One Direction won artist of the year, Katy Perry’s “Dark Horse” took home the coveted Single of the Year award, Grammy-award winning DJ, producer and songwriter Calvin Harris won in the Electronic Dance Music category, Iggy Azalea’s “The New Classic” won in the Rap/hip-hop album category, and out pop singer Sam Smith won in the Pop/Rock Male Artist category. Here is the complete list of winners:

• Artist of the year: One Direction
• New artist of the year: 5 Seconds of Summer
• Single of the year: Katy Perry feat. Juicy J, “Dark Horse”
• Pop/rock female artist: Katy Perry
• Pop/rock male artist: Sam Smith
• Pop/rock band, duo or group: One Direction
• Pop/rock album: One Direction, “Midnight Melodies”
• Country female artist: Carrie Underwood
• Country male artist: Luke Bryan
• Country band, duo or group: Florida Georgia Line
• Country album: Brantley Gilbert, “Just As I Am”
• Rap/hip-hop artist: Iggy Azalea
• Rap/hip-hop album: Iggy Azalea, “The New Classic”
• Soul/R&B female artist: Beyoncé
• Soul/R&B male artist: John Legend
• Soul/R&B album: Beyoncé, “Beyoncé”
• Latin artist: Enrique Iglesias
• Alternative rock: Imagine Dragons
• Adult contemporary: Katy Perry
• Contemporary inspirational: Casting Crowns
• Electronic dance music: Calvin Harris
• Soundtrack: “Frozen”

On last night’s show, the somewhat loveable Stevi Richie found himself in a very tough spot — right in the middle of a sing-off against Italian vocal powerhouse Andrea Faustini. After his cringe-worthy performance of Elton John’s “I’m Still Standing” on Saturday, I don’t think there was a person on earth who didn’t see Stevi’s spot in the bottom two coming from a mile away. Am I right? But Andrea?! What is really going on in the UK?!

Anyway, Andrea, who has yet to really disappoint me, gave a fantastic performance of one of my all-time favorite songs: Sam Brown’s 1988 single “Stop!”. Yes, a Sam Brown song! When I heard the opening notes of “Stop!”, I literally jumped up out of bed because I love the song so much. Luckily for Andrea, he certainly did the song justice. I thoroughly enjoyed it.

The most surprising moment from the vocal showdown was when Richie finally quit with the over the top antics and finally proved that he actually has a fairly decent singing voice. Mel B even praised Stevi, who sang “This is the Moment” from the musical Jekyll and Hyde, saying: “That was a great sing-off, you both sang your hearts out – Stevi, who knew you could sing like that?”

In the end, it was Richie who went home, though. I honestly couldn’t imagine the sing-off going any other way. Following the elimination of Only the Young on Saturday and Stevi Richie on Sunday, just five acts remain in the competition: Fleur East, Lauren Platt, Stereo Kicks, Ben Haenow and Andrea Faustini. The X Factor UK airs in the United States on entertainment channel AXS TV on Sunday and Monday nights.

Snow Globe, is produced by Erasure, Gareth Jones, and Richard X, and unlike the bells and whistles, glitter and tinsel sets that crowd the market come Christmas-time, is possessed of something more in the wistfully, strangely subdued celebratory mold of recent seasonal albums by Tracey Thorn and Kate Bush.

SNOW GLOBE DELUXE NUTCRACKER EDITION TRACKLISTING

Bells Of Love (Isabelle’s Of Love)
Gaudete
Make It Wonderful
Sleep Quietly
Silent Night
Loving Man
The Christmas Song
Bleak Midwinter
Blood On The Snow
There’ll Be No Tomorrow
Midnight clear
White Christmas
Silver Bells

Bonus Tracks
Gaudete – Acappella
Stop The Cavalry – Acoustic
Silent Night – Instrumental
She Won’t Be Home – Redux
Make It Wonderful – Acoustic
God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen – Redux
White Christmas – Instrumental
Yes, Virginia, There Is A Santa Claus
Gaudete – Dave Aude Extended Club Mix
Make It Wonderful – Noel Sanger vs Koishii and Hush Remix
Loving Man – Knocking Ghost Remix – previously unavailable
Gaudete – IKON Remix – previously unavailable
Sleep Quietly – Maps Remix
Make It Wonderful – Bright Light Bright Light Remix
Gaudete – The Storks Remix
Yes, Virginia, There Is A Santa Claus – Remix – previously unavailable

Videos
Gaudete
Make It Wonderful

2015 Tour Dates:

2/23​                 Portland, ME​​               Port City Music Hall
2/24​                 Burlington, VT​             Artsriot
2/26​                 Montreal, QC, CA​       Petit Campus
2/27​                 Toronto, ON, CA​         Lee’s Palace
2/28​                 Pittsburgh, PA             ​Stage AE
3/01​                 Indianapolis, IN​           Radio Radio
3/03​                 Minneapolis, MN​         Turf Club
3/04​                 Chicago, IL​​                  Lincoln Hall
3/06​                 Nashville, TN​​              Exit/In
3/07​                 Louisville, KY​              Headliners
3/08​                 St. Louis, MO​              Old Rock House
3/10​                 Birmingham, AL​          WorkPlay
3/11​                  Atlanta, GA​​                 Terminal West
3/13​                 Washington, D.C.​        The Hamilton
3/14​                 Charlottesville, VA      The Southern
3/24​                 Philadelphia, PA​          Underground Arts
3/25​                 New York, NY             ​Bowery Ballroom
3/26​                 Brooklyn, NY​​              Music Hall of Williamsburg
3/27​                 Boston, MA​​                 Paradise

The Voice season seven coach and No Doubt frontwoman Gwen Stefani has premiered her brand new single, “Spark The Fire.” The Pharrell-produced track is our second official taste of her forthcoming third studio effort, which will be released early next year. While the song is more interesting than her previous single, the forgettable “Baby Don’t Lie,” I don’t think it has enough spark to rekindle my interest in her new solo material. It actually sounds like a song Cher Lloyd would be proud to call her own. Stream the track below, and listen for yourself.

Nina began working on material for her third studio album, which would eventually be titled Nina Hagen in Ekstasy, throughout 1984 with frequent collaborator Karl Rucker, bass/guitar player Billy Liesegang, and Peter Krause. The album was recorded between two studios — Mediterranean Studios in Ibiza and Maracadet Studios in Paris– and mixed in Los Angeles and London.

Following her well-received Intergalactic World Tour, Nina was gearing up for the release of “Universal Radio,” the lead single from Nina Hagen in Ekstasy. The track, written by Ron Dumas and produced by Trevor Horn associate Adam Kidron, was premiered during the Rodney Bingenheimer radio show on the Pasadena FM and AM radio station KROQ. The music video that accompanied the single was filmed during Nina’s electrifying performance at the Rock in Rio festival on January 13, 1985.

Though the song kicks has a sound that could have been viewed by many as too experimental for Top 40, pop music fans who listened to the song long enough to get to the chorus were met with Nina’s most radio friendly and commercial sound. As far as Nina Hagen songs go, “Universal Radio” was easily her best opportunity to find chart success in the United States. The sing-along chorus was irresistible and Nina’s vocal quickness only added to the appeal. The release of “Universal Radio” was met with generally favorable reviews. In the May 18, 1985 issue of Billboard, Brian Chin praised the song, saying: “’Universal Radio’ (Columbia 12-inch) may be the one to put Nina Hagen over the top here in America. With a sturdy rock-hip hop beat and several different voices from Hagen, it’s amusing and danceable.”

To promote the song, Nina made several appearances on American television, including stops The Merv Griffin Show and the Late Night with David Letterman. Despite all the promotion, the song failed to make much of an impact on the pop charts. However, it did chart at number 39 on the Billboard Hot Dance Club Songs. I interviewed Nina a few years back and she had little interest in talking about the song. Despite Nina’s lack of interest in the eccentric track, I find “Universal Radio” to be an undiscovered pop music gem that still holds a special place in my music collection.