Xposition - September, 2017

Attention!!!

The month of September opened with the announcement of the nominations for the 51^st Annual CMA Awards with Keith Urban and Miranda Lambert leading with five nods each competing against each other in 3 categories: Music Video of the Year, Single of the Year and Song of the Year. Little Big Town is close behind with four nods which also helps Taylor Swift garner a nomination at the awards in three years after her transition from County to Pop for her songwriter credits for Better Man. The awards will take place on 08 November hosted by Brad Paisley and Carrie Underwood.

The coveted Mercury Prize 2017 was awarded to Sampha’s Process. His win is quite significant as he battled for this award against the short listed fan favorites Ed Sheeran and Stormzy as well as 9 other nominees including Blossoms, J Hus, Kate Tempest and The xx. Actor Idris Elba gave Sampha his £25,000 prize at a ceremony with performances from the shortlisted artists at the Eventim Apollo in Hammersmith, London.

The Latin Recording Academy has decided to bestow Lifetime Achievement Awards on the Macarena hit makers Los Del Rio along with Lucecita Benitez, Ilan Chester, Victor Heredia, Guadalupe Pineda, Cuco Valoy and Joao Bosco as a prelude to the 2017 Latin Grammy Awards which will be held in November.

The Corrs announced their much awaited comeback through their seventh studio album Jupiter Calling which shall be preceded with a show at the Royal Albert Hall. The Corrs are not the only ones who had returned to the studio, as Shania Twain announced her fifth studio album Now 14 years after her last album.

Linkin Park announced that a special show in honor of their former member Chester Bennington titled Linkin Park and friends will be held in October to celebrate the life of the 41 year lead vocalist of the band who committed suicide earlier this year.

Meanwhile, Demi Lovato was named a Global Citizen Ambassador at the 2017 Global Citizen Festival. She along with the fund will expansion of a Save the Children pilot program, Healing and Education through the Arts, to violence scarred youth living in Iraq’s Kirkuk and Salah al Din areas.

The latest victims of copyright law suit are Taylor Swift and Mark Ronson. The songwriters behind 3LW’s Playas Gon’ Play Sean Hall and Nathan Butler has sued the female superstar over her hit Shake It Off. This may be a tough one for the songwriters to win as the Copyright Act does not protect short phrases including catchwords, catchphrases, mottoes, slogans or short advertising expressions. Ronson was sued by Lastrada Entertainment Company Ltd, the music publishing house that holds the copyright for Zapp’s More Bounce to the Ounce, which claims that most parts of the 2015 year-end no.1 was copied from Zapp’s 1980 classic. Lastrada is seeking damages of up to USD 150,000 per infringement, a permanent injunction against profiting from the alleged infringement and a jury trial on the matter.

Avril Lavigne has been named the most dangerous person online. Cybersecurity firm McAfee said that Lavigne is the most likely celebrity to land users on websites that carry viruses or malware. Bruno Mars was second on the list followed by Carly Rae Jepsen, Zayn Malik and Celine Dion.

Moving onto chart news, in the US, Luis Fonsi & Daddy Yankee featuring Justin Bieber’s Despacito continued its reign at the top accumulating 16 weeks at the top and tying the record of Mariah Carey and Boyz II Men’s One Sweet Day for the most number of weeks spent at No.1 in the US. Despacito could have broken this record by spending a 17^th week at the top if not for the ascension of Taylor Swift’s Look What You Made Me Do, which soared to the top of the charts with huge sales in its second week. It remained at the top for the remainder of the month. During the month Liam Payne featuring Quavo’s Strip That Down, Yo Gotti featuring Nicki Minaj’s Rake It Up and Logic featuring Alessia Cara and Khalid’s 1-800-273-8255 all entered the top 10.

In the UK, Taylor Swift’s Look What You Made Me Do started off the month at the top which effectively ended the reign of Dua Lipa’s New Rules. Swift was dethroned in the third week by Sam Smith’s Too Good at Goodbyes which ruled for the next two weeks of the month. During the month Demi Lovato’s Sorry Not Sorry, Zayn & Sia’s Dusk Till Dawn and Camila Cabello featuring Young Thug’s Havana all entered the top 10.

Other songs which became popular during the month were:

1.       Taylor Swift – …Ready for it?

2.       Post Malone ft. 21 Savage – Rockstar

3.       Avicii ft. Rita Ora – Lonely together

4.       Macklemore ft. Kesha – Good old days

5.       Mabel ft. Kojo Funds – Finders keepers

6.       Maroon 5 ft. SZA – What lovers do

7.       Khalid – Young, dumb & broke

Till the next beat...

At Ease!!!

Xposition - February, 2016

Attention!!!

We got a whiff of the awards season in January as the nominations of most major awards ceremonies were released and the 73rd Golden Globe Awards was also held. In February we enter the award season in full swing. 

First we have the 58th Grammy Awards started off by Taylor Swift with her new release Out Of The Woods. Kendrick Lamar led the fray with 11 nominations followed by Taylor Swift and The Weeknd with 7 nominations each. The 3 major awards were totally divided with Mark Ronson ft. Bruno Mars taking the Record of the Year for Uptown Funk, Taylor Swift grabbing the Album of the Year for 1989 and Ed Sheeran winning Song of the Year for Thinking Out Loud. There were tributes to so many artists who passed away such as Glenn Frey, Maurice White, B.B. King with a spectacular tribute by Lady Gaga to David Bowie. There was also a homage to Lionel Richie who received the 2016 MusiCares Person of the Year. Some other good performances of the night include Little Big Town's Girl Crush and James Bay and Tori Kelly doing a medley of Hollow and Let It Go. Other major awards include:

• Best New Artist: Meghan Trainor
• Best Dance Recording: Diplo & Skrillex ft. Justin Bieber - Where are u now
• Best Rock Song: Alabama Shakes - Don't wanna fight
• Best Rock Album: Muse - Drones
• Best Urban Contemporary Album: The Weeknd - Beauty behind the madness
• Best R&B Song: D Angelo & The Vanguard - Really love
• Best Rap Song: Kendrick Lamar - Alright
• Best Country Song: Little Big Town - Girl crush 
• Best Song Written for Visual Media:Common & John Legend - Glory
• Best Music Video: Taylor Swift ft. Kendrick Lamar - Bad blood

Next we have the 2016 Brit Awards. Almost all the performances were top notch with Coldplay's Hymn For The Weekend, Justin Bieber and James Bay with Love Yourself & Sorry, Jess Glynne doing a medley of her hits Ain't Got Far To Go, Don't Be So Hard On Yourself and Hold My Hand, Adele's When We Were Young, Little Mix's Black Magic and a tribute to David Bowie by Lorde backed by Bowie's band. Adele was the big winner of the night grabbing the two big wins for Album of the Year for 25 and Single of the Year for Hello and also British Female Solo Artist and BRITs Global Success. Bowie was posthumously bestowed with the BRITs Icon Award. Other winners of the night include:

• British Male Solo Artist: James Bay
• British Group: Coldplay
• International Group: Tame Impala
• International Male Solo Artist: Justin Bieber
• International Female Solo Artist: Björk
• British Video: One Direction - Drag Me Down

The month ended with the much anticipated 88th Academy Awards and Sam Smith's Writing's On The Wall from the James Bond film Spectre predictably winning the coveted Best Original Song. The Best Original Score went to Ennio Morricone for his work on The Hateful Eight. 

Meanwhile the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry has released the 10 biggest music acts in the world right now. Adele takes the top spot with over 15 million copies of her latest album 25 being sold worldwide. The full list is as follows:

1. Adele
2. Ed Sheeran
3. Taylor Swift
4. Justin Bieber
5. One Direction
6. Coldplay
7. Maroon 5
8. Sam Smith
9. Drake 
10. The Weeknd

In a rather disappointing state of affairs, Kesha was denied an injunction in a highly contentious issue against songwriter-producer Dr.Luke, whom she alleges drugged and raped her a decade ago and has committed ongoing abuse. Through this suit she has been pushing for a preliminary injunction that would allow her to record outside of Dr. Luke's purview. Justice Shirley Kornreich of the Supreme Court of New York was skeptical about the matter and stated that Kesha is asking court to set aside a highly negotiated contract which was typical for the industry, that Dr.Luke had invested over USD 60 million in her career and that he had already agreed to allow her to record without his involvement which decimates her argument. 

The #FreeKesha Movement has gained momentum throughout the month with female artists rallying around the embattled Tik Tok hit maker and fans protesting outside Sony's New York City headquarters in order to get it to intervene. Sony meanwhile released a statement that it is only a distributor and that the main agreement is between Kesha and Dr.Luke's company Kasz Money. Taylor Swift has donated USD 250,000 to Kesha, while Adele voiced her support for Kesha on stage at the Brit Awards and Lady Gaga urged Sony to drop Dr.Luke and tweeted "Do what is right and not what is better for business".

Members of the Indie Rock band Viola Beach passed away in a tragic car crash in Stockholm, Sweden while the band was on tour. With a monumental fan-led campaign the band's final single to be released Swings and Waterslides peaked at No.11 in the UK in the following week. 

In an attempt to keep up with the mainstream music, the UK launched a Trending Chart which highlights how the hottest new tracks are making an impact in the UK. The first No.1 on the chart was Zara Larsson's global hit Lush Life. 

Justin Bieber and Rihana have been announced as this year's headliner's for this summer's V Festival which will be held for the 21st time on the weekend of 21 and 22 August in Weston Park, Staffordshire and Hylands Park, Chelmsford. Also on the billed to perform are Sia, David Guetta, Jess Glynne, Little Mix, Bastille and John Newman as well as sets from Kaiser Chiefs, Rita Ora, Years & Years, Tinie Tempah, Example and Katy B, plus appearances from Halsey, Troye Sivan, Foxes, All Saints and Fleur East.

Now moving on to chart news, there is proper mayhem at the top in the US. Justin Bieber's Sorry managed to stay at the helm during the first week before he replaced himself at No.1 with Love Yourself. This was overthrown by Zayn's surprise hit Pillowtalk which debuted at No.1. Former One Direction member Zayn Malik's debut hit marks his first time at the top as One Direction is yet to claim the throne in the US coming close only once with their Best Song Ever reaching No.2 in 2013. Zayn's Pillowtalk slipped to No.7 in the following week as Love Yourself reclaimed the top spot.

There was also proper movement within the top 10 as so many contenders for the Song of the Summer are now entering the vicinity. The Chainsmokers ft. ROZES's Roses, Flo Rida's My House, Selena Gomez's Hands To Myself, G-Eazy & Bebe Rexha's Me, Myself & I entered the top 10 while Rihanna ft. Drake's Work and Drake's Summer Sixteen debuted within the top 10 during the month.

In the UK, Shawn Mendes' Stitches reigned for one week after which Zayn's Pillowtalk claimed the top spot during the second week just like in the US. Pillowtalk was ousted by Lukas Graham's 7 Years which remained at the top during the fourth week. During the month Jonas Blue ft. Dakota's Fast Car, Rihanna ft. Drake's Work and Zara Larsson's Lush Life all entered the top 10.

Some other hits that became popular during the month were:

• Little Mix ft. Jason Derulo - Secret love song
• Craig David & Big Narstie - When the bassline drops
• Adele - When we were young
• Yo Gotti ft. Nicki Minaj - Down in the DM
• Mike Posner - I took a pill in Ibiza
• Ellie Goulding - Army

Till the next beat...

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.)

Xposition - December, 2015

Attention!!!

December is when the year-end lists are released and fans eagerly wait to see which songs and artists have been successful this year. Of course the top song in almost all the countries around the world is no surprise as Mark Ronson ft. Bruno Mars' Uptown Funk is the clear winner. The most anticipated compilation of all is the Billboard Year-End Hot 100. The list was compiled from data for the period from December 6, 2014 to November 28, 2015 for physical, digital, streaming and airplay figures. So here are the top 10:

1. Mark Ronson ft. Bruno Mars - Uptown funk
2. Ed Sheeran - Thinking out loud
3. Wiz Khalifa ft. Charlie Puth - See you again
4. Fetty Wap - Trap queen
5. Maroon 5 - Sugar
6. Walk The Moon - Shut up and dance
7. Taylor Swift - Blank space
8. Silento - Watch me
9. The Weeknd - Earned it
10. The Weeknd - The hills 

And from 2014 we still have hits on the list such as:

• Taylor Swift - Shake it off
• Sam Smith - I'm not the only one
• Meghan Trainor - All about that bass
• Sia - Chandelier

However, the UK has not released the year end list which has been delayed due to unknown circumstances. It is definitely clear that Uptown Funk is the song of the year and Pop rules the day with more than 6 songs and one Trap and the others R&B.

The nominations for the 58th Grammy Awards were also announced recently. Kendrick Lamar received the most nominations with 11 while Taylor Swift and The Weeknd have 7 nominations each. LL Cool J will host the show for the fifth consecutive year. For Record of the Year the following have been nominated:

• Mark Ronson ft. Bruno Mars - Uptown funk
• D'Angelo and the Vanguard - Really love
• The Weeknd - Can't feel my face
• Taylor Swift - Blank space
• Ed Sheeran - Thinking out loud

For Album of the Year we have the following nominations:

• The Weeknd - Beauty behind the madness
• Alabama Shakes - Sound & Colour
• Taylor Swift - 1989
• Chris Stapleton - Traveller
• Kendrick Lamar - To pimp a butterfly

For Song of the Year we have the following:

• Taylor Swift - Blank space
• Ed Sheeran - Thinking out loud
• Kendrick Lamar - Alright
• Little Big Town - Girl crush
• Wiz Khalifa ft. Charlie Puth - See you again

Lady Gaga was felicitated as Billboard's Woman of the Year 2015. She was introduced by none other than her mother after which she gave an outstanding performance of her newest single Til It Happens To You. She ended her remarks saying "Because I may not be a lot of things, but I can write songs and I can sing." The other honorees of the night were:

• Chart Topper: Selena Gomez 
• Rising Star: Kelsea Ballerini
• Group of the Year: Fifth Harmony
• Legend: Loretta Lynn
• Powerhouse: Brittany Howard
• Innovator: Missy Elliott
• Breakthrough: Tori Kelly
• Rulebreaker: Demi Lovato
• Trailblazer: Lana Del Rey

December also brings the much anticipated finales of the reality talent shows. The X Factor running on its 12th series saw Rita Ora-mentored Louisa Johnson being crowned the winner over the hip-hop duo Reggie 'n' Bollie with a cover of Bob Dylan's Forever Young. Her single reached No.9 in the UK which is the lowest ever position on entry for a debut single from an X Factor winner. Johnson is notable for not only being the program's youngest ever winner, but also the only winner to never have her winner's song not reach No.1.

The 9th season of The Voice came to a close with Jordan Smith winning the show and with the win Adam Levine became the winning coach for the third time. As opposed to Johnson on X Factor Smith is the highest selling artist ever to compete on The Voice. His finale covers of Queen's Somebody to Love and the Christmas song Mary Did You Know? reached No.21 and No.24 on the Billboard Hot 100 respectively.

Yes, for the first time Sri Lanka is also a part of the Xposition, as it made international headlines in relation to music. Of course the controversy surrounds Enrique Iglesias' concert which took place on 20th December as part of his Sex + Love World Tour. As Live Events owned by former Sri Lankan cricket captains, best friends and business partners Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardena who are the organizers of the concert failed miserably to deliver on the hyped up event, the failure was significantly heightened and scandalized by a bra being thrown at Iglesias by a concert-goer as well as Iglesias kissing a fan on stage. His Excellency President Maithripala Sirisena at a public event made a statement that such concerts would be henceforth banned in Sri Lanka and the organizers of the event should be whipped by a sting ray's tail. Moreover, the municipalities are alleging tax fraud by the organizers in relation to the concert.

Finally, in a very sad state of events we bid farewell to Natalie Cole, daughter of Nat King Cole who died on 31st December 2015 of congestive heart failure aged 65. She is best known for Unforgettable, a duet with her father.

Moving onto chart news, Adele continued her reign at the top in the US with Hello for the whole of December completing seven weeks at the helm. Justin Bieber's Sorry has been struggling at No.2 since its debut behind Hello. Meanwhile, Justin Bieber's Love Yourself, Alessia Cara's Here and Selena Gomez' Same Old Love all entered the top 10.

In the UK however, Bieber's Sorry managed to dethrone Adele in the last week of November and it remained at the top during the first week of December, after which Bieber managed to replace himself at No.1 with Love Yourself. It remained at the top for two more weeks before being overthrown by Lewisham and Greenwich NHS Choir's A Bridge Over You which claimed the coveted Christmas No.1. There was quite a tussle between Love Yourself and A Bridge Over You after which Bieber pledged his support for the choir which ultimately won the top spot. During the month Grace ft. G-Eazy's You Don't Own Me and Coldplay's Adventure of a Lifetime all entered the top 10.

Other songs which became popular during the month are:

• PSY ft. CL - Daddy
• Nathan Sykes - Over and over again
• DNCE - Cake by the ocean
• Daya - Hide away
• Shawn Mendes & Camila Cabello - I know what you did last summer
• Selena Gomez - Hands to myself 
• twenty one pilots - Stressed out
• The Chainsmokers ft. ROZES - Roses
• Drake & Future - Jumpman 

Till the next beat...

At Ease!!!

Greatest Hits of 2015

Attention!!!

2015 was an awesome year for music in terms of quality as well as genre. Although the year was heavily influenced by R&B, compared to the Pop filled 2014, the year produced brilliant hits. There was Reggae, EDM, Minimal House, Rock, Pop, Country, Rap, Doo-Wop and the newbie Trap which made its ascent to the mainstream scene. The titans of the industry Taylor Swift, Justin Bieber, Adele, Drake and Wiz Khalifa battled head to head for the top position on the charts and boy bands and girl groups also enjoyed commercial success for instance Little Mix, One Direction, Fifth Harmony and 5 Seconds of Summer. 

The year belonged to Taylor Swift with her crossover album 1989 enjoying monumental success with four top 10 hits and two chart toppers during the year. Blank Space which was No.12 last time on the list is No.6 this year. This along with Ed Sheeran's Thinking Out Loud (15-13) are the only singles to be included from 2014. Swift and The Weeknd each have three entries on the list with Justin Bieber accumulating a whopping four entries including his feature on Skrillex & Diplo's Where Are U Now. Bieber has all four hits within the Top 25 while The Weeknd has all three of his hits within the Top 20. Meghan Trainor, Charlie Puth, Jess Glynne and Demi Lovato all have two singles each on the chart.

Mark Ronson ft. Bruno Mars' record breaking global smash hit Uptown Funk grabs the crown on the year end list with Wiz Khalifa ft. Charlie Puth's See You Again off the Furious 7 soundtrack at No.2. Adele's comeback hit Hello is at No.3 and would have surely ended at the top if it was not released so late in the year. Soundtracks were quite successful as can be seen from the Furious 7 theme song and similar success was enjoyed by Fifty Shades of Grey wherein it contained the hits Love Me Like You Do by Ellie Goulding and Earned It by The Weeknd. 

The year was a good year for dance music with Major Lazer & DJ Snake ft. MO's Lean On becoming a worldwide hit as well as hits by Calvin Harris, Skrillex, Avicii, Diplo and Zedd. We see Trap being incorporated to Rap, EDM as well as Pop. Fetty Wap enjoyed immense commercial and critical acclaim with his Trap Queen enjoying top positions in the charts worldwide. David Guetta has incorporated Trap into his current music. Alternative Rock had hits by Fall Out Boy, Hozier, X Ambassadors, WALK THE MOON and Elle King. After the breakthrough of MAGIC!'s Rude in 2014 we see Reggae becoming a contemporary mainstream genre with OMI's Cheerleader and R.City's Locked Away. 

Teenyboppers such as Justin Bieber, Selena Gomez, Demi Lovato and Nick Jonas all proved that they are much more than social media icons and celebrities and proved with their new albums that they have the vocals as well as the talent to produce mega hits. New artists such as The Weeknd, Rachel Platten, Jesse Glynne, Years & Years and James Bay blew us away with their awesome songs and their deliverance. So without further ado here are the top 50 greatest hits of 2015:

1. Mark Ronson ft. Bruno Mars – Uptown funk
2. Wiz Khalifa ft. Charlie Puth – See you again
3. Adele – Hello
4. The Weeknd – Can’t feel my face
5. Taylor Swift – Blank space
6. Major Lazer & DJ Snake ft. MO – Lean on
7. Justin Bieber – What do you mean?
8. OMI – Cheerleader (Felix Jaehn Remix)
9. Ellie Goulding – Love me like you do
10. Hozier – Take me to church
11. Justin Bieber – Sorry
12. The Weeknd – The hills
13. Ed Sheeran – Thinking out loud
14. Fetty Wap – Trap queen
15. Lost Frequencies – Are you with me
16. Jason Derulo – Want to want me
17. Rachel Platten – Fight song
18. Maroon 5 – Sugar
19. The Weeknd – Earned it
20. WALK THE MOON – Shut up and dance
21. Justin Bieber – Love yourself
22. Taylor Swift ft. Kendrick Lamar – Bad blood
23. Skrillex & Diplo ft. Justin Bieber – Where are u now
24. Little Mix – Black magic
25. Years & Years – King
26. Jess Glynne – Hold my hand
27. One Direction – Drag me down
28. James Bay – Hold back the river
29. Meghan Trainor – Lips are movin’
30. David Guetta ft. Bebe Rexha, Nicki Minaj & Afrojack – Hey mama
31. Silento – Watch me (whip/nae nae)
32. Calvin Harris with Disciples – How deep is your love
33. Nick Jonas – Jealous
34. Natalie La Rose ft. Jeremih – Somebody
35. Fifth Harmony ft. Kid Ink – Worth it
36. Flo Rida ft. Sage the Gemini & Lookas – G.D.F.R.
37. R. City ft. Adam Levine – Locked away
38. Drake – Hotline bling
39. Rihanna, Kanye West and Paul McCartney – FourFiveSeconds
40. Olly Murs ft. Demi Lovato – Up
41. Charlie Puth ft. Meghan Trainor – Marvin Gaye
42. Selena Gomez ft. A$AP Rocky – Good for you
43. Måns Zelmerlöw – Heroes
44. Taylor Swift – Style
45. Demi Lovato – Cool for the summer
46. Sheppard – Geronimo
47. Carly Rae Jepsen – I really like you
48. Macklemore & Ryan Lewis – Downtown  
49. Tinie Tempah ft. Jess Glynne – Not letting go
50. LunchMoney Lewis – Bills 

Till next year...

At Ease!!!

Xposition - September 2015

Attention!!!

September was not such an interesting month. In the wake of the aftermath of the MTV Video Music Awards 2015 where hell always breaks lose, September proved to be quite somber. The month kicked off with the announcement that Avril Lavigne and Chad Kroeger are separating after two years of marriage. 

Yes, the summer is over and it is time to check the anticipated Songs of Summer. The coveted crown in the US went to OMI's Cheerleader beating Wiz Khalifa's See You Again in the final week of the tally. Taylor Swift's Bad Blood came in at No.3 followed by The Weeknd's Can't Feel My Face and Silento's Watch Me. In the UK, the Biggest Selling Songs of Summer 2015 were revealed with Jason Derulo's Want To Want Me. At second place was Lost Frequencies' Are You With Me followed by OMI's Cheerleader and Tinie Tempah's Not Letting Go. 

September also revealed the next artist who will sing the next James Bond. The title has gone to Sam Smith. The announcement ended months of speculation in which the likes of Ed Sheeran, Ellie Goulding, Adele, Lana Del Rey, Lorde, Noel Gallagher and even Radiohead were tipped as candidates to helm the new Bond song. Smith's Writing On The Wall is to be featured in the film Spectre.

Taylor Swift's conquests continues as she leads the nominations in this year's MTV Europe Music Awards. The singer has nine nominations including Best Song, Best Pop Artist, Best Female Artist and Best Live Act. Alongside Taylor Swift ft. Kendrick Lamar's Bad Blood the following have also been nominated for Best Song:

Ellie Goulding: Love Me Like You Do

Major Lazer & DJ Snake ft. MØ: Lean On

Mark Ronson ft Bruno Mars: Uptown Funk

Wiz Khalifa ft. Charlie Puth: See You Again

Meanwhile, the UK has compiled the lists for the Top 40 Biggest Albums of 2015 So Far and the Top 40 Biggest Songs of 2015 so Far. Ed Sheeran's x leads the albums list followed by Sam Smith's In The Lonely Hour and Taylor Swift's 1989. The 5 biggest songs so far are:

1. Mark Ronson ft. Bruno Mars - Uptown funk
2. OMI - Cheerleader (Felix Jaehn Mix)
3. Hozier - Take Me To Church
4. Ellie Goulding - Love Me Like You Do
5. Wiz Khalifa ft. Charlie Puth - See You Again 

September also witnessed Sam Smith's debut record In The Lonely Hour notch up a record-breaking 67 consecutive weeks in the Official Albums Chart Top 10 – the longest unbroken run ever for a debut album. The LP hasn’t left the Top 10 since its release in May 2014, where it debuted at Number 1. The chart record was previously held by Emeli Sande, whose debut Our Version Of Events tallied 66 consecutive weeks in the Top 10 between February 2012 and May 2013. Prior to Emeli, the record was held for almost 50 years by The Beatles’ Please Please Me (62 weeks).

In chart news, in the US, OMI's Cheerleader stayed atop the charts during the first week and was replaced once again by The Weeknd's Can't Feel My Face which replaced it earlier in August. However, this proved short lived as Justin Bieber's global smash hit What Do You Mean? debuted at No.1 the following week. But The Weeknd did manage to grab the top spot in the final week. By this feat The Weeknd became the first solo male to top the Artist 100, Hot 100 and Billboard 200 in the same week as his album Beauty Behind The Madness had topped the album chart as well. Only one other act had achieved the same feat earlier and it was Taylor Swift with her Shake It Off at No.1 on the Hot 100 and 1989 at No.1 on the Billboard 200 and herself at the helm of the Artist 100. Meanwhile, Fetty Wap ft. Remy Boyz' 679, Ed Sheeran's Photograph and R.City ft. Adam Levine's Locked Away all entered the Top 10 during the month. 

In the UK, Rachel Platten opened the month with her debut hit Fight Song at the top. This was replaced by Bieber's What Do You Mean? which was replaced by Sigala's Easy Lover in the third week only to be overthrown by Bieber in the fourth week and he remained at the top during the final week. Demi Lovato's Cool For The Summer, Galantis' Peanut Butter Jelly and Felix Jaehn ft. Jasmine Thompson's Ain't Nobody (Loves Me Better) all entered the Top 10 during the month. 

Some of the other popular hits during the month were:

• Taylor Swift - Wildest dreams
• Sam Hunt - House party
• Lana Del Rey - High by the beach
• Pia Mia ft. Chris Brown & Tyga - Do it again
• Nick Jonas - Levels  
• Alessia Cara - Here
• Disclosure ft. Sam Smith - Omen 
• Rita Ora ft. Chris Brown - Body on me 

Till the next beat...

At Ease!!!

Xposition - August 2015

Attention!!!

The month did not start with drama but it sure ended with a bang. The 2015 Teen Choice Awards were held in August with One Direction being the biggest winners of the night winning 8 out of their 10 nominations including Music Group: Male, Summer Music Star: Group, Summer Tour, Music Single: Group and Love Song. Top notch performances included Rachel Platten's Fight Song, Little Mix's Black Magic and 5 Seconds of Summer's She's Kinda Hot. Other winners of the night in music were:

• Male Artist - Ed Sheeran
• Female Artist - Demi Lovato
• Music Group: Female - Fifth Harmony
• Music Single: Female - Ariana Grande - One Last Time
• Music Single: Male - Ed Sheeran - Thinking Out Loud
• Breakout Artist - Little Mix
• Song From a Movie/TV Show - Wiz Khalifa ft. Charlie Puth - See You Again (Furious 7)

Of course the drama that we all anticipated, may be scripted may be not, went down at the 2015 MTV Video Music Awards hosted by none other than Miley Cyrus. Nicki Minaj and Taylor Swift settled the score for their pre-VMA twitter spat on stage when the two performed on stage with Nicki Minaj's Trini Dem Girls and The Night is Still Young and Taylor Swift's Bad Blood. Other good performances included The Weeknd's global smash hit Can't Feel My Face, Justin Bieber with a medley of Where Are U Now and his newest single What Do You Mean and Demi Lovato with her new single Cool for the Summer accompanied by Iggy Azalea. 

Before we get to the awards let's talk about the drama. Before the ceremony Miley Cyrus earlier commented about the Nicki Minaj-Taylor Swift twitter spat in her interview to the New York Times and it was not in favour of Minaj, so when Minaj came on stage to accept her award for Best Hip-Hop Video for Anaconda, she asked Cyrus who was on stage what the bitch's deal was in making comments about her to the press. Cyrus as a host was too much to take with her partial nudity and language and at one point she even flashed the crowds. 

But the icing on the cake was when an inebriated Kanye West, the recipient of the coveted Michael Jackson Video Vanguard Award announced his candidacy for the 2020 US Presidential Election. Other highlights included Taylor Swift premiering her video for the newest single Wildest Dreams and also Miley Cyrus' surprise release of her newest album Miley Cyrus & Her Dead Petz accompanied by the performance of her newest single off the album - Dooo It!

Now getting back to the awards, Taylor Swift proved her might by winning the Video of the Year for Bad Blood and she also won three more awards including Best Female Video and Best Pop Video both for Blank Space and Best Collaboration for Bad Blood with Kendrick Lamar. Some of the other significant recipients were:

• Best Male Video: Mark Ronson ft. Bruno Mars - Uptown Funk
• Artist to Watch: Fetty Wap - Trap Queen
• Best Rock Video: Fall Out Boy - Uma Thurman
• Best Video with a Social Message: Big Sean ft. Kanye West & John Legend - One Man Can Change The World
• Song of Summer: 5 Seconds of Summer - She's Kinda Hot 

Now moving onto the charts, in the US OMI's Cheerleader (Felix Jaehn Remix) continued to reign for three weeks at the top only to be replaced by The Weeknd's Can't Feel My Face for one week which was again taken over by Cheerleader in the fifth and final week. It is evident that The Weeknd will dethrone OMI in the weeks to come. Rachel Platten's Fight Song peaked at N.6 during the month while Major Lazer & DJ Snake ft. MO's Lean On peaked at No.4. Meanwhile, One Direction's newest single Drag Me Down debuted at No.3 the highest debut for this year. It has been a great year for Fetty Wap with his first three singles reaching the top 10 of the Billboard Hot 100. He sets a record in the US as he is the first act to simultaneously chart first four charting singles in the top 10 of Hot Rap Songs. 

In the UK, Little Mix's Black Magic continued their reign from July through to the first two weeks of August only to be replaced by One Direction's Drag Me Down. This was followed by Charlie Puth ft. Meghan Trainor's Marvin Gaye and Jess Glynne's Don't Be So Hard On Yourself with the fourth and fifth weeks respectively. With her latest hit, Jess Glynne matches Cheryl Cole's record for the most number of Number One hits by a British Female Sole Artist on the UK Singles Chart. 

Some of the other popular hits during the month were:

• Sigma ft. Ella Henderson - Glitterball
• Fetty Wap ft. Remy Boyz - 679
• Shawn Mendes - Stitches 
• X Ambassadors - Renegades
• Meghan Trainor ft. John Legend - Like I'm gonna lose you 
• Hailee Steinfeld - Love myself 
• Elle King - Ex's & Oh's 

Till the next beat...

At Ease!!!

Who Owned It: 25 Cover Songs Better Than The Original

Attention!!!

There comes a time in all our lives when our jaws drop when we realize that a song that we really like is merely a cover. However, does it really matter that we like the cover better than the original. What if the cover is better than the original? This list is about those artists who have done a much better job than the original artist or band and how they made it their own. Almost all the songs on the list are identified with the covering artist and most of these happen to be their signature songs. 

This list is carefully compiled after considering whether we actually know the original artists. You will find them in the brackets next to the song title. Whitney Houston's global smash hit I Will Always Love You from the soundtrack of The Bodyguard is numero uno as she definitely owned the song originally sung by Dolly Parton and even covered thereafter by Kenny Rogers. Songs like Santana's Black Magic Woman, Gloria Estefan's Turn the Beat Around, Bananarama's Venus and particularly Aretha Franklin's Respect are their signature songs. 

It is fundamental to realize that this list is not about the best covers of all time, as there is a separate list in relation to that, and that this is about how most of us think that these 25 songs are covered by the artists in front and not the ones in brackets. So close your mouth as you read this list as I guarantee your jaw will drop…

1. Whitney Houston – I will always love you (Dolly Parton)
2. Aretha Franklin – Respect (Otis Redding)
3. The Righteous Brothers – Unchained melody (Todd Duncan)
4. Willie Nelson – Always on my mind (Gwen McCrae)
5. Celine Dion – The power of love (Jennifer Heart)
6. Janis Joplin – Me and Bobby McGee (Roger Miller)
7. Sinead O’ Connor – Nothing compares 2 u (Prince)
8. Santana – Black magic woman (Fleetwood Mac)
9. UB40 – Red red wine (Neil Diamond)
10. Soft Cell – Tainted love (Gloria Jones)
11. Ike and Tina Turner – Proud Mary (Creedence Clearwater Revival)
12. Natalie Imbruglia – Torn (Ednaswap)
13. Jennifer Lopez – Waiting for tonight (3^rd Party)
14. Gloria Estefan – Turn the beat around (Vicki Sue Robinson)
15. Michael Andrews ft. Gary Jules – Mad world (Tears for Fears)
16. No Doubt – It’s my life (Talk Talk)
17. Bananarama – Venus (Shocking Blue)
18. Los Lobos – La bamba (Ritchie Valens)
19. Vengaboys – Sha-la-la-la-la (Walkers)
20. Mark Ronson ft. Amy Winehouse – Valerie (The Zutons)
21. Sheryl Crow – The first cut is the deepest (Cat Stevens)
22. Johnny Cash – Hurt (Nine Inch Nails)
23. Monica – Angel of mine (Eternal)
24. The Corrs ft. Bono – When the stars go blue (Ryan Adams)
25. Boyzone – Baby can I hold you (Traci Chapman)

Till the next beat…

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!!! 

Xposition - January 2015

Attention!!!

The dawn of the new year brings hope for music, from the setback which the industry suffered last year at the hands of pop which had invaded the mainstream. The year started off with the 72nd Golden Globe Awards wherein the Best Original Song was won by Glory by Common and John Legend featured in the film Selma. The Best Original Score was awarded to Johann Johannsson for The Theory of Everything. 

The 20th Critics' Choice Awards was also presented in January where the Best Score was awarded to Antonio Sanchez for Birdman and the Best Song once again going to Glory. The nominations for the 87th Academy Awards were announced on 15th January 2015 in which the nominations for Best Original Score are Alexandre Desplat for The Grand Budapest Hotel, Alexandre Desplat for The Imitation Game, Hans Zimmer for Interstellar and Johann Johannsson for The Theory of Everything. The nominations for the Best Original Song are:

• Everything is Awesome from The Lego Movie by Shawn Patterson
• Glory from Selma by Common and John Legend
• Grateful from Beyond the Lights by Diane Warren
• I'm Not Gonna Miss You from Glen Campbell: I'll Be Me by Glen Campbell and Julian Raymond
• Lost Stars from Begin Again by Gregg Alexander and Danielle Brisebois

Whilst the Golden Globes are a precursor to the Oscars, that would mean Johann Johannsson and Common and John Legend would win in the respective categories, but this has not always been the case.

The charts all over the world were uneventful as they were recovering from the hangover of 2014 and January 2015 was dealing with the dregs of December 2014. Taylor Swift's Blank Space continued her reign in the US Billboard Hot 100 for two weeks after which Mark Ronson ft. Bruno Mars' overrated Uptown Funk took over and stayed at the top for the remainder of the month. Ed Sheeran's Thinking Out Loud reached No.2 whilst Nick Jonas's Jealous also climbed to No.7. Maroon 5's newest single debuted at No.8 becoming the band's 11th top ten hit in the US. 

In the UK Ronson's Uptown Funk opened the year at the helm and remained at the peak for the entire month. Only an artist and/or group that is equally influential as Mark Ronson and Bruno Mars would be able to dethrone this track. During the month Philip George's Wish You Were Here, Hozier's Take Me To Church and Meghan Trainor's Lips Are Movin' all peaked at No.2 and Alesso ft. Tove Lo's Heroes (We Could Be) peaked at No.6. 

Other songs which became popular during the month are:

• Avicii - The nights
• Taylor Swift - Style
• Nicki Minaj ft. Drake, Lil Wayne & Chris Brown - Only
• Beyonce - 7/11
• Flo Rida ft. Sage The Gemini & Lookas - G.D.F.R.
• Fifth Harmony - Sledgehammer 

Till the next beat…

At Ease!!!