Best Songs About the Rich/Lush Life

Attention!!!

So on my recent trip to Macau, I witnessed firsthand how the rich and powerful in that part of Asia live their lives. Surrounded by the casinos and the glamorous hotels anyone gets carried away with the helipads, private jets, limousines, heated pools, branded showrooms and of course the service staff that is there to attend at your beck and call. The fancy lifestyles of the celebrities and the superficial lives of the elite who thrive on these little first world intricacies have been the subject of particular songs.

The following hits are all about the lush life. Crowning the list is Psy’s Gangnam Style which is one of the biggest hits of the decade and the first video to hit 1 billion views on YouTube (recently it passed 2 billion views). At second place is none other than hip-hop duchess Fergie with her worldwide hit Glamorous followed by Iggy Azalea’s Fancy. No specific genre stands out as it is a mishmash of genres ranging from Hip-Hop, Rap and Pop to Rock, K-Pop and even a song from a James Bond Soundtrack. So here are the top 15 songs about the rich/lush life: 

1. Psy – Gangnam style
2. Fergie ft. Ludacris – Glamorous
3. Iggy Azalea ft. Charlie XCX – Fancy 
4. Gwen Stefani ft. Eve – Rich girl 
5. Rich Gang ft. Young Thug & Rich Homie Quan – Lifestyle
6. Zara Larsson – Lush life 
7. Travie McCoy ft. Bruno – Billionaire 
8. Nickelback – Rockstar
9. Far East Movement ft. The Cataracs & Dev – Like a G6
10. Shania Twain – Ka-ching
11. Chamillionaire ft. Krayzie Bone – Ridin’
12. Flo Rida – Zillionaire 
13. Shirley Bassey – Diamonds are forever
14. Sheila E. – The glamorous life
15. Madonna – Material girl

Till the next chord...

At Ease!!!

Xposition - March 2015

Attention!!!

Well every sensation dies down sooner or later. The UK boy band One Direction which was considered as the next best things after The Beatles and the Spice Girls faced a major set back when fellow member Zayn Malik announced his departure. This departure is quite a deja vu as Geri Halliwell aka Ginger Spice's exit from the Spice Girls pretty much obliterated the spark of the flower power that had taken over the world. Let's hope the same demise does not befall One Direction, for however annoying their songs are, you cannot deny their talent in terms of vocals. 

In another controversial turn of events Natalia Kills and Willy Moon were fired from the panel of judges on the second season of X Factor New Zealand for passing scathing remarks and abusing a contestant named Joe Irvine. All what we can say to this is good riddance to bad bullies. 

The 2nd edition of the iHeartRadio Music Awards was held on 29 March 2015 in Los Angeles, USA with Taylor Swift becoming the big winner of the night grabbing the Artist of the Year, the Song of the Year and Best Lyrics for Blank Space. Justin Timberlake was bestowed with the Innovator Award. Notable performances of the night included Iggy Azalea ft. Jennifer Hudson with Trouble, Meghan Trainor with Dear Future Husband, Sam Smith with Lay Me Down, Nick Jonas with Chains and Kelly Clarkson with Heartbeat Song. Some of the other significant awards were:

• Best Collaboration: Jessie J, Ariana Grande & Nicki Minaj - Bang bang
• Best New Artist: Sam Smith
• Country Song of the Year: Jason Aldean - Burnin' it down
• Hip-Hop/R&B Song of the Year: Jeremih ft. YG - Don't tell 'em
• Dance Song of the Year: Calvin Harris - Summer
• Alternative Rock Song of the Year: Hozier - Take me to church

Nickelodeon's 28th Kids' Choice Awards was also held in March and the Favorite Song of the Year was won by Jessie J, Ariana Grande & Nicki Minaj's Bang Bang. The other winners were:

• Favorite Music Group - One Direction
• Favorite Male Singer - Nick Jonas
• Favorite Female Singer - Selena Gomez
• Favorite New Artist - Fifth Harmony 

The 2015 YouTube Music Awards was also held, but very differently from its first edition, where a live ceremony was held. This time the winners were not selected by fan votes per se but by growth in views, subscribers etc. So the full list of honorees are (in alphabetical order): 2NE1, Alt-J, Ariana Grande, Beyonce, Bigbang, Big Sean, Brad Paisley, Charli XCX, Dej Loaf, Drake, Ed Sheeran, Ella Henderson, Fifth Harmony, FKA Twigs, Florida Georgia Line, George Ezra, Hoodie Allen, Hozier, Hunter Hayes, J. Cole, Jason Derulo, Katy Perry, Kendrick Lamar, Kiesza, Kurt Hugo Schneider, Lady Gaga, Lindsey Stirling, Martin Garrix, Max Megan Nicole, Meghan Trainor, Miggs, Miley Cyrus, Nicki Minaj, Nicky Jam, OK Go, One Direction, Pentattonix, Pharrell Williams, Rihanna, Sam Smith, Sia, Snoop Dogg, Taylor Swift, The Weeknd, Tinashe, Tori Kelly, Tove Lo, Troy Sivan and Tyler Ward. 

In the US Mark Ronson ft. Bruno Mars' Uptown Funk continued its reign at the top throughout the month fending off competition by Ed Sheeran's Thinking Out Loud and Maroon 5's Sugar. Ellie Goulding's Love Me Like You Do and Taylor Swift's Style also reached their peaks of No.3 and No.6 respectively during the month and The Weeknd's Earned It, Pitbull & Ne-Yo's Time of Our Lives, Sam Smith's Lay Me Down and Fetty Wap's Trap Queen all entered the Top 10 during the month.

In the UK Ellie Goulding's Love Me Like You Do stayed on at the top completing four weeks altogether. She was replaced by Years & Years' King and thereafter Sam Smith ft. John Legend's Lay Me Down which served as the official Red Nose Day charity single took over for the last two weeks. Some of the other songs which became popular during the month are:

• Sheppard - Geronimo
• James Bay - Hold back the river
• David Guetta ft. Emeli Sande - What I did for love
• Zedd ft. Selena Gomez - I want you to know
• Natalie La Rose ft. Jeremih - Somebody
• WALK THE MOON - Shut up and dance 
• Ariana Grande - One last time

Till the next beat…

At Ease!!! 

Most Successful Artists/Bands of 2014

Attention!!!

We have all heard what the yesteryear brought and some of us did not like it. Apart from the music industry straying back to mainstream traditional pop, we all saw how the genres of R&B and Rock were put to aside to lead the way to Indie and EDM. I have already done the most influential artists/bands of 2014, but what is the difference between influential and successful - $$$. Artists like Miley Cyrus, Eminem and Lady Gaga can be influential even without releasing a single hit during a year, as they have a cult following. However, the crossover princess of country, Taylor Swift is once again numero uno on this list, as she earned her big bucks during 2014. At a close second is Pharrell Williams whose smash hit broke records worldwide, but his followup singles failed to gain the same recognition. So let's see who gobbled a piece of that cash pie last year:

1. Taylor Swift
   

I doubt she ever believed that crossing over to mainstream pop was the best choice she ever made in her career. While her breakups have inspired most of her songs her fifth album 1989 released last year takes a look at her own downfalls. The album sold more copies in its opening weekend than any album in the preceding  decade and became the best selling album of 2014. Her singles Shake It Off and Blank Space both reached the top at the Billboard Hot 100 and the top 10 in most countries while her third single Style reached No.6.

2. Pharrell Williams
   

Following his success in 2013 being featured on Daft Punk’s Get Lucky and Robin Thicke’s Blurred Lines, Pharrell went on to release an album titled G I R L in 2014 which peaked at No.2 on the Billboard 200 and No.1 in UK, Australia, France, Denmark etc. His song Happy from the Despicable Me 2 soundtrack served as the lead single of the album and peaked in almost all the countries it charted and was the year-end number 1 in the US, UK, Australia etc. and is one of the best selling singles of all time.

3. Sam Smith
   

He first came into prominence after being featured on Disclosure’s breakthrough single Latch and subsequently being featured on Naughty Boy’s global hit La La LA. Thereafter, he won 2014 BRIT Critics’ Choice Award and BBC’s Sound of 2014. His debut album In the Lonely Hour peaked in the top 10 worldwide and No.1 and No.2 in the UK and US. His second single Money on My Mind reached No.1 in the UK whilst his third single Stay With Me became his most successful hit to date reaching the top 10 in most countries and reaching No.1 in UK and No.2 in the US. His follow-up singles I’m Not The Only One and Like I Can were also global hits.

4. Ed Sheeran
   

While by 2014 he was not new to the music scene, as his debut album + was already a success, his second album x proved to be a bigger success charting at No.1 in 12 countries including the UK and the US. The first three singles Sing, Don’t and Thinking Out Loud were global hits with the first and third single reaching No.1 in the UK and Don’t becoming his first song to reach the top 10 in the US.

5. Ariana Grande
   

She became a teen idol after being featured on the Nickelodeon series Victorious and its spin-off Sam & Cat. While her debut album was also a hit in 2013, her second album My Everything surpassed it in 2014. The album reached the top in the US and the top 10 in most countries. The lead single Problem ft. Iggy Azalea was a global hit which was followed by two others in 2014, Break Free ft. Zedd and Love Me Harder ft. The Weeknd. She was also a part of the global hit collaboration Bang Bang with Jessie J and Nicki Minaj.

6. Iggy Azalea
   

Being plagued with label issues did not prevent Iggy from releasing a successful album. Her debuted studio album The New Classic took some time to be released, but when it did, it reached No.3 in the US and No.5 in the UK. Her fourth hit from the album Fancy ft. Charli XCX became No.1 in the US, New Zealand and Canada and reached No.5 in the UK. Her follow-up single Black Widow ft. Rita Ora was also a global hit. She was also featured in Ariana Grande’s chart topper Problem and also T.I.’s No Mediocre and Jennifer Lopez’s Booty.

7. Pitbull
   

He is the most sought after artist to be featured with. You can guarantee a hit with one of his verses. At the end of 2013 his extended play Meltdown was released which spawned the global dance hit Timber ft. Kesha. Timber was a hit in a few countries in 2013 but was a worldwide smash hit in 2014 reaching No.1 in the US, Canada, Germany etc. His eighth studio album Globalization spawned the hit singles Wild Wild Love ft. G.R.L., Fireball ft. John Ryan, Time of Our Lives with Ne-Yo and the official 2014 FIFA World Cup song We are One (Ole Ola) ft. Jennifer Lopez and Claudia Leitte.

8. Meghan Trainor
   

She found success in her revival of the doo-wop style of music and her debut single All About That Bass was one of the best selling singles of 2014. It spent eight consecutive weeks atop the US Billboard Hot 100 and 4 weeks atop the UK chart. It was also a global success reaching the top 10 in almost all countries. She thereafter released her debut EP Title which spawned her next hit Lips Are Movin’. It too followed in the footsteps of Bass and peaked within the top 10 internationally.

9. 5 Seconds of Summer
   

Gaining a small following in 2012 with cover versions of popular songs on YouTube, the band went big in 2014 with their debut single She Looks So Perfect. The song topped the charts in the UK, Australia, Ireland and New Zealand. Their follow-up singles Don’t Stop, Amnesia and Good Girls were also global hits with Amnesia reaching the top 20 in the US. Their self-titled debut studio album was a chart topper in the US, Spain, Italy, Australia etc. and peaking at No.2 in the UK.

10. Maroon 5
    

While the band is definitely not new to commercial success 2014 also proved yet another year to make money. While the band announced their upcoming fifth studio album V, it was preceded by the hit single Maps. The song reached the top 10 in almost all countries. V debuted at No.1 on the US Billboard 200 and spawned the hit single Animals thereafter which peaked at No.3 in the US and No.2 in Canada.

Honourable Mentions

11. Katy Perry
12. Nicki Minaj
13. Calvin Harris
14. Ella Henderson
15. David Guetta
16. Cheryl Cole
17. Robin Schulz
18. Beyonce
19. George Ezra
20. One Direction

Till the next chord…

At Ease!!!

(All images used in the posts unless otherwise mentioned are drawn from https://images.google.com/ and the author does not hold copyright over the photos used.)

My Favorite Hits of 2014

Attention!!!

Last year was in fact quite depressing when it came to those songs that became mainstream hits. Although I have a penchant for mainstream hits, the songs that became popular in 2014 were mainly pop, which quite mediocre according to my taste. Of course I was addicted to the top ten hits on this list and the 25 most played songs playlist on my iPod is a witness to this. The biggest hits of 2014 which are Happy by Pharrell Williams and All About That Bass by Meghan Trainor are not on this list, as I actually find these two hits extremely overrated and annoying. Most of the overrated hits last year such as Iggy Azalea's Fancy, Sam Smith's Stay With Me, John Legend's All Of Me and Ed Sheeran's Thinking Out Loud are also not on this list. There were some meaningful songs like Prayer in C, Cool Kids, Someday and Ghost. Some artists have two entries on the list such as Pitbull, Enrique Iglesias, Iggy Azalea, Tinie Tempah, David Guetta, Sam Martin, Hardwell, Imagine Dragons and Taylor Swift. So here are my favorite hits of 2014:

1. Lilly Wood and the Prick – Prayer in C (Robin Schulz Remix)
2. will.i.am ft. Miley Cyrus, French Montana & Wiz Khalifa – Feelin’ myself
3. Tinie Tempah ft. Ella Eyre – Someday (A place in the sun)
4. Echosmith – Cool kids
5. Iggy Azalea ft. Rita Ora – Black widow
6. Enrique Iglesias ft. Gente de Zona & Descemer Bueno – Bailando
7. Troye Sivan – Happy little pill
8. Magic! – Rude
9. DVBBS & Borgeous ft. Tinie Tempah – Tsunami (Jump)
10. Fall Out Boy – Centuries
11. David Guetta ft. Sam Martin – Lovers on the sun
12. Pitbull ft. John Ryan – Fireball
13. Hardwell & Joey Dale ft. Luciana – Arcadia
14. Linkin Park – The final masquerade
15. Taylor Swift – Blank space
16. Wisin ft. Ricky Martin & Jennifer Lopez – Adrenalina
17. Imagine Dragons – Warriors
18. Enrique Iglesias ft. Pitbull – I’m a freak
19. Maroon 5 – Animals
20. Calvin Harris – Summer
21. Jason Derulo ft. Snoop Dogg – Wiggle
22. Ariana Grande ft. Iggy Azalea – Problem
23. The Script – Superheroes
24. Lady Antebellum – Bartender
25. Rixton – Me and my broken heart
26. American Authors – Best day of my life
27. Coldplay – A sky full of stars
28. Cheryl Cole ft. Tinie Tempah – Crazy stupid love
29. Ella Henderson – Ghost
30. Tiesto – Red lights
31. Ellie Goulding – Beating heart
32. Calvin Harris ft. John Newman – Blame
33. Ed Sheeran – Don’t
34. George Ezra – Budapest
35. Taylor Swift – Shake it off
36. Calvin Harris ft. Ellie Goulding – Outside
37. Imagine Dragons – I bet my life
38. Nicki Minaj – Anaconda
39. The Chainsmokers – #SELFIE 
40. Shakira – Dare (la, la, la)
41. Martin Garrix & Jay Hardway – Wizard
42. Hardwell ft. Matthew Koma – Dare you
43. OneRepublic – Love runs out
44. Clean Bandit ft. Jess Glynne – Rather be
45. DJ Snake & Lil Jon – Turn down for what
46. Tiesto ft. Matthew Koma – Wasted
47. MKTO – Classic
48. Zedd ft. Matthew Koma & Miriam Bryant – Find you
49. Lana Del Rey – West coast
50. David Guetta ft. Sam Martin – Dangerous

Till the next beat…

At Ease!!!