in the second week Sheeran's Thinking Out Loud returned to number one after a lapse of four weeks.  Ronson's Uptown Funk was at the top for the third week only to be replaced by Ben Haenow's cover of Something I Need which was the Christmas Number One. This is not a big surprise as last year too the X-Factor winner's crowning song claimed the Christmas Number One. Union J's You Got It All, One Direction's Night Changes and Olly Murs ft. Demi Lovato's Up also entered the top 10 during the month. 

Other songs which became popular during the month were:
  • James Newton Howard ft. Jennifer Lawrence - The Hanging Tree
  • Tove Lo - Over 
  • Alesso ft. Tove Lo - Heroes (We Could Be)
  • Pitbull ft. Ne-Yo - Time of Our Lives
  • Milky Chance - Stolen Dance
  • Ariana Grande - Santa Tell Me
  • OneRepublic - I Lived
  • Nicki Minaj ft. Skylar Grey - Bed of Lies
Till the next beat…

At Ease!!!

Ultimate Quarantine Playlist

It has indeed been sometime since I took some time off to create a playlist. This time, I had a lot of time on my hands, considering I had 1...