Xposition - February, 2019

Attention!!!

61^st Annual Grammy Awards

Childish Gambino was the big winner of the night where he won Record of the Year, Song of the Year, Best Music Video and Best Rap/Sung Performance for his hit This is America. It was a historical moment for Rap as This is America was the first from the genre to win Record of the Year. Kacey Musgraves was also a big winner as she won Album of the Year and Best Country Album for Golden Hour, Best Country Song for Space Cowboy and Best Country Solo Performance for Butterflies. The coveted Best New Artist award went to Dua Lipa who also won Best Dance Recording alongside Silk City (Mark Ronson & Diplo).

Camila Cabello opened the ceremony with her hit Havana which was then joined by Ricky Martin and J Balvin to perform their hits Pégate and Mi Gente. Post Malone was joined on stage by rock legends Red Hot Chili Peppers to perform a medley of Stay, Rockstar and Dark Necessities. Curtains closed on the show with Fantasia, Andra Day and Yolanda Adams paying tribute to Queen of Soul, Aretha Franklin with a performance of (You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman. Jennifer Lopez, Smokey Robinson and Ne-Yo celebrated the 60^th anniversary of Motown Records with a medley of the greatest hits released under the label such as ABC, Do You Love Me, Please Mr. Postman and Dancing in the Street. Other notable winners were:

·         Best Pop Vocal Album: Ariana Grande – Sweetener

·         Best Rock Album: Greta Van Fleet – From the Fires

·         Best Rap Album: Cardi B – Invasion of Privacy

·         Best Rap Song: Drake – God’s Plan

·         Best R&B Song: Ella Mai – Boo’d Up

·         Best Pop Solo Performance: Lady Gaga – Joanne (Where do you think you’re goin’?)

·         Best Compilation Soundtrack for Visual Media – The Greatest Showman

·      Best Song Written for Visual Media: Lady Gaga & Bradley Cooper – Shallow (A Star is Born)

2019 BRIT Awards

The 1975 and Calvin Harris were the big winners of British music’s most prestigious night. The curtains opened with a performance of The Greatest Show by Hugh Jackman from The Greatest Showman soundtrack. Calvin Harris who performed a medley of his hits Giant, Promises and One Kiss took home Producer of the Year and Single of the Year for One Kiss (with Dua Lipa). The 1975 won British Group and Album of the Year for A Brief Inquiry into Online Relationships. Little Mix who performed their latest hit Woman Like Me assisted by Ms Banks won Video of the Year. The other winners were:

·         British Male Solo Artist – George Ezra

·         British Female Solo Artist – Jorja Smith

·         British Breakthrough Act – Tom Walker

·         International Male Solo Artist – Drake

·         International Female Solo Artist – Ariana Grande

·         International Group – The Carters

·         Global Success Award – Ed Sheeran

91^st Academy Awards

Queen biopic Bohemian Rhapsody won big at the Oscars with 4 wins including Best Actor for Rami Malek for his portrayal of the band’s lead vocalist, Freddie Mercury along with Best Film Editing, Best Sound Mixing and Best Sound Editing. The coveted Best Original Song went to Lady Gaga, Mark Ronson, Anthony Rossomando and Andrew Wyatt for Shallow from A Star is Born. Ludwig Göransson took home Best Original Score for Black Panther.

2019 Billboard Latin Music Awards Nominations

In a historic feat Ozuna has scored a record 23 nominations across 15 categories including Artist of the Year and two nods each in the Hot Latin Song of the Year for Taki Taki and Te Bote and Top Latin Album of the Year for Aura and Odisea. Far behind him with 13 nods each are J Balvin and Nicky Jam followed by Bad Bunny with 12 nominations. The awards, which honor top performers in Latin music cover 34 categories and will be held on 25 April 2019 in Las Vegas.

Super Bowl LIII Halftime Show

This year’s show was marred by controversy even before it began. Pink and Rihanna allegedly declined to headline the show which left the organizers with the safe pick of Maroon 5 with guest stars Travis Scott and Big Boi. Cardi B announced that she turned down an opportunity to perform at the Super Bowl LIII alongside Maroon 5. Her reason for doing so is in support of ex-NFL player Colin Kaepernick who knelt during the national anthem in 2016 to raise awareness to police brutality, racial inequality and other social issues.

Maroon 5’s lackluster performance was attributed to them performing their commercially successful hits such as Sugar and Moves Like Jagger in place of fan favorites such as One More Night, Payphone and Animals. Lead vocalist Adam Levine received backlash over taking his shirt off during the last portion, as the same was compared to how Janet Jackson’s career took a downfall due to her wardrobe mishap in 2004, just because she was a woman.

Pink receives star on Hollywood Walk of Fame

Pink was awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame where her husband Carey Hart and two children joined for the special occasion. Soon after the event, she announced that she will be releasing a new single titled Walk Me Home this month, followed by a studio album, Hurts 2B Human in April. The BRIT Awards also announced that she would receive the Outstanding Contribution to Music Award this year, making her the first non-British artist to receive the prize.

R.Kelly jailed for sexual abuse

R&B superstar R.Kelly was arrested on 10 charges of aggravated criminal sexual abuse. Kelly turned himself in to the Chicago police on the day the charges were announced. Bail was set at USD 1 million by the judge who also ordered Kelly not to have any contact with a minor or an alleged victim.

Celine Dion biopic in the works

French studio Gaumont announced the production of “The Power of Love”, a biopic based on the life of pop superstar Celine Dion to be released in 2020. Valerie Lemercier will direct the primarily French film and star as the Canadian singer.

James Ingram passes away at the age of 66

Two time Grammy winner and Oscar nominee James Ingram passed away at the age of 66 from brain cancer. Ingram was a critically acclaimed R&B singer and songwriter scoring hits such as Baby Come to Me (with Patti Austin), Somewhere Out There (with Linda Ronstadt), I Don't Have the Heart and Yah Mo Be There (with Michael McDonald).

6ix9ine pleads guilty to nine crimes
The Brooklyn rapper pleaded guilty to nine crimes including helping the Nine Trey Blood Gang of which he was a member to kill a rival gang member. By cooperating with the prosecution, the 23-year old will gain some leniency during sentencing, which is scheduled for 23 January 2020. Till then he will remain in an undisclosed federal prison for safety reasons.

21 Savage released on bond by US Immigration

UK born rapper 21 Savage (real name Shéyaa Bin Abraham-Joseph) was released on bond by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) after nine days in detention for violation of US immigration laws. He was charged with overstaying in the country since his visa expired in the US. His expedited deportation hearing is scheduled for 11 April 2019. He was scheduled to perform at the recently held Grammy Awards where his Post Malone collaboration Rockstar was nominated for Record of the Year and Best Rap/Sung Performance. 

Michael Jackson Estate sues HBO over Documentary 

Optimum Productions and the co-executors of Jackson’s estate are suing HBO and parent company, Time Warner over the upcoming documentary Leaving Neverland, which alleges sexual abuse on the part of the King of Pop. The MJ estate is relying on a non-disparagement provision in a 1992 agreement between Jackson and HBO and the lawsuit if won by the estate could exceed USD 100 million in damages.

UN issues Guidelines for Audio Devices

The World Health Organization and International Telecommunications Union have presented new standards for the manufacture and use of personal audio devices. The agencies state half of all people aged 12-35 or 1.1 billion people are at risk of hearing loss due to prolonged and exposure to loud sounds. The recommendations say the devices should include software to track exposure to sound and methods to limit volume.

Chart News

In the US, Ariana Grande’s brand new single 7 Rings debuted atop the charts during the first week and kept its throne for the remainder of the month. During the month Grande released another single Break Up With Your Girlfriend, I’m Bored, the third single off her latest album, interpolating NSYNC’s It Makes Me Ill, which debuted at No.2 just missing the top spot because of her own hit. With this hit she equaled a record set by The Beatles in 1964 to occupy the top 3 spots (with Thank U, Next at No.3) on the chart and the first solo artist to do so.     

In the UK, Grande continued her reign with 7 Rings for the first two weeks of the month. In the third week she replaced herself at the top with Break Up With Your Girlfriend, I’m Bored, and became the first female artist in UK history to replace herself at No.1. She then once again replaced herself at the top, with 7 Rings returning to the top in the fourth week. During the month, Mabel’s Don’t Call Me Up, Billie Ellish’s Bury a Friend and Lewis Capaldi’s Someone You Loved, all entered the top 10 during the month.

Hot New Picks of the Month

1.       Galantis ft. OneRepublic – Bones

2.       Little Mix ft. Ty Dolla $ign – Think about us

3.       Yungblud & Halsey ft. Travis Barker – 11 minutes

4.       Khalid & Kane Brown – Saturday nights

5.       Julia Michaels ft. Selena Gomez – Anxiety

6.       Daddy Yankee ft. Snow – Con calma 

7.       Troye Sivan & Lauv – I’m so tired

8.       Ally Brooke – Low key

9.       Zedd & Katy Perry – 365

10.  J. Cole – Middle Child 

Till the next beat...

At Ease!!!

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!!!

Xposition - February, 2018

Attention!!!

Although the Grammys are over, we are not done with the awards season, as we have UK’s biggest music night to celebrate with Dua Lipa and Stormzy emerging as the top winners at the 2018 BRIT Awards. Lipa took home British Breakthrough and British Female while Stormzy took home the British Male and the coveted Album of the Year for Gang Signs and Prayer. The night’s memorable performances included Dua Lipa with her summer smash New Rules, Ed Sheeran with Supermarker Flowers, Rita Ora with a medley of Your Song, Anywhere and For You accompanied by Liam Payne and a surprise performance by Liam Gallagher with Oasis hit Live Forever. Other recipients include:

·         British Group: Gorillaz

·         British Producer of the Year: Steve Mac

·         British Single: Rag ‘n’ Bone Man – Human

·         British Artist Video of the Year: Harry Styles – Sign of the Times

·         International Male Solo Artist: Kendrick Lamar

·         International Female Solo Artist: Lorde

·         International Group: Foo Fighters

·         BRITs Global Success Award: Ed Sheeran

In other music news, Justin Timberlake performed at the Pepsi Super Bowl LII Halftime Show. With mixed to negative reviews, Timberlake had big shoes to fill as Lady Gaga put on quite a legendary performance the year before. Introduced by none other than Jimmy Fallon, Timberlake performed a medley of songs including his newest single at the time Filthy and his former hits Rock Your Body, Senorita, SexyBack, My Love, Cry Me A River and Until The End of Time. He then gave tribute to Prince in his Minneapolis-native Prince with the latter’s hit I Would Die 4 U and proceeded to close the set with Mirrors and Can’t Stop The Feeling!

Meanwhile, IFPI has released the world’s top 10 bestselling music acts of 2017 and none other than Ed Sheeran the sole Brit on the list takes the crown.  It’s a no-brainer that he would top the list after whopping album sales for his latest studio album ÷ and the global smash hit Shape of You which topped almost all the charts worldwide. The acts compose of 7 Americans and 2 Canadians. The 10 acts are:

1.       Ed Sheeran

2.       Drake

3.       Taylor Swift

4.       Kendrick Lamar

5.       Eminem

6.       Bruno Mars

7.       The Weeknd

8.       Imagine Dragons

9.       Linkin Park

10.   The Chainsmokers

In the US, Drake’s God Plan debuted atop the Billboard Hot 100 from the first week ending Camila Cabello featuring Young Thug’s Havana short stint at the top during the last week of January. God’s Plan remained at the pole position throughout the month. During the month Bebe Rexha featuring Flo Rida Georgia Line’s Meant To Be, Justin Timberlake featuring Chris Stapleton’s Say Something as well as the theme songs from the Black Panther: Kendrick Lamar and The Weeknd’s Pray For Me and Kendrick Lamar and SZA’s All The Stars all entered the top 10.  

In the UK too, Drake debuted atop the charts with God’s Plan ending Eminem featuring Ed Sheeran’s River one week No.1. During the month Dua Lipa’s IDGAF, Jax Jones ft. Ina Wroldsen’s Breathe, Sigrid’s Strangers and the theme song from The Greatest Showman, Keala Settle’s This is Me all entered the top 10.

Other songs which became popular during the month were:

1.       Rudimental ft. Macklemore, Jess Glynne and Dan Caplen – These days

2.       Marshmello & Anne Marie – Friends

3.       Drake – Diplomatic immunity

4.       G-Eazy ft. Charlie Puth – Sober

5.       Migos – Stir fry

6.       BlocBoy JB ft. Drake – Look alive

7.       Paloma Faith – Till I’m done

Till the next beat...

At Ease!!!

Xposition - January, 2018

Attention!!!

Music’s biggest night kicked off things in 2018 as the 60^th Grammy Awards was held in January hosted by James Corden. While Jay-Z was the top nominee with 8 it was Bruno Mars who was the biggest winner of the night earning 6 wins including all three major awards with 24K Magic as the Record of the Year, the album of the same name as the Album of the Year and Song of the Year going to his That’s What I Like. Kendrick Lamar was also a big winner at the Grammys taking 5 awards including Best Rap Album for DAMN., Best Rap Song and Best Music Video for HUMBLE.

Some of the great performances of the night included DJ Khaled, Rihanna and Bryson Tiller with Wild Thoughts, Elton John and Miley Cyrus with Tiny Dancer, Kesha with Praying accompanied by Camila Cabello, Cyndi Lauper, Andra Day, Bebe Rexha and Julia Michaels as well as tributes to Tom Petty, Chester Bennington and Chris Cornell as well for the Las Vegas Shooting and Manchester Arena Bombing. Other significant wins included:

·         Best New Artist: Alessia Cara

·         Best Pop Vocal Album: Ed Sheeran - ÷

·         Best Rock Song: Foo Fighter – Run

·         Best Country Song: Christ Stapleton – Broken halos

·         Best Latin Pop Album: Shakira – El Dorado

·         Best Score Soundtrack for Visual Media: Justin Hurwitz – La La Land

·         Best Song Written for Visual Media: Lin-Manuel Miranda – How far I’ll go

·         Producer of the Year, Non-Classical – Greg Kurstin

The 75^th Golden Globe Awards were also held in January hosted by Seth Myers. Alexandre Desplat won for Best Original Score for The Shape of Water whilst the Best Original Song went to This Is Me performed by Keala Settle from The Greatest Showman written by Benj Pasek and Justin Paul.

Meanwhile, some highly anticipated nominations were announced during the month. First up we have the coveted 90^th Academy Awards nominees for Best Original Score and Best Original Song.

Best Original Score:

·         Dunkirk – Hans Zimmer

·         Phantom Thread – Jonny Greenwood

·         The Shape of Water – Alexandre Desplat

·         Star Wars: The Last Jedi – John Williams

·         Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri – Carter Burwell

Best Original Song

·         Mighty River: Mudbound – Mary J. Blige, Raphael Saadiq and Taura Stinson

·         Mystery of Love: Call Me by Your Name – Sufjan Stevens

·         Remember Me: Coco – Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Robert Lopez

·         Stand Up for Something: Marshall – Diane Warren and Common

·         This Is Me: The Greatest Showman – Benj Pasek and Justin Paul

Secondly we have the BRIT Awards 2018 nominations with Dua Lipa leading the fray with 5 nods including British Female, British Breakthrough, British Single and British Artist Video of the Year for New Rules, Album of the Year for her self-titled album. She sets a record as the female artist with the highest nominations at the BRIT Awards in one ceremony. Ed Sheeran is also up for 4 awards including British Male, Album of the Year for ÷ and British Single and Video for Shape of You. Breakthrough act last year, Rag N’ Bone Man has 3 nods including British Male and British Single and Album of the Year for Human.

Finally, we have the 5^th iHeartRadio Music Awards nominations. Rihanna, Ed Sheeran, Bruno Mars, DJ Khaled and Luis Fonsi top the nominations each receiving 5 nods. For song of the year the following go head to head for the coveted title:

·         Despacito – Luis Fonsi & Daddy Yankee ft. Justin Bieber

·         Shape of You – Ed Sheeran

·         Something Just Like This – The Chainsmokers & Coldplay

·         That’s What I Like – Bruno Mars

·         Wild Thoughts – DJ Khaled ft. Rihanna & Bryson Tiller

Mary J. Blige adds another accolade under her belt after being nominated for Best Supporting Actress in Mud Bound as well as her contribution to the Best Original Song nominee Mighty River as she received the honor of her own star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

In other accolade news, Sigrid won the BBC Sound of 2018. The 21-year old rose to fame in 2017 through her critically acclaimed debut single Don’t Kill My Vibe. Previous recipients of this coveted title include Adele, Years & Years, Sam Smith and Ellie Goulding.

Ray Thomas, flautist and vocalist for British Rock group The Moody Blues died on January 4, at the age of 76. Although no cause of death was given, Thomas was diagnosed with prostate cancer in 2013. Alternative Rock suffered another massive blow when Dolores O’Riordan lead singer of The Cranberries died at the age of 46, when she was in London for a recording session on January 15. Although the cause of death was not made public, police ruled out any suspicions.

In the US, Ed Sheeran & Beyonce continued their reign with Perfect for the first 3 weeks of the month before Sheeran was billed as a solo artist in the last week at the top after which Camila Cabello featuring Young Thug’s Havana took the crown.  During the month Dua Lipa’s New Rules, Justin Timberlake’s Filthy and Bruno Mars featuring Cardi B’s Finesse all entered the top 10.  

In the UK, Ed Sheeran’s formidable rule with Perfect fueled by duets with Beyonce and Andrea Bocelli continued at the top until Eminem featuring Ed Sheeran’s River replace the former as the UK No.1 During the month Ramz’s Barking, Bruno Mars featuring Cardi B’s Finesse, Jason Derulo’s Tip Toe and Camila Cabello’s Never Be The Same all entered the top 10.

Other songs which became popular during the month were:

1.       Rita Ora & Liam Payne – For You

2.       Bebe Rexha & Florida Georgia Line – Meant to be

3.       Dua Lipa – IDGAF

4.       Keala Settle – This is me

5.       Kendrick Lamar & SZA – All the stars

6.       Jax Jones ft. Ina Wroldsen – Breathe

7.       Rudimental ft. Macklemore & Jess Glynne – These days

Till the next beat...

At Ease!!!

Xposition - February, 2017

Attention!!!

It was all about the Grammys in February as the most esteemed awards ceremony in music took place at the Staples Center, Los Angeles, California. The 59^th Annual Grammy Awards kicked off with Beyonce leading the fray with 9 nominations. However, Adele was the biggest winner of the night grabbing 5 awards including the coveted triple crowns for Song of the Year and Record of the Year for Hello and the Album of the Year for 25. Adele also became the first artist in history to win all three general field awards in the same ceremony twice, previously winning all three categories in 2012. She was followed by David Bowie and Greg Kurstin with four trophies.

The ceremony kicked off with a stellar performance of Hello by Adele followed by other great performances by Ed Sheeran with his global hit Shape of You and Bruno Mars’s That’s What I Like. The ceremony had three tributes wherein Adele sang George Michael’s Fastlove, Demi Lovato, Tori Kelly, Little Big Town and Andra Day collaborating for a Bee Gees tribute medley, and Bruno Mars and The Time collaborating for a Prince medley. The other significant wins of the night include:

·         Best New Artist: Chance the Rapper

·         Best Music Video: Beyonce – Formation

·         Best Dance Recording: The Chainsmokers ft. Daya – Don’t let me down

·         Best Dance/Electronic Album: Flume – Skin

·         Best Rock Song: David Bowie – Blackstar

·         Best Urban Contemporary Album: Beyonce – Lemonade

·         Best Rap Song: Drake – Hotline bling

·         Best Country Song: Tim McGraw – Humble and kind

·         Best Country Album: Sturgill Simpson – A Sailor’s Guide to Earth

·         Best Song Written for Visual Media: Justin Timberlake – Can’t stop the feeling!

Next up we have the 37^th BRIT Awards. Little Mix opened the show with their hit Shout Out To My Ex which went on to win the British Single of Year. Other great performances included Emeli Sande’s Hurt, an extremely politically controversial yet good performance of Katy Perry featuring Skip Marley’s Chained to the Rhythm and also Ed Sheeran with a medley of Castle on the Hill and Shape of You featuring a guest appearance by Stormzy. The Chainsmokers and Coldplay collaborated on stage to deliver their surprise new single Something Just Like This. David Bowie was posthumously awarded both the British Male Solo Artist as well as the British Album of the Year for Blackstar. The Icon Award was bestowed on Robbie Williams while the Global Success went to Adele. The other award winners were:

·         British Female Artist: Emeli Sande

·         British Group: The 1975

·         International Group: A Tribe Called Quest

·         British Breakthrough Act: Rag ‘n’ Bone Man

·         International Male Solo Artist: Drake

·         International Female Solo Artist: Beyonce

·         British Video: One Direction – History

La La Land was the winner of all the music related awards at the 89^th Annual Academy Awards where Justin Hurwitz won for Best Original Score for the film and Best Original Song for City of Stars which was performed by Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone in the film.

Apart from the awards, we have the jaw-dropping halftime performance by Lady Gaga at the Super Bowl LI. She started off with a mash up of God Bless America and Woody Guthrie’s This Land is Your Land before teasing the audience with the first line of the chorus of her hit Edge of Glory. This leads to a medley of her greatest hits starting off with her biggest hit Poker Face and going on to sing Born This Way, Telephone and Just Dance. She then mellows it down with her latest single Million Reasons for which there was pin drop silence in the stadium. Then she finishes it off with her second biggest hit Bad Romance. With an intense and astutely choreographed production, her performance is now ranked among the best Super Bowl halftime shows of all time. 

The International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI) has released the biggest music acts in the world for 2016 and Drake tops the list. Drake achieves this position for the huge success of his fourth album, Views and the multiplatinum hit One Dance featuring WizKid and Kyla. At second place is David Bowie who posthumously witnessed monumental success for his final album Blackstar. The full top 10 are:

1.       Drake

2.       David Bowie

3.       Coldplay

4.       Adele

5.       Justin Bieber

6.       Twenty One Pilots

7.       Beyonce

8.       Rihanna

9.       Prince

10.   The Weeknd

In festival news, Lady Gaga has officially replaced Beyonce as a headliner of Coachella 2017 where the latter was advised by doctors to stay away from the stage due to her pregnancy. It was a no brainer for the organizers of this massive concert to invite Gaga after her acclaimed performance at the Super Bowl. Eminem has been announced as the third headliner for the Reading and Leeds Festival 2017 alongside Muse and Kasabian.

Jay-Z has been inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame and became the first rapper in history to be bestowed with such an honour. Alongside Jay-Z will see Max Martin and the duo Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis also inducted. Madonna and George Michael were both nominated but did not make the cut.

Moving onto chart news, in the US Migos featuring Lil Uzi Vert’s Bad and Boujee was replaced in the second week by Ed Sheeran’s Shape of You returning to the top backed by his Grammy performance. Meanwhile, The Chainsmokers’ Paris debuted within the Top 10 and Lady Gaga’s Million Reasons soared to No.4 propelled by her performance at the Super Bowl and Alessia Cara’s Scars To Your Beautiful also entered the top 10.

In the UK, Ed Sheeran’s Shape of You remained at the top aided by performances at both the Grammy Awards and BRIT Awards accumulating six consecutive weeks at the top. Also during the month Sean Paul featuring Dua Lipa’s No Lie, Dua Lipa’s Be The One, Katy Perry featuring Skip Marley’s Chained to the Rhythm and Taylor Swift & Zayn’s I Don’t Wanna Live Forever entered the top 10.   

Other songs which became popular during the month were:

1.       Big Sean – Bounce back

2.       Julia Michaels – Issues

3.       Train – Play that song

4.       Major Lazer ft. Nicki Minaj & PARTYNEXTDOOR – Run up

5.       Martin Garrix & Dua Lipa – Scared to be lonely

6.       Stormzy – Big for your boots 

Till the next beat...

At Ease!!!