I’ve discovered so much new music this year! Friends introduced music to me, TV shows and film no doubt did so as well, so here is a quick rundown of 10 artists who I have loved this year!

I can honestly say there were a few albums that I have listened to from song 1, to song.. end, and for me that’s sometimes unusual because I can get stuck on just the singles, and then hope that once it appears in Greys Anatomy it will make me love it. Or if it appears on an iTunes commercial, that helps too.

Albums that I have listened to til I can sing along!

Coldplay – Viva La Vida or Death and All His Friends. Honestly, I can’t even pick a favourite track, there are so many songs that touch me, or haunt me for different reasons. From the piano driven, and percussive Lost! to the heartbreaking title track, or the unexpectedly bouncy Lovers in Japan, I just can’t get enough.

James Morrison: Songs for You, Truths for Me. If you haven’t read my review on his sophomore album, please do check it out here. Whilst the first album was mostly pop/folk, he brought a Motown flavour to this album, and sounded even more plaintively husky and romantic, I just melted.

Kanye West: 808s and Heartbreaks. This one was a complete surprise to me, I have liked a few of Kanye’s songs in the past (no, not necessarily Gold Digger) but also Jesus Walks, Diamonds from Sierra Leone. Yet I never really was inspired to listen to non-singles, so.. I’m not a great Kanye guru. However, whilst this has really divided, if not been critically disparaged of the fact that he uses an auto-tuner or ‘vocoder’ on many tracks, the fact that most of these tracks have been written after his mother’s death, after being heartbroken, Kanye needed to sing in the best way he could, rather than rap, so the lyrics are raw, honest, emotional and I love the African-tribal themes throughout. Favourites? Definitely Love Lockdown, Robocop, Amazing, and Heartless.

Other honourable mentions:

What a year for breakout, and ‘controversial stars’! Katy Perry became known as the girl that liked kissing girls tasting like cherry chapstick (though to be honest, I much prefer her first single Ur So Gay as well as Hot n Cold). Then there was Lady Gaga, who is just.. odd really. She has a charisma to her, and after one song just blew up, massively with strange robotic dance moves, and a penchant for glitter on her face. Almost Harry Potter like with the lightning strike, no? But not a lot can be said for her live performances..

At the start of the year, I got into Duffy and it must be the old style soul flavour she brought, plus I found her voice much more accessible and karaoke-able than any Amy Wino-Winehouse song could ever be. Gavin Degraw released another album, and whilst it had a few strong songs, it wasn’t as addictive as Chariot was.

Okay. Confession time.. Miley Cyrus. I never would have thought I’d be listening to any Cyrus family member, but her album is just really catchy! I really quite like her voice, she sounds much older than she is and I begrudgingly listened to it for a good long time! Then there was the Killers new album, which I’m still having a good ole listen to (damn, Brandon shaved his ‘mo off!) and its no Hot Fuss or Sam’s Town yet somehow.. its a good mixture of both. Give it time..

Oh, and Britney’s back! I actually liked all the singles from Blackout but Circus feels much more fun, and carefree, plus she looks GREAT in her videos now Less.. stripper on a pole.

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