Billboards Announces Top Selling Albums and Songs of 2012

21-AdeleDepending on where your heart aligns with music, 2012 was either an excellent year or a terrible year musically for you. That’s the beauty of music. Billboard, early Thursday, announced the top selling albums and songs of 2012, based on their records and compilation of sales. Longevity is all that matters in the eyes of Adele fans, as “21,” although released in 2011, was the top selling album of 2012 with 4.41 million records sold. She took home the honor in 2011, as well. Rounding out the Top 10 was Jason Aldean’s, “Night Train.”

Related | YakkityYaks Best of 2012 in Television, Movies, Music, & More

Sales were compiled from Jan 2, 2012 and ended on December 30, 2012. Billboard notes that “21” debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart way back on the list March, 21, 2011. It has yet to leave the tally and has never been absent from the weekly top 40. Trailing behind Adele, in the No. 2 spot, was “Red” by Taylor Swift (3.11 million sold), which is pretty significant seeing that the album was released in October 2012. It’s the fourth time Swift has had an album ranked among a year’s top three sellers. Also making the list were One Direction, Justin Bieber, Luke Bryan, Carrie Underwood, Lionel Richie and Mumford and Sons. One Direction marks the first time, since SoundScan began keeping track in 1991, that an act has two albums that debuted in the same year taking two of the top five spots. Swift and Garth Brooks have come close to such an honor. 2012 also marks the first year that more than four country albums hold a place in the top ten, as 5 of the Top 10 albums of 2012 are country albums.

In 2012, overall album and physical CD sales decreased a little bit, while digital downloads expectantly increased. The top selling digital album of 2012? “21” by Adele, as well. Also of note, Billboard notes that for the fifth consecutive year, more vinyl albums were sold than in any other year since SoundScan launched in 1991. Finally, 2012 was a record year for digital downloads where a record 1.336 billion tracks were sold digitally, an increase of 5% from 2011. Check out the full list of the top album and song sales of 2012 below!

Top 10 Album Sales of 2012

“21” – Adele, 4.41 Million
“Red” – Taylor Swift, 3.11 Million
“Up All Night” – One Direction, 1.62 Million
“Babel” – Mumford & Sons, 1.46 Million
“Take Me Home” – One Direction, 1.34 Million
“Believe” – Justin Bieber, 1.34 Million
“Blown Away” – Carrie Underwood, 1.20 Million
“Tailgates & Tanlines” – Luke Bryan, 1.10 Million
“Tuskegee” – Lionel Richie, 1.07 Million
“Night Train” – Jason Aldean, 1.02 Million

Top 10 Song Sales of 2012

“Somebody That I Used To Know” – Gotye (feat. Kimbra), 6.80 Million
“Call Me Maybe” – Carly Rae Jepsen, 6.47 Million
“We Are Young” – fun. (feat. Janelle Monae), 5.95 Million
“Payphone” – Maroon 5 (feat. Wiz Khalifa), 4.76 Million
“Starships” – Nicki Minaj, 3.98 Million
“What Makes You Beautiful” – One Direction, 3.89 Million
“Some Nights” – fun., 3.84 Million
“Stronger (What Doesn’t Kill You)” – Kelly Clarkson, 3.82 Million
“Gangnam Style” – Psy, 3.59 Million
“One More Night” – Maroon 5, 3.46 Million

American Music Awards: And the Nominees Are…

Oddly enough, Christina Aguilera (coach of NBC’s The Voice) joined producers of the American Music Awards (airing on ABC) to announce the nominations earlier today in Los Angeles. Aguilera is also the first performer announced for the 40th annual AMAs. Last years big winners, Taylor Swift and Adele, ended up with only one nomination each. Big time Idol success stories Kelly Clarkson and Carrie Underwood nabbed two nominations each, while Nicki Minaj, Rihanna, Usher, Chris Brown, One Direction and Maroon 5 snagged some nods their way. Minaj and Rihanna lead the nomination tally with 4 a piece. Newcomer Gotye got into the mix with a couple nominations. In addition to Artist of the Year, Justin Bieber snagged 2 more nominations in the Pop Album and Male Artist department.

The AMAs are determined through fan voting, which starts today. (Click here to cast your votes) Check out the full list of nominations below and let us know what you think!

The AMAs are set to air LIVE from Los Angeles on November 18th at 8/7c on ABC!

ARTIST OF THE YEAR
Justin Bieber
Drake
Maroon 5
Katy Perry
Rihanna

NEW ARTIST OF THE YEAR
J. Cole
fun.
Gotye
Carly Rae Jepsen
One Direction

FAVORITE MALE ARTIST – POP/ROCK
Justin Bieber
Flo Rida
Pitbull
Usher

FAVORITE FEMALE ARTIST – POP/ROCK
Kelly Clarkson
Nicki Minaj
Katy Perry
Rihanna

FAVORITE BAND, DUO OR GROUP – POP/ROCK
fun.
Maroon 5
One Direction
The Wanted

FAVORITE ALBUM – POP/ROCK
Justin Bieber, “Believe”
Maroon 5, “Overexposed”
Nicki Minaj, “Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded”
One Direction, “Up All Night”

FAVORITE MALE ARTIST – COUNTRY
Jason Aldean
Luke Bryan
Eric Church

FAVORITE FEMALE ARTIST – COUNTRY
Miranda Lambert
Taylor Swift
Carrie Underwood

FAVORITE BAND, DUO or GROUP – COUNTRY
Zac Brown Band
Lady Antebellum
Rascal Flatts

FAVORITE ALBUM – COUNTRY
Luke Bryan, “Tailgates & Tanlines”
Lionel Richie, “Tuskegee”
Carrie Underwood, “Blown Away”

FAVORITE ARTIST – RAP/HIP-HOP
Drake
Nicki Minaj
Tyga

FAVORITE ALBUM – RAP/HIP-HOP
J. Cole, “Cole World: The Sideline Story”
Drake, “Take Care”
Nicki Minaj, “Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded”

FAVORITE MALE ARTIST – SOUL/R&B
Chris Brown
Trey Songz
Usher

FAVORITE FEMALE ARTIST – SOUL/R&B
Beyoncé
Mary J. Blige
Rihanna

FAVORITE ALBUM – SOUL/R&B
Chris Brown, “Fortune”
Rihanna, “Talk That Talk”
Usher, “Looking 4 Myself”

FAVORITE ARTIST – ALTERNATIVE ROCK
The Black Keys
Gotye
Linkin Park

FAVORITE ARTIST – ADULT CONTEMPORARY
Adele
Kelly Clarkson
Train

FAVORITE ARTIST – LATIN
Don Omar
Pitbull
Shakira

FAVORITE ARTIST – CONTEMPORARY INSPIRATIONAL
Jeremy Camp
Newsboys
tobyMac

FAVORITE ARTIST – ELECTRONIC DANCE MUSIC (EDM)
David Guetta
Calvin Harris
Skrillex

2012 MTV Video Music Awards Full Winner’s List

With a host who actually brought the laughs, MTV and Kevin Hart took to announcing the 2012 VMA winners in style Thursday night. After cutting down the show earlier this week to two hours, so as not to “compete” with Pres. Obama and the DNC, the MTV VMAs appeared to move fairly quickly for a night full of performances and some awards to hand out. With confusing performances like Rihannas to rockin’ performances like Pink, Alicia Keys and Frank Ocean to the “surprise” appearance by Psy for some Gangnam Style dancing, the awards might have had a little of something for everyone. Check out the full winner’s list below and let us know what you thought about the show! It might not be the VMAs of the late 90’s early 2000’s, but is the show still cutting it for you?

Video of the Year
Katy Perry, “Wide Awake”
Gotye, “Somebody That I Used To Know”
Rihanna, “We Found Love”
Drake feat. Rihanna, “Take Care”
M.I.A., “Bad Girls”

Best New Artist
Fun. feat. Janelle Monae, “We Are Young”
Carly Rae Jepsen, “Call Me Maybe”
Frank Ocean, “Swim Good”
One Direction, “What Makes You Beautiful”
The Wanted, “Glad You Came”

Best Hip-Hop Video
Childish Gambino, “Heartbeat”
Drake feat. Lil Wayne, “HYFR”
Kanye West feat. Pusha T, Big Sean & 2 Chainz, “Mercy”
Watch the Throne, “Paris”
Nicki Minaj feat. 2 Chainz, “Beez in the Trap”

Best Male Video
Justin Bieber, “Boyfriend”
Frank Ocean, “Swim Good”
Drake feat. Rihanna, “Take Care”
Chris Brown, “Turn Up the Music”
Usher, “Climax”

Best Female Video
Rihanna, “We Found Love”
Katy Perry, “Part of Me”
Beyoncé, “Love on Top”
Nicki Minaj, “Starships”
Selena Gomez & The Scene, “Love You Like a Love Song”

Best Pop Video
One Direction, “What Makes You Beautiful”
Fun. feat. Janelle Monae, “We Are Young”
Rihanna, “We Found Love”
Justin Bieber, “Boyfriend”
Maroon 5 feat. Wiz Khalifa, “Payphone”

Best Rock Video
Coldplay, “Paradise”
The Black Keys, “Lonely Boy”
Linkin Park, “BURN IT DOWN”
Jack White, “Sixteen Saltines”
Imagine Dragons, “It’s Time”

Best Electronic Dance Music Video
Duck Sauce, “Big Bad Wolf”
Calvin Harris, “Feel So Close”
Skrillex, “First of the Year (Equinox)”
Martin Solveig, “The Night Out”
Avicii, “Le7els”

Best Video With a Message
Demi Lovato, “Skyscraper”
Rise Against, “Ballad of Hollis Brown”
Kelly Clarkson, “Dark Side”
Gym Class Heroes, “The Fighter”
K’Naan feat. Nelly Furtado, “Is Anybody Out There?”
Lil Wayne, “How to Love”

Best Art Direction
Katy Perry, “Wide Awake”
Drake feat. Rihanna, “Take Care”
Lana Del Rey, “Born to Die”
Regina Spektor, “All the Rowboats”
Of Monsters & Men, “Little Talks”

Best Choreography
Chris Brown, “Turn Up the Music”
Rihanna, “Where Have You Been”
Beyoncé, “Countdown”
Avicii, “Le7els”
Jennifer Lopez f/Pitbull, “Dance Again”

Best Cinematography
M.I.A., “Bad Girls”
Adele, “Someone Like You”
Drake feat. Rihanna, “Take Care”
Coldplay feat. Rihanna, “Princess of China”
Lana Del Rey, “Born to Die”

Best Direction
M.I.A., “Bad Girls”
Duck Sauce, “Big Bad Wolf”
Coldplay feat. Rihanna, “Princess of China”
Frank Ocean, “Swim Good”
Watch the Throne, “Otis”

Best Editing
Beyoncé, “Countdown”
A$AP Rocky, “Goldie”
Gotye, “Somebody That I Used to Know”
Watch the Throne, “Paris”
Kanye West feat. Pusha T, Big Sean and 2 Chainz, “Mercy”

Best Visual Effects
Katy Perry, “Wide Awake”
Rihanna, “Where Have You Been”
David Guetta feat. Nicki Minaj, “Turn Me On”
Linkin Park, “BURN IT DOWN”
Skrillex, “First of the Year (Equinox)”

StandUp2Cancer Returns for Third Telecast

Via StandUp2Cancer:

Building on two historic fundraising telecasts in 2008 and 2010, Stand Up To Cancer will return to primetime television on Friday, September 7 (8:00-9:00 PM ET & PT). Executive producers Gwyneth Paltrow and Joel Gallen will join Stand Up To Cancer’s production team to deliver a one-of-a-kind show featuring performances from top recording artists, and celebrities from film, television and sports engaging viewers with powerful stories and a moving call-to-action.

This star-studded appeal will continue to build public support for groundbreaking translational research accelerating the delivery of new therapies to patients, getting them from the “bench to the bedside” as quickly as possible. SU2C brings together scientists from different disciplines across various institutions to collaborate.

ABC, CBS, FOX and NBC are donating one hour of simultaneous commercial-free primetime for the nationally televised fundraising special on September 7, to be broadcast live from the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles. HBO, HBO Latino, Bio, LMN (Lifetime Movie Network), Logo, MLB Network, mun2, Palladia, TBS and VH1 have also committed to carry the Stand Up To Cancer telecast, with other cablers expected to, as well. The program will include a celebrity phone/multi-media bank that will allow viewers to interact with participating talent. Viewers will also be able to donate via text-to-give and at standup2cancer.org. One hundred percent of all public donations will go directly to cancer research.

The first two SU2C telecasts took place on September 5, 2008 and September 10, 2010, and have been viewed in more than 190 countries. To date, more than $180 million has been pledged for SU2C’s innovative cancer research. Since 2008, SU2C has made grants to seven multi-disciplinary “Dream Teams” of researchers as well as to 26 young innovative scientists who are undertaking high-risk, potentially high-reward projects to end the reign of cancer as a leading cause of death in the world today. Sixty-eight institutions are currently involved.

Talent participation in the 2012 SU2C broadcast will be announced as the special nears. Right now the following personalities are confirmed: Gwyneth Paltrow, Julia Roberts, Matt Damon, Michael Douglas, Jessica Biel, Samuel L. Jackson, Jeremy Renner, Emma Stone, Seth Rogan, Simon Baker, Jordana Brewster, Diem Brown, Dana Delany, Chelsea Handler, Marg Helgenberger, Rashida Jones, Minka Kelly, Joe Manganiello, Jillian Michaels, Masi Oka, Ana Maria Polo, Alison Sweeney, and SU2C co-founder Katie Couric. Taylor Swift, Alicia Keys, Coldplay, and Tim McGraw are scheduled to perform.