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 - 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 - 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!!!