Xposition - December, 2016

Attention!!!

December kicked-off with the highly anticipated 2017 Grammy nominations with Beyonce leading the bill with 9 nods including Album of the Year, Record of the Year, Song of the Year and Best Music Video. Drake is close behind with 8 nominations. The nominations for the four big awards are:

1.      Record of the Year

Adele – Hello

Beyonce – Formation

Lukas Graham – 7 Years

Rihanna ft. Drake – Work

Twenty One Pilots – Stressed out

2.      Album of the Year

Adele – 25

Beyonce – Lemonade

Justin Bieber – Purpose

Drake – Views

Sturgill Simpson – A Sailor’s Guide to Earth

3.      Song of the Year

Formation (Beyonce)

Hello (Adele)

I Took a Pill in Ibiza (Mike Posner)

Love Yourself (Justin Bieber)

7 Years (Lukas Graham)

4.      Best New Artist

Kelsea Ballerini

The Chainsmokers

Chance the Rapper

Maren Morris

Anderson .Paak

The BBC Music Awards had its second edition this year with the top honours going to Adele. The winners are:

• Song of the Year: Adele – Hello
• BBC Radio 1 Live Lounge Performance of the Year: 1975 – What Makes You Beautiful (One Direction Cover)
• Introducing Artist of the Year: Izzy Bizu
• British Artist of the Year: Coldplay
• BBC Radio 2 Album of the Year: Adele – 25

Meanwhile, Rag N’ Bone Man fended off competition from Dua Lipa and Anne Marie to grab the coveted BRIT’s Critics’ Choice Award for 2017. He is the tenth recipient of this award which includes past winners such as Ellie Goulding, Sam Smith and Emeli Sande.

December is also the time when the much anticipated year-end charts are revealed. This year Justin Bieber leads the 2016 Billboard Year-End Hot 100 with his mega hit Love Yourself. Adele however rules the Billboard Top Artist as well as the Billboard Year-End 200 with her album 25.  The top 10 are:

1.       Justin Bieber – Love yourself

2.       Justin Bieber – Sorry

3.       Drake ft. Wizkid & Kyla – One dance

4.       Rihanna ft. Drake – Work

5.       Twenty One Pilots – Stressed out

6.       Desiigner – Panda

7.       Adele – Hello

8.       The Chainsmokers ft. Daya – Don’t let me down

9.       Justin Timberlake – Can’t stop the feeling!

10.   The Chainsmokers ft. Halsey – Closer

The UK also released their year-end list the Official Top 40 Biggest Songs of 2016 with Drake’s One Dance which broke multiple chart records during the year including staying at the top for 15 weeks and tying for the second longest consecutive stay at No.1. The top 10 are:

1.       Drake ft. Wizkid & Kyla – One dance

2.       Lukas Graham – 7 Years

3.       Sia – Cheap thrills

4.       Mike Posner – I took a pill in Ibiza

5.       Calvin Harris ft. Rihanna – This is what you came for

6.       Zara Larsson – Lush life

7.       The Chainsmokers ft. Halsey – Closer

8.       Justin Bieber – Love yourself

9.       Rihanna ft. Drake – Work

10.   Justin Timberlake – Can’t stop the feeling!

The biggest shock of the month was when Camila Cabello from Fifth Harmony left the group to pursue her solo career. In an alleged pre-emptive strike Ally Brooke, Normani Kordei, Dinah Jane Hansen and Lauren Jauregui informed on twitter that they had been informed by Camila’s representatives that she had decided to leave the group but that they would continue as a foursome. Camila via her twitter account announced that she never meant to leave this way and was unaware of her former bandmates was going to release the statement. As the saga unfolded it was clear that all the signs pointed to Camila’s departure as the pleas of the other four fell on deaf ears as well as her two collaborations as a solo artist with Shawn Mendes and Machine Gun Kelly both becoming big hits.

The X-Factor 2016 crowned Matt Terry as its winner in its 13^th edition mentored by Nicole Scherzinger. This year the competition was stiff where Terry beat runner-up Finnish Saara Alto in an explosive finale. However, the winner’s single When Christmas Comes Around was released after the results were announced and was not performed during the competition. The single penned by Ed Sheeran however, failed to grab the top spot in the UK and only managed to peak at No.3.

Speaking of girl bands, former Spice Girl Victoria Beckham aka Posh Spice is to be made an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II’s New Year Honour’s List. Even in its final days 2016 managed to take away another pop star from music and this time its George Michael who passed away from heart failure at the age of 53.

Moving onto chart news, in the US Rae Sremmurd featuring Gucci Mane’s Black Beatles remained at the top during the whole month fueled by the Mannequin Challenge videos that continued to flood social media. Other songs which entered the top 10 include Zayn & Taylor Swift’s I Don’t Wanna Live Forever taken from the Fifty Shades Darker soundtrack and J.Cole’s De Javu.

In the UK, Clean Bandit featuring Anne Marie and Sean Paul’s Rockabye reigned supreme during the month and earned the coveted Christmas No.1. Meanwhile, Little Mix’s Touch peaked at No.4, Steve Aoki & Louis Tomlinson’s Just Hold On and Rag N’ Bone Man’s Human peaked at No.2 during the month.

Other songs which became popular during the month were:

1.       Sean Paul ft. Dua Lipa – No lie

2.       Little Mix ft. Charlie Puth – Oops

3.       David Guetta & Cedric Gervais ft. Chris Willis – Would I lie to you 

4.       The Weeknd ft. Daft Punk – I feel it coming

5.       Robin Schulz & David Guetta ft. Cheat Codes - Shed a light 

Till the next beat...

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!!! 

Best New Artists of 2016

Attention!!!

This is the first of the year-end lists as we start the count down to the Greatest Hits of 2016. This year we witnessed a drove of immense talent flooding the industry. With varied genres and vocal ranges the acts ranged from solo artists to duos and groups. We have former reality/talent show contestants, former boy band members as well as social media enthusiasts. 

Taking the crown are Rock duo Twenty One Pilots who dominated the charts with their unique Alternative/Rap fusion style. They are followed by vocal powerhouse Zara Larsson whose songs went onto become global smash hits. At No.3 we have Shawn Mendes who is turning out to be the male counterpart of Taylor Swift with a gargantuan fan following. I have excluded the Chainsmokers from this list as they had their first hit #Selfie three years ago. So here are the Top 20 New Artists of 2016:   

1. Twenty One Pilots

They are an Alternative Rock duo that captured our hearts with Stressed Out and went onto score other popular hits such as Ride and Heathens.

2. Zara Larsson

She is a force to be reckoned with in the music industry as her hits Never Forget You, Lush Life, Ain’t My Fault and I Would Like were all global smash hits and she even collaborated with David Guetta and Tinie Tempah.

3. Shawn Mendes

This Canadian heartthrob speaks to prepubescents through his whiny and cheesy lyrics and he has had hits such as Stitches, Treat You Better and Mercy and also collaborations with Camila Cabello and The Vamps.

4. DNCE

Definitely the best Pop Rock band of this decade so far, their global smash Cake By The Ocean is now an anthem on the dancefloor and they have had hits such as Toothbrush and Body Moves.

5. Alan Walker

One of the most unique DJs of this decade who released his global chart topper Faded followed by Sing Me To Sleep and more recently Alone.

6. Daya

The Hideaway hit maker did not stop there, she collaborated with the Chainsmokers’ on their worldwide hit Don’t Let Me Down and again returned to the charts with Sit Still and Look Pretty.

7. Alessia Cara

Her anti-social hymn Here became a party hit over night and she went on to score with Wild Things and Scars To Your Beautiful.

8. G-Eazy

He’s the new white kid on the block, but his style of rapping is distinctive and his collaboration Me Myself & I with Bebe Rexha was a global hit and he has gone onto collaborate with Britney Spears and Grace.

9. Bebe Rexha

With powerful vocals she can sing as well as rap. Her single Me Myself & I alongside G-Eazy was a worldwide hit and she also spawned hits such as No Broken Hearts and I Got You.

10. MØ

Her Danish Indie Pop style doesn’t go unnoticed. Entering the mainstream from Major Lazer’s Lean On, she has now released hits such as Final Song, Kamikaze and Drum and also collaborating with Major Lazer again on Cold Water.

11. Zayn

This former One Directioner proved that he can stand on his own as he topped the charts with his debut single Pillowtalk and has also had hits such as Like I Would and It’s You.

12. Dua Lipa

As a vocal powerhouse she entered the mainstream with Be The One and Hotter Than Hell and then went on to score with Blow Your Mind (Mwah) and being featured on Sean Paul’s No Lie.

13. Troye Sivan

As a social media titan, Sivan’s followers will swallow anything and everything that he spews out; although his singles are good and Youth, Wild and Talk Me Down went onto become hits.

14. Louisa Johnson

She won the X Factor last year and entered the charts covering Bob Dylan’s Forever Young. She then collaborated with the Clean Bandit on their hit Tears and also her own hit So Good.  

15. Lukas Graham

They may be hyped up but their 7 Years was a mega hit around the world which they followed up with Mama Said and You’re Not There.

16. Anne Marie

Her hit Alarm took the charts by storm after which her collaboration with Clean Bandit and Sean Paul on Rockabye reached the summit worldwide.

17. Halsey

Her New Americana, Colours and Castle were all moderately successful but it was Closer, her collaboration with the Chainsmokers that propelled her to No.1 world over.

18. Calum Scott

He finished sixth on the ninth series of Britain’s Got Talent and released his audition song cover of Robyn’s Dancing On My Own which became a worldwide hit. 

19. Kiiara

Her bass heavy, trap style, rap became very popular through her hit Gold which was used by Apple to promote their Apple Watch. 

20. Nathan Sykes

He may have not earned the same popularity as his former band The Wanted but he did gain chart success with Over and Over Again, Give It Up and Famous. 

Till the next ensemble...

At Ease!!!