if sam sees this and still wants to host I can concede to her either 26-30 or 21-25 as penance for stealing this one (be quick) xx

 

 

35 - 125 - 2009 The Temper Trap - Sweet Disposition ( X - 196 - 182 - 197 - 264 - 183 - 214 - 181 - 125 - 35 ) 212

34 NE 2018 Lady Gaga & Bradley Cooper - Shallow ( 34 ) 219

33 - 86 - 2016 Fifth Harmony (feat. Ty Dolla $ign) - Work from Home ( 36 - 86 - 33 ) 224

32 - 123 - 2010 Kylie Minogue - Get Outta My Way ( X - 342 - 280 - 381 - 302 - 168 - 116 - 123 - 32 ) 224

31 - 55 - 2017 Little Mix - Touch ( 55 - 31 ) 232

 

This section of the top 40 contains the 4th highest song of 2009 saying farewell, and it's a pretty dramatic one. After 10 years of hanging about 100 places below, Sweet Disposition finally found all of its fans and leaves us with a great peak of #35. A beautiful touching song, I recall when I was first getting into charts I'd see it moving very much like its ROTD run, up and down and always staying strong. That guitar breakdown, the voice, it's a little bit of a triumph. Very strong song to start off the section.

 

One of the new entries is something I had no idea was a thing, I was a bit out of pop music and wasn't aware that not only had Gaga come back on the soundtrack on a film, that it was also a rather big #1 had escaped me until relatively recently. It's a cool ballad, I foresee good things for it in the future.

 

I'm not going to be as outrageously annoyed at the existence of Work From Home as I am normally, as much as I think it's a terrible and poorly written song that sounds at once boring and depressing to listen to. Oh, okay, perhaps I am going to be. This is an opinion that is not shared here by everyone, as it bounces back to reach a new peak, I believe there are reasons that people like it. Help me out there. There has to be a reason for it. The backing track? The... uh, singing?

 

Something that shows how different the start of the decade was, we had Kylie songs actually doing well on the charts, and they were some of her better efforts, but we didn't have such unrequited love. And All The Lovers definitely overshadowed Get Outta My Way when I was first here, and that one I think is pretty basic. Time has been very kind to the better of the two big ones from Aphrodite, its wistful yet powerful instrumental and whooping making one of Kylie's most undeniable dancing anthems since Can't Get You. Like Sweet Disposition it also gets a top 40 place for the first time and one that feels way overdue.

 

Also a great pop song is Little Mix's Touch, something that shows off how well they bond as a group and was one of their best efforts from... whichever album it was from, I've really lost track of their eras. Over the decade Little Mix have really shown themselves to be a very capable and high quality girlband with an ability to move well into new trends, and I think Touch is the epitome of that, with an unforgettable chorus that makes me tempted to call it Little Mix's Biology (is that a good reference? my girlband mythology isn't always the best), and Buzzjack would agree that it's their best at least here, seeing as this is their highest song.

Can I just say I despise Work From Home as well on multiple levels (musical, video, exploitation). Ok I'll be back with another comment l8r xo

that's a pleasingly high finish for Sweet Disposition. definitely one of the songs from 2009 that has aged the best.

the rest of that section is good but shouldn't really be that high.

I am not here for 'Work From Home' slander, a BOP!

 

30 - 34 - 2015 Years & Years - Shine ( 47 - 152 - 34 - 30 ) 233

29 - 57 - 2011 Chase & Status (feat. Liam Bailey) - Blind Faith ( 279 - 216 - 217 - 275 - 66 - 50 - 57 - 29 ) 234

28 - 45 - 2010 Rihanna - Only Girl (In The World) ( 154 - 161 - 77 - 84 - 71 - 31 - 48 - 45 - 28 ) 238

27 - 68 - 2009 Calvin Harris - I'm Not Alone ( 181 - 48 - 51 - 75 - 155 - 174 - 106 - 81 - 68 - 27 ) 239

26 - 74 - 2011 Lady Gaga - The Edge Of Glory ( 77 - 88 - 102 - 64 - 71 - 65 - 74 - 26 ) 240

 

A section full of songs gaining new peaks starts with Shine, a synthpop glory from Years & Years, overtaking King for the first time. Those are always the best two from Years & Years, but I've noticed that Shine appears to be just that bit more special to people, and it's just a bit that more positive, being a love song that pulls no punches with how great the singer finds his new love. I couldn't say which I prefer but I'm glad it makes it into the top 30 by a point.

 

The rest of this section is all towards the older side, all, therefore, tunes for me from when I was in school still and making MUSIC MY LIFE. Blind Faith was rather prominent in that, although it was initially so prominent I hated it, but over time, the beautiful synths won me round and I almost prefer it to End Credits. I do believe a couple of years ago in ROTD it shocked in the 2011 round by coming top 5, but even then it obviously didn't do as well as in the final as it's done this time, excellent stuff.

 

Rihanna is no stranger to the top end and despite being a strong performer, Only Girl has never quite been in contention to win. It's classic Rihanna though, showing off her wonderful voice that was part of the reason I initially became obsessed with her when I first discovered pop, and like with Shine just below it, its ability to just lose itself in love is inspiring, although this one is less romantic and more, the other thing. At least that's my reading of it. This new peak is less dramatic than the others in this section but it's a good performance for her.

 

I'm Not Alone leaves us after coming SECOND in 2009 (the yearly round, in the final results it's finished as the fourth-highest 2009 song), that was a great finish for it earlier this year. Calvin Harris has gone through many incarnations over the years, running every feeling between interesting dance and incredibly generic bops to get the cheques and Ibiza tour dates booked in. I'm Not Alone has always been one of the former and one of the songs that really put him on the map back when he was first getting started, I might be forgetting some things but that modern instrumental chorus puts it well ahead of its time.

 

Finally, The Edge Of Glory has never done quite as well as I expected to. It's the most wide-appealing song from Gaga's second album so at times I did expect it to be a new Bad Romance, but it's never quite lived up to that potential. Its longing cries and great chorus make it a classic of the early Gaga age, and a few years before it goes it's finally got that peak that I'm sure many consider worthy of it.

 

what are timezones

 

25 - 26 - 2009 Muse - Uprising ( X - 278 - 259 - 388 - 210 - 177 - 343 - 18 - 26 - 25 ) 240

24 - 14 - 2012 Of Monsters And Men - Little Talks ( 54 - 106 - 48 - 10 - 20 - 14 - 24 ) 245

23 - 16 - 2016 Alan Walker - Faded ( 188 - 16 - 23 ) 247

22 - 15 - 2014 Clean Bandit (feat. Jess Glynne) - Rather Be ( 23 - 27 - 13 - 15 - 22 ) 252

21 - 33 - 2009 Lady Gaga - Poker Face ( 2 - 34 - 40 - 22 - 55 - 87 - 67 - 47 - 33 - 21 ) 256

 

It's a great day when the most beloved non-Gaga song from 2009 ends up as what has consistently been one of my favourite songs in the ROTD final for the last three years, Muse's Uprising. I've always been happy it managed to get its dues, and has managed to prove itself worthy of that one year it made it all the way to the top 20 by this year and the last. It's always a song that makes me think, with its radical lyrics so emblazoned in the aftermath of 2008's financial crash, yet also a call to arms for a leftist revolution that manages to be exciting enough to make it onto rock playlists across the political spectrum. I reckon it would be very suited to many of the popular revolt events of the decade since, not least (serious warning) the current situation in Chile. Away from politics, it's often been likened to the theme tune of Doctor Who and is just generally undeniable. A great run for a great song.

 

Just ahead of it are some more of my favourites. Little Talks drops 10 places again but a four year run in the top 25 is still excellent, especially for a relatively small alt hit that came over from Iceland in the summer of 2012 and attracted great attention as two singers talk past each other about their lack of communication, accompanied by a fantastic music video that reminds me of truly imaginative fantasy stories like the Edge Chronicles or something I'm watching now called Made In Abyss. Ships flying in the air, grotesque and giant creatures, stuff like that. Beautifully addictive song and something that's been a darling of many slightly alt posters here ever since its mainstream UK release.

 

Faded drops 7 places, not long after it got scolded a bit for entering the top 10 of Ultimate Dance. I think it's paid its dues though, Alan Walker appeals to that side of dance that focuses on computerized melodies, layers of sound and the evoking of emotional feelings through those methods, over beats, and Faded does all of that pretty masterfully. It's very much the sound of the late 2010s for me and this looks good for its prospects as the game enters a new decade.

 

Rather Be is remarkably consistent in this game, also dropping 7 places, the true breakthrough song for Clean Bandit, its gorgeous use of strings highlighted why they were a unique chart prospect, while also being just a strong enough song to appeal to almost anybody, one of the best UK #1s of this decade. It also shows a great talent in managing to make Jess Glynne sound tolerably great rather than deathly boring.

 

The final non-Bad Romance 2009 song goes as Poker Face manages to come well enough full circle and finish its tumultuous run after dropping from its debut 2nd at its second-highest finish ever. Gaga fever was never going to be so high again that it would make it all the way up to the top, it's not quite as strong as Bad Romance but for what it's worth it plays to all of the Gaga strengths and was one of the key players in helping her storm the music world in 2009. It's going to be a fair big loss on the game, not quite what its more popular cousin will be but it leaves with a well respectable run.

Rather Be's low placing and Blind Faith's no-show in Ultimate Dance seem especially odd now considering their high positions here, great to see the rest of Buzzjack getting behind those.

 

Yes for I'm Not Alone finishing on a high and Faded high here as well.

Five very good songs just there, really delighted to see Uprising and Faded still so high! Glad I'm Not Alone has a new peak on its final year too!

 

20 - 10 - 2017 Dua Lipa - New Rules ( 10 - 20 ) 257

19 - 18 - 2013 Arctic Monkeys - Do I Wanna Know? ( 66 - 26 - 53 - 103 - 18 - 19 ) 259

 

No introduction needed for 'New Rules', a very successful super song by superstar Dua Lipa that moves on its second year down from 10th to 20th. Is this the start of a lovable chart pattern or is it a coincidence that'll be swept away when it finishes 44th next year as it moves into the realm of more forgotten hits. It's certainly cemented Dua Lipa as a current popstar of the moment, or at least, the moment 12 months ago, but is that going to hold up. Regardless, a great finish for it two years in a row.

 

Moving only one place, the Arctic Monkeys continue going strong with 'Do I Wanna Know?'. Perhaps the greatest of subtle triumphs from an aging band, it doesn't rely on what the Arctics had ever done before, and even though I always think of it as their new sound, it's gotten surprisingly old really quickly, there is now an equal length of time between now and 'Do I Wanna Know' as it and 'Fluorescent Adolescent'. Which, when put in those terms, sounds insane. The Arctics of the 00s were brash and Northern England at its heart, Do I Wanna Know is more suited to... fine wine tasting. But its that, what I think is superior quality that has allowed it to have such a good run, and like Uprising, it's had a good couple of recent years heading up our alternative vote.

 

18 - 31 - 2010 Katy Perry - Teenage Dream ( 154 - 161 - 77 - 84 - 59 - 77 - 16 - 31 - 18 ) 259

17 - 12 - 2017 Lorde - Green Light ( 12 - 17 ) 267

 

Ever the underappreciated ROTD star, it's almost surprising that Teenage Dream has had a good a run as it has for Katy Perry. At times it feels like the entire competition conspires to make her songs finish below where they should or leave her as the only member of the pop star pantheon without multiple representations in the final. But in the last few years, Teenage Dream has risen above that. It isn't quite back at its peak a few years ago but it's almost there and beautiful, strong, summer pop tunes aren't held back by much on this site, even for curses, and a very respectable 18th place finish is there for Katy this time.

 

Lorde's Green Light is still riding its high from last year, seemingly riding higher over songs from Lorde's first album which I always thought left more cultural impact. But who doesn't like Green Light? I like Green Light, it's a very strong song, those synths in the build are something else and Lorde never quite getting to a crescendo, rather passing it off to the backing, makes it so tantalising in a lovely way. Could still very easily be a contender in a future year.

 

 

Back to me for just about the final throes of the alt-ish section of this final with two trailblazers from Daft Punk and my beloved Lana Del Rey.

 

16 - 21 - 2013 Daft Punk (feat. Pharrell) - Get Lucky (35 - 16 - 22 - 26 - 21 - 16) 271

15 - 24 - 2011 Lana Del Rey - Video Games (52 - 42 - 43 - 45 - 13 - 14 - 24 - 15) 274

 

This year Video Games laps Born to Die to become Lana's highest in the ROTD for 2019, and is reaching new appreciation online and in the media these days following the release of Lana's rave reviewed fifth studio album NFR. Incredibly this is still only the 3rd highest song of 2011 with two more yet to come. There's something timeless about Video Games's melody and lyrics, with nods to both the Americana that Lana became known for, and the indie queen aesthetic she so strongly relied upon in her early days before opting for more clearly big-budget and ostentatious presentations. However despite all that, I personally wouldn't rank it among my faves from her as among her discography it stands out as missing her signature dark edge. Notably this is one of Lana's few UK chart hits, peaking at #9 back in 2011. It's pretty consistent within ROTD, landing within the top 25 for the fourth year running and for the third time landing between 14-16, clearly a solid fave despite the new releases and nominations challenging it each year.

 

Also here we have the at-the-time unlikely pairing of two acts who had been quiet commercially for quite some time before teaming up and exploding back onto the scene with this decadent chill summery hit in 2013. Get Lucky doesn't quite make it to top of its year, being pipped to the post by a much less commercially successful track, but still stands out among this top 20 as one of the last songs standing with a male vocal, and for managing to be a Pharrell song with pretty universal appeal as opposed to the marmiteness of his other hits from around the period and since, including Happy, Blurred Lines, and his production for Ariana Grande. Daft Punk have since (re)solidified their commercial clout by scoring another few big hits alongside The Weeknd, quite the career resurgence after their declining fortunes in the 2002-2012 period! Get Lucky is also very consistent within ROTD and this year equals its peak placing after three years of ping pong in the 20s, will it ever surpass #16 in the next three years it has to qualify?

 

Both these tracks in this section still sound fresh and imo absolutely hold up still in 2019, so kudos to Lana, Pharrell, and Daft Punk, and well done voters for having such fab taste ;) xo

 

14 - 44 - 2012 Swedish House Mafia - Don't You Worry Child ( 26 - 64 - 32 - 46 - 12 - 44 - 14 ) 274

13 - 11 - 2012 Gotye (feat. Kimbra) - Somebody That I Used To Know ( 19 - 62 - 49 - 15 - 80 - 11 - 13 ) 302

 

Two hits that peaked two places above where they stand, Don't You Worry Child and Somebody That I Used To Know represent two of the best of 2012, for many, they always have.

 

Don't You Worry Child needs no introduction as the stunningly resolute farewell track from a supergroup that very briefly took the dance world by storm, becoming their strongest success and reaching out beyond just dance nuts with a surprisingly emotional goodbye song. I'd go so far as to say that the instrumental chorus on Don't You Worry Child is THE most memorable dance chorus of the decade, the sound of parties in the 2010s forevermore. It dipped last year but apparently on odd years it's due to do well and it's bounced back strong, but it's a surprising gap between it and 13th place.

 

That 13th place this time goes to Somebody That I Used To Know, as it does something rather unusual in ROTD and picks a pattern, it's landed at ALMOST all of the odd teen numbers, I hope it does make it to 17th in its last few tries. Gotye & Kimbra have managed to retain one of the most beloved hits of 2012 despite early predictions that people would forget it, I guess it isn't remembered for much other than being an impressively strong song, but that's all you need to do well here. The one hit wonder underdog thing might also help a bit, we always like those.

All absolutely classics

 

Video Games was my first ever experience with Lana after it appearing on a Now album and what a force she has become. She is always consistent in her releases and this stands out as one of the best of this decade, if not the century. It’s simple, sparse production is so haunting but also keeps her classic, grand feel. Deserved high placing

 

Get Lucky was one I was initially not sold on as I wasn’t too keen on Pharrell’s voice but it is undeniably a disco/funk classic at this point. So effortlessly smooth and summery (even if I prefer I Feel It Coming and think it executes them attributes more successfully for me)

 

Don’t You Worry Child is a bizarre one because I couldn’t stand it upon release despite loving One (Your Name) and thought of it as so basic and predictable for them. Over time I have grown to really appreciate the lyrics and the production that just sums up that period in time and is a classic of this era. I will however say responding to the comment of this being the most recognisable dance instrumental of the decade, I’d say We Found Love is a little more.

 

Somebody That I Used To Know is one of the biggest songs of this entire decade and rightfully so. The child-like production compared to the emotion in the singers’ voices is just gold and so perfectly executed. I don’t know whether I’d have it this high but I can’t deny the grandiosity of it

 

12 - 40 - 2014 Katy B - Crying For No Reason ( 14 - 9 - 32 - 40 - 12 ) 309

11 - 9 - 2012 Loreen - Euphoria ( 4 - 6 - 3 - 4 - 10 - 9 - 11 ) 309

 

The second (:o) last tiebreak of the results falls to the two songs unlucky enough to miss the top 10 and we also lose our first two years here. 2014 and 2012 put up a good fight, as often happens, none of the years are completely without any representatives until right at the end but only 8 of them are in the top 10. Checking my voting information they both got 19 votes and so I've just hit on Euphoria having slightly more top scores. Complaints to the shredder manager, please.

 

Crying For No Reason is, I'd actually compare it to Don't You Worry Child, rather emotional pieces from artists more often known for fun or at least party tracks. But with SHM you can still dance to it, Crying For No Reason demands a different kind of attention, the somewhat beautiful, melancholic sadness that punctuates how awful it can be to be crying when you aren't sad at anything in particular, just sad at your situation. Listening to this and to not be affected in any way by it, you might have a stone heart. It rises back up further towards its heights, an example of Buzzjack self-correcting before any decline can become permanent.

 

Meanwhile, in exciting ROTD news, one of our former permanent top 10 songs has been slain. It's been a long road since Euphoriamania overtook Buzzjack, and I predicted it to taper off far sharper than this, but Euphoria's status as one of the best pop songs to have ever existed has not waned all that much as the years have gone by. It is a testament to how superb it was originally that it's made its way into the classics, but it won't be contending for the win in ROTD this year.

 

Which leaves us, I feel you might need a reminder, with the following top 10:

 

Ariana Grande - One Last Time

Ariana Grande - Into You

Ariana Grande - no tears left to cry

Carly Rae Jepsen - Run Away With Me

CHVRCHES - The Mother We Share

Lady Gaga - Bad Romance

M83 - Midnight City

Rihanna (feat. Calvin Harris) - We Found Love

Rita Ora - Anywhere

Robyn - Dancing On My Own

 

Which one has triumphed for 2019? Ariana Grande with one of her THREE tracks left? Robyn coming back in the picture with Dancing On My Own? A final glory for Bad Romance? Carly? Rihanna? Rita? Alt victory by way of M83 or CHVRCHES?

CHVRCHES & M83 top 10 *.* Excellent stuff

 

Sorry I've not commented until now, really enjoyed these commentaries and this seems a good year for my favourites doing well.

Crying For No Reason is for certain in my top 3 songs of all time. So polarising having the lyrics and painful vocals against a subtle EDM but yet piano backdrop. A true masterpiece and Katy B at her absolute best. So happy to see it rise a little!

 

 

 

10 - 8 - 2013 CHVRCHES - The Mother We Share ( 131 - 53 - 8 - 11 - 8 - 10 ) 312

 

The first to fall is CHVRCHES' one-time top 40 hit, completing a four-year run in our top ELEVEN of the decade. This is very significant and a triumph of taste. The Mother We Share is obviously a very good track and is very representative of that wonderful synthpop sound that CHVRCHES deal in, how it continually does so amazingly ahead of, well, other CHVRCHES songs or just in the field of 2013 in general is just quite astonishing. But that's why I like these forum affirmations of what is most popular, it does cut through to the best tracks in the end, as this track, and arguably principally this track, saw CHVRCHES off to become one of the most beloved British pop acts of the 2010s.

 

And now everything left is either relatively old, 2011 or before, or rather new, 2015 or later. Finishing this now.

 

9 - 251 - 2011 M83 - Midnight City ( 13 - 15 - 44 - 19 - 101 - 126 - 251 - 9 ) 327

 

We come to my favourite result of the final, and a result that just makes you ask 'what happened between last year and this year? no really, that's an incredible recovery'. M83 have been one of my favourite acts of the decade and notably, were one of the first acts I discovered through this website, when Midnight City was released, there was a bit of low-level stanning across the board that I was happy to get on board with, but it wasn't until the following year and the first ROTD was run with it in that I really realised how strong a fanbase there was, and how good it was as a song. I keep coming back to those marvellous synths, the vocals that are struggling to escape the production, the drum crashing. It's great to workout to, great to sit back and admire, and I've clocked up more plays of it than any other track in this top 10 (and I can say that with accuracy now Euphoria's out of it x)

 

alt songs falling first :cry:

great to see Midnight City back near the top end. surprised it fell that hard last year actually, thought it was always highly regarded here.

Get Lucky, DYWC and STIUTK really should be top ten though, three proper excellent tracks. glad they're all still very high anyway.

Video Games, CFNR and Euphoria are great too.

never got the mass love for Churches though.

 

8 - 2 - 2015 Ariana Grande - One Last Time ( 182 - 7 - 2 - 8 ) 358

 

Whatever happens further up towards the top (and this confirms or denies nothing), this has got to be in some part Ariana's year. The first of three songs in the top 10 is a feat that not even Gaga matched at the height of her popularity (though Just Dance was 7th in its first year and the following year was the Poker Face/Bad Romance top 2) and I don't think anyone's done it since, normally maxing out at 2. One Last Time was the one we did think would win at one point after it's become so prominent and lasting as the highlight from Ariana's first album, and more importantly, came second last year. Emotional and beautiful, it's definitely one I enjoy a lot and you'd have have a real cold heart to dislike it.

 

Yet it does register a very slight fall. It's still in the 350+ points range, but it seems the other two Ariana songs have gotten a bit more coverage over all the voters.