Ade Soundtrack of 2011

It's that time of the year again...as a great lover of music it is only right to take time out and recognised the songs that not only impressed me, but I also regard as the soundtrack of my year. Just like last year, these songs weren't the "best" or released in 2011, but due to the period I was in my life those were the songs I played a lot.
Recap of last year...I predicted Lady Gaga would be the artiste to watch out for in 2011 and I had to admit she did had the momentum prior to her album release to have the highest album sales of 2011 BUT who saw Adele rolling in the deep. If I had predicted top 10 albums I doubt I would have mentioned her. I loved her songs from the first time I watched the video of "Chasing Pavements". The question asked in the chorus, "Should I give up or should I just keep chasing pavements even if it leads no where?" Made a whole lot of sense to me. I'm glad a whole lot of people are now into the talent called Adele.
Let's begin with the Most Impressive Songs of the Year, the Sountrack of My 2011...
Most Impressive Pop Song: "Breathe Slow" by Alesha Dixon. Yea it was released 2008 but this song would remain evergreen to me. Counting 1 to 10 with eyes closed is a good therapy to regain composure. That was something I needed to do a lot in 2011.
Most Impressive Pop Album: "Lungs" by Florence + the Machine. Released in 2009 but the songs crept their way in my heart this year. Initially it was "Dog Days Are Over" I kept on repeat until "Between Two Lungs" and the rest of the tracks made sense.
Most Impressive Producer: Ryan Tedder. If you ask an average music lover to list greatest music producers I doubt Tedder would be included. I began to understand this artiste and I don't think he is getting enough credit. For one he penned two of the most played songs in the world, "Bleeding Love" by Leona Lewis & "Apologise" by his band One Republic. He also worked on "Halo" by Beyonce which I regard as one of the most haunting love songs. He contributed two songs to the highest selling album of 2011, "21" by Adele, "Rumour Has It" & "Turning Tables". I also love "Got 2 Love Ya" by Sean Paul ft. Alexis Jordan<---- I still have my eye on you.
Most Impressive R&B Song/Album: "Trust Issues"/ "Take Care" by Drake. Drake did what he could do best, sing/croon his way through songs but it wasn't his voice that did justice...it was pure lyrics with their subject matter. I hear some lines and I'm like, "wow! He goes through that as well?"...you hear lines like "you say it's only a couple of guys you've been with...I'll trust you, give you the benefit of the doubt"...but in my case I'll not trust the girl, I won't give any benefit of the doubt. I know a group of people might regard him as a rapper but I prefer to regard him as a singer who raps.
Most Impressive Hip-Hop Album: "Lasers" by Lupe Fiasco. It was a typical Lupe album except all he needed was to sing a little then it would have been a Pop album. "I Don't Wanna Care Right Now" did it for me though. The title was what I did most of the year.
Most Impressive Collaboration: "I'm On One" DJ Kaled/Drake/Rick Ross/Wayne. From the first time I heard the track I knew it was that track any hip-hop fiend could confidently jam in his car. It wasn't your typical rap collabo where you are out to listen to who rapped the best verse. It was three totally different styles on an instrumental that spoke for itself.
Most Annoying Song: BLACK EYED PEAS....EVERYTHING they worked on this year was annoying. It was the same monotonous sound. Anytime their songs comes on it was a sign for me to change the channel. That's why I don't know the name of any of their songs but I remember the first 2 seconds of the video.
Most Impressive Dance Song: "Hello" by Martin Solveig & Dragonette. Simple and sweet...this songs always kept me alert.
Most Impressive Nigeria Artiste: Wiz-Kid/Whiz-Kid/Wiz Kid/Whiz Kid/WizKid/WhizKid [however he decides to spell his name]. I never saw this coming, I saw him as a noise maker on tracks he featured on last year but I gotta to admit he did deliver. "I Love My Baby" was a track I found myself playing on repeat despite the lack of originality.
Most Impressive Rock/Alternative Album: "Sign No More" by Mumford and Sons. This is a must have by anyone who loves music. This is one album I find it difficult to mention the names of the tracks because they were all good and I had no need to shuffle to a favourite. I was ready to listen to whatever song played next. One of my fav lines was "Love that will not betray you, dismay or enslave you, it will set you free. Be more like the man you were made to be."
Artiste to Watch Out for in 2012: Nicki Minaj, for some reasons I believe Nicki Minaj would have the highest selling album in 2012. For her to achieve it she definitely has to break records and she isn't new to that. A setback I see is that she suffers from poor selection of singles off her album. It was like she randomly select songs from a hat. The first supposed single from her first album was so wack it didn't make her album. Her must successful single "Super Bass" was a bonus track on the album. Even her first single off her next album "Roman in Moscow" is not a major force on the chart. Despite these I still believe she would have the highest selling album next year.
First of all...Hip-Hop/R&B had turned to one of the top money making genres. In the last eleven years, 2 r&b albums had made the top of the end of the year chart while 4 hip-hop albums had made the end of the year chart. Even Adele's "21" album was heavily influenced by music of black origin. Nicki sings/rap which puts her at an advantage. Also her label mate had topped the year end chart once and that makes me believe she has the management to make it happen. She also had the opportunity to feature Madonna after touring with Britney Spears which would definitely expose her to new listeners. So watch out for "Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded" on Valentine's Day 2012.
Anyway...although the year isn't over I'll still say bye to 2011 in music...see you in 2012.