Best of 2021
EDM.com’s Best of 2021: Songs
EDM.com proudly publishes four installments of annual year-end coverage: Industry Leaders, Performances, Music Producers, and Songs. With so much new music offered by EDM’s artist community, it would be unfair to its diverse range of creators to publish a nebulous blanket list of the year’s top songs. So to highlight the best songs of the year, we’ve chosen 10 popular sub-genres of dance music and recognized five tracks, each chosen by members of EDM.com‘s staff. Check out a playlist below, followed by a breakdown of each individual song from each genre. House Qrion – Your Love Nostalgic and wistful, Qrion’s “Your Love” leaves listeners yearning for nights in the big city. Delicate but moving, the track’s soundscapes leave listene...
EDM.com’s Best of 2021: Music Producers
EDM.com proudly publishes four installments of annual year-end coverage: Industry Leaders, Performances, Music Producers, and Songs. DJing and music production are different. But the difference between the two is like a wallflower—it hides in plain sight, and it is vastly misunderstood. To publish a “Top DJ” list would be to undermine the originality, ingenuity, and dauntless imagination of the artists who dedicate their lives to music creation. To honor their fearless creativity and profound dedication to their craft, we’ve recognized 10 of the best electronic music producers of 2021. Laxcity From the feel-good future bass of his Disconnect EP to the textured synths on “melodies from heaven,” Laxcity took over 2021 with his wistfully dreamy takes on the electro...
EDM.com’s Best of 2021: Performances & DJ Sets
EDM.com proudly publishes four installments of annual year-end coverage: Industry Leaders, Performances, Music Producers, and Songs. To honor their creativity and seminal influences on the live music industry, we’ve recognized 10 of the year’s best performances and DJ sets from around the electronic dance music sphere. Swardy Secret Sky Back in April, of the scene’s most under-appreciated artists was given a chance to showcase his inimitable performance capabilities to a massive audience in a prime-time slot on Porter Robinson’s virtual festival, Secret Sky. Swardy’s performance at the fest was one of sheer originality and imagination. He blew the lid off of what fans could expect from virtual performances with nearly 35 minutes of virtuosic l...
EDM.com’s Best of 2021: Industry Leaders
EDM.com proudly publishes four installments of annual year-end coverage: Industry Leaders, Performances, Music Producers, and Songs. Oftentimes, end-of-year coverage offered by the music industry’s vast pool of publications is limited to its artists and performers. In order to honor the extraordinary work of the music community’s unsung people and brands, we’ve recognized 10 industry leaders whose contributions helped shape the future of dance music in 2021. EVENT ORGANIZER Zouk Group Zouk Nightclub. Zouk Group Las Vegas Las Vegas, one of EDM’s most competitive markets, saw a newcomer in Resorts World, who landed on the iconic Strip to the tune of $4.3 billion. The ambitious project was easily the biggest development on the block in over a decade. Handling the...
12 Celebs Who Represented For the House of Vivienne Westwood on the 2021 Red Carpets
Vivienne Westwood captivated the TikTok generation after the house’s pearl bas relief choker became the most sought-after spring/summer 2021 accessory on the app. The brand’s affinity with a new, younger clientele meant that its signature designs became even more in-demand by stylists of emerging talent. Westwood’s decadent corsetry and British punk outfits are always spectacular on the red carpet, but in 2021 there were 12 celebrity fashion moments that were a cut above the rest. Dua Lipa was the one who really validated TikTok’s love for Vivienne Westwood. A few weeks after the ’90s pearl choker went viral on the app, Lipa wore head-to-toe Vivienne Westwood to collect her trophies at the 2021 BRIT Awards. Although she changed from a yellow minidress for the ...
The 100 Best Songs of 2021: Staff List
The past and the future had something of a tug of war over pop music in 2021. In many ways, top 40 was pushed forward this year by artists who blended sounds and styles, expanding its center to include voices from areas of the globe (or corners of society) too rarely represented in the stateside mainstream. But pop history exerted a huge gravitational force as well, whether with retro sounds from the ’70s to the ’00s coming back in vogue, or with new hits being formed from older songs getting covered, sampled, mashed up and/or entirely re-recorded. It certainly made for a robust pop present: a year in which the best songs and biggest hits could come from seemingly anywhere, in space or in time. Whether they were reinventing what had been or reimagining what could be, here were our staff’s ...
Best of 2021: The Red Carpet Fashion Trends that Defined Celebrity Style
The red carpet officially reopened for 2021, and the best-dressed stars of the year made it worth the wait. Of the most memorable moments, our favourite celebrity fashion trends were surreal gold hardware, colourful ostrich feathers, leather opera gloves, celestial caped sleeves, and extreme cut-outs — and we know the best way to style them. The appeal of surreal gold hardware started at the 2021 Cannes Film Festival with Bella Hadid’s breathtaking branched lungs gown. The black dress, designed by Daniel Roseberry for surrealist atelier Schiaparelli, featured a fitted, long-sleeve silhouette with subtle leg of mutton sleeves and a completely exposed, open-bust. Hadid’s bust was covered by a necklace with a massive pair of branched lungs for the pendant. Zendaya also wowed us at...
2021’s Best Red Carpet Moments From British Celebrities
British celebrities really came with their best for the return of red carpet fashion in 2021. The reopening of the fashion, film, and music industries encouraged the most stylish of Brits to embrace sparkling gowns, voluminous tulle, corsets, feathers, and sumptuous black velvet. Fancy finding out which Brits had the most memorable red carpet moments? We hand-picked 36 breathtaking looks that will set the standard for 2022 celebrity style. Of the best-dressed British celebs, Cynthia Erivo and Rina Sawayama really elevated our expectations. They both have fun with a statement outfit while also looking polished and glam on the red carpet. Sawayama’s lilac ruffle Balmain gown at the 2021 BRIT Awards was one of the most impactful red carpet fashion moments of the year. As with Erivo, it ...
Dua Lipa, Rochelle Humes, and More of the Best Dressed at the 2021 British Fashion Awards
Pop star Dua Lipa, presenter Maya Jama, and actor Gabrielle Union were some of the stars that walked the 2021 Fashion Awards red carpet. Hosted at London’s Royal Albert Hall on Monday, 29 Nov., this year’s event celebrates fashion at the intersection of entertainment and culture. Fashion designers, models, and industry insiders kicked off the festive season in slinky, cut-out dresses, luxe silk-satin gowns with corset bodices, strapless dresses with opera gloves, jacquard and jewel-covered suits. We’re especially loving the mermaid-hem gowns worn by Addison Rae, Munroe Bergdorf, and emerging models Deba Hekmat and Mona Tougaard. As the occasion is hosted by Billy Porter, we expect to see some truly dramatic outfits — and we weren’t disappointed by Porter’s cus...
