Xposition - September, 2018

Attention!!!

First up in September we have the prestigious Mercury Prize 2018. Wolf Alice won the prestigious award bestowed on the best of UK and Irish music for their album Visions of a Life. The group saw stiff competition from fan favorites Lily Allen, Florence + The Machine and Arctic Monkeys.

Next up we have two award ceremonies which announced their nominations. Drake and Cardi B led the nominations at the 2018 American Music Awards with 8 nods each. Drake will face off against Ed Sheeran, Taylor Swift, Imagine Dragons and Post Malone for Artist of the Year while Cardi B was up against Camila Cabello, Khalid, Dua Lipa and posthumously XXXTentacion for New Artist of the Year.

The Latin American Music Awards 2018 also announced their list of nominees with Ozuna and J Balvin leading the tally with 9 nominations each. Both are up for Artist of the Year as well as Favorite Male Artist and Album of the Year for Odisea (Ozuna) and Vibras (J Balvin). In addition, J Balvin is up for two nods in the Song of the Year for X with Nicky Jam and Mi Gente with Willy William ft. Beyonce and Ozuna for being featured on Wisin’s Escapate Commigo. Close behind is Nicky Jam with 8 nods who is also up for Artist of the Year, Favorite Male Artist and Album of the Year for Fenix.

The devastating deaths in the music industry continue as rapper Mac Miller died of an apparent overdose at the age of 26. Miller was found dead in his San Fernando Valley home. Prior to this Miller admitted he had been struggling with drugs and addiction issues.

In more morbid news, a coroner’s report has confirmed the cause of death of the lead vocalist of The Cranberries, Dolores O’Riordan. The singer who passed away in January evidently died by drowning due to alcohol intoxication.

The latest rap beef is Eminem vs. Machine Gun Kelly. The bad blood between the two was due to MGK derogatory remarks about Eminem’s daughter Hailie on Twitter. Thereafter, MGK accused Eminem of blackballed him from major record labels. The beef escalated to a war when Eminem released his Not Alike from his surprise new album Kamikaze. This led to MGK’s retort with Rap Devil a direct reference to Eminem’s Rap God. Eminem fired his final torpedo with a brilliant track – Killshot – which demolished MGK and literally put to rest the warfare with Eminem as the victor.

As a part of Global Sound’s initiative to bring the best of EDM to Sri Lanka, Alan Walker performed live as the headline artist of a set which included Lost Stories and Ella Rose. At the venue he performed his latest unreleased single Diamond Hearts ft. Sophia Somajo.

In chart news in the US, Drake continued at the top with In My Feelings throughout the month which was however overthrown by Maroon 5 & Cardi B’s Girls Like You in the last week. During the month Ariana Grande’s God is a Woman, Khalid & Normani’s Love Lies and Eminem’s Killshot all entered the top 10.  

In the UK, Benny Blanco, Halsey & Khalid’s Eastside began the month at the top, which was however short lived as Calvin Harris & Sam Smith’s Promises stormed to No.1 in the second week and remained at the top for the rest of the month. During the month Marshmello & Bastille’s Happier, Kanye West & Lil Pump’s I Love It and Juice Wrld’s Lucid Dreams all entered the top 10.

Other songs which became popular during the month were:

1.       Dean Lewis – Be alright

2.       Silk City & Dua Lipa – Electricity   

3.       BLACKPINK – Ddu-du ddu-du

4.       Jason Derulo & David Guetta ft. Nicki Minaj & Willy William – Goodbye

5.       LSD – Thunderclouds

6.       Dynoro & Gigi D'Agostino – In my mind 

Till the next beat...

At Ease!!!

LINKIN PARK ~ Rap Rock Royalty ~

Attention!!!

It is one thing to master one genre of music, but it is yet another to master two, mash them up and develop an entirely new unique sound. This is exactly what Linkin Park did in the early 2000s when they entered the mainstream music industry. Taking Alternative Rock to new heights with the incorporation of Rap, EDM and Nu Metal, Linkin Park turned the industry as a whole towards a new era of radio friendly rock music. With multi-platinum selling albums alongside global smash hits and awards and accolades from the Grammys to UN Global Leadership Awards, Linkin Park became the best-selling band of the 21st century and one of the best-selling artists in the world. 

While we commemorate the first year death anniversary of lead vocalist Chester Bennington, let's look back at this band who left their mark on the Rock music scene as well as becoming pop/rock cultural icons of the new millennium.

Mike Shinoda, Rob Bourdon, and Brad Delson were high school friends who after their graduation recruited Dave Farrell and Joe Hahn to form a band, then called Xero. Initially recording and producing in Shinoda's bedroom studio, the band failed to make headway in terms of a record deal. In 1999, the band recruited Chester Bennington whose vocals complemented those of Shinoda's. In rebranding their name, the band chose the name Lincoln Park and opted to "Linkin Park" in order to obtain the internet domain name - linkinpark.com. With the new sound and new name the band finally landed a record deal with Warner Bros. Records through which they released their debut studio album Hybrid Theory.

It is no secret that the late nineties and the early noughties belonged to Pop. On one end there were the boy/girl bands such as Spice Girls, Backstreet Boys, Westlife, Boyzone, All Saints etc. creating a cultural phenomenon in the music world, while on the other end there were the solo Pop stars such as Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera, Enrique Iglesias, Shakira and Jennifer Lopez who were gaining ground in the industry.

During the release of Hybrid Theory in 2000, Alternative Rock was not a new genre to the charts. We had the likes of Lifehouse, 3 Doors Down, Staind, Matchbox Twenty and The Calling with Creed and Nickelback even topping the charts. The initial releases off of the album - One Step Closer, Crawling and Papercut were well received globally and the critics loved the sound, with Crawling going on to win the Best Hard Rock Performance at the 2002 Grammy Awards.

But the final release In The End was the hit that cemented the band's reckoning force in the music industry. The hit reached the top tiers in the global charts and is now considered their signature song. With a prominent piano riff alongside Shinoda's rapping the verse and Bennington's vocals climaxing on the chorus, the song achieved a perfect balance of their hybrid theory of rap rock. Hybrid Theory went on to become the best selling debut album by a band in the 21st century and was nominated for Best Rock Album at the 2002 Grammy Awards wherein the band was also nominated for Best New Artist (losing to Alicia Keys).

In 2003, the band released their second studio album Meteora which experienced instant commercial success. The band continued with their amalgamation of rap rock, nu metal and alternative rock into the album easily reflected in the hits Somewhere I Belong and Numb. In a collaboration effort with Jay-Z the band mashed his Encore with their Numb which earned them the Best Rap/Sung Collaboration at the 2006 Grammy Awards. Although I believe that nothing can beat the original track. Faint and Breaking the Habit were also memorable songs from the album.

Their third studio album Minutes to Midnight (2007) reached the top in almost all the countries it started and produced their most commercially successful hit What I've Done. The album deviated a little from their nu metal sound and focused more on alternative rock which had taken over the Rock music industry at the time. The album also spawned the singles Bleed It Out and Shadow of the Day which achieved moderate success.

Following in the footsteps of Evanescence (Dare Devil) and Chad Kroeger (Spiderman) Linkin Park recorded New Divide, the main theme for the soundtrack of Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen. The song was an instant hit as it had incorporated elements of electronic music, which alongside the popularity of Electropop and the emergence of EDM enabled the band to keep up with the changing times.

Keeping up with the times to be relevant proved fatal to the band in their fourth studio album A Thousand Suns (2010). In a significant departure from their usual sound the band chose to adopt more electronic and progressive rock forgetting their alternative and rap rock roots. Only The Catalyst proved to be successful from the album with Waiting for the End and Iridescent achieving average success as they should.

In their next album Living Things (2012), the band got the genre mix right with just the right amount of electronic music incorporated into their core alternative and rap rock. Burn it Down was the lead single off the album which experienced commercial and chart success more than any single off the previous album. Castle of Glass is the first song of the band which merged more electronic music into the song and one of the few songs that they got right with this unorthodox mix.

The success for the band with electronic music was followed up with Recharged (2013) an entire album of remixes out of which the track A Light that Never Comes, a collaboration with EDM artist Steve Aoki proved to be a commercial as well as a critical success. This hit cemented the fact that Linkin Park can be adaptable to any era and successful with the new trends and genres emerging in the industry.

The band released their sixth studio album A Hunting Party in 2014 and attempted at a return to their original sound. The record was to be entirely composed of alternative rock with their signature nu metal and rap rock flavour although the band took it further by making the sound more aligned with hard rock. However, the album did not prove to be as successful as the preceding albums, owing mostly to the mainstream being engulfed by EDM and Pop with little to no room for Rock or any other genre for that matter. None of the songs from the album were memorable with the exception of Final Masquerade and received only lukewarm reception from the fans.

Their final album with Chester Bennington - One More Light was released in 2017 which deviated completely from their sound entirely producing a pop rock album incorporating electropop into the record. The lead track Heavy was a collaboration with Pop and R&B artist Kiiara which received polarizing reviews from critics and mixed reception from fans. The album seemed like an attempt to keep up with the era of Ed Sheeran and Adele and failing miserably on the mainstream front. While the album received moderate success, the singles failed to meet the mark. Two months after the release of the album, Bennington took his own life, that shook the entire music industry. One More Light, a slow acoustic single, the title track from the album was released as the last single which received heavy radio airplay due to the lead vocalist's death.

Following the tragedy that befell the band, the members have indicated every intention of continuing with the band. What the outcome of such statements are yet to be seen. The final album's marked difference in terms of genre and the death of Bennington lead many questions as to the future of the band.

However, one thing is for sure, the legacy of Linkin Park, whether this is the end for them or not will live on as a reckoning force in Rock music. Their contribution to Alternative Rock, Nu Metal and Rap Rock will be remembered for generations as their hits In the End, Somewhere I Belong and Numb are now more or less inducted into the hall of fame of rock. Their collision of rap and rock and amalgamating genres will be carried into the future by the likes of inspired artists such as Imagine Dragons and Twenty One Pilots. But most of all Linkin Park shall remain forever in the hearts of those struggling teenagers who grew up in the noughties, because in the end they did matter.  

Till the next review...

At Ease!!!

Xposition - February, 2018

Attention!!!

Although the Grammys are over, we are not done with the awards season, as we have UK’s biggest music night to celebrate with Dua Lipa and Stormzy emerging as the top winners at the 2018 BRIT Awards. Lipa took home British Breakthrough and British Female while Stormzy took home the British Male and the coveted Album of the Year for Gang Signs and Prayer. The night’s memorable performances included Dua Lipa with her summer smash New Rules, Ed Sheeran with Supermarker Flowers, Rita Ora with a medley of Your Song, Anywhere and For You accompanied by Liam Payne and a surprise performance by Liam Gallagher with Oasis hit Live Forever. Other recipients include:

·         British Group: Gorillaz

·         British Producer of the Year: Steve Mac

·         British Single: Rag ‘n’ Bone Man – Human

·         British Artist Video of the Year: Harry Styles – Sign of the Times

·         International Male Solo Artist: Kendrick Lamar

·         International Female Solo Artist: Lorde

·         International Group: Foo Fighters

·         BRITs Global Success Award: Ed Sheeran

In other music news, Justin Timberlake performed at the Pepsi Super Bowl LII Halftime Show. With mixed to negative reviews, Timberlake had big shoes to fill as Lady Gaga put on quite a legendary performance the year before. Introduced by none other than Jimmy Fallon, Timberlake performed a medley of songs including his newest single at the time Filthy and his former hits Rock Your Body, Senorita, SexyBack, My Love, Cry Me A River and Until The End of Time. He then gave tribute to Prince in his Minneapolis-native Prince with the latter’s hit I Would Die 4 U and proceeded to close the set with Mirrors and Can’t Stop The Feeling!

Meanwhile, IFPI has released the world’s top 10 bestselling music acts of 2017 and none other than Ed Sheeran the sole Brit on the list takes the crown.  It’s a no-brainer that he would top the list after whopping album sales for his latest studio album ÷ and the global smash hit Shape of You which topped almost all the charts worldwide. The acts compose of 7 Americans and 2 Canadians. The 10 acts are:

1.       Ed Sheeran

2.       Drake

3.       Taylor Swift

4.       Kendrick Lamar

5.       Eminem

6.       Bruno Mars

7.       The Weeknd

8.       Imagine Dragons

9.       Linkin Park

10.   The Chainsmokers

In the US, Drake’s God Plan debuted atop the Billboard Hot 100 from the first week ending Camila Cabello featuring Young Thug’s Havana short stint at the top during the last week of January. God’s Plan remained at the pole position throughout the month. During the month Bebe Rexha featuring Flo Rida Georgia Line’s Meant To Be, Justin Timberlake featuring Chris Stapleton’s Say Something as well as the theme songs from the Black Panther: Kendrick Lamar and The Weeknd’s Pray For Me and Kendrick Lamar and SZA’s All The Stars all entered the top 10.  

In the UK too, Drake debuted atop the charts with God’s Plan ending Eminem featuring Ed Sheeran’s River one week No.1. During the month Dua Lipa’s IDGAF, Jax Jones ft. Ina Wroldsen’s Breathe, Sigrid’s Strangers and the theme song from The Greatest Showman, Keala Settle’s This is Me all entered the top 10.

Other songs which became popular during the month were:

1.       Rudimental ft. Macklemore, Jess Glynne and Dan Caplen – These days

2.       Marshmello & Anne Marie – Friends

3.       Drake – Diplomatic immunity

4.       G-Eazy ft. Charlie Puth – Sober

5.       Migos – Stir fry

6.       BlocBoy JB ft. Drake – Look alive

7.       Paloma Faith – Till I’m done

Till the next beat...

At Ease!!!

Xposition - October, 2017

Attention!!!

The month of October commenced with a tragedy where 58 people were shot dead and around 546 injured in a shooting at the Route 91 Harvest Country Music Festival. The shooting took place when headliner Jason Aldean was performing and the death toll makes this the largest mass shooting in US history passing the 49 killed in the 2016 Pulse nightclub shooting in Orlando. The perpetrator Stephen Paddock was a former auditor and real estate businessman who was gunned down during the shooting.

In more tragic news, US musician Tom Petty passed away at the age of 66. He was found in full cardiac arrest at his Malibu home, but could not be revived at the hospital. Petty was the lead singer of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers and was also a co-founder of the Traveling Wilburys in the late 1980s.

The BET Hip Hop Awards 2017 took place in October where Kendrick Lamar, DJ Khaled and Cardi B were all leading the nomination with 9 nods each. However, the show’s most memorable moment was when Eminem dissed President Donald Trump in a freestyle rap calling out the leader for focusing on the NFL players’ protest during the national anthem instead of Puerto Rico’s recovery efforts in the wake of Hurricane Maria. The big wins of the night include:

·         Best Hip Hop Video: Kendrick Lamar – Humble.

·         Best Collab: DJ Khaled ft. Rihanna & Bryson Tiller – Wild thoughts

·         Lyricist of the Year: Kendrick Lamar

·         DJ of the Year: DJ Khaled

·         Single of the Year: J. White Did It – Bodak Yellow (Cardi B)

·         Album of the Year: Kendrick Lamar – Damn.

·         Best New Hip Hop Artist: Cardi B

·         Impact Track: Jay-Z – The story of O.J.

The BBC Radio 1 Teen Awards 2017 winners were also held in October with brilliant performances by Dua Lipa, James Arthur, Liam Payne, Rita Ora and Camila Cabello. Dua Lipa took the coveted Best British Single for New Rules while Ed Sheeran was honoured as the Best British Solo Artist. Among the other winners were:

·         Most Entertaining Celeb: Stormzy

·         Best International Group: The Chainsmokers

·         Best British Group: Little Mix

·         Best International Solo Artist: Ariana Grande

The big winners of the night at the 2017 Latin American Music Awards were Enrique Iglesias, Prince Royce and new boy band CNCO. There were incredible performances by Camila Cabello with her new hit Havana and Pitbull and Fifth Harmony took to the stage to perform their new collab Por Favor. Pitbull was honoured with the first ever Dick Clark Achievement Award for his contribution to the Latin music industry. Other winners of the night were:

·         Artist of the Year: Enrique Iglesias

·         Song of the Year: Prince Royce & Shakira – Déjà vu

·         Album of the Year: CNCO – Primera Cita

·      Favorite Collaboration: Enrique Iglesias ft. Descemer Bueno, Zion & Lennox – Súbeme La Radio

·         Favorite Artist-Urban: J Balvin

·         Favorite Song-Pop/Rock: CNCO – Reggaeton Lento (Bailemos)

·         Favorite Crossover Artist: Selena Gomez

Taylor Swift leads the nominations for the 2017 MTV Europe Music Awards with six nods followed by Kendrick Lamar, Ed Sheeran and Shawn Mendes. Rita Ora is to host the event this year and will be performing one or more of her latest hits. Swift who scored her first No.1 in the UK with Look What You Made Me Do is up for Best US Act, Best Artist, Best Look, Best Pop, Biggest Fans and Best Video.

Nominations for the 45^th annual American Music Awards were also released with Bruno Mars leading the nominations with 8 followed by Drake, Ed Sheeran, Kendrick Lamar and the Weeknd. Diana Ross former lead singer of The Supremes and Motown legacy with a monumental solo career after her girl band days will be bestowed with the Lifetime Achievement Award at the end of the ceremony.

It was confirmed by Justin Timberlake on his Twitter account that he will in fact be headlining the Super Bowl LII halftime show in 2018. JT will literally have big boots to fill after the critically acclaimed powerful performance of Lady Gaga at the 2017 halftime show. However, this is not the first time JT will be at the Super Bowl as he was the culprit of the infamous Nipplegate. This was when during his stint with Janet Jackson in 2004 (who headlined the show), JT accidentally ripped Janet’s outfit to expose her breast.

In the US, Cardi B opened the month at the top with her debut hit Bodak Yellow (Money Moves) which removed Taylor Swift’s Look What You Made Do from the helm. It continued its reign for 2 more weeks before being replaced by Post Malone ft. 21 Savage’s Rockstar. During the month Demi Lovato’s Sorry Not Sorry entered the top which became her highest charting single in the US peaking at No.6 and she was joined in the top 10 by Portugal. The Man’s Feel It Still, Imagine Dragons’ Thunder and J Balvin & Willy William ft. Beyonce’s Mi Gente.  

In the UK, Sam Smith’s Too Good at Goodbye’s continued its reign into the first week of October after which Post Malone dethroned Smith with his global hit Rockstar which remained at the top for the rest of the month. During the month Logic ft. Alessa Cara & Khalid’s 1-800-273-8255, Mabel ft. Kojo Funds’ Finders Keepers, Marshmello ft. Khaild’s Silence and Stefflon Don ft. French Montana’s Hurtin’ Me all entered the top 10.

Other songs which became popular during the month were:

1.       Rita Ora – Anywhere

2.       Charlie Puth – How long

3.       Liam Payne – Bedroom floor

4.       Louis Tomlinson – Just like you

5.       Taylor Swift – Gorgeous

6.       Maroon 5 ft. ASAP Rocky – Whiskey

7.    RedOne ft. French Montana, Daddy Yankee & Dinah Jane – Boom boom 

Till the next beat...

At Ease!!!

Xposition - August, 2017

Attention!!!

The month of August was all about Taylor Swift. Not about the old Taylor though, cause she’s dead. Not much has changed about the new Taylor, except for maybe a haircut. She is still vindictive and self-obsessed as ever. However, now she has clearly embraced all the mud that was slung at her in the past two years. On the heels of winning her sexual assault case against ex-radio DJ David Mueller for groping her at a 2013 concert, Swift blacked out her social media before teasing her fans with GIFs of a snake, which everyone assumed was Kim Kardashian’s reference to her as a snake in the Kanye-Swift Famous debacle.

She next revealed that her newest album would be titled Reputation with its lead single Look What You Made Me Do released soon after. The lyric video itself gained more than 19 million views on YouTube within 24 hours breaking the record of Chainsmokers & Coldplay’s Something Just Like This. The official video premiered at the 2017 MTV Video Music Awards where she went on a rampage with her contemptuous references to Calvin Harris, Kanye West, Kim Kardashia, DJ David Mueller, Katy Perry, the mainstream media and concluding the video with scathing remarks at her old self. The official video became the most watched music video within 24 hours with over 43 million views and breaking the record of Psy’s Gentleman which had only 38 million views. (The chart performance of the song will only be available for September).

As said earlier the 2017 MTV Video Music Awards was held this year with less drama than usual. Pink was bestowed with the prestigious Michael Jackson Video Vanguard Award which she accepted after a medley of her hits and concluding with an emotional driven performance of her newest single What About Us. Other great performances of the night included Julia Michael’s Issues, Kendrick Lamar’s medley of DNA and Humble, Logic, Khalid and Alessia Cara’s 1-800-273-8255 and Shawn Mendes’ There’s Nothing Holdin’ Me Back. Kendrick Lamar who led the nominations with 8 also won the most awards with 6 including Video of the Year and Best Hip Hop Video for Humble. Ed Sheeran won Artist of the Year while Khalid won Best New Artist. The other significant wins of the night included:

·         Best Collaboration: Taylor Swift & Zayn – I don’t wanna live forever

·         Best Pop Video: Fifth Harmony ft. Gucci Mane – Down

·         Best Dance Video: Zedd ft. Alessia Cara – Stay

·         Best Rock Video: Twenty One Pilots – Heavydirtysoul

·         Song of the Summer: Lil Uzi Vert – XO tour llif3

The Teen Choice Awards 2017 were also held in August where Selena Gomez and Justin Bieber received the most nods. Great performances of the night included Clean Bandit and Zara Larsson on a medley of their hits Rockabye and Symphony and French Montana, Swae Lee and Rae Sremmurd on a medley of Unforgettable and Black Beatles. Harry Styles and Ariana Grande won Choice Male and Female Artist respectively while Fifth Harmony won for Choice Music Group. Some other important award recipients were:

·         Choice Country Artist: Carrie Underwood

·         Choice Electronic/Dance Artist: Calvin Harris

·         Choice Latin Artist: CNCO

·         Choice R&B/Hip-Hop Artist: Beyonce

·         Choice Rock Artist: Harry Styles

·         Choice Song Female: Camila Cabello – Crying in the club

·         Choice Song Male: Niall Horan – Slow hands

·         Choice Song Group: Fifth Harmony ft. Gucci Mane – Down

·         Choice Collaboration: Steve Aoki & Louis Tomlinson – Just hold on

·         Choice Breakout Artist: Chance the Rapper

During the month of August the video of Luis Fonsi & Daddy Yankee featuring Justin Bieber’s Despacito passed Wiz Khalifa featuring Charlie Puth’s See You Again as the most watched music video in the world and also passed 3-billion views. It is considered the most viral video of all time reaching this mark within a span of only 8 months. It is also the most liked video on YouTube.  

In terms of musical talent, the biggest music content is coming to Asia. 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. Another music show called Your Song was announced by Simon Cowell’s Syco Entertainment to be hosted by Big Brother and The Voice host Emma Willis. The show is for the public to nominate people who think they deserve the performance of a lifetime from their musical hero.

In August, Country music bid farewell to another legend as Glen Campbell passed away at the age of 81, following his long battle with Alzheimer’s disease. Campbell will be remembered as one of those rare breeds that brought Country music to the mainstream with a Pop infusion and influenced the artists of today such as Carrie Underwood, Thomas Rhett and even Taylor Swift. 

Moving onto chart news, in the US, Despacito ruled the roost accumulating a whopping 14 weeks at the top. Meanwhile, Charlie Puth’s Attention and Cardi B’s Bodak Yellow (Money Moves) all entered the top 10. In the UK, Despacito regained its top position which it lost to DJ Khaled featuring Rihanna and Bryson Tiller’s Wild Thoughts but after two weeks was dethroned by the all-star collaboration Feels by Calvin Harris featuring Katy Perry, Pharrell Williams and Big Sean. The final week saw Dua Lipa’s addictive New Rules reach the pole position. During the month Pink’s What About Us, CNCO & Little Mix’s Reggaeton Lento, J Balvin and Willy William’s Mi Gente and Justin Bieber & Bloodpop’s Friends all entered the top 10.

Other songs which became popular during the month were:

1.       James Hype ft. Kelli-Leigh – More than friends

2.       Louis Tomlinson ft. Bebe Rexha & Digital Farm Animals – Back to you

3.       Echosmith – Goodbye

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

5.       Portugal. The Man – Feel it still

6.       Kesha – Learn to let go

7.       Macklemore ft. Skylar Grey – Glorious 

Till the next beat...

At Ease!!!

Xposition - May, 2017

Attention!!!

The 2017 Billboard Music Awards were held in May with Drake sweeping 13 awards from a whopping 22 nominations for which he was tied with the Chainsmokers. Among his awards were Top Artist, Top Male Artist, Top Hot 100 Artist, Top Billboard 200 Artist and Top Rap Artist. The Chainsmokers featuring Halsey’s Closer also received top accolades which were Top Hot 100 Song, Top Collaboration and Top Dance/Electronic Song. Cher who was bestowed with the Icon Award performed a medley of her hits Believe and If I Could Turn Back Time. Other memorable performances of the night were Celine Dion’s My Heart Will Go On, Imagine Dragons’ Believer, Bruno Mars’ Versace on the Floor, Julia Michaels’ Issues and Camila Cabello’s medley of I Have Questions and Crying In the Club. Miley Cyrus also debuted her newest single Malibu, which sees her going back to her roots. Other significant wins of the night include:

·         Top New Artist: Zayn

·         Top Billboard 200 Album: Drake – Views

·         Top Female Artist: Beyonce

·         Top Duo/Group: Twenty One Pilots

·         Top Latin Artist: Juan Gabriel

·         Top Country Song: Florida Georgia Line – H.O.L.Y.

·         Top Rap Song: Desiigner – Panda

·         Top Rock Song: Twenty One Pilots – Heathens

·         Top Touring Artist: Beyonce

Now let’s take a look at the biggest singing competition in the world. The curtains came down on the Eurovision Song Contest 2017 with Portugal as the winner for Salvador Sobral’s Amar Pelos Dois. The contest took place in Ukraine after the remarkable victory by Ukraine’s underdog Jamala stole the show with her breathtaking performance of the song 1944. Russia had originally planned to participate, but announced their withdrawal in April 2017, after their representative, Yulia Samoylova, was banned from entering Ukraine by virtue of having traveled directly from Russia to Crimea in 2015, a region that was annexed by Russia in 2014, to give a performance, which is illegal under Ukrainian law.

This was Portugal's first win and first top five placing in 53 years of participation. It was also the first winning song entirely performed in a country's native language since Serbia's Molitva in 2007. The top three countries – Portugal, Bulgaria and Moldova – all achieved the highest position in their Eurovision history, while host country Ukraine received its worst placing to date in a Eurovision final. The song written by Salvador’s sister Luísa Sobral amassed 758 points, setting the record for the most points achieved by a song in the history of the Eurovision Song Contest, and topped both the televoting and the jury voting for the first time since Austria's Rise Like a Phoenix in 2014.

Tragedy struck the pop music industry when a bomb was detonated after an Ariana Grande concert. British Muslim Salman Ramadan Abedi made a suicide bomb attack after the show at the Manchester Arena of Grande’s 2017 Dangerous Woman Tour resulting in 22 deaths and 250 injured. The concert was sold out, and 14,200 people attended. Many exiting concert-goers and waiting parents were in the foyer at the time of the explosion. Greater Manchester Police declared the incident a terrorist attack and is the deadliest attack in the UK since July 2005 London bombings. Grande subsequently suspended her tour and flew to her mother's home in Boca Raton, Florida. She later announced that she would host a benefit concert in Manchester for the victims of the attack.

In more sad news, lead vocalist for the rock bands Soundgarden and Audioslave Chris Cornell has also died which has been ruled as a suicide. Cornell was found dead in his Detroit hotel room early on the morning of May 18, shortly after performing at a Soundgarden concert the night before. He suffered from depression and substance abuse problems. Gregg Allman, singer-songwriter and rock n’ blues pioneer who founded The Allman Brothers Band has passed away at the age of 69 from complications of liver cancer on May 27.

Moving onto chart news, in the US, the tyrannical reign of Ed Sheeran’s Shape of You came to an end with Kendrick Lamar’s Humble taking the rapper to his first number one. Bruno Mars however took the pole position from Lamar in the second week with his That’s What I Like. In the third week DJ Khaled debuted atop the charts with his star studded collaboration I’m the One with Quavo, Lil Wayne, Justin Bieber and Chance the Rapper. This reign only lasted one week, as Luis Fonsi and Daddy Yankee’s Despacito soared to the peak as a result of a new remix which features Justin Bieber. With Despacito claiming the throne it becomes the first mostly Spanish language No.1 in more than 20 years since Los Del Rio’s Macarena. This sort of No.1 turnover is the quickest since 1990. Meanwhile, Kendrik Lamar’s DNA debuted at No.4 and Zedd & Alessia Cara’s Stay and Kygo & Selena Gomez’s It Ain’t Me entered the top 10.

In the UK, Sheeran’s Shape of You was toppled by Clean Bandit featuring Zara Larsson’s Symphony. This again proved short lived as DJ Khaled’s I’m The One debuted atop the charts in the UK as well before being replaced by Luis Fonsi and Daddy Yankee’s Despacito which continued at the top during the remainder of the month. During the month French Montana featuring Swae Lee’s Unforgettable, Jason Derulo featuring Ty Dolla $ign and Nicki Minaj and Shawn Mendes’ There’s Nothing Holdin’ Me Back all entered the top 10.

Other songs which became popular during the month were:

1.       Kygo & Ellie Goulding – First time

2.       DNCE ft. Nicki Minaj – Kissing strangers

3.       David Guetta ft. Nicki Minaj & Lil Wayne – Light my body up

4.       Katy Perry ft. Migos – Bon Apetit  

5.       Charlie Puth – Attention

6.       J Hus – Did you see

7.       Disciples – On my mind

8.       Cheat Codes ft. Demi Lovato – No promises

Till the next beat...

At Ease!!!

MICHAEL LEARNS TO ROCK ~ Every Romantic's Guilty Pleasure ~

Attention!!!

All Asians born from the late 1970s to the early 1990s know almost all of their hit songs. While Sri Lanka as an insignificant isle in terms of the mainstream music industry does not witness concerts of many top notch musicians, we are indeed privileged to have these Danish guys rocking Colombo for the second time.

Michael Learns to Rock, was formed as a foursome in 1988 composed of Jascha Richter, Mikkel Lentz, Kåre Wanscher and Søren Madsen. They have now sold over 11 million records worldwide for a career spanning for almost thirty years. They are extremely famous in Asia, mostly due to their subdued clean image and also because their love songs are very pure with little or no hint of sexual innuendo.

Although the quality of their songs was on a level of those boy bands of the nineties, they never made ground in the two big music markets – US and UK. However, their popularity in Asia and Scandinavia is undeniable as they are overplayed on radio stations, television music shows and in any sort of lounge atmosphere. Theirs is a very pop/soft rock sound with any hardly fast paced beats or rhythms.

Their eponymous debut album was released in 1991 and peaked at No.1 in the home country. This album contained their signature hit The Actor which peaked at number one in Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, and the Philippines.

Their second album Colours released in 1993 contained another two hits – Sleeping Child and 25 Minutes. Their third album Played on Pepper was released in 1995 which contained their second No.1 hit, That’s Why (You Go Away) and a somewhat fast paced pop rock single Someday.

                                                                          

In 1996 the band released their first edition of their greatest hits titled Paint My Love – Greatest Hits wherein the title song Paint My Love, became their greatest love song. The song composed by lead singer Jascha Richter was initially written in Danish – Kun med dig – as the Danish entry for the Eurovision Song Contest of 1996 sung by Dorthe Andersen and Martin Loft. However, it was one of seven entries voted off in a pre-contest semifinal. This led the band to release the English version in their album.

The band took to the studio again and released their fourth album Nothing To Lose in 1997 which contained the hits Breaking My Heart, I’m Gonna Be Around and Something You Should Know.

In 1999, the band rebranded themselves with the simple acronym MLTR and released another compilation album under the same name. This album contained their hit Strange Foreign Beauty.  In a process undertaken by MLTR for the first time, the song was made by compiling the best details from recordings of ideas made individually by the four members. This album included their previous hits, either remixed or refined in some way by notable international producers. This greatest hits album went to the top of the Danish sales charts (the second MLTR album after their first album to do so), as well in Sweden and Portugal, and logged sales of nearly a million copies.

In 2000, Søren Madsen left the band and the remaining members decided to continue as a trio and released Blue Night which was also moderately successful and produced hits such as You Took My Heart Away, Angel Eyes and the title track. In 2001, they released another compilation album titled 19 Love Ballads with all their best singles and an original single titled The Ghost of You. 

In 2004, the band released their sixth studio album which was another eponymous album. This album produced hits such as Frostbite and Take Me To Your Heart. Take Me To Your Heart was one of the most downloaded songs in Asia that year exceeding 6 million downloads alone and this memorable ballad proved to be their last hit single worldwide.

After 2004, the band went on to release two more studio albums Eternity in 2008 and Scandinavia in 2012. Thereafter, the band celebrated their 25^th anniversary in 2014 with the release of a compilation album 25: The Complete Singles wherein two original singles Silent Times and Call on Love were released. In 2016, they released an Extended Play titled With Love which produced the singles We Shared The Night and Dream Girl.

Although I have covered in this review almost all the songs that were hits for the band, here are some of the other songs which are worth listening to:

·         How many hours

·         Anyway you want it

·         We shared the night

·         More than a friend

·         Nothing to lose

·         Sweetest surprise 

Till the next review...

At Ease!!!