Xposition - August, 2018

Attention!!!

So many accolades were given this summer. The always anticipated MTV Video Music Awards were held with Cardi B leading the nominations with 12 nods out of which she won 3 including Best New Artist. Childish Gambino also won 3 awards Video with a Message, Best Choreography and Best Direction all for This is America. However, it was Camila Cabello ft. Young Thug who took home the coveted Video of the Year for Havana. The night included star studded performances including Nicki Minaj with a medley of her newest singles Majesty, Barbie Dreams, Ganja Burns and Fefe, Shawn Mendes with In My Blood, Ariana Grande with God is a Woman and Post Malone, 21 Savage and Aerosmith with a medley of Rockstar, Dream On and Toys in the Attic. However, the best performance of the night was from Jennifer Lopez, the recipient of the Video Vanguard Award, who performed a medley of her hits including Waiting for Tonight, On the Floor, Love Don’t Cost a Thing, All I Have and Dinero. Other significant wins of the night included:

·         Artist of the Year: Camila Cabello

·         Song of the Year: Post Malone ft. 21 Savage – Rockstar

·         Best Collaboration: Jennifer Lopez ft. Cardi B & DJ Khaled – Dinero

·         Best Pop: Ariana Grande – No tears left to cry

·         Best Dance: Avicii ft. Rita Ora – Lonely together

·         Song of the Summer: Cardi B, Bad Bunny & J Balvin – I like it

Next up we have the 2018 Teen Choice Awards where 5 Seconds of Summer was the clear leader with 3 wins including Choice Music Group, Choice Summer Group and Choice Song: Group for YoungBlood. In terms of performances Meghan Trainor performed a medley of her hits No Excuses and Let You Be Right, Lauv performed I Like Me Better and Bebe Rexha performed I’m a Mess. Other big winners include:

·         Choice Male Artist: Louis Tomlinson

·         Choice Female Artist: Camila Cabello

·         Choice Breakout Artist: Khalid

·         Choice International Artist: BTS

·         Choice Song: Male Artist: Ed Sheeran – Perfect

·         Choice Song: Female Artist: Camila Cabello ft. Young Thug – Havana

·         Choice Collaboration: Zac Efron & Zendaya – Rewrite the stars

·         Choice Summer Song: Selena Gomez – Back to you

Finally we have the 2018 iHeartRadio Much Music Video Awards where Shawn Mendes swept 4 awards out of whopping 8 nominations including Best Pop Artist or Group, Artist of the Year, Fan Fav Artist and Fan Fav Video for In My Blood. Mendes opened and closed the night as well with performances of Lost in Japan and In My Blood. Other noteworthy performances were Halsey with a medley of Sorry and Bad at Love, 5 Seconds of Summer with YoungBlood and Marshmello & Anne Marie with a medley of 2002 and Friends. Some of the other major victors were:

·         Video of the Year: Logic ft. Khalid & Alessia Cara – 1-800-273-8255

·         Best EDM/Dance Artist or Group: Marshmello

·         Best Director: Drake – God’s plan

·         Best Collaboration: Bebe Rexha ft. Florida Georgia Line – Meant to be

·         Song of the Summer: Loud Luxury ft. Brando – Body

·         Fan Fav Single: Selena Gomez & Marshmello – Wolves

  

The music industry suffered a massive blow in August as cancer took its latest victim, this time the Queen of Soul Aretha Franklin. Franklin passed away in her home in Detroit at the age of 76 after battling pancreatic cancer for a while. She is one of the best-selling artists of all time and is the recipient of 18 Grammy Awards. She held the record for the highest chart entries in the US till the 2010s and remains an icon and a legend for those succeeding her legacy. Her contribution to music and the industry as a whole is unmatched, and her achievements shall remain historic compared to the discrimination suffered by her gender and ethnicity during her heyday.   

In other news Sir Cliff Richard has announced a new album called Rise Up to be released in November. This will be Richard’s first new material in 14 years. Speaking of new material Culture Club has been re-branded as Boy George & Culture Club and they released a new song in nearly two decades called Let Somebody Love You. It appears you may have to wait a little bit longer for Ed Sheeran’s Minus (-) which will complete the set, as the pop star has expressed that the next record will not be a pop record but something experimental. Nevertheless, the fans may not have to wait as long as a big pop record as Sheeran has stated the new material may be out as early as next year.

Boyzone began their 25th Anniversary Farewell Tour and their first gig was in Sri Lanka where they paid tribute to their former band mate Stephen Gately as well as going on to perform their newest single Because live for the first time (catch a glimpse of the live debut on the Major Maestro FB page). Meanwhile, Alan Walker was announced to play live in Sri Lanka during the Asian Leg of his global tour.

In chart news first and foremost congratulations to the Billboard Hot 100 which celebrated their 60th anniversary since its launch on 04th August 1958 with Ricky Nelson’s Poor Little Fool as the first ever No.1. At present Drake’s reign in the US continued with In My Feelings throughout the month with no competition to its position whatsoever boosted by the Kiki Challenge going viral on social media. During the month 6ix9ine featuring Nicki Minaj & Murda Beatz’s Fefe, Tyga featuring Offset’s Taste, DJ Khaled featuring Justin Bieber, Chance the Rapper & Quavo’s No Brainer and Travis Scott’s Sicko Mode all entered the top 10.  

In the UK too, Drake continued atop the charts with In My Feelings which was ended by George Ezra’s Shotgun in the fourth week of the month and continued its reign in the final week as well. During the month DJ Khaled’s No Brainer, Loud Luxury featuring Brando’s Body, Calvin Harris & Sam Smith’s Promises and Benny Blanco, Halsey & Khalid’s Eastside all entered the top 10.

Other songs which became popular during the month were:

1.       Jess Glynne – All I am

2.       Marshmello & Bastille – Happier  

3.       The Chainsmokers ft. Emily Warren – Side effects

4.       Martin Garrix ft. Bonn – High on life

5.       Meghan Trainor – All the ways

      6.    Bazzi ft. Camila Cabello – Beautiful

Till the next beat...

At Ease!!!

Xposition - August, 2017

Attention!!!

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

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

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

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

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

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

·         Best Rock Video: Twenty One Pilots – Heavydirtysoul

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

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

·         Choice Country Artist: Carrie Underwood

·         Choice Electronic/Dance Artist: Calvin Harris

·         Choice Latin Artist: CNCO

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

·         Choice Rock Artist: Harry Styles

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

·         Choice Song Male: Niall Horan – Slow hands

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

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

·         Choice Breakout Artist: Chance the Rapper

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

In terms of musical talent, the biggest music content is coming to Asia. The first ever Asia Pacific Eurovision Song Contest was announced as Eurovision Asia was formally launched with 20 countries coming together to compete in an annual grand finale. Another music show called Your Song was announced by Simon Cowell’s Syco Entertainment to be hosted by Big Brother and The Voice host Emma Willis. The show is for the public to nominate people who think they deserve the performance of a lifetime from their musical hero.

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

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

Other songs which became popular during the month were:

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

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

3.       Echosmith – Goodbye

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

5.       Portugal. The Man – Feel it still

6.       Kesha – Learn to let go

7.       Macklemore ft. Skylar Grey – Glorious 

Till the next beat...

At Ease!!!

Xposition - July, 2016

Attention!!!

The summer is in full swing and the awards dry spell continues with only the 2016 Teen Choice Awards being held in July hosted by Victoria Justice and John Cena. While the awards focus on all aspects of entertainment such as music, television, film and sports, we'll stick to the music side of things and also some interesting accolades which artists received at the show. Flo Rida opened the show with a medley of My House, Good Feeling and Wild Ones (with Bebe Rexha) and then went on to perform his newest single Zillionaire. Charlie Puth performed his newest hit We Don't Talk Anymore as a solo version. Justin Bieber received the most nominations with 11 while Justin Timberlake received the inaugural Decade Award. So the major wins of the night included:

• Male Artist - Justin Bieber
• Female Artist - Selena Gomez
• Group - One Direction
• Female Single: Ariana Grande - Dangerous woman
• Male Single: Justin Bieber - Sorry
• International Artist - Little Mix
• Summer Song: Fifth Harmony ft. Ty Dolla $ign - Work from home
• Party Song: DNCE - Cake by the ocean
• Breakout Artist - Zayn Malik

Meanwhile, Christina Grimmie who was tragically shot dead by a fan recently was posthumously bestowed with the Choice Music Web Star but family and fans were in uproar as they expressed their disappointment as Grimmie was not mentioned by Jessica Alba and Ne-Yo during the #StoptheViolence tribute for family members of teens who had died due to violence. 

The Official Albums Chart of the UK celebrated its 60th anniversary in July with the first ever chart published on 22nd July 1956 which saw Frank Sinatra's Songs for Swingin' Lovers grab the coveted crown. To mark the historic milestone of the chart the Official Charts Company has released the UK's 60 Biggest Selling Albums of All Time. Queen's Greatest Hits is at No.1 followed by ABBA's Gold Greatest Hits at No.2 The top 10 are: 

1. Queen - Greatest Hits (1981)
2. ABBA - Gold - Greatest Hits
3. The Beatles - Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (1967)
4. Adele - 21 (2011)
5. Oasis - What's the Story Morning Glory (1995)
6. Michael Jackson - Thriller (1982)
7. Pink Floyd - The Dark Side of the Moon (1973) 
8. Dire Straits - Brothers in Arms (1985)
9. Michael Jackson - Bad (1987)
10. Queen - Greatest Hits II (1991)

The month witnessed the launch of the Global Goal's Campaign's #WhatIReallyReallyWant movement which used the Spice Girl's global smash hit Wannabe in its campaign. The girl-power wielding hit was used in the video which stars an array of international artists including Sri Lankan Bollywood actress Jacqueline Fernandez, Nigeria's Seyi Shay, South Africa's Gigi Lamayne and Monoea, the United States' Larsen Thompson, the U.K.'s M.O. and Canada's Taylor Hatala. The song is used to shed light on issues affecting young women around the globe such as violence against girls, lack of quality education and child marriage.

More news on the Spice Girls as they celebrate their 20th anniversary of Wannabe. Geri Horner (Halliwell), Emma Bunton and Melanie Brown are to reunite as GEM as Victoria Beckam and Melanie Chrishom have backed out of the reunion. Scary, Baby and Ginger have got together to celebrate this hallmark occasion by staging a show in London's Hyde Park next summer, which insiders now claim the singing trio will pocket $14 million each from the gig - that's over $100,000 (£74,000)-a-minute per person. 

We're still not done with 90s news as MTV plans to rebrand VH1 Classic as MTV Classic with a special focus on fan-favorite programmes and series drawn from the 1990s and early 2000s. The switch coming into effect on August 1 commemorates MTV's launch 35 years ago on August 1, 1981.

Katy Perry released a surprise single titled Rise which serves as the official English anthem of the Rio Olympics 2016. This is her first single since 2014's This Is How You Do and she performed it for the first time as a part of a medley with her hit single Roar at the 2016 Democratic National Convention, where she endorsed Hilary Clinton for US President. 

The Dutchess is back but this time with a dairy flavour as Fergie released her newest single M.I.L.F. $ with a star studded cast in the sultry music video which includes Ciara, Kim Kardashian, Chrissy Teigen, Gemma Ward and Amber Valletta. The song serves as the lead single to her second studio album Double Dutchess. 

Moving on to chart news, Drake ft. Wizkid and Kyla's titanic hit One Dance reigned throughout the month in the US accumulating a whopping ten non-consecutive week rule. Meanwhile Sia ft. Sean Paul's Cheap Thrills, Kent Jones' Don't Mind, Twenty One Pilots' Ride and Adele's Send My Love (To Your New Lover) all enter the top ten while The Chainsmoker's ft. Daya's Don't Let Me Down reaches a new peak at No.3 and Calvin Harris ft. Rihanna's This Is What You Came For reaches a new peak at No.4 with the rumours that Harris' ex-girlfriend Taylor Swift had a hand at penning the song. 

In the UK too Drake reigned supreme with One Dance as he logged his fifteenth week atop the charts during the fourth week of July. This feat places him on level with Wet Wet Wet's Love Is All Around which spent 15 weeks at the top in 1994. The record holder is Bryan Adam's (Everything I Do) I Do It For You which ruled for 16 weeks at the top in 1991. Other songs which entered the top 10 include Calum Scott's Dancing On My Own, Jonas Blue ft. JB Cooper's Perfect Strangers and Shawn Mendes' Treat You Better. 

Other songs which became popular during the month are:

• Twenty One Pilots - Heathens
• Bastille - Good grief
• MØ - Final song
• Selena Gomez - Kill 'em with kindness
• Kiiara - Gold
• Lukas Graham - Mama said 

Till the next beat...

At Ease!!!