Greatest Hits of 2015

Attention!!!

2015 was an awesome year for music in terms of quality as well as genre. Although the year was heavily influenced by R&B, compared to the Pop filled 2014, the year produced brilliant hits. There was Reggae, EDM, Minimal House, Rock, Pop, Country, Rap, Doo-Wop and the newbie Trap which made its ascent to the mainstream scene. The titans of the industry Taylor Swift, Justin Bieber, Adele, Drake and Wiz Khalifa battled head to head for the top position on the charts and boy bands and girl groups also enjoyed commercial success for instance Little Mix, One Direction, Fifth Harmony and 5 Seconds of Summer. 

The year belonged to Taylor Swift with her crossover album 1989 enjoying monumental success with four top 10 hits and two chart toppers during the year. Blank Space which was No.12 last time on the list is No.6 this year. This along with Ed Sheeran's Thinking Out Loud (15-13) are the only singles to be included from 2014. Swift and The Weeknd each have three entries on the list with Justin Bieber accumulating a whopping four entries including his feature on Skrillex & Diplo's Where Are U Now. Bieber has all four hits within the Top 25 while The Weeknd has all three of his hits within the Top 20. Meghan Trainor, Charlie Puth, Jess Glynne and Demi Lovato all have two singles each on the chart.

Mark Ronson ft. Bruno Mars' record breaking global smash hit Uptown Funk grabs the crown on the year end list with Wiz Khalifa ft. Charlie Puth's See You Again off the Furious 7 soundtrack at No.2. Adele's comeback hit Hello is at No.3 and would have surely ended at the top if it was not released so late in the year. Soundtracks were quite successful as can be seen from the Furious 7 theme song and similar success was enjoyed by Fifty Shades of Grey wherein it contained the hits Love Me Like You Do by Ellie Goulding and Earned It by The Weeknd. 

The year was a good year for dance music with Major Lazer & DJ Snake ft. MO's Lean On becoming a worldwide hit as well as hits by Calvin Harris, Skrillex, Avicii, Diplo and Zedd. We see Trap being incorporated to Rap, EDM as well as Pop. Fetty Wap enjoyed immense commercial and critical acclaim with his Trap Queen enjoying top positions in the charts worldwide. David Guetta has incorporated Trap into his current music. Alternative Rock had hits by Fall Out Boy, Hozier, X Ambassadors, WALK THE MOON and Elle King. After the breakthrough of MAGIC!'s Rude in 2014 we see Reggae becoming a contemporary mainstream genre with OMI's Cheerleader and R.City's Locked Away. 

Teenyboppers such as Justin Bieber, Selena Gomez, Demi Lovato and Nick Jonas all proved that they are much more than social media icons and celebrities and proved with their new albums that they have the vocals as well as the talent to produce mega hits. New artists such as The Weeknd, Rachel Platten, Jesse Glynne, Years & Years and James Bay blew us away with their awesome songs and their deliverance. So without further ado here are the top 50 greatest hits of 2015:
  1. Mark Ronson ft. Bruno Mars – Uptown funk
  2. Wiz Khalifa ft. Charlie Puth – See you again
  3. Adele – Hello
  4. The Weeknd – Can’t feel my face
  5. Taylor Swift – Blank space
  6. Major Lazer & DJ Snake ft. MO – Lean on
  7. Justin Bieber – What do you mean?
  8. OMI – Cheerleader (Felix Jaehn Remix)
  9. Ellie Goulding – Love me like you do
  10. Hozier – Take me to church
  11. Justin Bieber – Sorry
  12. The Weeknd – The hills
  13. Ed Sheeran – Thinking out loud
  14. Fetty Wap – Trap queen
  15. Lost Frequencies – Are you with me
  16. Jason Derulo – Want to want me
  17. Rachel Platten – Fight song
  18. Maroon 5 – Sugar
  19. The Weeknd – Earned it
  20. WALK THE MOON – Shut up and dance
  21. Justin Bieber – Love yourself
  22. Taylor Swift ft. Kendrick Lamar – Bad blood
  23. Skrillex & Diplo ft. Justin Bieber – Where are u now
  24. Little Mix – Black magic
  25. Years & Years – King
  26. Jess Glynne – Hold my hand
  27. One Direction – Drag me down
  28. James Bay – Hold back the river
  29. Meghan Trainor – Lips are movin’
  30. David Guetta ft. Bebe Rexha, Nicki Minaj & Afrojack – Hey mama
  31. Silento – Watch me (whip/nae nae)
  32. Calvin Harris with Disciples – How deep is your love
  33. Nick Jonas – Jealous
  34. Natalie La Rose ft. Jeremih – Somebody
  35. Fifth Harmony ft. Kid Ink – Worth it
  36. Flo Rida ft. Sage the Gemini & Lookas – G.D.F.R.
  37. R. City ft. Adam Levine – Locked away
  38. Drake – Hotline bling
  39. Rihanna, Kanye West and Paul McCartney – FourFiveSeconds
  40. Olly Murs ft. Demi Lovato – Up
  41. Charlie Puth ft. Meghan Trainor – Marvin Gaye
  42. Selena Gomez ft. A$AP Rocky – Good for you
  43. Måns Zelmerlöw – Heroes
  44. Taylor Swift – Style
  45. Demi Lovato – Cool for the summer
  46. Sheppard – Geronimo
  47. Carly Rae Jepsen – I really like you
  48. Macklemore & Ryan Lewis – Downtown  
  49. Tinie Tempah ft. Jess Glynne – Not letting go
  50. LunchMoney Lewis – Bills 
Till next year...

At Ease!!!

Most Popular Christmas Songs of All Time

Attention!!!

Christmas celebrates the birth of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. However, Christmas is no longer traditional as in the recent past it has become extremely commercialized. Christmas Carols are those hymns and songs which are sung during the feast, whose lyrics are based on the incidents surrounding the birth of Christ including the Annunciation, Adoration of the Shepherds, Star of Bethlehem, Visit of the Magi and the Massacre of the Innocents and those involved in the birth such Virgin Mary, Joseph, Gabriel, the Shepherds and the Three Kings. 

Carols must necessarily be related to the birth of Jesus Christ and all others which are not relevant to His birth such as those ones about Santa Claus, Frosty the Snowman and Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer are Christmas songs which are sung and played during the holiday season. Every year we now have more and more Christmas songs being released and we see less and less of Christmas carols being composed by the contemporary artists. The same old carol is covered time and again by artists instead of taking the effort to produce one on their own. A similar trend is taking place in relation to Christmas songs which are now considered as Christmas classics and even sung at Christmas masses and carol services, for instance Jingle Bells, Little Drummer Boy, Morning Has Broken and Deck the Halls.

Jingle Bells is definitely the most popular Christmas song of all time, followed by We Wish You A Merry Christmas and Deck The Halls coming in at a close third. So here are the 75 Most Popular Christmas Songs of All Time. The song is highlighted in bold, while the best version of the song appears first followed by the writer/composer and the year of origin within the brackets. So Merry Christmas soldiers and have a Happy New Year.
  1. Jingle bells (Bing Crosby & The Andrew Sisters/James Lord Pierpoint, 1857)
  2. We wish you a merry Christmas (Kenny G/West Country of England, 19th Century)
  3. Deck the halls (SHeDAISY/16th Century, Lyrics by Thomas Oliphant, 1862)
  4. Silver bells (Neil Diamond /Jay Livinston & Ray Evans, 1950)
  5. Rudolph the red-nosed reindeer (Gene Autry & The Pinafores/Johnny Marks, 1949)
  6. Winter wonderland (Macy Gray /Felix Bernard & Richard B. Smith, 1934)
  7. Santa Claus is coming to town (The Jackson 5/J.F. Coots & Haven Gillespie, 1934)
  8. Here comes Santa Claus (Elvis Presley/Gene Autry & Oakley Haldeman, 1947)
  9. White Christmas (Bing Crosby /Irving Berlin, 1940)
  10. Sleigh ride (Johnny Mathis/Leroy Andersobn & Mitchell Parish, 1950)
  11. Little drummer boy (David Bowie & Bing Cosby/Bowie & Ian Fraser, Larry Grossman & Alan Kohan, 1982)
  12. Rockin’ around the Christmas tree (Jessica Simpson/Johnny Marks, 1958)
  13. Jingle bell rock (Hilary Duff/Joe Beale & Jim Boothe, 1957)
  14. Feliz Navidad (Boney M/Jose Feliciano, 1970)
  15. Let it snow! Let it snow! Let it snow! (Bing Crosby/Sammy Cahn & Jule Styne, 1945)
  16. Blue Christmas (Elvis Presley/Billy Hayes & Jay W. Johnson, 1964)
  17. The twelve days of Christmas (Burl Ives & Percy Faith and his Orchestra/Frederick Austin, 1909)
  18. The Christmas song (Nat King Cole/Robert Wells & Mel Torme, 1944)
  19. Frosty the Snowman (Johnny Mathis/Walter Jack Rollins & Steve Nelson, 1950)
  20. I saw mummy kissing Santa Claus (Jane Krakowski/Tommie Connor, 1952)
  21. O Christmas tree (Boney M/Ernst Anschutz, 1824)
  22. It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas (Johnny Mathis/Meredith Wilson, 1951)
  23. Santa Baby (The Pussycat Dolls/Joan Javits & Philip Springer, 1953)
  24. Have yourself a merry little Christmas (Judy Garland/Hugh Martin & Ralph Blane, 1943)
  25. Up on the housetop (Kimberly Locke/Benjamin Hanby, 1864)
  26. I wish it could be Christmas everyday (A*Teens/Roy Wood, 1973)
  27. It’s the most wonderful time of the year (Garth Brooks/Edward Pola & George Wyle, 1963)
  28. Happy Xmas (War is over) (Neil Diamond/John Lennon, 1971)
  29. All I want for Christmas is you (Mariah Carey/Carey & Walter Alfanasieff, 1994)
  30. Last Christmas (Wham!/George Michael, 1983)
  31. Morning has broken (Neil Diamond/Scottish tune, Lyrics by Eleanor Farjean, 1931)
  32. Must be Santa (Tommy Steele/Hal Moore & Bill Fredericks, 1960)
  33. I’ll be home for Christmas (Bing Crosby/Kim Gannon & Walter Kent, 1943)
  34. Parade of the wooden soldiers (Don Janse & The Disneyland Children’s Chorus/Leon Jessel, 1897)
  35. All I want for Christmas (is my two front teeth) (Spike Jones & His City Slickers/Donald Yetter Gardner, 1944)
  36. Wonderful Christmastime (Paul McCartney/McCartney, 1979)
  37. Merry Christmas everyone (Shakin’ Stevens/Bob Heatlie, 1984)
  38. Merry Christmas polka (Jim Reeves/Willie Phelps, 1950)
  39. Grandma got run over by a reindeer (Elmo & Patsy/Randy Brooks, 1979)
  40. Do they know it’s Christmas? (Band Aid/Bob Geldof & Midge Ure, 1984)
  41. Merry Christmas, happy holidays (N’Sync/JC Chasez, Veit Renn, Justin Timberlake, 1998)
  42. Mistletoe and wine (Cliff Richard/ Jeremy Paul, Leslie Stewart & Keith Strachan, 1988)
  43. Fairy tale of New York (The Pogues/Jem Finer & Shane MacGowan, 1987)
  44. The magic of Christmas day (God bless us everyone) (Celine Dion/Dee Snider, 1998)
  45. My only wish (this year) (Britney Spears/Brian Kierulf, Josh Schwartz & Spears, 2000)
  46. Little Saint Nick (The Beach Boys/Brian Wilson & Mike Love, 1963)
  47. River (Barry Manilow/Joni Mitchell, 1971)
  48. Baby, it’s cold outside (Dolly Parton & Rod Stewart/Frank Loesser, 1944)
  49. Run, run, Rudolph (Chuck Berry/Johnny Marks & Marvin Brodie, 1958)
  50. An old Christmas card (Jim Reeves/Vaughn Horton, 1962)
  51. A holly jolly Christmas (Burl Ives/Johnny Marks, 1964)
  52. (There’s no place like) home for the holidays (Perry Como/Al Stillman & Robert Allen, 1954)
  53. As long as there’s Christmas (Paige O’ Hara/Rachel Portman & Don Black, 1997)
  54. You’re a mean one, Mr. Grinch (Thurl Ravenscroft/ Albert Hague & Eugene Poddany, 1966)
  55. C-H-R-I-S-T-M-A-S (Jim Reeves/Eddy Arnold & Jenny Lou Carson, 1949)
  56. Nuttin’ for Christmas (Eartha Kitt/Sid Pepper & Roy C. Bennett, 1955)
  57. I want a hippopotamus for Christmas (Gayla Peevey/John Rox, 1953)
  58. Santa Claus Lane (Hilary Duff/Matthew Gerrard, Charlie Midnight, Bridget Benenate & Jay Landers, 2002)
  59. Senor Santa Claus (Jim Reeves/Lawton Williams, 1962)
  60. Please come home for Christmas (Charles Brown/Brown & Gene Redd, 1960)
  61. Santa tell me (Ariana Grande/Ilya Salmanzadeh, Savan Kotecha & Grande, 2014)
  62. Petit papa noel (Boney M/Raymond Vincy & Henri Martinet, 1946)
  63. (Everybody’s waitin’ for) the man with the bag (Vonda Shepard/Kay Starr, 1950)
  64. Santa Claus got stuck in my chimney (Lisa Nicole Carson/William Hardy & Billy Moore, 1950)
  65. Darkness is falling (Boney M/Fred Jay & Helmut Rulofs, 1978)
  66. Mistletoe (Justin Bieber/Bieber, Nasr Atweh & Adam Messinger, 2011)
  67. 8 days of Christmas (Destiny’s Child/Beyonce Knowles, Kelly Rowland & E.McCalla Jr., 2001)
  68. Merry Xmas everybody (Slade/Noddy Holder & Jim Lea, 1973)
  69. I heard the bells on Christmas day (Bing Crosby/H.W. Longfellow, 1863)
  70. Christmas all over again (Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers/Petty, 1992)
  71. Christmas lights (Coldplay/Guy Berryman, Jonny Buckland, Will Champion & Chris Martin, 2010)
  72. Underneath the tree (Kelly Clarkson/Clarkson & Greg Kurstin, 2013)
  73. The Chipmunk Song (Christmas don’t be late) (The Chipmunks/David Seville, 1958)
  74. Pretty Paper (Roy Orbison/Willie Nelson, 1963)
  75. This gift (98 Degrees/1998)
Till the next season...

At Ease!!!

ENRIQUE IGLESIAS ~ King of Latin Pop ~

Attention!!!

All Sri Lankan Latin Pop fans are waiting excitedly for the reigning king to take the stage this December. So it is high time that I do a review of his songs before his arrival. Enrique Iglesias is the most popular best selling artist to perform in Sri Lanka. Although artists such as Bryan Adams, UB40, Sean Paul and Olivia Newton-John have all performed here, none of them trump Iglesias in terms of success. Iglesias has been in the music scene for almost two decades and still going strong. To get down to the nitty-gritty details, Iglesias has released ten studio albums, five compilation albums, forty-six singles, and forty-one music videos. He is one of the best live performers and also one of the most influential artists at present in the world. 
Enrique
Iglesias began his career in Spanish and released three Spanish studio albums - Enrique Iglesias, Vivir and Cosas Del Amor - with immense success in the Latin countries. However, it was Enrique his debut English studio album which launched his international career. It produced the global smash hits Bailamos and Be With You as well as hits such as Rhythm Divine and Could I Have This Kiss Forever a collaboration with Whitney Houston. This album was more or less heavily Latin Pop based with the beat, style and rhythm all corresponding to the genre. 
Escape
Then we have his second English studio album Escape which charted within the top five in most countries, peaking in UK, Canada and Australia while reaching No.2 on the US Billboard 200. Through this Iglesias managed to appeal to a wider audience by inculcating more pop elements. It produced the mega hits Hero and Escape as well as minor hits such as Don't Turn Off The Lights and Love To See You Cry.

Mixing it up, Iglesias next released another Spanish album - Quizás, which won him a Latin Grammy for Best Male Pop Vocal Album. It produced the Latin hits Mentiroso, Quizás and Para Qué La Vida all of which topped the Billboard Hot Latin Tracks Chart.
7
Insomniac














Then we see Iglesias' descent in terms of appealing to the mainstream as he failed to produce extremely successful hits from his next two albums - 7 and Insomniac. These were a mishmash of genres with Iglesias attempting to keep up with the changing times and the mainstream music taste by incorporating R&B and Synthpop into his music and failing monumentally. From 7 he released Addicted and Not In Love featuring Kelis and from Insomniac he released Do You Know? (The Ping Pong Song) and Tired Of Being Sorry featuring Nadiya and although not commercially successful still fan favourites - Push featuring Lil Wayne and Somebody's Me. Then we have his compilation album - Greatest Hits, which included the new single Takin' Back My Love featuring Ciara which became a minor hit worldwide.
Greatest Hits
Euphoria














Then in 2010, Iglesias finally made his much anticipated comeback with his first bilingual album - Euphoria. For this he collaborated with RedOne, the producer who was behind the success of Lady Gaga, Kat Deluna and so many other artists who produced hit singles in the latter part of the 2000s. I Like It featuring Pitbull was the lead single off the album which was a major hit across the Americas, Europe and Asia. This was followed by Heartbeat featuring Nicole Scherzinger, Dirty Dancer featuring Usher and Lil Wayne and the dance anthem Tonight (I'm Fuckin' You) featuring Ludacris & DJ Frank E. The album was heavily based in Electropop and Dancepop incorporating elements of House. The contrast between the English and Latin singles are quite clear and we see that Iglesias has finally found his niche.
Sex and Love
With his next album Sex and Love which is also bilingual, Iglesias proved that he is quite capable of evolving as well as maintaining his Latin roots. The first single off the album released in 2012, Finally Found You featuring Sammy Adams was a minor hit and this was followed by Turn The Night Up, Heart Attack and I'm A Freak featuring Pitbull which were all minor hits. In this album it was evident that Iglesias had stressed more quality on his Latin tracks and with his next single Bailando featuring Sean Paul, Descemer Bueno and Gente de Zona he proved that he is in fact the King of Latin Pop. Bailando reigned for a record breaking 41 weeks atop the Billboard Hot Latin Tracks Chart. It's video went viral and became one of the most watched videos of the year. More recently Iglesias collaborated with Nicky Jam on the hit El Perdon which was also a major Latin Hit.

Some of his other good songs in no particular order include:
  • Ring my bells
  • You're my #1 
  • Dev - Naked (featured)
  • No me degas que no (ft.Wisin & Yandel)
  • Pitbull - Come n' go (featured)
  • I like how it feels (ft.Pitbull & The WAV.s)
  • Beautiful (ft. Kylie Minogue)
  • I have always loved you
  • El Perdedor (ft.Marco Antonio Solis)
Iglesias has sold over 137 million records worldwide, making him one of the best selling Latin artists ever. Iglesias has scored over 150 number-one hits across all of the Billboard charts and he has had five Billboard Hot 100 top five singles, including two number-ones, and holds the record for producing 26 number-one Spanish-language singles on the Billboard '​s Hot Latin Tracks. He also holds the record for most number-one hits and the longest running number-one hit on that chart. Iglesias also has 13 number-ones on Billboard's Dance charts, more than any other male artist. He is also the best selling Latin artist in the UK and the best selling international artist in India. He has won about 200 awards from various ceremony including 23 Billboard Music Awards (with 9 times nomination) and 36 Billboard Latin Music Awards (with 45 times nomination), as well as 7 American Music Awards (with 6 times nomination), 1 Grammys (with 3 times nomination), 5 Latin Grammys (with 4 times nomination), 10 World Music Awards (with 2 times nomination) and 6 MTV awards.

And so now we wait for Iglesias to return to the studio and perform his magic and deliver that perfect mix of Latin Pop modernized with EDM, Electropop and Hip-Hop to suit our dance floors. All hail the king!!!
Till the next review...

At Ease!!!

Best Songs About Being Sorry/Ultimate Apology Playlist

Attention!!!

Sorry seems to be the hardest word since no one wants to give in. If you cannot admit that you have wronged a person and cannot express it with words, why not sing about it. There are many songs about forgiveness, some are about apologizing to another, while others are about how a person who has wronged you cannot be forgiven. With the recent emergence of global hits from the likes of Adele, Justin Bieber and Enrique Iglesias, it is definitely time for an ultimate apology playlist. Adele's record breaking smash hit Hello takes the crown, with Justin Bieber's equally titanic single Sorry takes second place. At third place is Evanescence's emotional unreleased single Forgive Me. Pop rules the roost in terms of genre with just a few Alternative Rock, Hip-Hop and R&B songs. So here are the top 30 songs about being sorry:
  1. Adele – Hello
  2. Justin Bieber – Sorry
  3. Evanescence – Forgive me
  4. OneRepublic – Apologize
  5. Bryan Adams – Please forgive me
  6. Willie Nelson – Always on my mind
  7. Nicky Jam & Enrique Iglesias – El Perdón (forgiveness)
  8. Chicago – Hard to say I’m sorry
  9. Elton John – Sorry seems to be the hardest word
  10. Akon – Sorry, blame it on me
  11. Coldplay – The scientist
  12. Hoobastank – The reason
  13. Taylor Swift – Back to December
  14. The Jackson 5 – Want you back
  15. Madonna – Sorry
  16. Nirvana – All apologies
  17. T.I. ft. Andre 3000 – Sorry
  18. Jason Derulo – Whatcha say
  19. Britney Spears – Everytime
  20. Akcent ft. Sandra N – I’m sorry
  21. Weezer – Butterfly
  22. Sarah McLachlan – Forgiveness
  23. The Corrs – Forgiven not forgotten
  24. Leona Lewis – Forgive me
  25. Shawn Colvin – I’ll say I’m sorry now
  26. Anita Baker – I’m sorry
  27. Feist – So sorry
  28. Ruben Studdard – Sorry 2004
  29. Chris Brown – Apologize
  30. Flyleaf – I’m sorry 
Till the next beat...

At Ease!!!

Xposition - November, 2015

Attention!!!

Yes, one more month till the year ends and what a year it has been. While we eagerly await the Billboard Year-End Hot 100 of 2015 and the Biggest Songs of 2015 in the UK let's look at what happened in November.

First, we have the coronation of Like Mike & Dmitri Vegas as the world's No.1 DJ. Ending the reign of Hardwell after two years at the helm, the not-so-mainstream duo take over as the EDM world has elected its leader. The winner is chosen after a year long poll on the DJ Mag Top 100. The Top 10 are as follows:
  1. Like Mike & Dmitri Vegas
  2. Hardwell
  3. Martin Garrix
  4. Armin Van Buuren
  5. Tiesto
  6. Davig Guetta
  7. Avicci
  8. Afrojack
  9. Skrillex
  10. Steve Aoki
Next up, we have the 2015 Country Music Association Awards (CMA Awards) which was held on November, 04 2015 at the Bridgestone Arena, Nashville. It was Chris Stapleton and Little Big Town's big night as he won three awards including New Artist of the Year, Album of the Year for Traveller and Male Vocalist of the Year and Little Big Town won Single of the Year and Song of the Year for Girl Crush and Vocal Group of the Year. Luke Bryan took away the coveted Entertainer of the Year for the second consecutive time. Other significant wins include:
  • Female Vocalist of the Year: Miranda Lambert 
  • Best Music Video of the Year: Madde & Tae - Girl in s country song
  • Musical Event of the Year: Keith Urban & Eric Church - Raise 'em up
  • Vocal Duo of the Year: Florida Georgia Line 
More recently, we had the 2015 American Music Awards hosted by Jennifer Lopez. To start the night with a big bang there was a less than mediocre attempt by Jennifer Lopez with a messy medley of the best songs of the year. However, there were awesome performances by The Weekend with The Hills, Selena Gomez with Same Old Love, Meghan Trainor and Charlie Puth with a medley of Like I'm Gonna Lose You and Marvin Gaye and Justin Bieber with a medley of What Do You Mean?, Where Are U Now and Sorry. Taylor Swift was unsurprisingly the big winner of the night with three wins including Song of the Year for Blank Space, Favorite Pop/Rock Album for 1989 and Favorite Adult Contemporary Artist. One Direction took away the Artist of the Year while Sam Hunt won the New Artist of the Year. Other winners include:
  • Collaboration of the Year: Diplo & Skrillex ft. Justin Bieber - Where are u now
  • Favorite Pop/Rock Male Artist - Ed Sheeran
  • Favorite Pop/Rock Female Artist - Ariana Grande
  • Favorite Pop/Rock Duo or Group - One Direction 
  • Favorite Rap/Hip-Hop Artist - Nicki Minaj
  • Favorite Alternative Rock Artist - Fall Out Boy
  • Favorite Electronic Dance Music Artist - Calvin Harris
  • Top Soundtrack - Pitch Perfect 2  
The BRIT Critics have spoken. Jack Garratt was chosen after he along with Izzy Bisu and Frances were shortlisted from 100 artists for the prestigious award.This award is now one of the surest predictors of commercial success as it has proven time and again with past winners such as Adele, Ellie Goulding, Sam Smith, Jessie J and James Bay. 

Welcome back Adele is all that we can say for the charts around the world as the British singer's comeback hit which is also the lead single off her new studio album 25 reached the top in 28 countries. Hello's video also achieved several milestones as it broke the Vevo record for most views within 24-hours by accumulating 27.7 million views surpassing the 20.1 million views held by Taylor Swift's Bad Blood.

Whilst The Weeknd's The Hills managed to stay at the helm for the first week of November, Adele ruled the roost for the remainder of the month with Hello. Along with Hello, Justin Bieber's new single Sorry also entered the Billboard Hot 100 at No.2. The following week we see Ariana Grande's new single Focus debuting at No.7. With her newest hit, Grande becomes the first artist to have her debut single from her first three albums to chart within the Top 10. Meanwhile, Meghan Trainor ft. John Legend's Like I'm Gonna Lose You and Elle King's Ex's and Oh's also entered the Top 10.

In the UK, Adele's Hello debuted at the top in the first week and remained there for the first three weeks with record breaking sales. Her comeback became the biggest UK chart-topper in three years, as well as setting a new one-week streaming record, racking up over 7.32 million listens in its first week available. It is also the fastest selling song of the year. Meanwhile, Bieber's Sorry struggled at No.2 for three weeks after which it overthrew Hello in the final week to claim the top spot. Meanwhile, MNEK & Zara Larsson's Never Forget You peaked at No.5 and Fleur East's Sax peaked at No.3 during the month.

Other songs which became popular during the month are:
  • Jess Glynne - Take me home
  • Justin Bieber - I'll show you
  • WSTRN - In2
  • Demi Lovato - Confident
  • Alessia Cara - Here
  • Rudimental ft. Ed Sheeran - Lay it all on me
  • Thomas Rhett - Die a happy man  
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...