April was a devastating month for EDM as we bade farewell to Avicii, a powerhouse and an reckoning force in the industry. The global superstar who produced the hits Wake Me Up, Levels and Hey Brother even collaborated with the likes of Coldplay, Rita Ora, Robbie Williams and Leona Lewis. Avicii whose real name is Tim Bergling committed suicide by inflicting injuries upon himself through a broken wine bottle. This beloved artist was known to be struggling with alcohol use as well as mental stress for which he had earlier retired from touring in 2016.
The awards season was full on swing as the 53rd Academy of Country Music Awards were held with Chris Stapleton being the big winner of the night winning Male Vocalist of the Year and Album of the Year for From a Room: Volume 1 although the Entertainer of the Year went to Jason Aldean. Some great performances included Carrie Underwood's Cry Pretty, Kane Brown & Lauren Alaina's What Ifs, Florida Georgia Line & Bebe Rexha's Meant To Be and Maren Morris' Rich. Other significant wins of the night included:
- Female Vocalist of the Year: Miranda Lambert
- Vocal Duo of the Year: Brothers Osborne
- Vocal Group of the Year: Old Dominion
- Single Record of the Year: Sam Hunt - Body like a back road
- Song of the Year: Jack Ingram, Miranda Lambert & John Randall - Tin Man
- Video of the Year: Brothers Osborne - It ain't my fault
The 25th Billboard Latin Music Awards were also held with Daddy Yankee sweeping the wins with 8 including Hot Latin Song of the Year and Songwriter of the Year for Despacito which won all 6 of its nominations. The Mexican rock band Maná was bestowed with the Lifetime Achievement Award. Some of the other major wins included:
- Artist of the Year: Ozuna
- New Artist of the Year: Christian Nodal
- Hot Latin Songs Artist of the Year - Male: Luis Fonsi
- Hot Latin Songs Artist of the Year - Female: Shakira
- Top Latin Album of the Year: Nicky Jam - Fénix
- Latin Pop Song of the Year: Luis Fonsi & Daddy Yankee ft. Justin Bieber - Despacito
The Billboard Music Awards 2018 announced its nominations with Kendrick Lamar, Ed Sheeran and Bruno Mars each with 15 nods followed by Post Malone with 13, Imagine Dragons with 11 and Drake with 9. 21 Savage, Camila Cabello, Khalid and Kodak Black all vie for the coveted Top New Artist award. The ceremony is to be held in May hosted by Kelly Clarkson.
The Voice UK in its seven season crowned Ruti Olajugbagbe coached by Sir Tom Jones. Her coronation song was Dreams by The Cranberries whose lead singer Dolores O'Riordan passed away earlier this year.
Songwriting credits is a serious matter, as many in the industry found out the hard way ie. Blurred Lines, Photograph etc. The latest is when Tulisa won a 5-year legal battle against Will.I.Am and Britney Spears for Scream & Shout, which she claimed helped to write. Tulisa claimed that she co-wrote the song I Don't Give A Fuck for her debut album The Female Boss. While the song did not make the final cut, Will.I.Am went on to collaborate with Spears using this song for Scream & Shout. The lawsuit revealed that Tulisa's vocals were still on the song alongside Spears’ in the finally-released track. The victory ensures Tulisa of an official songwriting credit on the song and 10% of the worldwide publishing rights and income for the record. All money made from the track was frozen when the lawsuit was launched in 2012.
In chart news, in the US Drake continued his reign with God's Plan accumulating altogether 11 weeks at the top of the charts, after which he replaced himself at the top with Nice For What, which remained at the top till the end of the month. During the month The Weekend's Call Out My Name, Cardi B, J Balvin and Bad Bunny's I Like It, Nicki Minaj's Chun-Li and Migos ft. Drake's Walk It Talk It all entered the top 10.
In the UK, with the end of March came Drake's reign as Rudimental ft. Jess Glynne, Macklemore and Dan Caplen's These Days finally overthrew God's Plan in the first week. However, this was short lived as Lil Dicky ft. Chris Brown's Freaky Friday became No.1 in the second week which again was toppled by Drake's Nice For What and then again by the mammoth collaboration between Calvin Harris & Dua Lipa's One Kiss which claimed the top spot. During the month Sigala & Paloma Faith's Lullaby and The Weeknd's Call Out My Name both entered the top 10.
Other songs which became popular during the month were:
- David Guetta & Sia - Flames
- Khalid & Normani - Love lies
- Years & Years - Sanctify
- Kylie Minogue - Dancing
- Imagine Dragons - Whatever it takes
At Ease!!!
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