Wasnt a fan at the time it's just OK. 'Every Teardrop' and 'Princess of China' were better!

Superb song and would be my number 1 of the year.

It certainly isn’t boring as some may say and it’s quite rightly their biggest seller as it has mass appeal.

Well, I have even bought the first Coldplay album and like songs such as Clocks, The Scientist (their best imo) and Viva La Vida. The problem is that with every album more they got less exciting for me. It was more or less always the same, just on a weaker level compared to their previous stuff (too soft, no real edges, good as background sound in a restaurant). "Paradise" is no exception and is rather annoying for me. Decision is a well-deserved 32nd place.

01. Rihanna - Diamonds (18)

02. Carly Rae Jepsen – Call Me Maybe (7)

04. Jessie J - Domino (28)

05. Gotye Feat Kimbra - Somebody That I Used To Know (6)

07. Florence + The Machine – Spectrum (Say My Name) (Calvin Harris Remix) (9)

08. Psy - Gangnam Style (12)

10. Sam and the Womp – Bom Bom (13)

11. DJ Fresh feat. Rita Ora – Hot Right Now (11)

12. Flo Rida - Good Feeling (16)

13. Katy Perry - Part Of Me (14)

14. will.i.am; Eva Simons - This Is Love (31)

15. Cheryl Cole - Call My Name (15)

16. Little Mix - Wings (20)

17. Tulisa - Young (29)

18. The Script, Will.I.Am - Hall Of Fame (19)

19. Calvin Harris feat. Florence Welch – Sweet Nothing (8)

20. Cover Drive - Twilight (24)

21. Maroon 5;Wiz Khalifa - Payphone (32)

22. Rita Ora;Tinie Tempah - R.I.P. (30)

24. The Justice Collective – He Ain’t Heavy, He’s My Brother (23)

25. Rita Ora - How We Do (Party) (26)

26. Labrinth Featuring Emeli Sande - Beneath Your Beautiful (10)

27. Ne-Yo - Let Me Love You (Until You Learn To Love Yourself) (27)

28. Olly Murs; Flo Rida - Troublemaker (17)

29. Gabrielle Aplin - The Power Of Love (21)

30. Wiley, Djo Feat. Ms. D - Heatwave (22)

31. One Direction - Little Things (25)

32. Coldplay - Paradise (5)

33. Chris Brown - Turn Up the Music (34)

34. James Arthur - Impossible (33)

35. Robbie Williams - Candy (36)

36. Gary Barlow & The CommonwealthBand - Sing (35)

I couldn’t disagree with you any more DaTilt.

Totally undeserved 32nd place!

1 hour ago, Jester said:

I couldn’t disagree with you any more DaTilt.

Totally undeserved 32nd place!

I guess we both are right, as these are individual rankings 🙂

14 minutes ago, DaTilt said:

I guess we both are right, as these are individual rankings 🙂

Yep, that’s the truth and the joy of our own taste and opinions 😀

Three absolute essentials of 2012 there, I don't think I could imagine the year without especially 'Call Me Maybe' and 'Somebody That I Used To Know', both excellent examples of pop and indie respectively, both always sounding fresh and interesting and really masterful on both vocals and production, I mean many songs felt big but those were on another level.

'Paradise' is kind of an expression of Coldplay at their best for me, that epic build to something that's built with getting the stadium to feel fantastic towards the end of a show and that's one I remember following for a long time with the charts hoping that it'd finally manage to sneak a week at #1, I recall that being ineligible brief debacle made me support it even more (seeing the wonderful 'Every Teardrop' have an only okay chart run made me wonder if their chart relevance was done at the time). I was fairly on board this era but it definitely shone in the singles.

I thought Mylo Xyloto was definitely a step down from Viva La Vida... but I do think it's quite underrated overall (they would gradually start to lose me over the years sadly, the odd standout song aside), the singles though were all amazing and Paradise getting to number 1, especially when it was chart ineligible for a time due to the instant grat rule, felt like real justice served, it's still one of their most anthemic and likeable singles and it was great they had two fantastic chart toppers to their name. I have great memories seeing them live this year.

Somebody That I Used to Know and Call Me Maybe were part of a trifecta of songs that defined the year from artists that came out of nowhere (and would in all cases, peak there), both still sound really good to this day and have held up well, though I do agree I wish Carly had some of her better pop songs like Run Away With Me and Cut to the Feeling do well. I Really Like You and Good Time with Owl City really do not deserve to be her only other big hits here (the other one still to come also holds up very well x)

'Call Me Maybe' is very good for what it is - Carly's lasting pop pioneer status, especially 'Run Away With Me' being held up as some era-defining classic, is still a little lost on me I'm afraid, but this one was undeniably part of the soundtrack of 2012.

'Somebody I Used To Know' what a fantastic story from its emergence to EOY #1, and a delightfully leftfield one, there's a real sadness beneath the veneer of the music while the lyrics cut unexpectedly deep. It would be #2 in this list for me, though my #1 is still to come.

I had already started to think Till's #32 would be something I quite liked - I do agree Coldplay's best work was in the early 2000s, but for me they've continued to produce at least one really good song per album, and I'd certainly count the anthemic 'Paradise' among those (with 'A Sky Full Of Stars', 'Adventure Of A Lifetime', 'Daddy', 'Coloratura' and 'AETERNA' keeping the run going since). Justice served that both Coldplay's #1s got there despite losing earlier sales - I read it took David Bowie's 'Where Are We Now?' in 2013 to make instant grats eligible to chart finally.

I think that Gotye will be my favourite #1 of the year, it's definitely one that I still listen to a lot. It was so refreshing to see a song like that do so well in the UK.

Call Me Maybe is brilliant pop. I'm going to join yourself and Jade in the camp of people who didn't love it at the time but now think it's one of the strongest pop singles of its time.

I don't enjoy Paradise as much as I enjoy the above two, but it's definitely a lot better than much of what has been in the thread so far. I suspect it would be low top 10 maybe for me.

I really enjoyed that Coldplay album, I prefer Every Teardrop which for me is magical, but I liked Paradise too, the verses are very strong in particular and it was good to see them get another No.1.

Somebody That I Used To Know is wonderful, in my top 100 songs of all-time, along with another two songs still left to come actually. It's so effective melodically, with that Baa Baa Black Sheep style melody giving it a nursery rhyme quality, but I love the tender verses and the more dramatic chorus, and it works so well as a duet. I was so shocked it became so big, definitely an unusual song to sell so well. Also another song that BJSC failed as it was sent and didn't make the top 10 there. But then to be fair it's one of those songs that crept up massively on me too, it was in my semi and I did give it a few points but ended up loving it so much more over time.

Edited Saturday at 21:413 days by gooddelta

14 hours ago, DaTilt said:

Well, I have even bought the first Coldplay album and like songs such as Clocks, The Scientist (their best imo) and Viva La Vida. The problem is that with every album more they got less exciting for me. It was more or less always the same, just on a weaker level compared to their previous stuff (too soft, no real edges, good as background sound in a restaurant). "Paradise" is no exception and is rather annoying for me. Decision is a well-deserved 32nd place.

I don't particularly disagree with your overall opinion of Coldplay, and feel that a rank of their albums would look very similar to their release order, with Viva La Vida being the outlier at #1, and the number of post-Mylo Xyloto songs I think are great can probably be counted on one hand, I just think we reached the "there are already enough Coldplay songs" stage at a slightly different time!

The good thing about doing 2012 in this series is I have definitely got to be positive about more songs than in other years, so positive in fact that it's possible that the top 4 here is the same as if I were simply ranking my favourite number ones of the decade. When I think of what I'd rank as my favourite of others years I come to the likes of Pass Out and Forget You, We Found Love, Get Lucky and Mirrors, Hideaway, and House Every Weekend, and I'm not sure I rate any of them higher than the next song 🤔

04. Rudimental feat. John Newman – Feel The Love

1 week at #1 (entered 3rd June) 01-04-05-06-06-06-07-07-07-07-07-16-20-27-23-31-35-34-34-35-43-54-57-52-61-72-65R(5){-48-69-73-72-75R(12)-64-30-32-49-45-44-50-44-39-38-38-47-65-47R(4)-43-46-73-68R(24)} (50 weeks)

Kept off #1: N/A

Sales: 93,841

EOY: #16 (619,000)

It’s the turn of another debut hit now, for Rudimental and guest vocalist John Newman. Rudimental are a drum & bass group of three childhood friends who’d formed three years earlier and had released a few songs which had been hits amongst club DJs before 2012 when they kicked off the year, and debut album campaign, releasing Spoons, with guest vocalist MNEK, before moving on to Feel The Love which was their first song to get significant promotion, including being huge on Radio 1 where it had premiered as Zane Lowe’s Hottest Record In The World almost two months before it was released.

John Newman was the guest vocalist, he’d moved from Yorkshire to London in the hope of progressing his music career and became friends with Piers of Rudimental who suggested they should collaborate. It entered the chart at the top with a great sale, and whilst it fell straight from the top 3 showed incredible longevity in both the top 10 and top 75, spending almost a year on the chart in total.

In terms of the gap between songs of how highly I rate them, there probably isn’t a bigger one in this countdown than between Paradise and Feel The Love, as it's now really into the territory of songs I absolutely adore now (as shown by the previous post), and it’s hard to imagine there have been many years of number one singles when a song as good as this is as low as #4.

Feel The Love is a perfect combination of an excellent instrumental track with a vocalist that suits it perfectly. I’ve a bit of a soft spot for drum & bass when it’s at its more mainstream end and this is definitely that, the first real bassy bit is excellent and it really kicks in to be a fantastic song, even the brass within it is great. The way it continues to change pace makes for such an interesting listen, and John’s vocals are a perfect fit for the song and his delivery ic exceptional, particularly the chorus and the build up to it, and it’s so incredibly easy to sing and dance along to. It's a song I've continued to listen to loads over the years and it still sounds totally fresh.

A great introduction to the mainstream for both acts who have both gone on to have more deserved success. Neither have quite made something this perfect again, but both careers have produced some quality hits, including the followup to this, Not Giving In, which was released towards the end of the year.

"Feel The Love" is OK, but for me not that outstanding as it uses a quite standard drum & bass formula. I don't mind it and at parties it works excellent, but does not really hit me at home listening. Thus, i have ranked it at #23. So we have one common Top 3 hit + my numbers 6 and 9.

01. Rihanna - Diamonds (18)

02. Carly Rae Jepsen – Call Me Maybe (7)

04. Jessie J - Domino (28)

05. Gotye Feat Kimbra - Somebody That I Used To Know (6)

07. Florence + The Machine – Spectrum (Say My Name) (Calvin Harris Remix) (9)

08. Psy - Gangnam Style (12)

10. Sam and the Womp – Bom Bom (13)

11. DJ Fresh feat. Rita Ora – Hot Right Now (11)

12. Flo Rida - Good Feeling (16)

13. Katy Perry - Part Of Me (14)

14. will.i.am; Eva Simons - This Is Love (31)

15. Cheryl Cole - Call My Name (15)

16. Little Mix - Wings (20)

17. Tulisa - Young (29)

18. The Script, Will.I.Am - Hall Of Fame (19)

19. Calvin Harris feat. Florence Welch – Sweet Nothing (8)

20. Cover Drive - Twilight (24)

21. Maroon 5;Wiz Khalifa - Payphone (32)

22. Rita Ora;Tinie Tempah - R.I.P. (30)

23. Rudimental feat. John Newman – Feel The Love (4)

24. The Justice Collective – He Ain’t Heavy, He’s My Brother (23)

25. Rita Ora - How We Do (Party) (26)

26. Labrinth Featuring Emeli Sande - Beneath Your Beautiful (10)

27. Ne-Yo - Let Me Love You (Until You Learn To Love Yourself) (27)

28. Olly Murs; Flo Rida - Troublemaker (17)

29. Gabrielle Aplin - The Power Of Love (21)

30. Wiley, Djo Feat. Ms. D - Heatwave (22)

31. One Direction - Little Things (25)

32. Coldplay - Paradise (5)

33. Chris Brown - Turn Up the Music (34)

34. James Arthur - Impossible (33)

35. Robbie Williams - Candy (36)

36. Gary Barlow & The CommonwealthBand - Sing (35)

Not one I tend to play out of choice but decent drum and bass, and a good summer 2012 No.1. I think I was more invested in Euphoria, which was No.3 on the same week.

I think These Days and Give Me Your Love were my favourite singles in the end from Rudimental and John Newman, respectively.

Listening to it now is really like a drum and bass version of Chase and Status ft Liam Bailey - Blind Faith! Wasn't a huge fan of it at the time.

03. fun. feat. Janelle Monae – We Are Young

1 week at #1 (entered 15th April, #1 27th May) 07-03-03-03-05-02-01-02-03-06-07-09-07-11-12-10-16-17-28-31-30-31-42-42-35-43-45-52-52-13-33-38-48-54-58-69-48R(2){-52-74-69R(5)-72} (41 weeks)

Kept off #1: The Wanted – Chasing The Sun

Sales: 72,997

EOY: #3 (986,000)

Onto another slow burner of a song now, We Are Young ended the year as the third biggest seller in the UK, which meant the top 3 sellers were all breakthrough hits, as neither fun. or Janelle Monae had charted with any of their previous work. All three had been released elsewhere in 2011 before taking off fully in 2012.

fun. were a relatively short-lived American band whose 2009 debut album hadn’t got much attention, but singer Nate Reuss wanted to involve producer Jeff Bhasker, more known for hip-hop and R&B, for a second in the hope it’d be more successful, and sung him the chorus of We Are Young, and was then invited into his studio to properly record it. It was through Bhasker’s contacts that they were able to get Janelle Monae to record some vocals on it, to provide a female vocal balance and introduce another element to the

We Are Young had received a decent level of attention in the UK before its release which saw it enter in the top 10, but continued to get more exposure and was a remarkably consistent seller, with between 52,000 and 72,000 copies sold in each of its 8 weeks in the top 5, eventually making the top in its 7th week, after being within 1000 of knocking Rita Ora’s R.I.P. off the week before. Its longevity continued for a while too, and from entering in April was still in the top 10 come early August.

This is the song I've listened to most again since taking on this thread, it's really reminded me just how good this is. The introduction is great and the percussion is wonderful throughout. Nate Reuss has a vocal which feels like it could be annoying, but it stays the right side in the entirety of the song as it continues to build throughout to its rousing anthemic chorus. It was thrilling to have this song so successful. On my own personal chart it spent 4 weeks at #2, each of them behind a song mentioned in my introduction – Bassline by Reverand and the Makers. Whilst thst was, and remains, an exceptional song and pivot in style for a landfill indie band, and I do still enjoy it a lot, it’s not the one of these two I’d pick to listen to now.

Janelle Monae is the featured act on this, and I was delighted to see her get some success after enjoying her The ArchAndroid album in 2010. Her part in this is relatively small and in the background, but I do think it’s an excellent addition of a female vocal to it. fun. didn’t last much longer, splitting in 2015 and not releasing another album, but their follow-up single Some Nights was a lot of... fun, and Nate Reuss featured on one of the biggest sellers of the following year, Just Give Me a Reason with P!nk, which was also fabulous.

In its week at the top it held off The Wanted with Chasing The Sun. They had moved into proper boyband fan purchase territory by this point with a 02-10-18 chart run to kick it off. I don’t really recall it but it’s pleasant enough, they definitely had better but had much worse too.

'Paradise' would be my fave and up there with Coldplay best. Mylo Xyloto is the only album I have of theirs (should attempt to get X&Y somewhen) and is very good.

'Somebody That I Used To Know', 'Feel The Love' and 'We Are Young' are all brilliant too and finished within my top 15 of the year. 'Some Nights' was my 1 of the year though as it had a slight edge in preference for me from the latter part of 2012. Really good run of singles Fun. had as I quite liked 'Carry On' too albeit to a lesser extent than those two!

I was obsessed with the Mylo Xyloto singles run at the time! I think I started my personal chart after 'Every Teardrop Is A Waterfall' came out, so that run was hampered a bit by timing, but 'Paradise' made #2 for me and then 'Princess of China' and 'Charlie Brown' were both #1s! 'Every Teadrop Is A Waterfall' has held up as my favourite of the era (great to see that getting a mention in your commentary) but 'Paradise' is still strong too, was happy to see them getting another #1 with that. I remembered the instant grat saga and X Factor performance (that made me want to see them live at the time... one day!) but had completely forgotten the gift card effect had given it a helping hand to the top as well, what a time capsule.

'Feel The Love' takes me back to when I used to listen to Radio 1 before school one of the best of the year for me too. That D&B production is so dynamic, love the summery brass touches and John Newman's vocal is standout and soulful. I don't think I knew what he looked like until 'Love Me Again' came out and I remember being shocked that he was white! I also loved the more underrated 'Not Giving In', so great to see that getting a mention from you.

Glee had used 'We Are Young' as part of season 3, which aired in late 2011, so that was my first exposure to it. The U.K. had previously got the show a lot later than the U.S. when it aired on E4, but the pace was synced up when it moved to Sky for that third season, even if haemorrhaging viewers by this point. Only one song from that series charted in the top 40 in the U.K. ('Rumour Has It' / 'Someone Like You') but the 'We Are Young' cover did well in the U.S. - making #12 on the Billboard Hot 100, before the original charted, so helped it to break out. Glee info dumping out the way (that part of my life forever burned in my brain...) - the original song has held up so well, as has 'Some Nights'. I remember discovering Janelle Monae through iTunes promoting 'Tightrope' as one of their free songs of the week! So it was a pleasant surprise to see her on a charting song a couple of years later, even if not the most substantial feature I actually really liked that Wanted song 'Chasing The Sun' at #2 as well, so I'm glad it was at least blocked by something good.