Xposition - December, 2016

Attention!!!

December kicked-off with the highly anticipated 2017 Grammy nominations with Beyonce leading the bill with 9 nods including Album of the Year, Record of the Year, Song of the Year and Best Music Video. Drake is close behind with 8 nominations. The nominations for the four big awards are:

1.      Record of the Year

Adele – Hello

Beyonce – Formation

Lukas Graham – 7 Years

Rihanna ft. Drake – Work

Twenty One Pilots – Stressed out

2.      Album of the Year

Adele – 25

Beyonce – Lemonade

Justin Bieber – Purpose

Drake – Views

Sturgill Simpson – A Sailor’s Guide to Earth

3.      Song of the Year

Formation (Beyonce)

Hello (Adele)

I Took a Pill in Ibiza (Mike Posner)

Love Yourself (Justin Bieber)

7 Years (Lukas Graham)

4.      Best New Artist

Kelsea Ballerini

The Chainsmokers

Chance the Rapper

Maren Morris

Anderson .Paak

The BBC Music Awards had its second edition this year with the top honours going to Adele. The winners are:

• Song of the Year: Adele – Hello
• BBC Radio 1 Live Lounge Performance of the Year: 1975 – What Makes You Beautiful (One Direction Cover)
• Introducing Artist of the Year: Izzy Bizu
• British Artist of the Year: Coldplay
• BBC Radio 2 Album of the Year: Adele – 25

Meanwhile, Rag N’ Bone Man fended off competition from Dua Lipa and Anne Marie to grab the coveted BRIT’s Critics’ Choice Award for 2017. He is the tenth recipient of this award which includes past winners such as Ellie Goulding, Sam Smith and Emeli Sande.

December is also the time when the much anticipated year-end charts are revealed. This year Justin Bieber leads the 2016 Billboard Year-End Hot 100 with his mega hit Love Yourself. Adele however rules the Billboard Top Artist as well as the Billboard Year-End 200 with her album 25.  The top 10 are:

1.       Justin Bieber – Love yourself

2.       Justin Bieber – Sorry

3.       Drake ft. Wizkid & Kyla – One dance

4.       Rihanna ft. Drake – Work

5.       Twenty One Pilots – Stressed out

6.       Desiigner – Panda

7.       Adele – Hello

8.       The Chainsmokers ft. Daya – Don’t let me down

9.       Justin Timberlake – Can’t stop the feeling!

10.   The Chainsmokers ft. Halsey – Closer

The UK also released their year-end list the Official Top 40 Biggest Songs of 2016 with Drake’s One Dance which broke multiple chart records during the year including staying at the top for 15 weeks and tying for the second longest consecutive stay at No.1. The top 10 are:

1.       Drake ft. Wizkid & Kyla – One dance

2.       Lukas Graham – 7 Years

3.       Sia – Cheap thrills

4.       Mike Posner – I took a pill in Ibiza

5.       Calvin Harris ft. Rihanna – This is what you came for

6.       Zara Larsson – Lush life

7.       The Chainsmokers ft. Halsey – Closer

8.       Justin Bieber – Love yourself

9.       Rihanna ft. Drake – Work

10.   Justin Timberlake – Can’t stop the feeling!

The biggest shock of the month was when Camila Cabello from Fifth Harmony left the group to pursue her solo career. In an alleged pre-emptive strike Ally Brooke, Normani Kordei, Dinah Jane Hansen and Lauren Jauregui informed on twitter that they had been informed by Camila’s representatives that she had decided to leave the group but that they would continue as a foursome. Camila via her twitter account announced that she never meant to leave this way and was unaware of her former bandmates was going to release the statement. As the saga unfolded it was clear that all the signs pointed to Camila’s departure as the pleas of the other four fell on deaf ears as well as her two collaborations as a solo artist with Shawn Mendes and Machine Gun Kelly both becoming big hits.

The X-Factor 2016 crowned Matt Terry as its winner in its 13^th edition mentored by Nicole Scherzinger. This year the competition was stiff where Terry beat runner-up Finnish Saara Alto in an explosive finale. However, the winner’s single When Christmas Comes Around was released after the results were announced and was not performed during the competition. The single penned by Ed Sheeran however, failed to grab the top spot in the UK and only managed to peak at No.3.

Speaking of girl bands, former Spice Girl Victoria Beckham aka Posh Spice is to be made an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II’s New Year Honour’s List. Even in its final days 2016 managed to take away another pop star from music and this time its George Michael who passed away from heart failure at the age of 53.

Moving onto chart news, in the US Rae Sremmurd featuring Gucci Mane’s Black Beatles remained at the top during the whole month fueled by the Mannequin Challenge videos that continued to flood social media. Other songs which entered the top 10 include Zayn & Taylor Swift’s I Don’t Wanna Live Forever taken from the Fifty Shades Darker soundtrack and J.Cole’s De Javu.

In the UK, Clean Bandit featuring Anne Marie and Sean Paul’s Rockabye reigned supreme during the month and earned the coveted Christmas No.1. Meanwhile, Little Mix’s Touch peaked at No.4, Steve Aoki & Louis Tomlinson’s Just Hold On and Rag N’ Bone Man’s Human peaked at No.2 during the month.

Other songs which became popular during the month were:

1.       Sean Paul ft. Dua Lipa – No lie

2.       Little Mix ft. Charlie Puth – Oops

3.       David Guetta & Cedric Gervais ft. Chris Willis – Would I lie to you 

4.       The Weeknd ft. Daft Punk – I feel it coming

5.       Robin Schulz & David Guetta ft. Cheat Codes - Shed a light 

Till the next beat...

At Ease!!!

2016 Recap: A Year in Music

Attention!!!

For the first time in this blog I’m going to do a recap of the past year. Music is a peculiar industry, you have the ups and the downs as well as the breakups and the reunions. Some overdose and some fall off bridges while others are knighted and break chart records. Whatever said and done the industry survives and thrives because musicians commit to produce that we love and some we love to hate. I have recapped the year in seven segments: genres, albums, singles, milestones, shockers, talent and obituaries. 

1. Genres

Some of the most evident changes in the mainstream genres were:

• Dancehall resurfaced from the late 2000s surging up the charts with significant force and reigniting Reggae which has now become a fusion genre.
• Mainstream Pop became heavily tropical with the infusion of Reggae beats.
• EDM mellowed down significantly with Synthpop seeping into the genre while Progressive House took a backseat.
• Alternative Rock made rapid gains on the charts combined with Rap and Funk.
• Rap and R&B also fared very well as the two genres were heavily influenced by the newly emerged Dancehall and Reggae as well as Trap which took the charts by storm back in 2015
• Country put on a rather poor performance compared to the awesome hits of 2015.

2. Albums

Some of the most anticipated albums were released in 2016:

• Gwen Stefani – This is What It Feels Like (first solo album in 10 years)
• David Bowie – Black Star (final album released two days before his death)
• Rihanna – Anti (8^th studio album released 4 years after Unapologetic)
• JoJo – Mad Love (first album in 10 years)  
• Ariana Grande – Dangerous Woman (3^rd studio album)
• Beyonce – Lemonade (6^th studio album)
• Kanye West – The Life of Pablo (7^th studio album)
• The Weeknd – Starboy (3^rd studio album)
• Lady Gaga – Joanne (5^th studio album)
• Britney Spears – Glory (9^th studio album)
• Blink-182 – California (7^th studio album)
• Green Day – Revolution Radio (12^th studio album)
• Bruno Mars – 24K Magic (3^rd studio album)
• Shawn Mendes – Illuminate (2^nd studio album)
• Zayn – Mind of Mine (debut studio album)
• All Saints – Red Flag (first album in 10 years)
• Alexandra Stan – Alesta (3^rd studio album)
• Meghan Trainor – Thank You (2^nd studio album)
• Fifth Harmony – 7/27(2^nd studio album)
• James Arthur – Back from the Edge (2^nd studio album)
• DNCE – DNCE (debut studio album)
• Little Mix – Glory Days (4^th studio album)

3. Singles

Here are some interesting facts about the global hits this year:

• Rihanna ft. Drake’s Work became the first Dancehall song to top the Billboard Hot 100 since Sean Paul’s Temperature 10 years ago
• Sia became the first female artist over 40 years to top the Billboard Hot 100 with Cheap Thrills a feat which was achieved after 16 years since Madonna’s Music in 2000  
• Justin Bieber’s Love Yourself spent 23 consecutive weeks in the Billboard Hot 100's top 10, breaking the record for the most consecutive weeks logged in the top 10 from a song's debut therein
• Drake ft. WizKid & Kyla’s One Dance topped the UK Singles Chart for 15 consecutive weeks making it the second longest reign at the top alongside Wet Wet Wet’s Love is All Around. Additionally it was also crowned the song of the summer worldwide
• The Chainsmokers ft. Halsey’s Closer was the longest reigning No.1 in the US with 12 consecutive weeks
• Zayn’s Pillowtalk made him the first UK artist to debut at No.1 on the Billboard Hot 100 with a debut single
• With Dangerous Woman debuting at number 10 on the Billboard Hot 100, Ariana Grande became the first artist to debut within the top 10 with every lead single of all of her studio albums
• Fifth Harmony ft. Ty Dolla $ign’s Work From Home became the first top 5 single by a girl group in 10 years since Pussycat Doll ft. Snoop Dogg’s Buttons
• Clean Bandit ft. Sean Paul & Anne Marie’s Rockabye claimed the coveted UK Christmas No.1 and was the first song in history to do so after already logging 6 weeks at the top
• Luke Graham’s 7 Years became the first No.1 single by a Danish act in the UK since Aqua’s Turn Back Time and with 5 weeks at the top it became the longest reigning No.1 by a Danish act
• Justin Timberlake’s Can’t Stop The Feeling! from Trolls is the first No.1 song from an animated movie since Pharrell Williams’ Happy from Despicable Me 2  
• Pikotaro’s Pen Pineapple Apple Song (PPAP Song) became the shortest song to enter the Billboard Hot 100 with a length of only 45 seconds

4. Milestones

Some musicians need to be given due recognition for their achievements during the year.

• Taylor Swift wins Album of the Year for the second time for her album 1989 at the 58^th Grammy Awards becoming the first woman to do so
• BRITS Icon Award bestowed posthumously on David Bowie at the 36^th Brit Awards
• Britney Spears is honoured with the Millennium Award at the 2016 Billboard Music Awards
• Rod Stewart is knighted in Queen Elizabeth II’s 2016 Birthday Honours
• Rihanna is bestowed with the Michael Jackson Video Vanguard Award at the 2016 MTV Video Music Awards
• Madonna is named as the 2016 Billboard Woman of the Year
• Dolly Parton received the Willie Nelson Lifetime Achievement Award at the 2016 Country Muisc Association Awards 
• Bob Dylan received the 2016 Nobel Prize for Literature
• Victoria Beckham is bestowed with the Office of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in Queen Elizabeth II’s New Year Honour’s List
• Marc Anthony is honoured with the Latin Recording Academy Person of the Year at the 17^th Annual Latin Grammy Awards
• Fifth Harmony ft. Ty Dolla $ign’s Work From Home became the most watched music video of 2016 with over 1 billion views.
• The videos of Wiz Khalifa ft. Charlie Puth’s See You Again, Mark Ronson ft. Bruno Mars’ Uptown Funk and Justin Bieber’s Sorry all passed 2 billion views

5. Shockers

There were many jaw dropping moments in 2016 and here are some of them:

• ABBA reunites and reveals an upcoming digital entertainment experience
• Camila Cabello leaves Fifth Harmony to pursue her solo career 
• Avicii retires from music citing health reasons
• Geri Halliwell, Emma Bunton and Melanie Brown reunite as Spice Girls – GEM
• One Direction announces indefinite hiatus
• Bill Medley reforms The Righteous Brothers with singer Bucky Heard
• The Eagles dissolves following the death of Glenn Frey, their founding member
• All four members of Viola Beach die in a tragic car crash
• Kesha denied an injunction by Supreme Court of New York to allow her to record outside Dr.Luke’s label
• Neil Amin Smith leaves Clean Bandit and the band continues as a trio
• Minzy leaves 2NE1 and the group disbands
• Founding member Pete Burns of Dead or Alive died effectively ending the band
• Christina Grimmie, former contestant on The Voice shot dead by a fan
• G.R.L. reformed as a trio with new member Jazzy Mejia
• 4Minute disbands over different opinions of members

6. Talent

Here are the winners of those talent/reality contests which produce some of the best artists:

• 61^st Eurovision Song Contest – Ukraine wins with Jamala’s 1944
• The X Factor (13^th Season) – Matt Terry wins mentored by Nicole Scherzinger
• The Voice (10^th Season) – Alison Porter wins coached by Christina Aguilera
• The Voice (11^th Season) – Sundance Head wins coached by Blake Shelton
• The Voice UK (05^th Season) – Former Liberty X member Kevin Simm wins coached by Ricky Wilson
• America’s Got Talent – Singer/Songwriter Grace VanderWaal wins
• American Idol ends after 15 seasons crowing Trent Harmon as the final idol

7. Obituaries

Last but not least let us remember those legends to whom we bade farewell in 2016.

• David Bowie (08 January 1947 – 10 January 2016)
• René Angélil (16 January 1942 – 14 January 2016)
• Glenn Frey (06 November 1948 – 18 January 2016)
• Signe Toly Anderson (15 September 1941 – 28 January 2016)
• Maurice White (19 December 1941 – 04 February 2016)
• George Martin (03 January 1926 – 08 March 2016)
• Prince (07 June 1958 – 21 April 2016)
• Pete Burns (05 August 1959 – 23 October 2016)
• W.D. Amaradeva (05 December 1927 – 03 November 2016)
• Leonard Cohen (21 September 1934 – 07 November 2016)
• George Michael (25 June 1963 – 25 December 2016)

Till next year...

At Ease!!!

Best Dance Hits of 2016

Attention!!!

2016 is the year where tropical beats entered the dancefloor. With Reggae and Dancehall fusing with the mainstream genres of dance music such as EDM, Pop, Rap and R&B, dance music as a whole evolved. Hip-Hop was virtually non-existent during the year while Latin Pop and Progressive House took a backseat giving way to this immensely popular tropical rhythms and melodies.

Sia featuring Sean Paul’s Cheap Thrills takes the crown as it is now a floor filler at any party, but sadly this is the only floor filler that joins the elite club of songs such as Pitbull featuring Kesha’s Timber and Enrique Iglesias featuring Gente De Zona and Descemer Bueno which makes anyone want to join the dancefloor. At a close second is Kungs vs. Cookin’ On 3 Burners’ This Girl and at third place is Major Lazer featuring Nyla and Fuse ODG’s Light it up. This is Major Lazer’s second stint at a top three position as the trio’s mammoth hit collaboration with DJ Snake and MØ’s Lean On topped the list last year.

New faces to the dance scene include DJs such as Kungs and Jonas Blue as well as artists such as Zara Larsson, Dawin, Anne Marie and Sofia Carson. Sean Paul, the kingpin of Dancehall has 6 entries on the list followed by Zara Larsson with 5, Calvin Harris, Fifth Harmony and Enrique Iglesias with 3 and Sia, Major Lazer, Pitbull, Flo Rida, Anne Marie, Meghan Trainor, Rihanna, AronChupa and Drake all having 2 entries each. So here are the 60 best dance hits of 2016 (yes, we are continuing with 60):

1. Sia ft. Sean Paul – Cheap thrills
2. Kungs vs. Cookin’ On 3 Burners – This girl
3. Major Lazer ft. Nyla & Fuse ODG – Light it up
4. Zara Larsson – Lush life
5. Calvin Harris ft. Rihanna – This is what you came for
6. Ariana Grande ft. Nicki Minaj – Side to side
7. Sak Noel & Salvi ft. Sean Paul – Trumpets
8. Pitbull ft. Enrique Iglesias – Messin’ around
9. RedOne ft. Enrique Iglesias, R.City, Shaggy & Serayah – Don’t you need somebody
10. Tinie Tempah ft. Zara Larsson – Girls like
11. Zara Larsson – Ain’t my fault
12. Jason Derulo – Get ugly
13. Flo Rida – My house
14. Major Lazer ft. Justin Bieber & MØ – Cold water 
15. Justin Timberlake – Can’t stop the feeling!
16. Sean Paul ft. Dua Lipa – No lie
17. Jennifer Lopez – Ain’t your mama
18. AronChupa ft. Lil Sis Nora – Little swing
19. Rihanna ft. Drake – Work
20. Jay Sean ft. Sean Paul – Make my love go
21. G Girls – Call the police
22. Sofia Carson ft. J. Balvin – Love is the name
23. The Chainsmokers ft. Daya – Don’t let me down
24. Drake ft. WizKid & Kyla – One dance
25. Enrique Iglesias ft. Wisin – Duele el Corazón
26. Dizzee Rascal & Calvin Harris – Hype
27. Fifth Harmony – That’s my girl
28. David Guetta ft. Zara Larsson – This one’s for you
29. Anne Marie – Alarm
30. Pitbull – Freedom
31. Fifth Harmony ft. Ty Dolla $ign – Work from home
32. Clean Bandit ft. Anne Marie & Sean Paul – Rockabye
33. Hailee Steinfeld and Grey ft. Zedd – Starving
34. Zay Hilfigerrr and Zayion McCall – Juju on that beat (TZ Anthem)
35. Ricky Martin & Maluma – Vente pa’ca
36. 99 Souls ft. Destiny’s Child & Brandy – Girl is mine 
37. Krewella – Team
38. Calvin Harris – My way
39. Dawin – Dessert
40. Meghan Trainor – Me too
41. The Weeknd ft. Daft Punk – Starboy
42. Alexandra Stan – I did it, mama!
43. Little Mix ft. Sean Paul – Hair
44. Cheat Codes & Kriss Kross Amsterdam – Sex 
45. Zara Larsson – I would like
46. Iggy Azalea – Team
47. Flo Rida – Zillionaire
48. Meghan Trainor – No
49. Bruno Mars – 24K magic
50. Sia ft. Kendrick Lamar – The greatest
51. Jonas Blue ft. JB Cooper – Perfect strangers
52. Fifth Harmony – I’m in love with a monster
53. Galantis – No money
54. Inna – Rendez vous
55. Fergie – M.I.L.F. $
56. OMI ft. AronChupa – Drop in the ocean
57. Kygo ft. Maty Noyes – Stay
58. Jonas Blue ft. Raye – By your side
59. Sigala ft. John Newman & Nile Rodgers – Give me your love
60. Desiigner – Panda 

Till the next beat...

At Ease!!!