It’s that time of the year agin when I look back on the songs that made my year. Appearances from the usual suspects Drake, Florence and the Machine and Lady Gaga sit side by side with some brand new artists like Maggie Rogers and Cardi B.
Californication – Red Hot Chili Peppers – 1999 Claimed Sales: 15m First listen?: Yes Format Listened?: Apple Music Listening to Blood Sugar Sex Magik and Californication for the first time back to back in a series like this does a lot to explain the development of Red Hot Chili Peppers over the 8 years that separated their two biggest albums. …
Probably the Grammy category most closely associated with the Billboard Hot 100 chart; there have only been a handful of nominees and even fewer winners to fail to make the higher echelons of the chart. You’d think this might make predicting potential nominees easier, but with 8 songs now set to make the cut the … Continue reading
A year ago I said ‘If The Weight of These Wings doesn’t win Best Country Album in February, I will absolutely baffled’. I’m still baffled that Miranda Lambert’s masterpiece and one of the best country albums of the decade missed out on even a nomination last year, and so my predictions this year have been thrown out … Continue reading
Of the four General field categories at the Grammy Awards, Best New Artist is arguably the most unpredictable when it comes to selecting potential nominees. Eligibility criteria is so much more complicated in one of just a few ‘Individual’ awards that the show gives out (the other obvious one being Producer of the Year) and … Continue reading
I’m kicking off this year’s Grammy Award Nomination predictions a little later than usual given how inaccurate I have been in previous years. This time I waited for confirmation of the submissions for most of the big categories, namely Best New Artist where some shock omissions from the list would have made my eventual predictions … Continue reading
I Dreamed A Dream – Susan Boyle – 2009 Claimed Sales: 14m First listen?: Yes Format Listened?: Apple Music Some people like to save the best for last, I think it was Vanessa Williams who told us to do that. It seems I like to save Susan Boyle for last, by far the album I was most dreading to listen … Continue reading
Breakaway – Kelly Clarkson – 2004 Claimed Sales: 15m First listen?: No Format Listened?: Apple Music The original American Idol I’m not sure there’s any pop singer of the last few decades as instantly likable as Kelly Clarkson. She has an infectious personality, why America and eventually the rest of the world fell in love with her so quickly, but … Continue reading
American Idiot – Green Day– 2004 Claimed Sales: 16m First listen?: No Format Listened?: Apple Music Released over a decade after their breakthrough album Dookie, American Idiot marked a somewhat return to worldwide success for Green Day. Much like Dookie, a lot of the songs here are quick sharp bursts and punk rock energy, She’s A Rebel a clear … Continue reading
