January 6, 20178 yr Author Wild Things is great! Probably my favourite of her singles so far, wish it was more of a hit :( I'm digging her new one, Seventeen, plus the Moana track is amazing - she's on fire at the moment!
January 6, 20178 yr Author By Your Side is brilliant, easily his best song to date & it'll be tough for him to top it. Home was a really nice entry, can't believe it finished as low as it did! Someone Who Needs Me the BJSC smash that never was :lol: that deserved to be a hit. Lmao, don't get me started on the veto thing - always seems to come back to haunt me just when I think people have forgotten about it :lol:
January 6, 20178 yr Author 121. Flume ft Tove Lo - Say It LOVE MONTH - MAY - This is a brilliant tune from Tove and Flume, the latter of which's album Skin was a real favourite of mine back in the summer. Say It has distinctive Tove vocals that really set it apart from every other generic dance track around these days, and although the drop is slightly too "Flume" to be called anything special, it is a nice listen nevertheless. It bubbled under on Spotify for a while but sadly failed to break through to mainstream in the UK :( 120. Zara Larsson - I Would Like LOVE MONTH - NOVEMBER - One of the newer songs in my countdown, I Would Like was released just over a month ago as an instant grat and from the start I said how it sounded like a hit - really cool backing and some strong vocals (and a totally bangin' chorus), luckily this was pushed as a single eventually and now sits relatively strong inside the UK top 3! Definitely one of my favourite Zara tracks since she first broke out - it was a #1 in my daily personal chart, the first and only (so far) of her songs to do so! 119. Sigma ft Birdy - Find Me LOVE MONTH - NOVEMBER - Find Me really stood out for me on release, the vocals of Birdy were strong as ever and came across as less crooning and moany than her solo singles and the distorted vocals in the drop gave me distinct Kallay-Saunders Band "After Party" teas (nobody will get that reference lol). The video for the song itself was amazing too, it featured Millie Bobby Brown of Stranger Things fame, and was very moving and creative - certainly complimented the song aptly! It was unfortunate how this couldn't do much in the chart - Sigma seem to have somewhat of a curse in the Official Charts these days (they've another two songs to come in my chart and have had three top tens all year, so they can't complain with their performance in my charts lol) 118. Marshmello - Alone LOVE MONTH - AUGUST - I really wish, looking back now, that I'd have kept this song to myself prior to BJSC 88 - I decided to post what was a far too revealing teaser of my song (which was this, at the time) and literally everyone knew what it was instantly and decided to hype it, making it obvious bait for a veto *insert veto joke here :,/*. I then proceeded to send a song that came deal last in the final when I could have had an insta-hit with this. In future I'll keep my mouth shut. But the point remains that this is an awesome dance track from some great producers - Marshmello keep on producing jams (take the lovely Keep It Mello that effortlessly combines cheesy with rap), and this is no exception. 117. Clean Bandit ft Sean Paul & Anne-Marie - Rockabye LOVE MONTH - DECEMBER - Rockabye is very very good. Having spent over two months at the top of the charts, which is totally ridiculous and practically unheard of, by the way, it's definitely still surprising that i like this song, especially considering I usually tire of songs when they spend ridiculous amounts of time at the top of the charts. This is just so good, Anne-Marie's vocals are great and the song really tells a story, setting it apart from most other popular tunes these days. Oh, and it does feature our lord and saviour of the charts SHONDEPOL, who as always provides some funky and fun bars that make absolutely no sense whatsoever. So all good then :dance: Edited January 6, 20178 yr by mdh
January 6, 20178 yr I Would Like is probably my favourite Zara song now *.* Also love Rockabye obviously, such a tune <3
January 7, 20178 yr Closer was a great track wasn't it? Just felt purpose built for advert soundbeds too... Big highlight there is Alone, lovely slice of EDM :dance:
January 7, 20178 yr Rockabye is fantastic, totally worthy of all the weeks at #1 I must say! :o Totally unexpected but they've delivered better songs than ever this era so far I think, so really glad they're seeing such sustained success still. I Would Like is a huge tune also, never expected it to be her highest peaking song to date! :o
January 8, 20178 yr Author I Would Like is probably my favourite Zara song now *.* Also love Rockabye obviously, such a tune <3 Both of the tracks you stated are really great tunes - I hope Rockabye sticks around for a bit longer :wub:
January 8, 20178 yr Author Rockabye is fantastic, totally worthy of all the weeks at #1 I must say! :o Totally unexpected but they've delivered better songs than ever this era so far I think, so really glad they're seeing such sustained success still. I Would Like is a huge tune also, never expected it to be her highest peaking song to date! :o Oh indeed, I'm very excited for the album, if it's anywhere NEAR as good as the two singles showcased then we'll all be in for a massive treat! Plus I'm so excited for the Zara collab that is apparently confirmed :o
January 8, 20178 yr Author Closer was a great track wasn't it? Just felt purpose built for advert soundbeds too... Big highlight there is Alone, lovely slice of EDM :dance: Yeah it was, works so well with the Google advert and it's great to see it getting some long term appreciation!
January 8, 20178 yr Author 116. SeeB ft Neev - Breathe LOVE MONTH - APRIL - Initially there was a massive amount of hype behind this song on Buzzjack, I remember at one point in the Predicta thread some were tipping it to be a big #1, yet unfortunately this never did anything - quite surprising, it was released right off the back of i Took A Pill In Ibiza spending multiple weeks at #1 in the UK so one would think the susceptible UK public would jump on this, although it proved to be quite the flop. This has a rather haunting chorus, which is the main reason I liked it, something about it feels really different to most dance music, in fact the whole track proves rather scary - listening back to it right now has made me realise what a genuinely stunning song this is, Neev's vocals are outstanding, totally not too whiny like some said at the time. One of the biggest missed hit opportunities of the year for me, really beautiful dance tune! 115. Snakehips ft Tinashe & Chance The Rapper - All My Friends LOVE MONTH - JANUARY - I was really happy to see this chart in the top 40 of the whole year, I'm a real fan of Chance The Rapper and Tinashe had had some decent songs in the past so I was intrigued by this one. Safe to say it's really good, been hammered by Radio 1 practically all year long - but such a tune that never really got old for me. Chance's rap does come across as a bit novelty and tame lyrically but overall I like the vibe the song puts across, the point of the song is kind of "we're all smashed, don't know what to do with my life hhh", and it does a great job of musically embodying those emotions. It looks as though Snakehips will have another hit this year - their new song with MO is doing rather well on both iTunes and Spotify, let's hope it becomes as big a hit as this gem was. 114. Mark Knight - Yebisah LOVE MONTH - SEPTEMBER - Here's one that stood out for me. I heard it while listening to Danny Howards Dance Anthems on a Saturday evening. I was in the car, and this being a show me and my dad (when in the car) usually frequent (dad loves dance too!), it was only normal to stick it on. It was tipping it down with rain outside and we heard the first few beats of this. Wow. Such striking and strong piano notes combine with a high tempo house instrumentation to make a song that really does sum up UK dance, perfect for a rainy day - there's something about it that just works in those conditions, like you know when a tropical house song is so complimentary to a summers day? Yeah. Like that. Anyway, I entered it into BJSC Instrumentals and to my delight it did REALLY well, top 10 actually, so I was really pleased that this dance discovery was able to hit itself off with others. 113. Gyptian - Hold Yuh LOVE MONTH - AUGUST - This one appears very high in my countdown, especially considering I was only really in to it for around a week, after hearing it being played on someones stereo while on holiday in the Peak District. What an epic throwback! It's genuinely brilliant. Personally, I'm a massive fan of Jamaican (term being used VERY loosely, basically songs with Jamaican culture influences) and dancehall, along with the use of Jamaican Patoi Slang being a guilty pleasure of mine (see my Sean Paul obsession), so this track is literally a perfect jam for me. The piano backing is really enigmatic yet so striking, plus the raw emotion showcased by Gyptian makes a fantastic setting for a song about romantic wishes and loving someone. I really hope we get more songs like this this year, and that Dancehall continues to thrive, it's such a massively underrappreicated genre that so deserves to get more recognition outside of London and the community surrounding the music. That's why I love Major Lazer so much, they take influences from songs like this and inject them into songs while keeping them refreshed and current, and although they may seem trendhopping, they have been one of the pioneers in the rise of dancehall music. I'm pretty sure ML Hammer will echo all of what I've been saying, I know he feels the same about these genres ;) 112. Kent Jones - Don't Mind LOVE MONTH - JUNE - Going to be totally honest here, this track is a bit of an iffy one in the sense that it's a total pile of crap and after hearing it near constantly by stereotypical chavs for two months straight I DID get totally fed up with it, but listening back to it now, it DOES have a catchy ring to it that I can't really resist. Kent Jones is a perfect example of a crossover artist, this track grew and grew on streaming before blowing upon sales and bursting into the UK charts. I caught onto this one before it got big here and at first was loving different and catchy chorus and the kind of chirpy, upbeat, quirky rapping style that Kent Jones uses (which differenciates him from the generic trash US rappers on the scene these days which is pleasant), I mean after a while I was bored of it, but still. Good tune. ───────────────────────────── DISCLAIMER - I've for some reason got a knack for writing a lot at the moment, these commentaries are horrendously long for singular songs but I'm just writing what's on my mind these days and there tends to be a lot on my mind, so :P Edited January 8, 20178 yr by mdh
January 8, 20178 yr some great songs charting too low here, 'Alone', 'Yebisah', 'All My Friends' and 'Breathe' all missing the top 100? :no: 'I Would Like' already shaping up to be big contender in my 2017n chart.
January 8, 20178 yr Breathe and Yebisah are both really great dance tracks! Really disappointed SeeB isn't taking off in the UK :(
January 10, 20178 yr Author Breathe and Yebisah are both really great dance tracks! Really disappointed SeeB isn't taking off in the UK :( yeah I know - I was really convinced Breathe would be a big hit :nono:
January 10, 20178 yr Author some great songs charting too low here, 'Alone', 'Yebisah', 'All My Friends' and 'Breathe' all missing the top 100? :no: 'I Would Like' already shaping up to be big contender in my 2017n chart. it was a really tough cut to make the top 100, in reflection there ARE a few songs that I think I misplaced but unfortunately they weren't QUITE loved enough by me to make it :( Breathe was definitely a controversial ommision though!
January 10, 20178 yr Author 111. Skepta - Man (Gang) LOVE MONTH - JUNE - This is another interesting one, certainly one I didn't expect to be charting so high after not even charting it initially, but I figured we needed some grime representation in the countdown and what better artist to epitomise the 2016 UK grime scene than Skepta. He's been spearheading what is a generation of upcoming grime stars, a group of individuals that keep music directly from the streets relevant and as someone that has partially grown up in an area where such urban youth culture is prominent, I respect him a lot for that. Lyrically, this is very good. Inventive, snappy, and a catchy chorus that doesn't leave my head - it's got all the ingredients for a hit grime song and this certainly was! It reached the UK top 40, albeit a low placing but for an artist that has spent most of his career producing his own music, it's a massive achivement. 110. The Chemical Brothers - Container Park LOVE MONTH - MARCH - I was introduced to this track back in 2014. The Chemical Brothers were a name I knew from big tracks such as Galvanise - which is a total dance classic, no questions asked, by the way, and this was the soundtrack to a really nice horror film called Hanna that was broadcast a while ago. The sound of this track is really different, it's totally instrumental and at times the output is tinny and grating on the ears, and there's an agonising amount of pre-drop buildup, but wow is the wait worth it. Immersive, stunning, and perfectly produced, Container Park is without a shadow of a doubt my favourite track of theirs. I entered it into BJSC Movies - my debut contest as Medhelnia, and it had a strong midtable finish. This song will always resonate with me for the mentioned reason and for the fact it's one of the most innovative and unique dance tracks I've ever heard. 109. Flume ft Kai - Never Be Like You LOVE MONTH - FEBRUARY - Another track that was certainly destined to be a hit but never quite got the breakthrough it needed, here's Never Be Like You by Flume. Flume has always swayed more towards the alternative side of the dance spectrum, with synthy, erratic sounds populating the majority of his music, so it was a surprise to see him be able to craft a popular song while also incorporating his signature synth sounds and beats. This track peaked in my personal chart at #9 in February, back when the song was just taking off. It has some really great vocals from new singer Kai, and a riveting chorus, but as ever, I guess this was far too eccentric for the general public to take to. It was a hit down under, though, if that's any consolation. 108. Shawn Mendes - Treat You Better LOVE MONTH - JULY - Stitches will also appear later on in this countdown, but here's a Shawn track I really digged for a long time around the release of it. Treat You Better is a guitar reliant, acoustic pop song from what is yet to be a tired format that Shawn follows. The lyrics aren't exactly groundbreaking, but this is sweet, simple and heartfelt and I guess you can't fault it for that. It spent an age in the charts and was a really great single decision on the back of mega-hit Stitches. I never really got fed up of this until summer wore away, in fact I'd still give it a listen if I had to, and I hope in 2017 Shawn continues to impress with pop bangers. ─────────────────────────────────────────── LAST 10- 108 Shawn Mendes - Treat You Better 109 Flume ft Kai - Never Be Like You 110 The Chemical Brothers - Container Park 111 Skepta - Man (Gang) 112 Kent Jones - Don't Mind 113 Gyptian - Hold Yuh 114 Mark Knight - Yebisah 115 Snakehips ft Tinashe & Chance The Rapper - All My Friends 116 SeeB ft Neev - Breathe 117 Clean Bandit ft Sean Paul & Anne-Marie - Rockabye
January 11, 20178 yr :hi: mdh, sorry for not popping in much recently! I adored TYB so glad to see it appear in quite a few countdowns this year, I think it has overtaken Stitches now for me too but excited to see where that comes in your countdown. So glad he's had such a successful year because he seems really likeable and a has a lovely voice (and face :heehee:). Wasn't expecting to see Gyptian in a 2016 countdown with that song but really excited to see more people like it, it's a huge jam and as you said the piano is fantastic. I adore the Nicki remix too although it's one track where I probably prefer the non-Nicki remix :lol:
January 11, 20178 yr Hold Yuh appearing :o What a classic <3 The Nicki Minaj remix *.* Also liking All My Friends and Treat You Better :wub:
January 12, 20178 yr BETTER DANNY CAN Loooooove Treat You Better, was amazing to see Shawn prove he wasn't a one-hit wonder :wub: (although he wasn't anyway thanks to Oh Cecilia :magic:)
January 12, 20178 yr Man is an absolute brill tune. One of the highlights on an amazing album. What a year Skepta had. :wub:
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