TELEVISION MUSIC TO THE EARS
As 2016 comes to an end, we look back at the Indian and international musicians who made headlines
The biggest music event this year for lots of people was (above) much awaited live performance in India. The popular British band performed in Mumbai at the MMRDA grounds on November 19 and nearly 80,000 people turned up to watch, including Bollywood celebrities such as Katrina Kaif, Ali Bhatt and Varun Dhawan. Aside from the band’s lead singer, Chris Martin, enthralling fans with popular songs such as ‘Yellow’, ‘Hymn for the weekend’ and ‘Viva la vida’, performances by Demi Lovato, Jay Z and AR Rahman took centre stage. The highlight of the night was when Chris invited Rahman on stage and the two sang ‘Maa tujhe salaam’ and ‘Vande mataram’. Besides the splendid gig, Coldplay was talked about for a negative reason as well. Lead singer
(inset) was criticised for pulling off a supposedly anti-nationalist stint. During the gig, the singer sported the national flag by tucking it into his pants, which was termed “disrespectful” by Nationalist Congress Party’s spokesperson, Nawab Malik. Two years — 2013 and 2014 were — (above) most successful ones. The popular singer and rapper entertained listeners with tracks such as ‘Lungi dance’, (Chennai Express; 2013), ‘Party all night’, (Boss; 2014) and ‘Chaar botal vodka’ (Ragini MMS 2; 2014). The first half of 2015, too, was a successful run for the artiste, with hits such as ‘Aao raja’ (Gabbar Is Back; 2015) and ‘Birthday bash’ (Dilliwaali Zaalim Girlfriend; 2015). However, soon after that, Yo Yo was missing from the scene for more than 18 months. Reports claimed that the singer was in rehab. Some reports said that Yo Yo was keeping away owing to his rumoured fallout with Shah Rukh Khan during a film’s promotional tour overseas. But this year, the ‘Dope shope’ singer cleared the air by giving a tell-all interview to a publication. He confessed that he was battling with bipolar disorder, and that being an alcoholic aggravated the condition.
While Bollywood provides enough fodder for gossip, the music industry isn’t far behind. Many musicians made news this year for reasons good and bad. From Kanye West breaking down during a concert to Bob Dylan winning the Nobel Prize in Literature, several events made for lengthy discussions in the music industry this year. Here’s a detailed list.
(left) Ae Dil Hai Mushkil was pulled up by the late singer (inset) son, (right) for a dialogue used by Anushka Sharma’s character in the film. The actor, while speaking of Rafi, says in the film, “Mohammed Rafi gaate nahi, rote the (Mohammed Rafi used to cry, not sing). The line irked Shahid as well as senior Rafi’s fans. Shahid openly spoke about the derogatory remark and demanded an apology from Karan. It’s mostly Kim Kardashian West who makes headlines with her controversial stints, be it ‘breaking the internet’ with her bare derrière on the cover of a magazine or breaking off her first marriage with Kris Humphries after just 72 days. Her current husband, (right), seems to have followed suit. The popular rapper was in the news for having a manic meltdown at a concert during his Saint Pablo tour. Kanye, after performing just three songs, went on a 17-minute-long rant against Donald Trump and Jay Z, among others. The reason for the artiste’s meltdown was supposedly exhaustion, and he was even admitted to the hospital later.