A Music Year In Review - 2013

Happy 2014!

 

That's right folks, we have successfully made it through the past 12 months of music and can start gearing ourselves up for what could be the best year of music to date. But in the mean time, let's cast our minds back to some of the music highlights of the last year:

 

Haim

 

Anyone who has ever met me in person understands how much I love these edgy sisters from Los Angeles. Their impressive debut album, Days Are Gone, went straight to #1 in the UK charts during the last few months of 2013  and their popularity has rapidly grown, leading to sold out UK shows all across the country. It was refreshing to see them perform on Jools Holland's Annual Hootenanny on New Years Eve on BBC2, with Don't Save Me, Forever, and Oh Well, and most definitely helped to give the programme that great universal appeal that you expect to see from a Jools Holland music show. I expect to hear a lot more musical greatness from the band over the next year. Just you wait!

 

Lily Allen

 

The UK department store, John Lewis, knew they were on to a winner when they came up with their 2013 animated Christmas advert. And the bigger winner happened to be Lily Allen's immaculate cover of the Keane classic, Somewhere Only We Know, which also went in at #1 close to the end of the year. Allen's rendition of the song matched the tone and atmosphere of the advert perfectly and catapulted Allen back into the forefront of the industry once more.

 

 

 

Some of the other music highlights of the past year have got to be Tom Odell being the first male to win the Critics Choice Award at The Brit Awards 2013, Bastille releasing their first studio album, Bad Blood, back in March, London Grammar's incredible single, Strong, The Killers performing at Wembley Stadium in June, and The Milk Carton Kids in all their live performance glory.

 

This year already looks like the one to beat, with the likes of Taylor Swift, The Backstreet Boys and Elbow touring the UK in the coming months. Oh, and for all of you #DA2014 fans out there, be prepared for the ultimate music comeback of the year from the incredible David Archuleta.

 

It's going to be a sensational year of music. Now it's time to get listening!

 

 

Band In Focus: The Killers

Listen up UK fans of The Killers!

 

The Las Vegas natives are celebrating the release of their greatest hits album titled Direct Hits, with a special launch gig on the 6th November at the Eventim Hammersmith Apollo in London. The album, out November 11th, features all the classics such as Mr Brightside, Somebody Told Me and When You Were Young to name a few, with two new songs, Shot At The Night (Out 4th November as a single) and Just Another Girl, added to the track list.

 

To celebrate the occasion, I thought I'd look back at their Wembley Stadium show from the 22nd June 2013 and pick out the best bit:

 

 

 The Wembley Song

 

You've probably already heard it, but if you haven't, you'll love it. The song, which was especially written by the band for this performance in London, celebrates the band playing the stadium and commemorates all of the concert predecessors who have played at the venue in bygone days. Music nostalgia is always going to capture the emotions of the fans. The crowd loved it. And by 'loved it', I mean that every single one of the 50,000 fans in the audience were on their feet cheering and singing along to the catchy chorus. Absolute genius. I'm glad I was there to see it for myself.

 

 

 

Tickets to the Hammersmith Apollo launch gig go on sale in just a few days, so keep checking the relevant sites for tickets, as the concert is bound to sell out fast!

 

The Killers at Wembley Stadium, June 2013