2019 has drawn to a close and it's a great time to reflect on what the outstanding musical moments of the last decade were. The 2010s have been packed with exciting events that have changed the way we view the music scene forever. Here are a few of my personal favorites, are they yours too?
Goodbye 2010s! A Musical Reflection of the Decade
Tupac's hologram takes on Coachella
Coachella 2012 had a surprise for festival goers - headline rapper Snoop Dogg was joined by Tupac Shakur - who'd died 16 years previously. It was an amazing set - Tupac was initially thought to be a hologram, though on further investigation it turned out to be a Victorian era visual trick called Pepper's Ghost. The idea for the duet was dreamed up by Dr Dre who worked relentlessly with specialised teams to ensure that the departed rapper made it on stage. Whether you care for rap or not it was an iconic music moment and of course makes us wonder who else might make an appearance in the future - a Beatles reunion, a Jim Morrison and Janice Joplin duet or even the return of Bowie?
Let it Go!
Those with small children - especially musically inclined ones may curse my next choice but you can't deny the sheer force of Idina Menzl's performance of Let it Go from Frozen. The incredibly popular song from the 2013 movie has now been translated into over 44 languages for foreign versions, won a Grammy and an Academy Award, streamed hundreds of millions of times and sat in the Billboard charts for many weeks.
The stunning soundtrack for Frozen also heralded a legion of small and not so small children obsessed with Elsa, Anna and Olaf, a franchise which covered a Broadway musical, tours of Norway and many, many dolls, costumes and games to name but a few. The sequel is now in movie theaters but so far no song has quite captured the imagination in the same way as Let it Go.
Hey Hey BeyBey
The 2010s have been a fantastic decade for female performers and 2018 was the year that Beyoncé hit the music scene with a stunning double whammy that cemented her place in music history. In April of that year she became the first African American woman to headline the Coachella festival. She'd had cancelled her 2017 appearance due to her surprise twin pregnancy but her comeback did not disappoint. She brought a southern HBCU Homecoming to the desert location with a full marching band, majorettes and an array of backing singers whilst she took centre stage. Beyoncé has now released a film of the stellar performance which was nominated for six Grammys and is currently up for a Grammy for best music film.
The whirlwind that was Beyoncé's 2018 didn't end there. In mid-December she snuck out an album in the dead of night much to the surprise of her fans (me included!). There was no promotion or lead up to the album and social media exploded. According to data provided by Twitter, the album release generated over 1.2 million tweets in twelve hours. I also contributed to that number, I was supposed to be asleep, resting before an exam the next day but I was up on Twitter reading the early reviews and wondering if I should listen to the album now or when my exam was over . Unsurprisingly I ended up listening to it = I don't remember what exam I took or the grade I received but I remember the iconic release of Self-Titled (Beyoncé).
So - those were my choices for the 2010s - what were your favourite moments?