One Direction

Credit: Charles Sykes/AP

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1. One Direction: “Up All Night” surpasses Lionel Richie’s “Tuskegee” to become the top-selling album released in 2012. We finally have proof:  “Up All Night” trumps “All Night Long.”

2) Pink: Not only does her new single, “Blow Me (One Last Kiss)” blast into the top 10 of the Billboard Hot 100, Cher cuts two of her tracks. Pink is the new black.

3) Frank Ocean: One month ago, very few people knew who he was. This week he has the No. 2 album in the land and he has spoken his truth about his former same-sex relationship with little backlash. The truth shall set you free--and help you sell records.

4 )The Who: Remaining members reunite for a North American tour to recreate “Quadrophenia.” Anyone under 25 asks, “Who are you? Ooh hoo, ooh hoo.”

5) Bruce Springsteen: Has anyone ever gotten more mileage of getting the plug pulled on one of their shows? Or handled it with such good humor?

6) Universal Music Group: Opposition to its purchase of EMI continues to erode in the U.K. and will only have to jump through a few more hoops in the U.S.  Once that deal is done, the questions will start on how long before Sony or Universal makes a play for Warner Bros...

7) Richard Branson: Everyone’s favorite entrepreneur makes moves to buy back Virgin Music, the label he started 40 years ago, from EMI. Fun factoid: the label’s first release was Mike Oldfield’s massive success, “Tubular Bells.”

8) The Grammy Awards: It looks like the “A Death In the Family” short film works.  On the surface, the short doc was about putting on a show 24 hours after Whitney Houston’s death, but it also doubled as a pitch for Emmy voters, who took the bait. This year’s telecast received six Emmy nominations, the most the show has received and garnered the coveted Outstanding Special Class Programs nod they so badly wanted.

9) Coachella: The alternative music festival launches its own sea cruise. From landlocked to seaworthy. Hipsters declare they are already over the cruise before it even pulls away from dock.

10) No Doubt: Orange County’s finest returns after 10 years with a ska-influenced pop slice that will no doubt have its fans wanting to jump up with joy instead of “Settle Down.”