This is the final part where I count down from 10 to 1.
10. ’Toes’ - Lights
The best rhyming of “anticipating” and “waiting” since Madonna’s last four attempts.
9. ’Don’t Hold Your Breath’ - Nicole Scherzinger
A breezy, effortless, glorious song.
8. ’I Wanna Go’ - Britney Spears
I I I WANNA GO O O ALL THE WAY EH EH back to my iTunes to play the shit out of the song. I have no words, I just want to sing every word in your face. SHAME ON ME. TO NEED RELEASE. UNCONTROLL-A-BLEE.
7. ’Notorious’ - The Saturdays
I’M AN OUTLAWR, I’M THE BIG BOSS, I’M A GANGSTER ON THE DANCEFLOOR. Look, when all you want to do is quote song lyrics that’s when you know you have run out of ideas are addicted to a song beyond all hope. An epic tour opener, this is The Saturdays done right.
6. ’Popular - Eric Saade
Also known as the song that should have been crowned winner of the Eurovision Song Contest 2011. I mean, where the fuck are Ell and Nikki now? CALLING THEMSELVES ELDAR AND NIGAR THAT’S WHERE. But it’s okay, I’m not bitter about this still. SMASHED GLASS. KEY CHANGE. HANDSOME CHAP. Bloody hell, Europe.
5. ’Jealousy’ - Will Young
A glorious return for Will, producing the best material so far of his ten year career. The single version was something, but the album version excelled beyond anything he’s done before. Truly beautiful.
4. ’Radioactive’ - Marina And The Diamonds
An absolute travesty that this was not a major hit, this teaser song for Marina’s upcoming second album reached #25 on the chart, 24 places lower than its right as an amazing pop song. MY. HEART. IS NU-CLEAR. LOVE. IS. ALL THAT I FEAR. Bliss.
3. ’Beat of My Drum’ - Nicola Roberts
A real case of girl (aloud) done good, the debut single from the Great Ginger One was the biggest surprise of the year for a lot of people. It may not have caught on with the general public but it had fans and critics alike creaming their pants as this new side of lil’ Nicola, the formerly shy and retiring member of Girls Aloud, shone through the chants of L! O! V! E! and Diplo beat. She basically showed Beyoncé up and not many people do that.
2. ’Judas’ - Lady Gaga
I was addicted to this song above any other this year. The pounding beats, chants of “JUDAS, JUDA-AH!” and almost indecipherable verses made this a song I NEEDED to hear again and again, if only to understand what the fuck she was going on about. Not that knowing the lyrics guarantees that with Gaga. Everything from the song to the image to the video hit the spot with me and it is absolutely my favourite Gaga song so far.
1. ’Lost Without You’ - Vanbot
I’m not completely sure why I’ve chosen this as my favourite song of 2011. I haven’t played it that much compared to others on the list. I don’t even know if it was a single. But everytime I hear it it just takes me somewhere else. It’s almost a retread of my #1 song of last year, Robyn’s ‘Dancing On My Own’, and yet it’s somehow more.
This is part four of five, and the Britney songs were ON.
20. ’Till The World Ends’ - Britney Spears
Every Britney song from this era was amazing. There is no escaping this. Perhaps all four should have been The List and have done with it. But no, one had to place the lowest. It is most certainly one of Britney’s best ever ever singles though.
19. ’We Found Love’ - Rihanna
The post-chorus rave up is out of this world. This won’t be remembered as one RiRi’s best long term but it’s easy to see why this is one of the biggest hits of the year.
18. ’E.T.’ - Katy Perry
Made better by the video and then again by Little Mix’s performance on The X Factor this is my fave KP song from all of Teenage Dream. And no, ‘Last Friday Night (T.G.I.F)’ is not on this list sozzles.
17. ’Criminal’ - Britney Spears
Flawless Britney song is flawless. It was like Music/American Life era Madonna had been resurrected inside Britney, except The Queen is still very much alive and our Princess just did a very good job of replicating that amazing sound.
16. ’All Fired Up’ - The Saturdays
Xenomania cheat on Girls Aloud with The Saturdays and the result is this fairly generic but overall addictive dance song. Altogether now: ON YOUR RAIDER, GIBBY GIBBY GIBBY ON YOUR RAIDER…
15. ’Louder’ - Parade
This is such a basic pop song and yet it has such an infectious element to it, you can’t help but come back for more.
14. ’The Edge of Glory’ - Lady Gaga
I’m still far from keen on the saxophone element (DOWN WITH SAX IN POP ETC), and Kitty Off Of X Factor tainted this slightly in my eyes, but this song is almost perfect. The song that will probably be remembered most fondly from the Born This Way era.
13. ’On The Floor’ - Jennifer Lopez
The sample that almost didn’t work ended up working very well indeed. The version I play is without Pitbull because he is awful. You should all do the same because let’s face it, you get a middle 8 then and who doesn’t like them? Pitbull that’s who. :((((
12. ’Hold It Against Me’ - Britney Spears
HEY. OVER THERE. PLEASE FORGIVE ME. IF I’M COMING ON TOO STRONG. Sang Britney through her nose. But hey, this is a Britney song with a motherfucking dubstep breakdown, and that is pop science that cannot be argued with.
11. ’Marry The Night’ - Lady Gaga
I knew this would be special when the instrumental track was played on one of the Gagavision episodes. I was not disappointed. The video was also a triumph. After about the 8 minute mark.
This is part three of five, and I am already regretting adding waffle to each entry as I am no music journalist.
We live and we learn.
30. ’Freedom’ - Sugababes
Gone are the days when we would all stan over the next amazing Sugababes single, and yet after the tacky Sweet 7 and despite no Keisha, this was something of a return to form for me. It’s not perfect and there’s no way Sugababes will ever be ‘a thing’ again I give them +1 for effort.
29. ’Someone Like You’ - Adele
No doubt overplayed JUST A TAD, there’s no denying this was a highlight of 2011.
28. ’Collide’ - Leona Lewis
Everyone wanted Leona to do dance. Leona did dance. People didn’t like it.
27. ’The Shield and the Sword’ - Claire Maguire
More quality pop from her album Light After Dark.
26. ’Set Fire To The Rain’ - Adele
Adele’s best song yet. Fact.
25. ’Love You Like A Love Song’ - Selena Gomez & The Scene
I never paid any attention to Selena before she released When The Sun Goes Down but after one listen this quirky, almost hypnotic pop ditty stood out instantly.
24. ’Love U More’ - Sunday Girl
I know nothing of this artist but listened to this out of curiosity as Steps once covered the song and it was always a favourite. This is now the ultimate version to me.
23. ’Moves Like Jagger’ - Maroon 5 featuring Christina Aguilera
Let’s face it, you can’t help whistling along to this. It’s one of those songs that you can tell achieved everything it set out to - and then some. God knows where Adam Levine pulled it out from but I’m glad he did. Xtina elevates it to an even higher level.
The first of well, every Lady Gaga single released this year, I’m not going to lie: I love Lady Gaga. This Shania Twain-esque stompalong, wailalong was definitely a highlight, mostly because it’s her first non-wanky ballad. Hurrah!
39. ’I Follow Rivers’ - Lykke Li
It’s quite plonky and wonderful.
38. ’Without You’ - David Guetta featuring Usher
One of my favourite dance songs of the year for its Daft Punk qualities.
37. ’Lucky Day’ - Nicola Roberts
A bit of a slow starter for me, I’m still not sure if MWAHMWAHMWAHMWAH thrills or annoys me. The video is also quite terrible. However, the shrill tone she’s adopted for her solo campaign has actually grown on me and the chorus is so joyful - how can you not be pleased with a joyful Nicola Roberts in the end.
36. ’Good Girl’ - Alexis Jordan
I missed out on ‘Happiness’ last year so I latched on to ‘Good Girl’ instead. ‘Happiness’ would probably be Top 3 in this list.
35. ’Run The World (Girls)’ - Beyoncé
A bit of a lazy comeback single for Queen Bey but it’s catchy as fuck and quite anthemic and big and I sort of love it.
34. ’The Last Dance’ - Claire Maguire
Gorgeous.
33. ’Right There’ - Nicole Scherzinger
I’m finding a theme with my list whereby I don’t think many of the songs are technically very good and yet I enjoy them immensely. This is one of those.
32. ’What Makes You Beautiful’ - One Direction
I don’t think anyone was expecting anything as good as this from 1D. The kind of great boyband song that makes me resent Westlife’s entire career even more.
31. ’Born This Way’ - Lady Gaga
Let’s be honest, this is a terrible single but it had to have its moment. It’s the song that’s defined this era. And I love love LOVE the video.
I’ve barely used Tumblr since I posted my singles list last year, but it’s always great to keep a personal record of one’s favourite songs because you can guarantee there’ll be at least 50 more to obsess over next year.
As always with these things the ‘rules’ and such of singles in ambiguous at best, so I’ve picked what I consider to be songs promoted by the artist in 2011.
I have narrowed it down to 50 songs and these are them, starting with 50 down to 41:
50. ’Every Teardrop Is A Waterfall’ - Coldplay
A really good song to kick things off.
49. ’She Makes Me Wanna’ - JLS
This is basically RedOne by numbers (and those numbers are 3-0-0-0-0 with a pound sign in front) but this is one of their most enjoyable offerings.
48. ’Kicking and Screaming’ - Oh My!
I MEAN IT I MEAN IT I MEAN IT…when I say I like this song.
47. ’Think About It’ - Melanie C
Our Mel doesn’t really have a good track record for picking the best songs for singles, but while this one doesn’t necessarily represent the album’s sound, it’s damn catchy and certainly one of her best releases.
46. ’What The Hell’ - Avril Lavigne
I prefer Avril when she’s near making me weep, but when she does fun she does it right.
45. ’Wet’ - Nicole Scherzinger
She wants to rip her clothes off, take a leap and surf through the crowd. And so I do when I listen to this. +1 Scherzy.
44. ’Perfume’ - Parade
There’s so much potential in this girl group it’s unreal. Unfortunately not so much in their material, although I did find this one particularly addictive.
43. ’Nova’ - The Sound of Arrows
Epic.
42. ’Super Bass’ - Nicki Minaj
I can’t say I paid too much attention to this until Little Mix performed it on The X Factor, but that chorus is undeniably good.
I’ve had very mixed feelings about Lady Gaga in the run up to the release of her new album, Born This Way.
Having been a fan since midway through 2008, I feel like I have followed her career — at least the one we have known since ‘Just Dance’ was thrust upon us — all the way from the very beginning.
And that’s why it pains me to feel unsure of her current decisions with both her music and her style.
Lady Gaga: then and now
I can’t say she’s never put a foot wrong before — her BRITs performance of ‘Telephone’ and ‘Dance in the Dark’ was one of the most disappointing I’ve ever witnessed — but she’s always bounced back with something incredible.
I was certainly excited about a new era of Lady Gaga having been pleased she’d decided to take some time away from releasing music while she toured the world with The Monster Ball, a show I saw, and loved, twice in the last year.
But that was shortlived when she issued the lyrics to ‘Born This Way’, an ode to loving who you are no matter what people say. It’s not the sort of thing that usually appeals to me anyway, and certainly not from one of my favourite popstars whose most memorable lyric is the hook from ‘Bad Romance’.
Last week the song was premiered and I can’t say I was overly impressed. I was relieved it wasn’t a ballad in the style of ‘Speechless’, an undeniable great song but nevertheless not something I’d want released as a single, and yet something didn’t sit right with me.
I must confess, having played it a lot over the past five days I have grown to like it a lot and just seeing Gaga dance to it in the studio when playing it to the 60 Minute crew has helped me understand why she has so much passion and belief in it. I was even one of the 62,000 people who helped catapult it to #3 in the charts after only 34 hours of sales. I can’t see it going down as a classic Gaga track, but I can see why it has an important place in her history.
Two nights ago she performed the track for the first time at the 53rd Grammy Awards in America. I didn’t know what to expect and having watched it I was left underwheled on first viewing; the staging and lighting were appalling for such a huge occassion and the less said about the outfit the better. It felt like a waste.
But watching it again, I could see the utter JOY on her face as she ripped into the final pumping chorus and it made me beam. She sang it incredibly and the dancing was fun, even if she isn’t the world’s greatest mover.
And for once she even had a concept that made a bit of sense, arriving first in a coffin (saying goodbye to The Fame Monster) and then ‘walking’ the red carpet in an egg (rebirth for Born This Way). It must be hard sometimes for her to think of shocking ideas, especially with the likes of Nicki Minaj emerging, who has been filling the void of unsual outfits just fine in Gaga’s fleeting absence.
I just hope she doesn’t someday go too far. But perhaps that’s what she’s aiming for.
In just two years Lady Gaga has gone from somebody who seemed effortlessly cool and self-assured, to someone geeky and insecure. Is either the real her? Maybe both were at the time. I just feel like the Gaga I fell in love with, with the sleek hair, nice make-up, leotards and Disco Stick, is long gone. And I miss her. Maybe Born This Way will get something out of her system. Or it could just lead on to something even more extreme.
Somehow she seems to feel the need to remind us she’s not just an empty headed bimbo singing a souless pop song given to her by a bunch of suits. Everybody knows she’s talented. I won’t deny I’m quite shallow when it comes to female popstars, though: but can we not have an intelligent woman who writes their own music, sings live and looks pretty all at the same time? Why does she feel the need to make herself look less than flattering at every opportunity when it’s clear to see she’s really quite pretty, if a little unconventionally so.
She could be the most perfect popstar the world has ever seen, but perfect doesn’t seem to be what she wants. She wants to be the most memorable, the most famous.
I guess the best thing about her is that really never know what you’re going to get next. And for that you can only applaud her.
I await Born This Way with great intrigue and excitement.
Ladies and gentlemen, may I present my Top 40 Singles of 2010.
I’d love to be able to go into great detail about why I love each song and how it deserves its position on the chart, but a simple list is much less time consuming.
1. Dancing On My Own - Robyn 2. All The Lovers - Kylie Minogue 3. Telephone - Lady Gaga featuring Beyonce 4. Only Girl (In The World) - Rihanna 5. Promise This - Cheryl Cole 6. Wonderful Life - Hurts 7. Bittersweet - Sophie Ellis-Bextor 8. Poison - Nicole Sherzinger 9. Hands - The Ting Tings 10. The Flood - Take That 11. What’s My Name - Rihanna featuring Drake 12. 4th Of July (Fireworks) - Kelis 13. Hang With Me - Robyn 14. Commander - Kelly Rowland 15. DJ Got Us Fallin’ In Love - Usher 16. Start Without You - Alexandra Burke 17. On A Mission - Gabriella Cilmi 18. California Gurls - Katy Perry featuring Snoop Dog 19. Indestructible - Robyn 20. Oh No! - Marina & The Diamonds 21. Raise Your Glass - Pink 22. Higher - The Saturdays 23. Ambitions - Joe McElderry 24. My Wicked Heart - Diana Vickers 25. Get Outta My Way - Kylie Minogue 26. Drummer Boy - Alesha Dixon 27. Teenage Dream - Katy Perry 28. Hole In My Heart - Alphabeat 29. Ego - The Saturdays 30. Fire With Fire - Scissor Sisters 31. Alejandro - Lady Gaga 32. Hollywood - Marina & The Diamonds 33. One Touch - Mini Viva 34. Airplanes - B.o.B. featuring Hayley Williams 35. Any Which Way - Scissor Sisters 36. Well, Well, Well - Duffy 37. Once - Diana Vickers 38. All Night Long - Alexandra Burke featuring Pitbull 39. Ke$ha - Your Love Is My Drug 40. In My Head - Jason Derulo
These songs are also from 2010, but didn’t quite make the list. They are still good.
Acapella - Kelis Broken Heels - Alexandra Burke Choices - The Hoosiers Clap Your Hands - Sia Crossfire - Brandon Flowers DJ (I Could Be Dancing) - Alphabeat Firework - Katy Perry Forget You - Cee Lo Green Gotta Be Somebody - Shayne Ward Higher - Taio Cruz featuring Kylie Minogue I Like - Keri Hilson I’m Not Mad - Alex Gardner Insatiable - Nadine Coyle Just The Way You Are - Bruno Mars Katy On A Mission - Katy B Kickstarts - Example Love You More - JLS Missing You - The Saturdays OMG (Oh My Gosh) - Sabrina Washington One - Sky Ferriera One Life Stand - Hot Chip Parachute - Cheryl Cole Ridin’ Solo - Jason Derulo Scream - Kelis Shampain - Marina & The Diamonds The Silence - Alexandra Burke Someone Wake Me Up - Joe McElderry Starry Eyed - Ellie Goulding Stay - Hurts Take It Off - Ke$ha The Time (Dirty Bit) Black Eyed Peas Who’s That Chick? - David Guetta featuring Rihanna XXXO - M.I.A. You Lost Me - Christina Aguilera
These singles weren’t even released in the UK (to my knowledge) but I have listened to them regardless.
Glow - Madcon Maniac - Girlicious Strip Me - Natasha Bedingfield Touch - Natasha Bedingfield Whataya Want From Me - Adam Lambert
Finally, this doesn’t qualify as a UK single in my rule book, but it is without doubt my favourite song from the year.
y - iamamiwhoami
So there you go. A list of albums will follow shortly.
Ranking Disney Pixar films from best to worst is like picking a favourite child: nigh on impossible. The ninth best Pixar film is just as good as the best, and it’s only indescribable personal feelings about tiny aspects that edge one slightly above another.
But rank them is what I have done. In reality it’s case of ‘Cars’ being the only film to let Pixar down, and ‘A Bug’s Life’ being outdone with epic storytelling and technology advances rather than being ‘worse’ than newer ones; the characters and dialogue have been spot on from day one.
Anyway…
1. Toy Story 3
2. Up
3. Toy Story 2
4. Monsters, Inc.
5. The Incredibles
6. Finding Nemo
7. Toy Story
8. WALL-E ½
9. Ratatouille ½
10. A Bug’s Life
11. Cars ½
The one thing that unites them all is heart. Except for ‘Cars’. That has Owen Wilson. Sigh.
Okay, so this is what I’m thinking with regards to the ULTIMATE ‘Body Talk’ by Robyn. Obviously there’s no issue of filler because EVERY SONG IS INCREDIBLE, but then you’re stuck with a lot of songs. However, this is not a bad thing (see: previous point about EVERY SONG BEING INCREDIBLE.)
I kind of picture my ‘Body Talk’ in acts.
ACT 1
1. In My Eyes - Strong opener
2. Fembot - Catchy song to get you hooked in
3. Dancing On My Own - HIT
4. Indestructible - HIT
5. Hang With Me - HIT
INTERLUDE
6. Don’t Fucking Tell Me What To Do
ACT 2
7. Cry When You Get Older - Actual…
8. Love Kills - …pop…
9. Time Machine - …heaven.
10. Criminal Intent - Turn my swag on
11. Dancehall Queen - Continuation of said swag
12. None Of Dem - More swag; is there ever enough!?!?!
INTERLUDE
13. We Dance To The Beat
ACT 3
14. Include Me Out
15. Call Your Girlfriend
16. U Should Know Better
17. Stars 4-Ever
18. Get Myself Together
The last act is obviously just the rest, but that does not devalue them; they work best to close the album and wrap up the wonderful aural treat that is ‘Body Talk’.
