Friday, December 25, 2015

Top Ten Current Musicians

G’Day everyone. Today I’m sharing another Top Ten post (http://mralmoore.blogspot.com.au/2015/07/top-10-entertainers-of-all-time.html), this time for the Best Current Musicians.
To follow up from my previous post, today I will give my opinion on the Top 10 Live Musicians of 2015.

To start, here’s some honourable mentions:
1.
Nick Jonas: With his recent launch of his solo career after his time with the Jonas Brothers he has been producing hit after hit with songs like Jealous and Chains. Jonas’s cracking vocals lead me to think he has a mega career ahead of him.


2. Troye Sivan also deserves an honourable mention. He first found fame on YouTube, and in 2012 produced the song “Happy Little Pill.” Sivan has been labelled as the future of pop music by big names like Taylor Swift. His first album recently came out, called “Blue Neighbourhood” featuring great songs like Wild, Fools, and Youth on it. Sivan is definitely set to be a mega musician.


Now, here’s my list of the Top Ten Musicians of 2015
10. Number Ten on the list is the first signing of Ed Sheeran’s new record company, Gingerbread Man Records and that is Jamie Lawson. Lawson had been performing in local British pubs when Ed Sheeran noticed his amazing voice, and signed him up straight away. With his first hit song Wasn’t Expecting That, Lawson is currently touring Europe, and recently announced an Australian tour in 2016. Lawson’s self-titled album has numerous touching and beautiful songs such as Cold in Ohio and Don’t Let Me Go.

9. Number 9 on the list is George Ezra. With his baritone/tenor voice, George Ezra is another British mega star. With his hit song last year, Budapest, Ezra is simply amazing. Ezra has had big success with other hit songs like Blame it on Me and Listen to the Man. He is currently performing shows around the world, promoting his album that came out last year, “Wanted on Voyage.”


8. Number 8 on the list is British singer and songwriter, James Bay. With his powerful vocals, and hit songs like ‘Hold Back the River’ and ‘Let it Go’, James Bay is definitely a future mega star. His album “Chaos and the Calm” is one that I highly recommend and he is set to perform in Australian next year. Bay will be performing in late January/early February, which will be a concert not to miss.


7. Number 7 on the list is the highly entertaining and talented DJs Disclosure. Working with such artists like Sam Smith to produce hits like ‘Latch’ and ‘Omen’ and Lorde to make the new hit ‘Magnets’, the pair of brothers Howard and Guy Lawrence, are truly talented. Their new album, “Caracal” recently came out this year, and is worth a listen


6. Coming in at number 6 is Selena Gomez. After a break, Gomez has found her niche and perfected her individual ‘sound’. With her new album that came out this year, “Revival” which includes hit songs like Good for You and Same Old Love, Gomez is currently a mega force in the music industry. Due to her crisp voice, and her new found style she comes in at number 6 in the list.


5. We are now at the half way mark of our list and number 5 on the list is Sam Smith. The British singer has had huge amount of success this past year since the release of the mega-hit song Stay With Me. Smith was first seen when he collaborated with English DJ, Naughty Boy on the mega hit ‘La La La’ but when it came out, people just knew the words and the tune, not the man behind the vocals. Smith’s big break didn’t come until he wrote, nearly two years later, ‘Stay With Me.’ Sam Smith’s dominance in the music scene was shown all throughout last year and continues throughout this year as he wraps up a world tour to write his next album. Sam Smith is the artist that defined 2014/2015, so it will be interesting to see what 2016 brings for this talented man.


4. Number 4 on list is The Weeknd. Born in Toronto, Canada, Abel Makkonen Tesfaye (whose stage name is The Weeknd) is one of the best live performers today. I first noticed him because he sounds so very similar to the great Michael Jackson. Abel is surely on the road to musical success. With such hits like ‘The Hills’ (which had two remixes made featuring Eminem and Nicki Minaj) and ‘Can’t Feel my Face’ The Weeknd is currently touring his album “Beauty Behind the Madness” which I often find myself jamming out to.


3. Now, one a year ago, I would not be giving any praise to this next person but people change and grow and this is why Justin Bieber is number three. When his first single, ‘Baby’ came out, it was hard to find a positive thing to say about him, but in past five years (and a night in jail) Bieber seems to have evolved and matured. For example, here is a recent version of ‘Baby’ he performed on the American Today Show.  

Five years since Bieber first came onto our computer and phone screens, and after years of hating on him, it’s hard not to enjoy his music. This year Bieber broke his three-year hiatus and released his album, “Purpose.” Now, after listening to the album I find a new song to love every time I listen to it. Whether it be the instant hit, Sorry or the simple guitar song Love Yourself, “Purpose” has an amazing variety of ‘pop’ type music and slowed down, guitar/piano songs, like the song Life is Worth Living. Bieber is apparently going on a world tour to promote his new album. Might be worth a look!


2. When we think of pop stars, the next person on our list is surely the Queen of Pop: Taylor Swift has been labelled as the singer of our generation by many reviewers and her stellar vocals reinforce this label.  Beginning as a country singer, it took T-Swizzle a while to find her style of music, but after the release of her album, “Red” in 2012 (which included hits like ‘I Knew you were Trouble, and ‘22’) she found her style of music and the world loved her mix of country and pop.

After touring the world with her “Red” album, Swift took time off to work on her album, “1989” which came out last year (2014). This album is probably Swift’s most successful to date, producing hits songs like Shake it Off, Blank Space and Style. Swift is now continuing on her stadium world tour of her album “Red” and is about to wrap up the tour in Australia. Taylor Swift’s incredible and powerful vocals, and the way she inspires numerous kids and teenagers by acting as a role model lands her at number two on my list.



1. From an unbiased opinion the next person has to be number one on nearly any list like this, and with his incredible guitar playing skills and the way he performs live, Ed Sheeran tops off my list. After a long and tiring struggle performing in pubs, and on street corners, Ed has successfully become one, if not the biggest, musicians of the past ten years. Sheeran’s success first was seen with the release of his 2011 album “+” (read as plus) which has many hits on it including ‘Lego House’. 


The way he performs live and how he sounds nearly exactly like it does on the album, has to make him of the best. After the release of his album in 2011, Ed Sheeran toured, but performing small arenas or pubs. In 2014, Ed Sheeran released his album, “x” (read as multiply). After a successful world tour, Ed announced that he would perform at Wembley Stadium, undoubtedly every musician’s goal…and, due to high demand, he sold it out three nights in a row. On his album “x”, (which is one of my favourite albums) you can hear hits like Thinking Out Loud, Photograph and my favourite I’m a Mess. Ed Sheeran has is a must-see when he comes to your town.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=em-1E3I8imc



Thank you for reading today’s list. I hoped you all enjoyed it and see you all next time!!