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141. The 1975 - The City

142. Martin Garrix - Animals

143. Little Nikki - Little Nikki Says

144. Kendrick Lamar - Backstreet Freestyle

145. Birdy - Wings

146. Chase and Status feat Moko - Count on Me

147. Little Mix feat Missy Elliot - How Ya Doin?

148. Lana Del Rey - Young and Beautiful

149. Rudimental feat Ella Eyre - Waiting All Night

150. Gabrielle Aplin - Please Don't Say You Love Me

 

Gabrielle’s first appearance on the countdown is Please Don’t Say You Love Me which I feel has the ideal music video as all I get is spring/summer country village vibes whenever I hear the song. (What has this commentary come to?) Rudimental arrive at 149 with their second biggest hit which I never completely understood the hype for. I mean, of course it’s a very good song hence it being in this countdown, but I would rather swap Not Giving In’s sales with it. Lana released Young and Beautiful especially for The Great Gatsby (another song from the film will appear later…) and it’s nice enough to feature here but not particularly outstanding enough to be considered amongst her highs. How Ya Doin? was a surprising single choice but it somehow works really well. It has a great video to go with it as well if we remove some of their questionable hair colours. Chase and Status haven’t had the greatest of comebacks this year for me as I loved No More Idols so much but they have done enough for their three singles to feature in the Top 150. The first two singles particularly took a long time to grow on me but I love them and all is forgiven C+S!

 

Yey, Buzzjack’s favourite artist Birdy has arrived :cheer:. Yes, her first album may have featured the Top 10 songs of any indie/alternative/non-mainstream/whatever music fan but I do have to admit I have a soft spot for her. Wings was her first orginal song and while it feels that it’s destined to replace Fix You as the backing for TV shows, I really do think it’s a beautiful song. KENDRICK HAVE A DREAM (that he will be 144 on Rabbit Heart’s Top 200 of 2013). In addition to this dream, Little Nikki Says ‘thank you for placing me at 143 in your year-end countdown’. In all seriousness, it’s a shame that Little Nikki still hasn’t found that success as it’s a sound that I would like to hear more of in the UK but alas it’s probably not meant to be. A song I wasn’t particularly keen on first listen, sorry Tim :(, as I heard it more, it grew and grew on me and that’s all I have to say really! The 1975 make another appearance with The City, a song that I got for free from iTunes, it was released again as a single following the success of Chocolate. The band’s absolute best two songs will feature a lot higher in the countdown.

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131. Jay Z feat Justin Timberlake - Holy Grail

132. Bastille & Gabrielle Alpin - Dreams

133. Cut Copy - Meet Me in the House of Love

134. Arctic Monkeys - Arabella

135. Imagine Dragons - It's Time

136. Rizzle Kicks - Lost Generation

137. Young Summer - Fever Dream

138. Marina and the Diamonds - E.V.O.L.

139. Emmelie de Forest - Only Teardrops

140. Jake Bugg - Slumville Sunrise

 

Jake Bugg makes his second and final appearance here and it’s a shame that this wasn’t the hit that Lightning Bolt and Two Fingers were. I still need to check out the album but I hope it follows in a similar vein to it’s singles. The Eurovision winner of 2013 is next which was easily my favourite when I watched the contest and the only one I can actually remember what it sounds like. Marina makes her first appearance of three despite not releasing any singles this year (let’s forget that ultra messy release of How to be a Heartbreaker never happened and it was released a couple of months after it premiered last year and was a smash hit). It kind of acts as a bridge between the two eras. One of my own BJSC entries is up next and like all my entries, it flopped :lol:. I love it though and perhaps it’s a song that needs to grow on you. Rizzle Kicks made their return this year with a comment on today’s society. It’s nothing groundbreaking, Rizzle Kicks aren’t really but I still have a spot soft for them.

 

It’s Time has a LOT of hype on this site and while I think it’s a very good song, I don’t think it’s amazing. It deserved to do better though and they have a couple more entries to come in this countdown. Arctic Monkeys are another act that have had an amazing year and have bucked the downward trend, Arabella is my favourite album track and I would ask for it to be a single if it had a chance of doing something. The first BJSC winner to feature is Cut Copy, a song that was very instant for me and I awarded it 12 points in the final. Technically a song from last year after featuring on one of their mixtapes, Dreams was released to download on iTunes as part of Gabrielle’s Panic Cord EP. So if Of the Night is allowed to feature, so is this :P. It’s a wonderful cover and their voices surprisingly complement each other, Gabrielle’s vocal stands out for me though. Released in the middle of the Tunnel Vision/Take Back the Night mess, this was, not surprisingly, a big hit. It took a few listens for me to get into it though as I found Justin’s intro a bit too long and boring.

Arabella

'The City' is by far my favourite from The 1975! Such a good track (and the video for it, ooft :3) :wub: Yay for somebody else liking / loving 'Dreams' by Godbrielle and Bastille too - such a great cover! So haunting, but beautiful. Woop for Rizzle Kicks also <3

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121. Clean Bandit - Dust Clears
122. Ben Pearce - What I Might Do
123. Marina and the Diamonds - Electra Heart
124. Tinie Tempah feat John Martin - Children of the Sun
125. Rizzle Kicks - Skip to the Good Bit
126. Ellie Goulding - Explosions
127. Leona Lewis - One More Sleep
128. Misha B - Here's to Everything (Ooh La La)
129. Robin Thicke feat T.I. and Pharrell - Blurred Lines
130. Kings of Leon - Supersoaker

Opening this section up is another comeback, this time courtesy of Kings of Leon. While they will never reach their peak again, I they still put out really good tracks, this being one of them. They’re another act that I’ve yet to hear the album and I have to admit it’s not high on that list oops :kink:. Another oops is at 129, I did really like the song when it came out so I have to reflect that opinion in this countdown but it still doesn’t really justify the massive exposure that it had as well as ending up being the biggest selling song of the year. It is a good song though if you take away the meaning of it. MISS MISHA B is at 128 with a song that somehow just managed to peak in the Top 40 only for it to fade away. It’s a shame that her career has ended up this way as she is clearly very talented and it shows, more than anything else, that just one comment can end your whole career, even before it’s started. There are TWO Christmas songs in this countdown, the first is One More Sleep. I found it hard to compare Christmas songs with all the other songs as in my head, they’re two completely different things :lol:, for one thing they’re a lot more cheesy. Anyway, it’s nice to see Leona having some success again, the first time since Happy and hopefully she’s built back some more support if she releases another album. I wasn’t particularly blown away by Explosions when listening through Halcyon but the exposure from being forced into a single after it’s extensive use in the ITV (?) adverts made me really appreciate it. It’s subtlety is key to it’s brilliance and I think that is part to Ellie’s success with her ballads.

Rizzle Kicks are back at 125 with Skip to the Good Bit and it’s hype never seemed to translate into sales unfortunately. Another very good song from them, another non-ground breaking song from them. A watered-down version of Written in the Stars is what Children of the Sun will forever be known as but I think it’s good enough to stand on it’s own two feet. If I was doing a similar countdown of 2010, Written in the Stars would probably feature in a similar position so take from that what you will. After a phenomenally successful debut album, Tinie seems to have lost a lot of support in this era which could be down to a number of reasons. Whether it was because he left it too long, led the campaign with a risky choice that lost him the support or because of this ‘watered down version’, I’m still here to support him as Demonstration is a fantastic album which deserves to have similar success to his first album. Marina’s back with her final track from the Electra Heart era (but not the final track here) and it’s a really good to hear her experiment with some more of the sounds that come out of the era. What I Might Do seemed to have sprung out of nowhere with it’s success and I’m pleased it did as it’s one of the better dance/electronic songs to come out of this year. Clean Bandit were kind of introduced to me through Buzzjack and I’m very thankful that they were as I’ve loved all their tracks that I’ve heard. I love the way that they experiment with the sounds of today and mix it up with string instruments to bring a classical sound to their songs. It shouldn’t work but it really, really does.

'Backseat Freestyle' :wub: That opening & "dream" hook! (i will start commenting on more than just Kendrick eventually don't worry!)

 

Nice to see Misha "underrated" B here too <3

Arabella <3 Great to see it here. Same for Rizzle Kicks, Cut Copy and Wings. This is mostly very agreeable so far!

Arabella should have been the third single as much as One for the Road is great!

 

'The City' is by far my favourite from The 1975! Such a good track (and the video for it, ooft :3) :wub: Yay for somebody else liking / loving 'Dreams' by Godbrielle and Bastille too - such a great cover! So haunting, but beautiful. Woop for Rizzle Kicks also <3

Oh no, the 1975 have two better singles that are much higher up!

 

Yes! The haunting nature of it is why I love their version of Dreams

 

'Backseat Freestyle' :wub: That opening & "dream" hook! (i will start commenting on more than just Kendrick eventually don't worry!)

 

Nice to see Misha "underrated" B here too <3

KENDRICK HAVE A DREAM. That's the last we'll see of Kendrick here anyway (as an artist at least...:kink:)

 

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111. Chloe Howl - Paper Heart

112. Rudimental feat MNEK & Syron - Spoons

113. The Killers - Shot at the Night

114. Macklemore & Ryan Lewis feat Wanz - Thrift Shop

115. Katy Perry - Roar

116. Kelly Clarkson - Underneath the Tree

117. Rudimental feat MNEK & Sinead Harnett - Baby

118. VAULTS - Cry No More

119. Tom Odell - Can't Pretend

120. Justin Timberlake feat Jay Z - Suit and Tie

 

Justin made his comeback right at the start of the year when Suit and Tie seemed to appear out of nowhere. I was one of the vast majority of people who found it underwhelming on the first few listens but it has grown on me a lot. It was a surprising choice to put out as the first track after 7 years of waiting but, with hindsight, it was deserving of this honour. Critic’s choice 2013 makes his second appearance with buzz single (?) that should have been promoted to a proper single in place of Hold Me. It’s a sound that I would like Tom to explore more with in some of his later material. Another BJSC winner is VAULTS, who could have a moderately successful 2014? (please happen!) Two Rudimental album tracks feature here with another choice for 2014, MNEK, appearing on both. I love how well his voice goes with Rudimental’s production as well as with the two featuring artists. After I finally got round to listening to it, I believe that Underneath the Tree is the better of this year’s two main Christmas songs. With Sam Bailey’s underwhelming sales, could this have got the Christmas number one with more support? I doubt it but I can dream…

 

Katy Perry made a bit of an underwhelming comeback for me this year. I have grown to love Roar, hence it’s 115 position, but I guess I was still expecting something a bit more. Unconditionally is also up there with Thinking of You and Part of Me as being one of her worst singles. The first appearance of Macklemore and Ryan Lewis is next with a song that led many to believe that they would be one-hit wonders. Thankfully they weren't, with two more hits to come and Thrift Shop being able to stand on its own two feet beyond the ‘novelty song’ status. The Killers are a band where I enjoy their music but not enough to check out any of their albums. Lead single from their greatest hits, Shot at the Night stands amongst their best and so it’s a shame that they’re going for another hiatus. Once again, we have a pick for 2014 and this time it’s Chloe Howl. Paper Heart is a glorious pop song and so it would really great to hear more stuff like this on the radio and in the charts.

KENDRICK HAVE A DREAM. That's the last we'll see of Kendrick here anyway (as an artist at least...:kink:)

 

ANGEL?

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101. John Newman - Cheating
102. sZa - Julia
103. Eminem - Berzerk
104. Marina and the Diamonds feat Charli XCX - Just Desserts
105. Katy B - I Like You
106. Disclosure - F For You
107. Iggy Azalea - Work
108. Justin Timberlake - Take Back the Night
109. Janelle Monae feat Miquel - Primetime
110. London Grammar - Wasting My Young Years

As we head closer to the all important (and fantastic :kink:) Top 100, I can tease that all but one of these artists have songs in there and 5 artists here are in the Top 20! Anyway, we start with a song that I wasn’t too keen on to start with but thankfully I was more patient with it and I appreciated it’s haunting sound. I probably should have listened to Primetime a bit more as it is a glorious duet that probably deserved to be a positioned a bit higher. Justin is back yet again with lead single from 2 of 2 and it’s a funky song which brings in influences from the 70s. Work was a great debut from Iggy, telling all about her personal struggles and it was great to see another female rapper being successful. However, the curse of the ever-delayed female rapper album hit Iggy and perhaps we’ll see it released in March 2014 as expected. F For You doesn’t sound like a hit on first listen but, yet again, with more listens it’s brilliance shines out.

Little Red is my most anticipated album for next year and what a great way to tease it by putting album track I Like You on the EP for 5AM. It’s already impressed me enough to feature this high on the countdown. Marina’s last entry here is her collaboration with Charli XCX and it’s a really bizarre song but so so good. It would never work on an album but I love it’s ‘kookyness’ and a great one-off for Marina. I was excited for Eminem’s new album until I found out that it would be a sequel to TMMLP as I was worried how he could live up to it. However, he didn’t disappoint and cemented his status as one of the most consistent artists in the world, with only a few minor hiccups. sZa is another BJSC entry and one of the only artists from the contest that I’ve started looking into more material and so I’m excited to hear more material from her in the new year! Just missing out on the Top 100 is King Newman who disappointed many with this follow-up. I still think it’s really, really good and nothing can ever top Love Me Again if we look at things realistically anyway.

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101. John Newman - Cheating

102. sZa - Julia

103. Eminem - Berzerk

104. Marina and the Diamonds feat Charli XCX - Just Desserts

105. Katy B - I Like You

106. Disclosure - F For You

107. Iggy Azalea - Work

108. Justin Timberlake - Take Back the Night

109. Janelle Monae feat Miquel - Primetime

110. London Grammar - Wasting My Young Years

111. Chloe Howl - Paper Heart

112. Rudimental feat MNEK & Syron - Spoons

113. The Killers - Shot at the Night

114. Macklemore & Ryan Lewis feat Wanz - Thrift Shop

115. Katy Perry - Roar

116. Kelly Clarkson - Underneath the Tree

117. Rudimental feat MNEK & Sinead Harnett - Baby

118. VAULTS - Cry No More

119. Tom Odell - Can't Pretend

120. Justin Timberlake feat Jay Z - Suit and Tie

121. Clean Bandit - Dust Clears

122. Ben Pearce - What I Might Do

123. Marina and the Diamonds - Electra Heart

124. Tinie Tempah feat John Martin - Children of the Sun

125. Rizzle Kicks - Skip to the Good Bit

126. Ellie Goulding - Explosions

127. Leona Lewis - One More Sleep

128. Misha B - Here's to Everything (Ooh La La)

129. Robin Thicke feat T.I. and Pharrell - Blurred Lines

130. Kings of Leon - Supersoaker

131. Jay Z feat Justin Timberlake - Holy Grail

132. Bastille & Gabrielle Alpin - Dreams

133. Cut Copy - Meet Me in the House of Love

134. Arctic Monkeys - Arabella

135. Imagine Dragons - It's Time

136. Rizzle Kicks - Lost Generation

137. Young Summer - Fever Dream

138. Marina and the Diamonds - E.V.O.L.

139. Emmelie de Forest - Only Teardrops

140. Jake Bugg - Slumville Sunrise

141. The 1975 - The City

142. Martin Garrix - Animals

143. Little Nikki - Little Nikki Says

144. Kendrick Lamar - Backstreet Freestyle

145. Birdy - Wings

146. Chase and Status feat Moko - Count on Me

147. Little Mix feat Missy Elliot - How Ya Doin?

148. Lana Del Rey - Young and Beautiful

149. Rudimental feat Ella Eyre - Waiting All Night

150. Gabrielle Aplin - Please Don't Say You Love Me

151. Yeah Yeah Yeahs - Sacrilege

152. Ellie Goulding - How Long Will I Love You

153. Naughty Boy feat Gabrielle - Hollywood

154. Example - Perfect Replacement

155. The 1975 - Sex

156. Stooshe - Slip

157. Rebecca Ferguson - I Hope

158. Olly Murs - Right Place Right Time

159. Justin Timberlake - T.K.O

160. Gems - Medusa

161. Neon Jungle - Trouble

162. The Wanted - We Own the Night

163. Jake Bugg - What Doesn't Kill You

164. Pink - Are We All We Are

165. DJ Fresh vs Diplo feat Dominque Young Unique - Earthquake

166. Eliza Doolittle - Let It Rain

167. Nina Nesbitt - Stay Out

168. Sub Focus feat Kele - Turn it Around

169. Daft Punk feat Pharrell - Lose Yourself to Dance

170. Bastille - Icarus

171. Stooshe - My Man Music

172. Lana Del Rey vs Cedric Gervais- Summertime Sadness

173. Calvin Harris & Alesso feat Hurts - Under Control

174. The Other Tribe - My Girl

175. Tom Odell - Grow Old With Me

176. Disclosure - When a Fire Starts to Burn

177. Wiley feat Chip & Ms D - Reload

178. Dan Black feat Kelis - Hearts

179. Kendrick Lamar - Bitch, Don't Kill My Vibe

180. Naughty Boy feat Tanika - Get Lucky

181. Example - All the Wrong Places

182. Daft Punk feat Paul Williams - Touch

183. Rudimental feat Foxes - Right Here

184. The Wombats - Your Body is a Weapon

185. will.i.am - Bang Bang

186. Ms Dynamite & Shy FX - Cloud 9

187. Noah and the Whale - There Will Come a Time

188. Little Mix - Change Your Life

189. Ke$ha feat will.i.am - Crazy Kids

190. Professor Green feat Miles Kane - Are You Getting Enough?

191. Lady Gaga - Sexxx Dreams

192. Lily Allen - Somewhere Only We Know

193. Shy FX feat Liam Bailey - Soon Come

194. Don Diablo feat Alex Clare & Kelis - Give It All

195. The Saturdays - Disco Love

196. Bruno Mars - Treasure

197. David Guetta feat Taped Rai - Just One Last Time

198. Pink feat Lily Allen - True Love

199. Kanye West - Bound 2

200. Dizzee Rascal feat Robbie Williams - Goin' Crazy

SZA :wub:

 

Insanely excited for Katy B's album. Going to be the one to beat in 2014 based on what we've heard so far. YES 'Primetime' too! Absolute darling of a track and easily my fave off the album.

 

Yay for Iggy/London G too. Would have (almost) been happy with that recent lot being your 10-1 and not 100 places lower :drama:

SZA :wub:

 

Insanely excited for Katy B's album. Going to be the one to beat in 2014 based on what we've heard so far. YES 'Primetime' too! Absolute darling of a track and easily my fave off the album.

 

Yay for Iggy/London G too. Would have (almost) been happy with that recent lot being your 10-1 and not 100 places lower :drama:

Oh I know, I honestly haven't been this excited for an album in a long time! As I said in the commentary, I'm loving Primetime more and more so I slightly wish I'd put it up with the other two singles now :(.

 

I know, I keep looking at songs and think they deserve to be higher but 2013 has been really good for music and far better than I imagined it would be!

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91. Sub Focus feat Alex Clare - Endorphins

92. Miguel feat Jessie Ware - Adorn

93. Chase and Status feat Louis M^tters - Lost and Not Found

94. Tinie Tempah feat 2 Chainz - Trampoline

95. Kodaline - Love Like This

96. Iggy Azalea feat T.I. - Change Your Life

97. CHVRCHES - Gun

98. Florence + the Machine - Over the Love

99. Clean Bandit - Mozart's House

100. Naughty Boy feat Bastille - No One's Here to Sleep

 

So here we go with the Top 100 then! First up is a collaboration between two of my favourite artists of the year and I was unsure about how the two different sounds would mix together but it didn’t disappoint! Clean Bandit are here with their second and final entry with a song that took a lot of listens for me to love. I did prefer Dust Clears to this at one point but with more and more listens, I released just HOW good it is. Florence makes an appearance with the beautiful Over the Love that featured on the Great Gatsby soundtrack. I love how stripped back it is and how it builds up throughout the song. CHVRCHES are a great new discovery that I made this year and their two particular highlights are both in my Top 100. Iggy’s back with her most recent hit Change Your Life and it was so good to see her finally getting a Top 10 hit. She has one more hit that is ~controversially~ still to come.

 

Kodaline have had an under the radar year for me and it was only Love Like This that I loved at first but having listened to their album over the past two weeks, I feel that they should have had a couple more songs featured here :(. Tinie’s risky first single Trampoline manages to reach 94 and it’s a single that works so so well in a club which is what made me love it so much. The second of Chase and Status’ singles is at 93 and is, once again, yet another single that underwhelmed me on first listen. Like Count On Me it’s not amongst their absolute best but their third hit featured here that is higher, is the song of this era that helps compete with that… Yes, I’ve controversially added Jessie Ware Adorn but that’s only because I love both versions and so they can both receive a credit :D. It’s a beautiful song, although like Primetime, it perhaps should have been a bit higher. I’ve loved Alex Clare since Too Close got that $ucce$$ and his collaboration with Sub Focus was another great highlight amongst his discography.

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81. Foxes - Youth
82. Lily Allen - Hard Out Here
83. Avicii - You Make Me
84. Chase and Status feat Jacob Banks - Alive
85. Bastille - Laura Palmer
86. Iggy Azalea - Bounce
87. Coldplay - Atlas
88. FAUL feat Wad Ad - Changes
89. Laura Mvula - That's Alright
90. Mariah Carey & Miguel - #Beautiful

Mariah’s surprise hit with Miguel is at 90 and is a beautiful, laidback song and the whole song just works so well. I’ve never been a fan of Mariah but she really hit the mark with this. Newcomer Laura Mvula is next with uptempo That’s Alright and it makes me wish that she had included more songs like this on her album rather than filling it with the slower songs as I feel that this is where her forte is. A BJSC entry that looks certain to become a hit in 2014 is at 88 and holds the award for my first 12 pointer in a final. Coldplay went back to their older material for their contribution to The Hunger Games soundtrack and is another song where the constant build-up throughout the song makes it stand out. Iggy makes her final appearance with the more generic Bounce which has a fantastic video. It sounded like a massive hit on first listen but alas, it wasn’t meant to be.

Another Bastille entry is at 85 with a song that had been a fan favourite in past couple of years but this failed to translate into chart success as it was overshadowed by Pompeii. Chase and Status are next with their final entry but featured artist Jacob Banks makes his first appearance :o. It’s great to see this become a post-album hit as it fits in more with the sound of No More Idols and it’s also great to see Jacob with a hit to his name! Avicii’s follow up to Wake Me Up is next and, whilst sounding somewhat disappointing on first listen, it very quickly grew to become one of my favourites from Avicii and FAR better than that Hey Brother rubbish. Lily Allen came back with a bang with her criticism of the music industry in Hard Out Here. While the autotune somewhat spoils it a bit (even if it is tongue in cheek), there was no better way for her to mark her comeback so it is a shame that it got overshadowed by SOWK. Foxes made her solo debut with the epic-sounding Youth and it really overshadows her previous featured material that I heard and it makes me excited to see what else she brings in 2014.

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71. Naughty Boy feat Emeli Sandé and Professor Green - Lifted

72. Arcade Fire - Reflektor

73. Katy B - What Love is Made of

74. Ellie Goulding - Burn

75. Macklemore & Ryan Lewis feat Mary Lambert - Same Love

76. The Kite String Triangle - Given the Chance

77. Paramore - Still Into You

78. Jacob Banks - Worthy

79. Le Youth - C O O L

80. Fall Out Boy - My Songs Know What You Did in the Dark (Light Em Up)

Fall Out Boy made an unexpected return earlier this year and I wasn’t expecting much from their return but this stands out as their best in their career. The infectious C O O L also became a surprise minor hit earlier this year and it follows similar trends of ‘modern’ dance music. Worthy was a song that I entered into BJSC and is probably my favourite of my entries but sadly it didn’t really do much. I discovered it after wanting to look into more of Jacob’s music following his Wretch 32 collaboration Doing OK. Paramore are a band that I’ve never really had that much excitement for but Still Into You struck me on first listen and after hearing the other two singles, I’m tempted to listen to their recent album. My second highest BJSC discovery is Given the Chance and it sounds glorious :wub:

 

Same Love is a beautiful song that stands out even more as is coming from someone within the hip-hop community. It was great to see it have success and hopefully, by becoming their third hit, it will establish Macklemore and Ryan Lewis as artists that will continue to have chart success. Ellie scored her first Number One with Burn which is a fantastic song but, still to this day, it doesn't sit completely right as it doesn't feel like Ellie. As I said, it’s still an amazing song that is worthy of 74 even with that concern. What Love is Made of is at 73 which, again, isn’t Katy at her best, but I still find it a fantastic song. Arcade Fire made their long-awaited return earlier this year with Reflektor, a song which never feels like it’s dragging through it’s 7 minute length and deserved a lot more single success. Naughty Boy returns with his penultimate entry and it featured, shock of the year, Emeli. It’s not as good as Wonder but still a glorious epic that makes me wish Emeli did more songs like this.

Burn is very basic, but I cannot help but love it! There is just something about it, I am not even bored of it properly yet either.

 

Still Into You is really great even if a bit watered down for Paramore.

Burn is very basic, but I cannot help but love it! There is just something about it, I am not even bored of it properly yet either.

 

Still Into You is really great even if a bit watered down for Paramore.

Totally with you on Burn and I think that's why I love Still Into You so much as I've never been a great fan of Paramore before.

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61. The 1975 - Chocolate

62. Janelle Monáe - Dance Apocalyptic

63. London Grammar - Nightcall

64. Avicii - Wake Me Up

65. Wretch 32 feat Jacob Banks - Doing OK

66. Gabrielle Alpin - Panic Cord

67. Two Door Cinema Club - Changing of the Seasons

68. CHVRCHES - The Mother We Share

69. Arctic Monkeys - Why Do You Only Call Me When You're High?

70. Imagine Dragons - On Top of the World

 

My second favourite Imagine Dragons song was an immediate highlight when listening to the album and so I was glad they chose to release it as a single even if it did hardly anything after this announcement. The second single from AM features next with it's awkward title. For some reason, I often mistook the opening of this with Do I Wanna Kow on the first few listens, don't know why! My favourite CHVRCHES song is The Mother We Share and it has grown on me SO much over the past few weeks, the intro is a particular highlight. They’ve had a great year, even if they are deserving of more success. Two Door Cinema Club brought in a different sound for the one off release of Changing of the Seasons featuring Madeon who has produced a fair amount of other great tracks. In the future, it may be interesting to hear more songs from them in this style or for maybe some other bands to explore it as well. Panic Cord was the song where I really started to take notice of Gabrielle and I’m so glad I did. She’s a very talented songwriter and performer with another song still to feature.

 

Doing OK is at 65 and I love the African inspired sounds that work so well with the vocals and rap. It’s such a chilled out song but sadly, just as I was really getting back on board with Wretch 32’s music, his career seems to have stalled. He brought out two of my favourite rap songs of the year which both sounded different to what everyone else was doing and I was really looking forward to the album but sadly there has been little on the news front on this. In contrast, Wake Me Up was a massive success in the late summer and deservedly so as it brought something new to the dance genre. It brought in some country music which I’m normally not a fan of and made it work by mixing it with dance. This might have been a one off though as his latest single is awful. The beautiful sounding London Grammar are next with another haunting song, this time a cover of Nightcall which builds up to a glorious finale. One of the queens of R&B, Janelle brought back her up-tempo sounds with Dance Apocalyptic which you can’t help to move to! One of the breakthrough hits of the year, Chocolate surprised many by being one of the highest indie/alternative songs of the year. They have helped to bring back the minor success of guitars to the chart which hopefully will continue in 2014.

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51. Rudimental feat Emeli Sandé - Free

52. AlunaGeorge - Attracting Flies

53. Pink feat Nate Ruess - Just Give Me a Reason

54. The Saturdays feat Sean Paul - What About Us

55. Icona Pop feat Charli XCX - I Love It

56. Janelle Monáe feat Erykah Badu - Q.U.E.E.N.

57. Kate Nash - Fri-end?

58. Disclosure feat London Grammar - Help Me Lose My Mind

59. The 1975 - Girls

60. Olly Murs - Dear Darlin'

 

This seems to be the ‘girls’ section although Olly spoils that a bit by being at 60 with his best post-album hit to date and deservedly his best selling as well. It uses a similar production to Naughty Boy which is why I think it clicked with me so much, the lyrics are also probably Olly at his best. The 1975 saved their best hit to be released after the album so sadly it didn’t get Top 40 but at least it got close! It’s more of a funky sound when compared to their other songs but it works really well. Two of my favourite acts of the year collaborated for the closer of Settle, later becoming a single. I overlooked it on the first few listens of the album but it quickly grew into my affections and it is another beautiful track. A surprise entry is Kate Nash who I thought I would never like again after that mess of Under-estimate the Girl but I guess I did under-estimate her as she was still capable of releasing amazing songs. Fri-end? was the successful comeback that was never meant to be and is a great pop-rock song. Janelle makes her final appearance with the sassy Q.U.E.E.N., yet another song that sort of passed me by on the first few listens but soon became amazing.

 

Icona Pop finally released I Love It in the early summer and it thankfully became a Number 1. I have slightly tired of it since but it still sounds great enough to feature this high! After years of near misses or just down right flops, The Saturdays FINALLY got their Number 1 with one of their best singles to date. They soon reversed back into flop mode but at least they have now experienced what success feels like. Everyone’s favourite Pink song is next and I’ve tried to not let the overplay affect it’s position as I remember absolutely loving it around the period that it came. I think it’s a beautiful duet and their voices work surprisingly well together. AlunaGeorge’s best solo song by a MILE is the ‘kooky’ Attracting Flies. It’s got a kind of minimalist production but that’s what makes it work so well and it’s a shame it didn’t take off a bit more. Rudimental's final song to feature is their collaboration with Emeli Sandé that stood out to me on first listen of their album. I love the way it soars and builds up all the way through the song; I'm so glad it got chosen as a single.

 

(This commentary is getting REALLY repetitive :lol:)