I absolutely hate that Ne-Yo song. Thankfully I don't think I've heard it in over a decade.

Let Me Love You - and I really am just repeating myself a lot "doesn't ring a bell". I generally like Ne-Yo and in another case of "I prefer the current/recent single" I do - Up Out And Gone had Radio 2 plays this year and is more of a throwback to his early r'n'b stuff and very nice too. This one has the production but is far too monotonous on the hook, it just comes off a bit annoying by the end and I agree is the weakest of his number ones. Even the hook rings no bell with me, unlike the Mario song. So what did 2012 me think? One week at number 75 and nothing else. So basically I gave it a mention for the sake of recording it existed amongst his much-better back catalogue Beautiful Monster and Closer especially. It may even be vying with Impossible as my least-fave chart-topper of the year, oops!

26. Rita Ora – How We Do (Party)
1 week at #1 (entered 19^th August) 01-02-03-09-15-20-24-33-38-48-62-73-53{-57R(7)-66} (15 weeks)
Kept off #1: None
Sales: 100,436
EOY: #50

I’ve already discussed Rita Ora here, as R.I.P. was a few places lower than this follow-up single, How We Do (Party), but repetition of acts in this countdown is low. For a year consisting of as many as 36 number ones, there are very few acts I need to cover more than once which I do find quite remarkable, but poor Rita is the first of the acts with multiple entries to appear a second time, however all is not lost as she is the only act I’ll need to cover for a third time.

Mid-February, mid-May, and now mid-August. Entering the chart at #1 every three months is remarkable consistency and does take me back to a previous era where singles were evenly spaced out in a way which they no longer are. She went for the quad but Shine Ya Light only managed #10 in mid-November, not helped by it coming after the release of her debut album, Ora.

There are definitely positives to How We Do (Party), I think the production is great and elevates it beyond the last few songs, and I like Rita’s voice a lot more here than on R.I.P., but lyrically it’s pretty dire and completely unoriginal for the 2012 landscape, four minutes of describing getting drunk and falling for someone at the previous night’s party was incredibly tired as a concept by then. The sample of Party and Bullshit by Notorious B.I.G. for the main hook feels unnecessary too. Not the best of starts to Rita’s solo career, but she would go on to improve – her other biggest hits that came a few years later, I Will Never Let You Down and Anywhere, are much better than all I heard from her debut album Ora.

I agree about Rita's later singles being better, those you mention I very much remember, and this one I very much don't until I played it - ah yes that's familiar. It's not bad actually, I would put it nearer the top end of the picks so far and lyrics about getting drunk partying will always be relevant to young people going out clubbing and having a laugh. 2012 me was much less kind on it though (74 peak) oops!

At a festival over the weekend so two today and Monday instead... Moving on from ones where I'm more negative, we're now at the section (of two) of songs which I had no memory of, are typically fine but have no real desire to listen to again going forwards, after that we can start getting some positivity in here!

25. One Direction – Little Things
1 week at #1 (entered 18^th November) 01-03-09-06-10-16-14{-17-29-36-47-53-36-59-66-74-53R(2)-67R(3)-71R(3)-67R(21)-68R(2)} (21 weeks)
Kept off #1: Bruno Mars – Locked Out of Heaven
Sales: 85,308
EOY: #65

It had been two years since One Direction were on X-Factor, they didn’t come close to winning, finishing 3^rd and always being the 3^rd or 4^th most popular act each week, but went on to become probably the biggest act to come from it. The manufactured boyband was over two decades old at this point, and the way to success was proven – marketable, good looking young lads, a team of hit writers, releases close together… 1D hit each of them.

Little Things was released on the same day as their second album, Take Me Home, and both entered the chart at #1. It was a slightly unusual strategy to have not released the single a week or two before, and it would probably have had a better sales figure had it done so, but it worked anyway. It was their 5^th release as a group, and perhaps surprisingly just their second chart topper. The lead single for the album, Live While We’re Young, underperformed somewhat, entering at #3 and being almost out of the top 40 by week 6.

I do find Little Things to be a pleasant enough boyband ballad, but ultimately quite forgettable. It’s fine, and they sing and harmonise well, and not too bad lyrically, just that from a genre where I like few songs, but the ones I do I tend to love, it blends in with many other acts and songs. For a song which is so perfectly ‘dull but fine to listen to’, topping the bottom third of entries feels about right.

It was an all-new top 3 on the week of release, it comfortably won the X-Factor boyband vs girlband battle as Little Mix 3^rd single DNA entered at #3, split by the first single from another second album behemoth, Locked Out of Heaven by Bruno Mars. It perhaps unsurprisingly had the most longevity of the three with 10 weeks in the top 10, by which point Little Things and DNA had fallen to #36 & #65. Locked Out of Heaven is definitely my preferred track of the three, but not to the point where I’m a big fan or would still listen to it, it would only end up a few places higher here had it won out in that week.

I agree I’d have How We Do as the middle of the three Rita Ora number ones in 2012, not unpleasant but not memorable either, though having her first 3 singles reaching number one is certainly good going. As you say, some of her later singles were better (I always maintain that Anywhere would have made a great Christmas number one).

I find Little Things a bit boring I’m afraid, I much prefer 1Ds uptempo songs. I listened to it earlier today and still can’t recall how it goes now.

Hope you have a great time at your festival @RabbitFurCoat, which one are you going to?

'How We Do' was a disappointment for me after I quite liked RIP's dubstep production. The only slight interest for me was how radio stations would censor it.

'Little Things' chorus sounds like a bank advert soundtrack tbh very MOR.

'How We Do (Party)' is pretty naff lyrically indeed, not a fan. Rita's remaining #1 is my favourite of her 2012 hat trick by far so I'm glad you agree!

'Little Things' is pleasant enough sonically but it's Ed Sheeran penned and some of his cornier qualities as a writer are on display. Also, Louis' delivery of "you can't go to bed without a cup of tea" makes me wince for some reason so overall, it's a pass. I still prefer it to the aforementioned lead 'Live While We're Young' but the third single 'Kiss You' is much better than both for me.

10 hours ago, RabbitFurCoat said:

Four minutes of describing getting drunk and falling for someone at the previous night’s party was incredibly tired as a concept by then.

That just about describes every pop song released in the early 2010s. Then booze got expensive, the world became more divided and the party was over. 😆

The thing about Rita Ora is that I thought she had a great personality and voice but the singles she released did not seem to elevate that.

I think 'Radioactive' was her best song. Everything she did after was pretty forgettable.

Edited 10 hours ago10 hr by Charlielargepotatoes

'How We Do (Party)' is generic as anything but I enjoyed it for what it was. The repetitive "Party" radio edit admittedly grated though. Rita did release better material later on in 2014 and 2017 for two songs in particular.

'Little Things' is nice enough imo.

2 hours ago, Charlielargepotatoes said:

I think 'Radioactive' was her best song. Everything she did after was pretty forgettable.

I loved that song 'Radioactive' at the time!

'Ritual' in 2019 with Tiesto and Jonas Blue was quite good.

Edited 8 hours ago8 hr by TheSnake