Jewish Music Year-End Charts Deemed Embarrassing
Translated & summarized from Kikar HaShabbat by baba
The author criticizes the recent year-end Jewish music charts as "embarrassing" and reflective of a weak year for the genre. He highlights questionable song of the year selections by Kol Chai and Kol Barama, and a lack of standout hits across the board. While Kikar HaShabbat's audience chose Chanan Ben Ari's "Hashivenu," the author believes Zusha's "Don't Leave Me on My Own" was the year's true hit. Awards for singer and album of the year were also deemed uninspired, leading the author to question the relevance of such charts in today's music landscape.
The story in 6 lines · by baba
- Jewish music year-end charts are described as "embarrassing" and reflective of a weak year.
- Radio stations Kol Chai and Kol Barama made questionable "song of the year" selections.
- Chanan Ben Ari's "Hashivenu" was chosen by Kikar HaShabbat listeners.
- The author considers Zusha's "Don't Leave Me on My Own" the year's true hit.
- Singer and album of the year awards were also criticized as uninspired.
- The author questions the relevance of music charts in the current saturated music market.
The annual music charts for the past Jewish year have been released, revealing what the author describes as a disappointing and "embarrassing" state for Jewish music. For the first time in over a decade, the author did not present the year-end chart, observing the results as an outsider.
The author criticizes the chart results from various radio stations including Kikar HaShabbat, Kol Chai Music, Kol Barama, and Moreshet, noting a lack of standout new songs that would typically lead to clear "song of the year" contenders. Instead, the charts produced "bizarre" and "embarrassing" outcomes.
Kol Chai's decision to divide music into "Chasidic" and "Jewish" genres, and its placement of Pini Einhorn and Yitzhak Ben Arza's song "Ve'elu Pino" in the latter category despite its Chasidic nature, is highlighted as particularly perplexing. The song of the year for Chasidic music on Kol Chai was awarded to Elchanan Einbal's "Mimaamakim," which the author argues is not a hit by any measure. Simcha Friedman and Shai Weiner's "Trampoline Kid" was named Jewish song of the year on Kol Chai, a choice the author finds more understandable as a popular hit.
Kol Barama's choice of Hershy Weinberger and Shmili Unger's "Rotzevet" as song of the year is also questioned, with the author stating it's a catchy song but far from a widely recognized hit. Kikar HaShabbat's audience selected Chanan Ben Ari's "Hashivenu," a song that ironically wasn't even uploaded to the site due to Ben Ari's recent music not aligning with their audience. The author personally considers Zusha's three-year-old song "Don't Leave Me on My Own" (also known as "Ribono Shel Olam") the true hit of the year.
Awards for singer and album of the year were also deemed uninspired. Shmulik Klein won singer of the year on most stations except Kol Chai, where Shmulik Sukkot took the title. The author finds Klein's win premature given his debut album's limited hits, while Sukkot's win is seen as logical due to his active year. Klein also won album of the year on Kol Play for "Shmuel Aleph," a choice questioned for its lack of hits, while Sukkot won for his EP "HaYeled Hazeh" on Kol Chai. Yitzhak Ben Arza was named discovery of the year, though the author notes he was a discovery last year.
The author concludes that the charts reflect a weak year for notable Jewish music, with much content but little that resonates deeply. He criticizes the chart editors for poor choices and a failure to accurately represent the year in music, urging them to reflect on why their selections seem disconnected from reality. The author also ponders if the sheer volume of music available today has rendered year-end charts obsolete.