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2018 Recap: A Year in Music

Attention!!!

Ladies and gents, this is the moment you've waited for. It’s time to say goodbye to 2018. If it’s meant to be, it’ll be, and no tears will be left to cry for the past year. It’s a no brainer that it was a fantastic year for music. According to God’s plan all the stars aligned for Rap & Hip-Hop, as if I’m taken back to 2002. I like it how the Spanglish resurgence incorporated Rap and EDM into its fold. I've told you one, two, three, four, five, six thousand times that the recap is always under seven segments: genres, albums, singles, milestones, shockers, talent and obituaries. While we will never be the same after 2018, we have high hopes for 2019; thank u, next:

1. Genres

The most conspicuous changes in the mainstream genres were:

Continuing their reign from last year Rap and Hip-Hop ruled the first half of the year with Cloud Rap being the main subgenre on the charts.
Pop which took a backseat to the new trends in fusion music resurfaced in the latter half of the year.
The next phase of the Latin resurgence was the fusion of the genre with EDM and Rap with some hits and a few epic fails.
Mega collaborations was the order of the day be it any genre.
K-Pop conquered the world with BTS and BLACKPINK leading the fray.
The age of Hard Rock and Metal is definitely over with the few hits from the genre being produced only by mainstream artists.
Country music had a big year with the genre doing well on the charts particularly due to crossover artists.
It was a great year for movie musicals with their soundtracks performing extremely well.

2. Albums

Some of the best albums released in 2018 were:

Migos – Culture II (3rd studio album)
Justin Timberlake – Man of the Woods (5th studio album)
George Ezra – Staying at Tamara’s (2nd studio album)
Kacey Musgraves – Golden Hour (4th studio album)
CNCO – CNCO (2nd studio album)
Kylie Minogue – Golden (14th studio album)
Charlie Puth – Voicenotes (2nd studio album)
Maluma – F.A.M.E. (3rd studio album)
Shawn Mendes – Shawn Mendes (3rd studio album)
J Balvin – Vibras (5th studio album)
Marshmello – Joytime II (2nd studio album)
Panic! At the Disco – Pray for the Wicked (6th studio album)
Ariana Grande – Sweetener (4th studio album)
Post Malone – Beerbongs & Bentleys (2nd studio album)
Lily Allen – No Shame (4th studio album)
Jess Glynne – Always in Between (2nd studio album)
Christina Aguilera – Liberation (8th studio album)
Drake – Scorpion (5th studio album)
5 Seconds of Summer – Youngblood (3rd studio album)
Eminem – Kamikaze (10th studio album)
BTS – Love Yourself: Tear (3rd Korean studio album)
XXXTentacion – ? (2nd studio album)
Nicki Minaj – Queen (4th studio album)
Clean Bandit – What is Love? (2nd studio album)
Rita Ora – Phoenix (2nd studio album)
Little Mix – LM5 (5th studio album)

Most of the anticipated albums in 2018 were debut studio albums:

Camila Cabello – Camila
Sigala – Brighter Days
Bebe Rexha – Expectations
Alan Walker – Different World
Cardi B – Invasion of Privacy
Anne-Marie – Speak Your Mind
Calum Scott – Only Human
Jorja Smith – Lost & Found
Mike Shinoda – Post Traumatic

3. Singles

Drake’s God’s Plan topped the charts in 14 countries and entered the top ten in 9 others and ended the year as the most successful single of the year.
Camila Cabello who left the girl band Fifth Harmony in 2016 achieved monumental global fame with her summer smash hit Havana featuring Young Thug.
Maroon 5 featuring Cardi B’s Girls Like You was the most watched music video of 2018 with over 1.5 billion views. Due to this being her third chart topper, Cardi B extended her record in the US for most number ones by a female rapper.
BTS’ Fake Love became the highest charting K-Pop single by a group in the US while BLACKPINK became the highest charting K-Pop female act with Ddu Du Ddu Du.
Ariana Grande revisited the noughties in her Thank U, Next video which became her most successful hit to date and broke the record for most-watched video on YouTube within 24 hours by achieving 55.4 million views passing BTS’ Idol.
With the success of Drake’s In My Feelings boosted by the Kiki Challenge, biggest viral sensation on social media made the artist the rapper with the most number ones in the US.
Little Mix left Simon Cowell’s record label Syco Music over creative differences particularly their hit Woman Like Me featuring Nicki Minaj.
Lady Gaga returned to the top of the charts with Shallow a duet with Bradley Cooper from the soundtrack of their box office hit movie musical A Star is Born.
Lauryn Hill’s 1998-hit Ex-Factor was sampled by Drake and Cardi B in their hits Nice for What and Be Careful respectively.
Panic! At the Disco scored their biggest hit to date with High Hopes surpassing the success of I Write Sins Not Tragedies way back in 2006.
Dad blogger LadBaby claimed the coveted Christmas No.1 with his cover of Starship's We Built This City beating stiff competition from Ariana Grande's Thank U, Next and Ava Max's Sweet But Psycho.
Mariah Carey's All I Want for Christmas is You became the first Christmas song in 60 years to enter the top 5 in the US reaching a peak of No.3.
Pinkfong's Baby Shark became a viral hit with over 2 billion views on YouTube and several artists such as BLACKPINK and Girls Generation covering the song and parodies being done on talk shows such as Ellen Degeneres and James Corden and a performance at the X Factor final.
Drake's In My Feelings was the biggest viral sensation of the year with the Kiki Challenge being performed around the world and with its success, Drake became the rapper with the most number one hits in the US.

4. Milestones

Bruno Mars took home the big 3 at the Grammy Awards with Record of the Year for 24K Magic, Album of the Year for 24K Magic and Song of the Year for That’s What I Like
Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Robert Lopez won Best Original Song at the Academy Awards for Remember Me from Coco
US President Donald Trump awarded the late Elvis Presley, the Presidential Medal of Freedom
Martin Garrix took the No.1 spot on the DJ Mag Top 100 DJs for 2018
Ariana Grande was named Billboard Woman of the Year
BTS became the youngest recipients of the Order of Cultural Merit from the South Korean government.
Jess Glynne broke Cheryl Cole’s record for most number ones by a British female artist in the UK with 7 chart toppers.
Billboard Hot 100 celebrated its 60th anniversary in August.
Jennifer Lopez received the prestigious Michael Jackson Video Vanguard Award at the MTV Video Music Awards
Justin Timberlake performed at the Super Bowl LII Halftime Show
Daddy Yankee was awarded the Icon Award for his contribution to Latin Music and Maluma was awarded the Extraordinary Evolution Award at the Latin American Music Awards
Janet Jackson received the Icon Awards at the MTV Europe Music Awards, Billboard Music Awards and Radio Disney Music Awards
Wolf Alice’s Visions of a Life won the coveted Mercury Prize
Dame Kiri Te Kanawa was awarded the Member of the Order of Companions of Honour in the Queen’s 2019 Birthday Honours
Kelly Clarkson was honored with the Icon Award at the Radio Disney Music Awards
Mary Poppins Returns, the sequel to Walt Disney’s beloved musical-fantasy film was released after a lapse of 54 years starring Emily Blunt in the titular role.
Cher, Reba McEntire, Philip Glass and Wayne Shorter were the honorees at the Kennedy Center Honors.
Taylor Swift became the most awarded female winner in American Music Awards history with a total of 23 awards, breaking the record held by Whitney Houston.

5. Shockers

Spice Girls excluding Victoria Beckham (Posh Spice) announced their much anticipated return with the Spice World 2019 Tour with 13 shows.
Boyzone released their seventh and final album Thank You & Goodnight marking their 25th anniversary and a farewell tour with the same name.
Tulisa won the legal battle against Will.I.Am and Britney Spears for Scream & Shout ensuring a songwriting credit.
The remaining members of Fifth Harmony declared a hiatus to pursue solo endeavors.
The final judgment was delivered in favour of the Marvin Gaye estate in the Blurred Lines copyright suit against Robin Thicke and Pharrell Williams.
Axwell, Steve Angello and Sebastian Ingrosso confirmed that Swedish House Mafia have reunited and will tour and release new music in 2019.
The rap beef between Eminem and Machine Gun Kelly reached a climax with Not Alike released by Eminem with a response by MGK with Rap Devil and the final cannon shot at MGK by Eminem with Killshot.
In her new memoir, Brutally Honest, Spice Girl Mel B revealed that just before the X Factor UK final in 2014 where she was a judge she had taken 200 aspirin pills in an attempt to end her life due to her difficult marriage to Stephen Belafonte.
6ix9ine was arrested by US police for racketeering and conspiracy murder charges and if found guilty, the rapper may face 32 years to life in prison.
In the Woolsey Fires that burned through California several artists’ homes including that of Miley Cyrus, Robin Thicke and Lil Pump were burned to the ground.

6. Talent

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

63rd Eurovision Song Contest – Israel with Netta’s Toy
The X Factor (15th Season) – Dalton Harris mentored by Louis Tomlinson
The Voice (14th Season) – Brynn Cartelli coached by Kelly Clarkson
The Voice UK (7th Season) – Ruti Olajugbagbe coached by Sir Tom Jones
The Voice (15th Season) – Chevel Shepherd coached by Kelly Clarkson
The Four: Battle for Stardom (1st Season) – Evvie McKinney
The Four: Battle for Stardom (2nd Season) – James Graham

7. Obituaries

Ray Thomas of The Moody Blues (29 December 1941 – 04 January 2018)
Dolores O’Riordan of The Cranberries (06 September 1971 – 15 January 2018)
Mark Salling of former Glee Cast (17 August 1982 – 30 January 2018)
Dennis Edwards of The Temptations (03 February 1943 – 01 February 2018)
Barbara Alston of The Crystals (29 December 1943 – 16 February 2018)
Yvonne Staples of The Staple Singers (23 October 1937 – 10 April 2018)
Avicii (08 September 1989 – 20 April 2018)
XXXTentacion (23 January 1998 – 18 June 2018)
Vinnie Paul of Pantera (11 March 1964 – 22 June 2018)
Aretha Franklin (25 March 1942 – 16 August 2018)
Ed King of Lynrd Skynyrd(14 September 1949 – 22 August 2018)
Mac Miller (19 January 1992 – 07 September 2018)
Marty Balin of Jefferson Airplane/Starship (30 January 1942 – 27 September 2018)
Freddie Hart (21 December 1926 – 27 October 2018)
Roy Clark (15 April 1933 – 15 November 2018)
Devin Lima of LFO (18 March 18 1977 – 21 November 2018)

Till next year...

At Ease!!!

Xposition - April, 2018

Attention!!!

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

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!!!

Most Successful EDM Songs of the 2010s

Attention!!!

The 2010s will definitely be the decade of EDM. The Techno scene has been there for quite sometime, but it has always been featured in the "underground", with those with a particular palate, attracted to the genre. But in the early 2000s we witnessed DJs breakout as original artists instead of being dependent on remixes. However, it was in the latter part of the 2000s that EDM or Electronic Dance Music made its breakthrough into the mainstream; and this was through David Guetta's When Love Takes Over which featured ex-Destiny's Child vocal powerhouse Kelly Rowland. With the stage set for a clear niche in the market in the early 2010s for this genre, House music entered the global charts through the likes of Avicii, Calvin Harris, LMFAO and Swedish House Mafia.

By the mid 2010s it is clear that EDM incorporates Deep House, Progressive House, Trance, Techno, Dubstep and even elements of Trap and Rap. FYI this list does not contain the best EDM songs but the most successful ones based on chart performance worldwide and accolades received. LMFAO's Party Rock Anthem hands down takes the crown as it is one of the best selling singles of all time out of any genre. Avicii's Wake Me Up is at No.2 followed by Rihanna's We Found Love. Calvin Harris leads the entries with 7 followed by David Guetta with 6, Zedd with 3 and Rihanna, Nicki Minaj, Robin Schulz, The Chainsmokers, Zara Larsson and DJ Snake with 2 each. Notable top rated DJs that do not have any entries here include Tiesto, Armin Van Buuren, Hardwell, Steve Aoki and Alesso. So here are the 40 most successful EDM songs of the 2010s (I will definitely update it till 2019):

LMFAO ft. Lauren Bennett & GoonRock – Party rock anthem
Avicii – Wake me up
Rihanna ft. Calvin Harris – We found love
Major Lazer & DJ Snake ft. MØ – Lean on
Swedish House Mafia ft. John Martin – Don’t you worry child
David Guetta ft. Sia – Titanium
Calvin Harris – Summer
Lily Wood and The Prick & Robin Schulz – Prayer in C
Avicii – Levels
LMFAO – Sexy and I know it
David Guetta ft. Nicki Minaj – Turn me on
Calvin Harris ft. Florence Welch – Sweet nothing
Lost Frequencies – Are you with me
David Guetta ft. Usher – Without you
Mike Posner – I took a pill in Ibiza
Lana Del Rey vs. Cedric Gervais – Summertime sadness
Skrillex & Diplo ft. Justin Bieber – Where are u now
Calvin Harris ft. John Newman – Blame
Mr. Probz & Robin Schulz – Waves
Calvin Harris & Disciples – How deep is your love
Zedd ft. Foxes – Clarity
Martin Garrix – Animals
Calvin Harris ft. Rihanna – This is what you came for
Avicii – Hey brother
David Guetta ft. Nicki Minaj, Afrojack & Bebe Rexha – Hey mama
The Chainsmokers ft. Daya – Don’t let me down
Zara Larsson & MNEK – Never forget you
David Guetta ft. Sam Martin – Lovers on the sun
Baauer – Harlem shake
Alan Walker – Faded
Jonas Blue ft. Dakota – Fast car
Kygo ft. Conrad Sewell – Firestone
DJ Snake & Lil Jon – Turn down for what
Ariana Grande ft. Zedd – Break free
The Chainsmokers – #SELFIE
Ylvis – The fox (What does the fox say?)
Zedd ft. Hayley Williams – Stay the night
Britney Spears – Work bitch
David Guetta ft. Zara Larsson – This one’s for you
Calvin Harris ft. Ellie Goulding – I need your love

Till the next beat...

At Ease!!!

Most Successful Swedish Artists of All Time

Uppmärksamhet!!!

With the new European wave that has been taking over the contemporary charts, I have decided to venture into the continent to find out who else have been successful throughout the years. This will be the first part of a series of lists which will see who has been contributing to the industry from these countries. The initial European wave came back in the 1970s when certain artists from Germany, Sweden and Denmark contributed to the development of Disco. Then there was a tsunami during the early 1990s when Eurodance took over the mainstream by storm. This died down and in the late 2000s Europop resurfaced aligning with the mainstream genres of Pop, Techno, Dancepop and Reggae. And now once again Europe has risen and this time they move in directly through mainstream Pop.

With the advent of Zara Larsson, Sweden has been clearly marked on the mainstream music map and her path was marked by the successes of Swedish House Mafia, Avicii and Tove Lo who in turn have been extremely successful in the 2010s. However, while this wave is quite significant you cannot discount the success of those who achieved their success when there was no such wave in the industry, for instance, the Ace of Base, the Cardigans, Eagle Eye Cherry and A*Teens were stand alone successes during their respective eras.

The music of Sweden shares the tradition of Nordic folk dance music with its neighboring countries in northern Europe, including polka, schottische, waltz, polska and mazurka. Swedish music has also included more modern and pop influences. On a per capita basis, Sweden is one of the world's most successful exporters of popular music. Sweden's success in music began with ABBA, the winners of the Eurovision Song Contest of 1974. They were the first group to come from a non-English speaking country to experience such a magnitude of success in English speaking countries, and is all the most successful group to ever take part in Eurovision and they went on to become one of the best selling groups in the world. With its 6 wins Sweden is the second most successful country in the Eurovision Contest after Ireland who has 7 wins. So without further ado here are the 40 most successful Swedish artists of all time.