#Confession , I have been thinking lately about what I plan to do with this blog. There were four ideas that I had, but I couldn’t find the energy or patience to actually post them. Being honest, the lack of views on my blog discourages me from giving my all to the posts because it seems like a waste after it all. I enjoy writing, but if my writing doesn’t really reach people than I might as well just journal to myself, right. Having said all of that, I’ve been surprised over the past three years which posts got the most views, and THAT’s what this post is all about.
It’s almost like the Billboard Hot 100, where you might like a certain number of songs listed, but the list would be totally different if they were all of your favorites. I’m going to show you my Top 10 Most Viewed posts, and than I will list my personal favorite posts. Should be interesting right!?
Nicki Minaj’s “Come on a Cone” ranked on my Most Viewed Top 10 List
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Back in 2012, I decided to introduce a weekly Top 10 List. It was short lived, but this particular week was the most popular. And I can only guess that it has to do with the title, a portion of Nicki Minaj’s “Come on a Cone” (the #9 song for the week).
It’s funny that this is my most viewed Grammy post, because as you’ll read in the first paragraph I totally didn’t give a crap that year. I eventually built up enough energy to write a very cynical take on the Grammy’s trending from honoring talent to honoring record sales.
Frankie J. Alvarez, Jonathan Groff and Murray Bartlett lead the cast of HBO’s “Looking”.
471 views
Though I did grow to like HBO’s series “Looking” (as evidenced in not one, but two additional posts), it still bothers me that so many networks and Hollywood studios bombard viewers with white actors for fear they will lose profits if they *gasp represent what America actually looks like. I was actually really proud of this article and happy that it got a good number of views.
This was a total spur of the moment post, and I’m surprised at all the comments and views it got. At the time, The Weeknd was HIGHLY buzzed about and I couldn’t figure out why. Anyway I won’t get into my feelings about the high pitched crooner, just read it.
It was #MDNA Week on my blog, and I felt this Top 10 list was mandatory since Madonna is such an amazing visual artist. Being a huge fan, it was a little hard to sort the list but overall it was fun to do. Looking back, I still stand by my rankings 100% and apparently the fans did too.
Janet Jackson’s Classic “If” Video ranks on MY FAVORITE list.
604 views
Every few weeks I check my stats, and for the past year or so this Top 10 list has almost always been in the Top. Like the Madonna list, I’m still proud of my rankings and stand by them, but more importantly this list also reminds me how Great Janet was in her day.
This was a project that I spent lots of time thinking about, drafting and ranking. I picked the weekend that “The Avengers” was released to theaters in 2012 to post it, and I’m really proud of what I came up with. This actually became a popular post, and the feedback I got was that most people agreed with my choices which felt good. I’ll probably update the list when the next “Avengers” flick comes out.
So not only was this a tad difficult to rank, but those small little YouTube bars were a bitch to code. However I’m very pleased this is among my highest viewed posts because I do feel it’s a good representation of Kanye’s career as a Producer and I never feel like I left anything great out.
This is the only post on this list that came from my original Blogger blog. I need to do more of these Discography Reviews because I feel that it not only educates readers who may not know much about Prince or other artists, but I also feel like these really flex my writing muscle. Especially when it comes to Prince, whose music and genius is hard to describe.
Kanye West and Jay-Z and the picture that lead to the most views on my blog.
1,769 views
Gotta say that I’m a little shocked that this is the Top post on my blog. Shocked because other posts from the “Watch the Throne” week didn’t fair as well, my other “Track by Track” reviews didn’t either. My theory as to why this did so well was the picture I attached, because sometimes pics can drive people to your blogs. Either way, it’s a good post and happy that people enjoyed it for whatever reason.
One thing I love about the Internet age is the fact that pretty much everything ever recorded is available. That is what this post was based on, the idea that instead of just twiddling our thumbs for the latest new releases we should go back and discover the music that came before us. I love the idea behind this post, and even though it didn’t get lots of views I hope it inspired the few people that did read it.
This was easily my finest attempt at a Year In Music post. They are always difficult, not only because of the content and figuring out who and what should be included, but the visual aspect of these Year End posts is tricky. Mainly, I love the way this post LOOKS above all else. I love how everything is really streamlined and everything is the appropriate size. It’s just a good looking post, and I feel like my choices were pretty accurate to what I was enjoying that year (which in hindsight was a pretty decent year for music).
Issa Rae, writer producer and titular character of hilarious webseries “Awkward Black Girl”.
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As you will read in the actual post, I got pretty addicted to YouTube and the world of the Webseries while I was living in New York City. In a lot of ways, these Webseries that I spoke on have lots of qualities that make them better than most mainstream Television and I wanted to shine a light on the Andrea Lewis’ and Adam Goldman’s of the world.
(Yikes, my pictures on this post have gone away) This was a fun post to write because it talks about the confusing duality of the MTV Video Music Awards – which are great and horrible at the same time. This turned into a way more interesting post than I had originally intended and I think it makes for a great read because of it.
I guess I thought I got cool the months leading up to this post about the Indie Music landscape, I was really happy to share my favorite finds that not too many mainstreamers were aware of. Sure I’m not HIPSTERUNOFF or Pitchfork, but I think I did a good job of noting and describing my favorite underground artists and their unique music. More than all of that, I was so pleased to find that the title “A Year in the Indies” hadn’t been used anywhere else on the net (or at least anywhere in my Google search of the title).
It’s fun to play A&R Rep from my cubicle at work. Knowing that my ideas had a small chance of being heard by the powers that be, I found this Career Advice idea to be a fun and creative one. It started out with Beyonce after she gave birth to her daughter Blue Ivy, I matched ‘Yonce up with the likes of James Blake and How to Dress Well. For Christina, I flirted with the idea of her going more Disco/Funk/Soul with Nile Rodgers and Toro Y Moi. I should do more of these Career Advice posts (I’m thinking of doing one for Usher), these two will set the pace and I actually always enjoy reading these.
Officially, my #FICTIONFriday idea was a major flop. I’m a little sad about it because I really wanted some feedback on my creative writing projects, alas there’s no sense in complaining about it. And instead of bombarding this list with all of the Fiction posts, I am picking this one because it has become one of my writing projects that is near and dear to my heart. It’s about a high school kid in the late 60’s who is ashamed of loving The Beatles, and his attempts to hid his new purchase from friends and family. I love it! I was hoping more people would, but at the end of the day I can only be proud of myself for even trying the very ambitious #FICTIONFriday project.
These two were covered above, and clearly I was pleased that they got as many views as they did. A combination of hard work, creativity and also a bit of urgency to get my thoughts and opinions out there.
A “Jersey Shore” fight, and an example of how low Reality Shows have stooped.
256 views
For one, I LOVE this title. Two, I love the content and how I was able to give a History of the Reality Show and just exactly the factors that have changed them. Three, I was happy I was able to illustrate how these shows are affecting culture. This was a really well rounded article in my opinion, and I am always happy when I’m able to clearly put down in words all of the random thoughts in my head.
So that’s It. I don’t want to just abandon this blog, but I have to get focused on other things (school and career wise) and I might just take a hiatus on the blog. On the other hand, I’m thinking of coming up with more simple and thus more frequent blog posts in the forms of Top 10 lists and things like that. I’m still feeling it out, but I will keep you all posted.
It’s just interesting to see which posts struck a chord and which didn’t, and trying to find a pattern of what might work in the future.
And a BIG THANK YOU to all the supporters and readers of this blog, those that have liked and shared, and those that have just enjoyed what I contribute to the Blogosphere.
Honestly, 2011 was a pretty horrible year for Mainstream and Top 40 music. The bar is terribly low for a Pop hit these days, and even performance wise there’s nothing really exciting about the goings on of this year. So it’s a little difficult to try and make it seem exciting when it really was just BASIC on the whole. Adele slayed pretty much all year, and she was one of the only exciting things to happen to the industry this year. The under performing of Britney Spears and Beyoncé signaled a change in the winds, where formerly unstoppable Pop stars were being out peaked and out sold by the likes of LMFAO and Pitbull. Speaking of, Beyoncé may or may not be pregnant (*laugh). Katy Perry and Rihanna got closer to breaking chart records of Michael Jackson and Mariah Carey. Nicki Minaj got her biggest hit from her Pop-iest song and Foo Fighters put in a bid as the last great rock band of the 90’s. Other than all of that, and a few hot-mess feuds and shady comments, not much else happened this year that’s really worth reporting.
So here’s my take on the year, try to enjoy! And let’s hope 2012 kicks 2011’s Basic Ass!!
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Artists Of The Year,
5. Kanye West
Coming off the critical praise of 2010’s “My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy”, West took a seat instead of his usual loud-mouthed antics. He took a seat in the studio though with Jay-Z, and towards the end of the Summer released the Epic collaboration album “Watch The Throne”. So let’s raise our glass to Kanye shutting up long enough to keep the focus on his talent, which ended in him leading the Grammy nominations and co-headlining a sold out tour.
4. Lady GaGa
While the media excitement for GaGa trailed off towards the end of the year, Mother Monster still had a triumphant year overall. She clocked over a million sales of her third (or second) album “Born This Way” after record breaking sales of the first single of the same name. She was ever present on television, including an HBO concert and a network Holiday special that got healthy ratings. Most importantly, she made some risky single choices that worked in exposing a different and versatile side to her as an artist.
3. Pitbull
This might be a surprising choice, but Pitbull was every where this year. He’s been very consistent ever since his debut in the early 2000’s, but this year he almost became a household name. He had a Huge #1 hit with “Give Me Everything” and his feature work with Jennifer Lopez, Marc Anthony and Shakira further helped his exposure. He ended up being invited to perform at nearly every big Award ceremony of the year, and translated his new found mainstream fame into endorsement deals. He may just be the flavor of the moment, but he definitely crossed over to a new level of fame in 2011. And as hard of a worker he has shown he is, he could potentially get bigger down the line.
2. Katy Perry
Miss “I Kissed a Girl” didn’t necessarily break out as the “It” girl of this year, but she made a lot of accomplishments and set herself up to possibly be a force in the industry. Still continuing a hit streak from her 2010 album “Teenage Dream” she collected two more #1 singles this year, tying Michael Jackson for the most #1’s from one album. She ended the year with a hosting spot on “Saturday Night Live” and a 7th Top 5 Hit. Hopefully she’s in the studio working on a follow-up, and we’ll see how long her star will shine.
1. Adele
No surprises here, for whatever reason the beginning of the year all the way till the end Adele was on everybody’s lips and on top of every chart. And she did this without compromising her sound. In the field of sexed up Pop chicks talking about nothing on their songs with auto-tuned vocals, Adele really was a shocking success being the polar opposite of all that. Her “21” album, steeped in R&B Jazz and Balladry, became the #1 selling album of the year and her two hits “Rolling in the Deep” and “Someone Like You” used proper instrumentation and strong vocals to become huge hits as well. So proud of her, and if she can just get her nerves together for a tour she’ll be a Legend in no time.
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Albums of the Year,
10. Chris Brown “F.A.M.E.”
Say what you will about Breezy, but “F.A.M.E.” showed off how truly talented he is. Not only does it cross genres from Pop to R&B to Hip Hop to Dance, but it’s all catchy and well-sung with some surprisingly great lyricism. A great step in the right direction, and a true testament to why he’s on top of the R&B heap these days.
9. tUnE-yArDs “w h o k i l l”
Crazy album, going from Folk sounds to Tribe Called Quest-like Hip Hop sounds and everything in between. This is something new and different and ultra experimental, but it works. It shows off the talents of Merrill Garbus, vocally and lyrically, and it gives listeners something totally fresh to counter-act all the same-sounding stuff released this year.
8. Beyoncé “4”
Like I said in my review of this album, it’s truly one from an artist that is so comfortable in her talents she can just do what she feels and not worry about fitting in. “4” is laid back R&B in a time when tempos must be high and lyrics must be repetitive, so in a way Bey took a risk but she really stayed in her zone and delivered a very solid and classic sounding album.
7. Adele “21”
Do I even need to go into detail about the album probably EVERYBODY has heard by now. Adele really goes back, with lots of early blues and soul inspired material, matched with a few funk tracks. The entire album is made to showcase the amazing voice of hers and why she’s one of the best singers in the game right now, and mission accomplished.
6. Frank Ocean “Nostalgia, Ultra”
This is a Mixtape, and I started not to include it. I couldn’t leave it off though because it was one of the most exciting and fresh pieces of music I’ve heard this year. From the out of the box concepts of the songs, to the pretty amazing and random samples he sings over, his knack for great lyricism and his love of singing. If you need to watch anybody that has major potential to blow up in 2012, than Frank is the one. “Nostalgia, Ultra” can be enjoyed by so many, even if it’s not what the masses are typically used to hearing.
5. Fleet Foxes “Helplessness Blues”
The mainstream-friendly Folk/Pop group delivered another set of very soothing, relaxing chill tracks that’s really true to the roots of the genre. A very natural continuation from their debut album, just elevated and with a much bigger sound. The stories clouded in very intelligent lyricism make it an album that can be enjoyed for decades, but it still somehow feels very now. And the harmonies and cascades of instrumentation is perfectly beautiful on every track. It truly deserves all the praise and hype it got, it’s definitely a go-to album if you need to relax.
4. Lady GaGa “Born This Way”
Unlike the rest of her Pop contemporaries, GaGa really tried hard on her third album to stand out from the pack. And she did in so many different ways with “Born This Way”, still catering to her Top 40 audience she manages to make little changes and explore different sounds. From Country, Industrial, House and Rock the album is clearly one of the most diverse of the year, yet the overall album works. And it’s not just the tracks, her attacking different vocal styles and writing some pretty impressive lyrics this go round “Born This Way” shows the artist behind the crazy outfits.
3. Jay Z & Kanye West “Watch the Throne”
The event album of the year, I almost didn’t believe it would ever come out but luckily it did. The album is Anthem after Anthem, it definitely caters to Kanye’s more energetic and humorous side. However mixed with Jay’s more serious verses, they both end up rubbing off on each other with Jay sounding like he’s having more fun and Kanye even waxing philosophical on some tracks. A great collaboration by two utter geniuses, how could it go wrong really?
2. Drake “Take Care”
Drake really is a surprising character in the industry. As much as you want to, you really can’t hate on what he brings to the table and it’s almost always unexpected and to the left of what you might have assumed. “Take Care” is a surprisingly deep and personal album at times, that transitions seamlessly from an Indie/R&B feel to a harder Hip Hop feel, and you don’t really notice because you are just captivated overall. His sophomore is just as good if not better than his very impressive debut, and this does show he has the chops to stay in the game for a long while.
1. James Blake “James Blake”
An album that takes a few listens to really appreciate, Indie self-produced “Dubstep Prince” (still don’t know why his music is classified as dub step but whatever) James Blake delivers a very minimalist album that even without many lyrics has such emotion and heart in the soundscapes he provides. It’s an album that plays well altogether and really stands out above anything else released this year, because it’s so non-conformist in almost every way. Tonally and emotionally it’s really an amazing album that shouldn’t be missed.
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Singles of the Year,
15. Jessie J “Who You Are” You would think the “love yourself” inspirational ballads died with Christina Aguilera’s “Beautiful”, but UK star Jessie J makes a great bid for bringing them back. The lyrics match so well with the emotion and rawness of her vocals, it doesn’t feel like sap it feels much more personal.
14. Yuck “Rubber”
An eery, forever building ode to 90’s Alternative. With it’s strange and creepy instrumentation and slowly changing tempos, and the vocal delivery of Daniel Blumberg. It’s almost like a scary movie you can’t stop listening to until you get to the end.
13. Britney Spears “Til the World Ends”
Easily one of the best songs of Britney’s career, and apparently she owes it all to Ke$ha who wrote this incredibly addictive call to the dancefloor. It’s perfection in it’s intentional stupid-ness, and a perfect song to suit Britney’s (*cough) limitations. (And the remix is even better than the original)
12. Lady Antebellum “We Owned the Night”
A beautiful yet underrated single from the power trio of 2010. The song works on many levels with a cute storyline, beautiful harmonies and a relaxed track that gets some real country energy in parts.
11. Maroon 5 “Moves Like Jagger”
Surprisingly great Pop track, not very deep but do you really expect that from a Top 40 song? No! What you expect, and what you get here, is a nice dance tempo and an insanely catchy hook. Add Christina Aguilera’s power notes and you have one of the best Pop offerings of the year.
10. Jason Aldean “Dirt Road Anthem”
Aldean has had a great run in the country world, and this rap/country hybrid (later remixed with a verse from Ludacris) does a lot to gain unlikely fans. He goes from his southern rap to belting it out towards the end over a very simple backing sample.
9. Rihanna “S&M”
The MOST Fun Dance song released this year, there are several portions that are crazy addictive and Rihanna’s sexy but coy vocal delivery takes it to another level. Another reason why no one can touch Rihanna in the Dance/Pop field, she consistently delivers the most dance-ready (and most true to the classic House sound) tracks of all her contemporaries. (And for the record, I’m pretending that Britney remix never existed! *awful)
8. Cage the Elephant “Aberdeen”
A great rock track, with clear homages to a more alternative 90’s rock sound but adding the groups standard weird effects and instrumentation to make the song totally fresh. Addictive and creative, what more do you want.
7. Chris Brown “Look at Me Now”
This is a Chris Brown song, but most of the praise for this weird electro/Hip Hop winner goes to producer Diplo and featured rapper Busta Rhymes whose flawless and breathless flow made this The urban track of the year, and once again showed he’s still a relevant player.
6. Lady GaGa “Yoü and I”
Mother Monster delivered a Pop Anthem, an Industrial Dance track, and a ballad-like House-r this year but her Country/Pop/Rock rump “You and I” is clearly the most memorable and the one that shows what a great artist she is. A great storyline, a confident vocal and a track so hype and powerful you’ll be singing and clapping along in no time.
5. James Blake “The Wilhelm Scream”
This is the genius of James Blake, at first the song is really unassuming. A simple repetitive vocal over scant electronic backing, but if you listen you start to feel and appreciate the layers and how the song builds to a beautiful climax. His songs just creep up on you and force you to feel something.
4. Miguel “Sure Thing”
In case anyone thought R&B was dead Miguel came through with a beautiful and loving R&B track that Urban Radio has been lacking for years. The writing is exceptional, a love song without any contradictions or stipulations like the “I love you but I’m probably gonna cheat on you” type songs we’ve been forced to accept in the past few years. A great return to form for R&B.
3. Jay Z & Kanye West “Otis”
Like I said in my review of “Watch The Throne”, this hit single has a very complicated and technical use of the Otis Redding “Try a Little Tenderness” sample. Everything else about the song feels so laid back and breezy in comparison, with two of the biggest Hip Hop Icons of the day genuinely having fun and not being try-hards with their second single. Epic song that’s downplayed to just being a fun record.
2. Adele Rolling in the Deep
Incredible vocals. Amazing (and LIVE) instrumentation. Killer lyrics. End.
1. Kanye West “All of the Lights”
One of Kanye’s most simple songs, in both production and verses. However the more you listen, the deeper it gets when you realize the story he’s trying to tell about the inner cities. And though the calvacade of featured artists are nice, they aren’t necessary. It’s a strong, powerful, energetic, catchy and flawless song.
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Disappointments of the Year,
3. Rihanna “Talk That Talk”
I LOVE Rihanna, this won’t change anytime soon. And because of my love, I was really excited for her 6th album even if it was clear it would be a bit rushed with the busy year she had. Now, over a month after it’s been in stores, I tend to listen to her previous album “Loud” over this one. Too many un-done songs, which gives the bare minimum in song structure, almost like her label said “whatever you have now is fine we’ll just release it”. I feel like her label jipped us fans and gave us a half-ass outing for Holiday sales, when with just a month or three more it could have been a pretty great album.
2. The Strokes “Angles”
After waiting 5 years for a new album from the once great Garage Rock band, when it album finally came it was a bit of a dud. “Angles” was way too all over the place and not making any real statement of their growth as a band. Not a terrible album by any means, but definitely not worth the long wait. Hopefully there is a quick follow up to redeem themselves.
1. Britney Spears “Femme Fatale”
I don’t know why (maybe because her team kept Tweeting about it), but I expected this album to be a sign of growth for Miss Spears who has been stuck in Robot-Mode for almost 5 years now. Unfortunately, the album was yet another Dance/Pop heavy, heavily vocally altered singles album with virtually no real effort coming from the star. And even with hype about insane choreography and performance lessons, Spears continued to disappoint by doing the bare minimum performance wise this year. Signaling the fact that Britney will probably never get any better as an artist, thus the potential demise of her career. (Her fans are the most faithful of any stan base though, as long as they are easily impressed she’ll be fine)
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Guilty Pleasures of the Year,
5. Big Sean “My Last”
This, for any other rapper, would have been pure filler. There’s nothing truly stand out about anything in the track, and the whole”we do it big out in public” concept is so annoying. Than the “a-a-a-all, a-a-a-all” hook pulls you in and you spontaneously start singing along.
4. Jennifer Lopez “On the Floor”
Could the lyrics get anymore elementary, or the track be anymore basic? I doubt it, but somehow the “La la la la”‘s and the overly repetitive “On the Floor”‘s were too catchy to deny.
3. LMFAO “Party Rock Anthem”
Overproduced, Pointless, Stupid, Basic… yet after a few times being forced to hear it on the radio you kinda get used to it. I know for me, the first time I heard it “Noisy Garbage” came to mind, after about 4 listens I was actually anticipating hearing it. Shameful, but that’s the beauty of a Guilty Pleasure.
2. Rihanna “We Found Love”
I called this when I first reviewed the single, the song is basic in every sense of the word. Random lyrics, and a hook that seems to never end. Not even the production is anything all that noteworthy, as Rihanna has had much better Dance singles. However that hook, after about the millionth time, engraves itself in your brain and you go a little crazy for 3 minutes.
1. Pitbull “Give Me Everything”
Pitbull’s verses are rather weak, Nayer is like a non-factor, the track is almost a “paint-by-numbers” dance track… but who can deny Ne-Yo’s infectious and addictive hook. Overall, everything comes together pretty nicely and you just get in a zone when the track comes on.
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Flops of the Year,
3. Kelly Rowland
Kelly’s solo problems have always been that she’s choked at the wrong opportunities. Her BET Award performance was all everybody could talk about, that was the time to hit us with a new single and video capitalizing on that exposure. But she waited until after her very decent album “Here I Am” had already flopped. And the supposedly “dance heavy” UK edition fared even worse, and that’s after all her “X-Factor” exposure. She seems to be stepping her performance game up, so there may be a chance next year.
2. (tie) Beyoncé, Britney Spears
How the mighty have fallen! Even though both divas posted respectable numbers in either album or single sales, 2011 showed that their time as relevant artists might be up.
Britney had major success on the singles charts, but her album sales took a steep dive given her track record. She truly became a singles artist this year, in the same realm as Ke$ha and LMFAO. And most of that is due to her consistently lazy performances, and refusal to do any interviews or press.
With Beyoncé, her album “4” posted good numbers but her single choices were disasters and … well, plain stupid. Her mistakes were clear, and she didn’t seem to take the hint (or maybe she didn’t care because of her pregnancy). She saves face with a few great live performances including the now iconic pregnancy reveal at the VMA’s, but now that she’s ditched her father as manager she’s totally accountable for this flop.
1. Joe Jonas
Poor Kid. He’s cute, he’s at least minimally talented, and you’d think with the success of The Jonas Brothers his solo career would make some kind of sales dent. Unfortunately, after hyping his first single for what felt like months it only peaked at #92 and the album “Fast Life” only managed to stay on the Billboard 200 for 2 weeks. I guess with Bruno Mars and Justin Bieber there was no spot left on the charts for another “teen heart throb”.
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Music Videos of the Year,
5. Beyoncé “Run the World (Girls)”
Beyonce went as big as she could to try to salvage the poor first single choice of “Run the World (Girls)”. Hyenas, Lions, Task Forces, Exploding Cars, a Few Hundred Backing Dancers. She threw the kitchen sink in there too, but luckily it’s saving grace is the dancing. She incorporates different styles and attacks, the type of big dance video Janet or Michael Jackson would do.
4. Jason Aldean “Tatoos On This Town”
They could have went a totally different way with this song, but they gave us the tear-jerker storyline. And it actually really works in a beautiful way with the lyrics of the song.
3. Lady GaGa “Born This Way”
Enter the crazy world of Mother Monster, where there’s no judgement and… blah blah blah. GaGa is known for being a bit pretentious, but overall this video came off visually very different from most Pop videos. And it’s always nice to see GaGa drop the seriousness and have fun, which she does towards the end.
2. P!nk “Fuckin Perfect”
Speaking of GaGa, P!nk this year proved you don’t have to make an 11 minute video to tell a compelling and emotional story that unfolds in surprising and beautiful ways. Really one of the most heart wrenching and inspiring videos of the year.
1. Rihanna “We Found Love”
This video is one that didn’t try too hard, but did an amazing job of bringing alot of depth and rawness to the basic song and it’s lyrics. In very quick glimpses yo almost see the entire length of a destructive relationship, the highs and lows, and with the flawless editing job it really does get surprisingly real, but still a beautifully shot video.
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Award Show Performances of the Year,
3. Bruno Mars “Valerie”
Bruno finally showed he has the chops to deserve his spot at the top right now. His 2010 Grammy performance showed a performer who truly loved music, but his vocals were a bit off. At this VMA tribute to Amy Winehouse, he really makes the song his own and is almost perfect vocally. His energy, and clear love for performance and singing really shined.
2. Beyoncé “Love on Top”
(this clip is mirrored, so it looks a little weird. sorry)
Bey pulled out all the stops for her Billboard Award performance, but this simple VMA routine was the one that got everybody talking. She’s known as a great performer, so she doesn’t have to do much to impress. And her flawless vocals before her reveal already clinched this as another great one in her long list of live performances. It’s the pregnancy reveal, and the reaction of the crowds, that made this what it is though.
1. Mumford and Sons “The Cave”
This is the kind of performance I love to see, where the group is ecstastic to be performing and you get a true sense that they really love what they are doing. Mumford and Sons delivered an un-jaded, energetic, and technically perfect Grammy performance this year. It helped “The Cave” become a major player on the charts as well as their debut album “Sigh No More”.
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So, what have we learned this year. It’s actually a little hard to say because it was so crazy and unpredictable. You never really knew what song would hit, what promotional opportunity would help sales. Random circumstances like YouTube videos ended up helping singles more than “American Idol” appearances (case in point Nicki Minaj’s “Super Bass” aided by Selena Gomez and Taylor Swift videos). The industry continued to get majorly shaky, but it seemed whatever Radio was backing would determine who would shine.
Which brings up a weird issue with Adele being so huge, it was kind of funny to hear one of her songs (like the piano ballad “Someone Like You”) on pop radio than right after hearing Cobra Starship or LMFAO dance trash single. You’d think radio might take the hint that people are ready for talented vocalists and great song structure. Obviously they didn’t, but they need to realize that a little diversity never killed anybody.
And I have a few remarks for two of Radio’s biggest stars Katy Perry and Bruno Mars. They both get the Step Your Game Up Award, because both are talented in their own ways. Bruno is a great performer and a good writer when he wants to be. It’s just the songs he’s been putting out are very below the bar and elementary, when he’s capable of putting out some classic and creative stuff. And Katy really needs to take her exposure and step out of the “Pop Top 40” realm a bit and get a little deeper. “Teenage Dream” actually does offer some depth and artistry (“Circle the Drain” “Pearl”), so she needs to let the world hear a different edge to her.
My I Don’t Get It Award goes to Foster the People and Florence and the Machine. “Pumped Up Kicks” was a huge single this year, but to me it just sounds like a horribly distorted MGMT rip-off with a forced catchy hook. It’s not just that they took their sound and tried to process it through a Mainstream filter, but it doesn’t even sound good and it’s surprising that it fit into the Mainstream machine at all. With Florence, I just can’t get into her voice long enough to hear an entire song, but she’s hyped as this amazing vocalist somehow. I just don’t get it.
The Have a Seat Award goes to Rihanna, and we know I love her by now. She is just over-working herself, and I need for her to be healthy and ready because she’s clearly being run to the ground. I already talked about her latest album, but her performances went from a major high earlier this year to a drastic and saddening low at the Jingle Ball in December. Six months of not working wouldn’t kill her, but Three more months of her pace might actually do it.
I WAS gonna Go In on Nicki Minaj. With touring with Britney, the success of “Super Bass”, and her recent David Guetta collaboration has become more of a Pop sensation than a Hip Hop Star. I won’t though because I’m hoping “Roman’s Reloaded” will make me love her again. And that’s pretty much all I have for this year, which like I said was pretty boring but some good things came out of it I guess.