2012 was an incredible year for first video in the history of the Internet to reach 1 billion streams, bringing K-Pop to an international audience. Not to mention that he got signed to School Boy Records (Justin Bieber’s label,) performed for President Obama and starred in his very own Emerald Nuts Super Bowl commercial. Basically, Psy was everywhere.
Break out the Hamm & Buble! Michael Bublé hits No. 1 on this week’s sales chart, while Macklemore and Ryan Lewis bring the ceiling down on P!nk and Nate Ruess. Here’s our look at this week’s Nielsen SoundScan sales charts:
Is Kanye West leaving the United States for Paris for good? What are the craziest demands stars have on their tour riders? And why did “Gentleman” put Psy through hell?
What will become of Justin Bieber’s monkey? Psy breaks more YouTube records and Sharon Osbourne decides to stick by her man, all in today’s First Dibs.
Why does Psy have to rewrite his follow-up to “Gangnam Style”? What does Drake have to do with college basketball? This, plus who is One Direction‘s Louis Tomlinson’s celebrity crush?
How is Psy following up his massive “Gangnam Style” success? And why has Chris Brown started calling himself “Christopher”? The answers to these questions, plus more, are in today’s The Scoop.
The main players may not be set yet, but planning surrounding Super Bowl XLVII continues to come together. We already know that Beyoncé is performing what will likely be a historic, monumental, fabulous halftime show, the likes of which Rick Ross‘ vocabulary has never described, but which personalities–the soon-to-be star, or fringe types–will reproduce Eddie Money-type greatness in between plays? One of the first reports of commercials set to air during the big game is a 30-second commercial for Wonderful Pistachios. The project is a pair of first for both the snack company and the South Korean star, who reportedly completely filming in North Hollywood on Tuesday.
Whether or not his fleeting presence in the ad will help sell additional packages of nuts has yet to be seen.
Gangnam Style’s Psy Just Filmed A Super Bowl Ad [Business Insider]
[Photo: Getty Images]
Nielsen SoundScan numbers are in and the final tallies have been arrived at, and so it seems that 2012′s biggest sellers are Gotye, Jack White and of course Adele. Is anybody surprised?
Taylor Swift put up a good fight late in the year, as did One Direction (who have two albums ranking in the top five) and Mumford & Sons. But once again none could top Adele, whose much beloved 2011 album 21 sold another 4.41 million copies this year to top year-end album sales for the second year in a row (just as she did on iTunes). The blustery Brit’s staying power is impressive, but we can’t imagine that there are enough people left of this earth of ours still sans 21 to enable her to keep this up for a third year. But perhaps she could put out a new album that might earn her another two years at the top?
Happy New Year! While we were out celebrating, many musicians hit stages across the country to help ring in 2013 in grand style. Let’s relive the magic of the eve with a few of our favorite performances:
Taylor Swift rang in the new year in Times Square, wearing a glittering red moto-jacket and black leather pants, and with just a dash of trouble. A very hyped up version of “I Knew You Were Trouble,” her new single and her foray into dub-step, that is. The chorus’ much ballyhooed about wubb-wubbs were dialed all the way up for the occasion, and matched with some impressive pyrotechnics. There was also a little calypso added to the second verse, because why not? Then she transitioned into “We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together,” not a beat missed and the cute “this is exhausting” skit and all. And of course she and her new beau, One Direction‘s Harry Styles, sealed the night with a kiss. Aww!
As Times Square gets ready for the influx of hundreds of thousands of revelers here to celebrate the arrival of 2013 Anno Domini, the Korean sensation PSY is plotting to retire his massive YouTube hit, “Gangnam Style.” “Being in Times Square on New Year’s Eve is already special — it’s the biggest stage in the universe — plus it’s my birthday, so, with all that, it may be the ending of ‘Gangnam Style,’” PSY told our friends over at MTV News. “I mean, what better way to do it?”
We couldn’t agree more! As much as we loved “Gangnam Style” when we first saw it appear on YouTube, we have no reservations whatsoever about retiring the song in 2013 because, let’s face it, the song is #PLAYEDOUT. In that spirit, here’s our list of other songs from 2012 that we hope to hear tonight and will always recall fondly, but honestly hope to never hear again once the sun rises tomorrow morning.
12 SONGS FROM 2012 THAT WE HOPE WE NEVER HEAR IN 2013
12. The Lumineers, “Ho Hey” – After thousands of listens, “Ho! Hey!” is starting to turn into “No! Way!”
11. Neon Trees, “Everybody Talks” – It started with a whisper, but when we hear this song on the radio now, it makes us wanna shout “CHANGE THE CHANNEL!”
10. One Direction, “Little Things” – We can’t remember a more passive-aggressive song ever getting this much airplay. #cringeworthy
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