Juice Newton Has the Biggest 80s Hit on Spotify Right Now

Juice Newton’s ‘Angel of the Morning’ is the biggest 80s track on Spotify in the United States right now, according to the latest Spotify Rewind 80s chart. Check out the top five, and learn more about the artists and songs.

Spotify has listed the top five most popular songs from varying decades (60s-00s). The ranking is a combination of total streaming on Spotify in the U.S. and the relative rate of growth of each track over the last week.

  1. The Stone Roses – I Wanna Be Adored

‘I Wanna Be Adored’ is included on The Stone Roses eponymous debut which was released in late 1989. It didn’t chart on the Billboard Modern Rock chart until 1990 where it peaked at No.18. The album included no less than seven singles. The group debuted back in 1985 with ‘So Young,’ which was so unsuccessful that it was disowned by the band.

  1. Ready For The World – Oh Sheila

Ready For The World originated from Michigan city Flint. ‘Oh Sheila’ topped the Billboard Hot 100, the Hot Black Singles and the Hot Dance Club Play charts in 1985. Commonly mistaken for a Prince song, it was the follow-up to ‘Deep Inside Your Love.’ A Dutch dance duo by the name of Angel City recorded the cover ‘Love Me Right (Oh Sheila)’ in 1999, including the vocals of Lara McAllen. That one peaked at No.11 in the UK and No.95 on the Billboard Hot 100.

  1. Bob Marley And The Wailers – Could You Be Loved

‘Could You Be Loved’ was released in 1980 and featured on Bob Marley And The Wailers’ album Uprising. It was of course included on the greatest hits album Legend. It never charted on the Hot 100, yet peaked at No.5 in the UK.

  1. Dio – Holy Diver

The heavy metal band Dio released ‘Holy Diver’ in 1983. It wasn’t a big hit at all at that time, yet it has become Dio’s signature. Following 9/11, the track was placed on a list of inappropriate songs to play in media. The track was written and produced by Ronnie James Dio.

  1. Juice Newton – Angel of the Morning

Chip Taylor wrote ‘Angel of the Morning’ and it has been recorded by artists ranging from Juice Newton, Nina Simone, Olivia Newton-John to The Pretenders, P.P. Arnold and Mary Mason. This country-rock version with Juice Newton was released back in 1981. Shaggy recorded ‘Angel’ where he samples the track heavily, replacing words sung in the refrain. In 2007, a Swedish version by Jill Johnson was released and included on the album Music Row.

Arash Teams Up with Snoop Dogg on OMG

The Persian Prince of Pop Arash, teams up with the American super star Snoop Dogg on the new collaboration ‘OMG.’ In 2009, Arash came third in the Eurovision Song Contest.

The single precedes Arash’s upcoming fifth album.

Arash & Snoop Dogg – OMG

“I grew up with Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg’s album The Chronic. I would say that it’s one of the albums that I’ve listened to most,” says Arash. He approached the famous rapper with the track, and he agreed to record it. In an interview with news daily Aftonbladet, Arash recalls the intensive recording of the video where Snoop Dogg was more relaxed than his entourage.

Née Alex Arash Labaf, the singer was born in Tehran, Iran in 1977.  The 39 year old artist Arash debuted in 2005 with hits such as ‘Temptation,’ ‘Boro Boro’ and ‘Bombay Dreams.’ On his last album Superman, the singer collaborated with Sean Paul and T-Pain.

Eurovision Song Contest 2009

In 2009, Arash competed for Azerbaijan. He sang ‘Always’ together with Aysel Teymurzadeh. It came third in the Eurovision Song Contest, which was held in Moscow. Alexander Rybak’s ‘Fairytale’ won ahead of Yohanna’s ‘Is It True?’ This year, he wrote the track ‘Kizunguzungu’ for SaRaha, which places fourth in the Swedish Melodifestivalen. He collaborated with the singer and Anderz Wrethov on that track.

Aysel & Arash – Always

 

Måns Zelmerlöw Continues His Climb with Fire in the Rain

‘Fire in the Rain’ has racked up more than 2 million plays on Spotify and continues its climb on the Swedish singles tally. Moving 50-34, the  Måns Zelmerlöw single precedes an upcoming EP released on June 17th.

Måns Zelmerlöw – Fire in the Rain (Official Lyric Video)

Read about the dark story behind ‘Heroes’ – What’s the meaning?

This summer, Måns Zelmerlöw will have a hectic tour schedule with lots of appearances across Europe. A Swedish tour premiered on May 27th at the Köpingfesten. Since his sensational Eurovision Song Contest Win last May, the Swedish singer has had an amazing year. Following an 8 months tour in Europe and Australia, two multi-platinum certified singles and the platinum album Perfectly Damaged, the singer is definitely on a roll.

As reported previously, ‘Fire in the Rain’ is written by Simon Strömstedt, while Fredrik Sonefors is the producer. I have tracked the song’s success on Spotify, where it has reached No.28. On the daily Swedish Spotify tally dated 27/5, it’s sitting at No.30.

Måns Zelmerlöw – Fire in the Rain

Everything about Måns Zelmerlöw on WelcheMusic

 

From ABBA to Westlife – I Have a Dream Continues Its Success

Originally released in December 1979, ‘I Have a Dream’ became a worldwide hit at the end of that decade for ABBA. 20 years later, Westlife repeated worldwide success with a new version produced by Pete Waterman and Dan Frampton*.

Written by Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus, the single was the fourth and final single off Voulez-Vous, ABBA’s sixth studio album. The b-side was a live version of ’Take a Chance on Me’ recorded at Wembley.

ABBA – I Have a Dream (Live Version Wembley Arena 1979)

Peak positions for ‘I Have a Dream’ (ABBA):

  • Australia: 64
  • Austria: 1
  • Canada: 1
  • The Netherlands: 1
  • Ireland: 2
  • Switzerland: 1
  • UK: 2

Westlife – I Have a Dream

In December 1999, the track returned in a new version by Westlife. The new version was produced by Pete Waterman – one third of the hugely successful production team Stock, Aitken & Waterman – together with David Foster. The latter has produced artists such as Will Young, Rick Astley and Five.

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Read everything about Westlife

Westlife’s version reached No.1, becoming the boy band’s fourth chart-topper in the UK. It was a double A-side single, also including a cover of Jacques Brel’s 1961 hit ‘Seasons in the Sun’ which was made famous by Terry Jacks in 1973.

The 1999 version was the UK Christmas No.1, continuing its chart-run into 2000 – a new millennium. In total, it spent 17 weeks on the chart becoming the 26th biggest selling single of 1999. The hit was succeeded by Bob the Builder’s novelty hit ‘Can We Fix It?’

Peak positions for ‘I Have a Dream’ (Westlife):

  • Denmark: 11
  • Europe: 7
  • Finland: 10
  • Germany: 24
  • Ireland: 1
  • New Zealand: 10
  • Norway: 10
  • Scotland: 1
  • Sweden: 15
  • Switzerland: 18
  • UK: 1

*CORRECTION: In an earlier version of this blog post, David Foster was pointed out as the producer of the Westlife track. Apologies for that.

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