2020 Yearly Round Up

Well, I’m fairly certain no one will be sad to see the back of 2020. We’ll be ringing in the New Year so we can be certain that January 1st arrives and we don’t get December 32nd and the 13th level of Jumanji. But, with all that being said, 2020 has been a steep learning curve and adapting to survive and protect those we care about and a year for the history books; going down in infamy though that’s for sure. But, just like last year, we are here to share all our favourite things and best bits of 2020 with you even if the year as a whole was insane. Let’s go!

Interests

Book of the Year

E: ‘Chain of Gold’ by Cassandra Clare. I have always loved the way Clare writes and her latest addition to the story of Shadowhunters and Downworlders is no exception.

N: ‘100 Days of Sunlight’ by Abbie Emmons. I loved how this story was written and how the events unfolded within the book. I don’t want to spoil a thing but, look it up.

Cheesy Book of the Year

E: ‘Can You Keep a Secret?’ by Sophie Kinsella. Cheesy? Yes. Romance? Yes. The cringe of spilling your guts to a guy? In spades. It was better than the movie and had some really funny moments too. Bonus points for a relatable leading female character.

N: ‘Windfall’ by Jennifer E. Smith. A well written and charming story that answers the question “What would you do if you won the lotto!” The romance side of this is a slow developer and one sided for a while but, overall it filled the cheesy YA hole in my heart! It was the book that needed to be read in 2020!

Movie of the Year

E: A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood is the true story of what happens when a journalist was assigned to write a profile of the American TV personality known as Mr. Rogers. The wholesomeness of it all!

N: The award for movie of the year has to go to ‘Onward’ my eyes were leaking for at least 20 minutes after finishing the movie! Such a lovely story.

Movie Disappointment of the Year

E: The Witches! Oh god it was so bad I forgot I watched it! I will stick with the original version but I did like Anne Hathaway as our villainess. She loved that role and you can tell. I feel like all the scariness of the original was taken away but then what’s the point of the movie? The Witches were meant to be scary, not toned down to suit the delicate dispositions of the viewers.

N: For me the movie disappointment of the year has to go to not being able to go to the cinema for the majority of the year! The experience of watching a movie for the first time was robbed from us and personally not seeing ‘Wolfwalkers’ on the big screen was a big disappointment!

Cheesy Movie of the Year

E: Holidate. It’s as cheesy as it sounds and, you know what, I like it. Having a date specifically for the holidays to avoid the usual commentary from the family about being single…Genius! And nobody drops Baby on her head.

N: Eurovision Song Contest: The Song of Fire Saga! Jaja Ding Dong! It was the cheese that I needed in my life! I adore that movie and I have binged watched in more than a handful of times already this year!

TV Show of the Year

E: The Witcher – I know it was released December 2019 but I watched it in 2020 and it was about the only TV I watched this year so I’m counting it here.

N: I would love to say The Mandalorian Season 2 but, I’m still waiting for Em to get herself down to Kilkenny when it is safe to come visit for a few days and we marathon it. So, until I see it my vote goes to The Queen’s Gambit! Honorable mention goes to Dash and Lily.

TV Moment of the Year

E: Leo Varadkar’s references. He referenced Dermot Kennedy, Lord of the Rings and Mean Girls. I watched his announcement just to see what he would reference next to be completely honest.

N: Anytime a person was interviewed on a news programme and was interrupted by their kids! It made me laugh and smile every time! 

TV Disappointment of the Year

E: I am fully aware the show is years old but I’m still not over the fact that Toph never got to go on a Life Changing Field Trip Together. I get that they may not have needed one but I wanted one for them. 

N: I know the competition couldn’t go ahead this year due to COVID but, I really missed not having the Eurovision in my life this year! Hopefully next year, it will go ahead and we can bask in the joys of Eurovision!

Game of the Year

E: …. But there’s so many! If I had to pick it would be Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity – (bet anyone who knows my love of all things Zelda could see that coming.) This game is made by the same company that made the original Hyrule Warriors and based around the Great Calamity of Breath of the Wild but they’ve improved the manner in which the game map is laid out when compared with the previous HW game while keeping the beautiful visuals of BotW

N: I’ve only had it a few days because I had to wait until Christmas but, I’m loving Assassin’s Creed Valhalla! It is so pretty and I’m enjoying the historical accuracy and the fight sequences. I also think my siblings are getting a great laugh out of my “Die, Die, Die” narrative!

YouTube Series of the Year

E: Layers of Me – NikkiTutorials – This year was Nikki’s year for me. I am such a proud Glowbaby (with my new favourite pallette) and this series literally made me cry. I’ve watched Nikki’s videos for so long and to see the side of Nikki that is in this series made me love her even more.

N: I enjoyed a few YouTuber’s Vlogmas Series this year: Alesha Marie, Catherine Manning and Morgan Adams. All completely different but they kept me glued to the screen! Currently working my way through Nikki tutorials ‘Layers of me’ series.

YouTuber of the Year

E: CinemaWins – The Everything Great About movies channel! This channel has kept me sane this year. It has helped me notice some truly amazing things about some of my favourite films! It’s helped me appreciate the score and soundtracks of movies and it has really changed how I watch movies and critique and review them. The guy who does CinemaWins is a Badass Good Guy who always puts subtitles on his videos!! *ding* 

N: I couldn’t choose just one YouTuber here! Morgan Adams and Ryland Adams aka the sibling duo that kept me smiling through 2020! From YouTube videos, Instagram stories and Ryland’s Podcast with his co host Lizzie called ‘The Sip’.

Biggest Youtube Disappointment of the Year

E: There was no YouTube Rewind. I generally enjoy them or enjoy ripping them apart if they’re bad.

N: I agree with Em here! No Youtube rewind! They could have done it from home and it would have been better than last year’s trainwreck!

New Headline Moment of the Year

E: The American Presidential Election and John King’s Magic Wall (shiny *.* ooo)

N: The American Presidential Election Results! Delighted doesn’t even sum up my feelings properly!

Music:

Top 5 Singles of the Year for you (in no order):

E:

• Fake Fine – Robert Grace
• Broke – Ryan Mack
• Therefore I Am – Billie Eilish
• Paradise – Meduza & Dermot Kennedy
• Dynamite – BTS

N:

• ‘Lately’ – Chasing Abbey
• ‘No Judgement’ – Niall Horan
• ‘Giants’ – Dermot Kennedy
• ‘Sweet Melody’ – Little Mix
• ‘Fake Fine’ – Robert Grace

Top 5 Albums/EPs of the Year for you

E: In no particular order:

• ALL OUT – K/DA
• Wonder – Shawn Mendes
• Superbloom – Ashton Irwin
• CALM – 5SOS
• Chromatica – Lady Gaga

N: It was incredibly hard to pick just five. I went with the five Albums and EPs that got me through this year:

• ‘Heartbreak Weather’ – Niall Horan
• ‘Homebird’ – Aoife Scott
• ‘Evermore’ – Taylor Swift
• ‘CALM’ – 5 Seconds of Summer
• ‘The Class of 2020’ – Moncreiff

Top 5 Artists of the Year:

E: Taylor Swift – Queen of dropping surprise albums that make you want to go walking in the woods and never come back.

Ariana Grande – another musician who suffers from Unannounced Album Drop Syndrome. Seems to be going around lately.

Ashton Irwin – dropping a solo album that spoke to my soul with tracks like Greyhound and Sunshine while sounding entirely different to anything 5SOS have ever created shows Ashton’s musical range and capabilities.

Lady Gaga – for giving us an album that we can dance to and teaching me anyway, that whether we are together or apart, music unites us.

Selena Gomez – an album and a make-up line in one year. I have to admire a multi talented queen because Rare Beauty and the album Rare are both stellar additions to Sel’s ever expanding repertoire.

N: Taylor Swift – My Music Queen who dropped not just one but, two albums this year along with a documentary. I loved seeing this woman’s thought process when it comes to music! ‘Folklore’ and ‘Evermore’ both made it into my top 10 albums of the year. Am I slightly anxious for the next T Swift tour since we now have to fit three albums into a single concert along with old favourites? Yes, yes I am but, I’m here for it!

Little Mix – one of the biggest female bands in the world right now and easily my favourite! Despite being heartbroken and gutted with the announcement of Jesy’s departure from the band late in 2020; these ladies owned 2020 in their own right! ‘Confetti’ their new album is bop after bop and emotional tune after emotional tune! I adore it!

Ariana Grande – new album dropped out if the blue, a documentary on netflix and the creator of the many songs that make up the soundtrack of life with my friend group!

Dermot Kennedy – there had to be an Irish Artist on the list and for this year Dermot outshone all! From his memorable moments on the Late Late Toy Show with Michael Moloney, to performing with the RTÉ National Symphony Orchestra, to releasing some of the biggest bops in 2020; 2020 was a good year for Dermot Kennedy fans!

Ashton Irwin – Known mostly for being the drummer in 5 Seconds of Summer and crushing it in general in life, 2020 saw Ashton release a surprise solo album! To say we were gobsmacked was an understatement! I adore the album and I’m happy that Ashton got to express himself through his own music while continuing on with 5 Seconds of Summer.

Top New Music find of 2020

E: Blackpink in your area! Anthems, anthems and more anthems! We’re blaming ‘How You Like That’ and ‘Kill This Love’ for drawing me in though. Why Don’t We were a close second though and gaining fast.

N: Lea Harte! The first song of hers I went out of my way to listen to was ‘You Make It Feel Like Christmas’ before I realised I had heard her song ‘Older’ all over the radio!

Favourite Gig of 2020

E: My one and only 3 Arena gig this year: The Jonas Brothers. I swear my fangirl screaming at the opening notes of ‘That’s Just the Way We Roll’ surprised me more than anyone else.

N: It has to be the last one I was at because it now holds so many additional feelings and memories. Hudson Taylor in Kavanagh’s Portlaoise on March 1st!

Favourite Gig Moment of 2020

E: Just being able to lose myself to music that I hadn’t heard live in so long at the Jonas Brothers.

N: Emma fangirling at Jonas Brothers. I’m usually ‘that person’ but it was great to see Emma not give a shit what people thought and just live in the moment!

Favourite song of 2020 that hasn’t been released yet… Will it? Aka perks of #ThatGigLife (online mainly this year)

E: ‘True’ – You had to be there.

N: ‘True’ – “That’s the one!”

Song of 2020 for you?

E: Fake Fine – “it’s a pandemic, it’s a f*cking disease and it’s following me.” This song is about mental illness, anxiety and depression. It’s okay not to be okay.

N: ‘Lately’ Chasing Abbey. – Are we even surprised? It was my most played song of 2020 and by gosh do I just adore it!

Personal:

Sum up the year in three words:

E: Are You Serious?!

N: Wash Your Hands!

What major life lesson did you learn in 2020?

E: Friends are the people you really need. They are there when your family is driving you to mad and they make you feel a bit more normal. Hold them close and appreciate the time you have to spend with them.

N: As much as you wish you could just click your fingers and you’d know all the answers to what’s wrong, it doesn’t always work the way you want it to! Hopefully 2021 helps with answers and getting back on the right track health wise.

Did you set goals for 2020 and did you achieve them?

E: Oh, I set goals but Corona stopped all of them except one. One song for every day of the year and the last playlist addition is coming January 1st 2021.

N: I set a number of them but only achieved two! Hoping 2021 is better!

An obstacle/challenge that you overcame this year?

E: Work on the frontline during a pandemic. It was terrifying but myself and my colleagues came out the other side of our 2nd(?) lockdown safe thanks to our own precautions and the consideration of the public (for the most part).

N: I think surviving the year, Ending the year being happy, well and surrounded by people I love. Regardless if they are in my household or on the other end of the phone.

This year I learned the following about myself?

E: That I am capable of being alone and happy even though I despise being alone.

N: My pain threshold is better than what I thought.

This made me laugh the hardest this year?

E: The dancing. I won’t give any more context but the first time I saw it I cackled

N: I think the moments that got me through work this Summer when it was a tough day in work or off days with all the new safety measures in place and guidelines for visitors. I cherished the moments where we just got to laugh at ourselves from something silly. It released a lot of tension we didn’t know we were holding in our bodies.

My best memory of the year was?

E: Getting to spend time with friends. I’m lucky to have a friend who works in Tullamore and I was so grateful to see them every once in a while and chat but I also got to see Niamh a few times (when it was safe to do so) and it really helped me feel normal again. It made the world seem a little less crazy.

N: My sister entering the Late Late competition to be in the audience for a Niall Horan special performance after I asked her to enter it for me. Turns out putting ‘Ah sure go on!’ on your any other notes on your application gets you in! Highlight of 2020 that day in the Late Late Show studios!

My biggest regret of the year was?

E: Not appreciating the time I actually got to spend with my friends in January and now I miss them all so much!

N: Not hugging my friends for a few seconds longer when I last saw them! Most of my gang I haven’t seen in person since December 2019/January 2020

If I could change one thing about this year it would be?

E: The pandemic. We didn’t need that. We were not prepared.

N: Agreeing with Em here. We really didn’t need that!

This year I travelled to (outside of Ireland)?

E: Ha! I was meant to go to Barcelona buuuuuut that pandemic put a complete halt to all my plans. Literally all of them.

N: This year I was meant to head to Manchester, Birmingham, Belfast and Barcelona; those were what I had planned before COVID halted all plans! So, no where!

This year I broke out of my comfort zone by:

E: Spending a lot of time away from friends and doing a lot of self reflection.

N: Spending a lot more time by myself. Learning in the depths of your own company there is no hiding and you get to reflect on everything!

What I am most grateful for this year is:

E: The health and wellbeing of all my family and friends and the people dedicating their lives to provide healthcare and essential services while putting their own lives at risk.

N: Agreeing with Emma on this one. Despite a few scares; I’m grateful for the health and wellbeing of my family and friends.

If I could travel back to the beginning of the year here’s some advice I would give myself:

E: Buy all the video games, masks, toilet paper and hand sanitizer you can get your hands on!

N: Fasten your seatbelt because, this year is going to be the definition of ‘a bumpy ride’.