MANY musical acts hit it big in 2008, none more so than Amy Winehouse. The soul singer who?s been making waves for her impressive songwriting skills and unique voice in Europe for a while now continued to be ?discovered? by the rest of the world, unfortunately at a time when she?s physically deteriorating because of her uncontrollable substance abuse problem.
She was reportedly chosen to write and perform the theme song of the latest Bond flick, but lost it to Jack White and Alicia Keys after colleague Mark Ronson, who started to work on the movie?s theme song with Winehouse, said the singer was not ready to work.
Another European voice who made it huge in 2008 was the Welsh beauty Duffy. She?s just 24, but sounds like she?s lived so many lifetimes. Her single ?Mercy? was downloaded like crazy, but the rest of her album called ?Rockferry? deserve to be in your MP3 players as well.
Soulful
London girl Adele charmed many with her soulful performances of originals like ?Chasing Pavements? and past hits like Garth Brooks? ?Make You Feel My Love,? while Leona Lewis proved she?s not a one-hit-wonder with her follow-up single ?Better in Time.?
It was also the year of comebacks. Alanis Morissette bounced back from a break-up, with a new album called ?Flavors of Entanglement,? reportedly with songs about ex-flame Ryan Reynolds who is now married to actress Scarlett Johansson.
Pop princesses Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera also came out with new materials. Britney is promoting her new album ?Circus,? which contains the hit ?Womanizer? and the title track, and will be busy with a world tour, while Christina released a greatest hits album that included new and reworked tracks.
She also kept herself busy performing in several shows such as the 2008 Grammy Nominations Concert LIVE!, where she paid tribute to Nina Simone by singing ?I Love You Porgy;? and the CNN Heroes: An All-Star Tribute, where she sang a moving version of her hit song ?Beautiful.?
Also returning to the scene is R&B singer Brandy, who disappeared from the industry after being involved in a car accident that killed a woman. She recently released a new album, ?Human,? filled with very personal songs about her struggles ever since the traumatic incident.
Delight
Boybands like New Kids on the Block and Boyzone also reunited, much to their fans? delight. In the country, Wolfgang is once again a complete band?with a new album out called ?Villains.?
But nothing could top the Eraserheads reunion, which had a rocky publicity campaign, then got cut short in actual performance because of lead singer Ely Buendia?s health condition. Oh, the concert was released as a movie, too.
Ramiele Malubay made it as a semi-finalist in this year?s American Idol, while Renaldo Lapuz made possibly a bigger impact on the show, thanks to his ?We?re Brothers Forever? composition (which got everyone singing), even if he didn?t make it to the semi-finals.
The biggest Pinoy star for 2008 is undoubtedly Charice Pempengco. Not only did she appear as a guest on popular US programs such as ?The Oprah Winfrey Show? and ?Good Morning America,? she also fulfilled her dreams of singing with her idols like Andrea Bocelli and Celine Dion.
Filipinos also enjoyed the concerts of several visiting international artists, including Ne-Yo, Maroon 5, James Blunt, Earth, Wind & Fire, Incubus, Rihanna and Chris Brown, Michael Johns and Daughtry.
Abroad, however, the highlights are decidedly more mixed. Madonna broke up with Guy Ritchie, Mariah Carey got married to the younger Nick Cannon, Danity Kane broke up, Katy Perry released the scandalous ?I Kissed a Girl,? Beyonce unleashed her addicting dance steps in the video for ?Single Ladies,? Christina Aguilera got accused of copying newcomer Lady Gaga?s look, and, finally, the Jonas Brothers were everywhere.
E-mail the author at ninomarksablan@yahoo.com.
