#29 – CHERISE – DESTINATION: THE FINAL CHAPTER



Coming in at #29 with 230 votes is ‘Destination: The Final Chapter’ which was the final album from the talented young RnB/Pop star, ‘Cherise’. She achieved a lot of success in her brief time as a professional music star, releasing three studio albums worldwide and a string of successful singles. But sadly as her own personal life was unravelling before our very own eyes, the loss of her newborn baby and the arrested of the father Matty proved to play a large part in the lasting memories of this performer.

But it’s her short but successful time in the music industry that will be remembered and her final album, aptly titled ‘Destination: The Final Chapter’ is the first in our countdown of the top albums. It’s a mammoth collection of material that spans over three discs, the first features 10 new unheard songs that Cherise was working on with production from close friend Alicia Lena, and Cherise’s strong RnB vibes are clearly evident on the opening disc which included two tracks written by Alicia Lena and Teen Titans. But it’s the surprising cover version of the hauntingly beautiful ‘My Immortal’ by Evanesence that steals the show on the first disc, it’s lyrics taking on a much more significant effect considering the circumstance.
The second disc is a nostalgic look back at what Cherise had created during her brief time as a recording artists, it’s a slightly more feel-good collection of songs including hits ‘Pyramid’, ‘Redlight’, ‘Bottled Up’ and ‘Raw’ while the final disc features live performances and music videos recorded throughout her career. Overall it was a highly fitting tribute to a very talented young pop star.

#28 – TISHA JACKSON – REVEAL, REVEALING, REVEALED



Coming in at #28 with 260 votes is ‘Reveal, Revealing, Revealed’ by Tisha Jackson. Like most pop acts in the music industry these days the temptation to re-release a successful album with “additional tracks” is quite tempting as a money making scheme. This gives their fans the original album (in this case ‘The Reveal’) which many of the fans will no doubt have purchased when it was originally released, but the draw with these re-releases are the promises of the additional tracks, which often means tracks that weren’t good enough for the original album in the first place, but not in the case of this record.
The original ‘The Reveal’ was a very strong release, the collaborations with GirlSpice and the superstar filled track ‘Living The Life (Superstar)’ which featured The Bards, Miss Vanity, Cristina Lake, Ugenia and Alicia Lena show the pull that an experienced star like Tisha Jackson has.

But it’s Disc Two which is the sole focus of this re-release. You get seven brand new tracks, A couple of which are considered some of the best songs of Tisha’s recording career, with ‘Hallelujah (feat. Shantel Stiletto)’ and ‘Fiercest One In Town’ becoming popular hits within Tisha’s large fanbase and a cover of ‘Ain’t No Mountain High Enough (feat. Dominic Brown)’ gave this collection of music an added pull to her audience. It’s also sold over 3 million as a re-release alone so it’s clear that this one was a popular release from an artist that continues to grow and develop throughout the years.

#25 – CRISTINA LAKE – CHASING THE RENEGADES



Coming in at #25 with 290 votes is Cristina Lake with her seminal record ‘Chasing The Renegades’. This actress turned popstar arrived into the music industry with her very own unique sense of style and ability that has since been unmatched. She’s often been described as an old-fashioned soul with comparisons to Marilyn Monroe and Brigitte Bardot, so her move into music was as you’d have imagined a relatively easily step for this unique artist, she quickly proved to everyone that she’s arriving due to talent and nothing else with the release of her debut album ‘Nola’ in 2010, she was often described as an indie goddess and showed that further with her 2012 release, ‘Chasing The Renegades’.

From the confessional ‘The Days You Might Fill With Laughter’ to the heart-wrenching ‘Blood Beneath The Clouds’ and the self-deprecating ‘Until I’m Dead’ it’s obvious that Cristina Lake had something important to say in her work and everybody sat back and listened to raucous adulation and appreciation. With other tracks like ‘Troubled Spotlight’ and ‘Hands To A Naked Heart’ it’s one of those rare records that pieces together perfectly to create an incredible collection of work and it fully placed Cristina Lake into the realm of musician/artists as opposed to actress trying her hand at music. She’s stepped back from the acting and seemingly prefers the music side of things and continues to be appreciated.
It’s rare for someone to make the transition from acting to music so seamlessly but it’s clear that she’s a multi-talented individual with the potential to become just as iconic as Marilyn Monroe or Brigitte Bardot. Judging from the reaction and the quality of Chasing The Renegades it seems like there’s a lot more to come from Cristina Lake for a very long time.

#24 – PRETTY LITTLE FREAKS – UNDERNEATH THE BLUE MOONLIGHT



Breaking the Top 25 with 300 votes are the teenage twins from London, Mia and Jade Clark. Better known as ‘Pretty Little Freaks’ with their debut full length studio album ‘Underneath The Blue Moonlight’. It sold a massive amount of copies that went beyond any expectations that they may have had prior to the album’s release and showed just how capable these girls are at making catchy pop-rock numbers that please the mass mainstream audiences. This record certainly achieved that and even with a lack of singles.

They split their songwriting duties with the first six tracks written by Mia Clark and the following five tracks written by Jade Clark. They shared vocal duties throughout all but two of the songs where each took the lead and it’s their vocals in combination with each other that truly brought to life these songs of love (both the good sides and the bad sides), loss, anger and even youthful fun. They also had a guest appearance on the album with ‘Aaron Marks’ appearing on the single ‘Little Heaven (Escape)’ and with tracks like ‘Apology’, ‘Hold On Tight’, ‘Farewell’ and ‘Underneath The Blue Moonlight’ it’s no wonder that the critics fell instantly for this young British duo and certainly at their young age the general hope is that they don’t fade into obscurity under the weight of being part of the music industry, but with their strong attitudes mixed with creativity and the drive that made this debut album a success, it’s hard to see them fading away anytime soon.

#21 – WEEKEND – FIRED UP: RELOADED



Coming in at #21 also with 310 votes is ‘Fired Up: Reloaded’, the re-release of the most quintessentially pop acts in the music industry. They’re the most hyped and talked about group of popstars that there has been in the music industry for quite some time. From their gigantic presence on twitter to the various trials and tribulations in the public that practically all of the members have faced at some point. But the fact is that people are constantly talking about this band and their popularity is clear when they release something and this re-release was certainly proof of their popularity.

So with eleven new songs being recorded for the re-release and two of those new songs becoming instant hit singles ‘Lock It Up’ and ‘ Turn Up The Volume’ it seems like they know exactly how to create a buzz surrounding them, also included are two cover songs, ‘Use Somebody’ and ‘Died In Your Eyes’ as well as a collaboration with rap/popstar ‘Chloe’. The re-released served as an extra for fans as due to their busy schedules they were unable to find the time to write an entire album of new material for a short while. But with 2013 on the horizon, you can bet that they’ll have something up their sleeves and they’ll no doubt continue to be the most talked about act in the music industry for many more years to come.

#20 – AUBREY MIKKEL – VICTORIOUS



In at #20 with 310 votes and the proof that talent competitions certainly are capable of uncovering stars is Aubrey Mikkel with her debut album ‘Victorious’. The winner of the talent competition Star Factory had given herself a huge platform ahead of the release of her debut album and signing with the star-laden record label ‘North Hill Records’ alongside such big figures including MLC, Ryan Ross Hernandez and Vanity, with her cocky attitude and her undeniable talent blending soul and RnB with her own very unique swagger proved to have the viewers of the TV show entranced with her and after winning the competition she put out her debut single ‘Partner In Crime’ which peaked at #2, An incredible way for her to begin her music career.

On the back of the success of her debut single, she set about creating her debut album ‘Victorious’. The pressure of winning a competition like Star Factory clearly didn’t have an effect on Aubrey Mikkel as she sought to bring RnB back into focus in the music industry. Two more singles followed with ‘Saviour’ and her number #1 smash hit single ‘Fire’s Burning (feat. Isaac Lovelock) which dominated both the Weekly Airplay Charts and the Digital Download Charts. As the album was released it went straight to number #1 and firmly placed Aubrey Mikkel on the landscape of the music industry, but more importantly re-invigorated an RnB revolution in the process. All in all not a bad way to start your career.

#17 – RIOT! IN THE BOULEVARD – LIVE FROM FIELD TRIP FESTIVAL 2012



In at number #17 with 330 votes is Riot! In The Boulevard and their first ever live album release ‘Live From Field Trip Festival 2012’. It was taken from their headlining performance earlier in the summer that gave their fans a perfect image of what a Riot! In The Boulevard concert is like. They had released their sophomore album a little earlier in the year before they were asked to headline the summer festival in the UK earlier in June and some had reservations about them headlining due to their age and inexperience, but the performance was praised highly which led to the concert being made available as a CD/DVD combo.

Featuring tracks from their debut and their sophomore albums, it was a run-through of hits and fan favourites and evidently became their third number #1 album, adding almost another 2 million additional sales onto their already quite significant numbers. It was seen by fans as the perfect opportunity to see ‘Riot! In The Boulevard’ in all of their glory especially for those fans that have been unable to see them live before but it was also used as a stop-gap while they recorded their third studio album, initially hesitant to the idea they climbed on board with the promise that they’ll have the final say in the editing and production process of the live album and it turned out to be a pretty good decision.

#16 - BUZZ & HYPE – TIME WILL TELL



At number #16 in our countdown with 330 votes are the dance-pop duo ‘Buzz & Hype’ with their debut album ‘Time Will Tell’. Released back at the beginning of the year at a time when they were just about one of the most popular acts in the industry due to their mix tapes and production work. It was clear that it was gonna be a record that appealed to the mainstream masses. And with a huge guest list of collaborators and featured artists on the release, it’s obvious just how popular this urban duo were in the music industry back at the beginning of 2012. They’ve been relatively the majority of the year but they’re surely still capable of making big beats and getting fans into a frenzy.

So with three gigantic #1 hit singles coming from the album in the form of ‘Dem Man’, ‘Love Sick’ and ‘The World Is Mine’. The album went to #1 also and features a wide range of stars including; ‘Chanel’, ‘Mykaylah’, ‘Ryan Ross Hernandez’, ‘Mariah Button’, ‘Mandy Williams’, ‘Cinzia Ricci’, ‘Foxxy’, ‘Eric Quillington’ and ‘Postscript’ and also instrumental work from ‘Sammy Griffin’ and rap work from ‘Lucifer’. It remains to be an impressive album from an urban act.

#13 - HEY LOLITA - VEGAS NIGHTS



One of the strongest debut's of the year, 'Vegas Nights' by Hey Lolita clocks in at #13 with a total of 380 votes. Hey Lolita brought together controversial singer-songwriter Arianna Harley from New York and Jared Nevo, 24-year old songwriter and producer from London. The indie pop duo where in the news for all the wrong reasons early in their career as beautiful vocalist Arianna, fresh off claiming Sexiest Female at the Chaos Awards, was involved in a high-profile sex scandal with Mr Rock himself, Scott RH. It took a toll on the band's career as their debut album was delayed and at one point some fans thought their debut would never see the light of day. Since the band moved to Nadia Berry's North Hill Records however, Vegas Nights graced the airwaves.

The 10-track sexy and stylish LP was released on October 1st, where the band showed off their unique sound and blew many fans away. Jared Nevo who produced the album (He also has credits in producing for Nadia Berry and Glamazon) done a phenomenal job. The album flows seamlessly with a unique blend of indie pop and hip-hop all accompanied by Arianna's soft, chilled and seductive vocals. Lead single 'Pretty Lights' showed the duo's incredible harmonies as Jared's husky vocals blend so well with the lightness of Arianna's. The band sing about sex, money and fame on the debut record which is captivating as it is saucy.
Written By McKenzie-

#12 – ELLIE-GRACE SUMMERS – TOO FAR FROM HOME



At #12 with 390 votes is the sophomore album from country singer-songwriter Ellie-Grace Summers titled ‘Too Far From Home’. It’s a continuation from her self-titled debut confessional but this time around it shows a growth and maturity, with a general feeling of homesickness and coming-age-tales for the downhearted. Like her debut album it failed to reach the number #1 spot on the albums chart but has gone on to sell in large numbers mostly down to the large country based music listeners. Upon release Ellie was praised for the maturity and growth in the lyrics of her latest offering.

With only two singles released from the album so far, both have been commercially and critically successful with her most recent single ‘All The Beautiful Things’ which included guest vocals and guitar work from Misery Loves Company’s Ryan Williams, making it her first number #1 single but it’s the other songs on the album ‘You Never Know, What Life Has In Store’, ‘A Million Miles From Home’ and ‘Lonely New York Winter, Letters To Nashville’ which have really became big fan favourites in live concert performances. Upon its release it’s not a record that will make the music listening world go crazy but it’s another solid effort from a young musician with lots of potential.

#9 - BRANDON CAULFIELD - TALES FROM THE HEARTLANDS



One of music’s biggest gentlemen, Brandon Caulfield sees his album 'Tales From The Heartlands' land at #9 with a whopping 420 votes. Caulfield who spends most of his time out of the public eye had been working hard all year on music, where he released his EP ‘Ashes Of Dreams We Let Die' in March before the full length LP Tales From The Heartlands hit the shelves in late July. Caulfield’s previous two albums (Into The Wild Part I and Into The Wild Part II) where met with huge critical acclaim making them a sleeper hit on the charts as they both failed to make the top 10. The alt-country singer is one of Seattle's finest exports in recent years, a place that is known for their love of folk, Caulfield has well and truly cemented his name in their hall of fame with his latest album.

'Tales From The Heartlands' was recorded in Los Angeles marking his first record since signing for major label Chaos Records. The album sees Caulfield edge away from his traditional acoustic fueled music to make way for a more rock & roll based record where he recruited the help from guitarists 'JR Rhythm' and 'Moe Z'. Caulfield said that he wanted the album to sound more honest, claiming that the songs on the album were about telling a story, rather than making each song radio friendly. What follows on the album is Caulfield singing brutally honest songs straight from the heart. The lyrics take a more aggressive twist on an album that was made for long drives with no destination in mind. Caulfield says he had many influences for writing the album, but we're now at the stage were Caulfield has inspired so many others too.
Written By McKenzie-

#8 – NADIA BERRY – HERA



Coming in at #8 with 420 votes is the hit-making machine that is Nadia Berry with her second solo album of the year ‘Hera’. Alongside Isabel Merjos she’s had the most successful year in the music industry, big tours, albums, hit singles and other outside things including a couple of perfumes, the launching of her own label, a TV documentary, a role on the next Scary Movie instalment and of course a high profile relationship with Ryan Ross Hernandez. But it’s the music that has brought her the biggest year of her life.

Full of some of the biggest hits of Nadia’s long and esteemed career, ‘Hera’ was just further proof of her artistic ability as a songwriter and a performer. ‘Teenage Tragedy’, ‘Records On’ and ‘We’ll Break Time’, showed Ms. Berry’s incredible ability to write a hit single which is something she’s been known for throughout her entire career. But it’s the level of quality of everything that she does that is rather mind blowing, where even tracks titled ‘Drunk’ and ‘Bikini’s & Martini’s’ go beyond just vapid pop music and into something much more with depth and a real heart. She doesn’t make pop songs for dumb blondes, instead she’s writing songs with a real underlying intelligence to the lyrics, something that pushes beyond just ‘pop music’ and long may it continue.

#5 – ALICIA LENA – REIGN OVER ME



Arriving at number #5 with 440 votes is the third studio album from RnB/Soul singer-songwriter ‘Alicia Lena’ in the form of ‘Reign Over Me’. Released ahead of the summer it pushed the soul and blues roots of Alicia even further than she had done previously and it came out in a uplifting record about faith and positivity, becoming Alicia’s second number #1 album and bringing with it another string of hit singles in the process.

The faith oriented ‘Drop The Needle And Pray’ became another number #1 for Alicia while two other singles, ‘Place A Wish In Your Heart (feat. Chloe)’ and ‘Last Known Surroundings’ both narrowly missed out on the top spot for the RnB singer-songwriter. She also embarked on a world tour in support of the album that grossed huge numbers before deciding that it was time to take a little hiatus from the music industry.

#4 – RIOT! IN THE BOULEVARD – CRADLE TO THE GRAVE



In at number #4 is the sophomore album by Riot! In The Boulevard with ‘Cradle To The Grave’ taking 440 votes. Released at the beginning of the year it followed on from their debut record only six months earlier and they managed to capitalise on the wave of interest in them. Touring excessively and recording whenever they could get the chance, it proved to work as it sold in huge numbers and led to their most productive year so far in their very short careers.

It was an album based around the dark-natured thoughts and feelings of lead singer Amy Meyer and showed Riot! In The Boulevard to be a force in the music industry. The songwriting was heavily praised from all corners of the music industry and it helped increase the popularity of the band even further. You can’t help but wonder where they will go next.

#1 – NADIA BERRY – OPEN HEART SURGERY



And coming in at number #1 and topping the poll is Nadia Berry’s ‘Open Heart Surgery’ with 450 votes, released at the beginning of 2012 it started Ms. Berry on a massive run of productivity and success throughout the entire year which was rivalled by none in the industry, many of her fans may have been worried about the GirlSpice leader's decision to take a break from the multi-million selling pop group to concentrate on solo affairs and going solo isn’t something that’s always worked for pop group members, but Nadia’s drive and determination mixed with a staggering ability to write some of the catchiest songs around meant that this would clearly be a success and that is certainly what her first record of 2012 became as it was praised by all corners of the industry as Nadia quickly became the model that many young musicians will be looking to emulate.

Hit singles came repeatedly in the form of ‘Risktaker’, ‘Shadow’, ‘Beautifully Broken’, ‘One Of Those Days’, ‘Good Girls Don’t Lie’ and ‘Nothing Less Than Perfection’. However the album as a whole was an incredible selection of perfectly crafted pop songs and it made way for the year of Nadia Berry. She dominated with everything that she did as label owner, awards, certifications, records broken and yet she managed to maintain her grace and dignity throughout a very busy year, something that not many could be able to do.
So there you have it, as voted for by the public, the album of 2012 goes to Nadia Berry with ‘Open Heart Surgery’.