IEYL 2022 Music Recap: Artists Of The Year

A List of My Top Three Favorite Artists In 2022

The annual IEYL Artist Of The Year Award is always a favorite of mind to write. There are many things to look at when choosing a yearly MVP. For IEYL, I look for these key features.

• First, the artist needs to perform incredibly well at the highest level. This means, when the pressure is on, they deliver. Even with high expectations, these artist get the job done and give people even more than what they expect.
• Second, They push themselves. If you’re under consideration for the yearly MVP award you have already shown that you could and have pushed yourself, so it’s all the more impressive that, instead of putting things in cruise control, they’re still at it.
• Lastly, the artist is building on their legacies. The year-end reflections are the perfect time to reassess the totality of their accomplishments and their ultimate goals as creatives.

The winners here have done all of the above and more. It was an honor watching them go and prove, yet again, why they are at the top of their professions. The amount of quality music, tours, music videos, and other content they gave us was also a net positive for society. They helped bring value to millions of people’s lives throughout the year so this article is a proper cheers to them.

3. Lin Manuel Miranda

The unbelievably successful and multi-talented composer, singer, actor, and writer, Lin Manuel Miranda has had a phenomenal 2022. Not only did Encanto top the Billboard 200 Chart for nine weeks but he expanded his Freestyle Love Supreme show to Vegas . Encanto was outselling major music artists like Drake and Doja Cat and that was heavily thanks to the Disney soundtrack’s mainstream impact.

At the center of each and every song was Miranda’s pen and ideas. His talents continued to push more beautiful, thoughtful, and feel-good music into the world.

Miranda’s ear for internal rhymes, playmaking abilities, and overall vision has shaped Broadway, and musicals in general, for decades. The Pulitzer Prize winning composer has also helped teachers teach American history, members of the Latin diaspora connect with others of their cultures, and spread musical knowledge to youngsters.

On that last point, Miranda released the amazingly helpful songbook The Lin-Manuel Miranda Collection. Now, kids can learn tunes from the likes of In The Heights and Encanto on piano, guitar, and vocals. Miranda’s legacy continues to shine positively on the musical landscape and it was a gorgeous site to see his run in 2022.

2. Bad Bunny

2022 was the year Bad Bunny become even more cemented in global music history. With a world-record setting stadium tour and countless streaming records smashed to smithereens the only person Bunny was competing against at this point was himself. Cue Un Verano Sin Ti. Not only did this album chart well but the music expanded further into the bountiful land of Latin music, including Latin trap, reggaeton, and cumba.

Bad Bunny any spent some time in front of the screen. He showed off some acrobatic skills with the WWE and gave us a conveniently vengeful husband-that-should’ve-been on Bullet Train. It’s really cool to see him fit into these more action-oriented pictures since it seems to be the types of roles he’s most comfortable in that the moment. Bunny is definitely the man of the moment. All eyes are on him as we patiently await his next moves as exists at the mountain top of fame.

1. Ed Sheeran

2022 was technically an off year for the British pop star. There was no major tour scheduled, nor was he did he release a new full length studio album. Therefore, many weren’t expecting the masterclass in musical collaboration and flurry of music videos coming in 2022. Behind the scenes, Sheeran was working hard and had a lot of music coming out, through other people.

Before we get into the exact collaborations it’s important to recognize where Sheeran was at in his career at the onset of 2022. He held the title for top grossing tour…of all time. He also had several multi platinum albums under his belt and more awards than you could ask for.

It goes without saying then that the British pop hit maker had little left to prove. Nevertheless, from Sheeran’s perspective he was only 10 years into his career, and at the ripe young age of 30, had a lot more in the tank. Sheeran has even admitted to chasing after the coveted 20 year mark. In recent interview, he has even stated how he looks up to groups like Coldplay and U2 who still tour and release high quality music over 20 years into their careers.

The world is getting smaller as streaming services continue to make access to all types of music easier. Therefore, it is more common than ever to hear and see international collaborations. With that, it should come as no surprise that Sheeran collaborated with artists from countries like Nigeria, France, the United States, Jamaica, and Argentina, to name a few, in 2022.

However, it’s the pace, authenticity, and quality of collaboration that makes Sheeran’s 2022 run so spectacular. In 2022, Sheeran found his way into new musical worlds to start anew and reignite that fire within him. He jumped into genres headfirst and initiatedmany ideas which would result in the collaboration itself. These songs were exciting, explorative, and organic sounding tunes.

Most importantly, it sounded like he was having fun the entire time. On these upbeat and happy songs Sheeran was singing in a plethora of languages with relative ease and a smile on his face. He also participated in a huge number of music videos with the artists, helping to uplift them in the process.

Given the chance to travel, learn more about other musician’s world, and breathe new energy into the music industry, Sheeran jumped at it. His work ethic was the bar all throughout 2022, and its safe to say he kept it extremely high.

Writer Recommendation time! I’ve been diving into the following writer’s work lately. Great work you three 😎 Troy Larson Matthew Whiteley William Lawrence

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