Xposition - January, 2019

Attention!!!

Golden Globe Awards 2019

Queen biopic Bohemian Rhapsody won the coveted award for Best Motion Picture – Drama amidst stiff competition while Rami Malek won Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture – Drama for his brilliant portrayal of Queen frontman Freddie Mercury in the same film. A Star Is Born garnered 4 nominations but it only managed to win Best Original Song for Shallow written by Lady Gaga and Mark Ronson. Best Original Score was won by Justin Hurwitz for First Man.

Missy Elliot, Cat Stevens and John Prine among 2019 Songwriters Hall of Fame Inductees

Missy Elliot is making history as the first female rapper inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame. Elliot is just the third rapper following the prior inductions of Jay-Z and Jermaine Dupri. Also being inducted are British icon, Cat Stevens and country-folk legend, John Prine.

Lady Gaga bags big wins at the 2019 Critics’ Choice Awards  

Lady Gaga took home two wins at the 24^th Critics’ Choice Awards where she received Best Actress for A Star is Born in a tie with Glenn Close for The Wife and Best Song for Shallow, her duet with Bradley Cooper. Meanwhile, Justin Hurwitz won Best Score for his work on First Man.

Nominations for 91^st Academy Awards revealed

The nominations for the 91^st Academy Awards were announced with A Star is Born receiving 8 nods including Best Actress for Lady Gaga, the second highest after Roma and The Favourite which received 10 each. Queen biopic Bohemian Rhapsody has received 5 nods including Best Actor for Rami Malek and Mary Poppins Returns has received 4 nominations. The nominees for Best Original Song are:

-          Kendrick Lamar & SZA – All the stars (Black Panther)

-          Lady Gaga & Bradley Cooper – Shallow (A Star is Born)

-          Emily Blunt – The place where lost things go (Mary Poppins Returns)

-          Jennifer Hudson – I’ll Fight (RBG)

-          Willie Watson & Tim Blake Nelson – When a Cowboy Trades His Spurs for Wings (The Ballad of Buster Scruggs)

Women lead 2019 BRIT Award nominations

Anne-Marie, Jess Glynne and Dua Lipa lead this year’s nominees with four nods each. Anne-Marie is nominated across 4 different categories: Female Solo Artist, Album of the Year for Speak Your Mind and Single and Video of the Year for 2002. Jess Glynne was also nominated for Female Solo Artist, Single of the Year for I’ll Be There and Rudimental collaboration These Days and Video of the Year also for These Days. Dua Lipa is up for Single and Video of the Year for both IDGAF and Calvin Harris collab One Kiss. 

Britney Spears Announces Hiatus

Britney Spears is taking an indefinite break from music to focus on family. She announced that she would be putting family first after her father was hospitalized and almost died as a result of a ruptured colon; he is currently in recovery. The global superstar cancelled her Las Vegas residency, Britney: Domination, which was to commence in February at the new Park MGM resort and her pending collaboration with Pitbull and Marc Anthony may also be on hold.

Daryl Dragon Passes Away

Daryl Dragon, best known as Captain from the group Captain and Tennille has passed away at the age of 76 due to renal failure. The duo is best known for their hits Love Will Keep Us Together, Do That To Me One More Time and Muskrat Love.

R.Kelly facing Criminal Investigations over Sexual Misconduct

A formal investigation into sexual misconduct by US rapper R.Kelly is underway. Prosecutors are checking whether the artist should face criminal charges. The case was prompted by a six-part documentary series on Lifetime titled Surviving R.Kelly, wherein women who were allegedly abused by Kelly speak out. Kelly has vehemently denied all allegations and has sworn to sue those involved. Meanwhile, radio stations have suspended playing his songs and his collaborations have been asked by artists such as Lady Gaga to be removed from streaming services.

Sony Music drops R.Kelly

Following social media backlash and protests in front of Sony Headquarters in New York, Sony Music has finally dropped R.Kelly from the record label. Prior to this a campaign titled #MuteRKelly was initiated to achieve this objective. R.Kelly has been in the middle of a massive controversy involving sexual abuse allegations with several artists withdrawing their collaborations with him on streaming services following the documentary Surviving R.Kelly being released on Lifetime.

Michael Jackson is coming to Broadway

The Michael Jackson estate has confirmed the production of a musical titled Don’t Stop ‘Till You Get Enough, inspired by the life of the King of Pop. The production is to be directed and choreographed by Tony Award winner Christopher Wheeldon and will premiere in Chicago this year and make its Broadway debut in 2020.

Playboi Carti found guilty of assault

Jordan Carter more famously known as Playboi Carti was found guilty of assault and damaging a tour bus in Scotland in February 2018. He was fined £800 following a trial at the Dumfries Justice of the Peace Court. While Carti had denied the assault charges, he had admitted to damaging the tour bus.

Chart News

In the US, Ariana Grande started off January at the top with Thank, U Next completing 7 whopping weeks but was replaced by Halsey’s Without Me in the second week. This again was dethroned by Post Malone & Swae Lee’s Sunflower, off the Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse soundtrack. Halsey’s Without Me returned to the top during the last week. During the month Post Malone’s Wow and Benny Blanco, Halsey & Khalid’s Eastside entered the top 10.

In the UK, Ava Max’s Sweet But Psycho was the first No.1 of the year dethroning Christmas No.1, LadBaby’s comic version of Starship’s We Built this City. Max’s formidable 4-week reign was ended by Ariana Grande’s 7 Rings, a sampling My Favorite Things from the beloved The Sound of Music soundtrack.  During the month, Pink Fong’s Baby Shark, Zara Larsson’s Ruin My Life, George Ezra’s Hold My Girl, Gesaffelestein & The Weeknd’s Lost in the Fire and Sam Smith & Normani’s Dancing With a Stranger, all entered the top 10 during the month.

Hot New Picks of the Month

1.       5 Seconds of Summer ft. Julia Michaels – Lie to me

2.       Sam Smith – Fire on fire

3.       Chris Brown – Undecided

4.       Sabrina Carpenter – Paris

5.       Ozuna – Baila baila baila

6.       Gabrielle Aplin – My mistake

7.       Calvin Harris & Rag’n’Bone Man – Giant

8.       Mike Shinoda – Can’t hear you now

9.       Westlife – Hello my love

10.   Hardwell ft. Snoop Dogg & Conor Maynard – How you love me

11.   The Cranberries – All over now

12.   Vice & Jason Derulo ft. Ava Max – Make up  

13.   Twenty One Pilots – Chlorine

14.   City Girls ft. Cardi B – Twerk

15.   Alec Benjamin & Alessia Cara – Let me down slowly 

Till the next beat...

At Ease!!!

Best Love Songs of 2018

Attention!!!

Happy Valentine's Day Recruits!

Some say that music is the doorway to your heart. Corny as it may sound, music, irrespective of genre can unleash emotions that one may not be even aware of. Valentine’s Day is a commercialized season for the flower vendors and gift services to make a buck. Love songs are now part and parcel of this as whatever said and done, love and music have always been intertwined. Since Valentine’s Day is here, as a staple compilation on this blog, it is time to look at the best love songs of yesteryear.  

Calum Scott & Leona Lewis’ You are the Reason takes the crown as the best love song of 2018 followed by James Arthur & Anne-Marie’s cover of Zach Efron & Zendaya’s Rewrite the Stars from The Greatest Showman. At third place is global smasher Meant To Be which was the biggest Country hit of 2018. There are many songs off soundtracks for instance Fifty Shades Freed, The Nutcracker, Aquaman and Hotel Transylvania 3. It is quite conspicuous that most entries on the list are duets. In terms of genre traditional Pop takes the mantle with EDM, Country and R&B also having a few entries. Dua Lipa and James Arthur are the only two artists with 2 entries each, that too the second being on a featured credit. So here are the top 30 love songs of 2018. 

1. Calum Scott & Leona Lewis – You are the reason
2. James Arthur & Anne-Marie – Rewrite the stars
3. Bebe Rexha & Florida Georgia Line – Meant to be
4. Rita Ora & Liam Payne – For you
5. Dan + Shay – Speechless
6. Lukas Graham – Love someone
7. Bazzi ft. Camila Cabello – Beautiful
8. Maroon 5 ft. Cardi B – Girls like you
9. Khalid & Normani – Love lies
10. Zayn – Let me
11. Michelle Williams – Tightrope
12. Dalton Harris ft. James Arthur – The power of love
13. Skylar Grey – Everything I need
14. Phantoms ft. Vanessa Hudgens – Lay with me
15. Anne-Marie – 2002
16. Andrea Bocelli & Matteo Bocelli – Fall on me
17. Hailee Steinfeld & BloodPop – Capital letters
18. Ella Mai – Boo’d up
19. MAGIC! – Kiss me
20. Kylie Minogue – Stop me from falling
21. Silk City & Dua Lipa – Electricity
22. Troye Sivan ft. Ariana Grande – Dance to this
23. Kygo & Imagine Dragons – Born to be yours
24. George Ezra – Paradise
25. Kane Brown – Lose it
26. Craig David ft. Yxng Bane – Magic
27. Calvin Harris & Dua Lipa – One kiss
28. XXXTentacion & Lil Pump ft. Maluma & Swae Lee – Arms around you
29. Jonas Blue ft. Joe Jonas – I see love
30. Why Don’t We – Hooked 

Till the next sonata...

At Ease!!!

Greatest Hits of 2018

Attention!!!

Whether it was God's plan or Drake's plan, we will never know. But the year belonged to Champagne Papi. Alongside Post Malone and Cardi B, Drake revamped the landscape of Rap, R&B and Hip-Hop. The genre grew in leaps and bounds under the guidance of the trio, particularly Cardi B, as she spearheaded the campaign of Rap and Hip-Hop into Pop, Latin Pop and even EDM. Fusion was indeed the order of the day, with mega collaborations being tested left, right and center. 

Pop music which took a backseat in the first half of the year, returned with gusto with Ariana Grande leading the pack. EDM was also prominent throughout the year with memorable tracks produced by Marshmello, Zedd and Calvin Harris. However, it was quite conspicuous during the year that the newer artists have restrained themselves from adhering to a pure genre which is the reason for their vast popularity. Movie soundtracks also played a greater role in the charts this year with A Star is Born, Black Panther and The Greatest Showman experiencing monumental success. 

Drake's global chart topper, God's Plan takes the crown in this year's list with Calvin Harris & Dua Lipa's mammoth hit One Kiss taking second place. In terms of genre, Hip-Hop and Pop is dominant in this compilation. Ariana Grande, Cardi B, Post Malone, Dua Lipa and Drake leads with 3 entries each followed by Marshmello, Ed Sheeran, Calvin Harris, Camila Cabello, Halsey, Kendrick Lamar and Anne-Marie with 2 entries each. The list this year was compiled based on worldwide charts mainly considering the US and UK charts but also giving weight to the success achieved in the European markets as well as Canada and Oceania. So here are the top 50 songs of 2018:

1. Drake – God’s plan
2. Calvin Harris & Dua Lipa – One kiss
3. Post Malone ft. Ty Dolla $ign – Psycho
4. Cardi B, J Balvin & Bad Bunny – I like it
5. Maroon 5 ft. Cardi B – Girls like you
6. Drake – In my feelings
7. Ariana Grande – No tears left to cry
8. Post Malone – Better now
9. Clean Bandit ft. Demi Lovato – Solo
10. Drake – Nice for what
11. Zedd, Maren Morris & Grey – The middle
12. Marshmello & Anne-Marie – FRIENDS
13. Ariana Grande – thank u, next
14. Bebe Rexha ft. Florida Georgia Line – Meant to be
15. Rudimental ft. Jess Glynne, Macklemore & Dan Caplen – These days
16. Ed Sheeran – Perfect
17. Benny Blanco, Halsey & Khalid – Eastside
18. Post Malone ft. 21 Savage – Rockstar
19. Kendrick Lamar & SZA – All the stars
20. Camila Cabello – Never be the same
21. Taylor Swift – Delicate
22. Eminem ft. Ed Sheeran – River
23. Camila Cabello ft. Young Thug – Havana
24. Bruno Mars ft. Cardi B – Finesse
25. 5 Seconds of Summer – Youngblood 
26. Juice Wrld – Lucid dreams
27. Childish Gambino – This is America
28. Lady Gaga & Bradley Cooper – Shallow
29. DJ Khaled ft. Justin Bieber, Quavo & Chance the Rapper – No brainer
30. Calvin Harris & Sam Smith – Promises
31. XXXTentacion – Sad!
32. Lil Dicky ft. Chris Brown – Freaky Friday
33. George Ezra – Shotgun
34. Selena Gomez – Back to you
35. Travis Scott – Sicko mode
36. Halsey – Without me
37. Dua Lipa – IDGAF
38. The Weeknd & Kendrick Lamar – Pray for me
39. 6ix9ine ft. Nicki Minaj & Murda Beatz – Fefe
40. Marshmello & Bastille – Happier
41. Ariana Grande – God is a woman
42. Justin Timberlake ft. Chris Stapleton – Say something
43. Anne-Marie – 2002
44. Dua Lipa – New rules
45. Tyga ft. Offset – Taste
46. Keala Settle – This is me
47. Khalid & Normani – Love lies
48. Panic! At the Disco – High hopes
49. Jonas Blue ft. Jack & Jack – Rise
50. Ella Mai – Boo’d up  

Till the next ensemble...

At Ease!!!

Xposition - March, 2017

Attention!!!

Although we may be just recovering from the hangover of the Grammys, award season is still not over. March kicked off with the 2017 iHeartRadio Music Awards where Justin Timberlake won the coveted Song of the Year for Can’t Stop The Feeling! The Innovator Award was bestowed on Bruno Mars while the Male and Female Artists of the Year were won by Drake and Adele respectively. Katy Perry and Skip Marley performed their newest hit Chained to the Rhythm for the third award show in a row. Ed Sheeran performed a medley of Castle on the Hill and Shape of You and Bruno Mars performed a medley of Treasure and That’s What I Like. Other big winners of the night include:

·         Best New Artist: The Chainsmokers

·         Best Duo/Group of the Year: Twenty One Pilots

·         Rock Song of the Year: Green Day – Bang bang

·         Country Song of the Year: Dierks Bentley – Somewhere on a beach

·         Dance Song of the Year: The Chainsmokers ft. Halsey – Closer

·         Hip-Hop Song of the Year: Drake ft. Wizkid and Kyla – One dance

·         R&B Song of the Year: Rihanna ft. Drake – Work

·         Latin Song of the Year: Enrique Iglesias ft. Wisin – Duele el corazón

·         Best Lyrics: Justin Bieber – Love yourself

·         Best Producer: Benny Blanco

·         Best Tour: Coldplay – A Head Full of Dreams Tour

·         Best Video: Fifth Harmony ft. Ty Dolla $ign – Work from home

Next up we have the 2017 Kids’ Choice Awards. There were only two performances during the show – Machine Gun Kelly and Camila Cabello with Bad Things and a medley of Touch and Shout Out To My Ex by the Little Mix. Favorite Song was won by Work From Home by Fifth Harmony featuring Ty Dolla $ign. Favorite Group went to Fifth Harmony while Favorite Male and Female Artists went to Shawn Mendes and Selena Gomez respectively. The other winners of the night for music were:

·         Favorite New Artist: Twenty One Pilots

·         Favorite Music Video: Zay Hilfigerrr and Zayion McCall – Juju On The Beat

·         Favorite DJ/EDM Artist: Calvin Harris

·         Favorite Soundtrack: Suicide Squad

·         Favorite Global Music Star: Little Mix

Rock n’ roll legend Chuck Berry died at the age of 90 from cardiac arrest. On March 18, 2017, police in St. Charles County, Missouri, were called to Berry's house, where he was found unresponsive and pronounced dead at the scene. Berry was set to release “Chuck”, his first studio album in more than 35 years. More on musician deaths, the remaining members of Sister Sledge confirmed that their sister Joni passed away at the age of 60 from natural causes which arose from complications from a preexisting condition. They also vowed to continue touring as a duo.

Moving onto chart news, in the US Ed Sheeran’s Shape of You reigned supreme throughout the month accumulating 7 non-consecutive weeks at the top. Meanwhile, Katy Perry featuring Skip Marley’s Chained to the Rhythm debuted at No.4 and The Weeknd featuring Daft Punk’s I Feel It Coming, Rihanna’s Love On The Brain, The Chainsmokers & Coldplay’s Something Just Like This and Clean Bandit featuring Sean Paul and Anne Marie’s Rockabye entered the top 10.

In the UK too Shape of You continued the apparent global dominance alongside the debut of Sheeran’s latest album ÷ which topped album charts worldwide and the singles therein peaking within the singles charts. During the week of the debut nine of the top 10 were by Ed Sheeran. The most notable out of these singles are Galway Girl, Perfect and How Would You Feel (Paean). Other than this Martin Jenson’s Solo Dance, Kygo & Selena Gomez’s It Ain’t Me, Drake’s Passionfruit and Clean Bandit featuring Zara Larsson’s Symphony all entered the top 10.

Other songs which became popular during the month were:

1.       Jason Derulo ft. Nicki Minaj & Ty Dolla $ign – Swalla

2.       Kodak Black – Tunnel vision

3.       Calvin Harris ft. Frank Ocean & Migos – Slide

4.       Anne Marie – Ciao Adios

5.       Ed Sheeran – New man

6.    Lana Del Rey – Love

7.       Inna – Gimme gimme

Till the next beat...

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!!!

Best New Artists of 2016

Attention!!!

This is the first of the year-end lists as we start the count down to the Greatest Hits of 2016. This year we witnessed a drove of immense talent flooding the industry. With varied genres and vocal ranges the acts ranged from solo artists to duos and groups. We have former reality/talent show contestants, former boy band members as well as social media enthusiasts. 

Taking the crown are Rock duo Twenty One Pilots who dominated the charts with their unique Alternative/Rap fusion style. They are followed by vocal powerhouse Zara Larsson whose songs went onto become global smash hits. At No.3 we have Shawn Mendes who is turning out to be the male counterpart of Taylor Swift with a gargantuan fan following. I have excluded the Chainsmokers from this list as they had their first hit #Selfie three years ago. So here are the Top 20 New Artists of 2016:   

1. Twenty One Pilots

They are an Alternative Rock duo that captured our hearts with Stressed Out and went onto score other popular hits such as Ride and Heathens.

2. Zara Larsson

She is a force to be reckoned with in the music industry as her hits Never Forget You, Lush Life, Ain’t My Fault and I Would Like were all global smash hits and she even collaborated with David Guetta and Tinie Tempah.

3. Shawn Mendes

This Canadian heartthrob speaks to prepubescents through his whiny and cheesy lyrics and he has had hits such as Stitches, Treat You Better and Mercy and also collaborations with Camila Cabello and The Vamps.

4. DNCE

Definitely the best Pop Rock band of this decade so far, their global smash Cake By The Ocean is now an anthem on the dancefloor and they have had hits such as Toothbrush and Body Moves.

5. Alan Walker

One of the most unique DJs of this decade who released his global chart topper Faded followed by Sing Me To Sleep and more recently Alone.

6. Daya

The Hideaway hit maker did not stop there, she collaborated with the Chainsmokers’ on their worldwide hit Don’t Let Me Down and again returned to the charts with Sit Still and Look Pretty.

7. Alessia Cara

Her anti-social hymn Here became a party hit over night and she went on to score with Wild Things and Scars To Your Beautiful.

8. G-Eazy

He’s the new white kid on the block, but his style of rapping is distinctive and his collaboration Me Myself & I with Bebe Rexha was a global hit and he has gone onto collaborate with Britney Spears and Grace.

9. Bebe Rexha

With powerful vocals she can sing as well as rap. Her single Me Myself & I alongside G-Eazy was a worldwide hit and she also spawned hits such as No Broken Hearts and I Got You.

10. MØ

Her Danish Indie Pop style doesn’t go unnoticed. Entering the mainstream from Major Lazer’s Lean On, she has now released hits such as Final Song, Kamikaze and Drum and also collaborating with Major Lazer again on Cold Water.

11. Zayn

This former One Directioner proved that he can stand on his own as he topped the charts with his debut single Pillowtalk and has also had hits such as Like I Would and It’s You.

12. Dua Lipa

As a vocal powerhouse she entered the mainstream with Be The One and Hotter Than Hell and then went on to score with Blow Your Mind (Mwah) and being featured on Sean Paul’s No Lie.

13. Troye Sivan

As a social media titan, Sivan’s followers will swallow anything and everything that he spews out; although his singles are good and Youth, Wild and Talk Me Down went onto become hits.

14. Louisa Johnson

She won the X Factor last year and entered the charts covering Bob Dylan’s Forever Young. She then collaborated with the Clean Bandit on their hit Tears and also her own hit So Good.  

15. Lukas Graham

They may be hyped up but their 7 Years was a mega hit around the world which they followed up with Mama Said and You’re Not There.

16. Anne Marie

Her hit Alarm took the charts by storm after which her collaboration with Clean Bandit and Sean Paul on Rockabye reached the summit worldwide.

17. Halsey

Her New Americana, Colours and Castle were all moderately successful but it was Closer, her collaboration with the Chainsmokers that propelled her to No.1 world over.

18. Calum Scott

He finished sixth on the ninth series of Britain’s Got Talent and released his audition song cover of Robyn’s Dancing On My Own which became a worldwide hit. 

19. Kiiara

Her bass heavy, trap style, rap became very popular through her hit Gold which was used by Apple to promote their Apple Watch. 

20. Nathan Sykes

He may have not earned the same popularity as his former band The Wanted but he did gain chart success with Over and Over Again, Give It Up and Famous. 

Till the next ensemble...

At Ease!!!