Xposition - October 2013

Attention!!!

October was also not such an eventful month. But still the hype was building up to the much anticipated 2013 YouTube Awards and 2013 American Music Awards. The nominations were announced for the the YouTube Awards and the hip-hop duo Macklemore and Ryan Lewis were nominated for 4 while PSY were nominated for 3 and Rihanna and Taylow Swift each nominated for 2. 

The nominees for the American Music Awards 2013 were also announced by Will.I.Am and Kelly Clarkson and once again Macklemore and Ryan Lewis lead the nominations with 6 while Taylor Swift and Justin Timberlake each have been nominated for 5. Miley Cyrus, Lady Gaga, One Direction, Imagine Dragons and Florida Georgia Line are all to perform at the show. 

It was announced that Jonas Brothers the immensely successful US boy band is splitting up. The band cancelled their tour and announced that the members are going their separate ways due to creative differences. The band was to release their fifth studio album this year. 

Lou Reed, the guitarist, vocalist and principal songwriter of Velvet Underground and then as a solo artiste known for his hit Walk on the Wild Side died on 27th October 2013 aged 71. Many artists including Lenny Kravitz, Iggy Pop, David Bowie and Patti Smith paid tribute to Reed.

In a surprising turn of events for all Kanye West proposed to Kim Kardashian in San Francisco and an orchestra played while the center field scoreboard of the AT&T Park displayed the proposal "Please Marry Me". American sweetheart and the first winner of American Idol, Kelly Clarkson married music manager Brandon Blackstock at Blackberry Farms in Tennessee. 

The top 10 of the Billboard Hot 100 is pretty much unsurprising as Miley Cyrus' Wrecking Ball was dethroned after the first week as Lorde's Royals climbed to No.1 as predicted and remained there for the rest of the month. The only new song into the top ten was Ylvis's The Fox which entered the top 10 and peaked at No.6. 

In the UK there has been major activity. OneRepublic's Counting Stars finally peaked in the first week of October after many weeks of spending in the top 3. However, Miley Cyrus' Wrecking Ball smashed its way through as both her single and her album Bangerz debuted at No.1 in the UK, which is no easy feat. Counting Stars did manage to reclaim the top spot but this was short-lived as Lorde's Royals too debuted at No.1 in the last week. Eminem's Berzerk debuted at No.2 but it failed to match up against the giants that kept debuting at No.1. 

In the US Albums chart Justin Timberlake's The 20/20 Experience (2 of 2) and Pearl Jam's Lightning Bolt all peaked while John Newman's Tribute and Haim's Days are Gone peaked in the UK while Katy Perry's Prism and Miley Cyrus' Bangerz peaked both in the US and UK.

Some of the other songs worth checking out which came out in October are:

1. The Vamps - Can we dance
2. The Saturdays - Disco love
3. James Blunt - Bonfire heart
4. John Newman - Cheating
5. Lawson - Juliet
6. Eminem - Rap God
7. Iggy Azalea ft. T.I. - Change your life
8. James Arthur - You're nobody 'til somebody loves you

Till the next chord…

At Ease!!!

Xposition - September 2013

Attention!!!

September although not as eventful as August did witness the inauguration of the much anticipated TomorrowWorld which is an American spin-off of Tomorrowland and its sister festival held from 27-29 September in Atalanta. It was an immense success with a strong lineup of renowned DJs including Armin Van Buuren, David Guetta, Tiesto, Axwell and Afrojack. 

Miley Cyrus stunned everybody at the VMAs in August when her twerking with Robin Thicke went viral, but this was nothing compared to the shocks and heart attacks her fans and critics received when the video of her new song Wrecking Ball premiered. The video depicts her swinging stark naked on a wrecking ball and even licking sledgehammers and what not. However, she broke the record for the highest number of views of a video on YouTube in 24 hours. 

As predicted Katy Perry's Roar dethroned Robin Thicke's Blurred Lines and held on for two weeks before being overthrown by Miley Cyrus' Wrecking Ball. She too held on for two weeks. Lorde's Royals has been at No. 3 for over two weeks struggling behind Cyrus and Perry, the popularity of the single may yet surprise everyone if it proves to dethrone these giants. In the UK Roar debuted at No.1 and it was Talk Dirty by Jason Derulo ft. 2 Chainz that managed to surpass it. OneRepublic's Counting Stars continue to struggle at No.2 and has been in the top 3 for the whole month. Other than that there has been no significant movement on either charts except for maybe Drake's Hold On We're Going Home which has also been in the top 10 for the whole month. 

Eminem's new song Berzerk takes us back to why we loved the white rapper in the first place. The song although failed to peak in the US debuted at No.3 and garnered critical acclaim. Britney Spears' Work Bitch with its provocative video entered the US charts at No.12. The song reminisces a combination of her hits Hold It Against Me and I'm A Slave 4 U. It will probably enter the Top 10 in October but there is doubt as to its potential as a No.1. While Berzerk and Wrecking Ball are to be released in the UK in October Work Bitch is to be released in the UK in November. 

Other songs that were released that are of any significance in the UK or the US in the past month are: 

1. Jessie J - It's My Party

2. Avicii - You Make Me

3. Rizzle Kicks - Lost Generation

4. The Fox - Ylvis

5. Mike WiLL Made-It ft. Miley Cyrus, Wiz Khalifa & Juicy J - 23

6. Robin Thicke ft. Kendrick Lamar - Give It 2 U

Drake's third studio album Nothing Was the Same debuted at No.1 on the US Billboard 200 and debuted at No.2 on the UK Albums Chart on the last week of September making it the highest first week sales for a hip hop album since Lil Wayne's Tha Carter IV in 2011. However, October will prove fatal for those attempting to go up against the debut of what many are calling the album of the year - Bangerz by Miley Cyrus.

At Ease!!!