I have mixed feelings on charity records. They raise money for good causes, which is great, yet a lot of them rely solely on that factor to sell, not actually being any good. And they always sell well, regardless of quality.

Then there is the fact that Simon Cowell seems to have cornered the market in charity records. He organizes the release of one by The X Factor contestants every year, and he’s now the brains behind the Helping Haiti effort. Which, rather coincidentally, features a plethora of acts from his stable.

Cheryl Cole, Alexandra Burke, Susan Boyle, Leona Lewis, and Joe McElderry all feature. It’s almost as though Cowell hand picked them to up their marketability or something.

That’s not to say I don’t support it; go out and buy it, and keep it at number one for another week. The money raised will be split between the Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC) and the Helping Haiti campaign.

As well as being the fastest-selling charity single since the turn of the century, Everybody Hurts is likely to end 2010 as the biggest-selling single of the year. Unless, of course, another disaster strikes, another charity single is produced, and even more people buy that one. God forbid.

[Photo Source: Amazon.co.uk]

Post from: Brit Music Scene

The British Music Experience is a permanent exhibition at the O2 in London. It has made a home in the O2 Bubble, just one small part of the huge complex formerly known as the Millennium Dome, which now has the O2 Arena at its heart.

The British Music Experience opened in March 2009, and costs £15 per adult to visit. For that, you gain entry into the main exhibit, which comprises a hub, with several rooms dedicated to each important time in British music around the outside.

There are costumes and merchandise from the key artists of the periods, with descriptions of each available via headphones. There are also interactive elements, including the chance to try your hand at several instruments and the opportunity to mimic dances from the decades.

The ticket you receive for the exhibition can be swiped over any of the exhibits, with the information from that part of the BME saved for later viewing via the official Web site. So, the Smarticket creates a multimedia memento of your visit.

I spent a good few hours at The British Music Experience and enjoyed it. However, I think the £15 asking price is a little on the high side, and if it were priced more attractively would attract more visitors.

That’s not to take anything away from the exhibition, which is attempting to fill a void that definitely needs to be filled. British music is the best in the world, and needs to be celebrated in the U.K.

[Photo Source: Newscom]

Post from: Brit Music Scene

Lady Gaga, JLS, Lily Allen, Pixie Lott, and Florence & The Machine have all been nominated for three or more awards. Lady Gaga is up in every category she is eligible for, those being the international awards.

Robbie Williams will be honored for his ‘Outstanding Contribution to Music’, while two new awards have been added as a one-off to commemorate the 30th anniversary of the Brits. Artists will battle it out for ‘Best Performance’ and ‘Best Album’ from the last three decades.

The nominations are listed in full, along with my pick of who I think will win (in italics). Although they aren’t necessarily who I want to win, especially in the case of Paolo Nutini.

The 2010 Brit Awards Nominations In Full

British Male Solo Artist

Calvin Harris
Dizzee Rascal
Mika
Paolo Nutini
Robbie Williams

British Female Solo Artist

Bat For Lashes
Florence And The Machine
Leona Lewis
Lily Allen
Pixie Lott

British Breakthrough Act

Florence And The Machine
Friendly Fires
JLS
La Roux
Pixie Lott

British Group

Doves
Friendly Fires
JLS
Kasabian
Muse

Mastercard British Album

Dizzee Rascal – Tongue ‘N Cheek
Florence And The Machine – Lungs
Kasabian – West Ryder Pauper Lunatic Asylum
Lily Allen – It’s Not Me, It’s You
Paolo Nutini – Sunny Side Up

British Single

Alesha Dixon – ‘Breathe Slow’
Alexandra Burke ft. Flo Rida – ‘Bad Boys’
Cheryl Cole – ‘Fight For This Love’
Joe McElderry – ‘The Climb’
JLS – ‘Beat Again’
La Roux – ‘In For The Kill’
Lily Allen – ‘The Fear’
Pixie Lott – ‘Mama Do’
Taio Cruz – ‘Break Your Heart’
Tinchy Stryder ft. N-Dubz – ‘Number 1′

International Male Solo Artist

Bruce Springsteen
Eminem
Jay-Z
Michael Buble
Seasick Steve

International Female Solo Artist

Lady GaGa
Ladyhawke
Norah Jones
Rihanna
Shakira

International Breakthrough Act

Animal Collective
Daniel Merriweather
Empire Of The Sun
Lady GaGa
Taylor Swift

International Album

Animal Collective – Merriweather Post Pavilion
Black Eyed Peas – The E.N.D.
Empire Of The Sun – Walking On Dream
Jay-Z – The Blueprint 3
Lady GaGa – The Fame

British Producer of the Year

Jim Abbiss
Paul Epworth
Ethan Johns
Steve Lillywhite

Critics’ Choice Award

Ellie Goulding

Outstanding Contribution to Music

Robbie Williams

Brits Performance of 30th Year

Bee Gees – ‘Stayin’ Alive’ / ‘How Deep Is Your Love’ (1997)
Bros – ‘I Owe You Nothing’ (1989)
Coldplay – ‘Clocks’ (2003)
Eurythmics and Stevie Wonder – ‘Angel’ (1999)
Girls Aloud – ‘The Promise’ (2009)
Kanye West – ‘Gold Digger’ (2006)
Kylie Minogue – ‘Can’t Get You Out Of My Head’ (2002)
Michael Jackson – ‘Earth Song’ (1996)
Paul McCartney – ‘Live And Let Die’ (2008)
Pet Shop Boys – ‘Go West’ (1994)
Robbie Williams and Tom Jones – Full Monty medley (1998)
Scissor Sisters – ‘Take Your Mama’ (2005)
Spice Girls – ‘Wannabe’ / ‘Who Do You Think You Are’ (1997)
The Who – ‘Who Are You’ (1988)

Brits Album of 30 Years

Coldplay – A Rush Of Blood To The Head
Dido – No Angel
Dire Straits – Brothers In Arms
Duffy – Rockferry
Keane – Hopes & Fears
Oasis – What’s The Story Morning Glory
Phil Collins – No Jacket Required
Sade – Diamond Life
The Verve – Urban Hymns
Travis – The Man Who

[Photo Source: Amazon.co.uk]

Post from: Brit Music Scene

The Official Charts Company compiles the UK charts every week based on sales. And, according to NME, it recently released details of the Top 10 biggest selling albums of the noughties, which are as follows:-

The Top 10 Albums Of The Noughties

1. James Blunt – ‘Back To Bedlam’
2. Dido – ‘No Angel’
3. Amy Winehouse – ‘Back To Black’
4. Leona Lewis – ‘Spirit’
5. David Gray – ‘White Ladder’
6. The Beatles – ‘1′
7. Dido – ‘Life For Rent’
8. Coldplay – ‘A Rush Of Blood To The Head’
9. Scissor Sisters – ‘Scissor Sisters’
10. Take That – ‘Beautiful World’

James Blunt at number one? Ugh. Dido at number two? Ugh. Neither are surprising as they’re both mainstream and bland. It’s good to see Amy Winehouse at number three and The Beatles and Coldplay also making the top ten. Scissor Sisters deserve a mention for being the only non-British artist to make the list.

[Photo Source: Amazon.co.uk]

Post from: Brit Music Scene

The singles charts was all about the battle for Christmas number one between Joe McElderry and Rage Against The Machine. RATM managed a surprising victory, as you can read about here. There was 50,000 units in it in the the end, with Killing In The Name selling 500,000, and The Climb managing 450,000. Last week’s number one, Lady Gaga, dropped to number three, while the atrociously named 3OH!3 and Journey having new entries in the top 10.

Susan Boyle secured the Christmas number one album, making it four weeks in a row in the top spot with I Dreamed A Dream. The rest of the charts stayed pretty much the same as last week, except Robbie Williams and Leona Lewis managed to climb back into the top 10 after briefly dropping out of it. They were no doubt helped by people buying last minute Christmas gifts.

Top 10 UK Singles Chart

1. (-) Rage Against The Machine: ‘Killing In The Name’
2. (-) Joe McElderry: ‘The Climb’
3. (1) Lady GaGa: ‘Bad Romance’
4. (2) Peter Kay’s Animated All Star Band: ‘The Official BBC Children In Need Medley’
5. (-) 3OH!3 ft. Katy Perry: ‘Starstrukk
6. (15) Robbie Williams: ‘You Know Me’
7. (14) Cheryl Cole: ‘3 Words’
8. (3) Rihanna: ‘Russian Roulette’
9. (-) Journey: ‘Don’t Stop Believin’
10. (4) Black Eyed Peas: ‘Meet Me Halfway’

Top 10 UK Albums Chart

1. (1) Susan Boyle: ‘I Dreamed A Dream’
2. (3) Michael Bublé: ‘Crazy Love’
3. (4) Black Eyed Peas: ‘The E.N.D.’
4. (2) Lady GaGa: ‘The Fame Monster’
5. (5) JLS: ‘JLS’
6. (11) Robbie Williams: ‘Reality Killed The Video Star’
7. (10) Snow Patrol: ‘Up To Now’
8. (7) Westlife: ‘Where We Are’
9. (12) Leona Lewis: ‘Echo’
10. (8) Take That: ‘The Greatest Day – The Circus Live’

[Photo Source: Amazon.co.uk]

Post from: Brit Music Scene

The singles chart hasn’t changed much this week from last, with Peter Kay’s Animated All Star Band retaining the number one spot with The Official BBC Children In Need Medley. Rihanna jumped from six to two with Russian Roulette, with Lady Gaga just behind her with Bad Romance. The only two new entries are Alicia Keys at number eight with Doesn’t Mean Anything and Timbaland featuring Nelly Furtado and SoShy at number nine with Morning After Dark.

The albums chart changed a little more, with new entries at number two and three for Westlife and Take That respectively. However, Susan Boyle unsurprisingly retains the number one spot with I Dreamed A Dream managing to outsell everything else for the second week in a row. And it isn’t just the U.K. that is loving Susan Boyle either, with her debut album also selling well in the United States and beyond.

Top 10 UK Singles Chart

1. (1) Peter Kay’s Animated All Star Band: ‘The Official BBC Children In Need Medley’
2. (6) Rihanna: ‘Russian Roulette’
3. (5) Lady GaGa: ‘Bad Romance’
4. (4) Black Eyed Peas: ‘Meet Me Halfway’
5. (2) ‘X Factor’ Finalists 2009: ‘You Are Not Alone’
6. (3) Jason Derulo: ‘Whatcha Say’
7. (7) Ke$ha: ‘Tik Tok’
8. (-) Alicia Keys: ‘Doesn’t Mean Anything’
9. (-) Timbaland ft. Nelly Furtado, SoShy: ‘Morning After Dark’
10. (8) Cheryl Cole: ‘Fight For This Love’

Top 10 UK Albums Chart

1. (1) Susan Boyle: ‘I Dreamed A Dream’
2. (-) Westlife: ‘Where We Are’
3. (-) Take That: ‘The Greatest Day – The Circus Live’
4. (2) JLS: ‘JLS’
5. (3) Black Eyed Peas: ‘The E.N.D.’
6. (6) Michael Bublé: ‘Crazy Love’
7. (4) Queen: ‘Absolute Greatest’
8. (8) Snow Patrol: ‘Up To Now’
9. (5) Leona Lewis: ‘Echo’
10. (9) Robbie Williams: ‘Reality Killed The Video Star’

[Photo Source: Amazon.co.uk]

Post from: Brit Music Scene

Sting has already come out with some barbed comments about The X Factor, which resulted in Simon Cowell asking him to help the contestants by being a guest one week. And now three more have joined the chorus of disapproval.

Leona Lewis told the News Of The World:

“It’s more of an entertainment show. It’s a TV show and they want their entertainment value. It’s not just about singing really well anymore. When I was on the show in 2006, it was only about the singing. We were lucky if we got some good lights. I can’t believe how much it has changed.”

Leona has a point, the show has changed, and is now more about a weekly entertainment show than about trying to find the best vocalist. Partly because Simon Cowell is intelligent enough to realize he’ll have a tough time finding another Leona.

Kasabian frontman Tom Meighan told the Daily Record:

“The X Factor is like something The Riddler would do in Batman. It sucks out everyone’s brains. I can’t believe how appallingly low we have gone as a nation for people to watch that pile of s**t. It’s appalling music. It’s shocking. Simon Cowell must be laughing. For him, Louis Walsh, Cheryl Cole and Dannii Minogue, who has had very few pop hits in her life, to sit there and judge people, it’s incredible. Kids are watching that and want to be on it. Where is the push for new music for kids? It is an appalling programme.”

Funny but not that accurate. A creative rock band such as Kasabian are never going to agree with a show out to find the next big pop star. But Meighan is entitled to his opinion.

Former Pop Idol judge Pete Waterman told NME:

“Don’t get fooled by ‘The X Factor’. The fundamental question is this: What do you know about music? Are you in this for music or fame? And the musical genre – pop, rock, whatever – is irrelevant here. I’m still a cheerleader [for reality music shows] but what you’ve got now is not the show I was on ['Pop Idol'], which was why I walked off series two. The cheating has taken over! It’s irrelevant that there’s even music on these shows.”

Surely this is sour grapes. I don’t remember Waterman “walking off” series two of Pop Idol. And who is the man who inflicted Rick Astley and Sonia on the world to bemoan the people who appear on The X Factor?

[Photo Source: Newscom]

Post from: Brit Music Scene

The British public is obviously a charitable and giving bunch of people. Last week saw The X Factor Finalists at number one with their cover of You Are Not Alone, and this week’s U.K. singles chart is topped by Peter Kay’s Animated All Star Band with The Official BBC Children In Need Medley. Rihanna entered the charts at number six with Russian Roulette, while Susan Boyle’s Wild Horses debuted at number nine.

Susan Boyle would have been higher in the singles chart but for her album launching the same week and everyone and their dog buying that instead. It’s no surprise to see I Dreamed A Dream top the albums chart as it’s broken all manner of sales records already. Leona Lewis‘ reign at number one therefore only lasted one week. Robbie Williams and Snow Patrol also dropped slightly, while Lady Gaga entered at number seven with The Fame Monster.

Top 10 UK Singles

1. (-) Peter Kay’s Animated All Star Band: ‘The Official BBC Children In Need Medley’
2. (1) ‘X Factor’ Finalists 2009: ‘You Are Not Alone’
3. (3) Jason Derulo: ‘Whatcha Say’
4. (2) Black Eyed Peas: ‘Meet Me Halfway
5. (8) Lady Gaga: ‘Bad Romance’
6. (-) Rihanna: ‘Russian Roulette’
7. (7) Ke$ha: ‘Tik Tok’
8. (5) Cheryl Cole: ‘Fight For This Love’
9. (-) Susan Boyle: ‘Wild Horses’
10. (4) Leona Lewis: ‘Happy’

Top 10 UK Albums

1. (-) Susan Boyle: ‘I Dreamed A Dream’
2. (2) JLS: ‘JLS’
3. (5) Black Eyed Peas: ‘The E.N.D.’
4. (3) Queen: ‘Absolute Greatest’
5. (1) Leona Lewis: ‘Echo’
6. (6) Michael Bublé: ‘Crazy Love’
7. (-) Lady Gaga: ‘The Fame Monster’
8. (7) Snow Patrol: ‘Up To Now’
9. (4) Robbie Williams: ‘Reality Killed The Video Star’
10. (9) Will Young: ‘The Hits’

[Photo Source: Amazon.co.uk]

Post from: Brit Music Scene

The X Factor Finalists hit number one in the singles chart with their cover of You Are Not Alone in what must be the biggest non-surprise of the year. They knocked Black Eyed Peas off the top spot. The 193,000 copies sold means the single is the second biggest of the year in the British music charts. Jason Derulo entered at number three with Whatcha Say, while Lady Gaga managed to sneak from number 11 to eight.

Leona Lewis made it an X Factor double again with Echo entering at number one on the albums chart. She knocked JLS off the top spot to make it two albums, two number ones. N-Dubz‘ new album, Against All Odds, made it to number six, while both Queen and Will Young both entered the top ten with greatest hits compilations. Robbie Williams is already on the slide, dropping from two to four in the space of a week.

Top 10 UK Singles

1. (-) ‘X Factor’ Finalists 2009: ‘You Are Not Alone’
2. (1) Black Eyed Peas: ‘Meet Me Halfway’
3. (-) Jason Derulo: ‘Whatcha Say’
4. (3) Leona Lewis: ‘Happy’
5. (4) Cheryl Cole: ‘Fight For This Love’
6. (3) JLS: ‘Everybody In Love’
7. (6) Ke$ha: ‘Tik Tok’
8. (11) Lady Gaga: ‘Bad Romance’
9. (5) N-Dubz: ‘I Need You’
10. (7) Britney Spears: ‘3′

Top 10 UK Albums

1. (-) Leona Lewis: ‘Echo’
2. (1) JLS: ‘JLS’
3. (-) Queen: ‘Absolute Greatest’
4. (2) Robbie Williams: ‘Reality Killed The Video Star’
5. (5) Black Eyed Peas: ‘The E.N.D.’
6. (-) N-Dubz: ‘Against All Odds’
7. (3) Snow Patrol: ‘Up To Now’
8. (6) Michael Bublé: ‘Crazy Love’
9. (-) Will Young: ‘The Hits’
10. (4) Soldiers: ‘Coming Home’

[Photo Source: Amazon.co.uk]

Post from: Brit Music Scene

This week’s singles chart has seen a bit of an upset. The Black Eyed Peas managed to jump from number three to number one with Meet Me Halfway, keeping Leona Lewis off the top spot. I’m guessing Simon Cowell won’t be mentioning this on The X Factor. Last week’s number one JLS dropped to number three and Cheryl Cole dropped to four. N-Dubz entered at five and the new-look Sugababes entered at eight with About A Girl.

This week’s albums chart also saw something of an upset with JLS beating the returning Robbie Williams to number one. The former (and maybe future) Take That star has to settle for number two. Snow Patrol’s latest Up To Now entered at number three while Cheryl Cole saw a huge drop-off from number one to seven. The brilliant Biffy Clyro entered at number eight with Only Revolutions.

Top 10 UK Singles

1. (3) Black Eyed Peas: ‘Meet Me Halfway’
2. (-) Leona Lewis: ‘Happy’
3. (1) JLS: ‘Everybody In Love’
4. (2) Cheryl Cole: ‘Fight For This Love’
5. (-) N-Dubz: ‘I Need You’
6. (6) Ke$ha: ‘Tik Tok’
7. (-) Britney Spears: ‘3′
8. (-) Sugababes: ‘About A Girl
9. (4) Jay Sean ft. Lil Wayne: ‘Down’
10. (5) Alexandra Burke ft. Flo Rida: ‘Bad Boys’

Top 10 UK Albums

1. (-) JLS: ‘JLS’
2. (-) Robbie Williams: ‘Reality Killed The Video Star’
3. (-) Snow Patrol: ‘Up To Now’
4. (5) Soldiers: ‘Coming Home’
5. (10) Black Eyed Peas: ‘The E.N.D.’
6. (3) Michael Bublé: ‘Crazy Love’
7. (1) Cheryl Cole: ‘3 Words’
8. (-) Biffy Clyro: ‘Only Revolutions’
9. (4) Foo Fighters: ‘Greatest Hits’
10. (-) Rod Stewart: ‘Soulbook’

[Photo Source: Amazon.co.uk]

Post from: Brit Music Scene