The hits of 2006

2006 was a great year for Beyoncé. A lot of good things happened to the famous Destiny’s Child that prepared her for a long stay at the top in the future. The beautiful Beyoncé not only turned 25 with a new hit album B-day, she also starred in the movie version of the Broadway musical Dreamgirls, which has been getting excellent reviews and has a romantic relationship with hip-hop star Jay-Z that is going strong. Some girls do get everything.

It was also a very good year for Justin Timberlake. The former N’Sync easily hurdled the sophomore jinx with his fantastic FutureSex/LoveSounds album, which sounds like it is one hit single after another. Then there is also his romance with the beautiful Cameron Diaz, which left millions of teen-aged fans heartbroken but which is going strong, contrary to all the dire predictions. There are guys who do get everything, too.

Aside from these two, Josh Groban, Fergie of the Black Eyed Peas, Nelly Furtado, Barry Manilow, Mary J. Blige and a lot of other artists scored well in 2006. However, after checking out the lists of big hits in the US and other countries in North America during the past year, I came to the conclusion that the biggest winner and the one that had the strongest influence on the music of our times, was not one of those names. It was, in truth, the reality TV show American Idol. Why do you think more people than ever have been listening to old songs nowadays? Those are what the contestants sing.

Hosted by Ryan Seacrest and featuring judges Simon Cowell, Paula Abdul and Randy Jackson, American Idol discovered Carrie Underwood two years ago. The girl has since then turned into a major seller in the field of country music. In fact, Carrie’s debut album Some Hearts topped Billboard Magazine’s listing of the Billboard 200 Albums for 2006.

Carrie’s Some Hearts may not be popular here because Pinoys have never really related well to country music but that is where the big money is out there in the US. Tim McGraw, Faith Hill, Kenny Chesney and Keith Urban are the leading country music stars of today. Now there are artists who sell only in the East Coast or only in the Southwest like the rappers but the really big sellers also conquer the Midwest, the country music belt where Carrie now reigns.

American Idol also did the same for pop star Kelly Clarkson five years ago and the young singer/songwriter has not looked back since. Her latest album Breakaway is No. 10 in the Top 200 albums list. Runner-up Clay Aiken is also doing very well, finalist Jennifer Hudson is said to be a shoo-in at the Oscars for Best Supporting Actress for Dreamgirls and expectations are high regarding latest winner Taylor Hicks’ upcoming album.

That is not all that American Idol did for music last year. It also boosted the sales of a previously unheard of recording by an unknown artist, which is now considered by many as the No. 1 song of 2006. This is Bad Day by Daniel Powter, which a clever music editor chose as the theme for the departing contestant who got the lowest number of votes every week. It was an amusing and very appropriate choice.

Bad Day’s use during the entire season of American Idol earned for it the widest exposure ever enjoyed by a single ever since Elton John sang Candle in the Wind during Princess Diana’s funeral. Thus Bad Day effortlessly zoomed to number one in the US charts and made Powter a star.

So, if this sort of batting average holds up within the next year or two, I can already see American Idol dictating music trends for a long, long time.

Here now are the hit lists in the US for 2006. The albums: Some Hearts by Carrie Underwood; High School Musical, the soundtrack of the made-for-TV Disney movie that sent kids singing and dancing; All the Right Reasons by Nickelback; Me and My Gang by Rascal Flatts; The Breakthrough by Mary J. Blige; Curtain Call: The Hits by Eminem; Back to Bedlam by James Blunt; The Road and the Radio by Kenny Chesney; The Legend of Johnny Cash by Johnny Cash and Breakaway by Kelly Clarkson.

The Top 10 singles of the 2006 Hot 100: Bad Day by Daniel Powter; Temperature by Sean Paul; Promiscuous by Nelly Furtado; You’re Beautiful by James Blunt; Hips Don’t Lie by Shakira featuring Wyclef Jean; Unwritten by Natasha Bedingfield; Crazy by Gnarls Barkley; Ridin’ by Chamillionaire; Sexyback by Justin Timberlake and Check on It by Beyoncé.