Most Inspirational Songs of 2015

Attention!!!

And so the saga of the inspirational hits continue as the 2010s seem to spew more positive attitude than all of the preceding decades combined. While in 2014 the inspirational songs took a dip, in 2015 they returned with a vengeance and topped the charts worldwide. One distinct thing that can be noticed is that these songs are not about getting over breakups and how strong you are after a broken heart, they are purely about inner strength and provides the motivation we need these days to get by. Taking the crown this time is Rachel Platten with her global smash hit Fight Song which topped the charts in the UK and entered the top 10 in over ten countries including Australia, Canada and the US. At second place is Eminem ft. Gwen Stefani's Kings Never Die from the soundtrack of Southpaw. Pop rules as a genre this time although there are Rap, EDM, Dancepop and R&B. Rachel Platten, Jessie J, Rihanna, John Legend and Jess Glynne have two entries each. So here are the 25 most inspirational songs of 2015: 

1. Rachel Platten – Fight song
2. Eminem ft. Gwen Stefani – Kings never die
3. Demi Lovato – Confident
4. Kendrick Lamar – Alright
5. Jess Glynne – Don’t be so hard on yourself
6. One Direction – Drag me down
7. Big Sean ft. Kanye West & John Legend – One man can change the world
8. Jessie J – Flashlight
9. Hailee Steinfeld – Love myself
10. Sia – Alive
11. Zedd ft. Jon Bellion – Beautiful now
12. Jess Glynne – Hold my hand 
13. Martin Garrix ft. Usher – Don’t look down
14. Common & John Legend – Glory
15. Alesso ft. Tove Lo – Heroes (we could be)
16. Jessie J – Masterpiece
17. Kelly Clarkson – Invincible
18. Rachel Platten – Stand by you
19. Rihanna – American oxygen
20. Jennifer Lopez – Feel the light
21. Meghan Trainor – Better when I’m dancin’
22. Nicki Minaj – The night is still young
23. Madonna – Living for love
24. Clean Bandit – Stronger
25. Rihanna – Towards the sun

Till the next beat...

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Best Reggae Fusion Hits of All Time

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We are all a bit Rastafari at heart. We may not be Rastafarian to the point of doctrinal values but as far as the attitude and practices go, most of us adhere to their carefree ways of life. Reggae was born in the trenches of Jamaica. Jamaican musicians, many of them Rastas, soon blended traditional Jamaican folk music and drumming with American R&B, and jazz into ska, that later developed into reggae under the influence of soul. During the 60s and 70s, Reggae entered the mainstream music industry and flourished until pop and alternative rock took over in the 80s and the 90s. 

While Reggae has never been at the helm of the music industry, nevertheless it has always had a presence through various forms. One such form is Reggae Fusion. Reggae Fusion is a fusion genre of Reggae that mixes Reggae or Dancehall with other genres, such as pop, rock, R&B, jazz & drum and bass. While Reggae Fusion was experimented in the 80s, it was in the 90s that the first wave of Reggae Fusion stormed the charts and this commenced in Europe. Eurodance fused with Reggae produced smash hits which became increasingly popular leading acts such as Mr.President, Dr. Alban, E-Rotic and Vengaboys to fuse their styles with Reggae as well. 

Ace of Base takes the crown as well as second place because they were instrumental in laying the foundation for Reggae Fusion with their first global hit All That She Wants which was followed by the massive hit The sign. I believe the next wave of Reggae Fusion is upon us with the likes of OMI, MAGIC! and R.City gaining international success. So here are the 75 of the Greatest Reggae Fusion Hits of All Time:

1. Ace of Base – All that she wants
2. Ace of Base – The sign
3. OMI – Cheerleader (Felix Jaehn Remix)
4. MAGIC! – Rude
5. Shaggy ft. Rikrok – It wasn’t me
6. Sean Paul – Get busy
7. Snow – Informer
8. Jessie J ft. B.o.B. – Price tag
9. Ini Kamoze – Here comes the hotstepper
10. Sean Kingston – Beautiful girls
11. Diana King – Shy guy
12. No Doubt ft. Bounty Killer – Hey baby
13. Shaggy ft. Rayvon – Angel
14. Iyaz – Replay
15. Akon – Don’t matter
16. Travie McCoy ft. Bruno Mars – Billionaire
17. Gwen Stefani – Rich girl
18. R.City ft. Adam Levine – Locked away
19. Lily Allen – Smile
20. Alexandra Burke ft. Elephant Man – Start without you
21. Vengaboys – We’re going to Ibiza
22. No Doubt ft. Lady Saw – Underneath it all
23. Nina Sky ft. Jabba – Move ya body
24. Ace of Base – Don’t turn around
25. Inner Circle – Sweat (A la, la, la, la long)
26. Sugar Ray – Fly
27. Shaggy ft. Rayvon – In the summertime
28. Paris Hilton – Stars are blind
29. K’Naan – Wavin’ flag
30. Heavy D & the Boyz – Now that we found love
31. Sean Paul – Gimme the light
32. Mohombi – Bumpy ride
33. Aswad – Shine
34. Vitamin C ft. Lady Saw – Smile
35. Mr. President – Coco jamboo
36. Sean Kingston & Justin Bieber – Eenie meenie
37. Dr. Alban – It’s my life
38. Bridgit Mendler – Ready or not
39. Wayne Wonder – No letting go
40. Michael Franti & Spearhead ft. Cherine Anderson – Say hey (I love you)
41. Sean Paul – She doesn’t mind
42. All Saints – Rock steady
43. T-Spoon – Sex on the beach
44. Ace of Base – Living in danger
45. Alexandra Stan – Lemonade
46. Che’Nelle ft. Baby Cham – I fell in love with the DJ
47. Gyptian – Hold you
48. Sean Kingston – Take you there
49. Cover Drive – Explode
50. Iyaz – Solo
51. Bob Sinclar & Cutee B ft. Gary Pine & Dollarman – Sound of freedom
52. Santana ft. Sean Paul & Joss Stone – Cry baby cry
53. Vengaboys – Uncle John from Jamaica
54. Suggs ft. Louichie Lou & Michie One – Cecilia
55. Bruno Mars – Count on me
56. Diana King – I say a little prayer
57. Sean Kingston – Me love
58. Sean Paul – We be burnin’
59. No Doubt – Settle down
60. Rihanna – Man down
61. Beenie Man ft. Mya – Girls dem sugar
62. Sean Kingston – Letting go (Dutty love)
63. Wayne Wonder – Bounce along
64. Ace of Base – Happy nation
65. Diana King – L-l-lies
66. ENUR ft. Natasja – Calabria 2007
67. Yasmin ft. Shy FX & Ms.Dynamite – Light up (the world)
68. Shaggy ft. Eve – Girls just want to have fun
69. Gwen Stefani – Baby don’t lie
70. Bridgit Mendler – Hurricane
71. Snoop Lion ft. Miley Cyrus – Ashtrays and heartbreaks
72. 311 – Amber
73. MAGIC! – Let your hair down
74. Bruno Mars ft. Damian Marley – Liquor store blues
75. Tami Chynn ft. Akon – Frozen 

Till the next beat...

At Ease!!!

Best Songs to Deal With Insecurities

Attention!!!

It's not a big secret that we all have our inherent insecurities. But do we need to let these hold us back. Most insecurities are about one's image. Be it physical or social attributes or lack thereof, all of us try to handle them in our own ways. Bullying has been taken to another ugly level, through cyberbullying. By the advent of social media and the rapid escalation of stereotypes by the mainstream media, kids as well as grownups these days are popping pills to deal with the social stigmas and peer pressure. 

We are all humans and no one is perfect. The #DUFFS and the #COOLKIDS must be able to get along just fine. Sadly this is not the case, labels, stereotypes and insecurities remain the same. Music is one way to deal with one's insecurities. Although hundreds of inspirational songs are released each year only a few actually over the past few decades deal with insecurities. Pink's Fuckin' Perfect is definitely number one on the list as the title itself says no one is perfect and no one should strive to be fucking perfect. There is not much to say about genre as they are all but one from mainstream pop. The underlying themes are more or less in relation to body image whilst some of the male artists are singing about how they love the girl 'just the way they are'. So here are the best 20 songs to deal with insecurities. 

1. Pink – Fuckin’ perfect
2. Olly Murs – Beautiful to me
3. TLC – Unpretty
4. Christina Aguilera – Beautiful
5. David Grey – It’s not easy being me
6. Bruno Mars – Just the way you are
7. Lady Gaga – Born this way
8. Sugababes – Ugly
9. Colbie Caillat – Try
10. Hailee Steinfeld – Love myself
11. J. Cole ft. TLC – Crooked smile
12. Mika – Big girl (you are beautiful)
13. Katy Perry – Firework
14. Audioslave – Be yourself
15. One Direction – What makes you beautiful
16. Meghan Trainor – All about that bass
17. Jessie J – Who you are
18. Beyonce – Pretty hurts
19. Jesse McCartney – Beautiful soul
20. Selena Gomez & The Scene – Who says 

Till the next beat...

At Ease!!!

Xposition - August 2014

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The summer is almost over and we're nearing the much anticipated crowning of the song of summer. Iggy Azalea's Fancy has been at the peak of the charts since the inception of the chart this summer so it may clearly be the winner. However, there has been stiff competition for the top from Magic!'s Rude and Ariana Grande's Problem. 

The 2014 Teen Choice Awards was held on August 10, 2014. One Direction were the biggest winners of the night winning all 10 of their nominations Choice Music Group, Choice Song: Group, Choice Love Song, Choice Break-up Song, Choice Summer Tour and Choice Male Hottie. The performances of the night included Demi Lovato and Cher Lloyd's Really Don't Care, Magic!'s Rude, Becky G's Shower and medley's by Rixton and Jason Derulo. The Ultimate Choice Award was awarded to Selena Gomez. The other significant wins included:

• Choice Male Artist: Ed Sheeran
• Choice Female Artist: Ariana Grande
• Choice EDM Artist: Calvin Harris
• Choice R&B/Hip-Hop Artist: Iggy Azalea
• Choice Rock Group: Imagine Dragons
• Choice Male Country Artist: Hunter Hayes
• Choice Female Country Artist: Taylor Swift
• Choice Country Group: Lady Antebellum
• Choice Summer Song: Demi Lovato ft. Cher Lloyd - Really don't care
• Choice Summer Female Star: Demi Lovato
• Choice Summer Male Star: Jason Derulo
• Choice Summer Group: 5 Seconds of Summer
• Choice Breakout Artist: Austin Mahone
• Social Media Queen: Katy Perry

The much anticipated 2014 MTV Video Music Awards was held on August 24, 2014. Iggy Azalea although nominated for eight awards failed to grab any of them. The main show started with a huge collaboration with a medley of Ariana Grande's Break Free, Nicki Minaj's Anaconda and Jessie J collaborating with both to perform Bang Bang. While things went smoothly at first and Nicki Minaj gave an awesome performance of the controversial song Anaconda, she had a massive wardrobe malfunction during her entry to perform Bang Bang. 

Taylor Swift's performance of Shake It Off was not as great as one would have expected but Sam Smith with his Stay With Me and 5 Seconds of Summer with their new hit Amnesia clearly enthralled the audience. Then Iggy Azalea and Rita Ora darkened the stage with their dramatic performance of Black Widow. Beyonce closed the show as she was bestowed with the Michael Jackson Video Vanguard Award with a medley of her songs from her self-titled new album. Although the performance was not disappointing as Beyonce knows how to steal the show, but most fans were disappointed that she did not include any of her previous hits in her medley. 

The Video of the Year went to none other than Miley Cyrus' Wrecking Ball. Best Male Video went to Ed Sheeran's Sing and Best Female Video to Katy Perry's Dark Horse. The other major wins were:

• Best Pop Video: Ariana Grande ft. Iggy Azalea - Problem
• Best Rock Video: Lorde - Royals
• Best Hip-Hop Video: Drake ft. Majid Jordan - Hold on,we're going home
• MTV Clubland Award: Zedd ft. Hayley Williams - Stay the night
• Best Collaboration: Beyonce ft. Jay-Z - Drunk in love
• Artist to Watch: Fifth Harmony
• Best Video with a Social Message: Beyonce - Pretty hurts 

In the US Magic! held on to the top spot for the whole month. God knows what could dethrone this hit as there are no potentials except maybe the debuts that could be expected following the VMAs like Anaconda and Shake It Off or the slightly controversial hit All About That Bass by Meghan Trainor. Sia's Chandelier finally entered the Top 10 and so did Charli XCX's Boom Clap, Ariana Grande ft. Zedd's Break Free, Iggy Azalea ft. Rita Ora's Black Widow and Jessie J, Ariana Grande and Nicki Minaj's Bang Bang. 

In the UK Magic!'s Rude was numero uno for the first week but Nico & Vinz's Am I Wrong claimed the top spot in the second week and remained there for the third week as well only to be overthrown by David Guetta ft. Sam Martin's smash hit Lovers On The Sun. Lilly Wood & Robin Schulz's Prayer in C was the final number one for the month. OneRepublic's Love Runs Out peaked at No.3 during the month while Taylor Swift's Shake It Off peaked at No.4 and Maroon 5's Maps peaked at No.2. Other good songs which became famous during the month were:

• Ed Sheeran - Don't
• Pharrell Williams - Come get it bae
• Pitbull ft. John Ryan - Fireball
• Kiesza - Giant in my heart
• Katy Perry - This is how we do 

Till the next beat…

At Ease!!!