Rueben's Ramblings

As I’ve shared for many years now, music has always been an important part of my life. It all started when I was a little girl, listening to music while sitting in the middle of my big brothers’ shared bedroom on the their old 1970’s turntable then listening to my big boom box and later the Walkman I had in the 1980’s all the way through to my iPod in the 2000’s to now my Pandora and Spotify accounts.

I wake up to music every morning rather than a buzzing alarm; and then I go to bed with music. Music may not mean to everyone what it means to me, but it does play a crucial part in television, Broadway, theatre and the box office.

The following are just some of the top performers for 2023:

Top Single of the Year and Most Moving Song of the Year: “What Was I Made For?” – by Billie Eilish from Barbie movie

Say what you will about both Billie Eilish and the mega hit movie Barbie (not everybody likes the singer and not everybody liked the movie), but both were a hit this summer and the single continues to receive heavy airplay on the radio.

Here is the official lyric video for “What Was I Made For?”:

Duet of the Year and Top New Country Artist: “Save Me” by Jelly Roll and Lainey Wilson and Jelly Roll

Jelly Roll (aka Jason Bradley DeFord) is a singer, songwriter and rapper who transitioned to country music a few years ago, taking that genre by storm, winning New Artist of the Year this year at the Country Music Association Awards. His single “Save Me” with hit country artist Lainey Wilson was a chart topper.

Here is the duo performing the song live at the 58th ACM Awards:

Most Soulful Artist: “Lose Control” by Teddy Swims

Teddy Swims (aka Jaten Colin Dimsdale) got his start on his YouTube channel and then his debut album came out in January 2020. This soulful single hit the Billboard Hot 100 chart in June and quickly rose up the charts. Listen for yourself and tell me that this isn’t a soulful tune.

Here is the official video for “Lose Control”:

She Made History Again: Tracy Chapman

The blues rocker saw her 1988 folk hit single “Fast Car” become a hit once again after country singer Luke Combs released his version of the single, which hit number one on country airplay charts and won Song of the Year at the Country Music Awards, making Chapman the first BLack songwriter to ever win that award.

Here is Luke Combs performing the song live in concert:

And, you can watch the original music video to the single by Tracy Chapman here:

Making History, Part Two: “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree” by Brenda Lee

This festive song was recorded back in 1958 when Brenda Lee was all of 14 years old. The now 79 year old has become the oldest artist ever to top the Billboard Hot 100 chart with this single this year, breaking several other chart records, including out-performing chart-topper “All I Want for Christmas Is You” by Mariah Carey.

Get your holiday cheer on with Brenda Lee in this new music video of that hit single here:

Having a Big Year, Yet Again: Taylor Swift

I included Swift in my music list last year, and she is right back on the list again this year because this time around she has sold nearly one out of every 15 vinyl albums in the United States this year. Her catalog of albums have sold 2.484 million copies in 2023. She is setting some other high benchmarks with the release of “Speak Now (Taylor’s Version)” not only debuted at No. 1 with the biggest numbers of the year, it’s one of four albums she now has in the top 10 album charts. This is the first time a woman has done that in the entire 6-decade history of there being an album chart at Billboard. And let’s not forget about her Eras Tour that had packed audiences every night and culminated in a live concert movie that hit records in and of its own.

Stealing A Little of Taylor Swift’s Thunder: Beyoncé

The pop hip-hop artist not only accepted her record-shattering 32nd Grammy trophy this year, but this win made her the most awarded musician in Grammy’s 64-year history. Then there was her Renaissance World Tour that became a cultural movement with people all over the globe not only attending the concerts and dressed en masse in silver and rhinestones. In fact, she will have generated an estimated 4.5 billion for the American economy – about as much as what the 2008 Olympis did for Beijing.

She’s Finally Grown Up and I Can Tolerate Her Music Now: Miley Cyrus

Miley has had quite the career starting out as a Disney teen idol through the TV series Hannah Montana before moving into more “mature” territory via suggestive lyrics and dance moves that rattled a lot of cages and upset the adults in her sphere. This year, though, she released the album entitled Endless Summer Vacation, which includes the hit singles “Flowers” and “Used To Be Young” that finally – in my opinion, of course – make her someone I can now tolerate to listen to on the radio.

Here is the official video for “Flowers”:

Here is the official video for “Used To Be Young”:

Top Reality Artist [TIE]: Putri Ariani and Gabriel Henrique both on America’s Got Talent

These two talented singers both earned a golden buzzer on the long-running reality series and wowed not only the judges and the in-theatre audience but the countless TV viewers with their incredible voices. Judge for yourself in the videos below:

Putri, the blind 17-year-old piano player and singer from Indonesia sang an original song that she wrote as well as Sorry Is the Hardest Word:

Gabriel is a 27-year-old Brazilian who speaks very little English but can sing like the love child of Mariah Carey and Whitney Houston. Check out his incredible vocal range below:

Oh, No You Didn’t: “Try That In a Small Town” by Jason Aldean

The country artist caused a major controversy this year with this single, getting vilified by liberals and Dems alike, and of course, getting a lot of support from Southern Republicians. The single also suffered a significant drop from the charts, in fact it was one of the steepest drops from the top spot in the history of the charts. Watch the video below and judge for yourself.

Here is the official video for “Try That In a Small Town”:

Group of the Year: Boygenius

This indie group includes singer-songwriters Julie Baker, Phoebe Bridgers and Lucy Dacus, who debuted their first EP in 2018 and then returned this year with their debut studio album that has become a critical and commercial success, and their six Grammy nominations prove they deserve this accolade.

Check out the video to their single “True Blue”:

Top Female Artist of the Year: SZA

While her self-released debut EP came out back in 2012, SZA (born Solána Imani Rowe) has been working hard within the music industry, and made it to the number 2 spot on the Hitmakers chart just eking past Taylor Swift for the title. I’d say that’s quite the feat, wouldn’t you.

Here is the video for her hit single “Kill Bill”:

Top Male Artist of the Year: Morgan Wallen

The former disgraced country singer, who was caught on camera using a racial slur just two and half years ago, then his supporters sent sales of his music skyrocketing so much so that he had six singles on the Hitmakers Chart.

Here is the video for his single “Last Night,” which topped the charts:

What singer or band has been your “go-to” music during the past year? Which singles were the stand-outs for you this year? What song did you get sick of hearing on the radio? What was the top album in your opinion? Please share your thoughts on the music of 2023 below.

TOMORROW: Box Office Results