Xposition - December, 2015

Attention!!!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

For Album of the Year we have the following nominations:

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

For Song of the Year we have the following:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Other songs which became popular during the month are:

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

Till the next beat...

At Ease!!!

Greatest Hits of 2015

Attention!!!

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

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

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

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

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

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

Till next year...

At Ease!!!

Xposition - September 2015

Attention!!!

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

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

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

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

Ellie Goulding: Love Me Like You Do

Major Lazer & DJ Snake ft. MØ: Lean On

Mark Ronson ft Bruno Mars: Uptown Funk

Wiz Khalifa ft. Charlie Puth: See You Again

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

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

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

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

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

Some of the other popular hits during the month were:

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

Till the next beat...

At Ease!!!

Xposition - March 2015

Attention!!!

Well every sensation dies down sooner or later. The UK boy band One Direction which was considered as the next best things after The Beatles and the Spice Girls faced a major set back when fellow member Zayn Malik announced his departure. This departure is quite a deja vu as Geri Halliwell aka Ginger Spice's exit from the Spice Girls pretty much obliterated the spark of the flower power that had taken over the world. Let's hope the same demise does not befall One Direction, for however annoying their songs are, you cannot deny their talent in terms of vocals. 

In another controversial turn of events Natalia Kills and Willy Moon were fired from the panel of judges on the second season of X Factor New Zealand for passing scathing remarks and abusing a contestant named Joe Irvine. All what we can say to this is good riddance to bad bullies. 

The 2nd edition of the iHeartRadio Music Awards was held on 29 March 2015 in Los Angeles, USA with Taylor Swift becoming the big winner of the night grabbing the Artist of the Year, the Song of the Year and Best Lyrics for Blank Space. Justin Timberlake was bestowed with the Innovator Award. Notable performances of the night included Iggy Azalea ft. Jennifer Hudson with Trouble, Meghan Trainor with Dear Future Husband, Sam Smith with Lay Me Down, Nick Jonas with Chains and Kelly Clarkson with Heartbeat Song. Some of the other significant awards were:

• Best Collaboration: Jessie J, Ariana Grande & Nicki Minaj - Bang bang
• Best New Artist: Sam Smith
• Country Song of the Year: Jason Aldean - Burnin' it down
• Hip-Hop/R&B Song of the Year: Jeremih ft. YG - Don't tell 'em
• Dance Song of the Year: Calvin Harris - Summer
• Alternative Rock Song of the Year: Hozier - Take me to church

Nickelodeon's 28th Kids' Choice Awards was also held in March and the Favorite Song of the Year was won by Jessie J, Ariana Grande & Nicki Minaj's Bang Bang. The other winners were:

• Favorite Music Group - One Direction
• Favorite Male Singer - Nick Jonas
• Favorite Female Singer - Selena Gomez
• Favorite New Artist - Fifth Harmony 

The 2015 YouTube Music Awards was also held, but very differently from its first edition, where a live ceremony was held. This time the winners were not selected by fan votes per se but by growth in views, subscribers etc. So the full list of honorees are (in alphabetical order): 2NE1, Alt-J, Ariana Grande, Beyonce, Bigbang, Big Sean, Brad Paisley, Charli XCX, Dej Loaf, Drake, Ed Sheeran, Ella Henderson, Fifth Harmony, FKA Twigs, Florida Georgia Line, George Ezra, Hoodie Allen, Hozier, Hunter Hayes, J. Cole, Jason Derulo, Katy Perry, Kendrick Lamar, Kiesza, Kurt Hugo Schneider, Lady Gaga, Lindsey Stirling, Martin Garrix, Max Megan Nicole, Meghan Trainor, Miggs, Miley Cyrus, Nicki Minaj, Nicky Jam, OK Go, One Direction, Pentattonix, Pharrell Williams, Rihanna, Sam Smith, Sia, Snoop Dogg, Taylor Swift, The Weeknd, Tinashe, Tori Kelly, Tove Lo, Troy Sivan and Tyler Ward. 

In the US Mark Ronson ft. Bruno Mars' Uptown Funk continued its reign at the top throughout the month fending off competition by Ed Sheeran's Thinking Out Loud and Maroon 5's Sugar. Ellie Goulding's Love Me Like You Do and Taylor Swift's Style also reached their peaks of No.3 and No.6 respectively during the month and The Weeknd's Earned It, Pitbull & Ne-Yo's Time of Our Lives, Sam Smith's Lay Me Down and Fetty Wap's Trap Queen all entered the Top 10 during the month.

In the UK Ellie Goulding's Love Me Like You Do stayed on at the top completing four weeks altogether. She was replaced by Years & Years' King and thereafter Sam Smith ft. John Legend's Lay Me Down which served as the official Red Nose Day charity single took over for the last two weeks. Some of the other songs which became popular during the month are:

• Sheppard - Geronimo
• James Bay - Hold back the river
• David Guetta ft. Emeli Sande - What I did for love
• Zedd ft. Selena Gomez - I want you to know
• Natalie La Rose ft. Jeremih - Somebody
• WALK THE MOON - Shut up and dance 
• Ariana Grande - One last time

Till the next beat…

At Ease!!! 

Xposition - February 2015

Attention!!!

Well February was an eventful month for music with the Oscars and the BRIT Awards. The 87th Academy Awards was held on February 22, 2015. The Best Original Score went to Alexandre Desplat for his work on The Grand Budapest Hotel. What is significant is that Desplat was also nominated for his score on The Imitation Game. The Best Original Song went to Glory from Selma by John Legend and Common who also won the Golden Globe in this category. Best Sound Editing went to Alan Robert Murray and Bub Asman for American Sniper and Best Sound Mixing to Craig Mann, Ben Wilkins and Thomas Curley for Whiplash. But it was Lady Gaga who stole the show with her tribute to The Sound of Music on the musical's 50th anniversary by singing a medley of The Sound of Music/My Favourite Things/Edelweiss/Climb Every Mountain to a standing ovation. 

The 35th BRIT Awards was also held in February. Performances of the night included Taylor Swift with Blank Space, Sam Smith with Lay Me Down, Ed Sheeran with Bloodstream, George Ezra with Budapest, and Paloma Faith with Only Love Can Hurt Like This. After a 20 year lapse, Madonna once again took to the stage at the BRIT Awards with her new single Living For Love.  But the artist found the stage a bit hostile when she took a tumble during the first minute of her performance as her backup dancers pulled a cape off her, dragging her down with it. But kudos to her for getting back up and continuing with her performance. The British Male Solo Artist was awarded to Ed Sheeran and British Female Solo Artist went to Paloma Faith. The British Single of the Year was Mark Ronson ft. Bruno Mars' Uptown Funk and the Video of the Year went to One Direction's You & I. Other significant winners include:

• British Group: Royal Blood
• International Group: Foo Fighters
• British Breakthrough Act: Sam Smith
• British Album of the Year: Ed Sheeran - X
• International Male Solo Artist: Pharrell Williams
• International Female Solo Artist: Taylor Swift
• British Producer of the Year:Paul Epworth
• BRITs Global Success - Sam Smith

The nominees for the 2015 YouTube Music Awards were also released with artists and bands such as Katy Perry, Taylor Swift, Ed Sheeran, Sam Smith, Fifth Harmony, 2NE1, Sia, Tove Lo, George Ezra, Snoop Dogg, Drake, Meghan Trainor and Beyonce all being nominated out of 50 such artists which YouTube has recognized as the site's artists to watch. The ceremony will be held on March 23 and somewhat different from the 2013 edition. 

In the US, the peak at the Billboard Hot 100 was stagnant with Mark Ronson ft. Bruno Mars' Uptown Funk remaining at the top throughout the month. No change is certain in the near future except for the competition from Ed Sheeran's Thinking Out Loud which has also stayed at No.2 throughout. Maroon 5's Sugar peaked at No.4 and Fall Out Boy's Centuries also peaked at No.10 during the month. Rihanna, Kanye West and Paul McCartney's much anticipated titanic collaboration FourFiveSeconds entered the top 10 and peaked at No.4 as well. With the release of the controversial box office sensation Fifty Shades of Grey, the soundtrack's Love Me Like You Do by Ellie Goulding climbed rapidly up the charts to reach the top ten. Taylor Swift's Style also entered the top ten during the month. 

In the UK, Uptown Funk stayed at the top during the first week and thereafter Ellie Goulding's Love Me Like You Do took over and remained at the top during the rest of the month. The Weeknd's Earned It also from Fifty Shades, entered the top ten peaking at No. 4. Maroon 5's Sugar peaked at No.7, Rihanna's FourFive Seconds peaked at No.4, Fergie's L.A. Love (La La) peaked at No. 3 and DJ Fresh ft. Ella Eyre's Gravity peaked at No.4 during the month. 

Other songs which became popular during the month are:

• Charli XCX ft. Rita Ora - Doing it
• Tove Lo - Talking body
• Kelly Clarkson - Heartbeat song
• Chris Brown & Tyga - Ayo 
• Fifth Harmony ft. Kid Ink - Worth it
• Nick Jonas - Chains
• Nicki Minaj ft. Drake & Lil Wayne - Truffle butter

Till the next beat…

At Ease!!!

Xposition - January 2015

Attention!!!

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

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

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

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

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

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

Other songs which became popular during the month are:

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

Till the next beat…

At Ease!!!