2017 Recap: A Year in Music

Attention!!!

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

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

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

2. Albums

Some of the most awaited albums were released in 2017:

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

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

3. Singles

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

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

4. Milestones

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

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

5. Shockers

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

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

6. Talent

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

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

7. Obituaries

Finally we remember those who left us in 2017.

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

Till next year...

At Ease!!!

Xposition - July, 2017

Attention!!!

While award ceremonies took a break in July we see Tomorrowland the largest dance music festival in full swing. Held during the final two weekends in July Tomorrowland 2017 was under the theme “Amicorum Spectaculum” with a massive crowd of 400,000. Headlining the festival this time were 8 top notch DJ acts – Afrojack, Armin Van Buuren, David Guetta, Martin Garrix, Alesso, Paul Van Dyk, Axwell ^ Ingrosso, Paul Kalkbrenner. Afrojack played a record breaking eight sets and so wherever in Tomorrowland a participant, you can be sure they saw Afrojack. In a small set back, Tomorrowland’s Barcelona stage went up in flames resulting in the evacuation of more than 22,000 fans. The fire had erupted hours before Steve Aoki was to perform, but the organizers have ruled it was only a technical malfunction.

BBC Radio 1’s Big Weekend will be retitled as BBC Music’s The Biggest Weekend as Glastonbury takes a sabbatical in 2018. Glastonbury which is one of the biggest music festivals in the world will take a year’s break after pulling in a record peak audience of 4.1 million viewers for Ed Sheeran’s headline slot. The Biggest Weekend will take place from 25 – 28 May 2018 in four cities in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. While the acts will be announced later it was confirmed that 175,000 tickets will be sold for the event.

Spandau Ballet’s lead singer Tony Hadley has formally announced his departure from the 80s group. Whilst the band first split up in 1990s, after a disagreement over loyalties they reformed in 2009 for a string of sold out shows. Whilst the reason for Hadley’s departure is uncertain he only revealed on Twitter that they were circumstances beyond his control.

It is with extreme sadness that the music industry had to bid farewell to Alternative Rock icon and lead singer of Linkin Park, Chester Bennington. His death came as a massive shock to the music industry when his housekeeper found his body on July 20. His death was ruled a suicide by hanging. The band’s seventh studio album One More Light was released earlier this year. While the band cancelled their North American leg of their One More Light World Tour following his death, it is clear what will happen to the band as a result of Bennington’s death. Bennington’s death was on what would have been his close friend and lead singer of Soundgarden, Chris Cornell’s 53^rd birthday, who had also committed suicide by hanging two months prior.

Moving onto chart news, in the US, Luis Fonsi & Daddy Yankee featuring Justin Bieber’s Despacito maintained its reign over the charts throughout the month accumulating 10 weeks at the top. DJ Khaled featuring Rihanna and Bryson Tiller’s Wild Thoughts debuted in the top 10 but could not dethrone Despacito as it struggled at No.2. Meanwhile, French Montana featuring Swae Lee’s Unforgettable, Imagine Dragons’ Believer and Shawn Mendes’ There’s Nothing Holdin’ Me Back all entered the top 10.

In the UK, Despacito started at the top but was dethroned by Wild Thoughts in the final week. During the month Calvin Harris featuring Katy Perry, Pharrell Williams & Big Sean’s Feels, Maggie Lindemann’s Pretty Girls and Sigala & Ella Eyre’s Came Here For Love all entered the top 10.

Other songs which became popular during the month were:

1.       CNCO – Reggaetón Lento

2.       Dua Lipa – New rules

3.       Rudimental ft. James Arthur – Sun comes up

4.       Jax Jones ft. Demi Lovato & Stefflon Don – Instruction

5.       J Balvin & Willy William – Mi gente

6.       Demi Lovato – Sorry not sorry

7.       Zedd ft. Liam Payne – Get low

8.    Axwell & Ingrosso – More than you know

Till the next beat...

At Ease!!!

Most Inspirational Songs of 2016

Attention!!!

This segment of the year-end compilation is here to stay. This is mostly because unlike other decades, each year there are enough and more inspirational songs that are released. Even most movies and animated films include many inspirational songs, which is clearly reflected on this list. While inspirational songs did not chart high worldwide in 2016 like the preceding year, there were some really good songs. Particularly Andra Day's Rise Up is an exceptional song which has now been covered by hundreds of artists. It is also a favorite at auditions in reality contests. At second place is Sia with her Never Give Up from the film Lion and at third is Sucker for Pain by Lil Wayne and a number of artists from the film Suicide Squad. 

Sia is the only artist with two entries while Fergie has two entries as she is also a part of the Black Eyed Peas. The film Trolls also has two songs on the list. Other films include Zootopia, Alice Through the Looking Glass, and Star Trek Beyond. Some other interesting facts are that Fifth Harmony's last single as a quintet is on the list as well as the Black Eyed Peas' final song before Fergie's departure; the official song for the UEFA Euro 2016 by David Guetta and the official English song for the Olympics 2016 by Katy Perry are also on the list. So here are the top 25 most inspirational songs of 2016:

1. Andra Day – Rise up
2. Sia – Never give up 
3. Lil Wayne, Wiz Khalifa & Imagine Dragons ft. Logic, Ty Dolla $ign & X Ambassadors – Sucker for pain 
4. Katy Perry – Rise 
5. Shakira – Try everything 
6. Rihanna – Sledgehammer 
7. Charlie Puth – One call away 
8. Justin Timberlake – Can’t stop the feeling!
9. G-Eazy & Bebe Rexha – Me, myself & I 
10. Selena Gomez – Kill ‘em with kindness 
11. Iggy Azalea – Team 
12. Alan Walker – Alone 
13. Fifth Harmony – That’s my girl
14. Pink – Just like fire 
15. David Guetta ft. Zara Larsson – This one’s for you 
16. Tim McGraw – Humble and kind 
17. Sia ft. Kendrick Lamar – The greatest 
18. Major Lazer ft. Justin Bieber & MØ –  Cold water 
19. Anna Kendrick – Get back up again 
20. Fergie – Life goes on
21. Zedd ft. Kesha – True colors 
22. Dami Im – Fighting for love 
23. Black Eyed Peas ft. The World – #WHEREISTHELOVE 
24. Robbie Williams – Love my life 
25. Beyonce – Formation 

Till the next chord...

At Ease!!!

Xposition - March, 2017

Attention!!!

Although we may be just recovering from the hangover of the Grammys, award season is still not over. March kicked off with the 2017 iHeartRadio Music Awards where Justin Timberlake won the coveted Song of the Year for Can’t Stop The Feeling! The Innovator Award was bestowed on Bruno Mars while the Male and Female Artists of the Year were won by Drake and Adele respectively. Katy Perry and Skip Marley performed their newest hit Chained to the Rhythm for the third award show in a row. Ed Sheeran performed a medley of Castle on the Hill and Shape of You and Bruno Mars performed a medley of Treasure and That’s What I Like. Other big winners of the night include:

·         Best New Artist: The Chainsmokers

·         Best Duo/Group of the Year: Twenty One Pilots

·         Rock Song of the Year: Green Day – Bang bang

·         Country Song of the Year: Dierks Bentley – Somewhere on a beach

·         Dance Song of the Year: The Chainsmokers ft. Halsey – Closer

·         Hip-Hop Song of the Year: Drake ft. Wizkid and Kyla – One dance

·         R&B Song of the Year: Rihanna ft. Drake – Work

·         Latin Song of the Year: Enrique Iglesias ft. Wisin – Duele el corazón

·         Best Lyrics: Justin Bieber – Love yourself

·         Best Producer: Benny Blanco

·         Best Tour: Coldplay – A Head Full of Dreams Tour

·         Best Video: Fifth Harmony ft. Ty Dolla $ign – Work from home

Next up we have the 2017 Kids’ Choice Awards. There were only two performances during the show – Machine Gun Kelly and Camila Cabello with Bad Things and a medley of Touch and Shout Out To My Ex by the Little Mix. Favorite Song was won by Work From Home by Fifth Harmony featuring Ty Dolla $ign. Favorite Group went to Fifth Harmony while Favorite Male and Female Artists went to Shawn Mendes and Selena Gomez respectively. The other winners of the night for music were:

·         Favorite New Artist: Twenty One Pilots

·         Favorite Music Video: Zay Hilfigerrr and Zayion McCall – Juju On The Beat

·         Favorite DJ/EDM Artist: Calvin Harris

·         Favorite Soundtrack: Suicide Squad

·         Favorite Global Music Star: Little Mix

Rock n’ roll legend Chuck Berry died at the age of 90 from cardiac arrest. On March 18, 2017, police in St. Charles County, Missouri, were called to Berry's house, where he was found unresponsive and pronounced dead at the scene. Berry was set to release “Chuck”, his first studio album in more than 35 years. More on musician deaths, the remaining members of Sister Sledge confirmed that their sister Joni passed away at the age of 60 from natural causes which arose from complications from a preexisting condition. They also vowed to continue touring as a duo.

Moving onto chart news, in the US Ed Sheeran’s Shape of You reigned supreme throughout the month accumulating 7 non-consecutive weeks at the top. Meanwhile, Katy Perry featuring Skip Marley’s Chained to the Rhythm debuted at No.4 and The Weeknd featuring Daft Punk’s I Feel It Coming, Rihanna’s Love On The Brain, The Chainsmokers & Coldplay’s Something Just Like This and Clean Bandit featuring Sean Paul and Anne Marie’s Rockabye entered the top 10.

In the UK too Shape of You continued the apparent global dominance alongside the debut of Sheeran’s latest album ÷ which topped album charts worldwide and the singles therein peaking within the singles charts. During the week of the debut nine of the top 10 were by Ed Sheeran. The most notable out of these singles are Galway Girl, Perfect and How Would You Feel (Paean). Other than this Martin Jenson’s Solo Dance, Kygo & Selena Gomez’s It Ain’t Me, Drake’s Passionfruit and Clean Bandit featuring Zara Larsson’s Symphony all entered the top 10.

Other songs which became popular during the month were:

1.       Jason Derulo ft. Nicki Minaj & Ty Dolla $ign – Swalla

2.       Kodak Black – Tunnel vision

3.       Calvin Harris ft. Frank Ocean & Migos – Slide

4.       Anne Marie – Ciao Adios

5.       Ed Sheeran – New man

6.    Lana Del Rey – Love

7.       Inna – Gimme gimme

Till the next beat...

At Ease!!!

Most Overrated Hits of 2016

Attention!!!

Overrated means giving something more value than it deserves. In the music industry this is usually the case, if the songs are by popular artists. Sometimes artists such as Adele, Beyonce and Bruno Mars can never get it wrong. While it may just be myself, but the past year there were certain songs that reached hit status when they should not have. EDM took a drastic wrong turn somewhere as now with the Chainsmokers mainstream influence on the genre, it has merged with Pop. The same goes for Dancehall, Reggae and Rock. Purity is lost on the Millennials as one can wonder whether the kids these days actually have any taste in music or whether the music should only cater to “tripping”.

The Most Overrated Hits will become a staple addition to the year-end compilations henceforth as well as the Most Underrated Songs that will follow this post. Lukas Graham’s 7 Years tops this list as I have absolutely no idea whatsoever why this song became a hit. This is followed by The Chainsmokers and Halsey collaboration Closer and Beyonce’s Formation. Rihanna and Drake have two entries each on this list. So here are the 20 most overrated hits of the past year:

1. Lukas Graham – 7 years
2. The Chainsmokers ft. Halsey – Closer
3. Beyonce – Formation
4. Fifth Harmony ft. Fetty Wap – All in my head (flex)
5. Rihanna – Needed me
6. Kent Jones – Don’t mind
7. Flume ft. Kai – Never be like you
8. Drake ft. Wizkid & Kyla – One dance
9. Coldplay – Adventure of a lifetime
10. Shawn Mendes – Treat you better
11. Adele – Send my love (to your new lover)
12. Desiigner – Panda
13. Meghan Trainor – No
14. Future ft. The Weeknd – Low life
15. Nick Jonas ft. Tove Lo – Close
16. Little Mix – Shout out to my ex
17. Bruno Mars – 24K magic
18. Rae Sremmurd ft. Gucci Mane – Black Beatles
19. Drake – Controlla
20. Rihanna ft. Drake – Work 

Till the next chord...

At Ease!!!

Xposition - January, 2017

Attention!!!

January kicked off after reeling from the hangover of an awesome 2016. The charts were settling down after the impact of Justin Bieber, Sia, Rihanna, Clean Bandit and of course Drake. Moreover, the buzz was all about the Grammys to be held in February as the heavyweights in the industry as Beyonce and Adele were up against each other for the major grabs. 

We start off the year with US President-elect Donald Trump frantically searching for artists and bands to perform at his inauguration. With snubs from the likes of Elton John, Celine Dion, The Beach Boys, Charlotte Church, 2 Chainz and Rebecca Ferguson the final line up of artists included 3 Doors Down, Toby Keith, Tony Orlando, The Piano Guys and Sam Moore. This is definitely a step down from the star-studded inauguration of Barack Obama’s second term which included Alicia Keys, fun., Brad Paisley, Glee Cast, John Legend and Stevie Wonder. 

Meanwhile, most of the stars were to be seen at the Women’s March on Washington following the inauguration to advocate policies and laws regarding human rights, racial equality, women’s rights, LGBTQ rights, freedom of religion etc. Artists such as Alicia Keys, Cher, Miley Cyrus, Katy Perry, Madonna, John Legend, Rihanna etc. were seen at the march. Meanwhile, following Madonna’s remarks at the march HITS 105 in Texas even went to the extent of banning Madonna’s songs from airplay. 

The headlining acts of Coachella 2017 were announced as the annual event takes place for the 18th time in April. Beyonce, Radiohead and Kendrick Lamar have been announced as headliners this year. It will be the third time Radiohead will be headlining while Beyonce will become only the second female headliner since Björk. The full lineup also includes Lorde, Bon Iver, Mac Miller, New Order, DJ Khaled, Schoolboy Q and composer Hans Zimmer.     

The 74th Golden Globes were held in January where La La Land outshone all others while sweeping all 7 awards that it was nominated for. Justin Hurwitz won for Best Original Score and the film’s lead single City of Stars penned by Hurwitz and Pasek & Paul and performed by Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone won Best Original Song. 

Meanwhile, edging out competition from Rag N’ Bone Man and Raye, R&B singer Ray BLK won the BBC Music’s Sound of 2017. Alumni of this honour include Adele, Mika, Ellie Goulding, Sam Smith and Years & Years. 

Little Mix, Skepta and Rihanna lead this year’s 2017 BRIT Awards nominations with three nods apiece. Little Mix who is now the longest reigning girl band with their fourth album Glory Days since the Spice Girls’ Spice with five non-consecutive weeks at the top is nominated for Best British Group, Best British Single for Shout Out To My Ex and Video of the Year for Hair. Skepta who scooped the 2016 Mercury Music Prize for his fourth album Konnichiwa is up for British Male Artist, British Breakthrough Act and Album of the Year. Rihanna has been nominated for International Female as well as for her featured hit Calvin Harris’ This Is What You Came For in both Best British Single and Video of the Year. 

Moving onto chart news, in the US Rae Sremmurd featuring Gucci Mane’s Black Beatles was replaced by The Weeknd featuring Daft Punk’s Starboy after struggling 8 non-consecutive weeks at No.2. However, Black Beatles replaced Starboy in the second week only to be overthrown by Migos featuring Lil Uzi Vert’s Bad and Boujee. In the fourth week, Ed Sheeran’s surprise single Shape of You from his upcoming album ÷ topped the chart, thus leading to four different singles at the top during the month. Meanwhile, Ed Sheeran’s Castle On The Hill debuted at No.6 on the chart. 

In the UK, Clean Bandit featuring Anne Marie and Sean Paul’s Rockabye began the year at the top and remained there for two weeks before being replaced by Ed Sheeran’s mammoth hit Shape of You which stayed at the top during the last week. Close behind Shape of You, Sheeran’s Castle On The Hill debuted at No.2 and Zara Larsson’s I Would Like and Jax Jones featuring Raye’s You Don’t Know Me peaked at No.2 and No.3 respectively during the month. 

Other songs which became popular during the month were:

1. Sia - Move your body 
2. The Chainsmokers - Paris 
3. JP Cooper - September song
4. Starley - Call on me 
5. Snakehips & MØ - Don't leave 
6. Tinie Tempah ft. Tinashe - Text from your ex

Till the next beat...

At Ease!!!

Best Love Songs of 2016

Attention!!!

Well, 2016 was not the best when it came to the production of love songs. With the resurgence of Reggae in the form of Dancehall and the mainstream success of EDM, R&B and Rap in the yesteryear Pop songs took a back seat; and without Pop, there's no hope for love songs. There was no fan favourite Thinking Out Loud by Ed Sheeran or a staple wedding song like Wings by Birdy. With the usual love song junkies of Pop out of commission, we will have to make do with whatever that was released last year. However, it is an over-exaggeration to state that there were no good love songs produced as Thomas Rhett's Die a Happy Man is an awesome love song followed by Rihanna's over-the-top yet brilliant Love On The Brain as well as James Arthur's come back mega hit Say You Won't Let Go.

What is quite conspicuous is the fact that genres such as EDM and Dancehall also produced love songs alongside the usual Pop, Country and Soul. Ellie Goulding, Hailee Steinfeld, John Legend, Justin Bieber and Bebe Rexha all have two entries each. So here are the top 25 love songs of 2016:   

1. Thomas Rhett – Die a happy man
2. Rihanna – Love on the brain
3. James Arthur – Say you won’t let go
4. Kenny Chesney ft. Pink – Setting the world on fire
5. Hailee Steinfeld ft. DNCE – Rock bottom
6. Ellie Goulding – Still falling for you
7. Meghan Trainor ft. John Legend – Like I’m gonna lose you
8. Zara Larsson & MNEK – Never forget you
9. Charlie Puth – One call away
10. Nick Jonas ft. Tove Lo – Close
11. John Legend – Love me now
12. Martin Garrix ft. Bebe Rexha – In da name of love
13. Major Lazer ft. Justin Bieber & MØ –  Cold water
14. The Veronicas – In my blood
15. Hailee Steinfeld & Grey ft. Zedd – Starving
16. RedOne ft. Enrique Iglesias, R.City, Shaggy & Serayah – Don’t you need somebody
17. Little Mix ft. Jason Derulo – Secret love song
18. DJ Snake ft. Justin Bieber – Let me love you
19. Bebe Rexha – I got you
20. Florida Georgia Line – H.O.L.Y.
21. Ariana Grande – Into you
22. The Chainsmokers ft. Halsey – Closer
23. Inna – Heaven
24. Sigala ft. Imani & DJ Fresh – Say you do
25. Ellie Goulding – Something in the way you move

Till the next sonnet...

At Ease!!!

2016 Recap: A Year in Music

Attention!!!

For the first time in this blog I’m going to do a recap of the past year. Music is a peculiar industry, you have the ups and the downs as well as the breakups and the reunions. Some overdose and some fall off bridges while others are knighted and break chart records. Whatever said and done the industry survives and thrives because musicians commit to produce that we love and some we love to hate. I have recapped the year in seven segments: genres, albums, singles, milestones, shockers, talent and obituaries. 

1. Genres

Some of the most evident changes in the mainstream genres were:

• Dancehall resurfaced from the late 2000s surging up the charts with significant force and reigniting Reggae which has now become a fusion genre.
• Mainstream Pop became heavily tropical with the infusion of Reggae beats.
• EDM mellowed down significantly with Synthpop seeping into the genre while Progressive House took a backseat.
• Alternative Rock made rapid gains on the charts combined with Rap and Funk.
• Rap and R&B also fared very well as the two genres were heavily influenced by the newly emerged Dancehall and Reggae as well as Trap which took the charts by storm back in 2015
• Country put on a rather poor performance compared to the awesome hits of 2015.

2. Albums

Some of the most anticipated albums were released in 2016:

• Gwen Stefani – This is What It Feels Like (first solo album in 10 years)
• David Bowie – Black Star (final album released two days before his death)
• Rihanna – Anti (8^th studio album released 4 years after Unapologetic)
• JoJo – Mad Love (first album in 10 years)  
• Ariana Grande – Dangerous Woman (3^rd studio album)
• Beyonce – Lemonade (6^th studio album)
• Kanye West – The Life of Pablo (7^th studio album)
• The Weeknd – Starboy (3^rd studio album)
• Lady Gaga – Joanne (5^th studio album)
• Britney Spears – Glory (9^th studio album)
• Blink-182 – California (7^th studio album)
• Green Day – Revolution Radio (12^th studio album)
• Bruno Mars – 24K Magic (3^rd studio album)
• Shawn Mendes – Illuminate (2^nd studio album)
• Zayn – Mind of Mine (debut studio album)
• All Saints – Red Flag (first album in 10 years)
• Alexandra Stan – Alesta (3^rd studio album)
• Meghan Trainor – Thank You (2^nd studio album)
• Fifth Harmony – 7/27(2^nd studio album)
• James Arthur – Back from the Edge (2^nd studio album)
• DNCE – DNCE (debut studio album)
• Little Mix – Glory Days (4^th studio album)

3. Singles

Here are some interesting facts about the global hits this year:

• Rihanna ft. Drake’s Work became the first Dancehall song to top the Billboard Hot 100 since Sean Paul’s Temperature 10 years ago
• Sia became the first female artist over 40 years to top the Billboard Hot 100 with Cheap Thrills a feat which was achieved after 16 years since Madonna’s Music in 2000  
• Justin Bieber’s Love Yourself spent 23 consecutive weeks in the Billboard Hot 100's top 10, breaking the record for the most consecutive weeks logged in the top 10 from a song's debut therein
• Drake ft. WizKid & Kyla’s One Dance topped the UK Singles Chart for 15 consecutive weeks making it the second longest reign at the top alongside Wet Wet Wet’s Love is All Around. Additionally it was also crowned the song of the summer worldwide
• The Chainsmokers ft. Halsey’s Closer was the longest reigning No.1 in the US with 12 consecutive weeks
• Zayn’s Pillowtalk made him the first UK artist to debut at No.1 on the Billboard Hot 100 with a debut single
• With Dangerous Woman debuting at number 10 on the Billboard Hot 100, Ariana Grande became the first artist to debut within the top 10 with every lead single of all of her studio albums
• Fifth Harmony ft. Ty Dolla $ign’s Work From Home became the first top 5 single by a girl group in 10 years since Pussycat Doll ft. Snoop Dogg’s Buttons
• Clean Bandit ft. Sean Paul & Anne Marie’s Rockabye claimed the coveted UK Christmas No.1 and was the first song in history to do so after already logging 6 weeks at the top
• Luke Graham’s 7 Years became the first No.1 single by a Danish act in the UK since Aqua’s Turn Back Time and with 5 weeks at the top it became the longest reigning No.1 by a Danish act
• Justin Timberlake’s Can’t Stop The Feeling! from Trolls is the first No.1 song from an animated movie since Pharrell Williams’ Happy from Despicable Me 2  
• Pikotaro’s Pen Pineapple Apple Song (PPAP Song) became the shortest song to enter the Billboard Hot 100 with a length of only 45 seconds

4. Milestones

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

• Taylor Swift wins Album of the Year for the second time for her album 1989 at the 58^th Grammy Awards becoming the first woman to do so
• BRITS Icon Award bestowed posthumously on David Bowie at the 36^th Brit Awards
• Britney Spears is honoured with the Millennium Award at the 2016 Billboard Music Awards
• Rod Stewart is knighted in Queen Elizabeth II’s 2016 Birthday Honours
• Rihanna is bestowed with the Michael Jackson Video Vanguard Award at the 2016 MTV Video Music Awards
• Madonna is named as the 2016 Billboard Woman of the Year
• Dolly Parton received the Willie Nelson Lifetime Achievement Award at the 2016 Country Muisc Association Awards 
• Bob Dylan received the 2016 Nobel Prize for Literature
• Victoria Beckham is bestowed with the Office of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in Queen Elizabeth II’s New Year Honour’s List
• Marc Anthony is honoured with the Latin Recording Academy Person of the Year at the 17^th Annual Latin Grammy Awards
• Fifth Harmony ft. Ty Dolla $ign’s Work From Home became the most watched music video of 2016 with over 1 billion views.
• The videos of Wiz Khalifa ft. Charlie Puth’s See You Again, Mark Ronson ft. Bruno Mars’ Uptown Funk and Justin Bieber’s Sorry all passed 2 billion views

5. Shockers

There were many jaw dropping moments in 2016 and here are some of them:

• ABBA reunites and reveals an upcoming digital entertainment experience
• Camila Cabello leaves Fifth Harmony to pursue her solo career 
• Avicii retires from music citing health reasons
• Geri Halliwell, Emma Bunton and Melanie Brown reunite as Spice Girls – GEM
• One Direction announces indefinite hiatus
• Bill Medley reforms The Righteous Brothers with singer Bucky Heard
• The Eagles dissolves following the death of Glenn Frey, their founding member
• All four members of Viola Beach die in a tragic car crash
• Kesha denied an injunction by Supreme Court of New York to allow her to record outside Dr.Luke’s label
• Neil Amin Smith leaves Clean Bandit and the band continues as a trio
• Minzy leaves 2NE1 and the group disbands
• Founding member Pete Burns of Dead or Alive died effectively ending the band
• Christina Grimmie, former contestant on The Voice shot dead by a fan
• G.R.L. reformed as a trio with new member Jazzy Mejia
• 4Minute disbands over different opinions of members

6. Talent

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

• 61^st Eurovision Song Contest – Ukraine wins with Jamala’s 1944
• The X Factor (13^th Season) – Matt Terry wins mentored by Nicole Scherzinger
• The Voice (10^th Season) – Alison Porter wins coached by Christina Aguilera
• The Voice (11^th Season) – Sundance Head wins coached by Blake Shelton
• The Voice UK (05^th Season) – Former Liberty X member Kevin Simm wins coached by Ricky Wilson
• America’s Got Talent – Singer/Songwriter Grace VanderWaal wins
• American Idol ends after 15 seasons crowing Trent Harmon as the final idol

7. Obituaries

Last but not least let us remember those legends to whom we bade farewell in 2016.

• David Bowie (08 January 1947 – 10 January 2016)
• René Angélil (16 January 1942 – 14 January 2016)
• Glenn Frey (06 November 1948 – 18 January 2016)
• Signe Toly Anderson (15 September 1941 – 28 January 2016)
• Maurice White (19 December 1941 – 04 February 2016)
• George Martin (03 January 1926 – 08 March 2016)
• Prince (07 June 1958 – 21 April 2016)
• Pete Burns (05 August 1959 – 23 October 2016)
• W.D. Amaradeva (05 December 1927 – 03 November 2016)
• Leonard Cohen (21 September 1934 – 07 November 2016)
• George Michael (25 June 1963 – 25 December 2016)

Till next year...

At Ease!!!

Best Dance Hits of 2016

Attention!!!

2016 is the year where tropical beats entered the dancefloor. With Reggae and Dancehall fusing with the mainstream genres of dance music such as EDM, Pop, Rap and R&B, dance music as a whole evolved. Hip-Hop was virtually non-existent during the year while Latin Pop and Progressive House took a backseat giving way to this immensely popular tropical rhythms and melodies.

Sia featuring Sean Paul’s Cheap Thrills takes the crown as it is now a floor filler at any party, but sadly this is the only floor filler that joins the elite club of songs such as Pitbull featuring Kesha’s Timber and Enrique Iglesias featuring Gente De Zona and Descemer Bueno which makes anyone want to join the dancefloor. At a close second is Kungs vs. Cookin’ On 3 Burners’ This Girl and at third place is Major Lazer featuring Nyla and Fuse ODG’s Light it up. This is Major Lazer’s second stint at a top three position as the trio’s mammoth hit collaboration with DJ Snake and MØ’s Lean On topped the list last year.

New faces to the dance scene include DJs such as Kungs and Jonas Blue as well as artists such as Zara Larsson, Dawin, Anne Marie and Sofia Carson. Sean Paul, the kingpin of Dancehall has 6 entries on the list followed by Zara Larsson with 5, Calvin Harris, Fifth Harmony and Enrique Iglesias with 3 and Sia, Major Lazer, Pitbull, Flo Rida, Anne Marie, Meghan Trainor, Rihanna, AronChupa and Drake all having 2 entries each. So here are the 60 best dance hits of 2016 (yes, we are continuing with 60):

1. Sia ft. Sean Paul – Cheap thrills
2. Kungs vs. Cookin’ On 3 Burners – This girl
3. Major Lazer ft. Nyla & Fuse ODG – Light it up
4. Zara Larsson – Lush life
5. Calvin Harris ft. Rihanna – This is what you came for
6. Ariana Grande ft. Nicki Minaj – Side to side
7. Sak Noel & Salvi ft. Sean Paul – Trumpets
8. Pitbull ft. Enrique Iglesias – Messin’ around
9. RedOne ft. Enrique Iglesias, R.City, Shaggy & Serayah – Don’t you need somebody
10. Tinie Tempah ft. Zara Larsson – Girls like
11. Zara Larsson – Ain’t my fault
12. Jason Derulo – Get ugly
13. Flo Rida – My house
14. Major Lazer ft. Justin Bieber & MØ – Cold water 
15. Justin Timberlake – Can’t stop the feeling!
16. Sean Paul ft. Dua Lipa – No lie
17. Jennifer Lopez – Ain’t your mama
18. AronChupa ft. Lil Sis Nora – Little swing
19. Rihanna ft. Drake – Work
20. Jay Sean ft. Sean Paul – Make my love go
21. G Girls – Call the police
22. Sofia Carson ft. J. Balvin – Love is the name
23. The Chainsmokers ft. Daya – Don’t let me down
24. Drake ft. WizKid & Kyla – One dance
25. Enrique Iglesias ft. Wisin – Duele el Corazón
26. Dizzee Rascal & Calvin Harris – Hype
27. Fifth Harmony – That’s my girl
28. David Guetta ft. Zara Larsson – This one’s for you
29. Anne Marie – Alarm
30. Pitbull – Freedom
31. Fifth Harmony ft. Ty Dolla $ign – Work from home
32. Clean Bandit ft. Anne Marie & Sean Paul – Rockabye
33. Hailee Steinfeld and Grey ft. Zedd – Starving
34. Zay Hilfigerrr and Zayion McCall – Juju on that beat (TZ Anthem)
35. Ricky Martin & Maluma – Vente pa’ca
36. 99 Souls ft. Destiny’s Child & Brandy – Girl is mine 
37. Krewella – Team
38. Calvin Harris – My way
39. Dawin – Dessert
40. Meghan Trainor – Me too
41. The Weeknd ft. Daft Punk – Starboy
42. Alexandra Stan – I did it, mama!
43. Little Mix ft. Sean Paul – Hair
44. Cheat Codes & Kriss Kross Amsterdam – Sex 
45. Zara Larsson – I would like
46. Iggy Azalea – Team
47. Flo Rida – Zillionaire
48. Meghan Trainor – No
49. Bruno Mars – 24K magic
50. Sia ft. Kendrick Lamar – The greatest
51. Jonas Blue ft. JB Cooper – Perfect strangers
52. Fifth Harmony – I’m in love with a monster
53. Galantis – No money
54. Inna – Rendez vous
55. Fergie – M.I.L.F. $
56. OMI ft. AronChupa – Drop in the ocean
57. Kygo ft. Maty Noyes – Stay
58. Jonas Blue ft. Raye – By your side
59. Sigala ft. John Newman & Nile Rodgers – Give me your love
60. Desiigner – Panda 

Till the next beat...

At Ease!!!

Greatest Hits of 2016

Attention!!!

2016 belonged to EDM, Dancehall and Reggae Fusion. Justin Bieber began the year at the top of the global charts, but it’s Drake whose mammoth collaboration One Dance with WizKid and Kyla that takes the crown this year as chart performance in most of Europe have already been tallied for Bieber’s Love Yourself for 2015. The smash hit collaboration which brought Dancehall into the mainstream also paved the way for veteran Sean Paul to emerge from the depths of the forgotten 2000s to reignite Reggae Fusion which he succeeded with collaborations with Sia on Cheap Thrills and Clean Bandit on Rockabye.

It was an awesome year for most genres. EDM evolved to a stage where Synthpop and Dancehall was incorporated to form a much mellowed tone than that which the previous years produced such as Progressive House. R&B did not entirely disappear from the mainstream as Rihanna’s newest album Anti produced her global hit Work another collaboration with Drake. Alternative Rock music also entered the mainstream once again in the form of Twenty One Pilots whose album Blurry Face is quite reminiscent of the bygone era of Linkin Park. Pop music took on a more tropical feel to keep up with the increasing popularity of Dancehall and Reggae.   

Social media and viral music proved once again to play a massive part in contributing to the mainstream charts. Young stars such as Alessia Cara and Troye Sivan amassed quite a following throughout the year as their hits managed to fare better with social media fame. Viral hits such as Zay Hilfigerrr and Zayion McCall’s Juju On That Beat and Rae Sremmurd ft. Gucci Mane’s Black Beatles surged to the top of the charts, the former with its unique dance moves and the latter fueled by the extremely popular Mannequin Challenge which was the next best thing after Donald Trump Memes in the last quarter of the year.

Soundtracks continued to be successful similar to 2015 where Justin Timberlake’s Can’t Stop The Feeling! from Trolls and almost the entire soundtrack of Suicide Squad particularly Twenty One Pilots’ Heathens faring extremely well on the global charts. We bade adieu to One Direction as the group went on a hiatus in early 2016 and Camila Cabello left Fifth Harmony just two weeks ago which may lead to the end of the girl group which only just received a proper mainstream following.

Justin Bieber has the highest number of entries with 4 followed by The Chainsmokers, Drake and Rihanna with 3 each and Zara Larsson, Twenty One Pilots, Sean Paul, Shawn Mendes, Ariana Grande, Adele and Selena Gomez all having two each on the list. So here are the best 50 songs of 2016 was compiled based on worldwide charts, sales and accolades received:

1. Drake ft. WizKid & Kyla – One dance
2. Justin Bieber – Love yourself
3. Sia ft. Sean Paul – Cheap thrills
4. The Chainsmokers ft. Halsey – Closer
5. Justin Timberlake – Can’t stop the feeling!
6. Rihanna ft. Drake – Work
7. Major Lazer ft. Justin Bieber & MØ – Cold water 
8. Twenty One Pilots – Stressed out
9. Calvin Harris ft. Rihanna – This is what you came for
10. Mike Posner – I took a pill in Ibiza (SeeB Remix)
11. Lukas Graham – 7 Years
12. The Chainsmokers ft. Daya – Don’t let me down
13. Alan Walker – Faded
14. Zayn – Pillowtalk
15. DJ Snake ft. Justin Bieber – Let me love you
16. Shawn Mendes – Stitches
17. Twenty One Pilots – Heathens
18. DNCE – Cake by the ocean
19. Zara Larsson – Lush life
20. Adele – Hello
21. Clean Bandit ft. Anne Marie & Sean Paul – Rockabye
22. Fifth Harmony ft. Ty Dolla $ign – Work from home
23. Kungs vs. Cookin’ On 3 Burners – This girl
24. Rae Sremmurd ft. Gucci Mane – Black Beatles
25. James Arthur – Say you won’t let go
26. G-Eazy & Bebe Rexha – Me, myself & I
27. Pink – Just like fire
28. The Weeknd ft. Daft Punk – Starboy
29. Ariana Grande ft. Nicki Minaj – Side to side
30. Jonas Blue ft. Dakota – Fast car
31. Justin Bieber – Sorry
32. Desiigner – Panda
33. Gnash ft. Olivia O’ Brien – I hate u, I love u
34. Drake ft. Rihanna – Too good
35. The Chainsmokers ft. ROZES – Roses  
36. Zara Larsson & MNEK – Never forget you
37. Meghan Trainor – No
38. Flo Rida – My house
39. Little Mix – Shout out to my ex
40. Shawn Mendes – Treat you better
41. Bruno Mars – 24K Magic
42. Coldplay – Hymn for the weekend
43. Enrique Iglesias ft. Wisin – Duele el Corazón
44. Adele – Send my love (to your new lover)
45. Charlie Puth ft. Selena Gomez – We don’t talk anymore
46. Hailee Steinfeld & Grey ft. Zedd – Starving
47. Selena Gomez – Hands to myself
48. Ariana Grande – Dangerous woman
49. Alessia Cara – Here
50. Maroon 5 ft. Kendrick Lamar – Don’t wanna know 

Till the next beat...

At Ease!!!

Xposition - November, 2016

Attention!!!

The awards season is once again in full swing as the 2016 MTV Europe Music Awards was held in November, hosted by Bebe Rexha. Some good performances of the night were DNCE’s medley of Body Moves and Cake By The Ocean, Zara Larsson’s medley of Lush Life and Ain’t My Fault, The Weeknd’s Starboy and Bebe Rexha’s I Got You. Justin Bieber was the big winner of the night winning the Best Song for Sorry and for Biggest Fans. Martin Garrix, Shawn Mendes and Twenty One Pilots also received two awards each with Garrix receiving for Best Electronic Artist and Best World Stage Performance and Mendes receiving Best Male and Best Canadian Act, and Twenty One Pilots receiving Best Alternative and Best Live Act. Green Day was bestowed with the Global Icon Award. Some of the other significant wins included:

·         Best Video: The Weeknd ft. Daft Punk – Starboy

·         Best Female: Lady Gaga

·         Best New Act: Zara Larsson

·         Best Pop: Selena Gomez

·         Best Rock: Coldplay

·         Best Hip-Hop: Drake

·         Best Push Act: DNCE

·         Best UK Act: Little Mix

·         Best Norwegian Act: Alan Walker

·         Best Australian Act: Troye Sivan

·         Best US Act: Ariana Grande

Next up we have the 2016 American Music Awards hosted by Gigi Hadid and Jay Pharoah. Justin Bieber was the winner of the night grabbing four awards including Video of the Year for Sorry. Drake managed to garner 3 awards from his record-breaking 12 nominations and Rihanna too managed to take away 3 awards. However, Ariana Grande fended off heavyweights such as Adele and Bieber to seize the Artist of the Year award. The show opened with a fantastic performance by Bruno Mars of his newest hit single 24K Magic. There were also awesome performances by Fifth Harmony with That’s My Girl, Ariana Grande and Nicki Minaj with Side to Side, Twenty One Pilots with a medley of Stressed Out and Heathens, John Legend with Love Me Now and Lady Gaga with Million Reasons. The other significant wins include:

·         New Artist of the Year: Zayn

·         Favorite Pop/Rock Male Artist: Justin Bieber

·         Favorite Pop/Rock Female Artist: Selena Gomez

·         Favorite Pop/Rock Song: Justin Bieber – Love yourself

·         Favorite Pop/Rock Album: Justin Bieber – Purpose

·         Favorite Country Song: Tim McGraw – Humble and kind

·         Favorite Rap/Hip-Hop Song: Drake – Hotline bling

·         Favorite R&B/Soul Song: Rihanna ft. Drake – Work

·         Favorite EDM Artist: The Chainsmokers

·         Top Soundtrack: Purple Rain

·         Collaboration of the Year: Fifth Harmony ft. Ty Dolla $ign – Work from home

·         Tour of the Year: Beyonce - The Formation World Tour 

The curtains closed on the Country Music Association Awards 2016 co-hosted by Carrie Underwood and Brad Paisley for the ninth consecutive year as the show celebrated its 50th edition. Beyonce made a special appearance at the CMAs where she performed her song Daddy Lessons taken from her newest album Lemonade alongside the Dixie Chicks. Moreover, Garth Brooks who won the coveted Entertainer of the Year performed a medley of hits including Jackson, Rose Garden and Golden Ring. Dolly Parton was bestowed with the Willie Nelson Lifetime Achievement Award before which Jennifer Nettles and the Pentatonix performed her hit Jolene followed by Reba McEntire singing 9 to 5. Some of the other significant wins included:

·         Song of the Year: Tim McGraw – Humble and kind (written by Lori McKenna)

·         Single of the Year: Thomas Rhett – Die a happy man

·         Album of the Year: Eric Church – Mr. Misunderstood

·         Male Vocalist of the Year: Chris Stapleton

·         Female Vocalist of the Year: Carrie Underwood

·         Vocal Group of the Year: Little Big Town

·         Musical Event of the Year: Dierks Bentley with Elle King – Different for girls

·         Pinnacle Award: Kenny Chesney

Forbes has released the list of highest paid women in music and it is none other than Taylor Swift who tops the list with a whopping US$ 170 million. Far behind Swift at second place is Adele with US$ 80 million. The rest are as follows:

3. Madonna – US$ 76.5 million

4. Rihanna – US$ 75 million

5. Beyonce – US$ 54 million

6. Katy Perry – US$ 41 million    

7. Jennifer Lopez – US$39.5 million

8. Britney Spears – US$ 30.5 million

9. Shania Twain – US$ 27.5 million

10. Celine Dion – US$ 27 million

It was a disappointing outcome for many artists as their endorsements of Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton fell short, when Donald Trump triumphed at the 2016 Presidential Election. The likes of Beyonce, Jay-Z, Katy Perry and Lady Gaga supported Clinton and now will have to wait what happens when Trump takes oaths, if there will be repercussions for those who took sides in the bitter race.

BBC Music has revealed its long list of the Sound of 2017. The following 15 acts have been tipped for success next year. This annual list was compiled by 170 influential music industry experts where former winners include Years & Years, Sam Smith, Ellie Goulding, Keane and 50 Cent:

1. AJ Tracey
2. Anderson .Paak
3. Cabbage
4. Dave
5. Declan McKenna
6. Jorja Smith
7. Maggie Rogers
8. Nadia Rose
9. Rag 'n' Bone Man
10. Ray BLK
11. RAYE
12. Stefflon Don
13. The Amazons
14. The Japanese House
15. Tom Grennan

Meanwhile, legendary singer and songwriter Leonard Cohen passed away at the age of 82. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau led tributes to Cohen who was buried in a simple pine casket at a cemetery at Mount Royal in Montreal. 

Moving onto chart news, in the US the Chainsmokers’ featuring Halsey’s Closer reigned supreme for three weeks becoming the longest reigning number one of 2016 with 12 weeks at the top. However, Rae Sremmurd featuring Gucci Mane’s Black Beatles toppled the EDM duo in the final week of November to grab the crown. Black Beatles received a big boost from its usage in the viral Mannequin Challenge videos which sparked off from an October 26 tweet showing students at Jacksonville, Florida’s Edward H. White High School in mannequin poses (though that clip did not feature this song). Another viral rap song Juju On That Beat (TZ Anthem) by Zay Hilfigerr and Zayion McCall propelled through to the Top 10 after fan made videos flooded YouTube with its unique dance steps.

In the UK, Little Mix’s Shout Out To My Ex ruled for the first two weeks in November before being overthrown by Clean Bandit’s new single Rockabye which is a mammoth collaboration between Sean Paul and Anne Marie which continued to be at top for the remainder of the month. As Christmas week gets closer we get ready for the biggest battle on the UK Charts which is for the coveted Christmas Number One. The contenders were revealed at the end of November and of course on top we have the X Factor winner’s single which has grabbed the crown in the past but have also failed in the recent years. It would all depend on the winner as well as the song. It could also be a charity single which are always released during this time such as last year’s A Bridge Over You by Lewisham and Greenwich NHS Choir which claimed the number one with help from Justin Bieber who promoted the single despite his Love Yourself being removed from the top position.

Other songs which became popular during the month were:

1. Lady Gaga – Million reasons
2. Drake – Fake love
3. Maroon 5 ft. Kendrick Lamar – Don’t wanna know
4. Zara Larsson – I would like
5. NEIKED ft. Dyo – Sexual
6. Sigma ft, Birdy - Find me 

Till the next beat...

At Ease!!!