We’ve already given you the ‘worst’, but this week TEENage will highlight the BEST of 2010. Enjoy and if you agree or not, send us a shout-out at: COCTEENage@gmail.com

Most Improved Artiste: Khago

For those who knew him while his name was still Chicago, it can be said that he showed some potential, but never one to bet on.

However, Ricardo Gayle, more popularly known as Khago, rose to the occasion in 2010 with hits such as Nah Sell Out, Nah Sell out Part 2 and White Tees and Adidas, a transition that landed him on the TEENage “best of 2010 list”.

His entry in the 2006 and 2007 Jamaica Cultural Development Commission’s Popular Song Contests, with Only If You Know and Been There placing third and second respectively, introduced him to the Jamaican public.

In early 2009 his single Cyaah Cool, hit airwaves, but it seems Khago’s time to shine was not until 2010. The humble, yet blazing artiste’s song Nah Sell Out on the One Day rhythm took the music industry by storm appearing on almost all the top countdown shows islandwide. He also made appearances on some of the top stage shows which included Reggae Sumfest and Sting.

Khago continues to impress with his music and is definitely one to watch in 2011.

Best Rhythm: One Day

Every year the Jamaican music industry is graced with a dancehall riddim that seems to rule the airwaves, cars, roadside speakers, and patrons at any event. For 2010 this riddim was dancehall producer Seanizzle’s One Day Rhythm.

It wouldn’t be an understatement to state that every song on the One Day Rhythm was a hit song. Even the producer of the riddim, Seanizzle, had success with his single One Day. Careers were resurrected as both Beenie Man and Fambo catapulted back into the charts with their monster collaboration Drinking ***, and Mr G returned with Swaggerific.

The One Day Rhythm also allowed for new artistes to be propelled into the mainstream charts with the case of ZJ Liquid’s Wifey Walkout and Khago’s anthem Nah Sell Out.

The One Day Rhythm maintained its presence and relevancy in the dancehall music industry for over six months last year and to this very day is still greeted with glee whenever it is heard by listeners. TEENage declares that the One Day Rhythm was undisputedly the riddim of the year for 2010.

Best Comeback Artiste: Future Fambo

Warren Gladstone Williams has gone through a few names in his musical career. In the early 1990s ‘Future Troubles’ came on the entertainment scene with Kung Fu Dance, on the Martial Arts rhythm.

Back then he was known as a comical deejay, who utilised a good sense of humour through his music. And not much has changed in his style, but his name has change two times since.

On the hit Drunken Dance in 2008 — that still has many people rocking at parties and in clubs — he was ‘Future Fambo’.

In 2010 though, ‘Fambo’ made a serious comeback. He did numerous collaborations, but the most popular of them was Drinking Rum featuring Beenie Man on the One Day rhythm in April 2010.

There were other collaborations such as Drink Drink with Richie Loops in October 2010, and his popular single Never Sober on the Split Personality rhythm in September 2010 as well as Party Animal and Swaggaholic. He also did another collaboration entitled, This Life featuring Unga in November 2010.

We look forward to see what he will be ‘drinking’ in 2011.

Best Collaboration: Drinking ***

Drinking *** was a song by Fambo with a hearty help from the ‘King of the Dancehall’ Beenie Man. The song became an instant hit and huge club-banger on the local and international dancehall music scene.

Recorded on the One Day rhythm (produced by Seanizzle) this song epitomised what people wanted to do amidst all of the challenges they were facing in 2010 — to have a good time with friends.

The song was also a career booster for Fambo, catapulting him into the limelight, as he was a music backbencher for some time prior to the song.

In the song, Beenie Man’s voice, which draws many to the dance floor, calls out his drink of choice with Red Bull as the chaser. Dancehall fans were belting out the chorus of Drinking *** at many events, as the song was a staple from the moment it hit the airwaves. Fambo verses were, sharp short and extremely catchy and even incorporated Vybz Kartel’s ‘oh’ — the slang of the year.

It’s an all round feel good song that encourages people not worry too much about life’s problems, but to take it One Day at a time, whilst not forgetting to have a little fun, and some Red Bull in the mix.

Best TV Show: Entertainment Report (ER)

No television show last year has mixed a great entertainment package filled with the right host, touch ups and reviews on music, fashion, food and offbeat topics the way ER has.

Ever since it made television airways over a decade ago, this programme has been on the pulse of the dancehall hits, hitmakers and ‘hit-takers’.

The weekly show, aired on Friday nights on Television Jamaica, taps into television viewers’ appetite for everything entertainment. And if nothing else, the dancehall was very entertaining in 2010.

Car seizures, visa revocations, vehicular accidents, disses, answers and a splash of bleaching, ER covered it all.

To top it off the show has all the old time footage to show how ridiculous some of the dancehall tiffs are and how some members of the fraternity have changed.

Best sports personality: Odean Skeen

Sixteen-year-old Wolmerian Odean Skeen sprinted his way into the hearts of many Jamaicans in 2010, to claim the title of national junior sprint king.

Skeen first gained local and regional attention, by winning the sprint double at the Boys Championships, the CAC Junior games and the CARIFTA games. Skeen then attracted global attention by winning the gold medal in the 100m at the inaugural youth Olympics with a blistering time of 10.42s.

Skeen showed he was also a team player by aiding the 4x100m relay team to a silver medal at the World Junior Championships. While Skeen might be a far way off his seniors he is highly rated by teens and for this reason he is our best sports personality of 2010.

Best moment in sports: Jermaine Gonzales in Monaco

It can be quite a tedious task to judge sporting moments, and the level of difficulty would be even greater if these moments were across various disciplines.

However, when someone shatters a record that has been held for 13 years that moment could never go unnoticed.

Jermaine Gonzales ran a time of 44.40s in the 400m event at a Diamond league meet in Monaco to erase Roxbert Martin’s previous mark of 44.49s.

While many other athletes broke records and had great accomplishments in the year that has gone, Gonzales stands clear as he rose the Jamaican banner to its previous heights in the quarter mile event and is our greatest moment in sports for 2010.

Best TEEN Party: Smudge

“Smudge a di party mi waan go”, was the ad/song on the tongues of many patrons leading up to the Boxing Day event. It didn’t matter where you were, you would have had to hear about the day party that TJ Records dubbed as Smudge.

It was one of the most talked about events and the Zip 103 FM advertisements were just toppings on a big cake.

The turnout on the lawns of the Police Officers’ Club was great and the promoters did not disappoint. Nothing ran short and with music by ZJ Liquid, ZJ Ice, ZJ Wah Wa and ZJ Chrome, patrons were kept entertained with four musical styles without complaints. It was the kind of event that no one wanted to leave and even after the music was turned off patrons still danced/milled around the venue on a high.

Best International Artiste: Nicki Minaj

Nicki Minaj — born Onika Tanya Maraj — is well known for her incredible lyrical talent and unique fashion sense. She is able to make great music and she one of the few female rappers who can sing and do it quite well.

Even though she might have been in the music industry for a while, Nicki really took the spotlight in 2010 with her many collaborations and also the release of her debut album Pink Friday, which made platinum from selling over one million copies. Her versatility allows for a variety of styles within her music and she has songs to match any mood that one may be in.

Not only is she a great rapper and singer, but she has also ventured into the business world with her very own Mac lipstick line and an iPhone application. Her many wigs and many personalities have definitely caught the world’s attention and with a fan base of millions, she is loved by both the young and old.

Best Movie: Inception

“Dreams feel real while we’re in them. It’s only when we wake up that we realise something was actually strange.”

If that’s the case then Christopher Nolan’s Inception is one of the most honest films ever made. With stars such as Leonardo DiCaprio, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, as well as a host of other great actors, we expected brilliance. The film explores the possibility to manipulate and manoeuvre through Dreams, whether your own, or those of others.

Inception centres on a team of individuals led by an ‘extractor’ named Cobb (Leonardo DiCaprio) who must construct dreams of a specific target and use that dream to implant an idea so that the target will make a decision regarding a prominent energy company. Cobb, who is promised that he would get to see his children again, accepts the dangerous task.

The movie, however, needs the audience to take in a collection of rules, exceptions, locations, jobs, and abilities. It also requires intense viewer concentration, as complex ideas are all wrapped in a breathlessly exciting action film. All in all Inception may be complicated, but simply put it’s the best movie of the year.

Best 3D Movie: Step Up 3-D

Let’s be honest Step Up 2 was a disappointment, so the creators of the Step Up series had to make sure that if they were going to do a third one, it had to be good.

In the second instalment, the most memorable scene took place at the end of the movie. This time around there was dance action from the beginning to the very end and unlike some 3-D movies that are filmed and then converted to 3-D — the third instalment of Step Up was all in 3-D from the ‘get go’.

The storyline not only made sense but was as captivating as the array of dance moves. It showcased dancers from all over the world with different specialities but one common love for the artform. This third instalment was truly worth the time and money to see.