Psy Tops the 3rd MyFABEMusic Awards

 
Ten new categories were added to this year's MyFABEMusic Awards.  This was to accommodate the enlarged top 40 weekly countdown and the expanded top 100 songs of the year.  Right now, there are 22 awards already and more should be added next year as the jazz and Christian/gospel categories are starting to assert themselves.

Breakout Korean rapper Psy tops this year's awards with four wins including International Song, Hip Hop/Rap Act, Hip Hop/Rap Song and Dance Song of 2012.

Madonna romped off with three awards including the coveted Artist of the Year award.  She also won Pop Act and Dance Act of 2012.

Carly Rae Jepsen also won three awards including the coveted Record of the Year and New Artist of the Year awards.  She also won Pop Song of 2012.

Several artists took two awards including Taylor Swift who got the country category awards, Gotye, for Alternative Song and Collaboration of 2012, the Japanese band Sakanaction, for International Artist and Alternative Act, and Beyonce, who swept the R&B category awards.

Natasha Bedingfield got the coveted Album of the Year award for her Strip Me album.

3rd MyFABEMusic Awards: Artist of 2012

Here are the nominees for the Artist of the Year award for 2012.  This is based on their overall performance in my personal countdown for 2012.

Beyonce

 

Carly Rae Jepsen 

Madonna

Natasha Bedingfield

Vertical Horizon

 And the award for the 2012 Artist of the Year goes to Madonna.

3rd MyFABEMusic Award: Record of 2012

Here are the nominees for the 3rd MyFABEMusic Record of the Year award -

Beyonce - Love On Top

Carly Rae Jepsen - Call Me Maybe

Gotye/Kimbra - Somebody That I Used to Know

Psy - Gangnam Style

Taylor Swift - We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together

And the 2012 Record of the Year award goes to Carly Rae Jepsen - Call Me Maybe

3rd MyFABEMusic Awards: Album of 2012

Here are the nominees for the 3rd MyFABEMusic Album of the Year award -

Kelly Clarkson - Stronger

Madonna - MDNA

 Melissa Etheridge - Fearless Love

 

Natasha Bedingfield - Strip Me

Pink - The Truth About Love

And the Album of 2012 is Natasha Bedingfield's Strip Me.

3rd MyFABEMusic Awards: New Artist of 2012

Here are the nominees for the 3rd MyFABEMusic New Artist of the Year awards.  

Azealia Banks

 

Carly Rae Jepsen

 

 

Ed Sheeran

 

Gotye

 

Loreen

 And the New Artist of 2012 is Carly Rae Jepsen.

3rd MyFABEMusic Awards: Pop Act of 2012

Here are the nominees for the 3rd MyFABEMusic's Pop Act of the Year -

Carly Rae Jepsen

Kelly Clarkson

Madonna

Natasha Bedingfield

Pink

And the Pop Act of 2012 is Madonna.

 

3rd MyFABEMusic Awards: Pop Song of 2012

Here are the nominees for the Pop Song of the Year -

Carly Rae Jepsen - Call Me Maybe

Ed Sheeran - Lego House

Gotye and Kimbra - Somebody That I Used to Know 

Jason Mraz - I Won't Give Up

Psy - Gangnam Style

And the Pop Song of 2012 is Carly Rae Jepsen's Call Me Maybe.

3rd MyFABEMusic Awards: Collaboration of 2012

This category was created to honor all the collaborations in the different genres of music.  Here are the nominees for the Collaboration of the Year award.  

Gary Barlow with the Military Wives and the Commonwealth Band - Sing

Gotye and Kimbra - Somebody That I Used to Know

Kelly Clarkson and Vince Gill -  Don't Rush

Owl City and Carly Rae Jepsen - Good Time

Simple Plan and Natasha Bedingfield - Jet Lag

And the Collaboration of 2012 award goes to Gotye and Kimbra.

 

3rd MyFABEMusic Awards: R&B Act of 2012

Here are the nominees for the 3rd MyFABEMusic R&B Act of the Year award. 

Beyonce

Chris Brown

Frank Ocean

 
Mary J. Blige 

 Pastor Charles Jenkins and Fellowship Chicago

And the R&B Act of 2012 is Beyonce.

3rd MyFABEMusic Awards: R&B Song of 2012

The nominees for R&B Song of the Year include the gospel group of Pastor Charles Jenkins and Fellowship Chicago and R&B royalties Mary J. Blige, Chris Brown and Beyonce, who fielded two hits this year.

Here are the nominees for the 3rd MyFABEMusic award for R&B Song of the Year. 


Beyonce - I Miss You

Beyonce - Love on Top

Chris Brown - Turn Up the Music

Mary J. Blige - Need Someone

Pastor Charles Jenkins and Fellowship Chicago - Awesome

And the R&B Song of 2012 is Beyonce's Love on Top

3rd MyFABEMusic Awards: Rock Act of 2012

Three of the nominated artists for Rock Act of the Year performed here in Manila in 2012, Edwin McCain, Keane and Vertical Horizon.  Because of it, I was able to listen to their work, songs which I would've normally missed since they don't really chart anymore, so really, thanks to the concert organizers who have brought them here.

Melissa Etheridge figures well also this year since I bought her CD, ironically, December of 2011, and it was only this year that I fully listened to it, and discovered a TON of gems from her album Fearless Love!

Finally, since I made my chart watching a worldwide activity this year, I was introduced to this fantastic Japanese band called Sakanacation and their quirky rock music!  Frankly, I don't understand a freakin' thing they're singing but I love the way they sing it!

Here are the nominees for Rock Act of the Year -

Edwin McCain

Keane

 

















Melissa Etheridge

Sakanaction

 














Vertical Horizon

And the Rock Act of 2012 is Vertical Horizon.

3rd MyFABEMusic Awards: Rock Song of 2012

Doing concerts in the Philippines does help some foreign acts boost their stock, at least in my personal countdown.  This is pretty evident this year in my Rock Song of the Year category, where ALL of the nominated songs came from acts who did a show here in Manila in 2012!  

The reason why doing a concert here in Manila helps the act is that I review the playlist of the artist doing the concert - and because of it - I am introduced to that artist's discography which is not usually played by local radio.  

Looking at the songs nominated in this category this year, only one song, Simple Plan's Jet Lag, was ever played in local Manila radio.

The rest are just my personal favorites - gems I discovered from the artist's concert playlists - songs which they all performed in concert this year.


Here are the nominees for the 3rd MyFABEMusic award for Rock Song of the Year. 

Edwin McCain - Shooting Stars

Evanescence - Swimming Home

Simple Plan / Natasha Bedingfield - Jet Lag

Vertical Horizon - All Is Said and Done

Vertical Horizon - The Lucky One 

And the Rock Song of 2012 is Edwin McCain's Shooting Stars.

3rd MyFABEMusic Awards: Movie/Musical/TV Song of 2012

Two of this year's nominees for Movie/Musical/TV Song of the Year come from the opera The Barber of Seville.  This was due to the fact that four different operas were staged in Manila in 2012.  Pretty impressive!! However, the versions that charted were those done by the legendary diva Maria Callas.

The two other nominees come from movies, the huge blockbuster hit Breaking Dawn 2 and 2011's The Muppets, which was only shown here this year.

The last nominee is from the Tony-winning Broadway play The Book of Mormon.

Here are the nominees for the Movie/Musical/TV Song of the Year -

Cast of the Barber of Seville - Largo Al Factotum (from the opera Barber of Seville)

Cast of the Barber of Seville - Vechiotto Cerca Moglie (from the opera Barber of Seville)

Cast of the Book of Mormon - Hello (from the Broadway play The Book of Mormon)

Christina Perri and Steve Kazee - A Thousand Years Part 2 (from the movie Breaking Dawn 2)

The Muppets - Pictures in My Head (from the movie The Muppets)

And the Movie/Musical/TV Song of 2012 is 

Cast of the Book of Mormon - Hello (from the Broadway play The Book of Mormon)

3rd MyFABEMusic Awards: International Artist of 2012

The International Artist of the Year is a new category for 2012 which features the top non-English speaking act of the year.  This means that the act has to be nominated for songs whose overall content is less than 50% in English, regardless of the act's nationality.

Here are the nominees for the International Artist of the Year -

BB Brunes (France)

Carlos Vives (USA) 

Gocho (USA) 

Psy (South Korea)

Sakanaction (Japan)

And the International Artist of 2012 is Sakanaction (Japan)

 

3rd MyFABEMusic Awards: International Song of 2012

The International Song of the Year is a new category which we have introduced this year to honor the top international songs of the year - songs which have less than 50% English lyrics, regardless of the act's nationality.

Here are the nominees for International Song of the Year -

BB Brunes - Coups et Blessures (France)

Gocho - Si Te Digo La Verdad (USA) 

Psy - Gangnam Style (South Korea)

Sakanaction - Boku to Hana (Japan)

Sakanaction - Yoru to Higashigawa (Japan)

And the International Song of 2012 is Psy - Gangnam Style (South Korea)

 

3rd MyFABEMusic Awards: Hip Hop/Rap Act of 2012

As mentioned in an earlier post the hip hop and the rap artists have been separated from the R&B artists this year into this new category Hip Hop/Rap Act of the Year.

Here are the nominees for the Hip Hop/Rap Act of the Year.

Azealia Banks 
Big Sean
Jay-z
Kanye West
Nicki Minaj  
Psy 

3rd MyFABEMusic Awards: Hip Hop/Rap Song of 2012

The Hip Hop/Rap Song of the Year is not really a new category.  For the past two years, they have been lumped together with the R&B artists in just one category.  This year though, with more hip hop and rap acts in my personal countdown, we just had to break them off into their own category.  And deservedly so!

Here are the nominees for this year's Hip Hop/Rap Song of the Year -

Azealia Banks - 212

Kanye West, Big Sean and Jay-z - Clique

Nicki Minaj - Marilyn Monroe

Nicki Minaj - Whip It

Psy - Gangnam Style

And the Hip Hop/Rap Song of 2012 is Psy - Gangnam Style

 

3rd MyFABEMusic Awards: Alternative Song of 2012

The Alternative Song of the Year is another new category we have introduced this year to accommodate the flurry of alternative acts who've had major hits this year.  

Here are the nominees for the Alternative Song of the Year. 

Ed Sheeran - Lego House
Florence + the Machine - Spectrum
Foster the People - Helena Beat
fun. - Some Nights
Gotye and Kimbra - Somebody That I Used to Know 

And the Alternative Song of 2012 is 

Gotye and Kimbra's Somebody That I Used to Know 

3rd MyFABEMusic Awards: Alternative Act of 2012

This year, we are introducing the Alternative Act of the year to accommodate the alternative artists who have dominated this year.  

Here are the nominees for the Alternative Act of the Year -

Ed Sheeran
Florence + the Machine

fun.
Gotye
Sakanaction 

And the Alternative Act of 2012 is Sakanaction.

 

3rd MyFABEMusic Awards: Country Act of 2012

We are introducing the Country Act of the Year category this year.  

Here are the nominees for the Country Act of the Year -

Carrie Underwood


Eli Young Band

Josh Turner

Kenny Chesney

Taylor Swift

Tim McGraw

And the Country Artist of 2012 is  Taylor Swift.

3rd MyFABEMusic Awards: Country Song of 2012

The Country Song of the Year is another new category which we have introduced this year.  I love country music although sometimes I don't agree with the politics of some of its superstars.  This year was not country's year in my personal countdown but there were enough country hitmakers for the category to be finally added.

Here are the nominees for the Country Song of the Year.

Carrie Underwood - Temporary Home


Eli Young Band - Even If It Breaks Your Heart

Josh Turner - Time Is Love 

Kenny Chesney / Tim McGraw - Feel Like A Rock Star

Taylor Swift - We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together

And the Country Song of 2012 is

Taylor Swift's We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together

3rd MyFABEMusic Awards: Dance Act of 2012

The Dance Act of the Year is another new category we have introduced this year.  Again, my definition of a 'dance act' may vary a bit from what the industry says and there will be years where pop or hip hop artists may be in this category.

Here are the nominees for Dance Act of the Year.

Big Bang

David Guetta

Loreen

Florence + the Machine

Madonna

And the Dance Act of 2012 is Madonna.

 

3rd MyFABEMusic Awards: Dance Song of 2012

The Dance Song of the Year is a new category we are introducing in 2012.  However, my definition of 'dance' may vary a bit from how the Grammy views it so there may be some pop or even rap songs here.  The important consideration is that they were huge hits on the local dance floors here in Manila.  

Here are the nominees for Dance Song of the Year.

Cheryl Cole - Call My Name
Florence + the Machine - Spectrum
Loreen - Euphoria
Madonna - I'm A Sinner
Psy - Gangnam Style

and the Dance Song of 2012 is Psy's Gangnam Style. 

My Ten Favorite Songs of 2012: #1 Carly Rae Jepsen - Call Me Maybe

Oh boy, was I so glad to have discovered this song two months before it exploded here in Manila - where everyone made their own parodies of the song!  I think I first heard the song the first week of March when all the concerts were in full swing here in Manila!  I guess the song stuck because it just stood out from all the other songs that I was listening too at that time!  Around this time, mellow music was ruling my personal countdown - with Ed Sheeran's Lego House, Gotye's Somebody That I Used to Know and Evanescence's Swimming Home, my playlist favorites and add to that the playlists of all the artists who were coming in!

Then this bubbly song came!  I was so hooked on it I did my own parodies of it in the privacy of my own room!  I even used it as the first song during the FABE fashion show last March and well, there was still no reaction even from the young models.  It was THAT new to them!!

Of course, about a month later, everyone's FB and Twitter were just raving about the song.  Thank God I discovered it much earlier, otherwise, I hate listening to 'gasgas' songs - and this one - like Psy's Gangnam Style - are the two super gasgas songs of 2012.  The only reason I love them to bits is that I discovered them way before the masses did - and that made all the difference.

My Ten Favorite Songs of 2012: #2 Psy - Gangnam Style

2012 is one of the rare years where my year-end list exactly matches most of the major music publications including the revered Billboard magazine.  I guess my nose was just at the right time and at the right place when these megahits came out of the woodwork.

I know many of you are already sick of Psy's Gangnam Style.  I know I am but I still remember when I first heard of the song.  It was actually in Nelly Furtado's concert here in Manila - and I remember that only a few in the audience actually knew the song!  I too wasn't too familiar with it, at that time.

The song, at that time, was still a hit only in Korea (I think it was on its fourth week at #1), and I remember, there were "only" 50 million hits in Youtube.  And I remembered, OMG, that's huge, because this is not a song in English, and South Korea's population is well, only around 50 million too!  So for it to achieve that many hits, is impressive.

Of course, six months later, it became the first song to breach 1 billion views!!  Impressive!

Like billions around the world, the first time I saw the video, I just couldn't resist it.  It was funny, and the horse steps were just perfect for the song!  And to think, at that time too, I just opened my countdown to Korean songs, so in a way, I was still a "baby" observer of Korean music.  But this song, just made me embrace Korean music more.  Towards the end of 2012, it was not unusual to have six Korean songs in my weekly Top 40 countdown!!  In any given year, 40 English songs would've been the norm.  Not in 2012.

The song ends as my #2 favorite song of 2012.  It's pure pop after all!