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:

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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.

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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.

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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.

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Rating: 2.5 out of five stars