10. 48 2012 Of Monsters And Men - Little Talks 504 ( 54 - 106 - 48 - 10 )

 

So let's kick off the top 10. With one of the most surprising, for me, and yet very pleasing entrants in there, just at my favourite place of 10th, Little Talks has jumped back up from its second year falter in the past two years, being a strong entrant last year and an even stronger contender here. It just kept getting points from all over the place, some unexpected ones as well, and I guess part of that is because it's just such a cheery, light-hearted song. Honestly, I have a bit of a confession to make with this, I love the lyrics and have listened to this song over 150 times so you'd have thought I'd know all sorts of interpretations, but a Reddit comment earlier this year made me realise the song could easily be about an old woman talking to her dead husband. And I never noticed that for years because it sounds so happy. I think (finally) figuring this theming thing out has made it even more epic for me.

 

But yes, excellent start to the top 10, let's see how it continues.

 

9 14 2014 Katy B - Crying For No Reason 509 ( 14 - 9 )

 

So with one of the 2012 songs going out, we have an entirely disparate top 9. And the second year to go is 2014, as Crying For No Reason moves UP five places. I was so sure that her great performance last year would have been a fluke (like with Summertime Sadness the year before) that this song climbing has completely knocked my predictions for future ROTDs off guard. Not that it's a bad thing as the emotion in this song is so apparent, so the combination of that, with an artist who's only gotten more critical acclaim as her career has moved forward, has created a song in Crying For No Reason that looks to be a future contender even. Again, I should be wary about making those kinds of predictions but I don't see high points for this song slowing down at any point in the future if they could hold two years, it's surely going to only age better.

 

Plus that outro is godly, some of the best instrumentation I've ever seen someone from her kind of British dancepop ever do.

 

8 53 2013 CHVRCHES - The Mother We Share 520 ( 131 - 53 - 8 )

 

Does this get all the shock top 10s, who are 'mildly indie' in that they don't have their Buzzjack home in the pop forum, songs out of the way? Actually, I can't remember which one Robyn goes in. No matter. The first part of that statement is true. I mean, I had a few high hopes for CHVRCHES but really never to this extent. They have probably grown into my literal favourite thing about pure British pop in the last few years, because they are so consistent in making that sort of electropop that is so easy to listen to over and over. Nearly all blogpop since them has seemingly been trying to model on them and while there are other similar artists, Lights comes to mind, there isn't one quite like them really killing it in the popularity stakes. The Mother We Share getting top 40 was sadly one of the few instances where this threatened to become popular. However, this type of music is so popular here that it's managed to translate to a big ROTD success and it's another top 10 I'm so pleased for.

 

(oh and if we're counting these things, this is now the highest former BJSC entry, congrats Hendinia)

 

7 39 2006 Shakira (feat. Wyclef Jean) - Hips Don't Lie 530 ( 29 - 152 - 113 - 92 - 67 - 73 - 87 - 68 - 39 - 7 )

 

The final song that won't be here next year, meaning we have only one place in the top 10 opening up freely next time, but it's an incredibly fulfilling goodbye for Shakira fans as her last great hope in this game goes out with what is by far its highest position ever. You look at that and you mostly see underperformances and positions I wouldn't really expect for one of the biggest songs of the year done by an internationally famous female popstar to have had to settle for. Thankfully, as it is a great pop song, although this year I gave it a few less points that I feel I normally do, it doesn't spend its last try messing about and just kept gaining points after a slow start, enough to get well into the top 10. Bye Shakira, we will miss you. Most of us. I hear this particular song is one of the great #JJ disagreements.

 

And, Wyclef, you've done your comparatively unusual country of Haiti a great service, you are our highest credited male, this year. Only girls from hereon. Oh, and while we're talking about nationalities, Shakira is the highest artist not from North America or Europe. As you'd probably expect when you consider that almost all entrants into our charts come from those two continents but facts are facts. In fact what was probably more pertinent was that CHVRCHES are the highest British act. After I went on about them saving British music. Yay.

Just caught up on everything! Pleasing to see the big rises for 'Misery Business', 'Video Games', 'Somebody That I Used To Know', 'Little Talks' and 'The Mother We Share' among others!

 

I'm surprised that this is 'Hips Don't Lie's first year top 10 :o Very pleased that it got there in the nick of time! <3

 

Gaga to win *.*

 

6 54 2008 Rihanna - Disturbia 536 ( 44 - 13 - 35 - 63 - 85 - 33 - 54 - 6 )

 

Yes, this being the highest Rihanna song has confused a lot of people. It's confused me a bit too, although it is just under a top score away from Umbrella. Out of the options I'd actually call it my pick these days, I don't listen to nearly as much Rihanna now as I used to but Disturbia, with an attempted lean on dark pop and a thundering beat has always been towards the top of my favourites from her and it holds up even now for me. It makes the fifth straight new entry into the top 10 and we haven't even gotten to the 2015 song yet. But that's a great place for it to be after it's spent many years trundling through different places in the top 100, missing the final a couple of times, it normally is the song to win 2008 so it must have given way for something else there, which was, if I look at ROTD history, Hot N Cold, which is right at the other end of the final this time. See, things can change a lot. I've probably said that too many times to count in this results commentary.

 

Still, while the bottom half of the top 10 is all songs getting a chance at top 10 stardom for the first time, the top 5 is more filled with stalwarts and predicted stalwarts, how will they fare?

Big leap for 'Disturbia' :o I totally get it though - it is my third favourite Rihanna song after 'Rehab' and 'SOS'.

 

5 NE 2015 Carly Rae Jepsen - Run Away With Me 543 ( 5 )

 

How Run Away With Me captivated Buzzjack is probably a story for the epics to tell in the future. It is a song that wasn't a hit, while several in this top 10 weren't particularly big hits, they all at least reached the UK top 40 aside from this one. I actually speculate it was the injustice that this incredible song, coming quickly after Carly Rae made herself from the girl only known for the Call Me Maybe song to a girl known for another silly pop song. This was the song that would get her on the radar as a SERIOUS POP ARTISTE, with her apparently amazing album Emotion. Anyway, Carly is a true Buzzjack fave now based on pretty much this song, so I'd just like to indulge you all in a bit of psychicIz from 2012 when I hosted Buzzjack's favourite artists:

 

Just think, in 10 years time we could be saying all we have been about Britney about Carly Rae Jepsen. Stars of the future everyone. But for now, lets let Britney enjoy her second place, which I think was a bit more than anyone hoped for.

(I apologise Britney fans, I like her a lot more now than I did back then)

 

Oh and this really is a most excellent pop song isn't it? So listenable, so emotion-filled, so wistful, especially that gorgeous instrumentation. I'm actually going to double down on my predictive skills and predict that this WILL be a future ROTD winner. And Carly Rae WILL ascend to internet forum cult status. I think those look accurate, right guys?

Love this song

Run Away With Me for future winner please!

 

Tough to call a winner this time around, i'd say it's between Gaga and Loreen though i guess you can never rule out Robyn (and infact i wouldn't be surprised if Dancing On My Own ended up being the higher of the two!)

 

4 3 2012 Loreen - Euphoria 569 ( 4 - 6 - 3 - 4 )

 

Record Of The Decade continues to be the one possible competition on Buzzjack that Loreen has not won with Euphoria even as it racks up a 4th straight year in the top 6, showing no signs of a sudden dropoff as her win drops further and further behind. This sort of thing never happened to Heroes (which is a GOOD thing), and while the other recent Eurovision winners have seen mild success here it's nothing compared to this pop masterpiece. If you weren't here in 2012, just imagine for a moment that the whole board, in nearly every forum imaginable was focused on building shrines to Loreen and this song and making sure people heard it and weren't judging it as a Eurovision song but as a normal song (which doesn't make much sense to me, most Eurovision songs are BETTER than normal *.*). Such was its prevalence that people would make a living out of pretending to hate it and saying that it was overrated. Which is perfectly fair, hype can kill a song, but still, there were more people excited about it crossing into the mainstream, I would love an experience like that with a song again because it was one of a kind.

 

Basically that and it being a Eurovision winner that the buying public actually liked enough to let it semi-transfer into a life outside the contest has kept it a dominator of 2012 and always something in contention for ROTD. Unlike with Run Away With Me, I'm not sure it'll ever quite manage up enough support across the board to win the whole thing but it's well deserving of this fourth place.

 

3 1 2007 Robyn & Kleerup - With Every Heartbeat 587 ( 33 - 125 - 7 - 2 - 1 - 2 - 7 - 1 - 3 )

 

So last year's winner drops to 3rd place, at the same time sadly killing the 1, 2, Seven run it had kept up beautifully for six years. One of only two songs to win ROTD since 2009, it looked the stronger contender throughout most of this but got overtaken by the two ahead as the last few voters filed in. Actually, so many people were giving points to all three of the top 3 that it was hard for any to get an advantage over the other.

 

With Every Heartbeat has stood out as a favourite for us for a long while now, I'm not sure what happened in the first couple of years but it's never left our love since with high points from all over the alt-pop/dance spectrum. Because With Every Heartbeat is a song that appeals well to all comers, it has interesting and pronounced vocals from Robyn and a foreboding and rich production from Kleerup complementing that all through the song, it's just so perfectly produced it'd be hard to think of something in the pop world that beats it for raw ingenuity as a song.

 

(okay Kleerup is technically a male but he wasn't even named on my spreadsheet when I copied this in, does that sort of thing count)

 

Well, both of the top 2 got well over 600 points. Has Gaga reclaimed her crown for a 5th total year at the top or has Robyn replaced Robyn with her 2010 offering Dancing On My Own?

Dancing On My Own overtaking With Every Heartbeat :o

 

Well I can't really be that surprised considering the DOMO cover has brought a new appreciation for the original for many (including myself).

 

With Every Heartbeat and Euphoria remain lush though, glad those are still doing well in this.

 

Expecting a Bad Romance win here but it could be close.

I'm surprised Loreen still has enough support to be top 5 on this, although maybe that's because I don't hear it AT ALL outside of this website and even then I see it mentioned less and less on here. Run Away With Me I expected higher, but quite sure it will be a future winner on this. Very strong pop song, even if I was never quite in on all the mass looning.

 

Dancing on my Own winning would feel wonderful given it got cruelly massacred by Calum Scott this year :wub: Pretty sure it'll be Gaga though~

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

2 6 2009 Lady Gaga - Bad Romance 623 ( 1 - 1 - 2 - 1 - 1 - 6 - 2 )

 

It was a short-lived fall to #6 last year as Bad Romance makes 2015 the only year so far it hasn't appeared in the top 2, but it can't quite reclaim its crown. Instead, it finishes 19 points behind Dancing On My Own. Which is a lot better than it was doing at the end of the first week of voting, it was somewhere in the depths of the pack. It is a song that tends to get more points from later voters but over 400 of those points appeared in the second half of the voting. Which meant I was quite comfortable in it not getting yet another victory before it raced upwards at an alarming rate, I always forget it's capable of doing this.

 

Why has it consistently done so well? Well, Gaga, but Bad Romance is on another level for most people, I can see why, it's not my favourite of hers and like, the only reason I tend to root against it winning is that for the level of song it is to me, that many victories is excessive. But not to lots of people, it had so many 40s and 39s that when it need the points it was racing up. See it has the quality that makes it very likely that anyone who calls themselves a pop fan will love what is on offer here, a big tribute to a knowingly bad and crazy relationship. And the longest Gaga has gone without winning. Still three more available though, I won't be counting this one out of the race until 2020 (imagine if I'm still running this in 2020).

 

 

1 7 2010 Robyn - Dancing On My Own 642 ( 20 - 7 - 10 - 15 - 7 - 1 )

 

Is this the biggest f*** you to the soulless Calum Scott cover you can imagine? I don't know, it certainly makes it a thematically appropriate winner this year. Dancing On My Own has always been popular here but it is only this year that's given it the extra push to reach top 5 and win, spending every year in the top 20 but otherwise only just making it into the top 10 when possible (and actually a look at this run has made me realise that this is probably the first year in a long while that Robyn hasn't been at #7. And I'm really glad, it's won that is. It's, for one, a winner that isn't Bad Romance or With Every Heartbeat, after 6 years of those two, and, out of those three, I think it's my favourite. The cover definitely inspired some people to go back and listen again to the original and give it more exposure as a song because it's so wonderfully written that at least the cover is doing that.

 

The lyrics work way better with Robyn's involved method of singing them and with that I can really feel the sense of loneliness and desperation in the song. Something that speaks to me. Again, like with With Every Heartbeat, the production that accompanies Robyn's words adds to those lyrics and gives you a complete package of a song. I'm going to go on record and say that this is the best win I've seen ROTD do since I've started running it. Two years of Robyn domination may not sit well with everyone but this time, we've let some of the older songs give way to the first winner released during the 2010s. And because I'm always after excitement and new winners shaking the status quo up, I like it.

wow, great to have a new winner finally after all these years, and Dancing On My Own definitely deserves it as it's been so popular on this forum this year especially.

Missed most of this :( Nice to see this at #1 though :)

 

I wonder whether it would have been #1 if Calum Scott had not released his cover

Top 100 in full:

 

Position / Last Year / Year / Artist / Song / Points Total

 

1 7 2010 Robyn - Dancing On My Own 642

2 6 2009 Lady Gaga - Bad Romance 623

3 1 2007 Robyn - With Every Heartbeat 587

4 3 2012 Loreen - Euphoria 569

5 NE 2015 Carly Rae Jepsen - Run Away With Me 543

6 54 2008 Rihanna - Disturbia 536

7 39 2006 Shakira (feat. Wyclef Jean) - Hips Don't Lie 530

8 53 2013 CHVRCHES - The Mother We Share 520

9 14 2014 Katy B - Crying For No Reason 509

10 48 2012 Of Monsters And Men - Little Talks 504

 

11 12 2007 Rihanna (feat. Jay-Z) - Umbrella 501

12 5 2007 Amy Winehouse - Back To Black 494

13 45 2011 Lana Del Rey - Video Games 476

14 52 2014 Sia - Chandelier 475

15 49 2012 Gotye (feat. Kimbra) - Somebody That I Used To Know 475

16 2 2011 Rihanna (feat. Calvin Harris) - We Found Love 465

17 13 2007 Sugababes - About You Now 463

18 17 2008 Coldplay - Viva La Vida 462

19 NE 2015 Years & Years - King 459

20 10 2007 Girls Aloud - Call The Shots 456

 

21 42 2009 Lily Allen - The Fear 455

22 16 2013 Daft Punk (feat. Pharrell) - Get Lucky 448

23 33 2012 David Guetta (feat. Sia) - Titanium 444

24 34 2007 Nelly Furtado - Say It Right 443

25 40 2006 P!nk - Who Knew 443

26 189 2012 Lana Del Rey - Born To Die 431

27 23 2014 Clean Bandit (feat. Jess Glynne) - Rather Be 429

28 101 2013 Bastille - Pompeii 425

29 22 2007 Girls Aloud - Sexy! No No No 416

30 21 2012 Solange - Losing You 411

 

31 71 2010 Rihanna - Only Girl (In The World) 409

32 NE 2015 Major Lazer (feat. DJ Snake & MØ) - Lean On 405

33 24 2006 My Chemical Romance - Welcome To The Black Parade 404

34 25 2007 Leona Lewis - Bleeding Love 401

35 85 2008 Rihanna - Don't Stop The Music 392

36 110 2011 Foster The People - Pumped Up Kicks 390

37 44 2010 Lady Gaga & Beyoncé - Telephone 385

38 47 2011 Nicki Minaj - Super Bass 382

39 163 2009 Lady Gaga - Paparazzi 382

40 121 2008 Britney Spears - Womanizer 381

 

41 74 2009 La Roux - Bulletproof 380

42 153 2012 Ellie Goulding - Figure 8 374

43 51 2011 Adele - Rolling In The Deep 374

44 9 2008 M.I.A - Paper Planes 373

45 18 2007 Britney Spears - Gimme More 371

46 32 2012 Swedish House Mafia - Don’t You Worry Child 365

47 NE 2015 Years & Years - Shine 363

48 83 2006 Nelly Furtado - Maneater 363

49 194 2013 HAIM - The Wire 362

50 138 2011 Ellie Goulding - Lights 362

 

51 245 2013 HAIM - Falling 361

52 73 2008 Britney Spears - Piece Of Me 361

53 26 2013 Arctic Monkeys - Do I Wanna Know? 360

54 27 2012 Azealia Banks - 212 360

55 82 2008 Alphabeat - Fascination 360

56 119 2009 Little Boots - Remedy 352

57 38 2013 Little Mix - Move 349

58 63 2007 Kate Nash - Foundations 343

59 31 2010 Rihanna (feat. Drake) - What's My Name 342

60 137 2007 Paramore - Misery Business 341

 

61 36 2012 Carly Rae Jepsen - Call Me Maybe 340

62 96 2014 G.R.L - Ugly Heart 334

63 173 2014 Kiesza - Hideaway 332

64 310 2011 Coldplay - Paradise 330

65 164 2012 Ellie Goulding - Anything Could Happen 328

66 275 2011 Chase & Status (feat. Liam Bailey) - Blind Faith 328

67 87 2009 Lady Gaga - Poker Face 325

68 187 2008 Elbow - One Day Like This 324

69 55 2013 Justin Timberlake - Mirrors 322

70 RE 2010 Owl City - Fireflies 322

 

71 64 2011 Lady Gaga - The Edge Of Glory 321

72 NE 2015 Little Mix - Black Magic 320

73 67 2014 Beyoncé (feat. Jay-Z) - Drunk In Love 320

74 253 2009 Agnes - Release Me 315

75 NE 2015 Justin Bieber - Sorry 313

76 NE 2015 Mark Ronson (feat. Bruno Mars) - Uptown Funk 306

77 59 2010 Katy Perry - Teenage Dream 306

78 NE 2015 Galantis - Runaway (U&I) 304

79 NE 2015 Adele - Hello 298

80 88 2011 Adele - Set Fire To The Rain 296

 

81 56 2014 Ella Henderson - Ghost 293

82 198 2013 Disclosure (feat. AlunaGeorge) - White Noise 281

83 89 2009 Beyoncé - Halo 281

84 133 2006 Beyoncé - Irreplaceable 281

85 192 2006 Gnarls Barkley - Crazy 275

86 46 2012 Disclosure (feat. Sam Smith) - Latch 272

87 181 2008 MGMT - Kids 272

88 328 2012 Calvin Harris (feat. Florence Welch) - Sweet Nothing 259

89 186 2008 Estelle (feat. Kanye West) - American Boy 256

 

90 62 2009 Kelly Clarkson - My Life Would Suck Without You 255

91 202 2013 Mariah Carey (feat. Miguel) - #Beautiful 253

92 79 2013 Taylor Swift - I Knew You Were Trouble 252

93 28 2014 Taylor Swift - Blank Space 238

94 NE 2015 Ellie Goulding - Love Me Like You Do 235

95 72 2006 Justin Timberlake (feat. Timbaland) - SexyBack 225

96 112 2014 Ariana Grande (feat. Iggy Azalea) - Problem 222

97 90 2007 Amy Winehouse - Tears Dry On Their Own 221

98 75 2008 Katy Perry - Hot N Cold 220

99 117 2014 Katy Perry (feat. Juicy J) - Dark Horse 216

100 123 2006 Rihanna - SOS 216

 

And, if you WANT to have a big browse of my two massive spreadsheets that I use to do this whole contest in, you can find the adding up sheet here and the results archive here

omg Robyn's rotd stranglehold reaches a whole new level

 

(don't suppose this means i have to partly thank Calum Scott for his dancing on my errrrn cover version? i guess~)

 

Mostly a great Top 5! (granted i'm not a Euphoria stan really but at least i understand why it'll be a contender every year), seeing CHVRCHES & Of Monsters and Men in the Top 10 is a definite highlight of this 2016 round though <333

 

And of course a big loud THANK YOU to my dear boy Izzy, always appreciate your hard work on this thing :wub:

 

Shit winner as ever when Robyn wins. Such an irritating voice that I will never understand, genuinely prefer Calum's version.

 

A shame that Carly couldn't do it, I was really rooting for her and then subsequently Gaga. AND WHAT @ CHVRCHES. May I remind you, you let me finish 5th with that BJSC entry and now it's nearly top 5 in your favourite songs of the DECADE. Go them though, what a surprise <3.