Xposition - December, 2018

Attention!!!

Hip-Hop rules 2019 Grammy Awards Nominees

Kendrick Lamar and Drake lead the Grammy Awards nominees with the two receiving 8 and 7 nods respectively. Lamar’s All the Stars with SZA is nominated for Record of the Year, Song of the Year, Best Rap Performance and Best Song Written for Visual Media, while the original soundtrack of the film, Black Panther wherein he is featured is nominated for Album of the Year. Drake’s God’s Plan is also nominated for Record of the Year, Song of the Year and Best Rap Song while his Scorpion in nominated for Album of the Year. Cardi B and Childish Gambino have also garnered 5 nominations each.

Musicals lead the 2019 Golden Globe Nominations

The Golden Globe nominations were announced last week with the musicals leading the way. A Star is Born has 5 nods including Best Picture, Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy for Lady Gaga and Best Original Song for Shallow. Mary Poppins Returns has been nominated 4 times followed by Queen-biopic Bohemian Rhapsody with 2 nods. Shallow goes up against stiff competition like Black Panther’s All the Stars by Kendrick Lamar & SZA and Boy Erased’s Revelation by Troye Sivan.

Billboard releases its 2018 Year-End Lists

Billboard has released its most anticipated year-end lists for the US with Drake named as the Top Artist, Top Male Artist and claiming the biggest single of the year with God’s Plan. The biggest album of 2018 was Taylor Swift’s Reputation with her being named as Top Female Artist as well. Cardi B is the Top New Artist while Imagine Dragons topped the Artists – Duo/Group category and BTS was dubbed the Top Social Artist.  

Final Judgment in ‘Blurred Lines’ Suit 

US District Judge John Kronstadt delivered the final judgment in the Blurred Lines copyright lawsuit wherein Robin Thicke, Pharrell Williams and Williams’ publishing company, More Water From Nazareth Publishing Inc. was ordered to pay the Marvin Gaye estate over USD 4.9 million. The lawsuit which began in 2013 was filed by Gaye’s estate over copyright infringement of his 1977 hit Got to Give It Up. Gaye's family was also rewarded 50% of the song's future royalties.

Spotify Settles a USD 1.6 Billion Claim Over Songwriter’s Rights

Music streaming giant Spotify has settled a USD 1.6 billion claim over songwriter and publishing rights for an undisclosed amount. The lawsuit was filed in 2017 by Wixen Music Publishing over the alleged use of more than 10,000 songs without a license or compensation. Wixen looks after compositions of many high profile artists including Neil Young, Stevie Nicks, Rivers Cuomo and the late Tom Petty.

Ariana Grande breaks record with Thank U, Next video

Ariana Grande premiered the music video for her biggest hit to date, Thank U, Next, breaking the record for most-watched video in YouTube within 24 hours, achieving over 50.3 million views surpassing the views for BTS’ Idol. The video is inspired by iconic 2000s flicks Mean Girls, Legally Blonde, Bring It On and 13 Going On 30.

Artists face backlash over imminent performances in Saudi Arabia

The Black Eyed Peas, Enrique Iglesias, Jason Derulo, OneRepublic and David Guetta are to headline the Saudi Ad Diriyah E-Prix, an auto racing series and multi-day music festival. The Human Rights Foundation has called for the cancellation of their performances due to the human rights violations by Saudi Arabia and its crown prince Mohammed bin Salman.

Mary Poppins Returns with new tracks

The sequel to Walt Disney’s beloved musical-fantasy film is coming to cinemas this December after a lapse of 54 years. The soundtrack featuring 27 songs out of which 9 are brand new was released last week. Songs are performed by Emily Blunt, Meryl Streep, Ben Whishaw, Angela Lansbury and Dick Van Dyke.

Brexit Poses Threat to UK’s Music Industry

The recently formed Music4EU initiative in an open letter warned of how Brexit represented a significant threat to UK’s music industry. The letter was signed by over 550 industry representatives including musicians such as Annie Lennox, Paloma Faith, Chrissie Hynde and Nick Mason. Post-Brexit, the UK artists will find it more expensive to reach consumers and fans, and international markets will be harder to access. Moreover they will be unable to benefit from EU’s proposed copyright reforms.

Cher Announces Memoir and Biopic

Cher announced on Twitter that she will be releasing a memoir in 2020 which would be followed by a biopic. Prior to this, Cher released a collection of essays titled The First Time covering major events of her life in 1998.

Aretha Franklin Tribute Concert

A tribute concert for the late superstar has been announced to be held on 13 January 2019 by the Recording Academy, AEG Ehrlich Ventures and CBS titled Aretha! A GRAMMY Celebration For The Queen Of Soul. Performing songs from Franklin’s repertoire are Grammy winners Alessia Cara, Kelly Clarkson, Common, Celine Dion, Jennifer Hudson, Alicia Keys, John Legend, Patti LaBelle, and BeBe Winans as well as current Grammy nominees Brandi Carlile, H.E.R., Janelle Monáe, and SZA.

Shakira Charged With Tax Evasion

Colombian singer Shakira has been charged with tax evasion in Spain. The singer is alleged to have avoided Euros 14.5 million in tax by claiming she lived in the Bahamas, whereas she actually resided in Catalonia, Spain. It will be left to a judge now to decide if there is enough evidence for her to face trial.

Chris Brown Charged Over Exotic Pet Monkey 

The Los Angeles City Attorney’s Office has charged Chris Brown with two counts of owning a restricted species without a permit for his exotic pet capuchin monkey, Fiji. The maximum sentence for the offence is 6 months in jail. They had obtained a search warrant for his home, but he voluntarily agreed to hand over the monkey before his property was raided.

Chart News

In the US, Ariana Grande continued her reign into the month of December with Thank, U Next which was dethroned by Travis Scott’s Sicko Mode, but Grande returned with force and held on to the crown for the remainder of the month. During the month Meek Mill ft. Drake’s Going Bad and Andy Williams’ Christmas classic It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year entered the top 10.

In the UK, Grande continued her reign with Thank U, Next as well, although she missed out on the coveted Christmas No.1 which went to LadBaby’s comic version of Starship’s We Built this City. During the month Ava Max’s Sweet But Psycho, Mark Ronson ft. Miley Cyrus’ Nothing Breaks like a Heart, Ariana Grande’s Imagine and the X Factor UK winner Dalton Harris coronation single, a cover of Frankie Goes to Hollywood’s The Power of Love featuring James Arthur, all entered the top 10 during the month.

Other songs which became popular during the month were:

1.       Cardi B – Money

2.       Stephen Puth – Sexual vibe

3.       Marc E. Bassy ft. G-Eazy – Love her too

4.       Ariana Grande – Breathin’

5.       Alan Walker ft. Sofia Carson, K-391 & CORSAK – Different world

6.       Rita Ora – Falling to pieces

7.       Bebe Rexha – Knees

8.       Skylar Grey – Everything I need

9.       Post Malone & Swae Lee – Sunflower

10.   Gucci Mane, Bruno Mars & Kodak Black – Wake up in the sky 

Till the next beat...

At Ease!!!

Xposition - May, 2017

Attention!!!

The 2017 Billboard Music Awards were held in May with Drake sweeping 13 awards from a whopping 22 nominations for which he was tied with the Chainsmokers. Among his awards were Top Artist, Top Male Artist, Top Hot 100 Artist, Top Billboard 200 Artist and Top Rap Artist. The Chainsmokers featuring Halsey’s Closer also received top accolades which were Top Hot 100 Song, Top Collaboration and Top Dance/Electronic Song. Cher who was bestowed with the Icon Award performed a medley of her hits Believe and If I Could Turn Back Time. Other memorable performances of the night were Celine Dion’s My Heart Will Go On, Imagine Dragons’ Believer, Bruno Mars’ Versace on the Floor, Julia Michaels’ Issues and Camila Cabello’s medley of I Have Questions and Crying In the Club. Miley Cyrus also debuted her newest single Malibu, which sees her going back to her roots. Other significant wins of the night include:

·         Top New Artist: Zayn

·         Top Billboard 200 Album: Drake – Views

·         Top Female Artist: Beyonce

·         Top Duo/Group: Twenty One Pilots

·         Top Latin Artist: Juan Gabriel

·         Top Country Song: Florida Georgia Line – H.O.L.Y.

·         Top Rap Song: Desiigner – Panda

·         Top Rock Song: Twenty One Pilots – Heathens

·         Top Touring Artist: Beyonce

Now let’s take a look at the biggest singing competition in the world. The curtains came down on the Eurovision Song Contest 2017 with Portugal as the winner for Salvador Sobral’s Amar Pelos Dois. The contest took place in Ukraine after the remarkable victory by Ukraine’s underdog Jamala stole the show with her breathtaking performance of the song 1944. Russia had originally planned to participate, but announced their withdrawal in April 2017, after their representative, Yulia Samoylova, was banned from entering Ukraine by virtue of having traveled directly from Russia to Crimea in 2015, a region that was annexed by Russia in 2014, to give a performance, which is illegal under Ukrainian law.

This was Portugal's first win and first top five placing in 53 years of participation. It was also the first winning song entirely performed in a country's native language since Serbia's Molitva in 2007. The top three countries – Portugal, Bulgaria and Moldova – all achieved the highest position in their Eurovision history, while host country Ukraine received its worst placing to date in a Eurovision final. The song written by Salvador’s sister Luísa Sobral amassed 758 points, setting the record for the most points achieved by a song in the history of the Eurovision Song Contest, and topped both the televoting and the jury voting for the first time since Austria's Rise Like a Phoenix in 2014.

Tragedy struck the pop music industry when a bomb was detonated after an Ariana Grande concert. British Muslim Salman Ramadan Abedi made a suicide bomb attack after the show at the Manchester Arena of Grande’s 2017 Dangerous Woman Tour resulting in 22 deaths and 250 injured. The concert was sold out, and 14,200 people attended. Many exiting concert-goers and waiting parents were in the foyer at the time of the explosion. Greater Manchester Police declared the incident a terrorist attack and is the deadliest attack in the UK since July 2005 London bombings. Grande subsequently suspended her tour and flew to her mother's home in Boca Raton, Florida. She later announced that she would host a benefit concert in Manchester for the victims of the attack.

In more sad news, lead vocalist for the rock bands Soundgarden and Audioslave Chris Cornell has also died which has been ruled as a suicide. Cornell was found dead in his Detroit hotel room early on the morning of May 18, shortly after performing at a Soundgarden concert the night before. He suffered from depression and substance abuse problems. Gregg Allman, singer-songwriter and rock n’ blues pioneer who founded The Allman Brothers Band has passed away at the age of 69 from complications of liver cancer on May 27.

Moving onto chart news, in the US, the tyrannical reign of Ed Sheeran’s Shape of You came to an end with Kendrick Lamar’s Humble taking the rapper to his first number one. Bruno Mars however took the pole position from Lamar in the second week with his That’s What I Like. In the third week DJ Khaled debuted atop the charts with his star studded collaboration I’m the One with Quavo, Lil Wayne, Justin Bieber and Chance the Rapper. This reign only lasted one week, as Luis Fonsi and Daddy Yankee’s Despacito soared to the peak as a result of a new remix which features Justin Bieber. With Despacito claiming the throne it becomes the first mostly Spanish language No.1 in more than 20 years since Los Del Rio’s Macarena. This sort of No.1 turnover is the quickest since 1990. Meanwhile, Kendrik Lamar’s DNA debuted at No.4 and Zedd & Alessia Cara’s Stay and Kygo & Selena Gomez’s It Ain’t Me entered the top 10.

In the UK, Sheeran’s Shape of You was toppled by Clean Bandit featuring Zara Larsson’s Symphony. This again proved short lived as DJ Khaled’s I’m The One debuted atop the charts in the UK as well before being replaced by Luis Fonsi and Daddy Yankee’s Despacito which continued at the top during the remainder of the month. During the month French Montana featuring Swae Lee’s Unforgettable, Jason Derulo featuring Ty Dolla $ign and Nicki Minaj and Shawn Mendes’ There’s Nothing Holdin’ Me Back all entered the top 10.

Other songs which became popular during the month were:

1.       Kygo & Ellie Goulding – First time

2.       DNCE ft. Nicki Minaj – Kissing strangers

3.       David Guetta ft. Nicki Minaj & Lil Wayne – Light my body up

4.       Katy Perry ft. Migos – Bon Apetit  

5.       Charlie Puth – Attention

6.       J Hus – Did you see

7.       Disciples – On my mind

8.       Cheat Codes ft. Demi Lovato – No promises

Till the next beat...

At Ease!!!

Best Songs about Female Empowerment/Top Girl Power Anthems

Attention!!!

Happy Women's Day. This year the theme for the International Women's Day is "Be Bold For Change". Surprise, surprise, we have songs about female empowerment and here I have compiled a list of the top girl power anthems which address themes such as female empowerment, equality, independence of women etc. In terms of genre we have mostly Pop, Hip-Hop and R&B. Beyonce aka Queen Bey leads the fray with her Run The World (Girls) and she also has two other entries on the list along with two more entries as part of Destiny's Child. Aretha Franklin's classic hit Respect is at No.2 with Destiny's Child's global smash Independent Women Part 1 at No.3. So without much further ado, here are the 28 top girl power anthems of all time. 

1. Beyonce – Run the world (girls)
2. Aretha Franklin – Respect 
3. Destiny’s Child – Independent women part 1
4. Little Mix – Salute
5. Lily Allen – Hard out here
6. Madonna – Express yourself
7. Gloria Gaynor – I will survive
8. Fifth Harmony – That;s my girl 
9. Pussycat Dolls – I don’t need a man
10. Rihanna – Only girl (in the world)
11. Girls Aloud – Something new
12. Cher – Woman’s world
13. Pink – So what
14. Fifth Harmony – Bo$$
15. Demi Lovato – Confident
16. Daya – Sit still, look pretty 
17. Ciara – Goodies
18. Kelly Clarkson – Stronger (what doesn’t kill you)
19. Beyonce – Single ladies (put a ring on it)
20. Katy Perry – Roar
21. Destiny’s Child – Survivor
22. The Band Perry – Done.
23. Beyonce – Irreplaceable
24. Idina Menzel – Let it go
25. Charli XCX – Body of my own
26. Shania Twain – Man! I feel like a woman
27. Katy Perry – Part of me 
28. Meghan Trainor – No

Till the next beat...

At Ease!!!

Best Dance Hits of the 90s

Attention!!!

If you were born in the 80s, you know almost all these songs by heart. 90s dance music is a genre in itself as theme parties are still held around the globe to accommodate the music buds of us 'twentinagers', who grew up in the 90s. It was during the 90s that pop music once more gained the forefront of the mainstream music industry and the genre shifted more or less to the fast paced european beats with a heavy influence of disco. Eurodance shaped the first half of the decade while the various  boy bands and the girl groups shaped the end of the decade and laid the foundation for the 2000s dance music based solely or mostly on dance pop and europop. 

Line/step dancing was also a trend during the 90s and it was the global one-hit wonder Macarena by Los Del Rio that really infiltrated almost all parties after its release. The song ranks at No.7 on the Billboard's All Time Top 100 and also Billboard's No.1 Dance Song of All Time. The song was released in 1992 but it was the English remix by the Bayside Boys which made it a worldwide hit. Backstreet Boys, Spice Girls, Steps, NSync and BWitched were some of the all boy or girl bands which released dance hits while Real McCoy, Snap!, Haddaway, Mr. President and T-Spoon are some of the eurodance artists which have entries in this list. 

Another interesting fact to notice is that it was at the very end of the decade that some of the best selling artists of our time, particularly the 2000s became popular such as Britney Spears, Enrique Iglesias, Jennifer Lopez, Ricky Martin, Christina Aguilera and Marc Anthony who all initially started out with their own dance hits. Michael Jackson's best hits may have been in the past but he still released some awesome dance singles in the 90s and the King of Pop leads with 5 entries in the list alongside Backstreet Boys and Spice Girls who also have 5 entries each. Then with 4 entries each we have Aqua, Will Smith and Ace of Base who also released a number of dance singles. So without further rambling here is the list of the Best Dance Hits of the 90s:

1. Los Del Rio – Macarena (Bayside Boys Mix)
2. C+C Music Factory ft. Freedom Williams – Gonna make you sweat (Everybody dance now)
3. Haddaway – What is love
4. Inner Circle – Sweat
5. Snap! – Rhythm is a dancer
6. Cher – Believe
7. Will Smith – Gettin’ jiggy wit it
8. Real McCoy – Another night
9. Dr. Dre ft. Snoop Dogg – The next episode
10. MC Hammer – U can’t touch this
11. Alice Deejay – Better off alone
12. No Mercy – Where do you go
13. Lou Bega – Mambo no.5
14. Backstreet Boys – Everybody (Backstreet’s back)
15. Ace of Base – Beautiful life
16. ATB – 9 p.m. (Till I come)
17. Aqua – Barbie girl
18. Jennifer Lopez – Waiting for tonight (Hex Hector Remix)
19. Everything But the Girl – Missing (Todd Terry Mix)
20. Enrique Iglesias – Bailamos
21. Vengaboys – We like to party
22. Sir Mix a Lot – Baby got back
23. Chumbawumba – Tupthumpin’
24. EMF – Unbelievable
25. Marc Anthony – I need to know
26. Michael Jackson – Blood on the dancefloor
27. C+C Music Factory – Here we go (let’s rock & roll)
28. Britney Spears – Baby one more time
29. Spice Girls – Wannabe
30. Eiffel 65 – Blue (Da ba dee)
31. Billy Ray Cyrus – Achy breaky heart
32. Peter Andre – Mysterious girl
33. T-Spoon – Sex on the beach
34. Sash! ft. Rodriguez – Ecuador
35. Technotronic – Pump up the jam
36. Ricky Martin – Livin’ la vida loca
37. The Wonders – That thing you do
38. Steps – 5,6,7,8
39. Michael Jackson – Black or white
40. House of Pain – Jump around
41. Vanilla Ice – Ice ice baby
42. Carrapicho – Tic tic tac
43. Diana King – Shy guy
44. Imi Kamoze – Here comes the hot stepper
45. Mr. President – Coco Jamboo
46. Vanessa Amorosi – Absolutely everybody
47. Santana ft. Rob Thomas – Smooth
48. Shaggy – In the summertime
49. Tag Team – Whoomp! (There it is)
50. Sonique – It feels so good
51. Whigfield – Saturday night
52. Dee-Lite – Groove is in the heart
53. Backstreet Boys – Quit playing games with my heart
54. Dr. Alban – It’s my life
55. Snap! – The power
56. Snow – Informer
57. Ricky Martin – The cup of life
58. Vengaboys – Boom, boom, boom, boom
59. Jennifer Lopez – If you had my love
60. Ace of Base – The sign
61. Culture Beat – Mr. Vain
62. Black Box – Strike it up
63. Marky Mark & the Funky Bunch ft. Loletta Holloway – Good vibrations
64. Gala – Freed from desire
65. Reel 2 Real ft. The Mad Stuntman – I like to move it
66. Daft Punk – Around the world
67. Rozalla – Everybody’s free (to feel good)
68. 2 Unlimited – No limit
69. Technotronic – Pump up the jam
70. Run DMC vs. Jason Nevins – It’s like that
71. Michael Jackson – They don’t care about us 
72. Spice Girls – Who do you think you are
73. Real McCoy – Come and get your love
74. 2 Unlimited – Twilight zone
75. Red Nex – Cotton eye Joe
76. La Bouche – Be my lover
77. ATC – Around the world (La, la, la, la, la)
78. Amber – This is your night
79. Corona – The rhythm of the night
80. DJ Bobo – Somebody dance with me
81. C+C Music Factory – Things that make you go hmm…
82. Montell Jordan – This is how we do it
83. Faithless – Insomnia
84. Robin S. – Show me love
85. Cappella ft. The Bootmasters – U got 2 let the music
86. Scatman John – Scatman
87. Alexia – Uh la la la
88. Robert Miles – Children
89. Spice Girls – Spice up your life
90. Gloria Estefan – Turn the beat around
91. Ricky Martin – Maria
92. Steps – Tragedy
93. 2Pac – California love
94. Billie – Because we want to
95. Ace of Base – All that she wants
96. Mariah Carey – Fantasy
97. Notorious B.I.G ft. Puff Daddy & Mase – Mo money mo problems
98. Next – Too close
99. Savage Garden – The animal song
100. TLC – No scrubs
101. NSync – Tearin’ up my heart
102. Puff Daddy ft. Faith Evans & 112 – I’ll be missing you
103. Five – When the lights go out
104. Fatboy Slim – The rockafeller skank
105. Enrique Iglesias – Rhythm divine
106. The Cardigans – Lovefool
107. The Offspring – Pretty fly (for a white guy)
108. 911 – Bodyshakin’
109. BWitched – C’est la Vie
110. Will Smith – Miami
111. Stardust – Music sounds better with you
112. Olive – You’re not alone
113. M People – Movin’ on up
114. Gina G – Ooh aah… just a little bit
115. Beats International – Dub be good to me
116. Janet Jackson – Runaway 
117. Shania Twain – That don’t impress me much
118. Hanson – MMMbop
119. Will Smith – Wild wild west
120. Blondie – Maria
121. Backstreet Boys – Larger than life
122. Spice Girls – Stop
123. Kriss Kross – Jump
124. Aswad – Shine
125. Five – Keep on movin’
126. Vengaboys – We’re going to Ibiza
127. Blackstreet ft. Dr. Dre – No diggity
128. T-Spoon – Tom’s party ‘98
129. Eiffel 65 – Move ya body
130. Destiny’s Child – Bills, bills, bills
131. Meredith Brooks – Bitch
132. Wes – Alane
133. Twenty 4 Seven – Slave to the music
134. Britney Spears – (You drive me) crazy
135. Aqua – Roses are red
136. Shanks and Bigfoot – Sweet like chocolate
137. The Corrs – So young (K-Klaas Remix)
138. Michael Jackson – Remember the time
139. Whigfield – Sexy eyes
140. Jamiroquai – Virtual insanity
141. 2 Unlimited – Get ready for this
142. Shaggy – Boombastic
143. Christina Aguilera – Genie in a bottle
144. Mariah Carey – Dreamlover
145. Cleopatra – Cleopatra’s theme
146. Faithless – God is a Dj
147. Backstreet Boys – We’ve got it goin’ on
148. New Kids on the Block – Step by step
149. Fun Factory – I wanna b with u
150. Aqua – My oh my
151. Right Said Fred – I’m too sexy
152. Madonna – Ray of light
153. OMC – How bizarre
154. Destiny’s Child – No, no, no
155. Sham Rock – Tell me ma
156. Spin Doctors – Two princes
157. Jimmy Ray – Are you Jimmy Ray?
158. Lutricia McNeal – Someone loves you
159. Ace of Base – Don’t turn around
160. M2M – Everything you do
161. Janet Jackson – That’s the way love goes
162. Usher – You make me wanna...
163. Backstreet Boys – Get down (you’re the one for me)
164. Paradisio – Bailando
165. Gina G – I belong to you
166. Spice Girls – Say you’ll be there
167. Digital Underground – The humpty dance
168. Boyzone – Love me for a reason
169. Captain Hollywood Project – More and more
170. Steps – Last thing on my mind
171. Michael Jackson – In the closet
172. 2 Brothers on the 4^th Floor – Dreams (will come alive)
173. Whitney Houston – Step by step
174. Robyn – Show me love
175. Jamiroquai – Virtual insanity
176. Lauryn Hill – Doo wop (that thing)
177. Will Smith – Men in black
178. Ace of Base – Cruel summer 
179. The Double U – Please don’t go
180. Ace of Base – Living in danger
181. Roxette – Joyride
182. NSync – I want you back
183. Heavy D & The Boyz – Now that we found love
184. Aqua – Dr. Jones
185. Mariah Carey – Honey
186. Crystal Waters – 100% pure love  
187. Boys II Men – Motownphilly
188. BWitched – Rollercoaster 
189. Groove Armada – I see you baby (Fatboy Slim Remix)
190. Magic Affair – Omen III
191. East 17 – Let it rain
192. Quad City DJs – C’mon n’ ride it
193. Real McCoy – Runaway
194. Sugar Ray – Fly
195. LFO – Summer girls
196. La Bouche – Sweet dreams
197. Christina Aguilera – What a girl wants
198. Kylie Minogue – Better the devil you know
199. The B52’s – Love shack
200. Madonna – Vogue

Till the next beat…

At Ease!!!