Best Dance Hits of 2015

Attention!!!

It was an unbelievable year for dance music, especially EDM. 2015 was a year where almost all genres contributed to the development of dance music ranging from House, Pop, Hip-Hop, Latin Pop and R&B to Rap, Trap, Romanian Pop, Reggae Fusion and K-Pop. Unsurprisingly, EDM rules the list with so many entries with Avicii, Zedd, Calvin Harris and David Guetta having several entries. 

The top spot this time goes to Major Lazer and DJ Snake's Moombahton global smash Lean On which features the vocals of Danish singer MØ. Major Lazer's hit was the most played track in the world at one time in 2015 and it is the trio's biggest hit to date. The song is accompanied by an awesome music video which also features a very quirky dance step for the addictive song. DJ Snake marks his second consecutive time at the top spot after topping the chart in 2014 for his Turn Down For What alongside Lil Jon. At a close second is David Guetta's Hey Mama which mixes House and Trap music while featuring Bebe Rexha, Nicki Minaj and Afrojack.

Among the new DJs we have Kygo, Deorro, Dillon Francis, Lost Frequencies and Galantis making an appearance on the list. Chris Brown leads with four entries on the list with David Guetta, DJ Snake and Meghan Trainor have three entries each followed by Zedd, Calvin Harris, Avicii, Flo Rida, Nicki Minaj, Pitbull, Alexandra Stan, Inna, Major Lazer, Fetty Wap, Justin Bieber, Afrojack, Usher, OMI and Jeremih all have two entries each. New floorfillers such as DNCE's  Cake By The Ocean and Maroon 5's Sugar were produced as well. So here are the 60 best dance hits of 2015 (yes we have 60 this time):

1. Major Lazer & DJ Snake ft. MØ – Lean on
2. David Guetta ft. Bebe Rexha, Nicki Minaj & Afrojack – Hey mama
3. Justin Bieber – Sorry
4. Silento – Watch me
5. DNCE – Cake by the ocean
6. Calvin Harris with Disciples – How deep is your love
7. Zedd ft. Jon Bellion – Beautiful now
8. Deorro & Chris Brown – Five more hours
9. Avicii – Waiting for love
10. Flo Rida ft. Sage the Gemini & Lookas – G.D.F.R.
11. Pitbull ft. Wisin & Mohombi – Baddest girl in town
12. Alexandra Stan & Inna ft. Daddy Yankee – We wanna 
13. Fifth Harmony ft. Kid Ink – Worth it
14. Zedd ft. Selena Gomez – I want you to know
15. Skrillex & Diplo ft. Justin Bieber – Where are u now
16. Dev – Parade
17. Robin Schulz ft. Francesco Yates – Sugar
18. Dillon Francis with DJ Snake – Get low
19. The Weeknd – Can’t feel my face
20. Missy Elliot ft. Pharrell Williams – WTF (Where They From)
21. Kygo – Firestone
22. Maroon 5 – Sugar
23. Major Lazer ft. Elliphant & Jovi Rockwell – Too original
24. Andreea D – It’s your birthday
25. Galantis – Runaway (U and I)
26. OMI – Cheerleader (Felix Jaehn Remix)
27. Martin Garrix ft. Usher – Don’t look down
28. Rihanna – Bitch better have my money
29. Lost Frequencies – Are you with me
30. PSY ft. CL – Daddy
31. Omarion ft. Jhene Aiko & Chris Brown – Post to be
32. Ariana Grande – Focus
33. David Guetta ft. Sia & Fetty Wap – Bang my head
34. Natalie La Rose ft. Jeremih – Somebody
35. Flo Rida ft. Robin Thicke & Verdine White – I don’t like it, I love it
36. Pitbull & Ne-Yo – Time of our lives
37. Alexandra Stan – Vanilla chocolat
38. Icona Pop – Emergency
39. DJ Snake & AlunaGeorge – You know you like it
40. Fetty Wap – Trap queen
41. Hardwell ft. Jason Derulo – Follow me
42. David Guetta ft. Emeli Sande – What I did for love
43. OMI – Hula hoop
44. Inna ft. Eric Turner – Bop bop
45. Meghan Trainor – Dear future husband
46. Carly Rae Jepsen – I really like you
47. Calvin Harris ft. HAIM – Pray to God
48. Avicii – The nights
49. Krept & Konan ft. Jeremih – Freak of the week
50. KDA ft. Tinie Tempah & Katy B – Turn the music louder (rumble)
51. Afrojack ft. Mike Taylor – SummerThing
52. Pitbull ft. Chris Brown – Fun
53. Meghan Trainor – Lips are movin’
54. Pia Mia ft. Chris Brown & Tyga – Do it again
55. Ricky Martin – La mordidita
56. Nicki Minaj – The night is still young
57. Usher ft. Juicy J – I don’t mind
58. Walk the Moon – Shut up and dance
59. Hilary Duff – Sparks
60. Meghan Trainor – Better when I’m dancin’

Till the next chord...

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!!!

Best Reggae Fusion Hits of All Time

Attention!!!

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!!!

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 - July 2015

Attention!!!

July was a month of controversy. It all started when Donald Trump, a Republican candidate for the US presidency made defamatory remarks about Hispanic immigrants which lead to many artists pulling out of the Miss USA Pageant which is organized by the Trump owned Miss Universe Organization. Among them were Flo Rida, Natalie La Rose and J. Balvin. 

Then we move onto Ariana Grande who went on a famous donut licking rampage which almost landed her in jail. Moreover, during the incident she went on to say "I hate America, I hate Americans" which resulted in a heavy social media backlash against the artist who has since apologized for the whole incident. One thing for sure, Grande won't be licking anything for a while. 

Next up, the MTV Video Music Awards 2015 is to be held on August 30, 2015. Since the organizers cannot let Miley Cyrus perform on stage after the blurred lines debacle of 2013, the producers of the awards show have asked her to host the damn thing. Well, let's hope there's no bong on stage because we all know she smoked a joint once when accepting an award.

The VMAs announced their nominations and Taylor Swift is nominated for nine including Video of the Year. Ed Sheeran is nominated for six while Hozier, Nicki Minaj and Ariana Grande have all been nominated for multiple awards. But Minaj felt snubbed for her videos Anaconda and Feeling Myself alongside Beyonce which were both snubbed by MTV. "If your video celebrates women with very slim bodies, you will be nominated for vid of the year" tweeted Minaj. Swift however took this personally and tweeted "I've done nothing but love & support you. It's unlike you to pit women against each other. Maybe one of the men took your slot.." While the two exchanged barbs back and forth social media and the fan armies of the two artists took the war to another level leading to a huge debate about Black Fat Women vs. White Slim Women. However, since then Swift has apologized on twitter for reading too much into the post and misunderstanding and Minaj has accepted. Await another hit single next year by Swift motivated by the Minaj incident. 

The Teen Choice Awards 2015 is also around the corner with Ludacris, Josh Peck and Gina Rodriguez hosting this year. Some new categories such as Choice Web Star, Social Media King, Social Media Queen and Choice Twit have been introduced. Swift and the ladies from Pitch Perfect 2 are leading the nominations with each nominated for six categories.

Tomorrowland 2015, was also held in Boom, Belgium from 24-26 July 2015 with headlining acts from Steve Aoki, David Guetta, Martin Garrix, Hardwell, Alesso, Armin Van Buuren and Afrojack. This time with the festival was following the new theme Melodia. 

Well, I guess there is only one way for a Brown to go. Bobby Brown and Whitney Houston's daughter Kristina who was found face down in a bathtub earlier this year was under a medically induced coma after which in late July she passed away. Her mother Whitney Houston died under similar circumstances but the coroner in her case concluded that there was evidence of substance abuse prior to drowning in the bathtub. RIP Kristina.

Moving on to chart news, in the US Wiz Khalifa ft. Charlie Puth's See You Again held on to the peak position for the first three weeks of the month and tying for the longest leading Rap No.1 on the Billboard Hot 100 alongside Black Eyed Peas' Boom Boom Pow. However, OMI's Cheerleader (Felix Jaehn Remix) claimed the top spot during the last week of July thereby preventing Wiz Khalifa from breaking the record. During the month Selena Gomez ft. A$AP Rocky's Good For You, Diplo & Skrillex ft. Justin Bieber's Where Are U Now, Rachel Platten's Fight Song, Silento's Watch Me and The Weeknd's Can't Feel My Face all entered the top 10. 

In the UK, the month started off with Tinie Tempah ft. Jess Glynne's Not Letting Go at the top followed by Lost Frequencies' Are You With Me and David Zowie's House Every Weekend peaking in the second and third weeks respectively. However, it was Little Mix's newest single Black Magic which crowned the last two weeks of July. During the month Flo Rida ft. Robin Thicke & Verdine White's I Don't Like It, I Love It, Rita Ora's Poison, Years & Years' Shine, Avicii's Waiting For Love, Fifth Harmony ft. Kid Ink's Worth It and James Bay's Let It Go all entered the top 10.

Other songs which became popular during the month were:

• Krept & Konan ft. Jeremih - Freak of the week
• Birdy - Wings
• Calvin Harris with Disciples - How deep is your love
• John Newman - Come and get it
• Demi Lovato - Cool for the summer 
• Fall Out Boy - Uma Thurman 
• Sam Feldt ft. Kimberley Anne - Show me love 

At Ease!!!

Xposition - June 2015

Attention!!!

The month of June started off with the girl group G.R.L. already devastated by the tragic death of its member Simone Battle parting ways. The group made up of Paula Van Oppen, Natasha Slayton, Lauren Bennett and Emmalyn Estrada announced the decision through their management. 

The UK has released a list of the Biggest Selling Album of the Decade So Far with Adele's 21 taking the lead. Take That's Progress is at No.2 with Michael Buble's Christmas at No.3. Ed Sheeran X and + are both inside the top 10 with Sam Smith's In the Lonely Hour and Bruno Mars' Doo-Wops & Hooligans at No.9 and No.10. Olly Murs has his three albums Right Place Right Time, In Case You Didn't Know and self titled Olly Murs placed at No.16, No. 21 and No. 40 respectively. One Direction, Pink and Lady Gaga also have two entries each. 

The UK thereafter released a list of the Biggest Selling Singles of the Millennium so far. On this Pharrell Williams' Happy tops the list with Will Young's Anything is Possible/Evergreen at a close second. Controversial hit Robin Thick ft. T.I. and Pharrell Williams' Blurred Lines is at No.3 and Adele's Someone Like You is at No.4. Rounding up the top 5 is Maroon 5 ft. Christina Aguilera's Moves Like Jagger which never actually even reached No.1 on the UK Charts. 

We now have confirmation of the leading contenders of the year-end charts in the UK as they have released a list of the 40 Biggest Songs of the 2015 so far. Mark Ronson ft. Bruno Mars' global smash hit Uptown Funk is No.1 with Hozier's Take Me To Church at No.2. Rounding up the top 5 are:

3. OMI - Cheerleader (Felix Jaehn Remix)

4. Ellie Goulding - Love me like you do

5. Wiz Khalifa ft. Charlie Puth - See you again

The 2015 MuchMusic Video Awards were held on June 21, 2015. Good performances of the night included Fall Out Boy's Uma Thurman, Shawn Mendes' Stitches, Carly Rae Jepsen's I Really Like You, Nick Jonas' Chains and a double performance by Ed Sheeran with Photograph and Thinking Out Loud separately. The Video of the Year was awarded to The Weeknd's Often. The other significant winner were:

• Best Pop Video: The Weeknd - Often
• Best Rock/Alternative Video: Arcade Fire - We exist
• Best Hip Hop Video: P Reign ft. Drake & Future - DnF
• Best International Video: Ed Sheeran - Thinking Out Loud
• Fan Fave Video: Shawn Mendes - Something Big

The BET Awards were held on June 28, 2015. Nicki Minaj and Chris Brown led the nominations with six each followed by Beyonce and Lil Wayne with four each. Chris Brown & Tyga performed the hit Ayo while Omarion joined Breezy for the summer smash Post To Be. Ciara, Jason Derulo and Tinashe paid homage to the BET honoree Janet Jackson for her monumental contribution to the industry as she was awarded Ultimate Icon: Music Dance Visual Award. The winners of the night included:

• Best Female R&B/Pop Artist: Beyonce
• Best Male R&B/Pop Artist: Chris Brown 
• Best Group: Rae Sremmurd
• Best Collaboration: John Legend & Common
• Best Female Hip Hop Artist: Nicki Minaj
• Best Male Hip Hop Artist: Kendrick Lamar
• Video of the Year: Beyonce - 7/11
• FANdemoniam Award: Chris Brown 

It was Taylor Swift vs. Apple Inc. last month with the pop star coming out victorious against the corporate giant. With this achievement she has cemented herself as the most powerful personality in the music industry at present. The dispute was over the royalties that musicians and the ancillary creative contributors would lose due to the free trials granted by Apple's new streaming music service. After Swift posted a strongly worded Tumblr post Apple retreated and agreed to pay royalties on all music for the free trial period. 

Meanwhile, Iggy Azalea wanted a piece of Britney Spears as she took to twitter and blamed Spears for the failure of their collaborated single Pretty Girls. Although Spears did not lash back directly she did tweet the fact that she cannot wait to get back to Vegas as she has a lot of shows to look forward to. This may be a sarcastic hint at Azalea's cancelled tour in comparison to Spears' ongoing multimillion dollar residency in Vegas. 

At the end of the month Billboard announced its first ever Billboard Hot 100 Music Festival featuring the biggest artists on the charts as well as rising newcomers. The festival is to take place on August 22nd and 23rd at New York's Jones Beach. 

June ended with a bang with Lily Allen burning a Fuck Off Kanye flag which was being carried around by a concert-goer at Glastonbury where Kanye West was supposed to perform. She burned the flag until only Kanye was left. Well at least one other female artist other than Beyonce likes Kanye. 

With the hype of the airing of its video at the BBMAs behind it Taylor Swift ft. Kendrick Lamar's Bad Blood jumped from 53 - 1 dethroning Wiz Khalifa ft. Charlie Puth's rap ballad See You Again on the first week of June on the Billboard Hot 100 in the US. However, this peak was proved short lived as Khalfia's See You Again once again took over the top position and held on for the rest of the month. Meanwhile, David Guetta ft. Afrojack, Nicki Minaj and Bebe Rexha's Hey Mama peaked at No.8 and Andy Grammar's Honey, I'm Good and OMI's Cheerleader also entered the Top 10 during the month.

In the UK, Jason Derulo's Want To Want Me debuted at No.1 and topped the charts for the entire month. During the month Major Lazer & DJ Snake ft. MO's Lean On and Natalie La Rose ft. Jeremih's Somebody both peaked at No.2 and Walk The Moon's Shut Up and Dance and Deorro & Chris Brown's Five More Hours both peaked at No.4. 

Other songs which became popular during the month were:

• Martin Garrix ft. Usher - Don't look down
• Alexandra Stan & Inna ft. Daddy Yankee - We wanna
• Ed Sheeran - Photograph
• Pitbull ft. Chris Brown - Fun
• Hilary Duff - Sparks 
• Adam Lambert - Ghost town 
• The Weeknd - The hills 

Till the next beat…

At Ease!!!

Xposition - May 2015

Attention!!!

The 2015 Billboard Music Awards was held on 17 May 2015 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas hosted by Ludacris and Chrissy Teigen. This was definitely Taylor Swift's night as she grabbed 8 out of 14 nominations including Top Artist, Top Female Artist, Top Hot 100 Artist, Top Billboard 200 Album and Billboard Chart Achievement Award. Moreover, she premiered her much anticipated video of her latest single Bad Blood featuring Kendrick Lamar and a host of super stars in the video. 

Some of the great performances of the night included Nick Jonas with Jealous, Wiz Khalifa, Charlie Puth and Lindsey Stirling with See You Again, Hozier with Take Me To Church, Nicki Minaj and David Guetta with The Night is Still Young and Hey Mama and Little Big Town and Faith Hill with Girl Crush. Mariah Carey took the stage with a medley of Vision of Love and her newest single Infinity, marking the first time she has performed on the Billboard stage since 1998. Britney Spears and Iggy Azalea performed their new single Pretty Girls which was less than mediocre and Kanye West was booed when he got on stage for his medley of All Day and Black Skinhead. Some of the significant winners of the night were:

• Top New Artist - Sam Smith
• Top Male Artist - Sam Smith
• Top Duo/Group - One Direction
• Top Hot 100 Song: Meghan Trainor - All about that bass
• Top Streaming Artist - Iggy Azalea
• Top Country Song: Jason Aldean - Burnin' it down
• Top Dance/Electronic Artist - Calvin Harris
• Top Dance/Electronic Song: DJ Snake & Lil Jon - Turn down for what
• Top Latin Song: Enrique Iglesias ft. Descemer Bueno & Gente de Zona - Bailando
• Top R&B Song: Pharrell Williams - Happy
• Top Rap Song: Iggy Azalea ft. Charli XCX - Fancy
• Top Rock Song: Hozier -  Take me to church
• Top Soundtrack - Frozen 

The 60th Eurovision Song Contest was held in Vienna, Austria, following Conchita Wurst's victory in 2014. The finals were held on 23 May 2015 where Sweden's entry Mans Zelmerlow's Heroes (365 points) beat Russia's entry Polina Gagarina's A Million Voices (303 points). Russia became the first non-winning nation to score over 300 points in the contest. 

Some musicians also passed away during the month of May including B.B. King aka King of the Blues  suffering from ill health in recent months and Errol Brown, the lead singer of the popular 70s band Hot Chocolate who died of liver cancer. 

Taylor Swift ft. Kendrick Lamar's Bad Blood which premiered at the Billboard Music Awards broke the Vevo 24-Hour viewing record garnering 20.1 million views, surpassing the record previously held by Nicki Minaj's Anaconda with 19.6 million views. The song for once is not about an ex-lover but about her ongoing cat fight with Katy Perry, whom she says dislikes her for an unknown reason. The video directed by Joseph Kahn features Swift's BFF Selena Gomez, Ellie Goulding, Ellen Pompeo and a host of super models including Cindy Crawford. The song with its backstory and star studded video will start bidding for its place at the top of the charts from June. 

In the US, Wiz Khalifa ft. Charlie Puth's See You Again continued its reign for the entire month of May completing six weeks at the top. Britney Spears & Iggy Azalea's much hyped Pretty Girls failed to reach even the top 20. David Guetta's new single Hey Mama featuring Nicki Minaj and Afrojack is  rapidly climbing the charts. The single which initially did not credit the vocals of Bebe Rexha finally changed the credits to feature Rexha after the performance at the Billboard Music Awards and the premiere of the video, which however only features Nicki Minaj (that too as a hologram). Jason Derulo's newest single Want To Want Me and T-Wayne's Nasty Freestyle entered the top 10 while Fetty Wap's Trap Queen peaked at No.2 and WALK THE MOON's Shut Up and Dance peaked at No.4 during the month.

In the UK, See You Again was at the top for only during the first week of May as OMI's Cheerleader (Felix Jaehn Remix) displaced it during the second week and continued at the top for the remainder of the month beating out heavy competition by LunchMoney Lewis' Bills which peaked at No.2 and Carly Rae Jepsen's I Really Like You which peaked at No.3. Major Lazor & DJ Snake ft. MO's global hit Lean On, Clean Bandit's Stronger and Taylor Swift's Bad Blood all peaked at No.4 and Iggy Azalea ft. Jennfier Hudson's Trouble peaked at No.7.

Some of the other songs which became popular during the month of May are:

• Andy Grammar - Honey. I'm good
• Galantis - Runaway (U & I)
• Blonde ft. Alex Newell - All cried out
• Omarion ft. Chris Brown & Jhene Aiko - Post to be
• DJ Snake & AlunaGeorge - You know you like it 
• Silento - Watch me
• Echosmith - Bright 

Till the next beat…

At Ease!!!