Music of the United Kingdom (2000s)
Encyclopedia
Popular music of the United Kingdom in the 2000s continued to expand and develop new sub-genres and fusions. While talent show contestants were one of the major forces in pop music, British soul maintained and even extended its high profile with figures like Joss Stone
and Amy Winehouse
, while a new group of singer/songwriters lead by Adele
achieved international success. New forms of dance music emerged, including grime
and dubstep
. There was also a revival of garage rock and post punk, which when mixed with electronic music produced new rave
. In August 2011 the Sony DADC warehouse was torched during the 2011 England Riots
resulting in the loss of hundreds of thousands of CDs belonging to indie labels.
Post-Britpop bands such as The Verve
, Radiohead
, Catatonia
and Travis
were followed in the 2000s by acts including Snow Patrol
, from Northern Ireland and Elbow
, Embrace, Starsailor
, Doves and Keane from England, with music that was often more melodic and introspective. The most commercially successful band in the milieu were Coldplay
, whose début album Parachutes
(2000) went multi-platinum
and helped make them one of the most popular acts in the world by the time of their second album A Rush of Blood to the Head
(2002).
bands, during the late 1990s and early 2000s, several British indie bands emerged, including Franz Ferdinand
, The Libertines
and Bloc Party
, that drew primary inspiration from New Wave
and Post-punk
groups such as Joy Division
, Wire
, and Gang of Four
, establishing the post-punk revival
movement. Other prominent independent rock bands in the 2000s included: Editors
, The Fratellis
, Placebo
, Lostprophets
, Razorlight
, Kaiser Chiefs
, The Kooks
and Arctic Monkeys
(the last being the most prominent act to owe their success to the use of internet social networking).
The decade saw the solo success for British singer/songwriters, including David Gray
, Dido
, making use of acoustic music and remixes, whose breakthrough albums White Ladder
(2000) and No Angel
(1999) respectively, went multi-platinum. Later in decade a second wave including James Blunt
with Back to Bedlam (2003), KT Tunstall
with Eye to the Telescope
(2004), James Morrison
with Undiscovered
(2006), and Amy Macdonald
with This Is the Life
(2007) enjoyed similar levels of success.
and heavy riffs earned them a string of singles hits and a quintuple platinum album with One Way Ticket to Hell... and Back (2005), which reached number 11. Bullet for My Valentine
, from Wales, broke into the top 5 in both the U.S. and British charts with their melodic dark rock, with Scream Aim Fire
(2008).
With developments in computer technology and music software, it became possible to create high quality music using little more than a single laptop computer. This resulted in a massive increase in the amount of home-produced electronic music available to the general public via the expanding internet, and new forms of performance such as laptronica
and live coding
. In Britain the combination of indie with American pioneered dance-punk
was dubbed new rave
in publicity for Klaxons
and the term was picked up and applied by the NME
to a number of bands, including Trash Fashion
, New Young Pony Club
, Hadouken!
, Late of the Pier
, Test Icicles
, and Shitdisco
forming a scene with a similar visual aesthetic to earlier rave music
.
and Girls Aloud
, the last of the these the most successful British product of the many Popstars
format programmes, which began to have a major impact in the charts from the beginning of the 2000s. The most successful solo winner Leona Lewis
enjoyed a number one album in 2008 and her début single "Bleeding Love
" was the first number one single in the U.S charts by a British solo female artist since Kim Wilde
in 1987. The 2000s also saw the reunion of Take That
, who went on to achieve new stardom by the end of the decade with record breaking tours, 4 consecutive number 1 albums and a string of hit singles in the UK and Europe.
, Joss Stone
, Amy Winehouse
, Adele
and Duffy
, all of whom have enjoyed success in the American charts, leading to talk of a "Third British Invasion", "Female Invasion" or "British soul invasion". In 2009, Jay Sean's single "Down
" reached the #1 spot on the Billboard Hot 100
and sold two million copies in the United States, making him "the most successful male UK urban artist in US chart history." Female singer songwriters of various genres began to dominate the British charts in 2006 with the previously mentioned Winehouse and Lily Allen
. In August 2011 the top 5 positions on the Album charts were held by women with two albums by Adele and Amy Winehouse and American singer Beyonce holding the other spot.
and folk scenes. Their music often utilised traditional instruments, sometimes beside electronic music. London's nu-folk scene included artists like Laura Marling
, Noah and the Whale
, Mumford & Sons
and Johnny Flynn
and that in Scotland, centred on Glasgow and with a more Celtic tinge, included artists such as Findlay Napier and the Bar Room Mountaineers
and Pearl and the Puppets
.
, influenced heavily by hip hop and UK garage
, and dubbed grime
(sometimes called eskibeat or sublow), included acts such as Dizzee Rascal
, Lady Sovereign
, Wiley, Sway DaSafo
, Ghetto
and Kano
. The eponymous debut album of Gorillaz
, created by Damon Albarn
in 2001, sold over seven million copies and earned them an entry in the Guinness Book of World Records as the Most Successful Virtual Band. The success of The Streets
' 2002 album Original Pirate Material
drew the media's attention to lighter, more melodic rap as a form of pop music and this was followed by the success of Welsh
rap group Goldie Lookin' Chain and acts like N-Dubz
, Tinchy Stryder
and Chipmunk
, dubbed "Brithop" by the press. Other successful Hip-Hop/Grime artists include Aggro Santos
, Tinie Tempah
, Professor Green
, Bashy
, Devlin
and Skepta
. The popularity of British rap has significantly risen over the past few years. 6 Number 1 singles were scored by UK rappers in 2009, and 6 Number 1 singles were scored in 2010. And previous to 2009, a British rapper had never topped the Uk singles chart. Artists to reach the number 1 spot are Dizzee Rascal
, Tinchy Stryder
, Chipmunk
, Tinie Tempah
, Roll Deep
and Plan B.
, Burial
, Kode9
, Pinch
, Horsepower Productions
, Vex'd
, Digital Mystikz
, Zomby
, Shackleton and Benga. Releases like Burial's Untrue
(2007) and the mix albums series Dubstep All-Stars helped the sub-genre gain critical and some limited commercial success.
, and Hot Chip
, who were followed by acts including Little Boots
, Ellie Goulding
and La Roux
. The electronic sound and style have arguably influenced many other mainstream pop artists, including Lily Allen
's second album It's Not Me, It's You (2009), which abandoned the ska
influences of her earlier work.
singles chart. This would be reversed in the latter half of the decade when the percentage of albums sold in the U.S. by British acts increased every year from 2005 through 2008. It would increase from 8.5% to 10% of the market between 2007 and 2008.
In 2007 Joss Stone
's third album Introducing Joss Stone
debuted at number two on the Billboard 200 becoming the first British solo female artist to have an album début that high on the chart. In 2006 and early 2007 British and Irish acts James Blunt
, Amy Winehouse
, Lily Allen
, Lady Sovereign
, KT Tunstall
, Snow Patrol
and Corinne Bailey Rae
also had U.S. chart success. By March 2007 these successes had led to speculation that either another British Invasion was underway or that there was a return to normalcy. In 2008 Leona Lewis
's single "Bleeding Love
" would become the first number one single on U.S charts by a British female artist since 1986. Her album also reached number 1. The year would also be a successful one for Duffy
, Adele
, Estelle
, and M.I.A.
. Led by Coldplay
, British acts received a total of 16 Grammy Awards.
In 2011 albums from three British artists, Adele, Mumford & Sons
and Marsha Ambrosius
, held the top three album spots during one week for the first time in a quarter of a century. Adele's album 21
was the best selling album in the United States in the first half of that year, becoming the leading factor in the first increase in album sales since 2004. The album was number 1 during 10 weeks, the first time a British LP had accomplished that since George Michael
in 1988. Tinie Tempah
became the first British rap music artist to have a debut US single that sold at least one million units and two singles from the record have topped the Billboard Hot 100. Singer Jessie J
's career first took off in the US and Florence and The Machine
has done well enough to be the topic of a Billboard Magazine cover story in September. Various explanations have been given by people in the music industry for this success. Spin Magazine music editor Charles Aaron, speaking of the female singer/songwriters, called Amy Winehouse
's breakthrough the "Nirvana
moment". Billboard's chart manager Keith Caulfield also credited Winehouse and said, "They're not giving us the usual 'We're going to stay up until 6 a.m. and party like we've never partied before,'?". Caulfield says, "Their approach is more classic and quirky, which makes Americans pay more attention. Tinie Tempah credited the confidence of the British Artists and David Joseph, the chairman of Universal Music UK noted that unlike in the past British artists are not specifically targeting the US but American audiences are noticing their talent through the internet.
Joss Stone
Jocelyn Eve Stoker , better known by her stage name Joss Stone, is an English soul singer-songwriter and actress. Stone rose to fame in late 2003 with her multi-platinum debut album, The Soul Sessions, which made the 2004 Mercury Prize shortlist...
and Amy Winehouse
Amy Winehouse
Amy Jade Winehouse was an English singer-songwriter known for her powerful deep contralto vocals and her eclectic mix of musical genres including R&B, soul and jazz. Winehouse's 2003 debut album, Frank, was critically successful in the UK and was nominated for the Mercury Prize...
, while a new group of singer/songwriters lead by Adele
Adele (singer)
Adele Laurie Blue Adkins , known professionally as Adele, is an English singer-songwriter. She was the first recipient of the Brit Awards Critics' Choice and was named the number-one predicted breakthrough act of 2008 in an annual BBC poll of music critics, Sound of 2008...
achieved international success. New forms of dance music emerged, including grime
Grime (music)
Grime is a style of music that emerged from Bow, East London, England in the early 2000s, primarily as a development of UK garage, dancehall, and hip hop...
and dubstep
Dubstep
Dubstep is a genre of electronic dance music that originated in south London, England. Its overall sound has been described as "tightly coiled productions with overwhelming bass lines and reverberant drum patterns, clipped samples, and occasional vocals"....
. There was also a revival of garage rock and post punk, which when mixed with electronic music produced new rave
New Rave
New rave is a term applied to several types of music that fuse elements of electronic music, new wave, rock, indie, techno, bastard pop, breakbeat hardcore and electro house...
. In August 2011 the Sony DADC warehouse was torched during the 2011 England Riots
2011 England riots
Between 6 and 10 August 2011, several London boroughs and districts of cities and towns across England suffered widespread rioting, looting and arson....
resulting in the loss of hundreds of thousands of CDs belonging to indie labels.
Post-Britpop
The Verve
The Verve were an English rock band formed in 1989 in Wigan by lead vocalist Richard Ashcroft, guitarist Nick McCabe, bassist Simon Jones, and drummer Peter Salisbury. Guitarist and keyboardist Simon Tong later became a member. Beginning with a psychedelic sound indebted to shoegazing and space...
, Radiohead
Radiohead
Radiohead are an English rock band from Abingdon, Oxfordshire, formed in 1985. The band consists of Thom Yorke , Jonny Greenwood , Ed O'Brien , Colin Greenwood and Phil Selway .Radiohead released their debut single "Creep" in 1992...
, Catatonia
Catatonia (band)
Catatonia were an alternative rock band from Wales who gained a national following in the United Kingdom in the mid to late 1990s. The band consisted of Cerys Matthews on vocals, Mark Roberts on guitar, Paul Jones on bass , Owen Powell on...
and Travis
Travis (band)
Travis are a post-Britpop band from Glasgow, Scotland, comprising Fran Healy , Dougie Payne , Andy Dunlop and Neil Primrose...
were followed in the 2000s by acts including Snow Patrol
Snow Patrol
Snow Patrol are an alternative rock band from Bangor, County Down, Northern Ireland. Formed at the University of Dundee in 1994 as an indie rock band, the band is now based in Glasgow...
, from Northern Ireland and Elbow
Elbow (band)
Elbow are an English rock band. They have played together since 1990 and recorded five studio albums, the most recent of which is Build a Rocket Boys!, released in March 2011...
, Embrace, Starsailor
Starsailor (band)
Starsailor is an English post-britpop band, formed in Leigh, Warrington and Greater Manchester. By 2009, they had four charting albums and ten Top 40 singles in the UK since 2001.-Early history:...
, Doves and Keane from England, with music that was often more melodic and introspective. The most commercially successful band in the milieu were Coldplay
Coldplay
Coldplay are a British alternative rock band formed in 1996 by lead vocalist Chris Martin and lead guitarist Jonny Buckland at University College London. After they formed Pectoralz, Guy Berryman joined the group as a bassist and they changed their name to Starfish. Will Champion joined as a...
, whose début album Parachutes
Parachutes
Parachutes is the debut album by English alternative rock band Coldplay, released by the record label Parlophone on 10 July 2000 in the United Kingdom. The album was produced by the band and British record producer Ken Nelson, excluding one track which was produced by Chris Allison...
(2000) went multi-platinum
Music recording sales certification
Music recording sales certification is a system of certifying that a music recording has shipped or sold a certain number of copies, where the threshold quantity varies by type and by nation or territory .Almost all countries follow variations of the RIAA certification categories,...
and helped make them one of the most popular acts in the world by the time of their second album A Rush of Blood to the Head
A Rush of Blood to the Head
A Rush of Blood to the Head is the second studio album by English rock band Coldplay. Released on 26 August 2002 in the UK through the label Parlophone, the album was produced by the band and British record producer Ken Nelson...
(2002).
Garage rock revival/Post-punk revival
Like many American alternative rockAlternative rock
Alternative rock is a genre of rock music and a term used to describe a diverse musical movement that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1980s and became widely popular by the 1990s...
bands, during the late 1990s and early 2000s, several British indie bands emerged, including Franz Ferdinand
Franz Ferdinand (band)
Franz Ferdinand are a Scottish post-punk revival band formed in Glasgow in 2002. The band is composed of Alex Kapranos , Bob Hardy , Nick McCarthy , and Paul Thomson .The band first experienced chart success when their second single, "Take Me Out", reached #3 in...
, The Libertines
The Libertines
The Libertines were an English rock band, formed in London in 1997 by frontmen Carl Barât and Pete Doherty . The band, centred on the song-writing partnership of Barat and Doherty, also included John Hassall and Gary Powell for most of its recording career...
and Bloc Party
Bloc Party
Bloc Party are a British Indie rock band, composed of Kele Okereke , Russell Lissack , Gordon Moakes , and Matt Tong...
, that drew primary inspiration from New Wave
New Wave music
New Wave is a subgenre of :rock music that emerged in the mid to late 1970s alongside punk rock. The term at first generally was synonymous with punk rock before being considered a genre in its own right that incorporated aspects of electronic and experimental music, mod subculture, disco and 1960s...
and Post-punk
Post-punk
Post-punk is a rock music movement with its roots in the late 1970s, following on the heels of the initial punk rock explosion of the mid-1970s. The genre retains its roots in the punk movement but is more introverted, complex and experimental...
groups such as Joy Division
Joy Division
Joy Division were an English rock band formed in 1976 in Salford, Greater Manchester. Originally named Warsaw, the band primarily consisted of Ian Curtis , Bernard Sumner , Peter Hook and Stephen Morris .Joy Division rapidly evolved from their initial punk rock influences...
, Wire
Wire (band)
Wire are an English rock band, formed in London in October 1976 by Colin Newman , Graham Lewis , Bruce Gilbert , and Robert Gotobed...
, and Gang of Four
Gang of Four (band)
Gang of Four are an English post-punk group from Leeds. Original personnel were singer Jon King, guitarist Andy Gill, bass guitarist Dave Allen and drummer Hugo Burnham. They were fully active from 1977 to 1984, and then re-emerged twice in the 1990s with King and Gill...
, establishing the post-punk revival
Post-punk revival
The post-punk revival was a development in alternative rock of the late 20th and early 21st centuries in which bands took inspiration from the original sounds and aesthetics of garage rock of the 1960s and post-punk and New Wave of the late 1970s...
movement. Other prominent independent rock bands in the 2000s included: Editors
Editors
Editors are a British indie rock band based in Birmingham, who formed in 2002. Previously known as Pilot, The Pride and Snowfield, the band consists of Tom Smith , Chris Urbanowicz , Russell Leetch and Ed Lay .Editors have so far released two platinum studio...
, The Fratellis
The Fratellis
The Fratellis were an indie rock band from Glasgow, Scotland. The band consisted of lead vocalist and guitarist Jon Fratelli , bass guitarist Barry Fratelli , and drummer and backing vocalist Mince Fratelli .The band released 2 albums during their career, Costello Music in 2006 and Here We Stand in...
, Placebo
Placebo (band)
Placebo are a British rock band from London, England, formed in 1994 by singer and guitarist Brian Molko and bass guitarist Stefan Olsdal. The band was joined by drummer Robert Schultzberg, who was later replaced by Steve Hewitt after conflicts with Molko. Hewitt left the band in October 2007 and...
, Lostprophets
Lostprophets
Lostprophets is a Welsh rock band from Pontypridd, formed in 1997. Founded by vocalist Ian Watkins, bassist Mike Lewis, drummer Mike Chiplin and guitarist Lee Gaze, they were originally a side-project to hardcore punk band Public Disturbance. To date, Lostprophets have released four studio...
, Razorlight
Razorlight
Razorlight are a UK based indie rock band formed in 2002. They are primarily known in the UK, having topped the charts with the 2006 single "America" and its parent self-titled album, their second...
, Kaiser Chiefs
Kaiser Chiefs
Kaiser Chiefs are an English indie rock band from Leeds who formed in 1996. They were named after the South African football club Kaizer Chiefs....
, The Kooks
The Kooks
The Kooks are an English indie rock band formed in Brighton, East Sussex, in 2001. Formed by Luke Pritchard , Hugh Harris , Paul Garred , and Max Rafferty , the lineup of the band remained constant until 2008 and the departure of Rafferty...
and Arctic Monkeys
Arctic Monkeys
Arctic Monkeys are an English indie rock band. Formed in 2002 in High Green, a suburb of Sheffield, the band currently consists of Alex Turner , Jamie Cook , Nick O'Malley and Matt Helders...
(the last being the most prominent act to owe their success to the use of internet social networking).
Soft rock and singer-songwriter
David Gray (musician)
David Gray is an English singer-songwriter. He released his first studio album in 1993 and received worldwide attention after the release of White Ladder six years later...
, Dido
Dido (singer)
Dido Florian Cloud de Bounevialle O'Malley Armstrong , known as Dido, is an English singer-songwriter.Dido shot to worldwide success with her debut album, No Angel...
, making use of acoustic music and remixes, whose breakthrough albums White Ladder
White Ladder
White Ladder is the multi-platinum selling fourth studio album by British singer-songwriter David Gray, first released in November 1998. Worldwide sales of the album stand at 7 million.-Background:...
(2000) and No Angel
No Angel
No Angel is the debut album by pop singer/songwriter Dido. Originally released in June 1999 in the United States, the album found a mass audience when it was released worldwide in February 2001...
(1999) respectively, went multi-platinum. Later in decade a second wave including James Blunt
James Blunt
James Hillier Blount , better known by his stage name James Blunt, is an English singer-songwriter and musician, and former army officer, whose debut album, Back to Bedlam and single releases, including "You're Beautiful" and "Goodbye My Lover", brought him to fame in 2005...
with Back to Bedlam (2003), KT Tunstall
KT Tunstall
Kate Victoria "KT" Tunstall is a Scottish singer-songwriter and guitarist from St Andrews, Scotland. She broke into the public eye with a 2004 live solo performance of her song "Black Horse and the Cherry Tree" on Later... with Jools Holland...
with Eye to the Telescope
Eye to the Telescope
Reviews for Eye to the Telescope were positive. Mark A. Price of PopMatters gave the album a score of 7 out of 10, noting that it manages to sound "both new and familiar", mixing influences from artists like Melissa Etheridge and Fiona Apple while adding some originality of her own...
(2004), James Morrison
James Morrison (singer)
James Morrison is a BRIT Award-winning English singer-songwriter and guitarist from Rugby, Warwickshire. In 2006, his debut single "You Give Me Something" became a hit in Europe, Australia, and Japan, peaking in the top five in the UK and New Zealand. His debut album, Undiscovered, debuted at the...
with Undiscovered
Undiscovered (James Morrison album)
-Charts and certifications:-References:...
(2006), and Amy Macdonald
Amy Macdonald (singer)
Amy Macdonald is a Scottish recording artist. Macdonald rose to fame in 2007 with her debut album, This Is the Life and its fourth single, "This Is the Life". The single charted at number one in six different countries worldwide, and charted inside the top ten in another eleven countries worldwide...
with This Is the Life
This Is the Life (Amy Macdonald album)
-Deluxe edition:After the major success of "This Is the Life" across Europe, in the end of 2008 a deluxe version of the album was released. The 2-disc-set include the standard version of the album and a bonus-CD with several bonus tracks, live and acoustic versions.-Personnel:*Amy Macdonald -...
(2007) enjoyed similar levels of success.
Heavy metal
The term "retro-metal" has been applied to such bands as The Darkness, whose unique mix of glam rockGlam rock
Glam rock is a style of rock and pop music that developed in the UK in the early 1970s, which was performed by singers and musicians who wore outrageous clothes, makeup and hairstyles, particularly platform-soled boots and glitter...
and heavy riffs earned them a string of singles hits and a quintuple platinum album with One Way Ticket to Hell... and Back (2005), which reached number 11. Bullet for My Valentine
Bullet for My Valentine
Bullet for My Valentine are a Welsh heavy metal band from Bridgend, formed in 1998. The band is composed of Matt Tuck , Michael Paget , Jason James , and Michael Thomas . They were formed under the name Jeff Killed John and started their music career by covering songs by Metallica and Nirvana...
, from Wales, broke into the top 5 in both the U.S. and British charts with their melodic dark rock, with Scream Aim Fire
Scream Aim Fire
Scream Aim Fire is the second studio album by Welsh heavy metal band Bullet for My Valentine, released on 28 January 2008 in the UK and the preceding day in the US...
(2008).
New rave
Laptronica
Laptronica is a form of live electronic music in which laptops are used as musical instruments. The term is a portmanteau of "laptop computer" and "electronica"...
and live coding
Live coding
Live coding is a performance practice centred upon the use of improvised interactive programming and real-time computing in creating sound and image based digital media. Live coding is particularly prevalent in computer music, combining algorithmic composition with improvisation...
. In Britain the combination of indie with American pioneered dance-punk
Dance-punk
Dance-punk is a music genre that emerged in the late 1970s, and is closely associated with the post-punk and No Wave movements.-Predecessors:...
was dubbed new rave
New Rave
New rave is a term applied to several types of music that fuse elements of electronic music, new wave, rock, indie, techno, bastard pop, breakbeat hardcore and electro house...
in publicity for Klaxons
Klaxons
Klaxons are a British indie rock band, based in London. Following the release of numerous 7-inch singles on different independent record labels, as well as the success of previous singles "Magick" and "Golden Skans", the band released their debut album, Myths of the Near Future on 29 January 2007....
and the term was picked up and applied by the NME
NME
The New Musical Express is a popular music publication in the United Kingdom, published weekly since March 1952. It started as a music newspaper, and gradually moved toward a magazine format during the 1980s, changing from newsprint in 1998. It was the first British paper to include a singles...
to a number of bands, including Trash Fashion
Trash Fashion
Trash Fashion are a four-piece band made up of brothers Tom Marsh and Ben Marsh joined by Matt Emerson and Jim Ready . Their current UK record label is Propaganda Records and in Japan it is Vinyl Junkie...
, New Young Pony Club
New Young Pony Club
New Young Pony Club are an English electronic band from London, consisting of members from London, Hereford, Cambridge and Bromley. Their influences are prominently from post-punk and New Wave....
, Hadouken!
Hadouken!
Hadouken! are an English grime, electronica, dance band who formed in Leeds in October 2006 by singer, writer and producer James Smith, alongside his girlfriend, synth player Alice Spooner, guitarist Daniel "Pilau" Rice, and drummer Nick Rice. The band name is taken from the name of a special...
, Late of the Pier
Late of the Pier
Late of the Pier are a four-piece dance-punk band from Castle Donington, England, currently signed to Phantasy. Their debut album Fantasy Black Channel was released on 11 August 2008 by Parlophone produced by Erol Alkan.- History :...
, Test Icicles
Test Icicles
Test Icicles were a short-lived dance punk band that formed in England, primarily influenced by indie rock but containing musical elements from a variety of genres . The band was formed in 2004 by Rory Attwell and Sam Mehran, who were later joined by Devonte Hynes...
, and Shitdisco
Shitdisco
Shitdisco, was a Dance-punk band from Glasgow, Scotland. They were formed in 2003 while studying at the Glasgow School of Art. Their first single "Disco Blood"/"I Know Kung Fu" was released in December 2005 and sold out quickly. They are signed to record label Fierce Panda...
forming a scene with a similar visual aesthetic to earlier rave music
Rave music
Rave music may either refer the late 1980s genre or any genre of electronic dance music that may be played at an electronic dance party such as a rave. Very rarely, the term is used to refer to less electronic related genres glam, powerpop, psychedelic rock and dub music parties...
.
Pop
In the 2000s, new girl groups managed to enjoy sustained success, including the SugababesSugababes
The Sugababes are an English pop girl group based in London, consisting of members Heidi Range, Amelle Berrabah and Jade Ewen. The Sugababes were formed in 1998 with founding members Siobhán Donaghy, Mutya Buena and Keisha Buchanan. Their debut album, One Touch, was released in 2000 under London...
and Girls Aloud
Girls Aloud
Girls Aloud are a British and Irish pop girl group based in London. They were created through the ITV1 talent show Popstars The Rivals in 2002. The group consists of Cheryl Cole , Nadine Coyle, Sarah Harding, Nicola Roberts and Kimberley Walsh. They are signed to Fascination Records, a Polydor...
, the last of the these the most successful British product of the many Popstars
Popstars
Popstars is an international reality television franchise and a precursor to the Idol series. The series first began in New Zealand in 1999 when producer Jonathan Dowling formed the five member all-girl group TrueBliss...
format programmes, which began to have a major impact in the charts from the beginning of the 2000s. The most successful solo winner Leona Lewis
Leona Lewis
Leona Louise Lewis is a British singer and songwriter. Lewis first came to prominence in 2006 when she won the third series of the British television series The X Factor....
enjoyed a number one album in 2008 and her début single "Bleeding Love
Bleeding Love
"Bleeding Love" is a pop/R&B ballad co-written by Jesse McCartney and Ryan Tedder and produced by Tedder for British singer Leona Lewis's debut album, Spirit. The song is the album's lead single , released in the United Kingdom and Ireland in October 2007...
" was the first number one single in the U.S charts by a British solo female artist since Kim Wilde
Kim Wilde
Kim Wilde is an English pop singer, author and television presenter who burst onto the music scene in 1981 with the number 2 UK Singles Chart new wave classic "Kids in America". In 1987 she had a major hit in the United States when her version of The Supremes' classic "You Keep Me Hangin' On"...
in 1987. The 2000s also saw the reunion of Take That
Take That
Take That are a British five-piece vocal pop group comprising Gary Barlow, Howard Donald, Jason Orange, Mark Owen and Robbie Williams. Barlow acts as the lead singer and primary songwriter...
, who went on to achieve new stardom by the end of the decade with record breaking tours, 4 consecutive number 1 albums and a string of hit singles in the UK and Europe.
Soul and Female Singer Songwriters
British soul in the 2000s was dominated by female singers, many of them white, including Natasha BedingfieldNatasha Bedingfield
Natasha Anne Bedingfield is a British pop singer and songwriter. Bedingfield debuted in the 1990s as a member of the Christian dance/electronic group The DNA Algorithm with her siblings Daniel Bedingfield and Nikola Rachelle...
, Joss Stone
Joss Stone
Jocelyn Eve Stoker , better known by her stage name Joss Stone, is an English soul singer-songwriter and actress. Stone rose to fame in late 2003 with her multi-platinum debut album, The Soul Sessions, which made the 2004 Mercury Prize shortlist...
, Amy Winehouse
Amy Winehouse
Amy Jade Winehouse was an English singer-songwriter known for her powerful deep contralto vocals and her eclectic mix of musical genres including R&B, soul and jazz. Winehouse's 2003 debut album, Frank, was critically successful in the UK and was nominated for the Mercury Prize...
, Adele
Adele (singer)
Adele Laurie Blue Adkins , known professionally as Adele, is an English singer-songwriter. She was the first recipient of the Brit Awards Critics' Choice and was named the number-one predicted breakthrough act of 2008 in an annual BBC poll of music critics, Sound of 2008...
and Duffy
Duffy (singer)
Aimée Ann Duffy , known as Duffy, is a Welsh singer-songwriter. Her 2008 debut album Rockferry entered the UK Album Chart at number one. It was the best-selling album in the United Kingdom in 2008 with 1.68 million copies sold...
, all of whom have enjoyed success in the American charts, leading to talk of a "Third British Invasion", "Female Invasion" or "British soul invasion". In 2009, Jay Sean's single "Down
Down (Jay Sean song)
"Down" is an R&B-electropop song by British artist Jay Sean. The song was released in North America as his debut single from his first album there, All or Nothing. In other markets, including the UK, the song serves as Jay Sean's lead single from his third studio album. The single features American...
" reached the #1 spot on the Billboard Hot 100
Billboard Hot 100
The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
and sold two million copies in the United States, making him "the most successful male UK urban artist in US chart history." Female singer songwriters of various genres began to dominate the British charts in 2006 with the previously mentioned Winehouse and Lily Allen
Lily Allen
Lily Rose Beatrice Cooper , better known as Lily Allen, is an English recording artist and fashion designer. She is the daughter of actor and musician Keith Allen and film producer Alison Owen. In her teenage years, her musical tastes evolved from glam rock to alternative...
. In August 2011 the top 5 positions on the Album charts were held by women with two albums by Adele and Amy Winehouse and American singer Beyonce holding the other spot.
Nu-folk
In the 2000s bands and artists appeared who functioned as cross-over acts between the indie rockIndie rock
Indie rock is a genre of alternative rock that originated in the United Kingdom and the United States in the 1980s. Indie rock is extremely diverse, with sub-genres that include lo-fi, post-rock, math rock, indie pop, dream pop, noise rock, space rock, sadcore, riot grrrl and emo, among others...
and folk scenes. Their music often utilised traditional instruments, sometimes beside electronic music. London's nu-folk scene included artists like Laura Marling
Laura Marling
Laura Beatrice Marling is an English folk musician from Eversley, Hampshire.Initially prominent within the London folk scene, she has also toured with a number of well-known indie artists in the UK. Her debut album Alas, I Cannot Swim and her second album I Speak Because I Can were nominated for...
, Noah and the Whale
Noah and the Whale
Noah and the Whale are an English indie folk band from Twickenham, London, England formed in 2006. The band consists of Charlie Fink , Tom Hobden , Matt "Urby Whale" Owens , Fred Abbott , and Michael Petulla .-Early years and Peaceful, the World Lays Me Down...
, Mumford & Sons
Mumford & Sons
Mumford & Sons are a British folk rock band. The band consists of Marcus Mumford , Ben Lovett , Country Winston Marshall , and Ted Dwane...
and Johnny Flynn
Johnny Flynn
Johnny Flynn & The Sussex Wit are an English folk rock band signed to Transgressive Records. They are fronted by Johnny Flynn , an actor, poet and songwriter who cites W.B. Yeats and Shakespeare among his influences...
and that in Scotland, centred on Glasgow and with a more Celtic tinge, included artists such as Findlay Napier and the Bar Room Mountaineers
Findlay Napier and the Bar Room Mountaineers
Findlay Napier and the Bar Room Mountaineers began playing together in October 2007. The project was inspired by a song, "The Bar Room Mountaineers", that Findlay had learned from Scots singer Geordie MacIntryre while studying Traditional Music at the RSAMD in Glasgow. The story goes that with his...
and Pearl and the Puppets
Pearl and the Puppets
Pearl and the Puppets is a band from Kirkintilloch, East Dunbartonshire in the West-Central Lowlands of Scotland. The band comprises singer/songwriter Katie Sutherland , Blair McMillan , Gordon Turner , Scott Clark and Michael Abubakar .Sutherland's voice has been described as a being similar to...
.
Hip hop
At the beginning of the 2000s a new style of electronic musicElectronic music
Electronic music is music that employs electronic musical instruments and electronic music technology in its production. In general a distinction can be made between sound produced using electromechanical means and that produced using electronic technology. Examples of electromechanical sound...
, influenced heavily by hip hop and UK garage
UK garage
UK garage is a genre of electronic dance music originating from the United Kingdom in the early-1990s. UK garage is a descendant of house music which originated in Chicago and New York, United States. UK garage usually features a distinctive syncopated 4/4 percussive rhythm with 'shuffling'...
, and dubbed grime
Grime (music)
Grime is a style of music that emerged from Bow, East London, England in the early 2000s, primarily as a development of UK garage, dancehall, and hip hop...
(sometimes called eskibeat or sublow), included acts such as Dizzee Rascal
Dizzee Rascal
Dylan Kwabena Mills , better known by his stage name Dizzee Rascal, is a Ghanaian British rapper, songwriter and record producer. His music is a blend of garage, hip hop, grime, ragga, pop and electronic music, with eclectic samples and more exotic styles...
, Lady Sovereign
Lady Sovereign
Louise Amanda Harman , better known by the stage name Lady Sovereign, is an English rapper & grime artist. She is noted for her professional success in performing styles of music generally dominated by males...
, Wiley, Sway DaSafo
Sway DaSafo
Derek Andrew Safo is a Ghanaian British musician who uses the stage names Sway DaSafo or Sway. He is signed to Akon's Konvict Muzik record label and he is also a producer, establishing DCypha Productions.-Childhood:...
, Ghetto
Ghetto (rapper)
Justin Reginald Clarke Samuel , better known by his stage name Ghetts is an English grime artist from Plaistow, Newham, east London of African-Caribbean and Ghanaian descent. His music has been played on national radio stations such as BBC Radio 1, Kiss 100, BBC Asian Network and BBC Radio 1Xtra...
and Kano
Kano (rapper)
Kane Brett Robinson , better known as Kano and also known as Kane O, is an English rapper and actor. His grandparents came to England as immigrants from Jamaica. He was formerly a key member of east London’s N.A.S.T.Y...
. The eponymous debut album of Gorillaz
Gorillaz
Gorillaz is an English musical project created in 1998 by Damon Albarn and Jamie Hewlett. This project consists of Gorillaz music itself and an extensive fictional universe depicting a "virtual band" of cartoon characters...
, created by Damon Albarn
Damon Albarn
Damon Albarn is an English singer-songwriter and record producer who has been involved in many high profile projects, coming to prominence as the frontman and primary songwriter of Britpop band Blur...
in 2001, sold over seven million copies and earned them an entry in the Guinness Book of World Records as the Most Successful Virtual Band. The success of The Streets
The Streets
The Streets were a British rap/garage project from Birmingham, United Kingdom, led by vocalist and multi-instrumentalist Mike Skinner and has included a myriad of other contributors most notably drummer Johnny Drum Machine, vocalist Kevin Mark Trail and the Italian-American beatmaker Leroy.The...
' 2002 album Original Pirate Material
Original Pirate Material
Original Pirate Material is the debut album by the English rapper and producer Mike Skinner, under the name The Streets.The album is a unique take on UK garage and lyrics dealing with everyday circumstances and occurrences...
drew the media's attention to lighter, more melodic rap as a form of pop music and this was followed by the success of Welsh
Welsh people
The Welsh people are an ethnic group and nation associated with Wales and the Welsh language.John Davies argues that the origin of the "Welsh nation" can be traced to the late 4th and early 5th centuries, following the Roman departure from Britain, although Brythonic Celtic languages seem to have...
rap group Goldie Lookin' Chain and acts like N-Dubz
N-Dubz
N-Dubz are a British hip hop group from Camden Town, London. The group consists of members Dappy, Tulisa Contostavlos and Fazer.N-Dubz were previously signed to Polydor Records before joining All Around the World Records...
, Tinchy Stryder
Tinchy Stryder
Kwasi Danquah III , better known by his pseudonyms Tinchy Stryder and Star In The Hood, is a Ghanaian British recording artist, music executive, A&R executive, and businessman...
and Chipmunk
Chipmunk (rapper)
Jahmaal Noel Fyffe known by his stage name Chipmunk, is a British hip hop rapper and songwriter from Tottenham, London....
, dubbed "Brithop" by the press. Other successful Hip-Hop/Grime artists include Aggro Santos
Aggro Santos
Yuri "Aggro" Santos is a Brazilian-born English rapper from Balham, London.-Background:Santos was born in Sao Paulo and raised in London. He decided to become a musician after buying the Carlos Santana album 'Supernatural' when he was eight...
, Tinie Tempah
Tinie Tempah
Patrick Chukwuemeka Okogwu , better known by his stage name Tinie Tempah, is a British rapper. He made his first mixtape in 2007 with 28 songs, freestyles and remixes, the album features Mz Bratt, Chipmunk and G-Unit...
, Professor Green
Professor Green
Professor Green , better known by his stage name Professor Green, is a British rapper. He was signed to The Beats, a record label run by Mike Skinner and Ted Mayhem, until 12 February 2008, as the label went under. He won the inaugural JumpOff MySpace £50,000 battle rap tournament in July 2008...
, Bashy
Bashy
Ashley Thomas , better known by his stage name Bashy, is an English recording artist and actor. He rose to prominence in 2007 after the release of his controversial track "Black Boys".-Early life:...
, Devlin
Devlin
Devlin may refer to:* Devlin * Devlin , a UK MC* Devlin , a 1974 animated TV series by Hanna-Barbera* Devlin, a 1988 novel by Roderick Thorp* Devlin , a 1992 TV movie based on the novel...
and Skepta
Skepta
Joseph Junior Adenuga , better known as Skepta, is an English rapper from London. Originally from and born to Nigerian parents he moved to London aged three....
. The popularity of British rap has significantly risen over the past few years. 6 Number 1 singles were scored by UK rappers in 2009, and 6 Number 1 singles were scored in 2010. And previous to 2009, a British rapper had never topped the Uk singles chart. Artists to reach the number 1 spot are Dizzee Rascal
Dizzee Rascal
Dylan Kwabena Mills , better known by his stage name Dizzee Rascal, is a Ghanaian British rapper, songwriter and record producer. His music is a blend of garage, hip hop, grime, ragga, pop and electronic music, with eclectic samples and more exotic styles...
, Tinchy Stryder
Tinchy Stryder
Kwasi Danquah III , better known by his pseudonyms Tinchy Stryder and Star In The Hood, is a Ghanaian British recording artist, music executive, A&R executive, and businessman...
, Chipmunk
Chipmunk (rapper)
Jahmaal Noel Fyffe known by his stage name Chipmunk, is a British hip hop rapper and songwriter from Tottenham, London....
, Tinie Tempah
Tinie Tempah
Patrick Chukwuemeka Okogwu , better known by his stage name Tinie Tempah, is a British rapper. He made his first mixtape in 2007 with 28 songs, freestyles and remixes, the album features Mz Bratt, Chipmunk and G-Unit...
, Roll Deep
Roll Deep
Roll Deep are an Urban Music Awards-winning London-based grime music collective. They were founded in 2002, by a group of MCs including Wiley. Roll Deep were also closely associated with Boy Better Know with members in both. Their debut album, In at the Deep End, was released in June 2005...
and Plan B.
Dubstep
Dubstep developed from garage music at the end of the 1990s and in the early 2000s, using elements of drum'n'bass, techno, and dub, to produce a largely instrumental, "dark" sound, based around relatively simple rhythms and often with extended hypnotic mixes. Its origins centred around the London Forward>> club nights and it was disseminated through pirate radio shows. Major artists included SkreamSkream
Skream is a dubstep producer based in Croydon. One of dubstep's first and most prominent producers, he has played an important role in the genre's development. His debut album Skream! was released in 2006, and was followed up by Outside the Box in 2010...
, Burial
Burial (musician)
Burial is the stage name of William Bevan, an electronic musician from London. His music contains elements of dubstep, 2-step garage, ambient and house music. His eponymous debut album was released in 2006 to critical acclaim...
, Kode9
Kode9
Kode9 is a London-based electronic music artist, DJ, and owner of the Hyperdub record label. An MC, The Spaceape, is a frequent collaborator...
, Pinch
Pinch (dubstep musician)
Rob Ellis, better known as Pinch, is a dubstep artist from Bristol, United Kingdom noted for his fusion of styles such as Reggae, World Music, and Dancehall with dubstep. He released his first album, Underwater Dancehall in 2007, on Tectonic records, which he founded...
, Horsepower Productions
Horsepower Productions
Horsepower Productions are an electronic music duo, initially a trio, who released experimental garage recordings, and helped pioneer the dubstep genre.-Lineup:...
, Vex'd
Vex'd
Vex'd are a British Dubstep duo signed to Planet Mu Records consisting of Jamie Teasdale and Roly Porter. As of 2010 they have released 2 full albums, as well as several EPs and singles.-Singles:* "Function" * "Lion/Ghost"...
, Digital Mystikz
Digital Mystikz
Digital Mystikz are a dubstep production duo from the South London suburb of Norwood. Along with Loefah and Sgt. Pokes, they operate the DMZ record label and host the influential bimonthly nightclub DMZ, held at the Mass club complex in Brixton, London...
, Zomby
Zomby
Zomby is a dubstep producer who began releasing music in 2007. He has released music on the likes of Hyperdub and Werk Discs. In 2008, he released a full length album, Where Were U in '92?, inspired by the rave scene of the early 1990s...
, Shackleton and Benga. Releases like Burial's Untrue
Untrue
Untrue is the second album by the producer known as Burial. It was released on 5 November 2007 as a 13-track Digipack CD and a nine-track 2xLP from which some of the beatless pieces were edited. The album marked a development in Burial's sound; it employed pitch-shifted and time-stretched vocal...
(2007) and the mix albums series Dubstep All-Stars helped the sub-genre gain critical and some limited commercial success.
Synthpop revival
In the 2000s synthpop began to re-emerge as a new wave of indie artists began to incorporate the sound into their songs. Major British acts to be influenced by this sound include pioneers GoldfrappGoldfrapp
Goldfrapp are an English electronic music duo, formed in 1999 in London, England, that consists of Alison Goldfrapp and Will Gregory ....
, and Hot Chip
Hot Chip
Hot Chip are an English electronic indie band. They have released four studio albums—Coming on Strong, The Warning, Made in the Dark and One Life Stand.-Formation:...
, who were followed by acts including Little Boots
Little Boots
Victoria Christina Hesketh, also known by her stage name/pseudonym Little Boots, is an English electropop singer-songwriter. Her stage name comes from a nickname given to her by a friend, a reference to her unusually small feet...
, Ellie Goulding
Ellie Goulding
Elena Jane "Ellie" Goulding is an English singer-songwriter. In 2010 she became only the second artist to both top the BBC's annual Sound of... poll, and win the Critics' Choice Award at the BRIT Awards in the same year, following Adele's win of both in 2008...
and La Roux
La Roux
La Roux are an English electropop duo made up of singer, keyboardist, co-writer and co-producer Eleanor Kate Jackson, and co-writer and co-producer Ben Langmaid. Jackson describes their relationship as "very much a half and half sharing situation... not like a singer producer outfit", but also...
. The electronic sound and style have arguably influenced many other mainstream pop artists, including Lily Allen
Lily Allen
Lily Rose Beatrice Cooper , better known as Lily Allen, is an English recording artist and fashion designer. She is the daughter of actor and musician Keith Allen and film producer Alison Owen. In her teenage years, her musical tastes evolved from glam rock to alternative...
's second album It's Not Me, It's You (2009), which abandoned the ska
Ska
Ska |Jamaican]] ) is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1950s, and was the precursor to rocksteady and reggae. Ska combined elements of Caribbean mento and calypso with American jazz and rhythm and blues...
influences of her earlier work.
Late 2000s early 2010s renewal of popularity in the United States
British musical success in the United States was at its nadir in the early 2000s. Less than 2% of the top 100 United States albums in both 2000 and 2001 were from the United Kingdom. In April 2002, for the first time since October 1963, there were no British acts on the Billboard Hot 100Billboard Hot 100
The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
singles chart. This would be reversed in the latter half of the decade when the percentage of albums sold in the U.S. by British acts increased every year from 2005 through 2008. It would increase from 8.5% to 10% of the market between 2007 and 2008.
In 2007 Joss Stone
Joss Stone
Jocelyn Eve Stoker , better known by her stage name Joss Stone, is an English soul singer-songwriter and actress. Stone rose to fame in late 2003 with her multi-platinum debut album, The Soul Sessions, which made the 2004 Mercury Prize shortlist...
's third album Introducing Joss Stone
Introducing Joss Stone
Introducing Joss Stone is the third studio album by English recording artist Joss Stone. It was released in the United Kingdom on 12 March 2007 by Relentless Records...
debuted at number two on the Billboard 200 becoming the first British solo female artist to have an album début that high on the chart. In 2006 and early 2007 British and Irish acts James Blunt
James Blunt
James Hillier Blount , better known by his stage name James Blunt, is an English singer-songwriter and musician, and former army officer, whose debut album, Back to Bedlam and single releases, including "You're Beautiful" and "Goodbye My Lover", brought him to fame in 2005...
, Amy Winehouse
Amy Winehouse
Amy Jade Winehouse was an English singer-songwriter known for her powerful deep contralto vocals and her eclectic mix of musical genres including R&B, soul and jazz. Winehouse's 2003 debut album, Frank, was critically successful in the UK and was nominated for the Mercury Prize...
, Lily Allen
Lily Allen
Lily Rose Beatrice Cooper , better known as Lily Allen, is an English recording artist and fashion designer. She is the daughter of actor and musician Keith Allen and film producer Alison Owen. In her teenage years, her musical tastes evolved from glam rock to alternative...
, Lady Sovereign
Lady Sovereign
Louise Amanda Harman , better known by the stage name Lady Sovereign, is an English rapper & grime artist. She is noted for her professional success in performing styles of music generally dominated by males...
, KT Tunstall
KT Tunstall
Kate Victoria "KT" Tunstall is a Scottish singer-songwriter and guitarist from St Andrews, Scotland. She broke into the public eye with a 2004 live solo performance of her song "Black Horse and the Cherry Tree" on Later... with Jools Holland...
, Snow Patrol
Snow Patrol
Snow Patrol are an alternative rock band from Bangor, County Down, Northern Ireland. Formed at the University of Dundee in 1994 as an indie rock band, the band is now based in Glasgow...
and Corinne Bailey Rae
Corinne Bailey Rae
Corinne Bailey Rae is a British singer-songwriter and guitarist from Leeds, who released her debut album Corinne Bailey Rae in February 2006....
also had U.S. chart success. By March 2007 these successes had led to speculation that either another British Invasion was underway or that there was a return to normalcy. In 2008 Leona Lewis
Leona Lewis
Leona Louise Lewis is a British singer and songwriter. Lewis first came to prominence in 2006 when she won the third series of the British television series The X Factor....
's single "Bleeding Love
Bleeding Love
"Bleeding Love" is a pop/R&B ballad co-written by Jesse McCartney and Ryan Tedder and produced by Tedder for British singer Leona Lewis's debut album, Spirit. The song is the album's lead single , released in the United Kingdom and Ireland in October 2007...
" would become the first number one single on U.S charts by a British female artist since 1986. Her album also reached number 1. The year would also be a successful one for Duffy
Duffy (singer)
Aimée Ann Duffy , known as Duffy, is a Welsh singer-songwriter. Her 2008 debut album Rockferry entered the UK Album Chart at number one. It was the best-selling album in the United Kingdom in 2008 with 1.68 million copies sold...
, Adele
Adele (singer)
Adele Laurie Blue Adkins , known professionally as Adele, is an English singer-songwriter. She was the first recipient of the Brit Awards Critics' Choice and was named the number-one predicted breakthrough act of 2008 in an annual BBC poll of music critics, Sound of 2008...
, Estelle
Estelle (musician)
Estelle Fanta Swaray commonly known as Estelle, and formerly as Est'elle, is an English R&B singer-songwriter, rapper and record producer.-Early Life:Estelle was born 18 January 1980 in Hammersmith, London, England...
, and M.I.A.
M.I.A. (artist)
Mathangi "Maya" Arulpragasam , better known by her stage name M.I.A. , is an English singer-songwriter, rapper, record producer, painter and director of Sri Lankan Tamil descent. Her compositions combine elements of hip hop, electronica, dance, alternative and world music. M.I.A...
. Led by Coldplay
Coldplay
Coldplay are a British alternative rock band formed in 1996 by lead vocalist Chris Martin and lead guitarist Jonny Buckland at University College London. After they formed Pectoralz, Guy Berryman joined the group as a bassist and they changed their name to Starfish. Will Champion joined as a...
, British acts received a total of 16 Grammy Awards.
In 2011 albums from three British artists, Adele, Mumford & Sons
Mumford & Sons
Mumford & Sons are a British folk rock band. The band consists of Marcus Mumford , Ben Lovett , Country Winston Marshall , and Ted Dwane...
and Marsha Ambrosius
Marsha Ambrosius
Marsha Ambrosius or Marsha is an English singer/songwriter. A former member of the English Soul/R&B duo Floetry, she released her first solo album Late Nights & Early Mornings on March 1, 2011.-Early career with Floetry:...
, held the top three album spots during one week for the first time in a quarter of a century. Adele's album 21
21 (Adele album)
21 is the second studio album by English recording artist Adele. Released on 24 January 2011 in the United Kingdom and most of Europe, and on 22 February 2011 in North America, the album was named after the age of the singer at the time of its production...
was the best selling album in the United States in the first half of that year, becoming the leading factor in the first increase in album sales since 2004. The album was number 1 during 10 weeks, the first time a British LP had accomplished that since George Michael
George Michael
George Michael is a British musician, singer, songwriter and record producer who rose to fame in the 1980s when he formed the pop duo Wham! with his school friend, Andrew Ridgeley...
in 1988. Tinie Tempah
Tinie Tempah
Patrick Chukwuemeka Okogwu , better known by his stage name Tinie Tempah, is a British rapper. He made his first mixtape in 2007 with 28 songs, freestyles and remixes, the album features Mz Bratt, Chipmunk and G-Unit...
became the first British rap music artist to have a debut US single that sold at least one million units and two singles from the record have topped the Billboard Hot 100. Singer Jessie J
Jessie J
Jessica Ellen Cornish , better known by her stage name Jessie J, is an English recording artist currently signed to Island Records. She began her career as a songwriter for artists including Chris Brown and Miley Cyrus. Her debut single, "Do It Like a Dude", was released in November 2010 and peaked...
's career first took off in the US and Florence and The Machine
Florence and the Machine
Florence and the Machine is the recording name of English musician Florence Welch and a collaboration of other artists who provide music for her voice. Florence and the Machine's sound has been described as a combination of various genres, including rock and soul...
has done well enough to be the topic of a Billboard Magazine cover story in September. Various explanations have been given by people in the music industry for this success. Spin Magazine music editor Charles Aaron, speaking of the female singer/songwriters, called Amy Winehouse
Amy Winehouse
Amy Jade Winehouse was an English singer-songwriter known for her powerful deep contralto vocals and her eclectic mix of musical genres including R&B, soul and jazz. Winehouse's 2003 debut album, Frank, was critically successful in the UK and was nominated for the Mercury Prize...
's breakthrough the "Nirvana
Nirvana (band)
Nirvana was an American rock band that was formed by singer/guitarist Kurt Cobain and bassist Krist Novoselic in Aberdeen, Washington in 1987...
moment". Billboard's chart manager Keith Caulfield also credited Winehouse and said, "They're not giving us the usual 'We're going to stay up until 6 a.m. and party like we've never partied before,'?". Caulfield says, "Their approach is more classic and quirky, which makes Americans pay more attention. Tinie Tempah credited the confidence of the British Artists and David Joseph, the chairman of Universal Music UK noted that unlike in the past British artists are not specifically targeting the US but American audiences are noticing their talent through the internet.
See also
- Music in the 2000s
- Music of the United Kingdom (1950s)Music of the United Kingdom (1950s)Music of the United Kingdom began to develop in the 1950s from largely insular and derivative forms to become one of the leading centres of popular music in the modern world...
- Music of the United Kingdom (1960s)Music of the United Kingdom (1960s)Music of the United Kingdom developed in the 1960s into one of the leading forms of popular music in the modern world. By the early 1960s the British had developed a viable national music industry and began to produce adapted forms of American music in Beat music and British blues which would be...
- Music of the United Kingdom (1970s)Music of the United Kingdom (1970s)Popular music of the United Kingdom in the 1970s built upon the new forms developed of music developed from blues rock towards the end of the 1960s, including folk rock and psychedelic rock...
- Music of the United Kingdom (1980s)Music of the United Kingdom (1980s)Popular music of the United Kingdom in the 1980s built on the post punk and new wave movements, incorporating different sources of inspiration from sub-genres and what is now classed as World music in the shape of Jamaican and Indian music. It also explored the consequences of new technology and...
- Music of the United Kingdom (1990s)Music of the United Kingdom (1990s)Popular music of the United Kingdom in the 1990s continued to develop and diversify. While the singles charts were dominated by boy bands and girl groups, British soul and Indian-based music also enjoyed their greatest level of mainstream success to date, and the rise of World music helped...