What were the 80 most important musical recordings, artists, trends, events, and performances of 2008? What were the eight things this year that broke our hearts—or, at least, our ears? We're happy to announce 80 '08 (and Heartbreak), Idolator's year-end overview. The list is below the jump.
More »
The music video channel that could Fuse had been running its "Top 40 of 2008" special over the last few days, but I just couldn't bring myself to watch—Katy Perry wasn't just performing two songs, she was co-hosting the whole thing. The premise was amusing, matching the year's "best" videos against each other head-to-head, tournament style, but in the end, it just turned into a battle of who could mobilize their fan club to the greatest effect. Guess what? Even through it all, the followers of Britney can come through in the clutch.
THE GOOD: Paramore defeating the Offspring, Staind and Linkin Park before running into a train called "Womanizer" (and losing by four million votes in the finale)? Katy Perry's "I Kissed A Girl" and Kid Rock's "All Summer Long" losing in the first round? That's about all the good news I have, really.
THE BAD: Disturbed won two rounds of voting. Disturbed. In 2008. Two rounds.
THE WHAAA? While the video for "Vida La Vida" is not something Hype Williams should add to his demo reel, losing to Secondhand Serenade isn't a fate Coldplay should be forced to suffer.
So, Friday night was the 2008 installment of Z100's end-of-year-fest known as the Jingle Ball, and while this year's lineup didn't have any guaranteed swoon objects like last year's Jonas Brothers fest, the lineup was nowhere near the crapfest that was Zootopia. Kanye West and Ne-Yo and Rihanna (and even Leona Lewis and David Archuleta, to a lesser extent) made me realize that while the ever-shrinking beast that is "pop music" certainly has its problems in 2008, its high points can still bring smiles to faces and twitchiness to butts.
More »
In the current rough climate for recorded music, those companies that were involved in this business of music decided to get creative with their revenue stream—and no avenue of creativity was more popular than the 360 deal, in which companies signed artists to deals that encompassed not just income from recorded music, but merchandise, touring, publishing, and other potential money-making paths as well. Concert-promotion behemoth Live Nation went the "big, splashy deal" route, signing the likes of Madonna and Jay-Z to deals that were valued in the hundreds of millions at the time; Warner Music Group was so into the whole 360 idea, they even signed deals with dead people!
More »
3:00 PM on Thu Dec 11 2008
By Maura Johnston
529 views,
1 comment
Latest by shamu: Rapino is perfectly positioned here. He will take credit for any success and run from any failure - blaming Cohl. more »
A band with a charismatic frontwoman attracts a passionate young following, briefly with Contemporary Christian fans and then with a mass audience bewitched by their alternative-but-accessible vibe. While the group attracts certain emo elements and the tattooed-and-pierced set, their straight-up-the-middle pop sensibilities win over radio programmers looking for some femme-friendly rock content. Finally, after a steady build, the attachment of a key single to a preordained hit movie brings them into the Top 40 in a big way.
I’m not the first person to make the connection between Evanescence and Paramore, but the No. 34 Billboard Hot 100 debut of “Decode” from the chart-topping Twilight soundtrack makes it a bit more obvious. It’s Paramore’s highest-ever pop debut, and it finds them embracing the teen-goth subculture.
Evanescence’s Amy Lee could tell Paramore about how lucrative the black-wearing-girl demographic can be. But she also has the 2003 Ben Affleck comic-schlock movie Daredevil to thank for Evanescence’s breakthrough. “Bring Me to Life” probably would’ve been a hit eventually no matter what, but the Hollywood-fueled promotional boost—at a time when modern rock and even top 40 radio were allergic to female-fronted rock songs—didn’t hurt.
The only difference is that Evanescence went the Hollywood route with its first major-label single. One wonders why Paramore didn’t go this way sooner.
More »
This week's No. 1 album: The soundtrack to the forthcoming vampire movie that I am apparently too unfeeling to understand Twilight, which sold 165,000 copies in its debut week on store shelves. The soundtrack, which features a couple of new songs by Paramore as well as tracks by Muse, Linkin Park, and Iron & Wine, was $3.99 at Amazon's MP3 store for one day last week, which no doubt contributed to the 48,000 digital sales it racked up. In other fire-sale news, Maroon 5's Songs About Jane—which was priced under $5 at the iTunes Store last week—moved 14,000 digital copies last week, placing it at No. 3 for the week on the online-only chart, just behind Hinder's Take It To The Limit. See? Variable pricing can move records! Sort of. This week's full top 20 (and digital-albums top 10) after the jump.
More »
Many people find it hard to tell the great from the godawful when it comes to 21st-century mainstream rock. To help figure out which is which, here's "Corporate Rock Still Sells," where Al "GovernmentNames" Shipley examines what's good, bad, and ugly in the world of rock and roll. This time around, he notes that rock radio has actually started playing songs sung by women after a long drought. (No, really!)
More »
Many people find it hard to tell the great from the godawful when it comes to 21st-century mainstream rock. To help figure out which is which, here's "Corporate Rock Still Sells," where Al "GovernmentNames" Shipley examines what's good, bad, and ugly in the world of rock and roll. This time around, he gives the year's rock charts a midway-mark overview.
More »
Idolator
