Body Language I didn't rate at first but I heard it randomly a long time after and really got into it!

Maroon 5 "Sugar"

Maroon 5 "This Summer's Gonna Hurt Like A Motherf**ker"

It's taken a while but I think Maroon 5 has finally returned to being the band that I loved before their chart revival started to compromise their music quality. They've re-learned how to make songs that are hits on their own merit rather than being safe radio filler. That's my opinion anyway but I feel quite strongly about it. "Animals" had won me back over in a huge way last year, and "Sugar" proved that it wasn't just a fluke. Melodically I think this is one of their strongest singles, and the music video of them crashing weddings was clever and effective too.

A reissue of Maroon 5’s album came sooner than expected, but that’s no bad thing when it included a single that slayed my existence. "This Summer's Gonna Hurt" is quite a dodgy song title, but the song itself is very bold and daring compared to their usual output. It’s so good that I can even forgive the swearing this time, which I still insist they only do to pretend to be edgy, although I still opted for the clean version lol. Alas, it seemed the general public would rather have more of the same from them, so it ended up being the summer smash that never was.

 

Meghan Trainor "Dear Future Husband"

Meghan Trainor feat. John Legend "Like I'm Gonna Lose You"

I want to like Meghan Trainor as an artist, and most of the time I do. I’m very pleased that she’s not a one-hit wonder, but she’s holding herself back a little by continually pushing old-fashioned pop singles without much variety to them. It was difficult to hold an interest in "Dear Future Husband" when it sounded just like more of the same (and also an Olly Murs rip-off), though it’s really not bad when judged on its own. Even Radio 1 couldn’t be bothered to playlist a single so identical to her last two, which was easily the most shocking omission from them this year. As an aside, I find it amusing that Olly hasn’t gone back to making this style of music when it seems even more popular now; it suits him a lot better than his current singles for sure.

Meghan finally pushed the envelope a little with the ballad "Like I'm Gonna Lose You" as her fourth single. It's a tasteful duet with world-renowned chart saviour John Legend. While it didn't hold my attention for much longer than "Dear Future Husband" did, I enjoyed seeing it at #1 in Australia and New Zealand and slowly climbing the Hot 100 for five months. Hopefully it's a sign of people maintaining an interest in her so she can stick around and prove herself some more over the next album.

 

Miguel "Coffee"

If The Weeknd is the modern-day Michael Jackson, Miguel is unquestionably the modern-day Prince. It's evident in his music videos, his live performances, and the amount of guitars in his music as of late. With what I've heard from his third album Wildheart, he seems to have really perfected his artistry. "Coffee" in particular is a stunning lead single; as soon as Miguel starts singing you know you're hearing something special, and indeed he delivers a masterpiece (dare I call it triumphant??).

Along with all of that praise, of course I thought Miguel had a hit on his hands at least as big as "Adorn" was in the US. Shockingly, it didn't come anywhere close, picking up very little airplay as if nobody was even anticipating his new music. Clearly this is too good to be appreciated properly, because otherwise it doesn't add up. In a year where many popstars are borrowing R&B influences but R&B stars aren't having much notable success, this is one incredible highlight that should really define 2015.

Adore Heartbeat Song & the 2 Meghan tracks :heart: :heart:

 

BUT JOHN LEGEND ISN'T THE CHART SAVIOUR ASJGGHOD :drama: :drama: :drama:

SLAY MAROON 5 :cheer: and Miguel :cheer:

 

However those two Meghen are the musical equivalent of hell :kink: :(

Edited December 30, 20159 yr by MerryFlynnmas

Dear Future Husband :wub: :wub: Gets way too much hate IMO :( I prefer it to Lips Are Movin for sure and it's not far behind All About That Bass. Like I'm Gonna Lose You was never an album highlight for me but it's nice and like you said, it's been good to see it climb the Hot 100 for so long, proving itself as a big hit!

Hi Jordan

 

Maroon 5 were on top form this era, I'm not usually a big fan but they put together some really catchy hooks. Sugar was such a grower and I still love bopping to it now despite its overplay, it's so joyous and catchy that I can't not love it. This Summer is very catchy too even though it is a bit clunky, especially the title as you say. Shame it wasn't a big hit because it was different for them and it really worked imo.

Adore Heartbeat Song & the 2 Meghan tracks :heart: :heart:

 

BUT JOHN LEGEND ISN'T THE CHART SAVIOUR ASJGGHOD :drama: :drama: :drama:

I may have only added that in to see the reaction :kink:

 

SLAY MAROON 5 :cheer: and Miguel :cheer:

 

However those two Meghen are the musical equivalent of hell :kink: :(

Haha, thanks anyway Harry :P

 

Dear Future Husband :wub: :wub: Gets way too much hate IMO :( I prefer it to Lips Are Movin for sure and it's not far behind All About That Bass. Like I'm Gonna Lose You was never an album highlight for me but it's nice and like you said, it's been good to see it climb the Hot 100 for so long, proving itself as a big hit!

I couldn't really remember how you ranked Meghan's singles so this is good to know! Thanks Joseph :D

 

Hi Jordan

 

Maroon 5 were on top form this era, I'm not usually a big fan but they put together some really catchy hooks. Sugar was such a grower and I still love bopping to it now despite its overplay, it's so joyous and catchy that I can't not love it. This Summer is very catchy too even though it is a bit clunky, especially the title as you say. Shame it wasn't a big hit because it was different for them and it really worked imo.

That's exactly how I feel, it would've been great to see them smash with something so different. Sugar was more instant for me and hopefully it'll still sound as good over the next few years, it seems like a potential classic. Thanks as always for commenting :D

Ne-Yo feat. Juicy J "She Knows"

Much like his cohorts Usher and Chris Brown, Ne-Yo has gone back to making urban music after all three of them converted to dance-pop in 2010. He did make some gems during that time but the pop landscape is changing, and realistically he would have diminishing returns chart-wise either way if Usher's and Chris's output was any indication. He hasn't made a complete departure to be fair, as "She Knows" was only the lead single in the US while "Coming With You" was chosen for the UK and he also had a Pitbull collab, both of which I'll get to later.

While not especially memorable it is an enjoyable return to classic Ne-Yo, with a couple of 2015 updates (obligatory saxophone and a useless feature from the monotonous Juicy J). It scraped the top 20 in the US and quite surprisingly reached #28 in the UK without much radio support, continuing Ne-Yo's streak of at least two top 40 hits on every album (in fact he had three this year if you count "Time Of Our Lives", but I don't). That really is impressive considering how much his star has diminished since 2006, and at least he managed to release an album, which is more than Usher can say lately. I'll have a LOT more praise for Ne-Yo later on in the thread.

 

Nick Jonas "Chains"

Nick Jonas "Levels"

Despite "Chains" being the first song released from Nick's self-titled album, I didn't hear it until it became the follow-up single to "Jealous", but I imagine I would have been hugely impressed either way. I love the minimalist approach to the verses and the production throughout is so perfectly-crafted. It fits very nicely with what's popular now but still stands out without sounding like anything in particular. If I remember correctly it didn't even get radio support or any attention whatsoever in the UK, which was disappointing and bizarre after "Jealous" was a #2 hit (and pathetic just like you Nick J haters!!!). Thankfully that wasn't the case in the US where it had plenty of airplay and reached #13.

That must not have been good enough for Nick or his label, so they gave up on pushing anything else from his album, which is a shame because "Teacher" deserved to have a chance. Luckily he had "Levels" ready to lead up to an album rerelease, which turned out to be the next best thing. It's certainly less dark, more upbeat and energetic, but that strategy didn't work either as it fell short of the top 40 in the UK and the US this time. Would it have fared better if Justin Bieber wasn't simultaneously making his comeback and leaving Nick completely in his shadow? It'll be interesting to see if that has a lasting effect, but if I had to choose between the two I'd much rather listen to Nick Jonas.

 

Nicki Minaj "The Night Is Still Young"

Nicki Minaj feat. Drake & Lil Wayne "Truffle Butter"

http://cf-images.emusic.com/music/images/album/156/117/15611799/300x300.jpg

I was really counting on The Pinkprint to be another big album for Nicki, but had lost hope with all the delays and most of the singles barely catching on chartwise. She really proved me wrong in the end by scoring 5 top 40 hits in America, just one less than Pink Friday had! The songs weren't quite as good as she's capable of making, but these are two that I like.

My feelings toward "The Night Is Still Young" is similar to what I said about "Confident" earlier. It's a solid song, I can't fault anything specific about it, but I never had the patience to listen to it in full at the time. But now that I'm paying attention for the sake of writing this, I'm finally enjoying it. It's a standard Dr. Luke production for the most part and therefore probably would've sounded better with Ke$ha on it. There's not many songs you can say that about. Also, this was the only song on The Pinkprint to make the Radio 1 playlist, and even so it stalled on the C-list which didn't amount to anything.

Earlier in the year, Nicki really needed to redeem herself after two diabolical singles in a row, "Only" and "Hey Mama" (sorry Josh :kink:). She did just that with the bonus track "Truffle Butter", an unexpected single choice but a very refreshing one. It has her two trusted collaborators, Drake and Lil Wayne, who couldn't rescue "Only" from severe mediocrity but carry this one with the help of a much better beat in the background. The fact that it sounds good with no chorus, and therefore no real hook, makes it more impressive. So, now that the era's done, I think of The Pinkprint as a crisis averted. Since Nicki's capable of salvaging a campaign, maybe Rihanna can do the same this year.

Yay, another person who loves "She Knows"!

 

I honestly think "Truffle Butter" is one of Nicki's best. You just keep guessing where the hook is :D

Hi Riser

 

I obviously disagree with you on Only and Hey Mama, too fantastic tunes there, especially the latter. Especially when you pick out her two worst in years as the redeemable tracks :lol: I enjoy TNISY too but it just lacks the fierceness and punch that I love about Nicki, too safe and too similar to stuff like Starships/Pound the Alarm which were way, way better.

 

Levels was terrible imo, more upbeat yes which is usually a good thing but in a very irritating way, them bop noises made me go insane. Chains was actually really good so a bit gutted it didn't take off her, think he suits that sound a lot even though Jealous is his best track for me.

Nick, Nicki and Ne-yo :heart: Good section although I hated Ne-yo's first single from this era :D

Yay, another person who loves "She Knows"!

 

I honestly think "Truffle Butter" is one of Nicki's best. You just keep guessing where the hook is :D

Very true and yesss :D

 

Hi Riser

 

I obviously disagree with you on Only and Hey Mama, too fantastic tunes there, especially the latter. Especially when you pick out her two worst in years as the redeemable tracks :lol: I enjoy TNISY too but it just lacks the fierceness and punch that I love about Nicki, too safe and too similar to stuff like Starships/Pound the Alarm which were way, way better.

 

Levels was terrible imo, more upbeat yes which is usually a good thing but in a very irritating way, them bop noises made me go insane. Chains was actually really good so a bit gutted it didn't take off her, think he suits that sound a lot even though Jealous is his best track for me.

Yeahhh I really should've been less harsh but agree to disagree this time :D

 

Nick, Nicki and Ne-yo :heart: Good section although I hated Ne-yo's first single from this era :D

This does not bode well D:

 

Omi "Cheerleader"

http://www.chartsinfrance.net/covers/aHR0cHM6Ly9pLnNjZG4uY28vaW1hZ2UvMmIzNjkzMmExMWM0OWUyYzVmMzRjNzU3ZjMwMTYyOTgwMDAxZTA0ZQ==.jpg

Dance isn't dead just yet. While the genre is overall less massive than it was, this wonderful deep house/reggae-flavored song was not only the perfect tune for the summer but also one of the biggest global hits of 2015. That, of course, didn't stop Radio 1 from being silly beans and letting it stall on their B list, but it ended up in their top fifteen most-played regardless. "Cheerleader" was a four-week #1 in the UK and a six-week #1 in the US and deserves additional credit for dethroning the much weaker "See You Again" by Wiz Khalifa in both countries.

Sadly, this led to additional success more for the producer Felix Jaehn than for Omi himself. It's not like Omi was expecting much in the first place, with the song itself being three years old and the remix taking a year to spread around the world. In that sense it was an unlikely hit, but not really when it's so irresistible and catchy from first listen. The follow-up single "Hula Hoop" was pretty successful in most parts of the world, but across-the-board radio snubbing sealed its fate in the UK and US, a shame as it was also quite good. So, over to the one-hit-wonders list he goes.

G'WAN OMI :heart:

Pitbull & Ne-Yo "Time Of Our Lives"

Pitbull feat. Chris Brown "Fun"

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I usually don't like when an artist has a hit collab, then goes back to the same collab partner to try to recreate the same hit. More often than not, it seems to show a lack of creativity and turns out decidedly worse than the original. Hence my inner conflict when Pitbull, unashamedly one of my favorite artists, did this not once but twice, bringing back Ne-Yo and Chris Brown after already featuring them on "Give Me Everything" and "International Love" respectively. I admit I cut him a little slack compared to, say, David Guetta or Calvin Harris, but they still needed to sound okay.

In my brief opinion: "Fun" worked, "Time Of Our Lives" did not. Apparently the public felt the opposite. To be fair, I completely forgot Pitbull and Chris already did a song together, even though I loved it at the time, so it didn't seem as cheap or desperate to me. The one with Ne-Yo was a much bigger hit so it's harder to forget that one. Either way, Pitbull just gets cheesier and cheesier with each release and he owns it so well that I can't help but have high respect for the guy. Songs like this won't be popular forever and I'll miss them when radio and the charts no longer have room for Mr. Worldwide.

Still love 'Cheerleader', it was on my potentials list for BJSC back in 2014 but then it blew up worldwide. Oops.

 

A lot of great stuff here!

Really enjoying this thread, Jord! I either find myself agreeing with you on songs' merits and reasons for how they were received commercially, or else learning new things about the context behind single releases that I hadn't followed. It's great to get an American's insights into US radio politics, instances of trend-chasing etc, especially as I haven't been very up-to-date with the US music scene over the last while. Your approach/writing style is really refreshing and interesting to read so keep up the good work!

 

Think my favourite of your recaps so far have been those for Kelly and Miguel - completely spot-on for both. I'm forever willing Kelly on because she's such a great personality and has a solid legacy but the new material left a lot to be desired, especially 'Heartbeat Song' which just felt so amateur, particularly lyrically as you said. I was still happy to see it return her to relevance in the UK (those consistent three-place falls omg :wub:), even when I couldn't get behind the song, so I can only imagine how awesome it'd be for her to smash with something deserving! Ah well. Also really liked what you said about Miguel failing to make an impression with the superb 'Coffee' in a year where R&B has influenced some of the biggest chart hits. Commercially-speaking, he'd be smarter to modernise/adapt his musical sensibilities with the use of different producers and try to appeal across genres, but I love that he hasn't done that because he's an absolute expert at his niche. (And late, but yes I certainly approve your use of 'triumphant' for the song! *.*)

 

Largely agree with your take on Meghan too - I'm intrigued to see how she fares both music-wise and commerically with her second era as my instincts tell me the success of her sound is down to being in the right place at the right time (appropriate Olly reference :magic:) and she's not in it for the long haul. Also never knew you were THAT big a Pitbull fan :o. I definitely admire how he 'owns' his ridiculousness, as you say, but he's too hit-and-miss for me to like on any non-ironic level I think :/. Would always be up for being won over though. :D

The single cover for "Fun" is so Miami Vice it hurts.

Mr Worldwide *.* he's had a much quieter 2015 for me but he always brings the tunes. I really enjoyed Time of Our Lives actually, a guilty pleasure :heehee:

Some good tunes there, Cheerleader the huge highlight for me :wub:

 

Didn't like Jealous by Jonas but Chains & especially Levels were much superior.

 

Both She Knows & Time Of Our Lives I didn't really properly get into to but looking back they were fun tracks.