Just a thought, I was wondering if anyone would like to contribute a 2011 editorial to be posted on the main page. Perhaps an article summing up the year in general, or one focused on singles or albums or maybe even a particular artist or genre. I've seen something on here about the successes of BBC Sound of 2011 which would be interesting if it was put into article form. If anyone has any ideas or feel they would like to contribute in any way please post below or PM me if you wish.

 

I'm sure that any contributions would compliment Simon's weekly reports so any ideas are welcome.

 

Thanks. (:

Bump in case anyone hasn't seen this. (:

Feel free to use my article which summarises the year 2011, unless you already have another source.

Feel free to use my article which summarises the year 2011, unless you already have another source.

Added to the front page with a few minor tweaks :)

Excellent, thank you. Still would like some more volunteers though if anyone's interested? (:

Here's my contribution :) Could probably be better but I'm up way too late as it is :zzz:

 

The music of 2011 saw two domineering sounds, vying for attention at the top of the singles and album charts. It seemed you were either one of the two - a party rocker, or a balladeer?

 

First to the former, and something that began back at the beginning of 2009 and seems to have truly reached its peak in 2011's summer. It's still remarkable to look at how the popular music landscape changed from 2008 to 2009, going from mostly guitar-led acts such as the Ting Tings and Kings of Leon, to a radically different return to a much more synthesized 'pop' sound, characterised by Lady Gaga and a returned Black Eyed Peas. And when one song in particular from the BEPs - 'I Gotta Feeling' - ended up a million seller, other acts and producers had certainly taken note by 2011.

 

"I gotta feeling tonight's going to be a good night"? Well how about "Party rockers in the house tonight"? Or "Tonight we're going to get on the floor", or "I just wanna make you sweat", or "Give me everything tonight", or...you get the idea. By the summer you couldn't move for a top ten of synth-heavy, upbeat 'party' songs, most of which featuring superstar DJ David Guetta in some way. All mentioning the words 'party' and 'tonight' several times, putting your hands in the air and some kind of chord sequence involving the words "Woah" or "La" repeated several times. But why? Was it disallusioned clubbers trying to forget recessions and rising fees and wanting to dance their troubles away instead? Whatever the reason, it made the charts - especially around April to June - unbelievably euphoric and energising, almost exhausting just listening to the top 10 alone. Songs like LMFAO's 'Party Rock Anthem', Pitbull's 'Give Me Everything', Rihanna's 'We Found Love' and Jennifer Lopez's 'On The Floor' illustrate this perfectly, all in the top 10 year's biggest sellers and all selling over a phenonomal 750,000 copies, some agonisingly close to a million at year's end.

 

So pity then for poor rock music, which saw it ruling all through much of the indie-led 2000s, and barely made any impression on the singles chart at all in 2011. Some may argue that the last 'true' rock number 1 was the Kings of Leon in 2008, a huge amount of time away - similar to how dance music was fighting to survive amongst urban R&B and indie circa 2005. Successful albums have come from The Vaccines and Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds, and indeed the surprise success of Coldplay's 'Paradise' at the very end of the year indicates that rock may just be on the rise again. We'll see how this translates into 2012.

 

Dance music was more energised than it's been in years with the commercial breakthrough of dubstep. An underground genre for years, the likes of Nero and DJ Fresh brought it into the mainstream this year, the former scoring four top 40 hits and a #1 on both single and album charts, the latter achieving what was widely called 'the first dubstep #1' in July with 'Louder'. Some may argue how truly dubstep 'Louder' is, comparing it to more hardcore examples, but I see it as the dubstep equivalent to what ATB's '9pm (Till I Come)' did for trance in 1999. Yes it's very commercialised, but as songs they're both superb, and deserve to be remembered as classics of their genre.

 

The other domineering sound of the year also made up the year's biggest selling single and album - the ballad. At one point the BRIT School trained Adele looked to be simply an item of 2008 nostalgia, a couple of hits and one big album, and surely would find it tricky in today's pop-heavy charts to return. Instead she releases an album that blows everyone away. The moment she came back with '21' her success was assured, holding steady at number 1 for what seemed like the entire year, selling almost 4 MILLION in twelve months. Her huge success has translated into countless single sales too. 'Rolling In The Deep's tally of almost 800,000 is impressive in itself, but it's 'Someone Like You' that takes the 2011 singles clown, a huge million seller and means she takes her place on not only the biggest selling albums, but singles of all time. At times it would hold at #1 with a succession of party rockers making up the rest of the top 10, reminiscent of Bryan Adams ruling over the breakbeat rave-heavy charts of twenty years earlier.

 

By the autumn it seemed the ballad had overtaken the party rocker. Although Rihanna's 'We Found Love' held strong at #1, the rest of the chart told a different story. Christina Perri's 'Jar of Hearts', a big American 2010 hit but previously less known in the UK, suddenly sells half a million this year. She's joined by Ed Sheeran, Lana Del Ray, Charlene Soraia, even random re-entries of Damien Rice songs from a decade earlier, subsequently covered by the winners of The X Factor. Although for once the ITV talent show didn't claim Christmas number one due to being released the week earlier, the Military Wives Choir sold 500,000 of another ballad to end the year.

 

With still the occasional party rocker proving huge as we ended 2011, like Flo Rida's 'Good Feeling' selling strongly into 2012, it's hard to claim a winner. Adele was the biggest seller, but the full singles top 20 breaks down to 9 party rockers, 5 ballads (two from Adele) and 6 pop songs that don't really fit into either category, not synthy enough to be a party rocker but too upbeat to be a ballad. In all it will go down as another memorable year for music, no matter how you remember it - whether you clubbed the night away to LMFAO and David Guetta, or listened to '21' on loop, it's another year of songs that will remain in millions of memories forever.

 

I've no idea what 2012's going to bring, but can't wait to find out!

Thanks for that BillyH. It's an interesting round-up of the year.

 

Perhaps you should post more :)

Posted. ;D