Showing posts with label Music. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Music. Show all posts

Thursday, August 15, 2019

Three Eras of British Band Dominance

The music scene is one of the best and iconic scenery in the pop culture and mainstream living of every man. As well as the songs that emerged from nowhere had started to pop up, get known, top the charts, slip through it and exit it. Well, the songs that emerge are all credited to its composers and performers. Music as well can sometimes be considered as a digital war of listening because of the existence of the music charts, especially the one that is ran by the music magazine, Billboard.

In my observations and research regarding the music scene of British performers, it is well obviously seen that there are three British bands from different generations that dominated the world in the music scene and pop culture. Somewhat, their influence had largely changed the music scene ever since they have started emerging and dominating the world music scene. Here are the following British bands we are mentioning from three different generations of time:

The Beatles (1960 - 1970)
The Beatles
The Beatles is an English rock band from Liverpool composed of John Lennon (vocalist), Paul McCartney (guitarist), George Harrison (guitarist), and Ringo Starr (drummer). The Beatles are well known in the 60's and their dominance in the music scene is referred once as Beatlemania and they are considered by music critiques, fellow celebrities, and fans alike as the greatest and most influential act of the rock era. After a decade of fame in the 1960's, The Beatles broke up and each member had move on with their respective music careers. As of today, only two members of the Beatles are still alive, Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr. John Lennon was assassinated on December 1980 while George Harrison died of lung cancer last November 2001. The two remaining members remained active in the music scene as of today. RIAA considers The Beatles as The Best-selling Band in the USA. They also had more number-one albums on the British music charts, more than any other British band or performer alike. The band also holds the record in Billboard music charts for having The Most #1 Singles in Hot 100 with 20 singles. The band as well, had won 10 Grammy Awards in their time of fame.

The Spice Girls (1994 - 2000)
The Spice Girls
The Spice Girls is an all female pop group from London, composed of Melanie Brown (Scary Spice), Melanie Chisholm (Sporty Spice), Geri Halliwell (Ginger Spice), Emma Bunton (Baby Spice), and Victoria Adams-Beckham (Posh Spice). Their dominance in the 90's era sparked the Girl Power phenomenon among teenage girls and had pioneered the commercial breakthrough of teen pop music in the 1990's. People ranging from music critiques and fans alike consider them as one of the powerhouses of the 90's music scene and also, they are referred as the greatest female group of all time. The Spice Girls had reached the dominance of global music scene in 1996 when they released their debut single, Wannabe which managed to hit #1 on 30 countries worldwide. The group however, took a hiatus in 2000 and each member moved on to their respective careers but they declared that the group will not break up.

The Spice Girls are considered as the greatest female group of all time. The group as well was considered as the second generation of British music dominance since the Beatles in the 1960's. They are also the best-selling female group of all time and the record still stands today. Billboard stated as well that The Spice Girls had achieved The Highest Debut of a Non-American Artist at Hot 100 with their debut single Wannabe debuting at 11. The Spice Girls as well was a very successful marketing engine at the 90's with grosses of $500 million to $800 million in the time of 1996 to 1998, with the group earning $75 million per year. Last 2012, the group performed Wannabe and Spice Up Your Life once again on the closing ceremonies of the 2012 London Olympics and thus, their latest performance as The Spice Girls, aside for their reunion concert last 2007.

One Direction (2010 - present)
One Direction
One Direction is a London-based boy band composed of Harry Styles, Louis Tomlinson, Niall Horan, Zayn Malik, and Liam Payne. Each member are rejected contestants in the singles audition of the seventh season of X-Factor but however after being grouped up under the ideas of Nicole Scherzinger (who was an X-Factor judge at that time) and Simon Cowell, they managed to enter the Group category and finished third in the X-Factor Season 7. Due to the high demand and the spawning power of social media, One Direction just easily managed to reach fame and get the attention of the international music scene.

One Direction is well known for their undefeated streak at their nominations at the Teen Choice Awards. They have a stunning record of 14-0 winning streak on all their nominations on the said award event since they got their first nomination at TCA's last 2012. They we're also proclaimed by Billboard as the Top New Artist/s of 2012. They are also the second wealthiest musicians under age of 30. Prior to the release of their third album Midnight Memories, One Direction became the first band in the history of Billboard Top 200 Albums Chart to have the first three albums hit the #1 spot. The said album as well became the biggest selling album in 2013.

As of 2014, the band is currently signed to Simon Cowell's Syco Records and is currently working on their fourth studio album.

The three bands featured however, in my opinion, are really the ones that had caught the attention of the worldwide music scene. The power and influence of these three bands that was shown in their respective generations only show that not only the American musicians can make a difference in dominating the international music scene.

Monday, August 12, 2019

Who is Marina and the Diamonds?

Marina Diamandis, also known as Marina and the Diamonds
Everyone we met in our everyday life always have their own passion for music. The popularity of pop music had made the music scene a daily trend and a part of every people's pop culture. Music as well gave the reputation and fame for the singers and bands we idolize almost the whole time.

I, personally admit myself that I am a Katy Perry fan. Some people and mutual fans I know call a Katy Perry fan as a KatyCat. In my years of listening to different kind of English songs, my taste usually falls on the mainstream ones, until one of my fan friends had introduced me to indie music and to a singer that I am sure only few Filipinos know, Marina and the Diamonds.

Now who is Marina and the Diamonds? Is it band (Hence, the name) or some sort of a random musician? Well, if I tell you guys, Marina and the Diamonds is a screen name of the solo Welsh singer Marina Diamandis. If you got curious what is that "Diamonds" thing, she used it to describe her fans hence coming out with a conclusion of "Marina and her fans".
Marina and the Diamond's first album, The Family Jewels
Marina and the Diamonds had started her career in music in 2005 but her fame only rises on the islands of United Kingdom. In this time, she had released her EP's but it was in 2010 that she released her first album entitled "The Family Jewels" that made her name be known to North America, especially in the United States. Since then, Marina's fame is now well known in Europe and North America at this time that her album at this time of 2010 made her kick-off her "The Family Jewels Tour".

Electra Heart, Marina and the Diamond's second album.
In 2012, she and Robyn are the front acts on Katy Perry's California Dreams Tour which had helped Marina and the Diamonds get additional fans and make her fame strong. In this year, she released her second album, "Electra Heart" and the album boosted the hit single "Primadonna" in which Marina's most successful single at this time. In her sophomore album, she had cemented her fame status on North America and Europe and the success of her "Electra Heart" album made her kick-off her second tour "The Lonely Hearts Club Tour" which lasted until May 2013.

How Marina and the Diamonds' music had reached the Filipinos and created a few Filipino Diamonds' is still a big question to me as a music listener. One big factor to this is the Internet itself if I ask anyone. At this point of time, there are only rare people who knows Marina and the Diamonds but I believe, one day, her name will be known by many Filipino music listeners. If you're curious of how she voice like in singing, here's a music video of her hit single "Primadonna".



If you want to know more about Marina and the Diamonds, check out her official website: www.marinaandthediamonds.com/