Journal

So basically you voted for over a month and chose three nominees out of each list I gave per category. Now among those three I chose the winner. In the categories that had only 5 nominees, the winner was chose only by the amount of votes. Here they are, the winners, bitchz! (The one in italic is the winner)

Best Song by a Male Artist
Kanye West & Chris Martin - "Homecoming"
Chris Brown - "With You"
Flo-Rida & T-Pain - "Low"
LAST YEAR: James Blunt - "1973"

Best Song by a Female Artist
Leona Lewis - "Bleeding Love"
P!nk - "So What"
Rihanna - "Disturbia"
LAST YEAR: Nelly Furtado - "All Good Things (Come to an end)"

Best Collaboration by Two or more artists
Estelle & Kanye West - "American Boy"
Madonna, Justin Timberlake & Timbaland - "4 Minutes"
Maroon 5 & Rihanna - "If I Never See Your Face Again"
LAST YEAR: Rihanna & Jay-Z - "Umbrella"

Best Song by a Group
OneRepublic & Timbaland - "Apologize"
The Pussycat Dolls - "When I Grow Up"
Coldplay - "Violet Hill"

Best Song by a New Artist
Duffy - "Mercy"
Katy Perry - "I Kissed A Girl"
The Ting Tings - "Shut up and let me go"
LAST YEAR: Amy Winehouse - "Rehab"

Best Rock Song
Coldplay - "Violet Hill"
The Rasmus - "Living in a world without you"
Arctic Monkeys - "Teddy Picker"
Foo Fighters - "The Pretender"
LAST YEAR: Arctic Monkeys - "Fluorescent Adolescent"

Best Pop Song
Rihanna - "Disturbia"
P!nk - "So What"
Madonna, Justin Timberlake & Timbaland - "4 Minutes"
Leona Lewis - "Bleeding Love"
LAST YEAR: Nelly Furtado - "All Good Things (Come to an End)"

Best Song by a latin artist
Enrique Iglesias - "¿Dónde están corazón?"
Julieta Venegas - "El Presente (MTV Unplugged)"
Belanova - "One, Two, Three, Go!"
LAST YEAR: Panda - "Los Malaventurados no Lloran"

Best Hip Hop Song
Flo-Rida & T-Pain - "Low"
Kanye West & Chris Martin - "Homecoming"
Missy Elliott - "Ching-a-ling"

Best RnB/Soul Song
Rihanna - "Take a Bow"
Duffy - "Mercy"
Mariah Carey - "Touch my body"

Best alternative/indie Song
MGMT - "Time to Pretend"
Justice - "D.A.N.C.E."
The Ting Tings - "Shut up and let me go"

Best lyrics to a song
Christina Aguilera - "Save me from myself"

Flashback song of the year
The Killers - "Mr. Brightside"
P!nk - "Don't let me get me"
Muse - "Time is running out"
LAST YEAR: Red Hot Chili Peppers - "Otherside"

Smash artist of 2009
Britney Spears (Album: Circus; Lead Single: Womanizer)

Song of the year
Madonna, Justin Timberlake & Timbaland - "4 Minutes"
Leona Lewis - "Bleeding Love"
Duffy - "Mercy"
Coldplay - "Violet Hill"
The Pussycat Dolls - "When I Grow Up"
LAST YEAR: Beyoncé - "Irreplaceable"

Artist of the year
Coldplay

Music video of the year
Ashlee Simpson - "Outta my Head (Ay Ya Ya)"
P!nk - "So What"
The Ting Tings - "Shut up and let me go"
Madonna, Justin Timberlake & Timbaland - "4 Minutes"
Rihanna - "Disturbia"
LAST YEAR: Rihanna & Jay-Z - "Umbrella"

Kanye West grabbed 2 awards for Best Song by a Male Artist and Best Collaboration with Estelle, while Chris Martin went home with 3 awards: one for Best Song by a Male Artist (thanks to Homecoming), one for Best Rock Song, with Violet Hill, and one for Artist of the Year, the latter 2 with his group Coldplay.

Ashlee Simpson flop-song "Outta My Head (Ay Ya Ya)" didn't inhibit her to compete and win one of the big awards of the night: Music Video Of The Year, where she defeated big names like Madonna and Rihanna. Remember, it's all about the video!

The song of the year went to Madonna and her collab with Justin and Timbaland, while the voters remembered Mr. Brightside and predicted a future of success for Britney Spears (guess they were right, she already has a number one in the Billboard Hot 100)

For all the people who nominated Keeps Gettin' Better & Womanizer in many of the categories, I didn't put 'em 'cause they didn't make the cut. They will probably be in 2009's awards, just like "Apologize" was on these ones. Other ones featured in 2009 will surely include Beyoncé, Kanye, The Killers, Shakira, Rihanna, T.I., Kaiser Chiefs and everyone who brings new material to da house!!!

Kthxbye

Chris Brown Flo-Rida T-Pain James Blunt Chris Martin Kanye West Dwele Usher Young Jeezy will.i.am Wyclef Jean Akon Lil’ Wayne Niia Alicia Keys Duffy Estelle Leona Lewis Madonna Justin Timberlake Timbaland P!nk Pink Rihanna Santogold Ashlee Simpson Tom Higgenson PLAIN WHITE T’S Jordin Sparks Maroon 5 T.I. Arctic Monkeys Coldplay Gnarls Barkley MGMT One Republic The Hives OneRepublic The Pussycat Dolls Pussycat Dolls Nicole Scherzinger Katy Perry Metro Station Solange The Ting Tings Paramore Tokio Hotel Foo Fighters Matchbox Twenty Oasis The Rasmus The White Stripes Natasha Bedingfield Belanova Cabas Café Tacuba Café Tacuba Café Tacuba Café Tacuba Chocquibtown El Sie7e Enrique Iglesias Fonseca Juanes Julieta Venegas Shakira Sanalejo the hall effect San Alejo Flo-Rida Flo Rida T-Pain Fergie Tyga Travis McCoy Gym Class Heroes Anouk Mariah Carey Shontelle Justice The B-52’s Cansei de Ser Sexy Once Glen Hansard Marketa Irglova Ace of Base Blink-182 Ladytron Muse The Cardigans The Killers Britney Spears Janet Jackson Weezer Christina Aguilera Linkin Park

The Place: The QH Blend

The Talent: Ashanti, Kelly Rowland, TLC, Brandy, Janet Jackson, Chaka Khan, The Pointer Sisters, Natalie Cole, The Supremes, Macy Gray, Solange, Erykah Badu, Kelis, Mariah Carey, Karyn White, Mya, Missy Elliott, & Estelle.

The Cause: To funk you up.

The Songs: Go to the link above to see, Taste The Blend.-QH

It's that time of the year again... On Sept. 16, 2007 the Last Year's Nominees for The 2007 RGB Awards were announced, and on Sept. 24, 2007 (one day after my first Last.fm Anniversary) the Last Year's Winners were announced.

This is the second edition of The RGB Awards and you'll be able to choose your nominees: Each category has 8 nominees, you will vote for the ones you like the most in each category, and they'll be narrowed down to 3 nominees. Out of these 3 nominees, The 2008 RGB Awards Judges will decide who the winner is. The "Artist of the Year", "Best Lyrics" & "Smash Artist of 2009" winners will be decided by you, with your votes.

VOTE NOW BY CLICKIN' THE LINKS, DON'T LEAVE A COMMENT WITH YOUR VOTES
YOU CAN VOTE FOR MORE THAN ONE NOMINEE IN MOST CATEGORIES
VOTE NOW - Part One
VOTE NOW - Part Two

Winners will be announced before September ends

Kanye West leads the nominations with a grand total of 12, followed by Gnarls Barkley with 8, Rihanna with 8 and Madonna 6. All of them are nominated for Artist of the Year, along with Coldplay, who got 4 nominations. UK's sweethearts Estelle & Duffy got 5 nominations and 4 nominations respectively, and they're both competing for the Song of the Year award, among with Wyclef Jean's "Sweetest Girl", which got 4 nods. Chris Brown got 5 nominations as well as P!nk, and Will.i.am got 4 nominations for "Heartbreaker" and "In the ayer"

FULL LIST OF NOMINEES

Best Song by a Female Artist
Alicia Keys – “No One”
Duffy – “Mercy”
Estelle & Kanye West – “American Boy”
Leona Lewis – “Bleeding Love”
Madonna, Justin Timberlake & Timbaland – “4 Minutes”
P!nk – “So What”
Rihanna – “Disturbia”
Santogold – “L.E.S. Artistes”

Best Song by a Male Artist
Chris Brown – “With You”
James Blunt – “Carry you home”
Will.i.am – “Heartbreaker”
Wyclef Jean, Akon, Lil’ Wayne & Niia – “Sweetest Girl (Dollar Bill)”
Kanye West & Dwele – “Flashing Lights”
Kanye West & Chris Martin – “Homecoming”
Usher & Young Jeezy – “Love in this club”
Flo-Rida & T-Pain – “Low"

Best Collaboration by two or more artists
Ashlee Simpson & Tom Higgenson – “Little Miss Obsessive”
Estelle & Kanye West – “American Boy”
Jordin Sparks & Chris Brown – “No Air”
Kanye West & Chris Martin – “Homecoming”
Madonna, Justin Timberlake & Timbaland – “4 Minutes”
Maroon 5 & Rihanna – “If I never see your face again”
T.I. & Rihanna – “Live your life”
Wyclef Jean, Akon, Lil’ Wayne & Niia – “Sweetest Girl (Dollar Bill)”

Best song by a group
Arctic Monkeys – “Teddy Picker”
Coldplay – “Violet Hill”
Gnarls Barkley – “Run”
Maroon 5 – “Goodnight Goodnight”
MGMT – “Time to pretend”
One Republic & Timbaland – “Apologize”
The Hives – “Tick Tick Boom”
The Pussycat Dolls – “When I Grow Up”

Best song by a new artist
Duffy – “Mercy”
Estelle & Kanye West – “American Boy”
Katy Perry – “I Kissed a Girl”
Metro Station – “Shake It”
MGMT – “Time to pretend”
Santogold – “L.E.S. Artistes”
Solange – “Sandcastle Disco”
The Ting Tings – “Shut up and let me go”


Best rock song
Arctic Monkeys – “Teddy Picker”
Coldplay – “Violet Hill”
Foo Fighter – “The Pretender”
Matchbox Twenty – “These hard times”
Oasis – “The Shock of the Lighting”
The Hives – “Tick Tick Boom”
The Rasmus – “Living in a world without you”
The White Stripes – “Conquest”

Best pop song
Chris Brown – “Forever”
Estelle & Kanye West – “American Boy”
Leona Lewis – “Bleeding Love”
Madonna, Justin Timberlake & Timbaland – “4 Minutes”
Natasha Bedingfield – “Pocketful of Sunshine”
P!nk – “So What”
Rihanna – “Disturbia”
The Pussycat Dolls – “When I Grow Up”

Best song by a latin artist
Belanova – “One, Two, Three, Go!”
Cabas – “Bonita”
Café Tacuba – “Esta vez”
Chocquibtown – “Somos pacífico”
El Sie7e – “Ileso”
Enrique Iglesias – “¿Dónde están corazón?
Fonseca – “Paraíso”
Julieta Venegas – “El Presente (MTV Unplugged)”
Sanalejo – “Me gusta (Pequeña Putita)”
The Hall Effect – “Unpure”

Best hip hop song
Flo-Rida & T-Pain – “Low”
Flo-Rida, Will.i.am & Fergie – “In the ayer”
Kanye West & Chris Martin – “Homecoming”
Kanye West & T-Pain – “Good Life”
Missy Elliott – “Ching-a-ling”
T.I. & Rihanna – “Live your life”
Tyga & Travis McCoy – “Coconut Juice”
Wyclef Jean, Akon, Lil’ Wayne & Niia – “Sweetest Girl (Dollar Bill)”

Best RnB/Soul song
Chris Brown – “With You”
Duffy – “Mercy”
Jordin Sparks & Chris Brown – “No Air”
Mariah Carey – “Touch my body”
Rihanna – “Take a bow”
Usher & Young Jeezy – “Love in this club”
Shontelle – “T-Shirt”
Will.i.am – “Heartbreaker”

Best alternative/indie song
Gnarls Barkley – “Run”
Gnarls Barkley – “Who’s gonna save my soul”
Justice – “D.A.N.C.E.”
Metro Station – “Shake It”
MGMT – “Time to pretend”
Santogold – “L.E.S. Artistes”
The B-52’s – “Funplex”
The Ting Tings – “Shut up and let me go”

Best Lyrics to a Song
Cansei de Ser Sexy – “Music is my hot, hot sex”
Christina Aguilera – “Save me from myself”
Glen Hansard & Marketa Irglova – “Falling Slowly”
Gnarls Barkley – “Who’s gonna save my soul”
James Blunt – “Carry you home”

Flashback song of the year
Ace of Base – “All that she wants”
Blink 182 – “Always”
Gnarls Barkley – “Crazy”
Ladytron – “Playgirl”
Muse – “Time is running out”
P!nk – “Don’t let me get me”
The Cardigans – “Lovefool”
The Killers – “Mr. Brightside”

Smash Artist of 2009
Britney Spears
Christina Aguilera
Kanye West
P!nk
The Killers

Song of the year
Alicia Keys – “No One”
Coldplay – “Violet Hill”
Duffy – “Mercy”
Estelle & Kanye West – “American Boy”
Gnarls Barkley – “Run”
Leona Lewis – “Bleeding Love”
Madonna, Justin Timberlake & Timbaland – “4 Minutes”
One Republic & Timbaland – “Apologize”
The Pussycat Dolls – “When I Grow Up”
Usher & Young Jeezy – “Love in this club”
Will.i.am – “Heartbreaker”
Wyclef Jean, Akon, Lil’ Wayne & Niia – “Sweetest Girl (Dollar Bill)”

Artist of the year
Coldplay
Gnarls Barkley
Kanye West
Madonna
Rihanna

Music video of the year
Ashlee Simpson – “Outta my head”
Gnarls Barkley – “Who’s gonna save my soul”
Janet Jackson – “Feedback”
Justice – “D.A.N.C.E.”
Madonna, Justin Timberlake & Timbaland - "4 Minutes"
P!nk – “So What”
Rihanna - "Disturbia"
The Ting Tings – “Shut up and let me go”
The Hives – “Tick Tick Boom”
Weezer – “Pork and Beans”

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Chris Brown Flo-Rida T-Pain James Blunt Chris Martin Kanye West Dwele Usher Young Jeezy will.i.am Wyclef Jean Akon Lil’ Wayne Niia Alicia Keys Duffy Estelle Leona Lewis Madonna Justin Timberlake Timbaland P!nk Pink Rihanna Santogold Ashlee Simpson Tom Higgenson PLAIN WHITE T’S Jordin Sparks Maroon 5 T.I. Arctic Monkeys Coldplay Gnarls Barkley MGMT One Republic The Hives OneRepublic The Pussycat Dolls Pussycat Dolls Nicole Scherzinger Katy Perry Metro Station Solange The Ting Tings Paramore Tokio Hotel Foo Fighters Matchbox Twenty Oasis The Rasmus The White Stripes Natasha Bedingfield Belanova Cabas Café Tacuba Café Tacuba Café Tacuba Café Tacuba Chocquibtown El Sie7e Enrique Iglesias Fonseca Juanes Julieta Venegas Shakira Sanalejo the hall effect San Alejo Flo-Rida Flo Rida T-Pain Fergie Tyga Travis McCoy Gym Class Heroes Anouk Mariah Carey Shontelle Justice The B-52’s Cansei de Ser Sexy Once Glen Hansard Marketa Irglova Ace of Base Blink-182 Ladytron Muse The Cardigans The Killers Britney Spears Janet Jackson Weezer Christina Aguilera Linkin Park

(Top)
Gym Class Heroes

(Left)
Janelle Monáe

(Right)
Solange

Gym Class Heroes just released The Quilt, follow-up to their successful 2006 album, As Cruel As School Children. With half of the album produced by Patrick Stump (of Fall Out Boy) and the rest by R&B/Hip-Hop big names such as Cool & Dre (Hate It or Love It), Tricky Stewart & The-Dream (Ellah ellah eh eh) and Allen "Allstar" Gordon, who's probably best known for producing songs for Joe, SWV and The Braxtons in the past, the whole album turned out to be a nice mixture of hip-hop, soul, ska, emo and pop and as good and fun as the previous album, in my opinion.

"Classical wondafunk" singer Janelle Monáe is finally ready to make her name worldwide. Metropolis: The Chase Suite (Special Edition) is a re-package of her indie debut EP and her first release under a contract with Sean Combs' Bad Boy Entertainment. I was shocked when I first heard the news of Diddy signing Janelle, because she's so extraordinarily talented and doesn't seem to be that kind of an artist who fits on Puff's roster. Anyway, this re-release is an opportunity for her to gather more audience and hopefully helps her get budget for the full-length debut album.

Solange Knowles, who has a famous family and was pregnant at 17, released her sophomore album, Sol-Angel & The Hadley St. Dreams, this August. Although the main direction of this album is obviously influenced by the current "retro soul" trend aka Amy Winehouse's swagger, it eventually proved that Solange has got her own uniqueness and doesn't need to try to be like her big sis as she did before on her debut album, Solo Star. The Japanese edition of this album, which will contain a few bonus tracks, is planned to be released at October 22 and I first thought of buying that one, but then I got tired of waiting until the release date and decided to get the imported edition, which is much less expensive than the domestically-pressed one.

On The QH Blend I discuss Solange's amazing second album, "Sol-Angel and the Hadley St. Dreams," you know, the one that has everyone talking. See what my thoughts are and taste the Blend.-QH

Below are the nominees for the best albums of 2008. I'm a little behind this year, so please make suggestions!

Nominees:
Wolf Parade - At Mount Zoomer
Bon Iver - For Emma, Forever Ago
Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin - Pershing
Mates of State - Re-Arrange Us
Aimee Mann - @#%&*! Smilers
The Uglysuit - The Uglysuit
Greg Laswell - Three Flights From Alto Nido
The Magnetic Fields - Distortion
Frightened Rabbit - The Midnight Organ Fight
Santogold - Santogold
Tapes 'n Tapes - Walk It Off
She & Him - Volume One
Vampire Weekend - Vampire Weekend
Plants and Animals - Parc Avenue
TV on the Radio - Dear Science
Margot & the Nuclear So and So's - Animal! and Not Animal

Demanding consideration:
Lykke Li - Youth Novels
Portishead - Third
The Mountain Goats - Heretic Pride
The Ting Tings - We Started Nothing
Sigur Rós - með suð í eyrum við spilum endalaust
Islands - Arm's Way
Beck - Modern Guilt
The Last Shadow Puppets - The Age Of The Understatement
Bonnie 'Prince' Billy - Lie Down In The Light
Hercules and Love Affair - Hercules And Love Affair
Brian Eno & David Byrne - Everything That Happens Will Happen Today
Lil' Wayne - The Carter III
The Roots - Rising Down
Nine Inch Nails - The Slip
Black Mountain - In The Future
The Black Angels - Directions To See A Ghost
Solange - Sol-Angel & The Hadley St. Dreams
R.E.M. - Accelerate
Hot Chip - Made In The Dark
MGMT - Oracular Spectacular
Nine Inch Nails - Ghosts I - IV
DeVotchKa - A Mad And Faithful Telling
Ratatat - LP3
Does It Offend You, Yeah? - You Have No Idea What You're Getting Yourself Into
Why? - Alopecia
Joan as Police Woman - to survive
Man Man - Rabbit Hats
Earth - The Bees Made Honey In The Lion's Skull
Martha Wainwright - I Know You're Married But I've Got Feelings Too
Martin Solveig - C'est La Vie
Langhorne Slim - Langhorne Slim
The Black Keys - Attack and Release
Chad VanGaalen - sof airplane
Cold War Kids - loyalty to loyalty
Elbow - The Seldom Seen Kid
Horse Feathers - House With No Home

Considered but not likely to contend:
The Walkmen - You & Me
Brendan Canning - Something For All Of Us...
Shearwater - Rook
Counting Crows - Saturday Nights and Sunday Mornings
David Karsten Daniels - Fear of Flying
Beach House - Devotion
Conor Oberst - Conor Oberst
Death Cab for Cutie - Narrow Stairs
The Hold Steady - Stay Positive
French Kicks - Swimming
Fleet Foxes - Fleet Foxes
Dr. Dog - Fate
Truckasauras - Tea Parties, Guns & Valor
The Big Sleep - Sleep Forever
The Fratellis - Here We Stand
Crystal Castles - Crystal Castles
My Morning Jacket - Evil Urges
Electric President - Sleep Well
The Bug - London Zoo
The Faint - Fasciinatiion
Cut Copy - Lights & Music
Jaguar Love - Take Me to the Sea
The Dodos - Visiter
Jenny Lewis - Acid Tongue
Thao - We Brave Bee Stings And All
High Places - High Places
Miles Benjamin Anthony Robinson - Miles Benjamin Anthony Robinson
Port O'Brien - All We Could Do Was Sing
The Submarines - Honeysuckle Weeks

in ages(IMO). To start it off, Erykah Badu released a new album, her first album since Worldwide Underground which came out in '04. The Roots came out with Rising Down, which has quickly become one of my favorite albums ever. N*E*R*D released Seeing Sounds which is a BANGER. I saw Alicia Keys LIVE! (I've been waiting to see her live since she came out). I'm about to see Mary J. Blige live. A Tribe Called Quest is doin' RTB. John Legend is about to release a new album. Common is about to release an album. Monica and Brandy are coming back. Maxwell is about to come back. Lauryn Hill MIGHT be coming back. There have been sooo many good albums and new artists this year (Jazmine Sullivan, Keri Hilson, Janelle Monáe, J*Davey and Santogold are my new favorites). Solange surprised us ALL with her new album Sol-Angel and the Hadley St. Dreams. Michelle Williams' album is really good too. And isn't Bee comin' out with an album in November? C'mon, Kelendria...

NOW, all I need is Chrisette Michele, Goapele, India.Arie, Teedra Moses, Corinne Bailey Rae,and Heather Headley to release some new material. Goapele & Teedra have already teased me with their new songs, but I'm being a greedy bastard. I want more! =)

Out of all of these new artists though, I canNOT get into Shwayze. I just can't. It won't happen.

**and new Kanye West and Jay-Z?! WHAT?!**

Over a year ago, a couple of tracks by Solange leaked titled “White Picket Dreams” and “ChampagneChronicNightcap” featuring Snoop Dogg. I instantly fell in love with these songs, and it makes me happy to say the wait I endured for the arrival of Sol-Angel and the Hadley St. Dreams was well worth it.

The album begins with “God Given Name,” a song meant to tell you that she is not her sister, Beyonce. In the song, she sings,” I am not her and I never will be.” In the ending of the song she speaks, “I sound high don’t I? I swear I’m not high.” These little quirky moments are what make the album such a great success; her creativity speaks volumes on this album, which definitely sets her apart from her big sis.

The album continues in the Doo-Wop tradition with “Would’ve Been the One,” “Dancing in the Dark.” And “T.O.N.Y.” In the latter song, she sings, “He’s not a regular guy, actually Tony was the other night,” which is my favorite lyric on the album. In fact, the lyrical creativity on this album is astounding. It does not surprise me though since she has written some of the biggest hits for Beyonce and Destiny’s Child (bet you didn’t know that).

The lyrics, coupled with crazy and fun productions from The Neptunes, the Bama Boyz and Mark Ronson, makes this album a powerhouse. The Mark Ronson-produced “6 0’clock Blues” contains the best production on this album. But that can be heavily contested with each song on this album containing some spectacular beats.

Solange bumped up the total track time on the album to include two experimental songs, which becomes the most delicious treat on this album. The songs, “This Bird” and “Cosmic Journey (featuring Bilal),” are both around six minutes long, but trust me, you will want to listen to them.

With this album, Solange wanted to show the world who she was, and that meant distinguishing herself from Beyonce. Solange definitely completes the task. Sol-Angel is one of the best albums of the year. I would recommend listening to “Would’ve Been the One,” “Sandcastle Disco,” “This Bird,” “I Decided, Part 2,” and “Cosmic Journey.” (4.5/5)