I'm aware i'm a king

 

 

 

12. Kanye West - Black Skinhead

 

 

Kanye letting it all go in spectacular style. Not one to hold back anyway, so this is understandably a lot to take in given he's set loose completely. It didn't start out of a 'Yeezus' highlight for me, but hearing it in the most awkward and random of places as it started spreading secured it as one of the bravest moves West have ever made. Embracing the themes of the album in grotesque style the song is a nightmare (with an appropriate video to match). Tribal chants, frantic verses, controversial to the last gasp and all building up into that diabolical final 20 seconds. GOD.

Let's go for it just for tonight

 

 

 

11. Ke$ha - C'mon

 

 

The last song i added to the countdown as i previously dismissed it as a 2012 release. Given it dominated most of the start of the year for me though, i couldn't deny it. I haven't hidden my love for Ke$ha's latest album too well. In short it is THE pop album of the past few years for me, heavily underrated but in a way it makes it more special and gives the animals a reason to fight. An album full of so many highs (that couldn't qualify for this chart as the album was released last year) so we have to settle for the TWO singles she did release this year. 'C'mon', the first of the two, is Ke$ha by numbers; a feel-good anthem about living for the moment and it's done in simple but effective style. Perhaps the song that really failed the era in the real world but it kick-started it for me and i can't hold any grudges when it sounds as delicious as this.

 

And Kendrick's last release was his album last year. Very very big album and worth it if you can invest in it. Hmm but i'm not sure there'd be too much you'd like as much as the ones you mentioned here, going on what i know of your taste, but could be worth a listen and the singles are all FAB/huge enough.

Yeah, I thought it might have been. I'm not sure I'd like a whole album either but I wouldn't mind listening to it just to find a couple of highlights.

 

'#Beautiful' didn't perform as well in my chart as well as I'd liked it to. This is the direction that Mariah should take as it's proven to capture a younger audience (got good airplay on Capital I believe!) yet doesn't come across as desperate at all! It's in fact really refreshing! :wub:

 

Not usually a fan of Kanye's own material however 'Black Skinhead' is really good! The radio edit sounds odd mind! :P 'Bound 2' is great as well, as are the Watch the Throne singles.

 

I loved 'C'mon' ever since her Graham Norton performance which was rather excellent! It's definitely my favourite single from the Warrior era, although I liked 'Crazy Kids' too (not so much 'Die Young', there's a handful of her singles that should have had its success instead).

'#Beautiful' didn't perform as well in my chart as well as I'd liked it to. This is the direction that Mariah should take as it's proven to capture a younger audience (got good airplay on Capital I believe!) yet doesn't come across as desperate at all! It's in fact really refreshing! :wub:

 

Completely agree with you. #Beautiful was one of the songs of the Summer for me!

Come & Get It :wub: It is basic but god I adore it, I think it would probably be my Selena fave now. If not that then either Love You Like A Love Song, Naturally, Whiplash or A Year Without Rain!

Quen Ke$ha slaying as usual :wub:

#Beautiful is so so so so good. It was definitely the soundtrack of some lovely summer days I experienced last year.

:wub: definitely has the same effect on me.

 

#Beautiful is gorgeous, fails to get old. Really hoping for more of the same from her new album.

 

Sorry but Come & Get It defines basic bitch pop for me :(.

:o but it's the best of all the disney girls this year :(

 

'#Beautiful' didn't perform as well in my chart as well as I'd liked it to. This is the direction that Mariah should take as it's proven to capture a younger audience (got good airplay on Capital I believe!) yet doesn't come across as desperate at all! It's in fact really refreshing! :wub:

 

Not usually a fan of Kanye's own material however 'Black Skinhead' is really good! The radio edit sounds odd mind! :P 'Bound 2' is great as well, as are the Watch the Throne singles.

 

I loved 'C'mon' ever since her Graham Norton performance which was rather excellent! It's definitely my favourite single from the Warrior era, although I liked 'Crazy Kids' too (not so much 'Die Young', there's a handful of her singles that should have had its success instead).

She got it spot on. Not sure what happened with the second single though for it to underperform so massively.

 

HA i tend to just turn the radio down when it's on and just play the original.

 

I'm not a massive fan of Die Young either (i say that, i LOVE it but compared to the rest of the album it's somewhere in the middle).

 

Come & Get It :wub: It is basic but god I adore it, I think it would probably be my Selena fave now. If not that then either Love You Like A Love Song, Naturally, Whiplash or A Year Without Rain!

LYLALS and Naturally i LOVE too :wub: I think this is my fave from her now too though.

 

Quen Ke$ha slaying as usual :wub:

Of course. All that matters :heart:

My whole world's in your eyes

 

 

 

10. Miguel - Adorn

 

 

Kick-starting the top 10 is my debut BJSC entry and one of the first songs i fell head-over-heels in love with in 2013. Miguel has one of the most distinguishable voices currently, it's traditional R&B swooning but with a wealth of personality and let's face it, sex-appeal. This song, his highlight and defining stamp on the industry to date, is a wonderful array of lustful swirls and groans as he pines for his lover. Swept away with every listen, this is the stuff of dreams <3 There was also a Jessie Ware version, which wasn't as good. And a Wiz Khalifa version on the album, which does work. I'm glad it finally got the full single treatment here even if it did continually get ignored by the masses here. It can be our dirty little secret.

Be rocking this until the sunlight

 

 

 

09. Katy B - 5 AM

 

 

Actually making the top 10 here is the fiery beauty B. Everything i heard from her last year had me gagging for more, and so she currently holds the title for "most anticipated release of 2014" (unless another redhead in La Roux decides to pop up of course). So with 'Little Red' looking to be huge for me this coming year it's precisely moments like this that explain why. '5 AM' gets under your skin. It's a song for those dirty 5am mornings, but also for readying yourself for that night ahead, the morning after and everything in between. The music video deserves a very big mention of its own too; channelling Kubrick, she gets the danger of the song visualised perfectly as her dazzling beauty leaves my eyes & ears wide open for her the entire time. Already regret not putting it higher.

 

And pass me the valium if 'Crying For No Reason' underperforms now. The pressure is on her.

You didn't think the Jessie Ware version of 'Adorn' was very good? I quite liked it, I think I even prefer it to the original.

'Adorn' :wub: Ugh, when I saw him at Wireless and he lifted up his shirt... the hormones. And yeah, much as I love Jessie, that version didn't really work, it was rather awkwardly put together.

 

And '5 AM'! :heart: Album gon' slayyyyyy

5am is absolutely one of the years highlights. what a babe. nearly her best, but nothing will beat the arresting 'katy on a mission'.

You didn't think the Jessie Ware version of 'Adorn' was very good? I quite liked it, I think I even prefer it to the original.

The appeal wore off very fast. Didn't seem to flow as smoothly as the original for me i'm afraid.

 

'Adorn' :wub: Ugh, when I saw him at Wireless and he lifted up his shirt... the hormones. And yeah, much as I love Jessie, that version didn't really work, it was rather awkwardly put together.

 

And '5 AM'! :heart: Album gon' slayyyyyy

TAKE ME THERE.

 

5am is absolutely one of the years highlights. what a babe. nearly her best, but nothing will beat the arresting 'katy on a mission'.

Her best for me now. 'Easy Please Me' is my debut album highlight but her hit rate is so phenomenal.

I'm no virgin, or no virgo

 

 

 

08. Ke$ha - Crazy Kids

 

 

Ke$ha's third single from 'Warrior' was met by almost unanimous groans across the camp. An album full of so many highs, so many messages, so many moments and she once again decides to go for the easy option. Eventually however the song started to grow on me, and it continued to do so until finally peaking as yet another of those "moments" sometime in the summer. She's capable of absolute gems, and while i don't think this is one of those REAL shining diamonds from her, for what it is, it's infectiously wacky and a barrel of fun. Has she ever sounded as mystical as those "hello... wherever you are" moments? I can even take will.i.am tacked on as a feature (and Juicy J), but it's the original version with her booty-popping second verse that gives it the boost into my top 10 of the year. And the video.

I’d throw myself into the fire for us

 

 

 

07. Kelly Sweet - Ashes Of My Paradise

 

 

Probably the lowest profile release in my top 10. This song came out of nowhere and instantly struck a chord with me. So very beautiful, mysterious, dark and brooding it's a real shame it went almost universally unnoticed. It has a timeless feel to it, not sure if she channelling the 80's, 90's, 00's or if she's capturing a sound still to come but whatever tricks she plays throughout it, the end result is sweeet. Her mournful voice, tones and lyrics show off the true despair of the song but it's all oddly uplifting and just sends me on a high whenever i hear it. With one of the most captivating music videos too, the whole project seems so complete and definite. An anthem for anyone that's loved and/or lost.

You left your mark on me

 

 

 

06. Drake ft. Majid Jordan - Hold On, We're Going Home

 

 

Do you wanna roll with a good girl? Very, very narrowly missing out on the top 5 is the big one from Drake. I've always been a fan, even when his music was gritty and dirty it still had a sense of whimsical charm to it, but here it seems he's polished off all the rough edges and the result is still something quite spectacular. It was a year full of interesting releases with artists stepping out of their comfort zones, and while a lot of the album this is taken from follows on from that, this single comfortably plays to his strengths; smooth&sultry R&B with a killer beat, harking back to some of the stuff that first got his name out there. And he still maintains his effortless ability to swoon endlessly. If he didn't do it with 'Thank Me Later', he managed to with 'Take Care' and if there was still any doubt he made it a triple whammy with this.

 

Almost home. Top 5 has leading ladies, the same project repeated and a lapdance or two.

LOVE crazy kids mmmm. kesha is someone i always have a lot of time for - she is just the soundtrack to big party nights.

All aboard my spaceship

 

 

 

05. Iggy Azalea - Work

 

 

Yes she had stuff before, but what a way to stamp your mark on the scene. Those first few words she utters with the faux-accent are iconic already. The song defined a lot of the year for me, i'd hear it out everywhere, request it wherever i went, play it on repeat for weeks and just live for it. It's still the best thing she's done and while she flounders around delaying her album until goodness knows when, if the end result is anywhere close to this it will be fully worth the wait. It's effectively just a retelling of her life, trials and tribulations but yet it manages to speak out to all as a self-empowering anthem. The "no money, no family" hook is insane and the video is SAUCY (and the source of many a gif). Ugh, i so don't want her to flop but she needs to start working on her own shit to make it work big now.

All alone I need you now

 

 

 

04. Autre Ne Veut - Play By Play

 

 

BABE. Autre Ne Veut with the BIGGEST song off album 'Anxiety' comes all guns blazing with this masterpiece. The thing that sets this apart from basically everything this year is the sheer effort he puts into it. It's rare you see an artist suffering for his art in front of your eyes, but that's exactly what it sounds like here as Arthur painstakingly claws at every chance he can, climaxing over and over again. Relentless in it's final half, never wanting to let go of the hold it's got on you, it's an epic song in so many ways. A slow build up, an enchanting middle and an orgasmic ending. Some songs just shouldn't end, and three-quarters into this, you just wish it was the case here. In the video, the cinematic tones of the song are revealed in stunning detail, it's all eyes on Arthur and all of Arthur's eyes on us. I haven't for a second stopped loving the man, from the very first listen right up to this second as i press play again. Play by play by name and nature.

Work is absolutely incredible, like you I would request it wherever I went too and reminds me of a lot of happy times I had in 2013. I pray she doesn't do an Azealia on us, but part of me is expecting it. :(