2012 Reviewed

A lot has happened this past year. 2012 was definitely a diverse year. From Gangnam Style to Call Me Maybe. From the Twilight saga to the Hunger Games trilogy. From The X Factor to The Voice. Let's take a look at some highlights of 2012 in music, movies and television.

Music:

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2012 marked the year that Justin Bieber's record for most views on YouTube was broken. Korean pop sensation PSY shattered it with over a billion views on YouTube, to make Gangnam Style the most viewed video of all time. Gotye hit it big with his smash single Somebody That I Used To Know featuring Kimbra. The quiet, powerful song became the most streamed song in Spotify history. No one can forget bubbly Carly Rae Jepsen's debut song Call Me Maybe. The pop song quickly became one of the defining songs of the summer of 2012. Indie rock band fun. also became very popular this year with the release of their hit We Are Young with Janelle Monae. In fact, their new fame was so powerful, fun. leads the Grammy nominations.


Movies

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2012 marked the year that the Twilight saga came to a close. After five years and four books, most people have had their share of sparkling vampires, but there's no doubting the impact it has left on the market. Almost every new teenage "chick flick" must have some sort of mythical creature backed up by good-looking men. Christopher Nolan's epic ending to his Batman series also came to a close with The Dark Night Rises. Critics and fans raved about it, calling it the best Batman yet. As we closed a chapter in Batman,  we opened another in the Hunger Games made its debut, breaking box office records. The screenplay was well done and fans were thrilled that the story stuck close to Suzanne Collins' thrilling novel. There were many great films that received Oscar nominations such as Les Miserables, Django and Skyfall.


TV:

Image credit to xfactorusa.com

2012 was a year of an epic battle between The Voice and The X Factor. Backed by stars Adam Levine, Cee Lo Green, Blake Shelton and Christina Aguilera, The Voice crowned its thrid winner, Cassandra Pope. Besides the fact that The Voice has failed to produce a sustainable winner (none of the previous winners have been able to release a fulll length album), this season had good ratings. The X Factor crowned its second winner, country crooner Tate Stevens. X Factor also doesn't have much success in winners, as last year's victor may be dumped by her record label. 

Wedding Buzz

As every year comes to a close, celebrities have a knack of secretly tying the knot or getting engaged. Of course, most of the time, these so-called weddings turn out to be hoaxes and nothing more than a paparazzi scam. But this year, it may be a little different.

Image credit to hollywoodreporter.com

Kelly Clarkson was one of the first celebs in December to announce wedding plans, by tweeting her engagement to Brandon Blackstock on December 15th. The wedding will be her first time down the aisle.

However, recent reports suggest that Kate Winslet has found husband number three. She has been engaged to Ned Rocknroll since last summer and unconfirmed reports say that Leonardo DiCaprio walked her down the aisle near Christmastime.

Image credit to mtv.com

The latest celeb to be targeted with rumors is Miley Cyrus. After tweeting a picture on Christmas Day with her younger sister, rumors sparked because of a new ring on her finger. Many brush these rumors off as a "slow news week", but some truly believe the former Disney princess got hitched to Hunger Games star Liam Hemsworth.

People's Choice: Christmas Songs

This week for the Top Ten, being Christmas, ENN is going to list the top ten Christmas songs of all time. The list has a huge variety, ranging from Mariah Carey to Bing Crosby, from Gene Autry to Bobby Helmes, the sounds in this chart certainly captures the true holiday spirit.


Top 10 Christmas Songs
1. Rudolph, the Red Nose Reindeer by Gene Autry
2. Jingle Bell Rock by Bobby Helmes
3. All I Want For Christmas Is You made famous by Mariah Carey
4. Jingle Bells by the Singing Dogs
5. White Christmas by Bing Crosby
6. Silent Night made damous by Barbra Streisand
7. Santa Baby by Eartha Kitt
8. Winter Wonderland by Aretha Franklin
9. Santa Claus is Coming To Town by The Crystals
10. Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas by Frank Sinatra

People's Music Choice: Week 3

Every week, the people have a chance to make their voice heard. By voting on the Facebook page, people can see what songs were voted to be that week's favorite. Every Tuesday we'll be posting the results, followed by a new article every Saturday.

This week, Havana Brown made her debut on the Top 10, while One Direction was nowhere to be seen, after hitting number one last week. Most of the other songs, however, stayed relatively constant for once.

Top Ten for December 18, 2012

1. Scream and Shout by will.i.am and Brittney Spears
2. Live While We're Young by One Direction
3. Girl on Fire by Alicia Keys
4. Catch My breath by Kelly Clarkson
5. I Knew You Were Trouble by Taylor Swift
6. Stay by Rihanna
7. Big Banana by Havana Brown
8. The A Team by Ed Sheeran
9. Here Comes the King by Snoop Lion
10. Beauty and a Beat by Justin Bieber feat Nicki Minaj

Music Review: Bruno Mars, Green Day

With the holidays approaching quickly, musicians try to make one last push to release a new album. Bruno Mars and Green Day all released new albums within a week's time. Holidays are when people buy the most music, so it was a wise business choice for them to wait until December.

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On his sophomore album "Unorthodox Jukebox," Bruno Mars creates a theme much different from his normal, happy love style. He channels the reggae-rock styles of The Police with old-time beats and primed vocals. In this album, he is able to mix with songs that have pianos, pop songs, reggae, rock and even a little bit of funk, featured on a ten-song compilation. For any other artist, going from happy-go-lucky to hard-to-find love may be an impossible tradition, but Mars just makes it all work.

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars


The closing chapter of Green Day's new trrilogy of three albums differs sharply from the head-banging, care-free attitude they've been known for. Featured are slow tunes, with a lot more drama than anger. There may be a few songs which make the listener contemplate about who Green Day really is, but there are a few tracks that make them sound the same as they did years ago. Of course, Billie Joe Armstrong and the rest of the band isn't as rebelloius as they used to be, so their music isn't going to bring the same excitement it did nearly a decade ago.

Image credit to billboard.com

Rating: 2.5 out of five stars

GRAMMY Nominations

It's that time of year again. The best of the best singers of the year fight to claim the top prize for a musician- a Grammy. The nominations, hosted by country superstar Taylor Swift and rapper LL Cool J was a night to be remembered.

This year, Kanye West, Jay-Z, Frank Ocean, Dan Auerbach of The Black Keys, Mumford & Sons and fun. all are tied for the most nominations with a total of five each. For West and Jay, this is routine as they usually lead the pack, almost always receiving nods for best rapper, album and song. New indie rock group fun. was a surprise. "When you call your band fun. with a period at the end of the sentence, you set a very high standard for yourself and for fun itself," Swift notes. "Fortunately this band from New York has lived up to the name in the best possible way."

R&B singer Frank Ocean appeared on the scene when he admitted he had a same-sex relationship in the notes of his new album channel ORANGE. But, despite making headlines for what some call, the wrong news, Ocean has great vocals.

There were a few snubs, as always. British pop sensation One Direction failed to earn a nomination for New Artist, despite their huge success. Justin Bieber also didn't receive a nod for his new album. But besides a few surprises, most nominations were to be expected. Carly Rae Jepsen' "Call Me Maybe" was nominated for Song of the Year. Other songs in that category included Ed Sheeran's "The A Team," Miguel's "Adorn," Kelly Clarkson's "Stronger (What Doesn't Kill You)" and fun.'s "We Are Young."

Record of the year nominees were "Lonely Boy" by The Black Keys, "Stronger (What Doesn't Kill You)" by Clarkson, "We Are Young" by fun., "Somebody That I Used to Know" by Gotye featuring Kimbra, "Think Bout You" by Ocean and "We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together" by Taylor Swift.
 The 55th Annual Grammys will be held on Feb. 10, 2013.

People's Music Choce: Week 3

Every week, the people have a chance to make their voice heard. By voting on the Facebook page, people can see what songs were voted to be that week's favorite. Every Tuesday we'll be posting the results, followed by a new article every Saturday.


As always, week to week is a change. Taylor Swift, the reigning number one, fell to seven this week and ne Direction, Green Day and Nicki Minaj made their first debut. With the songs changing every week, it's important to make sure yours stays on the list!

Top Ten for December 11, 2012

1. Live While We're Young by One Direction
2. Scream and Shout by will.i.am and Brittney Spears
3. Stay by Rihanna
4. The A Team by Ed Sheeran
5. Beauty and a Beat by Justin Bieber feat Nicki Minaj
6. Locked Out of Heaven by Bruno Mars
7. I Knew You Were Trouble by Taylor Swift
8. Girl on Fire (Inferno Version) by Alicia Keys feat. Nicki Minaj
9. Freedom by Nicki Minaj
10. X-Kid by Green Day

Stork News!

Image credit to people.com

For the two years that they have been married, Prince William, duke of Cambridge and his lovely wife Duchess Kate have been dealing with pregnancy rumors. After so much speculation, the royal family can finally confirm that they, are in fact expecting a newborn child due in the middle of 2013.The news was confirmed by an official spokesperson for the royal family after the duchess was admitted into a hospital with severe symptoms.


The spokesperson confirms that the 30-year-old mom-to-be was admitted to a London hospital Monday with Hyperemesis Gravidarum, an acute form of morning sickness. Less than one percent of all expectant mothers feel this rare pain. Her Royal Highness was in the hospital for a few days, with Prince William visiting her for many hours everyday. Duchess Kate was released four days after being admitted into the hospital. She briefly spoke to the many reporters waiting outside the hospital, waiting anxiously for the expectant mother-to-be.

Image credit to justjared.com

Of course, there is much speculation on the baby's name and gender. If it is a girl, which many are assuming so, will it be named after William's late mother Diana? Probably not, although it may be her middle name. A likely first name is Elizabeth. Will she succeed William to the throne as new Queen? If it is a boy, Arthur or George are possibilities. Will's father, Prince Charles and William himself both have the middle name "Arthur".

The baby is sure to make headlines, as the world is already celebrating the announcement.

People's Music Choice: Week 2

Every week, the people have a chance to make their voice heard. By voting on the Facebook page, people can see what songs were voted to be that week's favorite. Every Tuesday we'll be posting the results, followed by a new article every Saturday.

This week is drastically different than last, with only one predominantly rap song and a little but more on the passionate side with some Alicia Keys and Lumineers. 

Top Ten for December 4, 2012

1. I Knew You Were Trouble by Taylor Swift
2. Oath by Cher Lloyd
3. Girl on Fire by Alicia Keys
4. Die Young by Ke$ha
5. Ho Hey by the Lumineers
6. My Life by 50 Cent feat. Eminem and Adam Levine
7. One More Night by Maroon 5
8. Diamonds by Rihanna
9. Locked Out of Heaven by Bruno Mars
10.We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together by Taylor Swift