A good track, I always like Avicii stuff, though not sure how much I rated at the time as it's not played much these days and has slipped from memory a bit - same as Eminem/Rihanna, top 40 it turns out, so I think I'd put it a bit ahead of that one too.

I Could Be The One would be in my top three, sublime dance song, and singer Noonie Bao's acoustic version is one of the most devastatingly beautiful pieces of music. Avicii was easily my favourite artist of 2013, topping both my end of year singles and album charts (albeit not with this song).

The Monster is very meh compared to Love The Way You Lie, which should have been the No.1 hit. Impossible never gets any better meanwhile!

On 29/08/2026 at 15:29, Jessie Where said:

It's a shame they screwed her over by just farting out a covers album for Mother's Day, they should've tried the disco diva angle maybe. The song like most (or just about all) X-Factor coronation singles isn't really something worth listening to but at least it got Demi's original a much better peak.

She released a follow up album in 2016 that had a dancey single, if I recall. I definitely think disco would have suited her well - I don't think she'd ever have legs as a popstar, as lovely as she seems, but I think with the right material off the bat, they could have got her into a good niche as a gay icon (I remember seeing her at Gran Canaria pride actually!)

"I Could Be The One" is for me a quite average, forgettable dance song using the Avicii fomula, but somehow it is not as catchy as his big hits. I would call this one OK and therefore placed it at #20, so similar territory.

08. Eminem Feat. Rihanna - The Monster (24)

10. Jason Derulo Feat. 2 Chainz - Talk Dirty (28)

20. Avicii & Nicky Romero - I Could Be The One (23)

24. Robin Thicke feat. T.I. & Pharrell Williams – Blurred Lines (31)

25. Will.I.Am Featuring Britney Spears - Scream & Shout (26)

27. Sam Bailey - Skyscraper (27)
28. One Direction – One Way or Another (Teenage Kicks) (30)
29. PJ & Duncan – Let's Get Ready to Rhumble (29)

30. James Arthur - Impossible (25)

I can't stand James Arthur's voice at the best of times, so give me the great original of 'Impossible' any day.

Will + Brit is a banger, obviously a bit of its time but it still goes off when I hear it out.

'The Monster' is decent enough.

Absolutely love 'I Could Be The One', some good memories attached to it (moving into a flat, first trip to Ibiza)

Good euphoric dance track, definitely not the dance track I wanted out this early.

Not much to add on 'Impossible' to what I wrote since it came up in 2012 - James Arthur's appeal as some sort of rough diamond talent-wise remains lost on me.

'The Monster' did seem a somewhat formulaic successor to 'Love The Way You Lie', and it led The Marshall Mathers LP 2 at that. It's OK though.

However 'I Could Be The One' is the first one I'd have much higher - it's been a slow burner for me whereas I found Avicii's next #1 quite instant (and his subsequent #2 would become one of my top favourites of the decade), but it builds quite sweetly and effectively. It was played at the start of the first half marathon I ran in 2018 and helped give me an adrenaline boost.

22 Counting Stars - OneRepublic.

Number one for 2 weeks

Year end number 9 (44 in 2014)

Number 2 watch -

Can We Dance - Vamps

The second single taken from the bands third studio album Native, giving them their first and so far only number one single.

Songwriter and frontman, Ryan Tedder, described the song as being about lying awake at night worrying about money and the future, but looking forward positively, by counting stars instead of sheep.

Its video, which features the band performing in the ground floor of a building beneath a church congregation on the upper floor, is one of the top 20 most watched of all time. It has over 4.2 billion views on YouTube, and is one of the most watched for any band.

It’s certainly an infectious song with its folk pop sound and driving rhythm, it also has a little R&B feeling to it. Tedder, who is obviously a very accomplished pop song writer (Adele, Beyonce, Leona Lewis, Ella Henderson) sprinkles a bit of this across the song and I especially like the gospel like ‘take that money, watch it burn..’ refrain in the middle. I could easily see that working in an Adele song.

It’s not that I don’t like it, it just washes over me with little impact, maybe suffering from overplaying. So..

4

Quiz -

1. Answer - Just Give Me a Reason -      P!nk feat. Nate Ruess

2. Which 2013 UK number one contains the lyric: “You're on a different road, I'm in the Milky Way. You want me down on earth, but I am up in space"?

This is one of the signature hits of 2013. It is infectious and very catchy. Absolutely love it and have this ranked at #5. Never expected this to come that early.

05. One Republic - Counting Stars (22)

08. Eminem Feat. Rihanna - The Monster (24)

10. Jason Derulo Feat. 2 Chainz - Talk Dirty (28)

20. Avicii & Nicky Romero - I Could Be The One (23)

24. Robin Thicke feat. T.I. & Pharrell Williams – Blurred Lines (31)

25. Will.I.Am Featuring Britney Spears - Scream & Shout (26)

27. Sam Bailey - Skyscraper (27)
28. One Direction – One Way or Another (Teenage Kicks) (30)
29. PJ & Duncan – Let's Get Ready to Rhumble (29)

30. James Arthur - Impossible (25)

From what's been revealed so far. 'Counting Stars' and 'I Could Be The One' would definitely be a lot higher for me. Both great.

'Impossible' already touched on before. I do think it's one of the better later X Factor singles.. outside of that and one other I haven't cared for James Arthur much.

'Blurred Line' was good at the time (forgot I had it as high as 21st of the year though) but I don't hear it or have a desire to listen to it. 'Scream and Shout' is ok and 'The Monster' is also ok but totally an inferior rehash of 'Love The Way You Lie'.

'Let's Get Ready To Rhumble' gets a pass for me as it's got some nostalgia as naff as it is just from being an avid watcher of Saturday Night Takeaway up till that point so was a fun performance on it. Don't think anyone expected it to go all the way to #1 off the back of that though.

I feel like 'Counting Stars' isn't really my thing on paper but I do actually quite enjoy it! I can see the Adele comparison so maybe that's why.

However, I've never really cared for 'I Could Be The One' either. In an alternate universe this fellow Noonie Bao dance feature (and BuzzJack Song Contest winner) went to #1 instead:

Counting Stars is one of my top number ones of the year, a classy pop song, Ryan Tedder can still knock them off, but being largely out of vogue these days it needs a film placement to grab a hit for OneRepublic - even when a lot of his better tracks flop. That said, he's been a bit off the boil this year for me, but I'm sure he'll be back with a collab banger sometime.

I love Counting Stars, a well deserved number 1 for them.

Yeah really liked it at the time, should have been a UK hit sooner (it was a hit in Ireland quit a few weeks before).

But eventually it got so overplayed on radio so I got sick of it.

I do enjoy Counting Stars, I don't normally like that kind of radio-friendly MOR song that gets played to death (it was quite rarely on Kiss so didn't hear it as much at the time) but I do like this one, as well as being quite well constructed and catchy, the lyric 'old, but I'm not that old / young, but I'm not that bold' has always really resonated with me as someone that eternally feels too old for their age x

I don't particularly like anything else revealed so far so good stuff, PJ & Duncan was quite a fun novelty at the time though and one of those totally random chart moments.

I really don't like this song at all. Bleugh.

I do like both “I Could Be The One” and “Counting Stars” actually, but I can see why they’re low at the same time. The former I like the sound of the vocals and the song has a sweet and sincere vibe to it. The latter I like the lyrics and the rhythmic flow. They’re both towards the poppier end of my taste though.

21 What About Us - The Saturdays Feat. Sean Paul.

Number one for 1 week

Year end number 37

We’re now getting into the realms of songs that I like.

I’m sad that this remains the Saturday’s only UK number 1 single (and also Paul’s 2nd).

I first must say that I like the Saturdays and most of their hit singles and I apologise to fans for the lowish position. My problem here lies with the jarring and, at the time, seemingly obligatory Sean Paul appearance in the UK version giving it a ‘reggae rap vibe’. Plus more dodgy accents, this time the annoying faux Caribbean accents from the girls. There was a ‘solo’, more ‘US centric’ version, which I actually enjoy much more. I also like the singalong chorus with its ‘na, na, na’ refrain.

Otherwise it has a lot of EDM energy but even this felt a bit like bandwagon jumping, perhaps aiming for that US audience as it was used in their reality TV show over there. I prefer their other more pop based singles much more.

5

Quiz -

1. Answer - I Love It" – Icona Pop ft. Charli XCX

2. Which rapper was featured on Justin Timberlake's 2013 comeback single "Suit & Tie"?

I can't believe you put 'Counting Stars' near the bottom of this countdown. 😱

The song is so uplifting and soulful and I love it.

On the other hand, I think that Saturdays song is awful and they have had better songs more worthy of being Number 1. This is so autotuned and overproduced and the feature of Sean Paul is not an improvement.

Edited September 4Sep 4 by Charlielargepotatoes

The Saturday's song is quite OK but nothing too special. I have it at exactly the same position.

05. One Republic - Counting Stars (22)

08. Eminem Feat. Rihanna - The Monster (24)

10. Jason Derulo Feat. 2 Chainz - Talk Dirty (28)

20. Avicii & Nicky Romero - I Could Be The One (23)

21. The Saturdays Feat. Sean Paul - What About Us (21)

24. Robin Thicke feat. T.I. & Pharrell Williams – Blurred Lines (31)

25. Will.I.Am Featuring Britney Spears - Scream & Shout (26)

27. Sam Bailey - Skyscraper (27)
28. One Direction – One Way or Another (Teenage Kicks) (30)
29. PJ & Duncan – Let's Get Ready to Rhumble (29)

30. James Arthur - Impossible (25)