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2006 Readers' Poll:

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The best and worst in music...


Another year has passed, and so here we are again. Welcome to our new and improved Readers' Poll, which isn't really that new or improved, but it is compiled with love for our readers, who let us know what rocked this year, and what stank more than a pile of dead fish on top of Kevin Federline's album. Thank you for the votes - we couldn't have done it without you! So without further ado, here are your choices for the best and worst of 2006.

Gnarls Barkely tops 2006 with their song, "Crazy," which might also describe their press photos.

BEST SONG
"Crazy", Gnarls Barkley / "SexyBack," Justin Timberlake featuring Timbaland       28.6%
"Be Without You," Mary J. Blige / "Promiscuous," Nelly Furtado featuring Timbaland       14.3%
"Lips of An Angel," Hinder       7.1%

Michelle's Pick: "Crazy," Gnarls Barkley
Christine's Pick: "Crazy," Gnarls Barkley

2005 Winner: "Wake Me Up When September Ends," Green "Three Chords Rule" Day
2004 Winner: "Yeah!" Usher "I May Not Be Much of An Actor But I'm Still Rich" Raymond
2003 Winner: "Crazy in Love," Beyoncé "Acting Ain't My Forte" Knowles and Jay "One of These Days I Really Will Retire" Z
Etc.: 2002's Best New Artist, Justin Timberlake, comes back full force with his second solo effort, while Canadian Nelly Furtado gets an injection of funk from Timbaland to land in a second place tie. Crazy Mary J. Blige proves that lasting power does exist, and spastic Hinder rakes in a measly 7% of your votes for Best Song.

BEST ARTIST
Justin Timberlake       50.0%
Christina Aguilera / Rihanna       16.7%
All American Rejects / Beyoncé       8.3%

Michelle's Pick: Christina Aguilera. I chose Christina Aguilera because she challenged herself as an artist and delivered music that wouldn’t normally be sung by a young pop princess. Who else could release a blues-inspired, old school meets new school CD and produce a series of top 10 hits?
Christine's Pick: Justin Timberlake

2005 Winner: Coldplay
2004 Winner: Usher "Justin Timberlake is So Overrated" Raymond
2003 Winner: OutKast
Etc.: Last year's best song didn't equal best artist, but this year Justin Timberlake is the clear winner in this category. Trailing 34% are Christina Aguilera and Rihanna, two women with very different styles (as well as different vocal abilities). And poor Beyoncé went from 2003's Best Song to tie for last place with The All American Rejects with fewer than 10% of the votes.

BEST NEW ARTIST
Chris Brown       40.0%
The Fray       30.0%
Fergie       20.0%
Carrie Underwood       10.0%

Michelle's Pick: Chris Brown
Christine's Pick: Chris Brown

2005 Winner: Amerie
2004 Winner: Ciara
2003 Winner: Beyoncé
Etc.: Chris Brown finally breaks the women-with-one-name streak to place first as Best New Artist. Not far behind is new adult emo group The Fray, while Carrie Underwood, a big award winner in 2006, only gets 10% of your love. That's slightly better than Corinne Bailey Rae, Panic! At The Disco, and Diddy's newest girl group creation, Danity Kane, who received so little love that they failed to place. And try as Fergie might, she only manages to receive half of Chris Brown's votes. That's not Fergalicious at all.

k-os regains balance to land as best Canadian artist for a second year.

BEST CANADIAN ARTIST
k-os       46.5%
Nelly Furtado       30.8%
Avril Lavigne / Michael Bublé / Nickelback       7.7%

Michelle's Pick: Nelly Furtado. I do love my man k-os, but when I think of an artist who made an impact in 2006, it undoubtedly goes to Nelly Furtado. She worked hard and showed up everywhere with “it producer” Timbaland, to promote her infectious singles. Do your thang, mama!
Christine's Pick: Nelly Furtado

2004 Winner: Michael "You Used to Love Me" Bublé
2004 Winner: k-os
2003 Winner: Our Lady "Where The Heck Are We Now?" Peace
Etc.: k-os usurps Michael Bublé to land at number one again, while Michael falls all the way from grace - almost 40% of it - to tie for third place with one-song retread Nickelback and the newly girly-fied Avril Lavigne. Meanwhile, Nelly Furtado clings to second place (much like she does with Best Song), but the view looks much better than it did in 2004 when she only earned 7.1% of votes in this same category. Unfortunately for Chantal Kreviazuk and "Bad Day" crooner Daniel Powter, 0% of readers deemed them vote-worthy.

WORST ARTIST
Kevin Federline       58.3%
Paris Hilton       33.4%
Ashlee Simpson       8.3%

Michelle's Pick: Paris Hilton
Christine's Pick: Kevin Federline

2005 Winner: Lindsay "No One Understands My Pain" Lohan
2004 Winner: Ashlee "Is Plastic Surgery Punk?" Simpson
2003 Winner: Clay "Stop Asking" Aiken
Etc.: The amazing Ashlee Simpson manages to make this her third year in a row on our Worst Artist list, while newcomers Kevin Federline and Paris Hilton take first and second, respectively. Kevin and Paris take up more than 90% of the votes, which means that Il Divo, Madonna, and Nick Lachey v. 2.0 (that would be post-"Newlyweds") are safe this year. A big surprise is Jessica Simpson, who bypasses her sister's suckiness to earn 0% of votes.

WORST SONG
"Lose Control," Kevin Federline       41.7%
"Wind It Up," Gwen Stefani       25.0%
"Jump In My Car," David Hasselhoff / "London Bridge," Fergie       16.7%

Michelle's Pick: "London Bridge," Fergie
Christine's Pick: "Wind It Up," Gwen Stefani

2005 Winner: "My Humps," Black Eyed "will.i.am Gives Us A Bad Name" Peas
2004 Winner: "My Prerogative," Britney "Even Bobby Brown Feels Sorry For Me" Spears
2003 Winner: "Spread My Wings," Shawn "I Never Met A Music Video I Couldn't Cheese Up" Desman
Etc.: It's no surprise that Worst Artist honouree Kevin Federline is also the clear winner for Worst Song with his tiresome "Lose Control." Gwen Stefani's "Wind It Up," a top ten hit, also got on your nerves, as did Fergie's similarly silly "London Bridge." David Hasselhoff, who released a single that probably no one has ever heard outside of Europe, ties for third place. Jessica Simpson's "A Public Affair" and Bubba Sparxxx's "Ms. New Booty" weren't bad enough for readers to deem them worst. Most surprisingly, Worst Artist runner-up Paris Hilton failed to place with her self-indulgent single, "Stars Are Blind."

Wyclef Jean and Shakira's warbling shake their way to Best Duet.

BEST DUET
"Hips Don't Lie," Shakira and Wyclef Jean       38.5%
"(When You Gonna) Give It Up To Me," Sean Paul and Keyshia Cole       30.8%
"The Saints Are Coming," U2 and Greenday       15.4%
"Check On It," Beyoncé and Slim Thug / "Get Up," Ciara and Chamillionaire       7.7%

Michelle's Pick: "(When You Gonna) Give It Up To Me," Sean Paul and Keyshia Cole
Christine's Pick: "(When You Gonna) Give It Up To Me," Sean Paul and Keyshia Cole

2004 Winner: "Gold Digger," Kanye "Remember When I Was Fresh-Faced And Relevant?" West and Jamie "I Think Ray Was It" Foxx
2004 Winner: "Drop It Like It's Hot," Snoop "I Fought The Law and the Law Won" Dogg and Pharrell and "My Boo," Usher and Alicia "Acting Was Always My First Passion" Keys (tie)
2003 Winner: "Baby Boy," Beyoncé and Sean "You Used To Love Me Once" Paul
Etc.: Shakira and Wyclef Jean come in first this year, much to at least one person's dismay. The ever-present Sean Paul makes it to the list again, this time with a good duet from the soundtrack of a bad movie. U2 and Green Day make a tiny peep in third place, while Beyoncé and Ciara split votes to tie for last. And combinations involving The Pussycat Dolls and Snoop Dogg ("Buttons") and Ludacris and Pharrell ("Shake Your Moneymaker") do not make our readers very happy.

BEST MUSIC VIDEO
"Daydreamin'," Lupe Fiasco featuring Jill Scott / "Stupid Girls," Pink / "White and Nerdy," Weird Al Yankovic       25.0%
"Hurt," Christina Aguilera       16.7%
"Gone Daddy Gone," Gnarls Barkley       8.3%

Michelle's Pick: "Daydreamin'," Lupe Fiasco featuring Jill Scott
Christine's Pick: "Gone Daddy Gone," Gnarls Barkley

2005 Winner: "Cool," Gwen "Music Is An Outlet For My Insanity" Stefani
2004 Winner: "What You Waiting For," Gwen "Culturally Sensitive" Stefani
2003 Winner: "Hey Ya!," OutKast
Etc.: Gwen's craptastic "Wind It Up" finally displaces her from top stop, just in time for a three-way tie between the zany Lupe Fiasco, the satirical Pink, and the outlandish Weird Al, who made a comeback of sorts with his take on Chamillionaire's "Ridin' Dirty." The rest of the votes are split between Christina Aguilera's dramatic but effective video for "Hurt," while soul innovators Gnarls Barkley land in last place with their animated "Gone Daddy Gone" video. With just a little over 8%, they manage to beat OK Go's "Here It Goes Again." And The Killers, who placed second last year in this category, failed to raise any votes for "When We Were Young."

[ From best actor to worst film. Part II of our Readers Poll. ]