2016

Music Monday iTunes picks of December 5, 2016

Posted on by artsnla

Written by Giavanna Foster

Over 800 million people use Apple’s iTunes app to listen to and download music. On December 5, iTunes featured new artists who inspired fans around the world and earned a place in the top 10 charts. The genres range from hip-hop to pop. Here are the Music Monday picks of December 5, 2016.

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The first iTunes pick is Grace VanderWaal, who rose to fame after winning this year’s season of America’s Got Talent. VanderWaal received support from A-listers like Taylor Swift, Lady GaGa, and more. After winning NBC’s America’s Got Talent, VanderWaal appeared on NBC’s Ellen show and achieved an impressive EP debut on iTunes. Perfectly Imperfect, which debuted on December 2, is at #6 on the top 10 iTunes album charts. It features “I Don’t Know My Name”, which Grace sang confidently at the AGT auditions. Also, Grace VanderWaal’s iTunes ad is featured next to Bob Dylan’s iTunes ad. Both albums feature raw acoustics and relatable music.

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The second iTunes pick is The Hamilton Mixtape. This cover album is inspired by the smash-hit musical, Hamilton. The Hamilton Mixtape is at #1 on iTunes album charts. It is inspired by songs from Hamilton, the musical, which focuses on the life of founding father Alexander Hamilton. It features collaborations with a long list of celebrities that include Sia, Alicia Keys, Usher, Kelly Clarkson, Lin Manuel-Miranda, Jimmy Fallon & The Roots. This album captures the moving spirit of the play with creative storytelling.

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The third iTunes pick is Pentatonix, a Grammy-winning American a cappella group. Pentatonix received two Grammy awards for Best Arrangement, Instrumental or A Cappella. Pentatonix is a very popular acapella group, as 12 million people have subscribed to their YouTube channel. Also, their YouTube channel has over 1.9 billion total views. Pentatonix recently collaborated with Dolly Parton and Miley Cyrus live on NBC’s The Voice. Their newest album, A Pentatonix Christmas, is #2 in the iTunes albums charts. Pentatonix reached the #1 spot in the iTunes video charts with the music video for “Hallelujah”, which is featured as a single on this album. 

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The fourth, and last, iTunes pick is Moana (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) [Deluxe Edition]. This album, inspired by the film Moana, was released to iTunes on November 18. Hawaiian actress and rising star Auli’i Cravalho stars as the heroine Moana. Nicole Scherzinger plays Moana’s mom, Sina Waialiki. Auli’i Cravalho is also a featured guest on Teen Vogue. Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson stars as Maui, the legendary shapeshifting demigod. The soundtrack album features Alessia Cara, Auli’i Cravalho, Dwayne Johnson, Lin-Manuel Miranda, and more. This album is uplifting because of its upbeat music and Disney-themed storytelling. Both the album and movie prove that anything is possible with hard work and faith.

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Drake, Justin Bieber, Selena Gomez, Bruno Mars turn heads at 2016 AMAs (Flashback)

Posted on by artsnla

The American Music Awards is globally popular because it honors today’s most famous and influential artists. On November 20, ABC broadcasted the 2016 American Music Awards live. This year’s event took place at the Microsoft Theater. According to ABC projections, 8.8 million people tuned in to watch the American Music Awards this year. Drake, Justin Bieber, Selena Gomez, and Bruno Mars are among the standouts because they turned heads with their outstanding achievements.

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This year’s A-list performers included Maroon 5/ Kendrick Lamar, Lady Gaga, Shawn Mendes and Fifth Harmony. Each performance was impressive because of its authenticity and effort. Drake and Bieber won 4 AMAs, Gomez inspired many with her AMAs speech, and Mars moved the crowd with his dance routine. Also, musical icon Sting performed his greatest hits at the AMAs before receiving the Merit Award.

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Bruno Mars opened the show with his “24k Magic” performance. It featured synchronized choreography, matching outfits, and strategic lighting. The performance featured blue lighting and special effects that included fireworks. “24k Magic” brought a refreshing 90’s vibe, where flashy bling and partying were the cool new trends. Mars and his squad sported track suits with navy, white, and yellow stripes. Ciara and others were seen singing along. Mars’ hard work paid off, as “24k Magic” remains in the top 10 iTunes charts. “24k Magic” reached #1 in the following iTunes categories: top songs, top albums, and top music videos.

Drake’s Apple Music commercial premiere was another highlight at the AMAs. Drake is seen talking with friends and listening to Taylor Swift’s “Bad Blood” while lifting a heavy weight. Then, the “Distractingly good.” tagline appeared at the end of the commercial. It now has over 100k YouTube views. To watch Drake’s Apple Music commercial, click here.

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Selena Gomez earned the “Favorite Female Artist – Pop/ Rock” AMA award. Gomez, who has 46M Twitter followers, moved the audience with her empowering speech. A poised Gomez received overwhelming applause from the audience. She also received support from a long list of celebrities that include Taylor Swift, Niall Horan, Ariana Grande, and Lady GaGa. Selena Gomez is truly a respectable inspiration. Click the icon (above) to watch Clevver News’ coverage of the speech and celebrity support.

Selena thanked her loyal fans by saying this: “All I can say from the bottom of my heart is I am so grateful that I have the opportunity to be able to share what I love every single day with people that I love.”

Justin Bieber made record-breaking history at the 2016 AMAs. Bieber received 4 AMAs, including Video of the Year for his smash hit “Sorry” and Favorite Pop/ Rock Album for Purpose. Justin Bieber is now one of the top 10 all-time AMA winners. Bieber sits at #7 and is currently tied with Willie Nelson. Bieber and Nelson have received 12 AMA awards. At 22, Bieber is one of the youngest people to make the top 10 AMAs winners list.

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Maroon 5 and Kendrick Lamar performed the closing number, “Don’t Wanna Know”. Click the icon (above) to watch the performance. This smooth performance featured Adam Levine’s falsetto and Kendrick Lamar’s effortless freestyling. “Don’t Wanna Know” is about feelings of nostalgia and hopes to get back together with an ex-lover. The audience danced along to this performance. “Don’t Wanna Know” is a smash hit, as it has earned over 1 million YouTube views. The 2016 AMAs is a celebration of hard work, well-deserved awards, and recognition.

 

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Want to read more 2016 AMAs news? See the links below:

Read more about the full list of winners at the 2016 AMAs.

Missed the 2016 AMAs? See all of the performances online here.

Bruno Mars’ 24k Magic World Tour sold 1 million tickets in 24 hours.

Purchase tickets to Bruno Mars’ 24k Magic Tour here.

Selena Gomez returns to social media on Thanksgiving

See CBS News’ coverage of Selena Gomez’s 2016 AMAs speech.

Justin Bieber makes fans cry with “Let Me Love You” performance

 

2016 AMAs: Sting, Bieber, Drake, Rihanna among standouts

Posted on by artsnla

Written by Giavanna Foster

The 2016 American Music Awards is a must-see global awards show that recognizes today’s most influential and iconic artists. Billboard, Nielsen Entertainment, and Next Big Sound measure fan interactions with today’s biggest music artists. The 2016 American Music Awards will feature A-list performers including Ariana Grande, Nicki Minaj, Niall Horan, Bruno Mars, and Fifth Harmony. This year marks Grande’s fourth AMAs performance.

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Drake and Rihanna are among this year’s AMA standouts. Drake received 13 nominations, while Rihanna earned 7 nominations. To add, Justin Bieber and Adele both received 5 AMA nominations. Drake broke Michael Jackson’s 32-year record for the most AMA nominations this year. Michael Jackson earned 11 nominations in 1984. This year, Drake received 13 nominations at the AMAs. He is the second artist to earn 10+ nominations for an award show this year. Kendrick Lamar received 11 nominations for the 2016 Grammys. Lamar’s collaboration with Swift, “Bad Blood”, earned 2 nominations that included Best Music Video. Drake’s collaboration with Rihanna, “Work”, is up for 3 nominations this year. “Work” is nominated for collaboration of the year, video of the year, and favorite R&B song.

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Justin Bieber is nominated for these AMA categories: Artist of the Year, Favorite Pop/Rock Male Artist, Favorite Pop/Rock Album, Favorite Song – Country and Video of the Year. This year, Bieber has high chances of becoming one of the biggest AMA champions in history. Bieber’s Purpose is the sixth album to hit the No. 1 slot on the Billboard 200. Purpose is his 5th album that sold more than a million copies in the U.S. His catchy hit “Sorry” is nominated for Video of the Year. Also, Bieber is nominated for Artist of the Year. With 89.5 million loyal Twitter fans, Bieber is a contender to win at least one of the categories that he earned a nomination for.

The AMAs sent this tweet about Bieber’s potential to become one of the biggest all-time winners:

Niall Horan will be featured as a solo artist at the 2016 American Music Awards. Horan made his American television solo debut with a performance of “This Town” on the Ellen show. See Niall Horan perform “This Town” on YouTube below:

Niall Horan sent this tweet to announce his AMAs performance:

Sting is the recipient of this year’s AMA Merit Award. Sting tweeted about his incredible achievement with gratitude and honor. See the tweet below:

https://twitter.com/OfficialSting/status/797979436654194692

Gigi Hadid and Jay Pharoah will host the 2016 American Music Awards. This awards show will take place at the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles. It will air on ABC this Sunday, November 20, 2016.  It will start at 6PM, PST (pacific standard time). If you’re on the east coast, the AMAs will begin promptly at 8PM, EST (eastern standard time).

 

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Interested in more @AMAs news? See these links:

AMAs 2016 | Full Nominees List

AMAs 2016 | Full Performers List

 

Shawn Mendes tops charts with “Illuminate”

Posted on by artsnla

Written by Giavanna Foster

Canadian singer-songwriter Shawn Mendes is experiencing major success with Illuminate, released on September 23. The success of the record has led to opportunities to appear on America’s top shows. Mendes recently made appearances on Ellen, the Tonight Show, and Ryan Seacrest. 

Shawn Mendes appeared on Ellen to talk about his new album and concert tour. Ellen announced that Mendes sold out his Madison Square Garden tour in 5 minutes. Ellen congratulated Shawn live while talking about his self-growth as a recording artist. The YouTube clip of Shawn’s Ellen appearance now has over 1.4 million views on YouTube.

 

Later, Ellen tweeted about Shawn’s live TV appearance:

Jimmy Fallon stated that Mendes is “one of the hottest names in pop music”. Then, Shawn Mendes delivered an effortless performance of “Treat You Better” with the Roots on The Tonight Show. This song raises awareness about domestic violence while shining a light on opportunities for help and guidance. The YouTube clip of Mendes’ “Treat You Better” performance clip now has over 1 million views.

When Mendes made his live appearance with Ryan Seacrest, he shared that he grew from touring with Taylor Swift as the opening act. Swift is a powerful influence towards Mendes’ career. Mendes says that touring with her was more of an experience and less of a show because he had the opportunity to share real, live music with the audience. Mendes said that hard work always shapes an artist’s success. Mendes then mentioned Swift as an example; she became one of the best-selling artists in the world.

Click on the tweet below to listen to Shawn’s interview with Ryan Seacrest:

According to the latest news, Illuminate is #1 on the iTunes albums chart. Two of Mendes’ songs from the album are also in the top 20 on the iTunes pop songs chart. “Treat You Better” earned the #6 slot and “Mercy” earned the #20 slot. “Treat You Better” also peaked at the #6 slot. Billboard predicts that Illuminate will be Mendes’ second album to hit #1 on the Billboard 100 charts. Shawn Mendes is a force to be reckoned with. He attracts millions of followers on social media with his authenticity, drive, and focus.

Shawn Mendes has a message for his fans. Click the picture below to hear it.

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Grace VanderWaal featured on Tonight Show, Teen Vogue, and Ellen

Posted on by artsnla

Written by Giavanna Foster

Grace VanderWaal is now a viral sensation after winning season 11 of NBC’s America’s Got Talent. Recently, Grace has made several television appearances. She is featured on the Tonight Show, Teen Vogue, and Ellen.

Grace VanderWaal performed “I Don’t Know My Name” on Ellen. Grace first performed this song on NBC’s America’s Got Talent. Her first performance now has over 39 million YouTube views. “I Don’t Know My Name” is easy going and universally relatable. This tune is about the journey of self-exploration and finding yourself. The YouTube clip of Grace performing on Ellen now has over 3 million views. Click the picture below to watch Grace perform on Ellen:

Grace VanderWaal appeared on the Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon. VanderWaal performed “Clay”, a catchy anti-bullying song. “Clay” is a true power anthem because Grace sings confidently that she will not change anything about herself for anyone. Also, Fallon announced that VanderWaal signed a new record deal with Sony Music’s Columbia Records. Grace joins Adele, Paul McCartney, and Beyoncé, who are also signed with this record label. This accomplishment is only the beginning of Grace’s very successful career.

After Grace signed with Columbia Records, she received more well-deserved support. Teen Vogue features A-list celebrities like Selena Gomez, Emma Watson, Taylor Swift, and Alexa Chung. Teen Vogue sent this congratulatory tweet directly to Grace VanderWaal:

Teen Vogue also interviewed Grace VanderWaal, a down-to-earth and relatable girl. In the interview, Grace and her sister eat pop rocks together. Last year, Grace was inspired to pick up the ukulele. Grace’s music is inspired by people she’s read about, seen in movies, or met in person. Also, Grace received lots of fan mail and drawings. Grace loves to binge-watch Netflix in her leisure time with her dog (pronounced coo-row).

With over 247k Twitter followers and a record deal, Grace VanderWaal is a force to be reckoned with. Grace holds the record as one of the youngest winners of NBC’s America’s Got Talent. VanderWaal proves that authenticity, hard work, and faith are the three main ingredients towards success. For more updates, follow Grace VanderWaal on Twitter here.

 

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