Xposition - July, 2018

Attention!!!

The nominations for the 2018 MTV Video Music Awards were announced with Cardi B leading the pack with a whopping 10 nods including Video, Song and Artist of the Year and The Carters (Beyonce & Jay-Z)  with 8 nods. The Video of the Year nominations are:

• Ariana Grande - No tears left to cry
• Bruno Mars ft. Cardi B - Finesse (Remix)
• The Carters - APESHIT
• Drake - God's plan
• Camila Cabello ft. Young Thug - Havana
• Childish Gambino - This is America 

The shortlist for this year's coveted Mercury Prize has been revealed which will be awarded in September. Among the known names are:

• Lily Allen - No Shame
• Arctic Monkeys - Tranquility Base Hotel & Casino 
• Jorja Smith - Lost & Found 
• Florence + The Machine - High as Hope

Forbes has released its list of 100 Highest Paid Celebrities and some of our favorite musicians are on it. Highest on list at No.6 is the Irish band U2 with a massive USD 118 Million followed by Coldplay at No.7 and Ed Sheeran No.9. In the top 20 we have Bruno Mars at No. 11 and Katy Perry at No.19. The others featured in the Top 50 are:

21 - Taylor Swift

25 - Jay-Z

27 - Guns N' Roses

32 - Sean Combs

35 - Beyonce

37 - Kendrick Lamar

39 - The Weeknd

41 - The Eagles

44 - Depeche Mode

45 - Pink/Luke Bryan 

49 - Lady Gaga

50 - Calvin Harris 

It appears that the X Factor UK panel for 2018 has been completely reformed with the exception of Simon Cowell. Robbie Williams, his wife Ayda Field and former One Direction member Louis Tomlinson replace Louise Walsh, Sharon Osbourne and Nicole Scherzinger for the newest season of this global reality show which seeks to find the next best superstar. 

Rumours have it that Dua Lipa will in fact be recording the theme song for the next James Bond movie. In a massive slip up Years & Years member Mikey Goldsworthy said in an interview with BBC Radio 5 Live, that Dua Lipa had been selected to sing the theme. Her appeal may be after she won British Female Solo Artist and British Breakthrough Artist at the 2018 BRIT Awards coupled with her back to back hits with New Rules, IDGAF and One Kiss.   

Former Destiny's Child member Michelle Williams has checked into a mental health center for depression. It is a known fact that she has been struggling with mental health issues, particularly during the peak of Destiny's Child's fame and success where she admitted she even felt suicidal at times. 

In chart news, in the US, Cardi B, J Balvin and Bad Bunny's I Like It opened the month at the top overthrowing XXXTentacion's Sad! which had peaked at the end of June following the latter's death. However, this was short-lived as Drake returned to the top with Nice for What which he replaced with In My Feelings which remained at its peak for the remainder of the month. Meanwhile, with Drake's newest album Scorpion out in July saw all of the singles from the album enter the Billboard Hot 100 including several into the top 10 such as Nonstop, Emotionless and I'm Upset. 

Meanwhile, in the UK, George Ezra's Shortgun was the first No.1 of the month as it replaced Clean Bandit ft. Demi Lovato's Solo. It continued for two weeks at the top after which Baddiel, Skinner and the Lightning Seeds' Three Lions roared to the top propelled by the United Kingdom reaching the semi finals of the 2018 FIFA World Cup. It was again overthrown next week by Drake's In My Feelings. During the month Jonas Blue ft. Jack & Jack's Rise, Ariana Grande's God is a Woman, Maroon 5 ft. Cardi B's Girls Like You and XXXTentacion's Sad! entered the top 10. 

Other songs which became popular during the month were:

1. 5 Seconds of Summer - Youngblood
2. Drake ft. Michael Jackson - Don't matter to me
3. Tiësto & Dzeko ft Preme & Post Malone - Jackie Chan
4. Cheat Codes & Little Mix - Only you
5. Kygo & Imagine Dragons - Born to be yours
6. Rudimental & Major Lazer ft. Anne-Marie & Mr.Eazi - Let me live 
7. Jax Jones ft. Mabel & Rich the Kid - Ring ring 

Till the next beat...

At Ease!!!

2017 Recap: A Year in Music

Attention!!!

Ciao Adios 2017! We were all in love with the shape of 2017 as it gave us some of the best music the industry had to offer. The greatest moments in music were overshadowed by the horrific tragedies which was clearly a sign of the times. But the world moves on another day, another drama and more music. We have a million reasons to love the year but that doesn’t mean we don’t have issues with it, cause you’ve got them too. While we said we won’t let go of 2017, we had to bid farewell. I don't have new rules, so similar to 2016 I will strip 2017 down under seven segments: genres, albums, singles, milestones, shockers, talent and obituaries, and it goes something just like this: 

1. Genres
The most conspicuous changes in some of the mainstream genres included:

• Latin music resurfaced with force in the form of Spanglish remixes and dominated the charts  throughout the year.
• Mainstream Pop gradually reverted to its original form during the year after facing a tropical take over the year before.
• Hip Hop and Rap were forces to be reckoned with new artists introducing their own flavours.
• Dancepop and Electropop were reignited as they seeped through several EDM as well as Pop albums
• Rock and Country once more took a backseat, with the genres becoming almost irrelevant on the charts.  

2. Albums

Some of the most awaited albums were released in 2017:

• Shania Twain – Now (5th studio album – first album in 15 years)
• Fergie – Double Dutchess (2nd studio album – first album in 11 years)
• Steps – Tears on the Dancefloor (5th studio album – first proper album in 17 years)
• Linkin Park – One More Light (7th studio album – Bennington's final album)
• Zara Larsson – So Good (2nd studio album – first to be internationally released)
• Kesha – Rainbow (3rd studio album – first since her legal battle with Dr. Luke)
• Pink – Beautiful Trauma (7th studio album – first album in 5 years)
• Kendrick Lamar – DAMN. (4th studio album – Year-End No.1 in the US)
• Ed Sheeran – ÷ (3rd studio album – Year-End No.1 in the UK)
• Taylor Swift – Reputation (6th studio album)
• Lorde – Melodrama (2nd studio album)
• Jay-Z – 4:44 (13th studio album)
• Shakira – El Dorado (11th studio album)
• Imagine Dragons – Evolve (3rd studio album)
• Lana Del Rey – Lust for Life (5th studio album)
• Sam Smith – The Thrill of It All (2nd studio album)
• Eminem – Revival (9th studio album)

Most of the anticipated albums in 2018 were debut studio albums:
• Dua Lipa – Dua Lipa
• Harry Styles – Harry Styles
• SZA – Ctrl
• The Chainsmokers – Memories…Do Not Open
• Khalid – American Teen
• Rag ‘n’ Bone Man – Human
• Stormzy – Gang Signs & Prayer
• Niall Horan – Flicker
• Liam Gallagher – As You Were

3. Singles

Here are some interesting trivia regarding the global hits of 2017:

• Ed Sheeran’s Shape of You topped the charts in 44 countries and was conspicuously the most successful song of 2017.
• The music video for Taylor Swift’s Look What You Made Me Do broke the record for most-watched video on YouTube within 24 hours by achieving 43.2 million views passing Adele’s Hello.
• Logic ft. Khalid & Alessia Cara’s 1-800-273-8255 is the phone number for the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline in the US which witnessed a surge of more than 50% of calls to the hotline following its release and eventual popularity.
• Luis Fonsi & Daddy Yankee ft. Justin Bieber’s Despacito tied a 20-year old record held by Mariah Carey & Boyz II Men’s One Sweet Day for the longest-reigning number one on the Billboard Hot 100 with 16 weeks.
• Cardi B’s Bodak Yellow (Money Moves) is the second solo Hip-Hop No.1 single by a female in US chart’s history after Lauryn Hill’s Doo Wop (That Thing) in 1998 .
• With the release of Liam Payne ft. Quavo’s Strip That Down all of One Direction’s members had made their solo debuts each one having at least one hit entering the Top 10 in the UK during the year, and Harry Styles even topping the chart with Sign of the Times. 
• With Nicki Minaj’s debut of three songs in April on the Billboard Hot 100 (No Frauds, Regrets in Your Tears and Changed It) she passed Aretha Franklin for the most total appearances among women on the chart.
• With Rihanna’s Love on the Brain entering the Hot 100 Top 10, she passed Elvis Presley becoming the artist with the third most top-ten singles in Hot 100 history behind only Madonna and The Beatles.  
• Mariah Carey’s Christmas classic All I Want for Christmas is You achieved a chart peak in the US after 23 years of its release when it peaked at No.9.
• Ed Sheeran’s Perfect grabbed the coveted Christmas No.1 in the UK with its sales being propelled due to duet versions with Beyonce and Andrea Bocelli.  

4. Milestones

Some musicians need to be given the due recognition for their achievements during the year.

• Adele became the first artist in history to win the triple crowns at the ceremony twice with Record of the Year and Song of the Year for Hello and Album of the Year for 25 at the 59th Grammy Awards a feat which she previously achieved in 2012. 
• The Beatles drummer Ringo Starr and Bee Gees lead vocalist Barry Gibb were knighted in the Queen’s 2017 New Year Honours
• Sir Paul McCartney, Emeli Sande and Ed Sheeran receive the prestigious MBE in the Queen’s 2017 Birthday Honours List 
• Taylor Swift wins sexual assault case against DJ David Mueller for groping her at a 2013 concert 
• Diana Ross was honored with the Lifetime Achievement Award at the 2017 American Music Awards
• Latin Recording Academy Person of the Year was bestowed on Alejandro Sanz at the 2017 Latin Grammy Awards
• Pink received the prestigious Michael Jackson Video Vanguard Award at the 2017 MTV Video Music Awards 
• Robbie Williams received the Icon Award at the BRIT Awards 2017 
• Pitbull was awarded the inaugural Dick Clark Achievement Award for his contribution to Latin Music at the 2017 Latin American Music Awards 
• Jay-Z was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame and became the first rapper in history to be bestowed with such an honour.
• Selena Gomez was named 2017’s Billboard Woman of the Year 
• U2 received the Global Icon Award at the 2017 MTV European Music Awards 
• Luis Fonsi & Daddy Yankee ft. Justin Bieber’s Despacito became the most watched YouTube video of all time with over 4.7 billion views.
• Lady Gaga’s performance at the 2017 Super Bowl LI Halftime Show was the second most-watched in history and is also among the most critically acclaimed of all time
• Sampha’s Process won the coveted 2017 Mercury Prize
• Afrojack played a record breaking eight sets at Tomorrowland 2017 
• Vera Lynn made history when her album, 100, charted at Number 3 in the UK, making her the first living centenarian to have a Top 10 album
• Cher was bestowed with the Icon Award at the 2017 Billboard Music Awards 
• Britney Spears honoured with the Icon Award at the 2017 Radio Disney Music Awards

5. Shockers

There were amazing moments in 2017 as well as the tragic ones that made up this memorable year.

• 58 people were shot dead and around 851 were injured in a shooting at the Route 91 Harvest Country Music Festival during Jason Aldean’s performance, making this the second deadliest concert shootings in history.  
• Chester Bennington, lead singer of Linkin Park hangs himself soon after the release of the band’s 7th studio album 
• A suicide bomb attack after an Ariana Grande concert at the Manchester Arena resulted in 22 deaths and left 250 injured.
• Glastonbury to take a year’s break after pulling in a record peak audience of 4.1 million viewers for Ed Sheeran’s headline slot and be replaced with BBC Music’s The Biggest Weekend
• Ed Sheeran privately settles a case of copyright infringement for his single Photograph and  the similarity between Matt Cardle’s Amazing 
• Fergie takes an indefinite break from the Black Eyed Peas 
• Tony Hadley, lead singer of Spandau Ballet formally announces his departure from the band
• Russia withdraws from Eurovision as Ukraine bans their representative Yulia Samoylova  from entering the host country by virtue of having traveled directly from Russia to Crimea in 2015
• Hip-Hop trio Tulisa, Dappy and Fazer indicates a N-Dubz reunion 
• The first ever Asia-Pacific Eurovision Song Contest was announced as Eurovision Asia was formally launched with 20 countries coming together to compete in an annual grand finale.

6. Talent

Here are the winners of those talent/reality contests which produce some of the best artists:

• 62nd Eurovision Song Contest – Portugal with Salvador Sobral’s Amar Pelos Dois
• The X Factor (14th Season) – Rak-Su mentored by Simon Cowell
• The Voice (12th Season) – Chris Blue coached by Alicia Keys
• The Voice (13th Season – Chloe Kohanski coached by Blake Shelton
• The Voice UK (6th Season) – Mo Adeniran coached by Jennifer Hudson
• Britain’s Got Talent (11th Season) – Tokio Myers

7. Obituaries

Finally we remember those who left us in 2017.

• Al Jarreau (12 February 1940 – 12 February 2017)
• Joni Sledge (13 September 1956 – 10 March 2017)
• Chuck Berry (18 October 1926 – 18 March 2017)
• J. Geils (20 February 1946 – 11 April 2017)
• Chris Cornell (20 July 1964 – 18 May 2017)
• Gregg Allman (08 December 1947 – 27 May 2017)
• Chester Bennington (20 March 1976 – 20 July 2017)
• Tom Petty (20 October 1950 – 02 October 2017)
• David Cassidy (12 April 1950 – 21 November 2017)
• Wayne Cochran (10 May 1939 – 21 November 2017)
• Kim Jong-hyun (08 April 1990 – 18 December 2017)

Till next year...

At Ease!!!

Xposition - November, 2017

Attention!!!

The awards season was in full swing this November. First up was the 2017 Country Music Association (CMA) Awards. Chris Stapleton was the big winner of the night winning Male Vocalist of the Year and Album of the Year for From a Room: Volume 1. The other winners were:

·         Female Vocalist of the Year: Miranda Lambert

·         New Artist of the Year: Jon Pardi

·         Entertainer of the Year: Garth Brooks

·         Single of the Year: Keith Urban – Blue ain’t your color

·         Song of the Year: Little Big Town – Better man

·         Vocal Group of the Year: Little Big Town

·         Music Video of the Year: Brothers Osborne – It ain’t my fault

·         Musical Event of the Year: Glen Campbell with Willie Nelson – Funny how time slips away

Next up we have the MTV European Music Awards which was hosted by Rita Ora at the Wembley Arena, London. She gave a brilliant performance of her songs Your Song and new hit Anywhere and was also bestowed with the Power of Music Award. Other good performances of the night were Camila Cabello’s Havana, Eminem and Skylar Grey’s Walk on Water, Shawn Mendes’ There’s Nothing Holdin’ Me Back and Clean Bandit’s medley of Symphony, Rockabye and I Miss You with Zara Larsson, Anne-Marie and Julia Michaels. Shawn Mendes was the big winner of the night taking home four awards including Best Artist and Best Song for There’s Nothing Holdin’ Me Back. Other significant wins include:

·         Best Video: Kendrick Lamar – Humble

·         Best New Artist: Dua Lipa

·         Best Pop: Camila Cabello

·         Best Electronic: David Guetta

·         Best Rock: Coldplay

·         Best Hip-Hop: Eminem

·         Global Icon: U2

The 2017 Latin Grammys were also held in November with Luis Fonsi and Daddy Yankee both leading with 4 awards for their mega hit Despacito winning Record of the Year, Song of the Year, Best Urban/Fusion Performance and Best Short Form Music Video. Some of the best performances of the night included CNCO with Reggaeton Lento (Bailemos), Luis Fonsi, Bomba Estéreo, Victor Manuelle and Diplo with Despacito and Maluma with Felices Los 4. Some of the other significant winners were:

·        Album of the Year: Rubén Blades with Roberto Delgado & Orquesta – Salsa Big Band

·         Best New Artist: Vincente Garcia

·         Best Contemporary Pop Vocal Album: Shakira – El Dorado

·         Producer of the Year: Eduardo Cabra

·         Best Urban Song: Residente – Somos Anormales

The 2017 American Music Awards is the final major award ceremony for the year. Bruno Mars had an almost clean sweep grabbing 7 out of his 8 nominations of the night including Artist of the Year, Favorite Male Artist Pop/Rock, Favorite Male Artist R&B/Soul and Video of the Year for That’s What I Like. There were amazing performances by Marshmello and Selena Gomez with Wolves, Imagine Dragons and Khalid with a mashup of Thunder and Young, Dumb and Broke, BTS with DNA and Diana Ross who was bestowed with the Lifetime Achievement Award sang a medley of her hits I’m Coming Out, Take Me Higher, Ease on Down the Road, The Best Years of My Life and Ain’t No Mountain High Enough. The other major wins include:

·         New Artist of the Year: Niall Horan

·    Collaboration of the Year: Luis Fonsi & Daddy Yankee ft. Justin Bieber – Despacito

·         Tour of the Year: Coldplay – A Head Full of Dreams

·         Favorite Female Artist - Pop/Rock: Lady Gaga

·    Favorite Song - Pop/Rock: Luis Fonsi & Daddy Yankee ft. Justin Bieber – Despacito

·         Favorite Artist - Rap/Hip-Hop: Drake

·         Favorite Artist - Latin: Shakira

·         Favorite Artist - Electronic Dance Music: The Chainsmokers

·         Favorite Soundtrack: Moana

Lastly in awards news, we have the most anticipated nominations in music - Grammys. The 2018 Grammy Nominations were announced at the end of the month with Jay-Z leading with 8 nominations followed by Kendrick Lamar with 7 and Bruno Mars with 6. The following are the nominees under the 4 main categories:

1.       Record of the Year

·         Childish Gambino – Redbone

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

·         Jay-Z – The story of O.J.

·         Kendrick Lamar – Humble.

·         Bruno Mars – 24K Magic

2.       Album of the Year

·         Childish Gambino – Awaken My Love

·         Jay-Z – 4:44

·         Kendrick Lamar – DAMN.

·         Lorde – Melodrama

·         Bruno Mars – 24K Magic

3.       Song of the Year

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

·         Jay-Z – 4:44

·         Julia Michaels – Issues

·         Logic ft. Alessia Cara & Khalid – 1-800-273-8255

·         Bruno Mars – That’s What I Like

4.       Best New Artist

·         Alessia Cara

·         Khalid

·         Lil Uzi Vert

·         Julia Michaels

·         SZA

In other news, Selena Gomez was named the Billboard’s 2017 Woman of the Year. The singer was honored at the annual Women in Music gala at the end of the month. This year the Rising Star was awarded to 2016 America’s Got Talent winner Grace VanderWaal.  The other honorees were:

·         Rulebreaker Award – Kehlani

·         Icon of the Year – Mary J. Blige

·         Breakthrough – Camila Cabello

·         Powerhouse – Kelly Clarkson

Meanwhile in chart news, in the US, Post Malone ft. 21 Savage’s Rockstar reigned supreme throughout the month although Camila Cabello ft. Young Thug’s Havana peaked at No.2 and came extremely close to dethroning Rockstar. During the month Ed Sheeran & Beyoncé’s Perfect, Lil Pump’s Gucci Gang and Maroon 5 ft. SZA’s What Lovers Do all entered the top 10.  

In the UK, Rockstar opened the month at the top although here Camila Cabello managed to overthrow Post Malone and stayed at the top for the remainder of the month. During the month Rita Ora’s Anywhere, Charlie Puth’s How Long and Eminem ft. Beyoncé’s Walk on Water all entered the top 10.

Other songs which became popular during the month were: 

1.       Selena Gomez & Marshmello – Wolves

2.       Big Shaq – Man’s not hot

3.       Taylor Swift – Call it what you want

4.       Clean Bandit ft. Julia Michaels – I miss you

5.       NF – Let you down

6.       Sam Smith – One last song

7.       Post Malone – I fall apart 

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!!!

Top 20 Songs About Being Young

Attention!!!

We may be growing old but all of us want to be young at heart. Maturity is a pretty subjective characteristic, as the most mature person can end up doing the most juvenile thing. There are songs about being young and the experiences one goes through when you were a kid. I have excluded those songs which reminisce the thought of how it felt to be young, because those are downright depressing. We have Fun. ft. Janelle Monae's We Are Young at the helm which although I am not crazy about actually sums up how the lives of today's youth are led. This is followed by the anthem, Young, Wild & Free by Snoop Dogg & Wiz Khalifa ft. Bruno Mars. 

These songs are more or less based in pop with several rock and R&B songs and two indie and one EDM. Kesha is the only artist with two entries. I placed Jay-Z ft. Mr.Hudson's Forever Young which is a sampled version of Alphaville's original of the same name on higher position as I believed Jay-Z's rap verses are more relevant to our times. Songs like I'm Just A Kid, Cool Kids and Teenagers are more about what you go through when you are young. So here are the best songs about being young:

1. Fun. ft. Janelle Monae – We are young
2. Snoop Dogg & Wiz Khalifa ft. Bruno Mars – Young, wild & free
3. Kesha – Die young
4. The Corrs – So young
5. Jay-Z ft. Mr.Hudson – Forever young
6. Tulisa Contostavlos – Young
7. Avril Lavigne – Here’s to never growing up
8. Rod Stewart – Forever young
9. Hardwell ft. Chris Jones – Young again
10. Simple Plan – I’m just a kid
11. Kesha ft. will.i.am – Crazy kids
12. Wheatus – Teenage dirtbag
13. My Chemical Romance – Teenagers
14. Echosmith – Cool kids
15. One Direction – Live while we’re young
16. Bob Dylan – Forever young
17. Katy Perry – Teenage dream
18. MGMT – Kids
19. The Undertones – Teenage kicks
20. Alphaville – Forever young 

Till the next beat...

At Ease!!!

Top Collaborations That Have Found Repeated Success

Attention!!!

These days most artists collaborate with others to produce good music. But what defines a good collaboration is when they achieve repeated success and critical acclaim for the end result. Everyone wants Pitbull, Flo Rida, Rihanna, Lil Wayne or Nicki Minaj to be featured on their tracks as they know it will ultimately lead to a hit single. However, the chemistry of some artists fall short while others thrive. And those who have found this chemistry have collaborated on several hits. So here are the 10 most successful collaborations of today. 

1. Eminem & Rihanna

It doesn't take a genius to figure out that this collaboration could only produce something awesome. Beginning with Love The Way You Lie and its sequel, the duo have experienced monumental success. Thereafter, Eminem was featured in Rihanna's Numb and this was followed by 2014's global hit Monster. 

2. Jennifer Lopez & Pitbull

They initially collaborated on Fresh Out Of The Oven which was only a promotional single. Then came the worldwide smash hit On The Floor. This was followed by J-Lo's hits Dance Again and Live It Up. Thereafter, the duo collaborated on the 2014 FIFA World Cup Song We Are One (Ole Ola) alongside Claudia Leitte. Their last collaboration was Booty, although J-Lo released the single with Iggy Azalea. More recently, the duo collaborated with Prince Royce on his Back It Up single. 

3. David Guetta & Nicki Minaj

Well these two have proven time and time again that they can only come up with hits. Starting with Where Them Girls At, Guetta and Minaj have gone onto produce hits such as Turn Me On and now the global dance hit Hey Mama. 

4. Rihanna & Drake

They started off with Rihanna's What's My Name in 2010, which proved to be immensely successful, which Drake followed up with featuring Ri-Ri in his global hit Take Care. After four long years the friends reunited their musical flame in Rihanna's Work and more recently Rihanna was featured on Drake's Too Good.

5. Beyonce & Jay-Z

Their chemistry has throughout the years proved to be extremely good on and off the studio. They started with Jay-Z's 03 Bonnie & Clyde which was followed by Beyonce's entry into the mainstream as a solo artist with Crazy In Love. Then the hits that followed include De Javu, Hollywood and Lift Off and most recently with Beyonce's global hit Drunk In Love and Jay-Z's Part II (On The Run).

6. Enrique Iglesias & Pitbull

We now know what happens when a Spanish singer and a Cuban Rapper collaborate in music. Their first collaboration was Enrique's comeback single I Like It which reminded that Enrique still existed. After achieving huge success from the collaboration Enrique has gone on to feature Pitbull in I Like How It Feels, I'm A Freak and Let Me Be Your Lover. Enrique has been featured on Pitbull's Come N' Go and I Like (The Remix). More recently Pitbull again sought Iglesias' vocals for the addictive Messin' Around. 

7. Chris Brown & Lil Wayne

Brown and Wayne have proven time and time again that everyone wants more of their collaborations. Their start was Brown's lesser known hit Gimme That (Remix). Thereafter, Wayne was featured alongside Swizz Beatz in I Can Transform Ya and alongside Busta Rhymes in Look At Me Now and more recently in Loyal alongside Tyga and French Montana. The duo have also been featured by DJ Khaled in Take It To The Head and How Many Times, David Guetta in I Can Only Imagine, Game in Celebration and Nicki Minaj in Only.

8. Timbaland & Justin Timberlake

Nothing can go wrong when a brilliant music producer and an ex-boy band member collaborate. They first sparked off with the hit Give It To Me which also featured Nelly Furtado. JT was also featured in Timbaland's Release and Bounce. Thereafter, 50 Cent featured the duo on Ayo Technology and Madonna featured them on 4 Minutes. Carry Out was the next big hit. More recently the duo was featured by FreeSol on Fascinated.

9. Jay-Z & Kanye West

It appears that Kanye West gets up on stage to interrupt people at award ceremonies not because he is in love with Beyonce, but her husband, Jay-Z. There are numerous collaborations by the duo. Kanye West was first featured in Swagga Like Us and then Run This Town. Then Jay-Z was featured in the ensemble collaboration Monster. Next the duo released a collaborative album Watch The Throne which spawned the hit singles H.A.M, Otis, Lift Off featuring Beyonce, and Niggas in Paris. More recently the duo reunited for Mercy and Clique. 

10. The Cataracs & Dev

As music producers The Cataracs have proven to be extremely successful and when you blend in a female singer/rapper to the mix, it can only get better. The Far East Movement collaborated with The Cataracs and Dev on the unexpected global hit Like a G6 which sparked off this new found successful unity. Dev went onto become a successful solo artist and it was The Cataracs that produced her first album The Night The Sun Came Up which included the hit single Bass Down Low which also featured them. She was featured on their singles Top Of The World and Sunrise and together they were featured on New Boyz' Back Seat and Shwayze's Love Letter.

11. Tinie Tempah & Labrinth

Tinie Tempah's debut hit Pass Out was both written and produced by Labrinth and also provided uncredited vocals on the song's hook. Thereafter, the duo officially collaborated on Tempah's Frisky and Labrinth's global hit Earthquake. More recently the two reunited at the studio for Tempah's Lover Not A Fighter. 

Honourable Mentions:

12. Timbaland & Nelly Furtado
13. Calvin Harris & Rihanna  

14. Nicki Minaj & Lil Wayne

15. Cheryl Cole & will.i.am

16. Timbaland & Keri Hilson

17. Tom Boxer & Morena 

Till the next duet…

At Ease!!!