Saurabh Chadha
It has been an exciting year with music being no exception. We look at the moments that defined the year — the most notable music events, the best albums and video charts... We re-discover the music that made the year, and will give us company for many, many years to come.
Chartbusters
Ed Sheeran had all the major music charts reserved for him. All the 17 tracks from his album, Divide, entered the Top 20 at once. If that was not all, Ed got a humungous response for his concert in India. He enthralled the crowds in Mumbai on November 19, belting out some of his most popular tracks — Eraser, Perfect, Hearts Don’t Break Around Here, Shape of You and New Man among them. Divide was also the most streamed album of the year worldwide with 3.1 billion streams, and Shape of You became the most streamed track of all time on Spotify with over 1.4 billion streams. Jay-Z released one of the most deeply thoughtful albums of his career. 4:44 was a big step for the rap industry and a sincere reflection of himself.
Top notch
In the recently released list of nominees for the 60th Grammys, Kendrick Lamar, Jay-Z, and Childish Gambino top the lead categories for the Awards, with all three artistes up for Record of the Year and Album of the Year.
Always new
This was also a year when many notable artistes abandoned their trademark sounds. For artistes like Wezzer, Beck and
St Vincent, it was a triumphant move, while the performance of Arcade Fire and Bear fell way below expectations. Pink and Kelly Clarkson (below) performed together for the first time at the American Music Awards, opening the show with a tearjerker duet of R.E.M.’s Everybody Hurts. Jamie Foxx introduced their performance with a tribute and a hope for a better year, saying, “We needed that power of music to help us heal. From wild fires, hurricanes, hatred fueled violence, 2017 is the year that tested our faith. At these moments of crises, heroes emerge.” After a series of wildfires that ravaged parts of Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg, Dolly Parton rallied her famous friends to help raise millions of dollars for victims of the fire in her hometown.
Viral fever
Sturgill Simpson, the Nashville singer-songwriter, gave quite a surprising act, as the not-so-known country singer was nominated for the album of the year at the 59th Grammy Awards. His album, A Sailor’s Guide to Earth, was nominated against four of the biggest stars: Beyonce, Adele, Drake and Justin Bieber. The award eventually went to Adele, though Strugill still had a triumphant moment, bagging a Grammy for the best country album. However, Luis Fonsi’s Despacito took the world by storm and became the most played video on YouTube. Played in almost every country, the song has become an internet superstar. As a setback, Gangnam Style lost its title of the most-viewed YouTube video. PSY’s video landed on YouTube in 2012 and went instantly viral.
Farewell song
The year left a big vacuum in the entertainment industry with the passing away of many legends, including American rock & roll guitarist and singer Chuck Berry, Italian electronic dance music composer Robert Miles, Chris Cornell (Radiohead), pop singer and actor Jerry Lewis, Pakistani classical singer Bade Fateh Ali Khan, Pop singer Tommy Page, American rock singer Tom Petty, opera tenor Louis Roney, Chuck Mosley (Faith No More), Malcolm Young (AC/DC), Chester Bennington (Linkin Park), and not to forget our very own Indian classical singer, queen of Thumri, Girija Devi.
Maestro is back
After a hiatus of over half a decade, the legendary musician AR Rahman was seen weaving a magical spell he embarked on his biggest-ever India tour reliving his musical renditions from over the years. AR Rahman’s Encore — The Concert covered four major cities in India to celebrate his 25 years in music.
Woman power
Music certainly has no age limit. Dame Vera Lynn became the oldest living artiste to grab a No.1 spot in 2009, when she was 93, and the oldest living person to have a Top 20 album in 2014 with her album National Treasure. In 2017, she raised the bar even higher as she released 100 in celebration of her 100th birthday. It had some of her best songs, including White Cliffs of Dover and We’ll Meet Again.
Du Yun’s Pulitzer Prize win for her outstanding opera Angel’s Bone meant that four of the last eight winners have been women. The relatively younger bands were also dominated by women. These included Girlpool, Charly Bliss, Vagabon, Charly Bliss and Partner.
What also made news was Beyoncé’s Instagram post, “We have been blessed two times over,” not only announced the birth of her twins Rumi and Sir Carter, but the photo soon became the most-liked photo on Instagram. Beyoncé also officially became the richest woman in music. She replaced Taylor Swift and, according to Forbes, the singer made $105 million this year, credit to her critically acclaimed album Lemonade and her sell-out Formation world tour. Adele came second, earning $69 million this year.
The bombing at the Ariana Grande concert in May caused a wave of support and affection for the victims of the attack, with Grande performing a benefit concert to raise funds for those affected.
Top 10 of the year
Albums
Damn Kendrick Lamar
Melodrama Lorde
Utopia Björk
Masseducation St Vincent
Black Origami Jlin
Big Fish Theory Vince Staples
LCD Soundsystem American Dream
Process Sampha
CTRL SZA
4:44 Jay-Z
music Videos
The Gate Björk
Humble Kendrick Lamar
The Story of OJ Jay-Z
Boys Charli XCX
Truth Kamasi Washington
New York St Vincent
Green Light Lorde
Lift Radiohead
Young Thug Wyclef Jean
Bon Appétit Katy Perry feat. Migos
Hindi songs
Mere Rashke Qamar Baadshaho Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan
Raadha Jab Harry Met Sejal Sunidhi Chauhan, Shahid, Pritam
Ghoomar Padmavati Shreya Ghoshal, Swaroop Khan
Hind Meri Jind Sachin: A Billion Dreams AR Rahman
Gori Tu Latth Maar Toilet: Ek Prem Katha Sonu Nigam, Palak Muchhal
Jee Lein OK Jaanu Arjun, Neeti Mohan, Savithri
Humsafar Badrinath Ki Dulhania Akhil Sachdeva, Mansheel
Meer-e-Kaarwan Lucknow Central Amit Mishra, Neeti Mohan
Main Kaun Hoon Secret Superstar Meghna Mishra
Lift Teri Bandh Hai Judwaa 2 Anu Malik, Neha Kakkar
the headliners
Record Of The Year Humble Kendrick Lamar
Best Pop Solo Performance Shape Of You Ed Sheeran
Best Pop Group Performance Thunder Imagine Dragons
Dance/Electronic Music Tonite LCD Soundsystem
Best Rock Performance The Promise Chris Cornell
Best Alternative Music Album Humanz Gorillaz
Best Rap Performance 4:44 JAY-Z
Best Country Performance You Look Good Lady Antebellum
Best Jazz Album Dreams And Daggers Cécile McLorin Salvant
Best World Music Album Rosa Dos Ventos Anat Cohen & Trio Brasileiro