Music Survey 2014

I have been listening to BBC Radio's 1 Breakfast Show while at work for quite awhile (the time difference meant that while their breakfast show was on, its around 230pm here in Singapore) However, what got me interested to do upon my Music Survey for 2014 was inspired by this other DJ in BBC Radio 1 called Zane Lowe.

(picture taken from BBC Radio 1 homepage)

Zane Lowe helms BBC Radio 1's evening show, and everynight, he will introduce the newest tracks that he believe are the "hottest in the world". At the end of the year, he would ask listeners to vote what are the hottest records for the entire year. 

I decided to try to do something similar, using an old school method: surveys. Yes, the dreaded surveys that people hate to do or hate asking people to do.

Below are the questions that I had posed to people.

1. What are your top 3 songs for 2014?
2. What is your 1 most disliked song for 2014?
3. Who is your artist of the year?
4. Which song is more for you: All of Me or Thinking Out Loud

I had polled a total of 35 people, which did not amount to a lot, but it was interesting for me to find out more about the musical tastes, and to explore new genre of music that I might not have been exposed to previously.

Here's presenting to you the results of MrPaoKaLiao's first ever Musical Awards!

The top 3 songs for 2014, as decided by voters

3. "Chandelier", Sia

Sia, no stranger to Singaporeans (especially the eh-wa generation), is back 2 years later with this single that according to Wikipedia, details the "demoralisation and rationalisation of alcoholism through the typical thought process of a "party girl".

Yes. It sounds chim, and its a super hard song to sing as well. So credit to Sia for recording this track. And how can we forget about the MV? The entire choreography was something to behold, and in fact it was the seventh most watched YouTube video of 2014. Click on the video above, and you might end up watching it again to even try to understand the complex routine.

2. "Stay With Me", Sam Smith; "All of Me", John Legend; "Rude", Magic!

Coming in at 2nd place, we had a tie between these 3 songs. Sam Smith truly had an a 2014 that even he could not envision happening, and I predict even greater things for him come 2015. Sam Smith's singing chops is indeed one that is hard to come by, and the emotions that he poured in while singing Stay With Me is something that you know is something that is heartfelt.

Next, John Legend's All of Me. Well, what could I say about this track has already been summarized in my previous post This track simply sets the tone for all future marriage proposals. Nuff said :)

Lastly, Magic's Rude. This was my most disliked song of the year, hence I wish i knew how to write this in a totally non-biased point of view. Therefore, I decided to play cheat by simply adding in the background of the song that I took from Wikipedia.

"Rude" was named after the reggae term "rude boy" and originally based on a real-life situation. The lead singer of Magic!, Nasri, had been in an unhealthy relationship with a previous girlfriend. After Nasri got in a fight with his girlfriend, the band based the song off of that headline. The couple was in a "mean time" when they were both being rude to each other, as Nasri says in what he describes as a "dark vibe." 

In my opinion, this song simply made no sense lyrically, and I truly wonder if Bob Marley is alive today, what would be his opinon with regards to this "reggae" tune. Thankfully, I'm not alone with regards to this being the most disliked song of 2014

1. "Blank Space", Taylor Swift

Yes, who else but Taylor Swift to be MrPaoKaLiao's winner for best song of 2014. At least 1/5 of our respondents picked this song to be part of their top 3 songs of 2014. Taylor Swift had an awesome 2014, with her album being the top selling album of 2014 even though it has only been released for 9 weeks!

For me, this song definitely stood out more as compared to that ridiculous first single that is "Shake It Off". Apparently, this song was written as a form of Swifite mocking herself for all the exposure with regards to her dating life. As we all know, Taylor never seems to be able to avoid the limelight with regards to her boys in her life. Might as well write a song about that eh. 

Charts wise, this song was as successful as Shake. In fact, she is the first female artist in Billboard's Hot 100 history to have 2 different songs at the top spot in respective weeks.

Congrats to Taylor Swift for winning the MrPKL's Best Song of 2014 :)

The top 3 most disliked songs, as chosen by voters

3. "All About That Bass", Meghan Trainor

This was a bit of a surprise for me, given the popularity of the song. Perhaps it struck a nerve among the skinny girls out there, especially with Meghan referring them as "skinny bitches" (yes, here at MrPKL, we avoid censorship as much as we can) This song definitely made its mark in the charts, it having the honour of being at the number 1 spot for the 8 weeks, only behind Pharrel Williams Happy. 

One of the respondents provided this wonderful cover of All About That Bass done by local band The Sam Willows, that was simply awesome. Do have a listen and hit the comments box to tell me about whch version you prefer :)

2. "Shake It Off", Taylor Swift

When I was tabulating the reuslts, I was really hoping that this song would be number 1. According to Wiki, this song was dedicated to her detractors, to shake all those scrutiny on her life away. To me, this song simply made no sense to me. I totally agreed with what a critic had said about this song

"the least musically interesting song that Swift has done" and "it's not personal, at least not in the ways we expect from a Taylor Swift song." 

Couldn't have put it any better I say.

1. "Anaconda", Nicki Minaj

I was the least surprised that this song was voted the most disliked song of 2014. Why?

I use this song to irritate the shi* out of my friend.

I had absolutely no idea that actually the word "anaconda" had hidden meanings, until my friend mentioned to me about it. And it made total sense! 

Amazingly, this song received critically good reviews! Wow. IMO, this song simply represents the sexualization of the media industry.




The Artist of The Year

Congratulation to Sam Smith!!!!!

Truly a remarkable singer, with greater material to come from him I'm sure :)




All Of Me or Thinking Out Loud?

Most people preferred All of Me as compared to Thinking Out Loud. IMO, All of Me  probably edged out simply because it was released earlier as compared to Thinking Out Loud. The reason why i asked this question was because both had similar vibes lyrically, with both songs suitable as a "wedding tune". 



And that's about it for my music "awards" or survey! Here's hoping for even greater music in 2015 (Adele I'm looking at you especially) And I can promise you that I would be doing even more music reviews in 2015! Cheers :)