WatchMojo's Male Musician of the Year: 2014
This year's nominees for Music Men with Mojo are: Calvin Harris, Sam Smith, Pharrell Williams, Ed Sheeran, Kendrick Lamar and Weird Al Yankovic.
The Nominees…
WatchMojo's Female Singer of the Year: 2014
This year’s nominees for Men with Mojo are: Calvin Harris, Sam Smith, Pharrell Williams, Ed Sheeran, Kendrick Lamar and Weird Al Yankovic.
Calvin Harris
Top 10 Calvin Harris Songs
The world’s top-earning DJ for the second year running, Calvin Harris is certainly riding the momentum. Releasing his fourth album, Motion, at the end of October, the Scotsman became the first act to have three songs simultaneously on Billboard’s Dance/Electronic Songs chart, with “Blame,” “Summer” and “Outside.” “Summer” also proved to be Spotify’s top earning song of 2014. That, plus a public breakup from Rita Ora and a deal to become an Armani model, put him over the top in 2014.
Ed Sheeran
Top 10 Things You Didn’t Know About Ed Sheeran
Nominated for Best New Artist at the 2014 Grammys, this adorable Englishman is finally getting his due. Ed Sheeran released his second record in 2014, and x became the fastest-selling album of the year in the United Kingdom. Sheeran showed off his trademark eclectic style with funky, dancey tunes like “Sing”, bitter break-up songs like “Don’t” and romantic love ballads like “Thinking Out Loud.” Continuing to pen songs for artists like One Direction as well, Sheeran is on our A-team for 2014.
Top 10 Things You Didn’t Know About Ed Sheeran
If buzz were our only criteria, Kendrick Lamar would be a shoe-in. Sure, he hasn’t released an album since 2012 ; but that doesn’t mean he’s not busy. With seven Grammy nods under his belt this year, Lamar was a featured artist on more songs in 2014 than we’d care to list, including but not limited to Jasmine V’s “That’s Me Right There” and Alicia Keys’ “It’s on Again.” The chatter he’s elicited based on just one official single as a lead artist in 2014 is a testament to his talent.
Weird Al Yankovic
Top 10 Original Weird Al Yankovic Songs
Weird Al is a pretty, well, weird choice for an artist of the year list, but hear us out: he’s been putting out pitch-perfect parodies since the late-‘70s and this year he scored his first ever number-one album with Mandatory Fun. Al’s still got his finger on the pulse of what’s funny and popular, which he proved by performing with fellow musical funnyman Andy Sandberg at the 2014 Emmy Awards, AND he’s got social media figured out: that’s why he released eight videos over eight days – just to get people talking. If only for his catchy grammar lesson, Weird Al is a contender for Music Man with Mojo.
Runner-Up: Pharrell Williams
Top 10 Songs You Didn't Know Were Written by Pharrell Williams
We’re now into the big leagues and onto our runner-up: Pharrell Williams. Pharrell got VERY lucky this year: not only did he join “The Voice” to coach up-and-comers; he also made his own music. He released the album G I R L in March, which featured his 2013 hit “Happy,” along with tracks like “Marilyn Monroe” and “Come Get It Bae.” Then there’s the production work, Oscar nod, Grammy wins, Major Lazer collab, and – oh yeah – he co-composed the music for “The Amazing Spider-Man 2.” Suffice it to say, Pharrell musta been “Happy” this year. So who could possibly beat such a year?
And the winner is… Sam Smith
Top 10 YouTube Music Videos of 2014 - TopX Ep.26
In 2014, North America finally discovered what Brits have known for a while: Sam Smith’s awesome. Releasing his debut studio album In the Lonely Hour this year, Smith bucked the trend towards poppy, electronic-y sounds by producing soulful, bluesy, introspective singer-songwriter music. Telling the story of his unrequited love for another man, Smith’s record is the third-highest selling album of 2014 – behind only the “Frozen” soundtrack and Taylor Swift’s 1989. Winning fans with his honesty in songs like “Stay with Me” and “I’m Not the Only One,” this self-proclaimed male diva scooped award-after-award. We can only imagine what’s next for him, our Music Man with Mojo. Do you agree with our choices? Which musician do you think was everywhere in 2014? For more star-studded top 10s published every day, be sure to subscribe to WatchMojo.com.
