HIGHLIGHTS: January Music Round Up
HIGHLIGHTS: January Music Round Up
Get the latest on music news stories and celebrity gossip to look out for in 2020.
With the tributes to late celebrities, prestigious Grammy ceremony and top tracks of the year so far. Read on to hear about the major influencers of the music industry in 2020.
What have been the biggest stories? Most talked about tracks and upcoming album releases…
Wiley vs Stormzy beef
We started the year with Stormzy hitting 2020 with a wave of new tracks, all dominating the charts throughout the month. Heavy Is The Head is a very obnoxious album title but it managed to catch the attention of industry execs and won over the fans. The acclaimed row between Stormzy and Wiley has been all over Twitter and resulted in many diss-tracks being released.
Stormzy was the talk of the town, Wiley hit him with ‘Eediyat Skengman (Stormzy send)’ . Which sparked many rumours on Twitter and started a public row from both Grime natives. Stormzy then hit back with a track and so forth. This went back and forth and all the public received was sheer showbiz entertainment. Alongside some new bonus tracks. Celebrate for the fans?
But Stormzy did bag a Number 1 single with ‘Own It featuring Ed Sheeran’ too. The single hit the UK Top 40, spent 3 weeks at Number 1 and 9 weeks in the Top 10 to date. Heavy Is The Head did also reach number 1 in the UK. Therefore, Stormzy has had his fair share of success in the first month of January but I’d suggest this beef with Wiley has helped him. I’d say this was a very smart PR stunt. Don’t you think?
Grammy Awards 2020
Next up we ended the month with one of the most prestigious award ceremonies around the world. It is every songwriter; musicians or artists dream to win a Grammy. Lizzo, Lil Nas X, Billie Eilish, Ariana Grande and Khalid are just some of the biggest nominees.
Billie Eilish became the big winner, bagging 5 awards this year. Record Of The Year, Album of the Year, Song of the Year, Best New Artist and Best Pop Solo Album.
- Best Pop Solo Performance won by Lizzo Truth Hurts.
- Best Traditional R&B performance: Lizzo – Jerome
- Best Urban Contemporary Album: Lizzo – Cuz I Love You (Deluxe)
- Best R&B Song: PJ Morton ft Jojo – Say So
- Best R&B Album – Anderson Park – Ventura
- Best Rap Song: 21 Savage, Jermaine Cole, Dacoury Natche & Anthony White – A Lot
- Best Pop Duo/Group performance – Lil Nas X ft Billy Ray Cyrus Old Town Road
- Best Dance Recording – The Chemical Brothers – Got To Keep On
- Best Dance/Electronic Album – The Chemical Brothers – No Geography
Other winners include, DJ Khaled, Willie Nelson, Tyler the Creator, Dan + Shay, Tanya Tucker and more…
Full list of winners can be viewed here
This year’s Award ceremony paid tribute to all those we lost in the last year, from music executives to artists like JuiceWrld, Prince and Mac Miller to name a few.
Justin Bieber vs Selena Gomez
Get ready for a year filled with headlines pinning the two against each other since they both released new tracks and yet to release albums in the next few months. Selena released Rare on 10th January, an honest ‘tell all’ album speaking about her vulnerability while she was in a relationship with Bieber and also how much she has grown as a person. Bieber released debut R&B track ‘Yummy‘ desperate to gain back his number 1 status all over the world he sparked much controversy during promotion. Joining Tik Tok and encouraging fans to “leave Yummy on repeat in the background on streaming services to help him gain a Number 1”.
Justin has succeeded in reaching the papers and internet by storm with his comeback but expect more this year from the newly married man.) Justin got the papers after encouraging fans how to get his single to Number 1 through streaming, seen in the Instagram post below. Which has now been deleted.
Selena released a great slow, pop and powerful album. She speaks about how she has gained back her self-confidence and is now empowering others. ‘Vulnerable’ and songs ‘Rare’ speak about how she found it difficult managing her relationship and fame all at the same time. Her difficulties throughout the celebrity lifestyle. As the album progresses, more about where she is now as an artist.
But expect more from Selena and Justin, with more controversial content from both megastar.
Selena is in the Top 3 for most followed Instagram followers.
Top Tracks – have a listen below
