For today I thought I'd post my Top Five favourite artists of 2013. The songs might not necessarily be new ones, but for me they were. I've gone through a favourite song countdown on my Facebook page, I'll list the top ten here, then I'll list my favourite artists, those who I've downloaded more than one or two songs over the course of the year.. Exciting, huh?? :0)
Top Ten Favourite songs of 2013
10. Leanne Mitchell - Pride
9. Caro Emerald - I Belong to You
8. Janelle Monae - Dance Apocalyptic
7. Dave Stewart w/ Martina McBride - Every Single Night
6. Tegan and Sara - I Was a Fool
5. Walk of Earth - Red Hand
4. London Grammar - Strong
3. Imagine Dragons - On Top of the World
2. Thea Gilmore - Start as We Mean to Go On
1. Lisa Stansfield - Change
Top Five Artists
My Top five do come from my top ten list (conveniently). They have provided me with much listening pleasure over the course of the year. So here they are:
Caro Emerald is a Dutch singer who specialises in jazz and pop songs. I discovered her music a couple of years ago, but this year I found another 3 songs that I really enjoyed very much. She has a unique style. You can hear her songs on the links below -
Completely - from her album The Shocking Miss Emerald
Liquid Lunch - from the same album
I Belong to you - from the same album
The group is made of lead singer Kimberly Perry, accompanied by her brothers Reid and Neil. They are a country music group who became popular with their first album in 2010. I've got to say, even though country music isn't necessarily my favourite music genre, I have liked the songs of theirs I've been introduced to this past year very much. I like Kimberly's vocal style and the music is excellent.
Done - From the 2013 album, Pioneers;
Die Young - From their 2010 album, The Band Perry; and
Don't Let Me Be Lonely - Second release from Pioneers.
A few new groups intrigued me over the course of the year, Hurts, London Grammar and Walk Off the Earth amongst them. But I especially liked this group out of Las Vegas. Their debut album, Night Visions, came out in 2013. I quite like their instrumentation and the variety of their music. Here are the songs that I particularly liked this year.
Radioactive - This is the first song I heard of theirs and I quite loved it. Super sound, great drums..
It's Time - This was the first single they released, once again a great beat.
On Top of the World - My favourite of theirs so far, kind of a reggae thumping beat, very positive.
Demons - Their most recent single release, a moodier, thoughtful song.
The first of two female vocalists who are my two favourite artists of 2013. 2013 was my introduction to Thea Gilmore and I loved her vocals, her intelligent songs, the music, everything about her. Such wonderful music. She's from Oxford, been around for awhile, her first single was in 2001. I'm glad I finally discovered her. These are the songs from that I downloaded in 2013.
Love Came Looking for Me - This is her most recent release. Such a wonderful voice and such beautiful songs.
Start as We Mean to Go On - My Number 2 song of 2013. I love the lyrics, the way her voice changes, and great music.
Beautiful Day - A lovely song from her most recent album, Revelations. Her voice reminds me of Enya at times. Beautiful lyrics, once again and I love the keyboards and the orchestration.
I've got to thank my wife for discovering the music of Lisa Stansfield. The missus loves to listen to BBC Radio 2 on line and I started scrolling through various of the DJ's play lists to find songs I might like to download. If it hadn't been for that, I probably never would have discovered Lisa Stansfield's music. She's been around for awhile, having put her first album out in 1989. She's still going strong, her most recent album, Seven, came out in 2013. I've definitely fallen in love with her music over the past couple of years. There is something so 'cool' about her sound, it just rubs me the right way. She has a fantastic voice and her songs are all wonderful. These were my picks from 2013 -
Change - My Number 1 song of 2013 actually came out in 1991. I love it! Jazzy, bluesy, great music and accentuates her voice to its best.
This is the Right Time - Going back to 1989 for this one, love the beat and how her voice plays with the music. Sexy, funky, cool!
Can't Dance - Her most recent release, from her 2013 album. She still has it.
(I look forward to discovering more of her gems over the next year.)
So there you have it, my Top Ten songs from 2013 and my Top Five Artists. I hope you like them.
Interesting choices.. a bit late to the party with Lisa Stansfield, but better late than never they say ;-)
ReplyDeleteThanks to you. I would probably never have heard her music otherwise. Thanks. :0)
ReplyDelete