06. Chained to the Rhythm (feat. Skip Marley) - 8.51

10 ~ Cqmerqn, Joe, blacksquare, ...ready for it, Jack, troublepink, West, Jay, UltraMe 9.5 ~ Nick F1, Wall, Liam, Theo

5 ~ Calum

 

US peak: #04

UK peak: #05

 

 

I honestly think this is one of the most under-appreciated pop music videos of the past decade. The spectacle, the budget, the acting, the visuals and the sentiment! And the song really is great too, a true shining standout on her discography. It's a subtle, intricate little earworm, and splendidly put-together. I do feel like maybe it feels like a third single, due to not being as "in your face" as most Katy leads, but it doesn't stop it from being a very strong song. It's a shame 'Rise' took away a lot of the comeback shine from Katy a few months beforehand, as I could have seen it being closer to being a #1, but either way it was a nice, solid hit for Katy...her last top 10 as a lead..(Hopefully not for long...)

'Never Really Over' top 5 :mellow: sorry but that's way too high! (yup that song still hasn't clicked aw)

Yaaas NRO top 5 :wub: So deserved. Some songs are just instant classics and that one is for sure :heart:

 

I like Chained though, but it's not my fave from the Witness era! It's a bop though. Took a while for me to get into it.

05. Roar - 8.52

11 ~ gavindeejay 10 ~ Cqmerqn Juliano, SamJudd, Cucumberella, Jonjo, Jack, troublepink, Mack, Liam, Wall, JosephAvery, RobBob, West , Jay, Klimawechsel

-1 ~ Defaze 2 ~ blacksquare

 

US peak: #01

UK peak: #01

 

 

It took me a while to appreciate Roar, it was one I found a little too "by the number" upon release, but I've grown to like it a lot more through her Witness era performances of it. Her Manchester performance of it was especially powerful and moving. And her Radio 1 Big Weekend and Glastonbury performances of it were also very strong. I actually didn't realise it was quite as loved here as it is, I expected it to finish in a similar position to 'I Kissed a Girl'/'California Girls'.

Pure pop at it's absolute finest :wub:

Roar top five is quite a shock for me! :o I thought it was as poorly regarded as Firework these days. Pleased although it's now "only" my fourth favourite lead as Never Really Over has overtaken - NRO is the highest of all leads in this rate though! :o

'Never Really Over' in the Top 4. Blimey.

 

 

Roar is one of her finest moments :wub:

 

Never Really Over *.* Can it make Top 3??

Chained to the Rhythm really is top tier for me. More subtle for her, yes, but still a fantastic pop song.

 

Roar on the other hand...

I feel like 'Chained' is musically really good, but the chorus is awkwardly clunky and just doesn't quite... work that well.

 

'Roar' has been overplayed to buggery, but what a STORMING return that was for a lead single after the Teenage Dream era. Totally knocked it out of the park.

Catching up with the thread... good results so far :wub: I thought some tracks would be higher, but Katy has such amazing songs, they're all (mostly) worthy top 5. Great to see NRO is doing so well too :heart:

Never Really Over *.* Can it make Top 3??

 

 

....

 

 

 

 

It seems it can :o

 

04. E.T. (feat. Kanye West) - 8.77

11 ~ Josh! 10 ~ Cqmerqn, Juliano, Joe., Andrew., Jase, SamJudd, Jade, Jonjo, Liam, Theo, JosephAvery, Juan Carlos

5 ~ Calum

 

US peak: #01

UK peak: #03

 

 

I mean, what a banger? I remember after the first 10 rates this had an average of 10.2, deserved! It dipped a little as things went on, and it's surprising to see it not within the top 2 which it usually is, but all 3 songs above are pop perfection too so I can't complain. ET is apparently eligible to be Katy's 4th(!) Diamond selling single in the US. Oh, and I think we can all agree the video version of the song is the ultimate version.

 

 

 

never really over wouldn't be this high next year tbh, It's NOT better than Roar.

What a song and video combo 'E.T.' is :wub: I think that's my 2nd favourite of hers after 'Wide Awake'.

never really over wouldn't be this high next year tbh, It's NOT better than Roar.

I dunno. I actually think it would be (well top 5 anyway). It beating out E.T. is a shock though! Loooove E.T.!

Pleasantly surprised to see Never Really Over has finished in the top 3 - it's one I can definitely see holding up well far down the line!

 

E.T. and Chained, meh

"Never Really Over" really does deserve to be this high tbh, it's so f'n good.

'E.T' is a solid track, I notice it generally seems to appeal to a lot of people who don't ordinarily like her.

03. Never Really Over - 8.97

10 ~ Juliano Joe., Jase, SamJudd, blacksquare, Tawdry Hepburn, Jonjo, Jack, Liam, (Zach), Juan Carlos, West, Jay 9.5 ~ Defaze, JosephAvery, RobBob, UltraME!

6 ~ gavindeejay, Mack, Jade

 

US peak: #15

UK peak: #12

 

 

Hopefully those are not the peaks, especially for the UK. 'Never Really Over' is the refreshing pop triumph I was not expecting this year. I think most were a little nervous for Katy when we heard her lead single was dropping, but here we are, an almost unanimously loved banger that has wormed its way into lots of hearts and is sound-tracking our Summers so far. 'Never Really Over', is one of Katy's most critically acclaimed singles ever; The Av Club, The New York Times, Idolator, Forbes and Pitchfork (who are usually somewhat anti-Katy) all gave it glowing reviews. And it's not difficult to see why. It's a cleverly made and somewhat daring piece of pop which is packed with about 4 hooks and has a post-chorus (or chorus?) which is pretty much impossible to sing along to at first (I know we have it down now). It's not the kind of Urban or dance leaning pop that the GP wants these days, but it feels very Teenage Dream era Katy, but has some modern flourishes that makes it a justifiable release in 2019. It seems to be working well in being course correction for Katy after the Witness era and the subsequent '365' flop. It's nice to see the public slowly getting back on board with Katy, the power of pure, simple but intelligent pop!

One of her best ever :wub:

 

All of those 10's :o

Edited June 27, 20195 yr by Jαsє