In the early 1960s, British artists who already conquered fame in England came to the U.S. and made it big. Fondly remembered by the Baby Boomer generation, this became commonly known as the “British Invasion.” Phenomena like The Beatles and The Rolling Stones contributed to this time period and definitely impacted American culture, because there is not one Baby Boomer that can’t recall Feb. 9, 1964, when The Beatles appeared on the Ed Sullivan Show.
Today, with many new artists from the U.K., history is repeating itself and the “British Invasion” is indeed making a comeback.
“Baby are you down down down down down..” Sound familiar? That currently popular song, “Down” by Jay Sean featuring Lil Wayne, has been on the minds of everyone who is within earshot of a radio. The surprising thing about this Pop R&B singer is that he’s from West London, England. This hit single has been playing on the radio for weeks and is currently No. 2 on Billboard.com’s current Hot 100 List. This hit single was released on June 30, a part of his album “All or Nothing.” This song has even been declared as Connecticut’s KC101 most-played song of this past week.
Jay Sean, currently signed with Cash Money recording label, started out his career in 2003 with Virgin Records and proceeded on to Jaded Records in 2007. However it wasn’t until recently that Jay Sean hit the charts with his current single and really grabbed our attention. He will be working with other R&B artists throughout the year including Drake and Birdman.
Another artist taking part in this current “invasion,” is Adele, a pop folk singer from North London, England. She is also no stranger to the Billboard’s Hot 100 list, being that one of her hit songs, “Chasing Pavements,” was No. 21 in 2008. Working with an independent record label, XL Recordings, her album, also entitled, “Chasing Pavements,” was released on Jan. 14, 2008. It was nominated at the Grammy Awards for Record of the Year, Best Female Vocal Pop Performance and Song of the Year.
Adele won the award for the Best Female Vocal Pop Performance. The song’s music video also won a 2008 MTV Video Music Award for best choreography, which depicts a car crash scene occurring in Hyde Park. Other hit songs that have come from Adele within the past few years are “Hometown Glory,” “Cold Shoulder” and “That’s it. I Quit. I’m Movin’ On.”
Throughout the past few years, particularly between 2006 and 2007, there have been many other artists to come from the United Kingdom to the United States, with Duffy, Corrine Bailey Rae and The Ting Tings being just a few. These artists have made such an impact on our culture to the point where every teenage girl can associate England native Natasha Beddingfield’s “Unwritten” with their favorite television show, “The Hills.” Other British artists have definitely made their mark in American Pop culture, like Amy Whinehouse, refusing to go to “Rehab,” when she allegedly needed it.
With most of these artists singing without their British accents, it’s surprising to hear that some of these artists are indeed Brits, but with even more upcoming artists, this “invasion” is certainly not over.
