HAPPY HOLIDAYS and a Special Thank You from DJRob!

I have so much to be thankful for this Christmas, Kwanzaa and Hanukkah season.  Two years ago, this music blog site didn’t exist.  In fact, it wasn’t even a thought during Christmas 2014.  As we approach 2017, the 23-month-old site is nearing 100,000 clicks from roughly 140 articles published since January 2015.

And what a year this past one has been for djrobblog!  Twenty-sixteen went far beyond what I could’ve imagined in terms of readership and engagement, and it couldn’t have happened without all the love and support from readers worldwide.

Here’s what I have to be thankful for regarding djrobblog’s continued growth and success:

NEARLY 100,000 CLICKS

In total, based on the blog’s stat tracker, there were nearly 77,000 clicks on djrobblog in 2016 (the site logged an estimated 16,000 in 2015, its first year for a total of about 93,000 clicks to date!).  The two biggest months this past year were September (10,800) and May (10,200).  Each month in 2016 marked a year-over-year increase in visits from the same month in 2015!

INTERNATIONALLY KNOWN

As for the worldwide part, there were over 170 countries where at least one click was registered on djrobblog.  The country with the most was right here in the USA with over 56,000 clicks, followed by the U.K. (4600), Canada (3800), Germany (2300) and Australia (1K).  Fourteen countries tied at the bottom with one click each, including places like Fiji, Somalia, Mali, Greenland, Togo, Paraguay and Madagascar.  Hey, that even one person in those countries accessed my site is considered a blessing!

The more interesting international story came in the continent of Africa.  South Africa and Senegal were the next two most represented countries with about 700 clicks apiece.  People in those nations took interest in articles about Tupac Shakur and deceased R&B artists in general.  Admittedly, I took a chance back in September and started boosting articles in those two African countries on Facebook, but I never expected the immediate and phenomenal response djrobblog received there.

THE ONES YOU READ THE MOST

As for the most popular articles in 2016, they ranked as follows (rounded number of clicks and published date in parentheses):

1. The Best Falsetto Singers… A Men-Only Club (8500 clicks; published Aug. 2015)
2. The Non-Isley Isley Brother Who Made the Isleys Blow Up (My interview with Chris Jasper) (7300; Sept. 2016)
3. The 30 Greatest Blue-Eyed Soul Singers (The Men) (6000; May 2015)
4. Prince’s Legacy: His 57 Greatest Songs (5300; April 2016)
5. 20 Greatest Black Music Producers (5000; June 2015)
6. 100 Greatest Women in Music the Past 50 Years (2500; March 2016)
7. A History of Black-Owned Record Labels (2500; Feb. 2015)
8. Tragic Losses of R&B Artists – What If They Had Lived (2150; Aug. 2015)
9. Prince and Michael – 1958 Was A Great Year (2000; April 2016)
10. The 25 Greatest Earth, Wind & Fire Songs (Tribute to Maurice White) (1950; Feb. 2016)

Interestingly enough, half of those articles were published in 2015, but continued to do well in ’16.  In fact, the “Best Falsetto Singers” list has become the most read article in the blog’s short history by averaging 700-plus clicks per month this past year (and that’s without any boosting on Facebook!).  Coupled with its 600 views in ’15, the Falsetto article has been clicked 9100 times since it was published in August 2015.  Who knew that an article about “false voices” would do so well on a music blog site?

The most-read new article in 2016 was the interview with former Isley Brother Chris Jasper.  It was one of two artist interviews djrobblog secured this year – the other being the upstart rap group Metanoiz from the Catskills of Pennsylvania.  That article about a very talented yet unrecognized set of twin brothers also did well with 126 reads since it was published in May.

IN MEMORIAM

Unfortunately, deceased artists were a major factor of the blog site’s increased readership this year.  In all, they accounted for 14 tribute articles that totaled over 13,000 clicks in 2016.  The year that had everyone bemoaning the merciless rate at which musicians (and other celebrities) were leaving us began ominously with the news on New Year’s Day of Natalie Cole’s passing the day before.  Little did we know then that 2016 would become one of the most depressing years in recent memory, with the losses of David Bowie, Robert Stigwood, Glenn Frey and Maurice White happening in rapid succession in just the first two months alone.

The most shocking loss, however, was that of Prince.  Tributes to him (three in all) registered 7800 clicks, with the ranking of The Purple One’s “57 Greatest Songs” getting the most reads (~5300).  The second-most appreciated artist on djrobblog in memoriam was Earth Wind & Fire’s Maurice White (2975 clicks for two tribute articles).  Kashif was next (611), followed by Natalie Cole (601).

SENIOR CONCERT TOUR

The news wasn’t all bad on djrobblog though.  Concert reviews (mostly positive and all of them old-school) contributed about 2800 readers to the site’s tally, with the biggest being – believe it or not – Barbra Streisand’s.  The article covering her Chicago concert generated 1140 clicks, while the next highest was an article covering the “Happy Together” tour, featuring members of ’60s band’s the Turtles, the Raiders, Gary Puckett of the Union Gap, the Cowsills and others.  That article was clicked 736 times.

The concert article with the fewest clicks was the most recent one about Roger Hodgson of the ’70s rock group Supertramp, which has had only 31 clicks to date, failing to generate anywhere near the love that the ’60s concert got.  It just goes to show that you never know which articles resonate with people from one week to the next.

Djrobblog was definitely on an old-school kick this year, as all the concerts I attended and reviewed were for artists ranging in age from 55 to 75 years.  The oldest (and oddest) was Dionne Warwick’s in November.  The youngsters in the group were the members of Culture Club, the youngest two of whom – Boy George and Roy Hay – celebrated their 55th birthdays this past year.

NOT FEELING THE MANNEQUIN CHALLENGE

One article that didn’t quite resonate with people was my, um, shameless bandwagon-jumper, the “Ten Best Mannequin Challenges” list.  I thought I could capitalize on this craze with a quick-and-dirty cave-in to the fad that has made Rae Sremmurd’s “Black Beatles” the #1 song on the Billboard charts for six weeks and counting (as I type this).  Unfortunately, the article itself caved at 21 clicks, perhaps a fitting outcome for such a shameless attempt at gaining readers.

Other highlights this year included new album reviews (Solange, Frank Ocean, Kanye West, A Tribe Called Quest) and the usual coverage of awards shows, with the Grammys and BET Awards continuing to get love.  But this year included a special article written by a loyal supporter of the site, Cameo Fox Faulkner, who wrote about this year’s Stellar Awards.  The article was a success, generating about 100 clicks after it was published in March, more than either the BET or Grammy articles received.

DJROBBLOG COUNTDOWNS

Another continuing djrobblog theme this year were the countdowns of more djroblists – the most successful (for non-posthumous tributes) being the “100 Greatest Women in Music” at ~2500 clicks, followed by “Fifteen Great Songs You Missed in 2015” at 1500, and “The Worst Number One Songs of the 21st Century” at 1100 clicks.  It’s clear that people love lists, mainly because they spark debate or remind people of songs or artists they may have forgotten about.

This year, I incorporated the Listly feature which allows lists to be created on a separate app and then become embedded into the articles.  It also allows readers to vote on each entry or give comments for the items.

Next year, there will be even more lists, including a special one I’ve been working on the past several months, which I plan to have out in time for Black History Month.  It’s a surprise, but I’m hoping you will enjoy it as much as a I have putting it together.

And I hope you continue to support djrobblog with your clicks, likes and comments.

But more than anything, I thank you for all the support you have given thus far and pray you have a Happy Holiday season filled with joy and love!

DJRob