Best of 2014: The year in music (Part 1)

Additional content: Liv Moss and Justin Myers

Sam Smith owns 2014

There aren’t many popstars who had a year as amazing and bonkers as Sam Smith. Starting out 2014 as a BRIT Awards’ Critics’s Choice winner about to release his first solo single, and ending it with a clutch of Grammy nominations and a massive-selling album, Sam dominated the year much as Pharrell had his name all over 2013. With two chart-topping solo singles in the UK and huge success across the pond, Sam has gone from super-shy to superstar in the blink of an eye. And his phone contacts is probably one of the most sought-after in pop – he’s bezzers with big names like Jay Z, Beyoncé, Justin Timberlake, Mary J Blige and Taylor Swift. But of course he’s not in it for the showbiz pals – he does it for, he does it for the love!

Kate Bush returns to the stage

In March this year, Kate Bush announced her long-awaited return to the stage. And given she essentially retired from the live circuit after just one six-week tour in 1979, demand was understandably high. Fortunately, she didn’t disappoint; the show was met with glowing reviews and was hailed as a “magical” and “spectacular” display from one of the UK’s most influential female performers. Better yet, excitement surrounding the much-hyped shows subsequently sent her entire albums catalogue into the Top 75, two of which re-entered the Top 10 (The Whole Story at Number 6 and Hounds Of Love at Number 9). Given the glowing response, can we expect a brand new album in 2015?

The return of Jacko

Michael Jackson’s second posthumous album, Xscape, was formally announced in March and released in May. Helmed by music mogul and Epic Records producer LA Reid, we were assured that the record would make up for the disaster of 2010’s controversial Michael, and it didn’t disappoint. The collection featured eight previously unreleased tracks by the music icon, both in their original and “contemporized” forms, which were for the most part faithful to the star’s inimitable sound. The record hit Number 1 on the Official Albums Chart, spawned the Top 10 JT collab Love Never Felt So Good and this incredible performance at the 2014 Billboard Awards:

Eurovision went Conchita crazy!

The Eurovision Song Contest is an annual cavalcade of drama, campery and, of course, music. This year’s competition held in Copenhagen, Denmark, attracted more attention than most, however, thanks to one quirky contestant from Austria. She had a belter of a song, she had a glitzy wardrobe, she had the voice of an angel – so far, so Eurovision. But one thing Conchita Wurst had that other ladies in the Eurovision Song Contest didn’t was a beard. Conchita, professional name of talented drag artist Tom Neuwirth, won the hearts of all of Europe with her message of diversity and inclusion not to mention a moving ballad that ensured there wasn’t a dry eye in the house. The renewed interest in the show tricked through to the Official Singles Chart too, with four tracks making the Top 40.

The UK’s hopes were high with Molly’s Children Of The Universe, but 2014’s contest was all about Conchita, and we finished 17th. Maybe next year we can take Conchita’s lead and Rise Like A Phoenix?

Dolly Parton wows Glastonbury

She may not have been headlining the main stage, but all eyes and ears were on Dolly Parton at this year’s Glastonbury festival back in June. The country veteran attracted five-star reviews for her performance, which was deemed “completely ridiculous” and “the definition of the word crowdpleaser”. Better yet, the set appeared to remind the general public at the severe lack of Dolly in their music collections, as she scored her most successful UK album ever with Blue Smoke, which peaked at Number 2 and is one of the best-selling albums of 2014 with sales of 329,000.

Streaming is counted in the Official Singles Chart for the first time

Ever since it was ‘born’ way, waaay back in 1952, the Official Singles Chart has been constantly evolving to reflect how the British public – that’s you – consume music. 2014 brought a new, exciting progression, when audio streaming counted towards a chart placing for the very first time. As more and more of us find new ways to access music, with streaming making up around 40% of the singles market when it was introduced into the charts, it was the next logical advance in monitoring which songs are popular out there. It’s what we do, after all! The first act to make Number 1 in the new-look Official Singles Chart was Ariana Grande, when Problem hit the top spot (with a bit of help from Iggy Azalea, of course). And streaming is getting bigger and bigger – Mark Ronson’s Uptown Funk broke the UK all-time streaming record earlier this month, scoring over 2,340,000 listens in a week!

Taylor Swift goes pop

The only good thing to come out a severe lack of big releases this winter was that it allowed plenty of room for Taylor Swift to shine. Self-dubbed her first proper pop album (compared to 2012’s semi-pop Red), the singer announced her fifth album 1989 in August and essentially dominated the world for the 2014’s remaining four months. The record – released in October – became her second UK Number 1 and the fastest-selling female LP of the year, spawning Top 5 singles Shake It Off and Blank Space. Oh, and it did *quite* well in the US as well, in case you were wondering.

Click here to check out Best of 2014: The year in music (Part 2)