2010 Music~ The Year of the Collaboration

It you turn on the radio these days, you can’t go a minute without hearing two big artists team up on new song. It seems to be the easiest and best way to get a hit these days. Witness the biggest hits of 2010 and you’ll see collaborations all over the place (Eminem/Rihanna, Jay Z/Alicia Keyes, Beyonce/Lady Gaga) and luckily, most of them, produce some fantastic music. So, here’s my take on the 15 best music collaborations of 2010. Take note that French DJ David Guetta is all over this chart and big new stars B.o.B. and  Bruno Mars makes two appearances as well.

Top 15 Collaborations of 2010:

15. “Billionaire”- Travis McCoy w/Bruno Mars (this top 5 hit was covered on Glee and introduced us to Mars who would later conquer the pop charts with his own hits including the # 1 “Just the Way You Are”)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8aRor905cCw

14. “Club Can’t Handle Me”- Flo Rida w/David Guetta (this undeniable dance hit was featured in Step Up 3D and is the first of three Guetta songs on the list)

13. “Gettin’ Over You”- David Guetta & Chris Willis w/Fergie & LMFAO (here’s Guetta again this time with frequent collaborator Willis and Fergie who he worked with on the Black Eye Peas’ The E.N.D. album)

12. “Let it Be”- Jennifer Hudson w/The Roots (one of two songs from the Hope for Haiti telethon, Hudson brought a gorgeous gospel and R&N vibe to this Beatles’ classic)

11. “I Like It”- Enrique Iglesias & Pitbull (Iglesias nabbed his first top ten hit in 8 years with this simple but undeniable dance/pop hit)

10. “Nothin’ on You”- B.o.B. w/Bruno Mars (here’s Mars second song and B.o.B’s first of two entries on the list. It’s a massive smash and a Grammy nominee for Record of the Year to boot!)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8PTDv_szmL0

9. “Hallelujah”- Justin Timberlake & Matt Morris (on this haunting track from the Hope for Haiti telethon, Timberlake and buddy Morris beautifully tackle Leonard Cohen’s iconic track)

8. “Break Your Heart”- Taio Cruz w/Ludacris (for his first single, Cruz enlisted rapper Ludacris and subsequently, “Heart” became a # 1 hit)

7. “Empire State of Mind”- Jay Z & Alicia Keyes (this song was arguably 2009′s best collaboration and continued to make impressions all year-long)

6. “Commander”- Kelly Rowland w/David Guetta (this is Guetta’s third appearance on the list on the best dance track of 2010 and it’s also a worldwide smash)

5. “Airplanes”- B.o.B. w/Hayley Williams (B.o.B got a little help from Paramore’s Hayley Williams for this megahit)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kn6-c223DUU

4. “Don’t You Wanna Stay”- Jason Aldean & Kelly Clarkson (this gorgeous ballad is only just starting to fly up the charts and could top this list next year. Aldean wisely asked Clarkson to duet with him to an amazing result and a brilliant vocal from Clarkson)

3. “Love the Way You Lie”- Eminem w/Rihanna (this multiple Grammy nominated # 1 hit was inescapable this summer and fall and is the front-runner to win in several categories at the upcoming ceremony)

2. “California Gurls”- Katy Perry w/Snoop Dogg (here’s another Grammy nominated # 1 smash which was also the song of the summer and cemented Perry as a giant pop star)

1. “Telephone”- Lady Gaga & Beyonce (What happens when you get two of the biggest ladies in the biz together? “Telephone” happens, that’s what. It was a giant hit. It’s a Grammy nominee and have you seen that video? It’s all just too delicious to deny.)

Can T.I. take Christina back to the Top?

It’s been a rollercoaster year for Grammy winning pop diva Christina Aguilera. Despite two # 1 dance singles (“You Lost Me”, “Not Myself Tonight”), her last album Bionic bombed selling less than 300,000 copies. She also announced her impending divorce and has been a target in the media for her weight fluxuations and supposed “diva” behavior. Regardless of all of that, she has persevered and just released a fantastic new album in her soundtrack to her film debut Burlesque. The album is selling briskly and despite negative reviews, the movie opened decently to $17 million at the box office. Audiences polled have also been pretty favorable to the fun and very entertaining film. (I found it to be a really good time film with fantastic musical numbers and gave it a “B” grade overall). Currently on iTunes, Christina has several songs charting from the soundtrack with “Show Me How You Burlesque” in the top 30 and “Express” in the top 50. So, things could be on an upswing for Ms. Aguilera.
One thing that may cement her trek back to the top of the charts is a brand new collaboration with Grammy winning rap superstar (and criminal!) T.I entitled “Castle Walls”. It is from his new album, No Mercy, which drops on Nov. 7th and it sounds like a smash. It’s right in the same vein as recent # 1′s “Love the Way You Lie” by Eminem and Rihanna and “Airplanes” by B.o.B with Hayley Williams, so I’m expecting it to race up the charts. Check out “Castle Walls” below and let me know if you think it will put Christina back on top. Then watch her Dancing with the Stars performance of  ”Show Me How You Burlesque” from Burlesque below as well. It’s hot!

“Castle Walls” -T.I. with Christina Aguilera

Christina Aguilera “Show Me How You Burlesque” (from her Dancing with the Stars performance)

Eminem trounces the Jonas Brothers and Demi Lovato to hit the top again!

Eminem returns to the top of the Billboard Top 200 albums chart again this week as his Recovery notches a 6th non consecutive week at the summit. With another big sales week, he passes the 2 million mark and will soon be taking on Lady Antebellum’s Need You Now for the top-selling album of 2010. He also has the longest running number 1 of the year so far and holds off four new debuts. The highest ranking new record is the Camp Rock 2 soundtrack featuring the stars of the TV movie Demi Lovato and the Jonas Brothers at # 3. Also debuting this week is newcomer Mike Posner (who has a hit single in “Cooler than Me”), some band I’ve never heard of called Black Label Society and country crooner Blake Shelton. For the full top ten, scroll down and get all your chart info from Billboard here.

Official BILLBOARD Results for Week of 08.09.10

1. Eminem, “Recovery” (last week~ 2)
2. Arcade Fire, “The Suburbs” (lw~ 1)
3. “Camp Rock 2: The Final Jam” original television soundtrack album (DEBUT)
4. Black Label Society, “Order of the Black” (DEBUT)
5. Justin Bieber, “My World 2.0″ (lw~ 7)
6. Blake Shelton, “All About Tonight” (DEBUT)
7. Rick Ross, “Teflon Don” (lw~ 5)
8. Mike Posner, “31 Minutes to Takeoff” (DEBUT)
9. “Kidz Bop 18″ (lw~ 11)
10. Avenged Sevenfold, “Nightmare” (lw~ 3)

Eminem also returns to the top of the Hot Digital Songs chart (and likely continues his reign on the Hot 100 tomorrow) with his smash “Love the Way You Lie” featuring Rihanna. I’m finally on the bandwagon and kinda love the song. However, it’s so reminiscent of the recent top 10 hit “Airplanes” by B.o.B. featuring Hayely Williams. Don’t believe me? Check them out below and compare…. Interesante…

Eminem w/Rihanna “Love the Way You Lie”

B.o.B. w/Hayley Williams “Airplanes”