A couple of weeks ago, on Wednesday 21st February 2018, some of the best loved music acts came together to celebrate the biggest singles, albums and overall acts of the last year. Hosted by Jack Whitehall, it was a night of celebration, playful insults and, as ever, slight controversy! So...what were the big moments of the night?
Little Fix?
I thought I would get the slightly controversial moment out the way. Every year, the award for Best British Video would allow the public to vote on Twitter for their winner. The award starts with 10 nominaitons, which are announced on nomination night. Each week, until the Friday or the Monday before the BRITs (depending on what day the votes close; last year it was the Monday, this year it was the Friday), an act gets eliminated until we are left with 5 nominees ready to battle it out on the actual BRIT Awards night.
Here is where it gets controversial...every week Little Mix were number one on the votes leaderboard and to through each week. When the votes were opened on the night, Little Mix were, again, consistently on the top of the leaderboard, with Harry Styles being second. However, when it came to the announcement of the winner...Harry Styles won.
Cue mass hysteria amongst Little Mix fans on Twitter accusing the BRITs of being rigged. Now...not to cause any controversy myself but is it really a big deal they lost? I know how big a fan you can be of a music act (believe me, I've been there done that...I had lots of Steps memorabilia and cried when they split up) but surely you should be happy that Little Mix at least got nominated. Have they split up? No. Have their sales fallen since they lost? No. Have they won awards before and after they lost? Yes. As long as they continue to make music, fans will still have Little Mix.
Anyway...the BRITs released a statement saying that the last leaderboard wasn't a valid representation of the outcome, considering the votes needed to be counted and verified. However...it seems that the whole thing was too little too late for Little Mix fans...
Jack Whitehall was less controversial...but still made a few playful digs!
I felt that the 2018 BRIT Awards host, Jack Whitehall was a breath of fresh air. Sure...the likes of Dermot O'Leary, Emma Willis and Ant and Dec are the hosts with the mosts but I couldn't imagine them saying any of the insults that Jack Whitehall came out with.
Whitehall came out with many insults about topics such as Paul from S Club 7's attempt to sell his BRIT Award on Ebay (There ain't no auction like an S Club Auction!), calling Sam Smith a less upbeat version of Adele, and making Liam Payne and Cheryl say hello to their little one (Hello Niall). Oh...and the awkward moment when he reminded Jesy Nelson from Little Mix about THAT attempt of doing a Jamaican accent...
Performances
2018 was probably the most varied show since 2014, in terms of performances (I'm sorry BRITs that's just my opinion!). It started off with a performance from Justin Timberlake, which unfortunately I found a bit lacklustre. However, I have to admit, I only started watching the BRITs halfway through, so I can't really comment having only watched the end of the performance!
Elsewhere, Ed Sheeran provided a typically tear-jerking performance of his new single, Supermarket Flowers, which I think could be considered an "Adele moment." Everyone went silent and you could hear a pin drop as Ed performed. Ed's fellow chart topper Sam Smith also performed. However, I know Too Good at Goodbyes is one of his biggest songs but do we really need to hear it again? I would have preferred to hear One Last Song.
Meanwhile, two of the biggest rock acts came to perform completely contrasting performances. On one side the Foo Fighters decided they would perform The Sky Is a Neighbourhood on the roof of a specially built cabin, which thankfully didn't collapse! On the other hand, Liam Gallagher came to perform a special performance of Live Forever, in tribute to the victims of the Manchester terror attack. This was preceded by a speech from Gary Barlow, which paid tribute to those who died. The BRITs itself was dedicated to those who lost their lives.
Awards
The big winners of the night were Dua Lipa and Stormzy, who both walked away with two awards each; Dua won Best British Female and Best British Breakthrough, and Stormzy for Best British Male and British Album of the Year (yes...I thought Ed Sheeran was going to win both awards as well).
Elsewhere, Foo Fighters won the best International Group Prize, and Rag n Bone Man won the Best Single award. Furthermore, Lorde won Best International Female and Kendrick Lamar won Best International Male, despite his disastrous performance, which involved technical difficulties, as well as most of his performance being muted on TV, due to his not-so-family friendly lyrics (this moment hilariously made my Dad think there was problems with our TV!).
Finally, the most ironic thing to ever happen on the BRIT Awards (as far as I know) was when the Gorrillaz won the Best British Group. "Why?! What's ironic about that?" I hear everyone reading this post shouting at their screens. Well...cast your minds back to 2012 when Adele won the Best British Album Award and James Cordon had to cut Adele's speech off in order to allow Blur to perform, due to the BRITs time constraints. Gorillaz happen to have Damon Albarn as a sort-of frontman (Damon Albarn is the voice of the Gorillaz lead singer), who is also the frontman of Blur. Gorillaz were cut off after Damon decided to launch into a drunken rant about politics and swore in the middle of his speech. Cue Jack whitehall to make the situation even worse/ more hilarious: "I don't want this to be another Adele moment!"
We'll...there you go...the highlights and the low lights of the BRITs...I wonder what next year will bring?
Em x
Saturday, 17 March 2018
Saturday, 3 March 2018
What's the Story?...NME awards 2018 glory!
Hello!
On Valentine's Day, very much in love couples went out for dinner and did cute coupley stuff. However, if you are like me, a music fan, you probably were watching the NME Awards, either live or, again like me, at home.
It was a typical night that I would expect nothing less from the NME awards; a load of rockstars coming to celebrate their success as well as celebrations of the success of newer artists. Anyway, let's have a look at the highlights.
The Performances:
We saw a bit of a varied setlist when it came to the performances. We had Alt J, who performed Cold Blood, off their 2017 Mercury nominated album, Relaxer as well as a collaboration of Stefflon Don and Skepta. We also had newcomers, Pale Waves, who performed their debut single, There's a Honey, taken from their EP All The Things I Never Said.
Finally, we had the man himself Liam Gallagher who performed a collection of songs, from Oasis hits, such as Rock and Roll Star and What's the Story (Morning Glory). He also performed songs from his album As You Were, such as Wall Of Glass.
The ceremony itself.
There was a reason why Liam Gallagher had the honour of performing a collection of hits: he was awarded the prestigious Godlike Genius award. (I would just like to thank the NME for doing this because it meant I could give this blog post a good title!). When receiving the award, he thanked his mum, fans and...erm...no..not Noel, surprise surprise! Oh and just to prove that he well and truly hates his brother, he said Noel was as bad as...err...Donald Trump...
Someone else who has had a long running career is Shirley Manson, the lead singer of Garbage (who I learnt on NME awards night were Scottish...I thought they were American!). She won the Icon Award and used her award to speak up about women not being afraid of using their platform to speak up about issues that are important to them.
Elsewhere, regarding others that performed, Alt-J won best British Band, beating the likes of Kasabian, Wolf Alice, The XX and Bastille. Meanwhile, Pale Waves and Stefflon Don won awards dedicated to those who had recently, or are just, breaking into the music industry, winning the NME Under the Radar and Best New Artist awards respectively. Furthermore, Boy Better Know won the innovation award.
Kasabian may have lost out to Alt-J in the Best British Band but they did manage to win best live band and I'm not surprised. I'm not a massive fan of them but I have seen them perform at festivals (on television) and they do put on a good show so I do believe they were worthy winners.
Speaking of festivals, the winners of best festival headliners were Muse, for their 2017 Reading and Leeds set. The speech included obligatory thank yous along with Dom Howard stating that Skepta, Stormzy, Haim or Charli XCX should be festival headliners in the future. Also, fans of Muse may want to prepare themselves...in an interview backstage, they have started talking about possible ideas for a tour as well as the possibility of a new album in the not so distant future... In terms of best festival, there was only one winner...of course it was Glastonbury.
In terms of songs, Charli XCX won Best Track for Boys and Bastille and Craig David won Best Collaboration for I Know You, which if you know me, I was very happy about. Additionally, newish band, The Big Moon, won the best music video for Sucker. Bouff Daddy hitmaker, J Hus, won best album for Common Sense, which was nominated for the 2017 Mercury Prize and is a nominee for the Best British Album at the 2018 Brit Awards.
However, the thing that I am most happy about is the winner of the Music Moment of 2017 and there was only one correct winner in my eyes...and it won. The event? One Love Manchester of course. The massive concert, which Ariana Grande organised, brought people together and provided comfort to everyone after the horrific event at Manchester Arena. Oh and the hero of the year? Ariana Grande of course.
Finally, during the show, there was a heartfelt tribute to Mark E. Smith, the lead singer of The Fall, who died just a few weeks before the awards, aged 60. It featured classic quotes from Smith, as well as a speech from his wife, Brix Smith Start.
Well...there you have it...my run-down and thoughts on the most rock and roll night of the year.
Here's to next year's!
Em x
On Valentine's Day, very much in love couples went out for dinner and did cute coupley stuff. However, if you are like me, a music fan, you probably were watching the NME Awards, either live or, again like me, at home.
It was a typical night that I would expect nothing less from the NME awards; a load of rockstars coming to celebrate their success as well as celebrations of the success of newer artists. Anyway, let's have a look at the highlights.
The Performances:
We saw a bit of a varied setlist when it came to the performances. We had Alt J, who performed Cold Blood, off their 2017 Mercury nominated album, Relaxer as well as a collaboration of Stefflon Don and Skepta. We also had newcomers, Pale Waves, who performed their debut single, There's a Honey, taken from their EP All The Things I Never Said.
Finally, we had the man himself Liam Gallagher who performed a collection of songs, from Oasis hits, such as Rock and Roll Star and What's the Story (Morning Glory). He also performed songs from his album As You Were, such as Wall Of Glass.
The ceremony itself.
There was a reason why Liam Gallagher had the honour of performing a collection of hits: he was awarded the prestigious Godlike Genius award. (I would just like to thank the NME for doing this because it meant I could give this blog post a good title!). When receiving the award, he thanked his mum, fans and...erm...no..not Noel, surprise surprise! Oh and just to prove that he well and truly hates his brother, he said Noel was as bad as...err...Donald Trump...
Someone else who has had a long running career is Shirley Manson, the lead singer of Garbage (who I learnt on NME awards night were Scottish...I thought they were American!). She won the Icon Award and used her award to speak up about women not being afraid of using their platform to speak up about issues that are important to them.
Elsewhere, regarding others that performed, Alt-J won best British Band, beating the likes of Kasabian, Wolf Alice, The XX and Bastille. Meanwhile, Pale Waves and Stefflon Don won awards dedicated to those who had recently, or are just, breaking into the music industry, winning the NME Under the Radar and Best New Artist awards respectively. Furthermore, Boy Better Know won the innovation award.
Kasabian may have lost out to Alt-J in the Best British Band but they did manage to win best live band and I'm not surprised. I'm not a massive fan of them but I have seen them perform at festivals (on television) and they do put on a good show so I do believe they were worthy winners.
Speaking of festivals, the winners of best festival headliners were Muse, for their 2017 Reading and Leeds set. The speech included obligatory thank yous along with Dom Howard stating that Skepta, Stormzy, Haim or Charli XCX should be festival headliners in the future. Also, fans of Muse may want to prepare themselves...in an interview backstage, they have started talking about possible ideas for a tour as well as the possibility of a new album in the not so distant future... In terms of best festival, there was only one winner...of course it was Glastonbury.
In terms of songs, Charli XCX won Best Track for Boys and Bastille and Craig David won Best Collaboration for I Know You, which if you know me, I was very happy about. Additionally, newish band, The Big Moon, won the best music video for Sucker. Bouff Daddy hitmaker, J Hus, won best album for Common Sense, which was nominated for the 2017 Mercury Prize and is a nominee for the Best British Album at the 2018 Brit Awards.
However, the thing that I am most happy about is the winner of the Music Moment of 2017 and there was only one correct winner in my eyes...and it won. The event? One Love Manchester of course. The massive concert, which Ariana Grande organised, brought people together and provided comfort to everyone after the horrific event at Manchester Arena. Oh and the hero of the year? Ariana Grande of course.
Finally, during the show, there was a heartfelt tribute to Mark E. Smith, the lead singer of The Fall, who died just a few weeks before the awards, aged 60. It featured classic quotes from Smith, as well as a speech from his wife, Brix Smith Start.
Well...there you have it...my run-down and thoughts on the most rock and roll night of the year.
Here's to next year's!
Em x
Saturday, 17 February 2018
Actors and Actresses who have also done some singing!
Recently, The Greatest Showman, a musical starring Hugh Jackman, Zac Efron and Michelle Williams among others was released. Nominated for three golden globes (winning one for Best original song) and getting a Academy Award (Oscars) nomination for the same category. That song in question was This is Me by Settle.
The film and particularly the soundtrack was a success (the soundtrack is currently enjoying a 5th week at number 1 on the UK albums chart) and featured singing from a generally non-singing cast and this got me thinking...which other actors and actresses have also tried their hand at singing?
1. Meryl Streep
Meryl had previously done a bit of singing in the classic (but weird film), Death Becomes Her. However, it was in the film adaptation of hit musical Mamma Mia that she had the chance to really show off her vocals.
She landed the coveted role of Donna and sang many Abba hits, including Mamma Mia and Money, Money, Money and surprised me (and probably a lot of people) with her very good vocals.
Since Mamma Mia, she also starred in Into the Woods, which was also a musical but she didn't have a massive singing part compared to her previous role. However, it is interesting to note that she became a recent meme, where a picture at an awards show of her shouting about something was accompanied with song lyrics in capitals, as if it was her belting them out. Was this the internet's way of saying Ms Streep needs more singing roles? I think so!
2. Arielle Vandenberg
She's known for being on Vine, being an actress, with small roles in things including The Ugly Truth, How I Met Your Mother and Nerve, and for being OBSESSED with Justin Bieber (she has dressed up as him twice for Halloween) but did you know that Arielle Vandenberg is also a good singer?
In December 2017, she decided that she would wish her 1.1 million Instagram followers a Merry Christmas by singing some Christmas classics, such as All I Want For Christmas is You, Chestnuts Roasting On an Open Fire and Santa Baby and she was good! Now, where do I start a petition to get Arielle to sing more on her Instagram?.
3. James Corden
For me and my fellow Brits, he will always be known as Smithy from Gavin and Stacey but nowadays he is a fully fledged TV host in America. But what you probably didn't know about James Corden is that he is also an occasional singer.
One notable project that allows Corden to show of his vocals is his popular segment during his show, Carpool Karaoke, where he invites some of the world's biggest stars to sing with him and talk about their careers. Celebrities have included Foo Fighters, Lady Gaga, One Direction and Sam Smith. Furthermore, he has also accompanied Gary Barlow on stage to duet on Take That's hit single Pray and duetted with Kylie Minogue on her Christmas album, covering Only You.
In addition to this, like Meryl Streep, he also starred in Into the Woods, giving the chance for him to show what a good vocalist he is.
4. Anne Hathaway
Ok, she played Mia Thermopolis in the film adaptation of The Princess Diaries but what do you think her other well known role was? Apart from Andrea from The Devil Wears Prada? Well, I'm sure if you ask a lot of people, they'll say this is her role as Fantine in Les Miserables. As part of her role, she got to sing, probably, the most famous song in the musical, I Dreamed a Dream, her vocals really showing the true emotion that was needed during this scene. You may be interested to know that to prepare for her role, she cut her hair for real. For the role, she won a Golden Globe and an Oscar for best supporting actress.
Les Miserables is not the only film that allowed Ms Hathaway to showcase her vocals. In Ella Enchanted, she starred as the lead role and performed covers of Somebody to Love, by Queen, and Don't Go Breaking My Heart, by Elton John and Kiki Dee.
However, I think we can all agree that I Dreamed a Dream was her best performance.
5. Ryan Gosling
In the smash hit, La La Land, Gosling was cast as the lead, Sebastian along with Emma Roberts who was picked to play his love interest, Mia. Despite his early start into stardom, when he was part of the Mickey Mouse Club, this is his first all singing and all dancing role.
Within the film, Gosling sang two songs: A Lovely Night and City of Stars, with the latter being later repeated in the form of a duet with Emma Stone. His singing must have been good as City Of Stars was nominated for, and won Best Original Score and Best Original Song at the Oscars. The film itself also kind of won Best Film...the less said about that the better...
Anyway, further success was that the album hit number 2 on the Billboard US albums chart and number 1 on the UK album chart. Hmmm...it seems that Ryan Gosling may want to be in another role that involves singing...
6. Seth MacFarlane
Seth MacFarlane is known for three main things; Family Guy, American Dad and Ted but if you're a regular Family Guy viewer, you will know that there are some songs featured in the show, mainly sung by Brian and Stewie, who just so happen to be voiced by MacFarlane himself.
However, Family Guy isn't the only thing he has done, which involves singing. He has also recorded his own albums, including a Frank Sinatra tribute album and a Family Guy album. Along with Christmas Time is Killing Us, a song recorded for a Christmas episode of Family Guy, his albums have been nominated for Grammy Awards multiple times. He also received an Oscar Nomination for Everybody Needs a Best Friend from hit comedy, Ted.
It seems that Seth should continue his singing, whether it's as part of his roles or as himself, judging by those award nominations!
7. Anna Kendrick
The first glimpse we got of Anna Kendrick's acting career was way back in 2008, when she played Bella's friend, Jessica, in Twilight. "Seriously?! Twilight came out 10 years ago?!" I hear you yell. Yep, I know shocking right! Anyway, Ms Kendrick soon got the chance to bag a lead role herself, in the form of Becca in comedy, Pitch Perfect. As part of her role, she performed a number of covers, including Simple Minds' Don't You Forget About Me, and the cup song, which involved her singing When I'm Gone, from The Carter Family, whilst doing the beat using a sequence of movements with cups intertwined with claps.
It seemed her songs within the film were popular, with Cups being released as a single and entering at number 71 in the UK singles chart. As for Anna Kendrick? Well, she has since starred in Into the Woods (there seems to be a pattern within this blog post!) and two other Pitch Perfect films. I wonder whether she will get asked to perform in more singing roles?
8. Kate Winslet
I bet everyone has started thinking "Did she once sing My Heart Will Go On, and we didn't know about it?" Erm...unfortunately, that's not quite where I'm going with this. However, she has done some singing.
Way back in 2001, A Christmas Carol- The Movie (yes...another version of the Christmas classic) was released in cinemas and Winslet voiced Scrooge's first love, Belle. However, she had an additional role in the movie...she provided the film's song as well! Called What If?, it was a surprise hit, giving Winslet her first (as far as I know) top 10 hit in the UK, entering at number in the UK singles chart.
Now, considering it's 20 years since THAT movie came out, I think we need a cover of My Heart Will Go On...
9. Cameron Diaz
I feel like Cameron Diaz has been in everything...What To Expect When You're Expecting, The Holiday, Charlie's Angels and What Happens in Vegas among others. Some of her films have required her to go out of her comfort zone: singing.
In the latest adaptation of Annie, Diaz had the chance to add another string to her bow, playing the awful Miss Hannigan. Singing classic Annie songs, Little Girls and Easy Street, Diaz proved that singing is her forte.
So...considering she's had the chance to show off her singing skills...will she have the chance to do any more singing in future roles?
10. Jack Black
I couldn't really have an "Actors and Actresses who have also done some singing" list without Jack Black. Yes, nowadays he is probably known, particularly among kids, as voicing a panda called Po in Kung Fu Panda but for those who love movies from early noughties, he is known for his role as an eccentric guy who just wants to educate everyone around him about good music...yep I'm talking about his lead role as Dewey Finn in the School of Rock.
During the film, Jack Black sang and played small bits of guitar. However, this isn't the only time that he has tried his hand at music...he's in an actual band! Yep...along with Kyle Glass, Black is in a band called Tenacious D and has released 3 albums, with the most recent being last released in 2012.
Of course, Jack Black now focuses mainly on acting these days but who knows...maybe we'll get another Tenacious D album in the future?
I hope you enjoyed reading this. See you soon.
Em x
The film and particularly the soundtrack was a success (the soundtrack is currently enjoying a 5th week at number 1 on the UK albums chart) and featured singing from a generally non-singing cast and this got me thinking...which other actors and actresses have also tried their hand at singing?
1. Meryl Streep
Meryl had previously done a bit of singing in the classic (but weird film), Death Becomes Her. However, it was in the film adaptation of hit musical Mamma Mia that she had the chance to really show off her vocals.
She landed the coveted role of Donna and sang many Abba hits, including Mamma Mia and Money, Money, Money and surprised me (and probably a lot of people) with her very good vocals.
Since Mamma Mia, she also starred in Into the Woods, which was also a musical but she didn't have a massive singing part compared to her previous role. However, it is interesting to note that she became a recent meme, where a picture at an awards show of her shouting about something was accompanied with song lyrics in capitals, as if it was her belting them out. Was this the internet's way of saying Ms Streep needs more singing roles? I think so!
2. Arielle Vandenberg
She's known for being on Vine, being an actress, with small roles in things including The Ugly Truth, How I Met Your Mother and Nerve, and for being OBSESSED with Justin Bieber (she has dressed up as him twice for Halloween) but did you know that Arielle Vandenberg is also a good singer?
In December 2017, she decided that she would wish her 1.1 million Instagram followers a Merry Christmas by singing some Christmas classics, such as All I Want For Christmas is You, Chestnuts Roasting On an Open Fire and Santa Baby and she was good! Now, where do I start a petition to get Arielle to sing more on her Instagram?.
3. James Corden
For me and my fellow Brits, he will always be known as Smithy from Gavin and Stacey but nowadays he is a fully fledged TV host in America. But what you probably didn't know about James Corden is that he is also an occasional singer.
One notable project that allows Corden to show of his vocals is his popular segment during his show, Carpool Karaoke, where he invites some of the world's biggest stars to sing with him and talk about their careers. Celebrities have included Foo Fighters, Lady Gaga, One Direction and Sam Smith. Furthermore, he has also accompanied Gary Barlow on stage to duet on Take That's hit single Pray and duetted with Kylie Minogue on her Christmas album, covering Only You.
In addition to this, like Meryl Streep, he also starred in Into the Woods, giving the chance for him to show what a good vocalist he is.
4. Anne Hathaway
Ok, she played Mia Thermopolis in the film adaptation of The Princess Diaries but what do you think her other well known role was? Apart from Andrea from The Devil Wears Prada? Well, I'm sure if you ask a lot of people, they'll say this is her role as Fantine in Les Miserables. As part of her role, she got to sing, probably, the most famous song in the musical, I Dreamed a Dream, her vocals really showing the true emotion that was needed during this scene. You may be interested to know that to prepare for her role, she cut her hair for real. For the role, she won a Golden Globe and an Oscar for best supporting actress.
Les Miserables is not the only film that allowed Ms Hathaway to showcase her vocals. In Ella Enchanted, she starred as the lead role and performed covers of Somebody to Love, by Queen, and Don't Go Breaking My Heart, by Elton John and Kiki Dee.
However, I think we can all agree that I Dreamed a Dream was her best performance.
5. Ryan Gosling
In the smash hit, La La Land, Gosling was cast as the lead, Sebastian along with Emma Roberts who was picked to play his love interest, Mia. Despite his early start into stardom, when he was part of the Mickey Mouse Club, this is his first all singing and all dancing role.
Within the film, Gosling sang two songs: A Lovely Night and City of Stars, with the latter being later repeated in the form of a duet with Emma Stone. His singing must have been good as City Of Stars was nominated for, and won Best Original Score and Best Original Song at the Oscars. The film itself also kind of won Best Film...the less said about that the better...
Anyway, further success was that the album hit number 2 on the Billboard US albums chart and number 1 on the UK album chart. Hmmm...it seems that Ryan Gosling may want to be in another role that involves singing...
6. Seth MacFarlane
Seth MacFarlane is known for three main things; Family Guy, American Dad and Ted but if you're a regular Family Guy viewer, you will know that there are some songs featured in the show, mainly sung by Brian and Stewie, who just so happen to be voiced by MacFarlane himself.
However, Family Guy isn't the only thing he has done, which involves singing. He has also recorded his own albums, including a Frank Sinatra tribute album and a Family Guy album. Along with Christmas Time is Killing Us, a song recorded for a Christmas episode of Family Guy, his albums have been nominated for Grammy Awards multiple times. He also received an Oscar Nomination for Everybody Needs a Best Friend from hit comedy, Ted.
It seems that Seth should continue his singing, whether it's as part of his roles or as himself, judging by those award nominations!
7. Anna Kendrick
The first glimpse we got of Anna Kendrick's acting career was way back in 2008, when she played Bella's friend, Jessica, in Twilight. "Seriously?! Twilight came out 10 years ago?!" I hear you yell. Yep, I know shocking right! Anyway, Ms Kendrick soon got the chance to bag a lead role herself, in the form of Becca in comedy, Pitch Perfect. As part of her role, she performed a number of covers, including Simple Minds' Don't You Forget About Me, and the cup song, which involved her singing When I'm Gone, from The Carter Family, whilst doing the beat using a sequence of movements with cups intertwined with claps.
It seemed her songs within the film were popular, with Cups being released as a single and entering at number 71 in the UK singles chart. As for Anna Kendrick? Well, she has since starred in Into the Woods (there seems to be a pattern within this blog post!) and two other Pitch Perfect films. I wonder whether she will get asked to perform in more singing roles?
8. Kate Winslet
I bet everyone has started thinking "Did she once sing My Heart Will Go On, and we didn't know about it?" Erm...unfortunately, that's not quite where I'm going with this. However, she has done some singing.
Way back in 2001, A Christmas Carol- The Movie (yes...another version of the Christmas classic) was released in cinemas and Winslet voiced Scrooge's first love, Belle. However, she had an additional role in the movie...she provided the film's song as well! Called What If?, it was a surprise hit, giving Winslet her first (as far as I know) top 10 hit in the UK, entering at number in the UK singles chart.
Now, considering it's 20 years since THAT movie came out, I think we need a cover of My Heart Will Go On...
9. Cameron Diaz
I feel like Cameron Diaz has been in everything...What To Expect When You're Expecting, The Holiday, Charlie's Angels and What Happens in Vegas among others. Some of her films have required her to go out of her comfort zone: singing.
In the latest adaptation of Annie, Diaz had the chance to add another string to her bow, playing the awful Miss Hannigan. Singing classic Annie songs, Little Girls and Easy Street, Diaz proved that singing is her forte.
So...considering she's had the chance to show off her singing skills...will she have the chance to do any more singing in future roles?
10. Jack Black
I couldn't really have an "Actors and Actresses who have also done some singing" list without Jack Black. Yes, nowadays he is probably known, particularly among kids, as voicing a panda called Po in Kung Fu Panda but for those who love movies from early noughties, he is known for his role as an eccentric guy who just wants to educate everyone around him about good music...yep I'm talking about his lead role as Dewey Finn in the School of Rock.
During the film, Jack Black sang and played small bits of guitar. However, this isn't the only time that he has tried his hand at music...he's in an actual band! Yep...along with Kyle Glass, Black is in a band called Tenacious D and has released 3 albums, with the most recent being last released in 2012.
Of course, Jack Black now focuses mainly on acting these days but who knows...maybe we'll get another Tenacious D album in the future?
I hope you enjoyed reading this. See you soon.
Em x
Saturday, 13 January 2018
A-Z of 2017
It's time for my annual Review of the Year. I have to admit, 2017 was so much better than 2016 from the word go...there were less celebrity deaths for a start!
I had a good sit down and think about how to make this review of the year different to last year's and, in turn, make it more interesting. Then, I had a lightbulb moment...
So...I introduce to you...the A-Z of 2017!
A is for...Auditions
"Auditions? What do you mean auditions?" I hear you yell at me. Hear me out...
If there is one thing that the UK loves, it is reality TV. Among the many Reality shows that the UK has, we have two that aim to find the next big star...The X Factor and Britain's Got Talent.
Britain's Got Talent aims to find someone that would be good enough to perform at The Royal Variety Performance, a yearly occasion where the best of British come together to put on a show, which is attended by members of the Royal Family. In terms of auditions, there were many that didn't live up to the standard but, among others that would have been good enough, in stepped Tokio Meyers.
Tokio came on and blew the judges away with his performance of Debussy's Clair de Lune, mashed up with Ed Sheeran's Bloodstream. This earned him a place in the live semi-finals. He eventually made the final, where he performed a classical version of Human by Rag n Bone Man and won it. Since then, he's performed at The Royal Variety Performance, released his own album, Our Generation, reaching number 4 in the UK album charts and performed in and co-produced A Bridge Over Troubled Water, a cover of the Simon and Garfunkel classic, raising money for victims of the Grenfell Fire.
Meanwhile, on The X Factor, a four piece boyband, by the name of Rak-Su injected some much needed originality when they, among many others, auditioned with an original song, I'm Feeling You. They got yeses from all 4 judges, putting them through to bootcamp. After this, they managed to get through all the next rounds, including the dreaded six chair challenge and got through to the live shows, where they eventually won. They released their new single Dimelo, featuring Naught Boy and Wyclef Jean, and it reached number 2 in the UK singles Chart. Oh, and in case you're wondering, it was Ed Sheeran that beat them to the number one spot.
B is for BRITs.
Every year, the BRIT Awards is a chance for some of the best British and International talent come together and 2017 was no exception. The 2017 ceremony saw the first performance of the Stormzy version of Shape of You, when he joined Ed Sheeran to perform the track. It also saw a poignant tribute to George Michael, who sadly died on Christmas Day 2016. The tribute featured Chris Martin, from Coldplay, "duetting" with George Michael who was shown on a massive TV screen, on the beautiful track A Different Corner. This duet was later featured in the documentary about George's life, Freedom.
In terms of who won what, Little Mix had a reason to celebrate as they won their first Brit Award; Best British Single for Shout Out to My Ex, which was hilariously up against Zayn's Pillowtalk. Of course, fans will know that Zayn Malik just happens to be Perrie Edwards' ex! Elsewhere, David Bowie won the Best British Male and the Best British album award, for Blackstar posthumously.
C is for...Coachella
Ok...we have Glastonbury but let's touch upon the other massive moment in the festival calendar: Coachella.
Whilst Glastonbury is known for wellies and rain, Coachella is known for Boho festival chic, sun and the hottest celebs around attending, such as the Jenner sisters, the Hadid sisters and other high profile models, actors and actresses and singers.
Anyway...what about the singers on stage? Coachella 2017 had a strong start, with Radiohead, Beyonce and Kendrick Lamar. There was also additional performers in the form of Father John Misty, Lorde, Bon Ivor, The Avalanches and The XX.
However, it soon emerged that Beyonce was pregnant with twins so she had to drop out. There were lots of rumours swirling around about who would replace her. But who actually got the coveted headline slot? Step forward the brilliantly bonkers Lady Gaga! She had had a great 2017 so far: She headlined the Super Bowl, which has been viewed about 38 million times (one of those views was my own because of the UK and USA time difference) on YouTube so I think it was only right that she'd be chosen to headline Coachella.
Unfortunately, due to the time difference between the UK and the USA, I couldn't watch the show, and from what I read in many a music publication, I seriously missed out!
D is for...Dua Lipa
One of the rising stars of 2017 was Dua Lipa. She started the year with being nominated for a critics choice award at the BRITs. Despite being pipped to the post by Rag n Bone Man for this award, Dua still had success, with her single, New Rules being at number 1 in the UK singles chart for 2 weeks, in the early summer of 2017. Furthermore, her new self-titled debut album, Due Lipa hit the top 10 at number 5 on the UK chart. Dua rounded off a successful 2017 by becoming the most streamed female artist in the UK on Spotify and was named as a performer at the BRITs 2018!
E is for... Ed Sheeran
2017 was the year of Ed Sheeran. Having taken a year out from social media and from his career in general, he teased his return in late 2016/early 2017 when he posted a video on his social media that new music was coming. He then released his new album, Divide and we never heard from him again...
Erm...this is Ed Sheeran we're talking about! The album went straight to number 1 in the UK album charts and it was there for 19 non-consecutive weeks. giving Ed his 3rd number one album, meaning all his studio LPs reached number 1. Every single track of the album entered the UK top 20 and Shape of You became the most streamed track on Spotify, stayed at number 1 for a whopping 14(!) weeks on the UK singles chart. Furthermore, he bagged the coveted headline slot at Glastonbury, collaborated with Eminem on his most recent single River, and managed to gain cameos in Game Of Thrones and The Simpsons, with the latter being aired in early 2018. He is also due to go on a massive stadium world tour in 2018, which, unfortunately, is sold out.
F is for...Foo Fighters
Music fans who descended onto the Glastonbury Festival site in 2015 were very disappointed when they learned that Dave Grohl had broken his leg, causing the Foo Fighters to cancel their headline slot. Now...okay Florence and the Machine did a great job as a replacement but fans rejoiced when the Foos announced they would be headliners in 2017. They performed a fantastic set, including their latest song Run, and a cover of Queen's Under Pressure, which featured Grohl on the drums, proving that it was worth the wait.
G is for... Grammys
Due to how many categories the Grammys have, I don't do predictions or a full review. However, seeing as the Grammys are one of the biggest music events in America, it was only right that I included them in this A-Z.
Beyonce was the person with the most nominations (9!) but the biggest winner of the night? Adele of course. She won a total of five awards, including Record of the Year for Hello and Album of the Year for smash hit album 25. Whilst being awarded for these prizes, Adele thanked Beyonce and said that Beyonce should have won a Grammy for her visual album, Lemonade. She also performed Fastlove in tribute to George Michael. Meanwhile, David Bowie won 4 posthumous awards, including Best Rock Song and Best Rock Performance for Blackstar.
H is for...Humanz
2017 was the year of comebacks and none of the comebacks were as long awaited as the Gorillaz. The Damon Albarn and Jamie Hewlett cartoon band last released their album The Fall in 2010. As early as 2015, there were hints the band were back after cartoon storyboards based on the Gorillaz were posted on the band's Twitter page. unfortunately, fans had to wait until January 2017, where the first track off the album, Hallelujah Money, a collaboration with Benjamin Clementine dropped on Uproxx's Youtube Channel.
The album was a success but it just missed the top spot thanks to a certain Mr. Ed Sheeran. However, they did get the number 2 spot, making Humanz their fourth top 10 hit. In addition, they had a sold out tour, so it wasn't too bad for Albarn and co.
I is for...It's time to announce the winner!
Every year, a group of judges from the music world, such as Clara Amfo (Radio 1 DJ), Jamie Cullum, Ella Eyre and Mista Jam (Radio 1 DJ) come together to determine which critically acclaimed albums should be nominated for the Mercury Music Prize. Artists who received nominations include Blossoms, Ed Sheeran (it's 2017 so obviously!), The XX, The Big Moon and Stormzy. Ultimately, it Sampha who won with his album, Process. He won a winners trophy (all nominees win a nomination trophy) and £25,000. Now, Sampha fans are just waiting with bated breath for a new album. Let's hope it is as good as the debut.
You can read a more detailed review of the Mercury Music Prize here.
J is for...Just want to introduce you to the newbies!
Every year we see brand new artists emerging into the spotlight and 2017 was no different. We had the likes of Stefflon Don, who released her hit Hurtin', Mabel, who's song Finders Keepers got almost 20 million views on YouTube and Jorja Smith, who had featured on Drake's song More Life. These artists were all nominated for the Critic's Choice Award for the 2018 Brit Awards, with Jorja Smith being announced as the eventual winner. We expect that we'll hear big things from her in 2018.
Elsewhere, Cardi B stepped into the limelight with her smash hit (but explicit!) song Bodak Yellow. It entered at number 24 in the UK singles chart. Meanwhile, across the pond in her home country, Cardi B broke the record for being the first female rapper to top the Billboard chart since Lauryn Hill in 1996. Furthermore, she also had the longest run at being number one on the Billboard chart, with Bodak Yellow, which was 5 weeks. Taylor Swift also managed that milestone with Look What You Made Me Do.
K is for...The Killers
The Killers returned to welcome arms by fans when they released their album Wonderful Wonderful. Their last album was released back in 2012 so I think a new album was well overdue don't you? Anyway, Wonderful Wonderful entered the UK album charts at number 1 and their comeback single, The Man was a new entry at number 63. I would have liked to have seen it further up the chart because it's a good song.
Despite this, The Killers proved to be still popular when their Wonderful Wonderful UK tour sold out. Also, when they were announced as the secret act performing in the King Tut's tent at Glastonbury, it got so full that the organisers had to stop people from entering the tent!
L is for...Lorde
Lorde is another musician who was a long awaited comeback. However, 2017 was the time for Lorde to do it. The last time Lorde had released an album was 2013, with Pure Heroine.
In early 2017, Lorde showcased a website called imwaitingforit.com, which coincidentally includes a lyric of Green Light ("I'm waiting for it, that Green Light I want it"). It was then that Green Light was released in early March 2017. In the UK singles chart, it hit the number 20 spot.
When it came to the album, the tittle of the album, Melodrama was announced on the 2nd of March. Regarding the Charts, Melodrama became a top 10 hit in the UK, debuting at number 5. In the USA, the album hit number one on the Billboard top 100, whilst also being announced as nomination for album of the Year at the 2018 Grammys.
M is for...Manchester
Let's be honest...as soon as I got to M, I immediately thought of Manchester. On May 22nd, everyone was shocked by the news that a bomb had gone off just after Ariana Grande had finished her concert at the Manchester Arena. 22 people died during this horrific event. In addition, there were many people with serious injuries.
Following the event, Ariana Grande announced that a benefit concert was to be organised and it occurred on 4th June, known as One Love Manchester. During the event, which Ariana put together, there was a list packed with well known and loved artists, such as Take That, Little Mix, Coldplay, Justin Bieber and lots more, including, of course, Ariana Grande herself. There was even a special guest, in the form of Liam Gallagher. One of the highlights was Coldplay and Ariana Grande performing what has become Manchester's anthem since the disaster: Don't Look Back In Anger.
A massive 13 million viewers watched this live and I'm sure that number would be higher if we included the live views on Twitter, Facebook and Youtube. In addition, £2.35 million was raised for the Manchester Benefit fund during the event, giving proof that music is a wonderful tool for bringing people together.
N is for...Nile Rogers
I know you're probably thinking that Nile Rogers hasn't really done much regarding music but I still think we should mention him. During the summer, Nile, along with the band Chic were one of the acts at Glastonbury that was seen as one of the highlights. Playing all of Chic's greatest hits, including Le Freak and Good Times. The band and Nile also performed songs that Nile had helped to write including Let's Dance, by David Bowie, Upside Down, by Diana Ross and the summer smash hit of 2013, Get Lucky by Daft Punk featuring Pharrel, which Rogers also played the guitar on. The set was so popular that the BBC asked them to return to headline the New Year's Eve celebrations before we entered 2018.
O is for...One Direction
Before you get excited, One Direction did not re-unite. However, 2017 was the year that the other 4 boys emerged with solo careers (Zayn had already done this in 2016). Harry Styles released Sign of the Times and his debut album called erm...Harry Styles, which was met with critical claim, with many critics noticing how much more mature his solo sound his compared to 1D. Both single and album reached number 1 in the UK charts.
Niall Horan was also another 1D member who did a jump from being a member of a boyband to being a solo star. He had already previously released a song called This Town in 2016 but in 2017, his career really set off. He released his second song, Slow Hands in May 2017 and his third, Too Much to Ask in September 2017 and these songs entered the UK singles charts at number 7 and number 24 respectively. He also released his album Flicker, which reached number 3 in the UK album charts.
Louis Tomlinson, like Niall and Zayn, had already had a song out in 2016, a collaboration with DJ Steve Aoki, called Just Hold On, which he bravely performed on The X Factor days after his mum passed away. Fast forward to August 2017, Louis released Back to You, a collaboration with Bebe Rhexa and Digital farm, which became Louis' second top 10 solo hit entering at number 8 in the UK singles chart. He also released two other songs that didn't do quite so well in the charts, Just Like You and Miss You (He likes the word 'You' in his song titles doesn't he?) and they entered at number 99 and number 39 in the UK singles charts respectively.
Liam Payne was the last of the 1D boys to release a solo single, purely because he had additional activity in his life...he welcomed a baby with Cheryl Cole (yes...I'm still calling her this as everyone knows her by this name and no...I did not see the romance or the baby coming). Anyway, he released Strip that Down in June and Bedroom Floor in November and seems that they were both popular, with Strip That Down entering at number 3 and Bedroom Floor at number 21 in the UK Singles charts.
In terms of albums, it could be possible that Louis and Liam release their albums in 2018 so I would keep your eyes peeled.
P is for...Pink
Pink last released a song in 2016, Just Like Fire, for the Alice in Wonderland: Through the Looking Glass film but she last released a complete album in 2012, The Truth About Love. Therefore, fans rejoiced when Pink announced her comeback.
What About Us was released in mid August and it seemed that Pink was as popular as ever as it enters the UK singles chart at number 3, giving Pink her 19th (!) top 10 hit. She also released the title track of her album Beautiful Trauma and Revenge, a collaboration with Eminem. In the meantime, her album, Beautiful Trauma entered the UK albums chart at number 1. It seems that Pink has had a welcome return!
Q is for...Queen Bey
Of course, Beyonce had to be in this purely because she decided to drop a surprise on us (or should I say surprises!) when she firstly announced that she would be headlining Coachella. However, shortly after announcing this, she revealed she had "been blessed two times over" (Translations: she's pregnant with twins.) so she had to cancel Coachella. She revealed in July that she had given birth to Sir and Rumi in June.
Despite having twins, she still had time to record some songs for release. She featured on Eminem''s comeback single, Walk on Water, which reached number 7 in the UK singles chart. She also released Die With You and DJ Khalid released Shining, which she featured on with her husband, Jay-Z and these reached number 62 and number 71 in the UK singles chart respectively.
R is for...Rag n Bone Man
One of the stand out stars from 2017 HAS to be Rag N Bone Man. He started the year winning the Critic'a Choice award at the BRITS, which had previously been won by Sam Smith, Adele, Ellie Goulding and Florence and the Machine, meaning he was destined for success from the word go.
At the actual 2017 BRIT awards ceremony (the winner of the Critic's Choice award is announced before the ceremony), he won the Best British Breakthrough award and later in the same week, he released his debut album Human. Human debuted at number one on the UK album chart, the same number his debut single of the same name entered on the UK singles chart in 2016. In addition, he had further success with the single Skin, which entered the UK singles chart at number 13 in 2017.
In addition to his chart success, he also had slots at Glastonbury and Radio 1's Big Weekend and his debut tour sold out pretty quickly. Oh...and he had a baby as well. I think we can all agree that 2017 was a great year for Rag n Bone Man!
S is for...Sam Smith
Sam Smith hadn't released an album since 2014, which the smash hit In the Lonely Hour and since then, the only sign that Sam was back in the studio was when he revealed that he was the singer that got the job every singer wanted to have...the owner of a James Bond song. However, there was still no sign of a new album...until June 2017 when he posted a picture on his social media of him in a recording studio. On the 8th September, Smith released Too Good at Goodbyes, followed by the album, The Thrill Of It All. Both album and single went to number one, and Too Good at Goodbyes also made it to number one in Australia, proving that despite taking a break, Sam is still as popular as ever. You can read more about the return of Sam here.
T is for...Taylor Swift
Taylor Swift had a not so great 2016, mainly because of all the problems she had with Kanye West and Kim Kardashian (Long story: essentially Kanye and Kim claimed that Taylor was lying when she said she didn't approve a Kanye lyric within his song Famous). Therefore, she decided that she would take a break from music. However, fast forward to the summer of 2017: Swift deleted her instagram photos and started posting clips of snakes, causing mass hysteria among Swifities. Finally, on 25th August, she announced that her new single, later revealed to be called Look What You Made Me Do, was to be released on the 26th August. The video for this song courted controversy, purely because there were references to Kim Kardashian's robbery in Paris, Katy Perry, which she had a very public falling out with and her exes, Calvin Harris and Tom Hiddleston. The attention the video got helped the songstress to get her first number one in the UK. Her album, Reputation, also became her third number one album in the UK. You can read more about her comeback here.
U is for...Underdog
We had a lot of comebacks and one of the comebacks was the band that brought you the song Underdog...yep I'm talking about Kasabian. Speculation that the band were possibly releasing an album very soon was when the band posted an image on their social media showing a notebook with album tracks crossed out (presumably to keep the element of surprise for fans), along with the message "album's done, SP x" in February 2017. Sure enough, the title was soon revealed as For Crying Out Loud along with the reveal of a new single, You're in Love With a Psycho. For Crying Out Loud was released in May and headed straight to number 1 in the UK albums chart. Meanwhile, the Leicester lads were announced to be headlining Reading and Leeds as well as the TRNSMT festival in Glasgow. Their song, King Ray II was also the theme song for Russell Howard's new show, The Russell Howard Hour. (Russell Howard is a British comedian).
V is for...Very annoying!
Every year, we seem to get that one song where the more you hear it, the more you want to never hear it again. A few examples: 2012 had Psy's Gangnam Style. 2016 had Drake's One Dance. 2017's annoying song? Despacito by Luis Fonsi feat. Daddy Yankee and Justin Bieber. The problem with all these songs is that they are seriously catchy so every time you hear it, despite it being annoying, you can't help but sing along to (well...try and sing along to if you can't speak Spanish like me!) Despite debuting at number 4 in the UK singles charts, it later became number 1 for 11 weeks! It also became the first video on YouTube to reach 4 billion views...to put it into perspective that is more than Gangnam Style! No wonder it got so annoying for me.
W is for...Wonderland
There was a big hint that Take That were returning when they announced an album would be released, along with tour dates, in late 2016. In February 2017, they gave us a snippet of what their new album will sound like, in the form of Giants, which got to number 13 on the UK singles chart. The album, Wonderland, was released shortly after, in March 2017, just in time for their Wonderland tour, which I was lucky to go to (see review here). By the way, if you've never seen a Take That show, I highly recommend that you get a ticket when they next go on tour as they are probably one of the best live bands around. However, good luck getting a ticket as they are very popular.
X is for... X Factor Alumni
2017 saw singles and albums by various X Factor alumni being released. Not only did we see the return of One Direction (Kind of...see O is for...One Direction above), we also saw releases from James Arthur, in the form of his collaboration with Rudimental on Sun Comes Up, which entered at number 6 on the UK singles chart, and Naked, which was released in December. Naked just missed the top 10, debuting at number 11 on the UK singles chart.
James Arthur and the 1D boys aren't the only ones who released songs in 2017...Olly Murs and Louisa Johnson both collaborated on a version of Olly's track, Unpredictable. Louisa even joined Olly on his summer tour as a support act. Olly himself went on a Spring tour, playing all the major cities in the UK. I was lucky enough to go and see him on this tour with my sister and two very good friends of mine. He was fantastic and you can read more about this show here.
Finally, Little Mix continued their domination in the Girl Band market. They released three singles in 2017: No More Sad Songs, Power, which had guest vocals from Stormzy and Reggaento Lento, which also had vocals from CNCO. The latter may have been influenced by Despacito, as it was of a similar style. No More Sad Songs entered the UK singles chart at number 15 whereas the other 2 singles entered the UK singles chart at number 6 and number 5 respectively.
Y is for...Young people aren't the only people going to Glastonbury!
When you think of UK festivals, what image springs to mind? For me, particularly when it comes to Glastonbury, I imagine lots of (mainly) young people descending upon the famed Somerset site to watch their favourite bands, spend time with their friends, to celebrate the end of exams and have a well deserved break before they start University, College or whatever they want to do after GCSEs or A Levels. This, along with celebrities, such as Alexa Chung, Nick Grimshaw and Caroline Flack attending is what image springs to mind when I think of Glastonbury.
This is why I was pleasantly surprised when my parents told me they were going to Glastonbury. Yep..my Mum and Dad, along with some of their friends attended the festival and they loved it. However, some of that may be to do with the fact they were glamping. I was quite jealous that they got to see Blossoms and Ed Sheeran live (in terms of Ed...they saw him very briefly!) but I still got to watch them both back home on the live stream. (Hey...let's be honest...it's is better to see musicians live properly though isn't it?) My Dad's highlight was seeing one of his favourite bands live, the Foo Fighters, and among my parents' other highlights were Rag n Bone Man, Chic and Barry Gibb. Oh and in case you're wondering...they would go back!
Z is for...Z list
Love Island was a UK summer hit reality TV show. Basically, if you don't know what it is, it is a show where single people live on an island, whilst also being encouraged to couple up and strike up a romance. However, one pair of contestants struck up a bromance...meet Chris and Kem.
They developed a such a strong bromance and huge popularity that when Stormzy got involved and even starred on the show to say hi to the contestants, he mentioned that he could see himself collaborating with Chris and Kem on a rap record. It was rumoured that after the show, Chris and Kem would have their own spin-off. Of course it happened and the point of this show? To see if they could get a record deal and release their own rap record.
Unfortunately, the song was not just a synopsis for the show...it actually got released in real life! Yep the song, titled Little Bit Leave It, taken from a popular phrase from Love Island, was released. However, whilst I still can't believe it actually got released, Little Bit Leave It was a little bit catchy! It also managed to get to number 15 on the UK singles charts. To be honest, I've heard worse songs...
Click the video if you want to hear how awful/catchy the song is!
So there you have it...the A-Z of 2017! I wonder what 2018 will bring?
Em x
I had a good sit down and think about how to make this review of the year different to last year's and, in turn, make it more interesting. Then, I had a lightbulb moment...
So...I introduce to you...the A-Z of 2017!
A is for...Auditions
"Auditions? What do you mean auditions?" I hear you yell at me. Hear me out...
If there is one thing that the UK loves, it is reality TV. Among the many Reality shows that the UK has, we have two that aim to find the next big star...The X Factor and Britain's Got Talent.
Britain's Got Talent aims to find someone that would be good enough to perform at The Royal Variety Performance, a yearly occasion where the best of British come together to put on a show, which is attended by members of the Royal Family. In terms of auditions, there were many that didn't live up to the standard but, among others that would have been good enough, in stepped Tokio Meyers.
Tokio came on and blew the judges away with his performance of Debussy's Clair de Lune, mashed up with Ed Sheeran's Bloodstream. This earned him a place in the live semi-finals. He eventually made the final, where he performed a classical version of Human by Rag n Bone Man and won it. Since then, he's performed at The Royal Variety Performance, released his own album, Our Generation, reaching number 4 in the UK album charts and performed in and co-produced A Bridge Over Troubled Water, a cover of the Simon and Garfunkel classic, raising money for victims of the Grenfell Fire.
Meanwhile, on The X Factor, a four piece boyband, by the name of Rak-Su injected some much needed originality when they, among many others, auditioned with an original song, I'm Feeling You. They got yeses from all 4 judges, putting them through to bootcamp. After this, they managed to get through all the next rounds, including the dreaded six chair challenge and got through to the live shows, where they eventually won. They released their new single Dimelo, featuring Naught Boy and Wyclef Jean, and it reached number 2 in the UK singles Chart. Oh, and in case you're wondering, it was Ed Sheeran that beat them to the number one spot.
B is for BRITs.
Every year, the BRIT Awards is a chance for some of the best British and International talent come together and 2017 was no exception. The 2017 ceremony saw the first performance of the Stormzy version of Shape of You, when he joined Ed Sheeran to perform the track. It also saw a poignant tribute to George Michael, who sadly died on Christmas Day 2016. The tribute featured Chris Martin, from Coldplay, "duetting" with George Michael who was shown on a massive TV screen, on the beautiful track A Different Corner. This duet was later featured in the documentary about George's life, Freedom.
In terms of who won what, Little Mix had a reason to celebrate as they won their first Brit Award; Best British Single for Shout Out to My Ex, which was hilariously up against Zayn's Pillowtalk. Of course, fans will know that Zayn Malik just happens to be Perrie Edwards' ex! Elsewhere, David Bowie won the Best British Male and the Best British album award, for Blackstar posthumously.
C is for...Coachella
Ok...we have Glastonbury but let's touch upon the other massive moment in the festival calendar: Coachella.
Whilst Glastonbury is known for wellies and rain, Coachella is known for Boho festival chic, sun and the hottest celebs around attending, such as the Jenner sisters, the Hadid sisters and other high profile models, actors and actresses and singers.
Anyway...what about the singers on stage? Coachella 2017 had a strong start, with Radiohead, Beyonce and Kendrick Lamar. There was also additional performers in the form of Father John Misty, Lorde, Bon Ivor, The Avalanches and The XX.
However, it soon emerged that Beyonce was pregnant with twins so she had to drop out. There were lots of rumours swirling around about who would replace her. But who actually got the coveted headline slot? Step forward the brilliantly bonkers Lady Gaga! She had had a great 2017 so far: She headlined the Super Bowl, which has been viewed about 38 million times (one of those views was my own because of the UK and USA time difference) on YouTube so I think it was only right that she'd be chosen to headline Coachella.
Unfortunately, due to the time difference between the UK and the USA, I couldn't watch the show, and from what I read in many a music publication, I seriously missed out!
D is for...Dua Lipa
One of the rising stars of 2017 was Dua Lipa. She started the year with being nominated for a critics choice award at the BRITs. Despite being pipped to the post by Rag n Bone Man for this award, Dua still had success, with her single, New Rules being at number 1 in the UK singles chart for 2 weeks, in the early summer of 2017. Furthermore, her new self-titled debut album, Due Lipa hit the top 10 at number 5 on the UK chart. Dua rounded off a successful 2017 by becoming the most streamed female artist in the UK on Spotify and was named as a performer at the BRITs 2018!
E is for... Ed Sheeran
2017 was the year of Ed Sheeran. Having taken a year out from social media and from his career in general, he teased his return in late 2016/early 2017 when he posted a video on his social media that new music was coming. He then released his new album, Divide and we never heard from him again...
Erm...this is Ed Sheeran we're talking about! The album went straight to number 1 in the UK album charts and it was there for 19 non-consecutive weeks. giving Ed his 3rd number one album, meaning all his studio LPs reached number 1. Every single track of the album entered the UK top 20 and Shape of You became the most streamed track on Spotify, stayed at number 1 for a whopping 14(!) weeks on the UK singles chart. Furthermore, he bagged the coveted headline slot at Glastonbury, collaborated with Eminem on his most recent single River, and managed to gain cameos in Game Of Thrones and The Simpsons, with the latter being aired in early 2018. He is also due to go on a massive stadium world tour in 2018, which, unfortunately, is sold out.
F is for...Foo Fighters
Music fans who descended onto the Glastonbury Festival site in 2015 were very disappointed when they learned that Dave Grohl had broken his leg, causing the Foo Fighters to cancel their headline slot. Now...okay Florence and the Machine did a great job as a replacement but fans rejoiced when the Foos announced they would be headliners in 2017. They performed a fantastic set, including their latest song Run, and a cover of Queen's Under Pressure, which featured Grohl on the drums, proving that it was worth the wait.
G is for... Grammys
Due to how many categories the Grammys have, I don't do predictions or a full review. However, seeing as the Grammys are one of the biggest music events in America, it was only right that I included them in this A-Z.
Beyonce was the person with the most nominations (9!) but the biggest winner of the night? Adele of course. She won a total of five awards, including Record of the Year for Hello and Album of the Year for smash hit album 25. Whilst being awarded for these prizes, Adele thanked Beyonce and said that Beyonce should have won a Grammy for her visual album, Lemonade. She also performed Fastlove in tribute to George Michael. Meanwhile, David Bowie won 4 posthumous awards, including Best Rock Song and Best Rock Performance for Blackstar.
H is for...Humanz
2017 was the year of comebacks and none of the comebacks were as long awaited as the Gorillaz. The Damon Albarn and Jamie Hewlett cartoon band last released their album The Fall in 2010. As early as 2015, there were hints the band were back after cartoon storyboards based on the Gorillaz were posted on the band's Twitter page. unfortunately, fans had to wait until January 2017, where the first track off the album, Hallelujah Money, a collaboration with Benjamin Clementine dropped on Uproxx's Youtube Channel.
The album was a success but it just missed the top spot thanks to a certain Mr. Ed Sheeran. However, they did get the number 2 spot, making Humanz their fourth top 10 hit. In addition, they had a sold out tour, so it wasn't too bad for Albarn and co.
I is for...It's time to announce the winner!
Every year, a group of judges from the music world, such as Clara Amfo (Radio 1 DJ), Jamie Cullum, Ella Eyre and Mista Jam (Radio 1 DJ) come together to determine which critically acclaimed albums should be nominated for the Mercury Music Prize. Artists who received nominations include Blossoms, Ed Sheeran (it's 2017 so obviously!), The XX, The Big Moon and Stormzy. Ultimately, it Sampha who won with his album, Process. He won a winners trophy (all nominees win a nomination trophy) and £25,000. Now, Sampha fans are just waiting with bated breath for a new album. Let's hope it is as good as the debut.
You can read a more detailed review of the Mercury Music Prize here.
J is for...Just want to introduce you to the newbies!
Every year we see brand new artists emerging into the spotlight and 2017 was no different. We had the likes of Stefflon Don, who released her hit Hurtin', Mabel, who's song Finders Keepers got almost 20 million views on YouTube and Jorja Smith, who had featured on Drake's song More Life. These artists were all nominated for the Critic's Choice Award for the 2018 Brit Awards, with Jorja Smith being announced as the eventual winner. We expect that we'll hear big things from her in 2018.
Elsewhere, Cardi B stepped into the limelight with her smash hit (but explicit!) song Bodak Yellow. It entered at number 24 in the UK singles chart. Meanwhile, across the pond in her home country, Cardi B broke the record for being the first female rapper to top the Billboard chart since Lauryn Hill in 1996. Furthermore, she also had the longest run at being number one on the Billboard chart, with Bodak Yellow, which was 5 weeks. Taylor Swift also managed that milestone with Look What You Made Me Do.
K is for...The Killers
The Killers returned to welcome arms by fans when they released their album Wonderful Wonderful. Their last album was released back in 2012 so I think a new album was well overdue don't you? Anyway, Wonderful Wonderful entered the UK album charts at number 1 and their comeback single, The Man was a new entry at number 63. I would have liked to have seen it further up the chart because it's a good song.
Despite this, The Killers proved to be still popular when their Wonderful Wonderful UK tour sold out. Also, when they were announced as the secret act performing in the King Tut's tent at Glastonbury, it got so full that the organisers had to stop people from entering the tent!
L is for...Lorde
Lorde is another musician who was a long awaited comeback. However, 2017 was the time for Lorde to do it. The last time Lorde had released an album was 2013, with Pure Heroine.
In early 2017, Lorde showcased a website called imwaitingforit.com, which coincidentally includes a lyric of Green Light ("I'm waiting for it, that Green Light I want it"). It was then that Green Light was released in early March 2017. In the UK singles chart, it hit the number 20 spot.
When it came to the album, the tittle of the album, Melodrama was announced on the 2nd of March. Regarding the Charts, Melodrama became a top 10 hit in the UK, debuting at number 5. In the USA, the album hit number one on the Billboard top 100, whilst also being announced as nomination for album of the Year at the 2018 Grammys.
M is for...Manchester
Let's be honest...as soon as I got to M, I immediately thought of Manchester. On May 22nd, everyone was shocked by the news that a bomb had gone off just after Ariana Grande had finished her concert at the Manchester Arena. 22 people died during this horrific event. In addition, there were many people with serious injuries.
Following the event, Ariana Grande announced that a benefit concert was to be organised and it occurred on 4th June, known as One Love Manchester. During the event, which Ariana put together, there was a list packed with well known and loved artists, such as Take That, Little Mix, Coldplay, Justin Bieber and lots more, including, of course, Ariana Grande herself. There was even a special guest, in the form of Liam Gallagher. One of the highlights was Coldplay and Ariana Grande performing what has become Manchester's anthem since the disaster: Don't Look Back In Anger.
A massive 13 million viewers watched this live and I'm sure that number would be higher if we included the live views on Twitter, Facebook and Youtube. In addition, £2.35 million was raised for the Manchester Benefit fund during the event, giving proof that music is a wonderful tool for bringing people together.
N is for...Nile Rogers
I know you're probably thinking that Nile Rogers hasn't really done much regarding music but I still think we should mention him. During the summer, Nile, along with the band Chic were one of the acts at Glastonbury that was seen as one of the highlights. Playing all of Chic's greatest hits, including Le Freak and Good Times. The band and Nile also performed songs that Nile had helped to write including Let's Dance, by David Bowie, Upside Down, by Diana Ross and the summer smash hit of 2013, Get Lucky by Daft Punk featuring Pharrel, which Rogers also played the guitar on. The set was so popular that the BBC asked them to return to headline the New Year's Eve celebrations before we entered 2018.
O is for...One Direction
Before you get excited, One Direction did not re-unite. However, 2017 was the year that the other 4 boys emerged with solo careers (Zayn had already done this in 2016). Harry Styles released Sign of the Times and his debut album called erm...Harry Styles, which was met with critical claim, with many critics noticing how much more mature his solo sound his compared to 1D. Both single and album reached number 1 in the UK charts.
Niall Horan was also another 1D member who did a jump from being a member of a boyband to being a solo star. He had already previously released a song called This Town in 2016 but in 2017, his career really set off. He released his second song, Slow Hands in May 2017 and his third, Too Much to Ask in September 2017 and these songs entered the UK singles charts at number 7 and number 24 respectively. He also released his album Flicker, which reached number 3 in the UK album charts.
Louis Tomlinson, like Niall and Zayn, had already had a song out in 2016, a collaboration with DJ Steve Aoki, called Just Hold On, which he bravely performed on The X Factor days after his mum passed away. Fast forward to August 2017, Louis released Back to You, a collaboration with Bebe Rhexa and Digital farm, which became Louis' second top 10 solo hit entering at number 8 in the UK singles chart. He also released two other songs that didn't do quite so well in the charts, Just Like You and Miss You (He likes the word 'You' in his song titles doesn't he?) and they entered at number 99 and number 39 in the UK singles charts respectively.
Liam Payne was the last of the 1D boys to release a solo single, purely because he had additional activity in his life...he welcomed a baby with Cheryl Cole (yes...I'm still calling her this as everyone knows her by this name and no...I did not see the romance or the baby coming). Anyway, he released Strip that Down in June and Bedroom Floor in November and seems that they were both popular, with Strip That Down entering at number 3 and Bedroom Floor at number 21 in the UK Singles charts.
In terms of albums, it could be possible that Louis and Liam release their albums in 2018 so I would keep your eyes peeled.
P is for...Pink
Pink last released a song in 2016, Just Like Fire, for the Alice in Wonderland: Through the Looking Glass film but she last released a complete album in 2012, The Truth About Love. Therefore, fans rejoiced when Pink announced her comeback.
What About Us was released in mid August and it seemed that Pink was as popular as ever as it enters the UK singles chart at number 3, giving Pink her 19th (!) top 10 hit. She also released the title track of her album Beautiful Trauma and Revenge, a collaboration with Eminem. In the meantime, her album, Beautiful Trauma entered the UK albums chart at number 1. It seems that Pink has had a welcome return!
Q is for...Queen Bey
Of course, Beyonce had to be in this purely because she decided to drop a surprise on us (or should I say surprises!) when she firstly announced that she would be headlining Coachella. However, shortly after announcing this, she revealed she had "been blessed two times over" (Translations: she's pregnant with twins.) so she had to cancel Coachella. She revealed in July that she had given birth to Sir and Rumi in June.
Despite having twins, she still had time to record some songs for release. She featured on Eminem''s comeback single, Walk on Water, which reached number 7 in the UK singles chart. She also released Die With You and DJ Khalid released Shining, which she featured on with her husband, Jay-Z and these reached number 62 and number 71 in the UK singles chart respectively.
R is for...Rag n Bone Man
One of the stand out stars from 2017 HAS to be Rag N Bone Man. He started the year winning the Critic'a Choice award at the BRITS, which had previously been won by Sam Smith, Adele, Ellie Goulding and Florence and the Machine, meaning he was destined for success from the word go.
At the actual 2017 BRIT awards ceremony (the winner of the Critic's Choice award is announced before the ceremony), he won the Best British Breakthrough award and later in the same week, he released his debut album Human. Human debuted at number one on the UK album chart, the same number his debut single of the same name entered on the UK singles chart in 2016. In addition, he had further success with the single Skin, which entered the UK singles chart at number 13 in 2017.
In addition to his chart success, he also had slots at Glastonbury and Radio 1's Big Weekend and his debut tour sold out pretty quickly. Oh...and he had a baby as well. I think we can all agree that 2017 was a great year for Rag n Bone Man!
S is for...Sam Smith
Sam Smith hadn't released an album since 2014, which the smash hit In the Lonely Hour and since then, the only sign that Sam was back in the studio was when he revealed that he was the singer that got the job every singer wanted to have...the owner of a James Bond song. However, there was still no sign of a new album...until June 2017 when he posted a picture on his social media of him in a recording studio. On the 8th September, Smith released Too Good at Goodbyes, followed by the album, The Thrill Of It All. Both album and single went to number one, and Too Good at Goodbyes also made it to number one in Australia, proving that despite taking a break, Sam is still as popular as ever. You can read more about the return of Sam here.
T is for...Taylor Swift
Taylor Swift had a not so great 2016, mainly because of all the problems she had with Kanye West and Kim Kardashian (Long story: essentially Kanye and Kim claimed that Taylor was lying when she said she didn't approve a Kanye lyric within his song Famous). Therefore, she decided that she would take a break from music. However, fast forward to the summer of 2017: Swift deleted her instagram photos and started posting clips of snakes, causing mass hysteria among Swifities. Finally, on 25th August, she announced that her new single, later revealed to be called Look What You Made Me Do, was to be released on the 26th August. The video for this song courted controversy, purely because there were references to Kim Kardashian's robbery in Paris, Katy Perry, which she had a very public falling out with and her exes, Calvin Harris and Tom Hiddleston. The attention the video got helped the songstress to get her first number one in the UK. Her album, Reputation, also became her third number one album in the UK. You can read more about her comeback here.
U is for...Underdog
We had a lot of comebacks and one of the comebacks was the band that brought you the song Underdog...yep I'm talking about Kasabian. Speculation that the band were possibly releasing an album very soon was when the band posted an image on their social media showing a notebook with album tracks crossed out (presumably to keep the element of surprise for fans), along with the message "album's done, SP x" in February 2017. Sure enough, the title was soon revealed as For Crying Out Loud along with the reveal of a new single, You're in Love With a Psycho. For Crying Out Loud was released in May and headed straight to number 1 in the UK albums chart. Meanwhile, the Leicester lads were announced to be headlining Reading and Leeds as well as the TRNSMT festival in Glasgow. Their song, King Ray II was also the theme song for Russell Howard's new show, The Russell Howard Hour. (Russell Howard is a British comedian).
V is for...Very annoying!
Every year, we seem to get that one song where the more you hear it, the more you want to never hear it again. A few examples: 2012 had Psy's Gangnam Style. 2016 had Drake's One Dance. 2017's annoying song? Despacito by Luis Fonsi feat. Daddy Yankee and Justin Bieber. The problem with all these songs is that they are seriously catchy so every time you hear it, despite it being annoying, you can't help but sing along to (well...try and sing along to if you can't speak Spanish like me!) Despite debuting at number 4 in the UK singles charts, it later became number 1 for 11 weeks! It also became the first video on YouTube to reach 4 billion views...to put it into perspective that is more than Gangnam Style! No wonder it got so annoying for me.
W is for...Wonderland
There was a big hint that Take That were returning when they announced an album would be released, along with tour dates, in late 2016. In February 2017, they gave us a snippet of what their new album will sound like, in the form of Giants, which got to number 13 on the UK singles chart. The album, Wonderland, was released shortly after, in March 2017, just in time for their Wonderland tour, which I was lucky to go to (see review here). By the way, if you've never seen a Take That show, I highly recommend that you get a ticket when they next go on tour as they are probably one of the best live bands around. However, good luck getting a ticket as they are very popular.
X is for... X Factor Alumni
2017 saw singles and albums by various X Factor alumni being released. Not only did we see the return of One Direction (Kind of...see O is for...One Direction above), we also saw releases from James Arthur, in the form of his collaboration with Rudimental on Sun Comes Up, which entered at number 6 on the UK singles chart, and Naked, which was released in December. Naked just missed the top 10, debuting at number 11 on the UK singles chart.
James Arthur and the 1D boys aren't the only ones who released songs in 2017...Olly Murs and Louisa Johnson both collaborated on a version of Olly's track, Unpredictable. Louisa even joined Olly on his summer tour as a support act. Olly himself went on a Spring tour, playing all the major cities in the UK. I was lucky enough to go and see him on this tour with my sister and two very good friends of mine. He was fantastic and you can read more about this show here.
Finally, Little Mix continued their domination in the Girl Band market. They released three singles in 2017: No More Sad Songs, Power, which had guest vocals from Stormzy and Reggaento Lento, which also had vocals from CNCO. The latter may have been influenced by Despacito, as it was of a similar style. No More Sad Songs entered the UK singles chart at number 15 whereas the other 2 singles entered the UK singles chart at number 6 and number 5 respectively.
Y is for...Young people aren't the only people going to Glastonbury!
When you think of UK festivals, what image springs to mind? For me, particularly when it comes to Glastonbury, I imagine lots of (mainly) young people descending upon the famed Somerset site to watch their favourite bands, spend time with their friends, to celebrate the end of exams and have a well deserved break before they start University, College or whatever they want to do after GCSEs or A Levels. This, along with celebrities, such as Alexa Chung, Nick Grimshaw and Caroline Flack attending is what image springs to mind when I think of Glastonbury.
This is why I was pleasantly surprised when my parents told me they were going to Glastonbury. Yep..my Mum and Dad, along with some of their friends attended the festival and they loved it. However, some of that may be to do with the fact they were glamping. I was quite jealous that they got to see Blossoms and Ed Sheeran live (in terms of Ed...they saw him very briefly!) but I still got to watch them both back home on the live stream. (Hey...let's be honest...it's is better to see musicians live properly though isn't it?) My Dad's highlight was seeing one of his favourite bands live, the Foo Fighters, and among my parents' other highlights were Rag n Bone Man, Chic and Barry Gibb. Oh and in case you're wondering...they would go back!
Z is for...Z list
Love Island was a UK summer hit reality TV show. Basically, if you don't know what it is, it is a show where single people live on an island, whilst also being encouraged to couple up and strike up a romance. However, one pair of contestants struck up a bromance...meet Chris and Kem.
They developed a such a strong bromance and huge popularity that when Stormzy got involved and even starred on the show to say hi to the contestants, he mentioned that he could see himself collaborating with Chris and Kem on a rap record. It was rumoured that after the show, Chris and Kem would have their own spin-off. Of course it happened and the point of this show? To see if they could get a record deal and release their own rap record.
Unfortunately, the song was not just a synopsis for the show...it actually got released in real life! Yep the song, titled Little Bit Leave It, taken from a popular phrase from Love Island, was released. However, whilst I still can't believe it actually got released, Little Bit Leave It was a little bit catchy! It also managed to get to number 15 on the UK singles charts. To be honest, I've heard worse songs...
Click the video if you want to hear how awful/catchy the song is!
So there you have it...the A-Z of 2017! I wonder what 2018 will bring?
Em x
Sunday, 31 December 2017
My Top 10 Modern Christmas Songs
Hello!
So...my last post focused on classic Christmas songs that I felt deserved to be in a top 10, which you can view here. Now, it's all about those modern hits that already could be seen as classics.
As before, my top 10 is in no particular order.
10. Leona Lewis- One More Sleep
Back in 2006, Leona Lewis won the third series of The X Factor. Having released 3 albums, in 2013, she decided to release a Christmas album, called Christmas, with Love. One More Sleep was the lead single from this album.
One More Sleep tells the story of a protagonist waiting for her partner to come home, with her counting the days within the chorus. One More Sleep earned Leona a place on the Singles Chart at number 3.
9. Kelly Clarkson- Underneath the Tree
Kelly Clarkson burst onto the scene with her classic song Miss Independent. After tons of other hits, such as Since U Been Gone and My Life Would Suck Without You, She decided to release a Christmas album, with the lead single of this album being Underneath The Tree.
The music video is just as christmassy, which involves Clarkson performing on the set of her Christmas special, Kelly Clarkson's cautionary Christmas Music Tale, dressed in a beautiful red dress. The song itself became Clarkson's 14th top 40 hit. It reached number 78 on the Billboard top 100.
8. Gabriella Cilmi- Warm This Winter
2008 was the year of Gabriella Cilmi. Following the success of her top 10 hit, Sweet About Me, she decided to release a Christmas song, in the form of Warm This Winter.
A cover of 1962's I'm Gonna Be Warm this Winter, by Connie Francis, Cilmi's version reached 22 on the UK singles chart. It was actually recorded specifically for the Winter season campaign of The Co-operative supermarket but it was since announced in November 2008 that it would be an addition to the deluxe edition of her top 10 album, Lessons to be Learnt. Sadly, it doesn't seem to be played much nowadays because it is a good song.
7. George Michael- December Song (I Dreamed of Christmas)
Okay...everyone has heard of the Christmas classic Last Christmas but did you know that George Michael released another Christmas song? Yep...in 2009, without the support of his Wham bandmate, Andrew Ridgley, George released December Song (I Dreamed of Christmas).
There was a surprise in that originally it was going to be for the Spice Girls and less surprisingly, due to the fact it's a Christmas song, it was also a possibility that it was to go to the King of Christmas himself, Michael Buble. However, George Michael kept it.
In fact, keeping it was the best thing George did. After performing it on The X Factor, the physical copies of the single sold out within a day. It debuted at number 14 on the UK singles chart.
6. Sam Smith- Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas
Yes...I know that Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas is a classic song but considering that Sam Smith had a big comeback in 2017, I thought it was only right that his version should be included.
Originally sung by Judy Garland in the classic film, Meet Me in St. Louis, this melancholic song is perfect for Sam's voice. Smith's version fared better than the original, reaching the Billboard 100 for the first time, at number 90. In the UK, he reached number 65 on the singles chart with this song.
5. The Darkness- Christmas Time (Don't Let the Bells End)
Let's be honest, The Darkness are only known for two songs: I Believe in a Thing Called Love and this one. In fact they both had the same success as well...they both hit number 2 in the UK singles chart. Christmas Time... was beaten to Christmas number one in 2004 by Gary Jules' Mad World (seriously...a Christmas song was beaten to number one by this?).
Anyway, despite this issue, Christmas Time is still getting regularly played and it has since become a Christmas classic, 13 years after it was released.
4. Justin Bieber- Mistletoe
I think we can all agree that Justin Bieber is not to everyone's taste, including mine. However, what some of you may not know is he released a Christmas song.
Yep, at the age of 17, Bieber released his first Christmas single, Mistletoe and later, he released a Christmas album, Under the Mistletoe. Mistletoe is a typical Bieber song, about him kissing someone under the mistletoe. Cue loads of young girls screaming at this blog post "That should be me!"
Mistletoe debuted at number 21 on the UK singles charts, selling 280,000 copies and being streamed 9m times. It fared a bit better in the US, entering the Billboard chart at number 11.
3. Sia- Santa's Coming For Us
Sia's had a great career so far since she burst onto the scene with David Guetta to sing on Titanium. Following on from other successful hits, such as Cheap Thrills and Chandelier, Sia decided it would be her turn to crack the infamous Christmas market. The result? This catchy little number.
Describing a typical Winter season, with the protagonist singing "Nights are getting shorter now/Hot chocolate fills the air." It is also hinted that the protagonist is singing about spending Christmas with a loved one, singing to this loved one "You're the angel at the top of the tree," and that "Santa's Coming For Us," after the loved one is encouraged to write and send a letter to Santa.
It was the lead single off her new album Everyday is Christmas, which just entered the top 40 in the UK albums chart. It did better compared to Santa's Coming For Us, which only entered the UK singles chart at 65.
2. Coldplay- Christmas Lights
Chris Martin had already tried his hand at releasing a Christmas song, by being part of Band Aid 20 in 2004. However, in 2010, he joined his fellow band members and Coldplay released their first (and as far as I know only) Christmas song, Christmas Lights.
This song is a typical Coldplay song. Featuring a beautiful piano melody, the song depicts Christmas gone wrong; "Christmas night, another fight," with the protagonist saying that because of this, "it doesn't really feel like Christmas at all."
The song was very popular in both the UK and USA. In the UK, it reached number 13 in the singles chart and in the US, it hit 23 in the Billboard top 100.
1. Michael Buble- Cold December Night
Let's be honest...Michael Buble is the King of Christmas. You don't here from him all year and then suddenly, in December, his Christmas songs start playing and he gets at least one Christmas special.
This particular song features on his Christmas album and describes a typical christmas with stockings hung up on the fire place and children waiting for Santa. It's also a chance for the protagonist of the song to pour their heart, begging their crush 'Please fall in love with me this winter" and "Kiss me on this cold December Night."
Buble's album, Christmas, beat Snow Patrol's album Fallen Empires to the number 1 on the UK album charts in the winter of 2011. It has featured in the album chart during the Christmas season ever since.
So...my last post focused on classic Christmas songs that I felt deserved to be in a top 10, which you can view here. Now, it's all about those modern hits that already could be seen as classics.
As before, my top 10 is in no particular order.
10. Leona Lewis- One More Sleep
Back in 2006, Leona Lewis won the third series of The X Factor. Having released 3 albums, in 2013, she decided to release a Christmas album, called Christmas, with Love. One More Sleep was the lead single from this album.
One More Sleep tells the story of a protagonist waiting for her partner to come home, with her counting the days within the chorus. One More Sleep earned Leona a place on the Singles Chart at number 3.
9. Kelly Clarkson- Underneath the Tree
Kelly Clarkson burst onto the scene with her classic song Miss Independent. After tons of other hits, such as Since U Been Gone and My Life Would Suck Without You, She decided to release a Christmas album, with the lead single of this album being Underneath The Tree.
The music video is just as christmassy, which involves Clarkson performing on the set of her Christmas special, Kelly Clarkson's cautionary Christmas Music Tale, dressed in a beautiful red dress. The song itself became Clarkson's 14th top 40 hit. It reached number 78 on the Billboard top 100.
8. Gabriella Cilmi- Warm This Winter
2008 was the year of Gabriella Cilmi. Following the success of her top 10 hit, Sweet About Me, she decided to release a Christmas song, in the form of Warm This Winter.
A cover of 1962's I'm Gonna Be Warm this Winter, by Connie Francis, Cilmi's version reached 22 on the UK singles chart. It was actually recorded specifically for the Winter season campaign of The Co-operative supermarket but it was since announced in November 2008 that it would be an addition to the deluxe edition of her top 10 album, Lessons to be Learnt. Sadly, it doesn't seem to be played much nowadays because it is a good song.
7. George Michael- December Song (I Dreamed of Christmas)
Okay...everyone has heard of the Christmas classic Last Christmas but did you know that George Michael released another Christmas song? Yep...in 2009, without the support of his Wham bandmate, Andrew Ridgley, George released December Song (I Dreamed of Christmas).
There was a surprise in that originally it was going to be for the Spice Girls and less surprisingly, due to the fact it's a Christmas song, it was also a possibility that it was to go to the King of Christmas himself, Michael Buble. However, George Michael kept it.
In fact, keeping it was the best thing George did. After performing it on The X Factor, the physical copies of the single sold out within a day. It debuted at number 14 on the UK singles chart.
6. Sam Smith- Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas
Yes...I know that Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas is a classic song but considering that Sam Smith had a big comeback in 2017, I thought it was only right that his version should be included.
Originally sung by Judy Garland in the classic film, Meet Me in St. Louis, this melancholic song is perfect for Sam's voice. Smith's version fared better than the original, reaching the Billboard 100 for the first time, at number 90. In the UK, he reached number 65 on the singles chart with this song.
5. The Darkness- Christmas Time (Don't Let the Bells End)
Let's be honest, The Darkness are only known for two songs: I Believe in a Thing Called Love and this one. In fact they both had the same success as well...they both hit number 2 in the UK singles chart. Christmas Time... was beaten to Christmas number one in 2004 by Gary Jules' Mad World (seriously...a Christmas song was beaten to number one by this?).
Anyway, despite this issue, Christmas Time is still getting regularly played and it has since become a Christmas classic, 13 years after it was released.
4. Justin Bieber- Mistletoe
I think we can all agree that Justin Bieber is not to everyone's taste, including mine. However, what some of you may not know is he released a Christmas song.
Yep, at the age of 17, Bieber released his first Christmas single, Mistletoe and later, he released a Christmas album, Under the Mistletoe. Mistletoe is a typical Bieber song, about him kissing someone under the mistletoe. Cue loads of young girls screaming at this blog post "That should be me!"
Mistletoe debuted at number 21 on the UK singles charts, selling 280,000 copies and being streamed 9m times. It fared a bit better in the US, entering the Billboard chart at number 11.
3. Sia- Santa's Coming For Us
Sia's had a great career so far since she burst onto the scene with David Guetta to sing on Titanium. Following on from other successful hits, such as Cheap Thrills and Chandelier, Sia decided it would be her turn to crack the infamous Christmas market. The result? This catchy little number.
Describing a typical Winter season, with the protagonist singing "Nights are getting shorter now/Hot chocolate fills the air." It is also hinted that the protagonist is singing about spending Christmas with a loved one, singing to this loved one "You're the angel at the top of the tree," and that "Santa's Coming For Us," after the loved one is encouraged to write and send a letter to Santa.
It was the lead single off her new album Everyday is Christmas, which just entered the top 40 in the UK albums chart. It did better compared to Santa's Coming For Us, which only entered the UK singles chart at 65.
2. Coldplay- Christmas Lights
Chris Martin had already tried his hand at releasing a Christmas song, by being part of Band Aid 20 in 2004. However, in 2010, he joined his fellow band members and Coldplay released their first (and as far as I know only) Christmas song, Christmas Lights.
This song is a typical Coldplay song. Featuring a beautiful piano melody, the song depicts Christmas gone wrong; "Christmas night, another fight," with the protagonist saying that because of this, "it doesn't really feel like Christmas at all."
The song was very popular in both the UK and USA. In the UK, it reached number 13 in the singles chart and in the US, it hit 23 in the Billboard top 100.
1. Michael Buble- Cold December Night
Let's be honest...Michael Buble is the King of Christmas. You don't here from him all year and then suddenly, in December, his Christmas songs start playing and he gets at least one Christmas special.
This particular song features on his Christmas album and describes a typical christmas with stockings hung up on the fire place and children waiting for Santa. It's also a chance for the protagonist of the song to pour their heart, begging their crush 'Please fall in love with me this winter" and "Kiss me on this cold December Night."
Buble's album, Christmas, beat Snow Patrol's album Fallen Empires to the number 1 on the UK album charts in the winter of 2011. It has featured in the album chart during the Christmas season ever since.
Tuesday, 12 December 2017
My Top 10 classic Christmas songs
Hello!
We all love Christmas don't we? The decorations. the Christmas dinner (apart from Brussel Sprouts!). the Christmas TV. The time spent with family, etc.
However, I think we can all agree that we can start to get into the Christmas spirit when Christmas songs start playing on the radio. Therefore, with Christmas around the corner, I decided that I would give you my top 10 classic christmas songs.
As always, the top 10 in no particular order.
10. Greg Lake- I believe in Father Christmas
I like this song as it shows the excitement of being young at Christmas. It tells the story of the protagonist as they share memories of a "Christmas tree smell," and how they believe in Father Christmas, as they "saw him and through his disguise."
Released in 1975, it reached number 2 on the UK singles chart, kept off the number one spot by none other than Queen's Bohemian Rhapsody. Sadly, Lake died in 2016 but this classic ensures that he will never be forgotten.
9. Elton John- Step into Christmas
Elton John is known for his outfits sometimes being shiny and in your face so what better than him doing a song during a season that is shiny and in your face...A.K.A Christmas.
Step into Christmas was released in 1973 and reached number 24 in the UK singles chart. It fared better in the USA, getting to number one on the Billboard Christmas singles chart. The video features Elton sitting at his trademark piano, wearing a glitzy suit and equally trademark wacky glasses. Fun fact: this song has a B-side single, with the title being the stupidly brilliant Ho Ho Ho (Who'd Be a Turkey at Christmas?).
In 2009, it was announced that Step Into Christmas was the ninth most played Christmas song in the UK and in 2016, it was certified silver, after selling 200,000 copies.
8. Wizzard- I Wish it Could Be Christmas Every Day
I Wish it Could Be Christmas Every Day has lyrics that describe the joy of Christmas: snow falling during Christmas day (although if you live in the UK, the snow usually falls too early and is gone by Christmas), the excitement for children about Santa coming during Christmas Eve, and other Christmas traditions.
It was released in 1973 and peaked at number 4 on the UK singles chart. Of course, it is well known nowadays as not only a classic Christmas song but also to sci-fi fans as being in the Christmas special of the Netflix hit, Black Mirror.
7. Chris Rea- Driving Home For Christmas
You Know the feeling: It's Christmas time and you're travelling to see relatives and because of how many people have decided to do the same, you're stuck in traffic. What are you going to put on to cheer you up? Well, I think this song is perfect to sing along to. Yes...it describes the situation you're in but it does it in a cheery way. It reminds you of the reason you are stuck in traffic...you "can't wait to see those faces," and that the driver next to you is "just the same."
The song peaked at number 26 in 1988 and in 2009, it was re-released with the proceeds going to the charity Shelter. It has also been covered by X Factor stars, Stacey Solomon and Joe McElderry.
6. Mariah Carey- All I Want For Christmas is You
As soon as those Christmassy chimes start and Mariah utters those first few notes, you know you are in for one hell of a sing song with this track. Oh...and if you have a crush, it could also be seen as a perfect song to sing to them. However, as much as everyone loves singing this song at the top of their voices, I would not recommend singing like that in front of your crush as it might scare them off.
All I Want For Christmas is You has entered the UK single charts multiple times, originally at number 2, in 1994. Most recently, it has been at number 5, showing that this song will be loved for many years to come. Yes...she is considered a diva but this song will forever be a Christmas classic.
5. Shakin' Stevens-Merry Christmas Everyone
Yes...this song is a bit cheesy but it's still a classic. Released in 1985, it became Shakey's fourth number 1 on the UK singles chart. The song has a real Christmassy feel, describing a typical scene of families playing in the snow, as well as how Christmas is a "time for parties and celebration." The lyrics perfectly match the video, which features Shakin' Stevens visit Santa's Grotto, which includes a visit to Santa's workshop.
It is still a Christmas classic and it would be difficult to not find it on a Christmas compilation album. Altogether now: "Merry Christmas Everyone!"
4. The Waitresses- Christmas Wrapping
This song probably isn't as well known as the others but I really like it. It tells the story of the problem that everyone has during Christmas...there's just not enough time to sort out everything. It describes the typical process of preparing for Christmas, such as decking halls and getting trees. It's also hinted that the person is single, as it references how it "flashes back to spring time, saw him again," concluding with the person saying they "couldn't miss this one again," having previously debated about whether to attend a Christmas party and even celebrate Christmas itself, because they had reunited with the guy.
Unfortunately, it didn't chart in 1981, when it was released but it did chart at 45 the following year, on the UK singles chart. It has since featured in a few Christmas movies, notably Fred Claus. Furthermore, here's a possible, little-known fact: it was covered by the Spice Girls!
3. Paul McCartney- Wonderful Christmas Time
Paul McCartney's little ditty about having a great Christmas with your friends and family and that the joy of Christmas "only comes at this time of year," is one that is fun to sing along together. McCartney recorded this track on his own but in the video, he is accompanied by his Wings bandmates and his late wife Linda. Wings themselves performed on tour in 1979.
It peaked at number 6 in the UK singles chart when released in 1979 and it was at number 10 on the Billboard's Christmas singles chart in 1984. Furthermore, it was featured in the 1998 film, Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer- The Movie.
2. Band Aid- Do They Know it's Christmas?
In 1984, a large group of pop stars, brought together by Boomtown Rats frontman, Bob Geldof, to record a charity single, with the aim to raise money for those in poverty in Africa. Celebrities such as Wham, Duran Duran, Spandau Ballet among others. Band Aid was the name and Do They Know It's Christmas? was the name of the single.
It was a massive hit, beating Wham to the UK Christmas number 1 single in 1984, staying there for five weeks. It also became the fastest selling single of all time and the best selling single of all time, until Elton John's Candle in the Wind surpassed it in 1997. 33 years later, it is still a bonafide classic.
1. Wham- Last Christmas
I have to admit, this song has a certain melancholic feel this year, due to George Michael's death last year. However, it is still a firm favourite among people at Christmas. It tells the story of unrequited love, with the protagonist talking about how they declared love to their loved one but the loved one then proceeded to "give it away." Despite the sad topic, it still remains popular, with loads of artists covering it including Ariana Grande, Carly Rey Jepson, Billie Piper, Arctic Monkeys (during their Humbug tour) and...the crazy frog (Unfortunately, I am not making this up).
It was a big hit, with it close to becoming number one, only to be beaten by Band Aid's Do They Know It's Christmas?. Despite this, Wham didn't mind, due to the former being for charity. In fact, Wham donated money made from sales of this record to a similar charity to Band Aid. In addition, it has since sold 2 million copies, making it the best selling single of all time in the UK that never got to number one.
We all love Christmas don't we? The decorations. the Christmas dinner (apart from Brussel Sprouts!). the Christmas TV. The time spent with family, etc.
However, I think we can all agree that we can start to get into the Christmas spirit when Christmas songs start playing on the radio. Therefore, with Christmas around the corner, I decided that I would give you my top 10 classic christmas songs.
As always, the top 10 in no particular order.
10. Greg Lake- I believe in Father Christmas
I like this song as it shows the excitement of being young at Christmas. It tells the story of the protagonist as they share memories of a "Christmas tree smell," and how they believe in Father Christmas, as they "saw him and through his disguise."
Released in 1975, it reached number 2 on the UK singles chart, kept off the number one spot by none other than Queen's Bohemian Rhapsody. Sadly, Lake died in 2016 but this classic ensures that he will never be forgotten.
9. Elton John- Step into Christmas
Elton John is known for his outfits sometimes being shiny and in your face so what better than him doing a song during a season that is shiny and in your face...A.K.A Christmas.
Step into Christmas was released in 1973 and reached number 24 in the UK singles chart. It fared better in the USA, getting to number one on the Billboard Christmas singles chart. The video features Elton sitting at his trademark piano, wearing a glitzy suit and equally trademark wacky glasses. Fun fact: this song has a B-side single, with the title being the stupidly brilliant Ho Ho Ho (Who'd Be a Turkey at Christmas?).
In 2009, it was announced that Step Into Christmas was the ninth most played Christmas song in the UK and in 2016, it was certified silver, after selling 200,000 copies.
8. Wizzard- I Wish it Could Be Christmas Every Day
I Wish it Could Be Christmas Every Day has lyrics that describe the joy of Christmas: snow falling during Christmas day (although if you live in the UK, the snow usually falls too early and is gone by Christmas), the excitement for children about Santa coming during Christmas Eve, and other Christmas traditions.
It was released in 1973 and peaked at number 4 on the UK singles chart. Of course, it is well known nowadays as not only a classic Christmas song but also to sci-fi fans as being in the Christmas special of the Netflix hit, Black Mirror.
7. Chris Rea- Driving Home For Christmas
You Know the feeling: It's Christmas time and you're travelling to see relatives and because of how many people have decided to do the same, you're stuck in traffic. What are you going to put on to cheer you up? Well, I think this song is perfect to sing along to. Yes...it describes the situation you're in but it does it in a cheery way. It reminds you of the reason you are stuck in traffic...you "can't wait to see those faces," and that the driver next to you is "just the same."
The song peaked at number 26 in 1988 and in 2009, it was re-released with the proceeds going to the charity Shelter. It has also been covered by X Factor stars, Stacey Solomon and Joe McElderry.
6. Mariah Carey- All I Want For Christmas is You
As soon as those Christmassy chimes start and Mariah utters those first few notes, you know you are in for one hell of a sing song with this track. Oh...and if you have a crush, it could also be seen as a perfect song to sing to them. However, as much as everyone loves singing this song at the top of their voices, I would not recommend singing like that in front of your crush as it might scare them off.
All I Want For Christmas is You has entered the UK single charts multiple times, originally at number 2, in 1994. Most recently, it has been at number 5, showing that this song will be loved for many years to come. Yes...she is considered a diva but this song will forever be a Christmas classic.
5. Shakin' Stevens-Merry Christmas Everyone
Yes...this song is a bit cheesy but it's still a classic. Released in 1985, it became Shakey's fourth number 1 on the UK singles chart. The song has a real Christmassy feel, describing a typical scene of families playing in the snow, as well as how Christmas is a "time for parties and celebration." The lyrics perfectly match the video, which features Shakin' Stevens visit Santa's Grotto, which includes a visit to Santa's workshop.
It is still a Christmas classic and it would be difficult to not find it on a Christmas compilation album. Altogether now: "Merry Christmas Everyone!"
4. The Waitresses- Christmas Wrapping
This song probably isn't as well known as the others but I really like it. It tells the story of the problem that everyone has during Christmas...there's just not enough time to sort out everything. It describes the typical process of preparing for Christmas, such as decking halls and getting trees. It's also hinted that the person is single, as it references how it "flashes back to spring time, saw him again," concluding with the person saying they "couldn't miss this one again," having previously debated about whether to attend a Christmas party and even celebrate Christmas itself, because they had reunited with the guy.
Unfortunately, it didn't chart in 1981, when it was released but it did chart at 45 the following year, on the UK singles chart. It has since featured in a few Christmas movies, notably Fred Claus. Furthermore, here's a possible, little-known fact: it was covered by the Spice Girls!
3. Paul McCartney- Wonderful Christmas Time
Paul McCartney's little ditty about having a great Christmas with your friends and family and that the joy of Christmas "only comes at this time of year," is one that is fun to sing along together. McCartney recorded this track on his own but in the video, he is accompanied by his Wings bandmates and his late wife Linda. Wings themselves performed on tour in 1979.
It peaked at number 6 in the UK singles chart when released in 1979 and it was at number 10 on the Billboard's Christmas singles chart in 1984. Furthermore, it was featured in the 1998 film, Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer- The Movie.
2. Band Aid- Do They Know it's Christmas?
In 1984, a large group of pop stars, brought together by Boomtown Rats frontman, Bob Geldof, to record a charity single, with the aim to raise money for those in poverty in Africa. Celebrities such as Wham, Duran Duran, Spandau Ballet among others. Band Aid was the name and Do They Know It's Christmas? was the name of the single.
It was a massive hit, beating Wham to the UK Christmas number 1 single in 1984, staying there for five weeks. It also became the fastest selling single of all time and the best selling single of all time, until Elton John's Candle in the Wind surpassed it in 1997. 33 years later, it is still a bonafide classic.
1. Wham- Last Christmas
I have to admit, this song has a certain melancholic feel this year, due to George Michael's death last year. However, it is still a firm favourite among people at Christmas. It tells the story of unrequited love, with the protagonist talking about how they declared love to their loved one but the loved one then proceeded to "give it away." Despite the sad topic, it still remains popular, with loads of artists covering it including Ariana Grande, Carly Rey Jepson, Billie Piper, Arctic Monkeys (during their Humbug tour) and...the crazy frog (Unfortunately, I am not making this up).
It was a big hit, with it close to becoming number one, only to be beaten by Band Aid's Do They Know It's Christmas?. Despite this, Wham didn't mind, due to the former being for charity. In fact, Wham donated money made from sales of this record to a similar charity to Band Aid. In addition, it has since sold 2 million copies, making it the best selling single of all time in the UK that never got to number one.
Sunday, 5 November 2017
REVIEW: Sam Smith- The Thrill of it All
Hi Guys!
So, after much anticipation, thanks to him teasing clips on Instagram followed by an announcement, Sam Smith released his second album, The Thrill of it All. We had a hint of what his new stuff would sound like, when I reviewed his comeback and Too Good at Goodbyes here, but now, we get to hear the whole album. Yay!
This album has songs that we all know and love from Sam, which is beautiful melancholic songs relating to heartbreak. One of the songs that really brought attention to me was Midnight Train, with these beautifully sad lyrics: I picked up the pieces on the Midnight Train/ Darling I have my reasons but I can't explain. The other poignant song is One Last Song, which is effectively a message to an ex: I know you don't want to talk to me/So this is what I'll do/...Here's one last song for you.
Not only does this album feature some beautiful songs, it also contains a personal song, in the form of Scars. Unfortunately, it is only available on the Special Edition of the album but it is a song that shouldn't be skipped. It is written about and for his parents, making a point that he is proud of his mother and father and that despite their separation, they still found time to help him and his siblings through it and cleared up (my) scars.
The thing about Sam Smith is he uses his platform as an opportunity to speak out on topics that still get prejudice, with one them being homosexuality, which is why the track HIM is probably the most important track out there. Listening to the song, you maybe thinking, "It's about a son coming out to his dad. How sweet." When you delve deeper, it is actually about a boy with a religious background coming out, which is important as it is often people with a religious background who suffer prejudice with coming out, due to the views of the bible. Having someone like Sam, who writes songs like HIM can help these people to come to terms with their sexuality.
Overall, The Thrill of it All is another beautiful and personal album from Sam Smith, which I am sure will be as successful as In the Lonely Hour. As for awards? Well, here's hoping it'll pick up at least one...or two...or three, because it deserves it!
Em x
So, after much anticipation, thanks to him teasing clips on Instagram followed by an announcement, Sam Smith released his second album, The Thrill of it All. We had a hint of what his new stuff would sound like, when I reviewed his comeback and Too Good at Goodbyes here, but now, we get to hear the whole album. Yay!This album has songs that we all know and love from Sam, which is beautiful melancholic songs relating to heartbreak. One of the songs that really brought attention to me was Midnight Train, with these beautifully sad lyrics: I picked up the pieces on the Midnight Train/ Darling I have my reasons but I can't explain. The other poignant song is One Last Song, which is effectively a message to an ex: I know you don't want to talk to me/So this is what I'll do/...Here's one last song for you.
Not only does this album feature some beautiful songs, it also contains a personal song, in the form of Scars. Unfortunately, it is only available on the Special Edition of the album but it is a song that shouldn't be skipped. It is written about and for his parents, making a point that he is proud of his mother and father and that despite their separation, they still found time to help him and his siblings through it and cleared up (my) scars.
The thing about Sam Smith is he uses his platform as an opportunity to speak out on topics that still get prejudice, with one them being homosexuality, which is why the track HIM is probably the most important track out there. Listening to the song, you maybe thinking, "It's about a son coming out to his dad. How sweet." When you delve deeper, it is actually about a boy with a religious background coming out, which is important as it is often people with a religious background who suffer prejudice with coming out, due to the views of the bible. Having someone like Sam, who writes songs like HIM can help these people to come to terms with their sexuality.
Overall, The Thrill of it All is another beautiful and personal album from Sam Smith, which I am sure will be as successful as In the Lonely Hour. As for awards? Well, here's hoping it'll pick up at least one...or two...or three, because it deserves it!
Em x
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