2007 was a year when pop diva Britney Spears hogged more news space than ever before and it was not because of her new album. Credit that to the insatiable demand for celebrity gossip that the media outlets must keep constantly fed with all things sensational every minute of the day. More important but hardly talked about by the public was the fact that the music industry was at a loss about what to do with dwindling CD sales, piracy and a technology changing more rapidly than ever before.

The message was face up to the changes or die. Some did and ingenuity carried the day. Radiohead sold its new album at a price dictated by fans on the Net. Prince gave his away for free. The Eagles got retail giant Wal-Mart behind its comeback CD. A lot of acts went off on concert tours to new markets like China where record sales are nil but live shows bring in thousands of fans and make lots of money. Most of all think of ways to make downloads, ringtones, iPodcasts and other new outlets pay the cost.

But despite those problems, recorded music remained a vital force that affected lives everywhere. Nothing can ever replace the joy of hearing something you enjoy and music is not dying. The way we get it is only changing its form and constituency. This is just like what happened when vinyl became tape and tape turned to discs, or when the turntable gave way to the tape deck, etc. We do not know what those tools will look like or sound like next year but the music will always be there.

2007 was a year of reunions. Led Zeppelin, Genesis, Police and Spice Girls. It was a big year for the tween set with High School Musical, Hannah Montana and other kids making good business. It was a year for American Idol with winners, Carrie Underwood, non-winners, Chris Daughtry fronting the band Daughtry, on top of the charts and other discoveries like Katharine Mcphee, Kellie Pickler, Blake Lewis and others all releasing new albums. It was a big year for hip-hop. Beyoncé Knowles, Akon, Jay-Z were very much around. And thanks to her Big Girls Don’t Cry, Fergie was named the No. 1 female act and leading Pop 100 Artist of the Year.

However, although Fergie is the girl of the moment out there in the US and although she has a special place in the hearts of us Pinoys because she is one-fourth of the Black Eyed Peas, which is one-fourth Pinoy, our sweetheart for 2007 is no other but Beyoncé. The spellbinding Beyoncé Experience in Taguig was definitely the concert of the year and would be difficult to top in terms of everything. Recordwise, Beyoncé also did very well with her Irreplaceable which topped Billboard Magazine’s Hot 100 list and is therefore the No. 1 Song of the Year.

The other songs in the Top 10 of the Hot 100 tabulation are: Umbrella by Rihanna featuring Jay-Z; The Sweet Escape by Gwen Stefani featuring Akon; Big Girls Don’t Cry by Fergie; Buy U A Drank (Shawty Snappin’) by T-Pain featuring Young Joc; Before He Cheats by Carrie Underwood; Hey There Delilah by Plain White T’s; I Wanna Love You by Akon featuring Snoop Dogg; Say It Right by Nelly Furtado; and Glamorous also by Fergie featuring Ludacris.

The Top 10 Albums in the Billboard 200 are: Daughtry by Daughtry; Konvicted by Akon; The Dutchess by Fergie; Hannah Montana Soundtrack by Miley Cyrus; Some Hearts by Carrie Underwood; All the Right Reasons by Nickelback; FutureSex/LoveSounds by Justine Timberlake; High School Musical 2 Soundtrack by Various Artists; Now 23 by Various Artists; and Minutes to Midnight by Linkin Park.

Others that made the cut were Makes Me Wonder by upcoming Manila visitor Maroon 5, watch out for them in March, as No. 1 Hot Adult Top 40 track; Waiting on the World to Change by John Mayer as Hot Adult Contemporary Song; Big Girls Don’t Cry by Fergie is No. 1 in the Pop 100 and is Hot Digital Song; It Won’t Be Soon Before Long by Maroon 5 as Top Digital Album; Forever by Papa Roach as No. 1 Mainstream Rock track; What I’ve Done by Linkin Park as Hot Modern Rock Song; Kingdom Come by Jay-Z is Top Hip Hop Album and Top Rap Album; Lost Without You by Robin Thicke as Top R ’n B/Hip-Hop Song; Hot Rap Single Make Me Better by Fabolous featuring Ne-Yo; Top Rock Album, Daughtry by Daughtry.

Speaking of Beyoncé, those who missed The Beyoncé Experience plus those who are still in the throes of a hangover from that evening would be glad to know that a performance of the same show at the Staple Center in Los Angeles is now available on DVD. And it includes some things that we did not get to see here, like special guests Jay-Z and Kelly and Michelle of Destiny’s Child.

Source: SOUNDS FAMILIAR By Baby A. Gil, PhilStar News