Periodically I like to analyze my history of play lists and look for songs that are predominately crowd pleasers. I was browsing through my “wedding rock play list” and out of curiosity I wanted to find the top rock song I played this year at the weddings that I have performed at. Can you guess what it was?!? Not a shock to me, it was Don’t Stop Believing by Journey. There is something about this song that makes people want to form circles and scream out the lyrics to each other while busting out the meanest of air guitar performances. Last weekend I had to play the song twice because the guests of wedding insisted on it. My question to you is what is it about this song that makes it so great or not so great?

Click The Image Below To The Hear Song

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At Sound Obsession we have no problem providing a selection of possible songs typically included but we also leave lots of time open for requests; as guests LOVE to make their own song selections!

A good DJ can be relied upon to use their experience, ability to read the crowd, mood of the moment and intuition to choose the right music. This intuition is developed through plenty of experience so if you want the best music make sure that you hire a professional DJ not just a family friend who dabbles every once and a while. This can be disastrous – trust me, I’ve seen it!

Playing requests can be tricky and the DJ’s ability to manage them can make or break the event. The Sound Obsession policy is to play the request if it works with the vibe at the time, if not; we save it for another point in the evening. On rare occasion a request will not be played as it doesn’t suit the event. However, if the bride & groom or any other host of an event requests a song, it ALWAYS gets played! So it should – it’s your night after all!

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As time past, my hobby started morphing into my career. People began to hire me for DJ gigs that required many genres of music to be in my repertoire. Luckily, the invention of the CDJ had come along and now I could purchase CDs to mix instead of vinyl. Although mixing vinyl is more fun and brings an element of authenticity to the art of DJing, CDJs provided the benefits of portability due to their light weight. Furthermore, it allowed a DJ to have a larger music library since the cost of a CD is much more affordable than vinyl.

Next, in 2004, the birth of the ultimate DJ tool, Serato Scratch Live was created. Scratch Live allows manipulation and playback of digital audio files while using traditional vinyl turntables or CD players via special time code vinyl records or CDs. What this means in plain terms is that it allows for advanced music library organization and added creativity in the way a DJ can select and play music. The Sound Obsession team has benefited immensely by the Scratch Live software. Our DJs can quickly navigate through hundreds of thousands of music files in a matter of seconds to find your requests faster and to provide a dynamic music experience for any event!

Overall, times change and so does technology. Make sure that the DJ you hire stays on top of new technology and music so that your event can benefit from the latest and greatest, keeping your crowd moving all night long!

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As a professional DJ it is my job to spot and play the current and upcoming music hits of the year, specifically the hits that will make people want to dance and sing along! Hit songs do not necessarily have brilliant lyrics or possess genius instrumentation. Presently the majority of popular dance music is dominated by corporate constructed artists & songs that inject catchy components such as simple repetitive choruses paired up with a cheerful and warm electro sounding beat.

Since 2010 is nearing a close, I would like to share my top 6 dance hits that always got the party going this year! I have not ranked these in any particular order, they are all party favorites!

CLICK ON IMAGES TO VIEW VIDEO

1. Taio Cruz |Dynomite

This song was created with the intention to make people dance and sing along. Dynomite is equipped with very simple catchy lyrics in combination with an infectious, friendly, fun, and energetic back beat. Great song to get everyone on the dance floor and shouting out “A YO”

1. Usher |OMG

This beat was created by the talented Will.I.AM from the Black Eyed Peas. When I first heard this song I thought the beat may be a too choppy for the common person to dance to but at all the gigs I played this year it always got an excellent response on the dance floor.

1. Far East Movement |Like a G6

This song has everybody singing it at one point or another with its catchy phrases such as “sippin sizzurp” and “gettin slizzard”. This is an undisputed dance hit of 2010. Every time I play this song people come running and screaming from every corner of the venue.
The song is another celebration of partying but its dark edge and hypnotic beat is perfect for late night during celebrations.

1. Edward Maya & Vika Jigulina |Stereo Love

Somehow Edward Maya found a way to make an accordion sound cool with his first released song Stereo Love. This song has taken North American by storm with its very unique sound that music fans of all genres can appreciate with its catchy (not too hard and not too soft), sad under toned beat and lyrics.

1. Usher |Dj Got Us Falling In Love again

Usher makes another great party tune again with his smooth voiceover and a fun, melodic, and energetic beat. This song is filled with easy and repetitive versus and choruses that will have the whole dance floor singing the lyrics aloud!

1. We no speak Americano |Yolanda Be Cool ft Dcup

This song without a doubt has been the most requested song at the end of 2010 at all my gigs. The electro swing sound that Yolanda Be Cool has developed in We no speak Americano has captured a nook in everyone’s brain whether they like the song or not! The extremely catchy lyrics and bouncy beat makes for a great party song!

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Before choosing your wedding DJ you must carefully consider the credibility of the person referring the DJ company and whether there is a conflict of interest. For example, most couples are not aware of the nature of relationships between wedding venues and DJ companies. Quite often the recommended in- house DJ is working for a significantly lower fee then what you are paying the hall towards DJ services. This happens because the venue has guaranteed the 50 plus weddings per summer to the DJ so they take the pay cut and allow the hall to 30 to percent of the fees! Furthermore, sometimes if you opt out of the in-house DJ the venue charges you a fee often called an “electrical usage fee”.   This is to discourage the couple from picking their own DJ and to make up for the mark-up that they would have earned if you used their resident DJ.  Remember, an excellent wedding DJ will not work an 8 hour wedding for $400 dollars which is often what the hall is paying their DJs.  So the question is… who do you get for that price? I’m sure you can use your imagination!

I know it sounds like I am strongly against using all in house DJ services, I am not.  There are some quality ones out there still but couples should be aware that there are other options.

Overall, I know that weddings are expensive already but if you have been referred to a reputable DJ company but you are second guessing hiring them because of the additional fees to have them at your venue, it is usually worth it!!  Paying that extra $200-$500 to opt out of the house DJ may be the best decision you make towards making your wedding a successful event!  Ask any guest, everything about the wedding can be beautiful but if the music is bad – that is all your guests will remember! 

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Hey everybody,

You might have already noticed, but we’ve just added a new blog section to the Sound Obsession website. We’ve been working hard behind the scenes over the last few months and we felt this was the best time to bring some major updates to the site.

This blog is meant to be a place where you can find out about our latest announcements as well as interesting articles relating to the industry. We plan to add a lot of interesting content so stay tuned and subscribe to the feed! If you have any feedback, please leave them in the comment section below or email me via the contact page.

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