Billboard Year End Charts: Ke$ha Rules Hot 100

It was a huge year for pop music, as anyone who owns a radio could tell you, and the year end Billboard charts don't lie.

The biggest single of the year belonged to none other than the queen of trash pop, Ke$ha, whose "Tik Tok" spent 9 weeks at #1 and cemented the singer's monstrous debut in 2010.

Following behind Ke$ha is country superstars Lady Antebellum, with their single "Need You Now". The song was a #1 country hit and crossed over to the mainstream top 40 in a BIG way, becoming the second biggest song of the year.

Here are the top 10 singles of 2010:

1. "Tik Tok" - Ke$ha

2. "Need You Now" - Lady Antebellum

3. "Hey Soul Sister" - Train

4. "California Gurls" - Katy Perry

5. "OMG" - Usher

6. "Airplanes" - B.O.B. (Featuring Hayley Williams)

7. "Love the Way You Lie" - Eminem (Featuring Rihanna)

8. "Bad Romance" - Lady Gaga

9. "Dynamite" - Taio Cruz

10. "Break Your Heart" Taio Cruz

How many of these songs did you download this year??

(Source: Billboard)

(Image courtesy of posh24.com)

Grammy Predicitions Part 2

It's time for another round of Grammy predictions!!

The show is still a little ways away, but there are just SO many categories to get through, we need to start chit chatting about them!

Today's category is Best Dance Recording, here are the nominees:

"Rocket" - Goldfrapp

"In For the Kill" - La Roux

"Dance in the Dark" - Lady Gaga

"Only Girl (in the World)" - Rihanna

"Dancing on My Own" - Robyn

Who I Want to Win: This is a super tough category, with tons of heavy hitters, but I'm gonna go with my gut and say ROBYN. She has a HUGE breakout year in 2010, releasing 3 critically acclaimed albums and snagging a whole new group of fans. "Dancing on My Own" is electro-pop perfection, and if anyone deserves to take home this award it's her.

Who Will Probably Win: Gaga or La Roux will probabbllyy take home this award. Ms. Gaga is bound to take home at least one of her 6 nominations, but this is one of her lesser known songs, and "In for the Kill" was a substantial hit for the British band.

But I'm still keeping my fingers crossed for ROBYN!! Love her!!

(Image courtesy of http://www.demeterclarc.com/)

NEW BRITNEY SINGLE TO DEBUT NEXT WEEK!!!

I can't believe this I can't believe this I can't believe this!!!

Just last week the blogs were abuzz with the talk of Britney Spears' new album coming out in March, and a new single to be released "soon". But NO one expected it to be released NEXT WEEK!!!!!

Entertainment Weekly reported that The Queen of Pop's new song "Hold it Against Me" will premiere on NYC's Z100 radio station January 7th, and from what people have been saying, it's gonna be HUGE.

"...the hook is just amazing," said Sharon Dastur, program director for Z100.

A-M-A-Z-I-N-G.

The countdown officially has begun! In one week, we will all experience the NEW Britney single, and our minds will be ROCKED!

CAN'T WAIT!!

(Image courtesy of http://britneyspearsblackout.com/)

New Poll!

It's time for a new More Than Musiq poll, and this one's a goodie!

My favorite time of the year is in December, not only because it's Christmas (and my birthday!) but all the year-end charts and lists and polls are my absolute fave!!

Todays poll asks: Who is Your Musical Entertainer of the Year?

You can choose from:

The Cast of Glee

Eminem

Rihanna

Taylor Swift

Katy Perry

(Poll is at the bottom of the page!)

It's been a big year for all of these stars: The cast of Glee continued their meteoric rise in 2010, with hefty ratings for their show, a sold out concert tour, surpassing the Beatles for the most chart entries on the Hot 100, and selling millions of albums!

But it was also the comeback year for Eminem, who scored a massive #1 album Recovery (currently in the running for the best-selling album of the year), a monster #1 smash (and Grammy darling) with "Love the Way You Lie". His partner in crime Rihanna also had 12-months to remember. She earned her NINTH (yes...I said 9th...like as in 9...NINE) #1 single "Only Girl in the World", putting her in the ranks of Elton John and Stevie Wonder.

Miz Perry proved that she was no one trick pony when her sophomore album Teenage Dream Debuted at #1, and produced 3 consecutive #1 singles ("Firework" just hit the top today). She also married her boy toy Russell Brand, and earned an impressive (yet a little baffling) Album of the Year nomination at the Grammys.

And who could forget little Tay Tay Swift! Girl was unstoppable this year, selling over a million copies of her third album Speak Now in its first week, and dating a SUPER HUNK (this fact alone makes her have the best year ever).

So GO VOTE!!!

(Image courtesy of thefabfemme.com)

90's Throwback

They are the kings of pop in the UK, with 11 #1 singles, but have to settle for one-hit-wonder status in the U.S.

Take That, Britain's biggest boy band EVER hit the U.S. top 10 in 1995 with "Back for Good", a midtempo ballad along the lines of BSB's "I Want it That Way", but vanished after the song dropped off the charts.

Well, they continued to rack up hit after hit in Europe, until band member Robbie Williams (the best decision of his life) left and the group eventually disbanded.

Until 2005, when they reunited and came back in a BIG way. 2006's Beautiful World became one of the biggest albums of the year. And now in 2010, with Robbie Williams back in the mix, their latest album Progress has sold 900,000 copies in the UK in just 3 weeks, cementing the band's status as European icons.

So here's to you, Take That. May you have one more hit in the U.S. before you're gone for good!

(Image courtesy of http://www.livingtv.co.uk/)

EW Love Miss Swift

Entertainment Weekly has published their annual list of the 15 "Entertainers of the Year", with none other than music superstar Taylor Swift taking the coveted top spot.

Definitely a solid choice EW; Swift continues to dominate the music world, with the release of her third album Speak Now last month, which sold a record setting 1 million copies during its first week of release. That number immediately gave her the second biggest one week sales for a female artist ever (behind Britney Spears' Oops...I Did it Again! which moved 1.3 million units in the summer of 2000), and instantly became one of the biggest albums of 2010.

It was also just announced that the first few dates of her new world tour sold out in a matter of minutes, setting her up for another stellar year in 2011.

Other stars that made the list are Jayden and Willow Smith, children of Will and Jada, who both had a huge 2010, with Jayden's The Karate Kid grossing over $350 million worldwide, and Willow breaking into the top 10 on the Billboard charts with her super catchy anthem "Whip My Hair".

Our favorite kids from Glee also made EW's list, as well as the douche that is Kanye West.

Check out the entire list at EW.com.

(Image courtesy of EW.com)

Grammy Prediction Time!!

It's the most wonderful time of the year!! It's Grammy prediction time!!!!

The nominations for the 53rd Annual Grammy Award were announced last week, and there is TONS to discuss!

First the essentials - Eminem scored a leading 10 nominations, including Album of the Year for Recovery, while his monster single with Rihanna "Love the Way You Lie" scored nods in the Record of the Year, Song of the Year, and Best Rap/Sung Collaboration categories, just to name a few.

Hot R&B newcomer Bruno Mars comes in second with total nominations, scoring 7, with mentions in the Record of the Year category for "Nothing on You", his duet with rapper B.O.B.

Lady Gaga, Lady Antebellum, and Jay-Z all managed to snag 6 nominations apiece, with Gaga scoring her second consecutive Album of the Year nod in two years for The Fame Monster, as well as Best Female Pop Vocal Performance for "Bad Romance".

Check out the entire list of nominees at the Grammy Awards website, but stay HERE for More Than Musiq's first prediction category, and we're starting with a big one folks; Album of the Year.

Here are the nominees:

The Suburbs by The Arcade Fire

Recovery by Eminem

Need You Now by Lady Antebellum

The Fame Monster by Lady Gaga

Teenage Dream by Katy Perry

Winner: Eminem

- If anybody had a bigger comeback this year than Eminem, I'd be happy for you to point them out. But 2010 belonged to Marshall Mathers, who scored a chart topping critically acclaimed album that was his most well received disc in years, but he also scored one of the year's biggest songs with the #1 smash "Love the Way You Lie".

Eminem went through a hell of a lot during the past 5 years, (drug addiction, depression), and Recovery is his "Coming out of the Dark" stage. I'm not even a huge fan, but this album is a powerful declaration that Em still has what it takes to rock the world, and he deserves to take home the big prize this year.

His biggest competitor will be the new grand dame of pop, Miz Gaga. She followed her huge 2009 with a just-as-huge 2010, with her massive smashes "Bad Romance", "Alejandro", and "Telephone", her duet with Beyonce.

The Fame Monster is just an EP, which could hurt its chances with voters. However, the disc was a fan favorite, moving 1.3 million copies in 2010, and some people may still be peeved about her losing to Taylor Swift last year, and throw some votes her way.

This year's "What the F?" award goes to the Arcade Fire getting an Album of the Year nomination. The Canadian indie rock band are relatively unknown (when compared to the other nominees), and their album The Suburbs, has only sold a little over 300,000 copies in the U.S.

Also...I love her...but how did Katy Perry's Teenage Dream get in here? I'm baffled. Although Perry has ruled the radio with 3 insanely popular songs, ("California Gurls", "Teenage Dream", and "Firework"), this pop pastry of an album really has no business being here.

Notable Omissions: Where is Miranda Lambert's Revolution!?!?! This was one of the best albums of the year HANDS DOWN, and although it did earn a Best Country Album mention (which she better win), it would have been nice to see her in the big category. It also would have been nice if Florence and the Machine's album Lungs saw more Grammy love, although it was great to see them in the Best New Artist category.

Stay tuned for more Grammy Predictions from More Than Musiq!!!

(Image courtesy of villagevoice.com)

Kanye West, Nicki Minaj Rule Album Chart

They weren't as big as projected, but Kanye West and the new princess of hip hop Nicki Minaj both scored solid debuts this week, with their new albums My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy and Pink Friday.

West earned his 4th consectutive #1 album, as Fantasy sold 496,000 copies, a big improvement from 2008's 808s & Heartbreak, which opened at the top with 450,000. His new album has been getting stellar reviews, and although it hasn't produced a bonafide hit yet, it will most likely see solid numbers in the upcoming holiday weeks.

Minaj can now boast having the second biggest debut by a female hip hop artist EVER, as her debut sold an impressive 375,000 copies to land at #2 this week. She's only shy of Lauryn Hill's 423,000 units moved of her classicThe Miseducation of Lauryn Hill, which was released way back in 1998.

The holidays are in full effect, and it's evident on the Billboard 200, with some albums moving hefty numbers. Here's a rundown of this week's top 10:

1. Kanye West My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy (496,000)

2. Nicki Minaj Pink Friday (375,000)

3. Susan Boyle The Gift (263,000)

4. Taylor Swift Speak Now (241,000)

5. Jackie Evancho O Holy Night (142,00)

6. Rihanna Loud (141,000)

7. Justin Bieber My World Acoustic (115,000)

8. My Chemical Romance Danger Days: The True Lives of the Fabulous Killjoys (112,000)

9. Ne-Yo Libra Scale (112,000)

10. Glee Christmas Album (108,000)

(Source: Billboard)

(Image courtesy of sohh.com)