I don't know any of the last three :(

I don't know any of the last three :(

They're my songs. You can't have them :drink: Well Hunter is up for grabs because someone else needs to like him.

Don't worry, the next several artists are *highly* relevant...

Edited December 9, 201311 yr by RiseR

Icona Pop "All Night"

http://www.thisisfakediy.co.uk/images/made/images/uploads/listen-icona-pops-stream-all-night-single-share-album-art_300_300_80_s_c1.jpg

The recap continues with two of the most gorgeous women in music today. "I Love It" was my favorite success story of the year, in which Icona Pop completed their global domination with the most flawless pop anthem of our time. I still can't believe it made the top 10 in America and #1 in the UK; it all seems too good to be true. Thank goodness it happened at all, because sustaining that success has proven difficult.

To be fair, "All Night" should start with a warning: Accept the fact that this won't sound as good as "I Love It". I first heard it on a night out and was unprepared to confront my expectations. That first listen was a disappointment but it grew on me. If the song didn't disappoint you, its chart performance certainly did. As I type I'm listening to the full Icona Pop album and enjoying every track. These girls are too fierce to be denied, so they had better stick around.

 

Imagine Dragons "Demons"

http://www.antena8.com/portal/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/demons-300x300.jpg

"Demons" is the third North American single from debut album Night Visions and currently sits at #7 on the Hot 100. I found myself relating to the lyrics a lot when I first paid attention to them, and it made listening to this song both sad and therapeutic. When you have a hard time letting people into your life, out of fear that they'll see what's wrong with you, you need to find a way to let them in so you have someone who understands you...that's what it means to me. Maybe not the most profound, but it does the trick. Subtle but powerful.

For some reason Imagine Dragons have completely different single strategies for each part of the world. This summer "Radioactive" was charting in America while "It's Time" was charting in the UK and "On Top Of The World" was charting in Australia. They're all very strong singles! Anyway, "Demons" hasn't been pushed in the UK yet; it could happen in 2014 but they may have lost too much momentum at this point.

 

J. Cole featuring Miguel "Power Trip"

J. Cole featuring TLC "Crooked Smile"

http://lomapesao.com/v2012/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/J-Cole-Power-Trip-feat.-Miguel-Single-300x300.jpghttp://soulbowl.pl/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/jcolecrookedsmile-600x600-290x290.jpg

J. Cole gave us these wonderful tracks from his second album, Born Sinner, an effort even stronger than his debut from 2011. Hip hop has been in a slump so far this decade but J. Cole has really stood out, releasing music that's actually compellingggggg and not being a one-album wonder. "Power Trip" sounds like nothing else I've heard and the production is sublime. Miguel is the hot collaborator of the moment and for good reason! But the best part of the song is the flute <3. It's sampled from a 70s jazz song that I'm listening to as I type this.

"Crooked Smile" was an excellent choice for the second single. The sample sounds super vintage but it's only two years old from the lovely Jennifer Hudson! Obvioiusly TLC singing the chorus is both random and fascinating. I'm still dying to know how that idea happened. It was enough of a revival for them to release a new greatest hits album called 20 in October. Now they'll probably disappear again for another five years or so.

 

Jason Derulo "The Other Side"

Jason Derulo "Marry Me"

http://zeneihirek.hu/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/JasonDerulo_TheOtherSide-300x300.jpghttp://s.itncdn.com/img/album/users/AndrewPatrick/37752-240-Jason-Derulo-Marry-Me-2013.png

How Jason has managed to still be relevant is anyone's guess, but good for him! His singles are a bit generic ("Talk Dirty" aside) but, to his credit, each one sounds completely different from the next. "The Other Side" was the debut single from Tattoos and I love it to death. It's a major *.* moment to my ears when he sings "We're going all the way" because you can tell he MEANS it. So I'm tempted to call that the pinnacle of his career so far, but the rest of the song as a bit faceless so it doesn't seem right.

"Marry Me" we can assume is a song about girlfriend Jordin Sparks, who seriously needs to find a way back into music. Her two albums are now surpassed by Jason's three, all of which were released after Battlefield. I just want to know what she does all day if she's not recording. Anyway, "Marry Me" was the second single in North America instead of "Talk Dirty", presumably because it is safe and inoffensive. Considering Jason hasn't been top 10 in America since "Ridin' Solo" (:o), he'd be crazy not to push "Talk Dirty" at some point.

That's 25 songs so far :o

Might as well do a recap:

Anna Kendrick "Cups"

Ariana Grande featuring Mac Miller "The Way"

A$AP Rocky featuring 2 Chainz, Drake & Kendrick Lamar "F**kin' Problems"

Baauer "Harlem Shake"

Big Sean featuring Lil Wayne & Jhene Aiko "Beware"

Britney Spears "Work B**ch!"

Bruno Mars "Gorilla"

Cage The Elephant "Come A Little Closer"

Capital Cities "Safe And Sound"

Chris Brown "Fine China"

Chris Brown featuring Nicki Minaj "Love More"

Demi Lovato "Heart Attack"

Drake "Started From The Bottom"

Ellie Goulding "Only You"

Florida Georgia Line featuring Nelly "Cruise"

Florida Georgia Line "Get Your Shine On"

fun. "Carry On"

Gavin DeGraw "Best I Ever Had"

Hunter Hayes "I Want Crazy"

Icona Pop "All Night"

Imagine Dragons "Demons"

J. Cole featuring Miguel "Power Trip"

J. Cole featuring TLC "Crooked Smile"

Jason Derulo "The Other Side"

Jason Derulo "Marry Me"

 

SOME of these artists will appear in the next 25:

Jay Z

Jennifer Lopez

Justin Timberlake

Kanye West

Karmin

Kendrick Lamar

Ke$ha

Lana Del Rey

Lawson

Macklemore & Ryan Lewis

Mariah Carey

Maroon 5

Michael Buble

Nelly

Nicki Minaj

Pitbull

Psy

Hey, heeyyyyy Jordan!

 

Ariana Grande featuring Mac Miller "The Way"

Britney Spears "Work B**ch!"

Bruno Mars "Gorilla"

Demi Lovato "Heart Attack" >> Amazing song. She's been on such a huge roll with me this year! <<

Drake "Started From The Bottom"

Florida Georgia Line featuring Nelly "Cruise" >> Was great to finally find out what "that song playing at the end!" of the 'Hey Porsche' video was! <<

fun. "Carry On"

Icona Pop "All Night"

Imagine Dragons "Demons" >> One of my favourites of the year! SO PLEASED it's a massive hit in the States! <<

Jason Derulo "The Other Side" >> I think I preferred 'Talk Dirty' when that premiered, but now, this has definitely re-overtaken! <<

Jason Derulo "Marry Me" >> This is good too, but he has much better on his album! <<

 

Great so far <3

Hey, heeyyyyy Jordan!

 

Ariana Grande featuring Mac Miller "The Way"

Britney Spears "Work B**ch!"

Bruno Mars "Gorilla"

Demi Lovato "Heart Attack" >> Amazing song. She's been on such a huge roll with me this year! <<

Drake "Started From The Bottom"

Florida Georgia Line featuring Nelly "Cruise" >> Was great to finally find out what "that song playing at the end!" of the 'Hey Porsche' video was! <<

fun. "Carry On"

Icona Pop "All Night"

Imagine Dragons "Demons" >> One of my favourites of the year! SO PLEASED it's a massive hit in the States! <<

Jason Derulo "The Other Side" >> I think I preferred 'Talk Dirty' when that premiered, but now, this has definitely re-overtaken! <<

Jason Derulo "Marry Me" >> This is good too, but he has much better on his album! <<

 

Great so far <3

Thanks so much ^_^ Very clever idea to end the Hey Porsche video. I loved it! And you're right about Jason's album...loving Trumpets at the moment <3

 

JAY Z "Tom Ford"

http://www.jbcstyle.com/insiderstyle/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/jayzmagnacartaholygrail-300x300.jpg

TOM FORD. In two words, anything goes! Both the production and the lyrics are ALL over the place, but the various blips and noises are fascinating whereas lines like "hashtags and retweets, 140 characters in these streets" fall flat. This may have been better if released as an instrumental although it would never have been chosen as a single or one of the most cherry-picked tracks off the album.

This is the only track from Magna Carta Holy Grail that I bother with. I tried and tried to like "Holy Grail" and it never happened, but the far superior Jay/Justin collab is coming very soon (next, actually). If you need a reason to listen to "Tom Ford", Jay Z borrows something from "Bad Girls" by M.I.A. somewhere in the song. I noticed something at the time but couldn't pinpoint it without Wikipedia's help. Try it if you dare (and/or if you like "Bad Girls")!

 

Justin Timberlake featuring JAY Z "Suit & Tie"

Justin Timberlake "TKO"

http://thejustpushplay.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/jtsuitandtie-300x300.jpghttp://thebizzniz.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/justin-timberlake-tko-300x300.jpg

Did anyone else hate "Suit & Tie" at first, only to fall in love with it later? The morning it premiered, I stayed up late to hear it and was so disappointed. Very self-indulgent, as Cowell would say, and so overhyped. But "Suit & Tie" is actually a great song, the first big single to debut in 2013, and does not deserve to be overshadowed by "Mirrors". In most countries its chart run was less than stellar: only one week top 10, and some longevity but not enough. Only in America did it build enough radio support to be a real smash, and even that was never guaranteed. Justin's relentless promo paid off in the end.

Fast forward to his last single of the year, "TKO". I can't describe how great it sounded on the radio. But I have a fondness for flops (did you notice?). It's hard to believe that "TKO" made no impact whatsoever, a far cry from Justin's omnipresence the first few months of the year. Tragic, but it's just a tiny blemish on an otherwise incredible singles discography.

This is incredible :wub:

Amazing commentary so far Jordan, I've been reading it just for that.

 

I mean, there are a few things I like here (Demons, The Other Side, Heart Attack) but the highlight is definitely the eloquence of the commentary.

This is incredible :wub:

Amazing commentary so far Jordan, I've been reading it just for that.

 

I mean, there are a few things I like here (Demons, The Other Side, Heart Attack) but the highlight is definitely the eloquence of the commentary.

Omg thank you both so much :blush: So glad to know this because I'm spending way too much time on it :lol:

*5 or 6 more very soon*

Karmin "Acapella"

http://ecs3cdn.dhstatic.net/images/small_300/acapella-19949482745221f145952d09.08749288.jpg

Behold, the only song I bought on iTunes this year (besides 3 that are in Spanish). "Brokenhearted" won me over big time last year and Karmin have continued to impress. A song like "Acapella" was a very risky choice as the first single for what is technically their first album. They've been walking a fine line between novelty Internet stars and serious pop duo, and the song is just cheesy enough to suggest they can't pick a side. That said, there's really nothing wrong with "Acapella"; there is some novelty to it, but the production is slick and the melody has hooks in all the right places. You just have to enjoy it and not take it too seriously!

Thankfully our Aussie and Kiwi friends saved this from being a complete global flop! A top 10 hit in both countries, it's Karmin's highest peaking song in Australia and their 3rd top 40 single in NZ. The album Pulses was meant to be released in September but is now delayed until further notice. Second single "I Want It All" has just premiered, and I haven't heard it yet but it's crucial that they get it right this time. Apparently she doesn't rap at all :o

 

Kelly Clarkson "Catch My Breath"

http://img.melodycenta.com/images/albums/big/Kelly_Clarkson/2012_-_Catch_My_Breath_Cdr.jpg

The lead single from 2012's Greatest Hits--Chapter One was love at first listen and kept growing on me even this year. It really is the perfect single for a greatest hits CD! Kelly sings about taking a look back and seeing how far she has come, and knowing everything she's been through makes it all the more believable. I'm imagining "Catch My Breath" as a sequel to "A Moment Like This", the song that started it all. That 'moment' has been going for a decade, girl <3

Seriously, this is beautiful, one of Kelly's best singles. In my opinion, the other highlight on the album is not "People Like Us" but the country single "Don't Rush". She has truly spoiled us with three albums in the last three years. Now Kelly's happily married and can hopefully take a break, unless she wants a 2014 album too. Here's to ten more years!

 

Kendrick Lamar featuring Drake "Poetic Justice"

http://www.thisgoesin.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/POETIC-JUSTICE-300x300.jpg

Another song from 2012, whoops. "Poetic Justice" was Kendrick's second of three top 40 singles in the US. I think I like this one the best! The chorus is super catchy and was contagiously stuck in my head during my final few months of school. As a flop Janet fan I had no idea that the female vocal was a sample until discovering "Any Time, Any Place" MUCH later in the year, whilst on a 90s kick. Janet was in a film called "Poetic Justice" twenty years ago. Now it all makes sense!

Kendrick's voice is lovely, his songwriting is outstanding, and his music is adored by the press. Debut album Good Kid, M.A.A.D. City is a Grammy nominee for album of the year. Four of the five nominees will feature in this thread! All but Daft Punk who I found very overhyped this year. A win for Kendrick would be amazing! The only downside is that he would beat Eminem as the first artist on Aftermath to win album of the year. But I'm sure Eminem would be nothing but proud.

 

Ke$ha "C'mon"

Ke$ha featuring will.i.am "Crazy Kids"

http://www.popelera.net/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/kesha1.jpg http://musichits.ucoz.com/cover/Kesha_feat-will.i.am-Crazy_Kids.jpg

"C'mon" is, without a doubt, THE flop of the year. The public simply ignored it, and there must be some conspiracy because it's an excellent song. Since when does Dr. Luke make songs that fail this badly? Or Ke$ha for that matter, since this was her first non-top-10 on Billboard ever. She did lose some support with "Die Young" being linked to a tragic school shooting, plus Radio 1 decided to keep "Die Young" off the A List and not play "C'mon" at all. Basically, Warrior was the victim of unfortunate events that led to the era's downfall, but her music has been consistent and I can't believe people have abandoned her.

Give Ke$ha credit for not giving up. She pushed "Crazy Kids" as the third single, releasing remixes with will.i.am, Juicy J, and apparently Pitbull. It's a bit too similar to will.i.am's "Fall Down" featuring Miley Cyrus, but I'd say Ke$ha's track is slightly better! She looks terrible in the video, though. In the end we were shocked and thankful that it managed to make the top 40 at all. How times have changed! Teaming up with Pitbull on "Timber" could turn things around for her, but time will tell.

 

Krewella "Alive"

http://cdn.starflash.de/bilder/krewella-alive-194528.jpg

This is SO intense and wonderful. There was hype building for Krewella last year and they really followed through with "Alive", definitely exceeding any expectations I'd had for them. While the full version is nice, the radio edit has just as much energy compressed into 3 1/2 minutes of nonstop intensity. After being a huge radio hit in America I waited for it to be just as big (or bigger) in Europe and Australia, and...I'm still waiting, but that's been a disappointment. If you're a fan of this song you might also like the acoustic performance on their Youtube channel.

Krewella's next single "Live For The Night" was underwhelming, very much like Icona Pop's "All Night" after "I Love It", but worse. Possibly for this reason, their album Get Wet had a glorious plummet from 8 to 97 in its first two weeks on the Billboard 200. I've lost interest at this point but this is by far the most successful year they've had, so kudos to Krewella.

Only just caught up on this but A LOT i'm loving (and a lot that doesn't get enough love on this site so YAY)

 

A$AP Rocky featuring 2 Chainz, Drake & Kendrick Lamar "F**kin' Problems"

Another song that I tried not to like but couldn't deny. This surged up the Hot 100 as A$AP's "Wild For The Night" was climbing the Radio 1 playlist. The album was meant to be released in September 2012, but the delays did some good in this case. The hype easily could have died down but instead it grew bigger and bigger, and for good reason!

Sometimes you wonder if the repetitive f-bombs are a cheap way to grab attention, but look no further than the featured guests. A$AP smartly teamed with 2 Chainz and Kendrick, two stars who had their own breakthrough just months before, as well as Drake who's always in demand. The same can be said for Skrillex though, and look what happened to "Wild For The Night" (answer: not enough). Anyway, this is a brilliant collab, brilliant video, and hopefully a sign of more great music to come from A$AP Rocky![/b]

YESSSS. One of my favourite off the album. Not liking 'Wild For The Night' though??? A$AP is a weird one but i loved the album and visuals he came up with this year <3

 

Drake "Started From The Bottom"

Canada's finest! :wub: Drake is the first of two Canadian acts to appear in this thread. Obviously "Started From The Bottom" was the first single from his third album Nothing Was The Same. It was nice to see the album reach #2 in the UK in September, but to me it doesn't feel any bigger than Take Care or Thank Me Later, as all three have been equally huge in North America. Drake has been so consistently good and has had hit after hit over the last four years without stopping.

Unpopular opinion here: I MUCH prefer this over "Hold On, We're Going Home"! No surprise that it might underwhelm, as it's less than 3 minutes and consists mostly of one line repeated over and over. Seems more fitting for a buzz single, but that didn't bother me at all. Nothing wrong with a simple song ^_^ [/b]

Complete opposite opinion here though. As much as i enjoy it, 'Started...' almost killed the campaign for me. Coming off the back of 'Take Care' i expected SO much more and thankfully that came with 'Hold On...' for me. Still nice to see him here.

 

J. Cole featuring Miguel "Power Trip"

J. Cole featuring TLC "Crooked Smile"

J. Cole gave us these wonderful tracks from his second album, Born Sinner, an effort even stronger than his debut from 2011. Hip hop has been in a slump so far this decade but J. Cole has really stood out, releasing music that's actually compellingggggg and not being a one-album wonder. "Power Trip" sounds like nothing else I've heard and the production is sublime. Miguel is the hot collaborator of the moment and for good reason! But the best part of the song is the flute <3. It's sampled from a 70s jazz song that I'm listening to as I type this.

"Crooked Smile" was an excellent choice for the second single. The sample sounds super vintage but it's only two years old from the lovely Jennifer Hudson! Obvioiusly TLC singing the chorus is both random and fascinating. I'm still dying to know how that idea happened. It was enough of a revival for them to release a new greatest hits album called 20 in October. Now they'll probably disappear again for another five years or so.

 

:wub: He gets next to NO recognition on here so VERY HAPPY to see these two making it. My two favourites from the album (so we're finally in full agreement). And i agree, his vintage/yet current sounds are what make him so exciting right now.

 

Kelly Clarkson "Catch My Breath"

Kendrick Lamar featuring Drake "Poetic Justice"

Ke$ha "C'mon"

Ke$ha featuring will.i.am "Crazy Kids"

'Catch My Breath' is my fave Kelly song!

 

YAY for Kendrick. His latest album is one of my BIG discoveries of the past few years.

 

And Queen$ha representing too. She's everything :heart:

Only just caught up on this but A LOT i'm loving (and a lot that doesn't get enough love on this site so YAY)

YESSSS. One of my favourite off the album. Not liking 'Wild For The Night' though??? A$AP is a weird one but i loved the album and visuals he came up with this year <3

Nooooooo I definitely like Wild For The Night but my clumsy wording there suggests otherwise ;) Genius collab! Just meant to say it didn't reach its potential! It should be a song that defines 2013 but will probably do so only for fans of A$AP/Skrillex.

I was expecting some disagreement with Drake and acknowledged that with what I wrote there, so it's all good. Not sure why my opinion varied from the norm the way it did, but in the end he didn't disappoint.

Glad you're enjoying! I'll stop being a stranger once your singles countdown gets going, promise (:

'Alive' :wub: Such a good song!

 

I liked 'Acapella' at first, but now it just sounds terrible to these ears, tbh. :lol: They've gone a bit downhill since 'Brokenhearted' and are probably going to be a one-hit wonder.

Icona Pop!!!! :o :D All Night was one of my most favourites from this year and their new track looks like it's gonna be another one for next year!!!

Ke$ha!! :D Aww I love her!! She is just amazing, even if her debut single was naff.

'Alive' :wub: Such a good song!

 

I liked 'Acapella' at first, but now it just sounds terrible to these ears, tbh. :lol: They've gone a bit downhill since 'Brokenhearted' and are probably going to be a one-hit wonder.

Yeah :( I won't ask for much, just that they release the album.

Icona Pop!!!! :o :D All Night was one of my most favourites from this year and their new track looks like it's gonna be another one for next year!!!

Ke$ha!! :D Aww I love her!! She is just amazing, even if her debut single was naff.

Definitely! I think the new single is even better than All Night! Needs to be a surprise hit

 

Lana Del Rey "Young And Beautiful"

http://img148.imagevenue.com/loc179/th_871310633_fhfg_122_179lo.jpg

Lana had a surprisingly great year despite not releasing an album, and it started with this single from the Great Gatsby soundtrack. The past year and a half, I was so proud but slightly bitter as Lana’s songs from Born To Die became smash hits everywhere but North America, where her reputation was damaged by a certain TV performance gone awry. Seeing “Young and Beautiful” in the top ten on iTunes was a shock to my system and it only got crazier when “Summertime Sadness” was remixed, stormed the airwaves and went top ten as well. It was pretty amazing and still hard to believe.

In all honesty, I enjoyed this only because it’s Lana and couldn’t possibly call this one of her best. If it wasn’t for the added context from the film, I’d be unlikely to ever choose this over the stronger material from Born To Die. With that being said, “Young & Beautiful” has been a potential game-changer for Lana’s career. The success from that song carried over to “Summertime Sadness”, and now the demand for her next album Ultraviolence cannot be underestimated. World domination should be complete by this time next year.

 

Little Big Town "Tornado"

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/6/67/TornadoLBT.jpg

“I’m gonna lift this house/Spin it all around/Toss it in the air and put it in the ground/Make sure you’re never found”

I clearly haven’t ranked these songs, but this is probably my #2 of the year. For those who’d like to know, Little Big Town is a country quartet that had major success in 2005-06 but was quickly overshadowed by Lady Antebellum and spent the next five years in a slump. They had a fantastic comeback in 2012 with a gritty new sound and an attitude to match. “Tornado” is the title track and second single on an album that just surpassed a million sales, which beats their previous era by a cool 850,000. I couldn’t be happier about it!

“Tornado” has an obvious counterpart in “Blown Away” by Carrie Underwood, and both are excellent in their own ways. I give the edge to Little Big Town. The twister metaphor is delivered so perfectly, with pent-up aggression in the lyrics and instrumentation that’s symbolic of a ghost town. The blend of rock, folk, and country has been a fascinating trend in the genre as a whole. This wouldn’t sound out of place on an album by The Black Keys or even Jake Bugg. Lastly, in a year that had its fill of foot-stomping try-hards, “Tornado” is the only one I heard that came anywhere close to “Rolling in the Deep”. Also, the group’s harmonies cannot be beat, like, EVER. I highly recommend them.

'Young & Beautiful' is definitely one of Lana's best! so so good (but depressing) :P

Oh Hey Jordan, finally got round to dropping a comment here :P

 

Britney Spears "Work B**ch!" Despite this getting to number 7, that drop on the 2nd week was mortifying. She better Work hard to get back to her dominance of 5-10 years ago :(

Bruno Mars "Gorilla" Not my favourite from him this era however the live performance at the VMA's was excellent.

Chris Brown "Fine China"

Demi Lovato "Heart Attack" 2013 I think we can say has been Demi's year. Brilliant pop/electo rnb track.

fun. "Carry On" Great message conveyed in this one especially when life gets so hard and find it almost impossible to get up and carry on. I hope their next album will be a success :(

Icona Pop "All Night" TUNE Why this wasn't a bigger hit I really don't know. Easily their best track!

 

Good so far ^_^

Edited December 19, 201311 yr by Rob Rob Rudolph