Happening Music Hits
COMPILED BY Gishanka Perera
Globally renowned singer and songwriter Taylor Swift has achieved Diamond certification for selling multiple millions of copies of her album worldwide. Her album 1989 sold an astonishing 1.2 million copies in the first week – making it the highest debut sales week for an album since 2002.
She has topped numerous charts such as the Billboard 200 and Billboard Hot 100, and her newest single Cruel Summer hit the Top 10 of the latter. The song talks about the feelings that draw her to the man whom she loves and how things can easily go wrong.
Swift is also the first woman to sell more than a million copies of three albums in the first week. Furthermore, she has won countless awards – including 12 Grammys – and she’s also the first female artiste to win ‘Album Of The Year’ thrice at the Grammys.
Taylor was on The Eras Tour that began in March and ended in August. The concert tour – her sixth – included North and South America, Asia, Europe and Oceania, comprising 131 shows that are associated with her album Various.
MUSICAL MASTERPIECE
Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio, better known as Bad Bunny, continues to entertain the world with his music. He shattered records on Spotify for the most streamed album titled Un Verano Sin Ti. The album includes the song Tití Me Preguntó, which is considered a Spanish masterpiece in the world of music. It’s about Benito’s relationships and the words ‘tití me preguntó’ mean ‘my auntie asked me.’ This is because the first question that aunties typically ask at family gatherings is: ‘Do you have a girlfriend?’
JISOO DOES K-POP PROUD
South Korean girl group Blackpink’s Jisoo broke the record for the highest sales of a female K-pop solo album on the first day of release. She hit the Worldwide iTunes Song Chart with her incredible song Flower, which is about the end of a love relationship. This means that Jisoo was in the top spot for music in 52 countries. Her Flower performance video exceeded 100 million views on YouTube, demonstrating that she has a strong global impact. Jisoo achieved this milestone in only 92 days since the song’s release, making her the first K-pop soloist to exceed 100 million views on two videos on YouTube.
BALLAD OF BILLIE AND BARBIE
Grammy Award-winning singer and songwriter Billie Eilish, known for her unique pop music, made the headlines once again when she announced that her new song What Was I Made For? would be a collaboration with the 2023 fantasy comedy/drama film Barbie. In this remarkable new song, Eilish expresses Barbie’s feelings, and how she’s beginning to change and question her place in the world.
THE WEEKND’S AFTER HOURS
Canadian singer The Weeknd broke records during a London Stadium concert where he had the highest attendance during a two night stand at that venue. It was recorded that The Weeknd drew 160,000 people to his After Hours Til Dawn tour. He also holds the record for the highest attendance for a single night at the stadium, numbering 80,000 people.
