2010: Great year for the girls

Pop musicwise, 2010 was a great year for the girls. Take a look at the hit charts of the world and you will find almost the same female names dominating the hit lists. A mopped top kid from Ontario named Justin Bieber is also there as well as the ex Slim Shady, who must be one of the greatest rappers of this generation and Michael Bublé, the cool crooner, who is also from Canada, British Columbia on the West Coast. But for the most part, it was the songs by this batch of beautiful, talented women that we enjoyed listening to this year.

Susan Boyle, the once frumpy, mousy, middle-aged, also-run turned out to be Britain’s Got Talent’s most successful discovery. Boyle really bucked all the odds. She was everything wrong for a pop star but look at where she is now. Her debut album I Dreamed A Dream was named the biggest selling album of the year by Billboard Magazine and her follow-up CD, The Gift is the biggest selling Christmas album of the year. Susan was truly a big surprise but I think I have a good idea why people love her music. She sings with such simplicity and purity of tones that I cannot believe we waste time on all the vocal exhibitionism commonly practiced by today’s pop divas.

Everybody adores Taylor Swift and what a year this one turned out to be for her. The 5’ 10”-tall, blond beauty has a big hit with her latest Speak Now. Her Fearless album from two years ago remains a big seller and fans have rediscovered her Sounds Of The Season from 2007 where she does a great take on the Wham! hit Last Christmas. To top it all, lucky Taylor, who only turned 21 two weeks ago is now dating the adorable Jake Gyllenhaal.

Lady Gaga remains very much in the race. Admittedly, that meat dress, in spite of whatever statement she was trying to make, was too over the top. I also do not know how far she would go vocally without all the effects she puts into her recordings. But there is nobody around who is quite as daring, she creates infectious tunes and most of all, she sells. Her albums, The Fame and The Fame Monster are among the year’s big sellers and can you name anybody who didn’t like Bad Romance.

The other big acts of the year, the female ones are: Katy Perry, who first shocked when she kissed a girl, then went on to greater fame with the CD Teenage Dream; Lady Antebellum, the country trio with a female member, Hayley Williams and the big hit Need You Now; Bieber and his two My World albums; The Black Eyed Peas, also with a female member, the lovely Fergie and we are proud to say, one Pinoy named apl.de.ap, and the album, The E.N.D.; the lovely Rihanna doing Love The Way You Lie with Eminem and on the solo track with Rude Boy; the comebacking Sade with Soldier Of Love; Ke$ha, who made everybody go Tik Tok; Alicia Keys and her Element Of Freedom which has Empire State Of Mind, her wistful collaboration with Jay-Z.

Others who connected with the charts in 2010 are: Eminem with his great comeback CD Recovery; newcomer Bruno Mars, who I heard is part Filipino with his Just The Way You Are; the also comebacking Enrique Iglesias with the CD Euphoria: the rock band Train with the album Save Me San Francisco: and the sensational cast of Glee, who is now the group with the most number of hit albums. Former record holders were The Beatles.

Incidentally, it looks like rock music reached a low point among buyers this year. In fact, only one act, Train, made the Top 20 songs of the year end list with the single Soul Sister from Save Me San Francisco. This is really sad news, and l hope that things will soon get better for all the rock acts out there.

 Here now as per the Billboard year-end list, are the songs we listened to in the year about to pass and which made everything a little better. Tik Tok by Ke$ha; Need You Now by Lady Antebellum; Hey Soul Sister by Train; California Gurls by Perry; OMG by Usher featuring will.i.am; Airplanes by B.o.B. feat. Williams of Lady Antebellum; Love The Way You Lie by Eminem feat. Rihanna; Bad Romance by Lady Gaga; Dynamite by Taio Cruz; and Break Your Heart also by Taio Cruz feat. Ludacris.