What were the 80 most important musical recordings, artists, trends, events, and performances of 2008? What were the eight things this year that broke our hearts—or, at least, our ears? We’re happy to announce 80 ’08 (and Heartbreak), Idolator’s year-end overview. The list is below the jump.
Douglas Wolk wrote about the viral-video phenomenon known as the Numa Numa Dance—where a dude wearing headphones cut loose to the strains of Moldavian-Romanian boy band O-Zone—in 2006, and at the time he wrote that “‘Dragostea din Tei,’ not even the words but the sound of the recording, is now part of the fabric of the internet. It’s bypassed the monolithic American entertainment industry to become a standard; the very few records it’s sold in the States are accidental by-products of its actual significance, as a mechanism for amateurs to show their love without a hint of the shame that overcame their hero.” In 2008, the idea of “Dragostea” as a musical standard of sorts became even more of a reality, although Brolsma’s lonely-geek antichic was glammed up as a result. .
ARTIST: T.I. featuring Rihanna
TITLE: “Livin’ My Life”
WEB DEBUT: Aug. 26, 2008