It's a Woman's World

There is no denying that 2011was pure girl domination.  Female artists were having hit singles, sold out tours and best selling albums. Britney Spears came back with her seventh studio album Femme Fatale and in my opinion returned to making the music that made people fall in love with her in the first place. Katy Perry had three number one singles and Rihanna scored her ninth solo number one single this year. These two ladies are on top of their game, that is something you cannot deny whether you like them or not. Lady Gaga sold over a million copies of Born This Way the opening week and the album went on to sale nearly two million copies in the US alone. Not to mention The Monster Ball Tour was one of the biggest tours of the year. In comparison to Katy Perry and Rihanna her singles have not lived up to their potential. Regardless she was able to sell more records than both of them. Now she has to release ScheiBe and Heavy Metal Lover before the end of the era. These two songs have runaway hit written all over them.  Beyonce  released 4 and without any breakout hit sold nearly one million copies in the US alone. There were artists that had bigger singles this year than any of the songs Beyonce put out but their albums went no where. 2011 belonged to one lady from across the pond named Adele who released her sophomore album 21 in the first quarter of the year. The album has sold over 13 million copies worldwide and spun two of the biggest singles of the year. Since her album debut in the Billboard Hot 200 it has remained in the top ten, selling over 70,000 copies a week. With Grammys next year and upcoming holidays , Adele is guaranteed to sell even more copies of her fabulous sophomore effort. Taylor Swift continued to sell out arenas and albums this year. Not to mention her growing list of awards she picked up this year. One of the original pop princesses came back with vengeance this year, the incredible Kelly Clarkson. Her album Stronger was one of my favorite albums of the year. I believe that it is the best album she has released. If you have not picked up a copy I highly recommend it. I believe 2012 is looking very promising for her, especially if she chooses the right singles to release. Unfortunately we lost an incredible talent this year, Amy Winehouse. Her posthumous album Lioness: Hidden Treasures is a gem. The song "Between the Cheats" blew me away.

 It wasn't only female artists that had a big year. Bruno Mars, Pitbull, Drake, Kanye West, Jason Aldean and Chris Brown had a great year as well. One of my favorite success stories of the year belongs to Mumford and Sons, after their amazing performance at the Grammys their album Sigh No More became one the biggest selling albums of the year. Contestants on Season 10 of American Idol seem to be having a promising future. The winner Scotty McCreery debut album Clear As Day has already gone gold. Mark my words he will be humongous next year.There are not too many teen country heartthrobs out there. Looking forward to Haley Reinhart debut album and hoping that Lauren Alaina will make waves on country radio. Looking at how things are shaping at the end of the year I believe all of these acts will continue to excel in 2012.

Artists to watch for in 2012
These are artists that I believe will become household names in the upcoming year.
One Direction
Watch out Justin Bieber, One Direction is coming for you. I can't wait for them to arrive stateside.


Lana Del Rey
There is never enough talented artists in the game. I don't know why I thought she was European but I guess she is just another classic example of an American artist founding fame overseas before hitting it big in the US.


Robyn
So happy the Saturday Night Live gave her much needed exposure. Her songs deserve to get more airplay and I'm hoping this song picks up a Grammy.


Jessie J
Why isn't she huge already? I just love everything about her. I know that she is blowing up across the pond but why is she not as big here in the States that what I want to know.


Cher Lloyd
I think she has potential to be the next big thing. I don't know what it is about British acts but they are just the most stylish things I have ever seen.