Happy has always been a 6/10 kinda song for me. It’s okay but I find it goes on a bit and doesn’t have quite enough ideas to keep it interesting. I like the breakdown section the most.

The video is quite nice though, I do like the simplicity of people just having fun.

Under Control, well for a start I was a fan of Hurts, they've had some amazing tracks and never got the success they deserved, and they were great in concert too. This one? It's not quite as great as several of Hurts singles, and both Calvin Harris and Tiesto have other great dance tracks too, but I really rate this one even if the underlying sound was like a lot of tracks of the era. One of only two Calvin Harris chart-toppers for me, and I still think it's classier than a lot of dance at the time, no irritating repetitive hooks, it flows nicely as a song, and it was great Hurts got a hit. My fave so far to drop out by quite a distance and likely at the top end of my rating for the year.

Pharrell, well I went to see that film when it came out (probably with age-appropriate relatives) and two of the songs struck me as rather good, with Happy the obviously more catchy, downloaded and charted them immediately, and then considered bunging Happy into the BJSC as it was just getting no airplay anywhere, realised it would prob get vetoed so sat back until the rest of the world caught on. By which time I started to get fed up of hearing it. Yes, I was probably the first to OD on it 😄it's still fun and positive and works in the film, but with the state of the world it's much harder to sing along and mean it these days! I expect it will be mid-table for me...I still like it but dont love it.

Happy that Happy is not that high. If one record is overplayed it is this one. Initially I quite liked it, but now I am tired of it. Position 17 for me.

05. One Republic - Counting Stars (22)

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

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

17. Pharrell Williams - Happy (19)

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

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

23. Calvin Harris & Alesso Feat. Hurts - Under Control (20)

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)

Completely ruined by overplay for 'Happy' I'm afraid.

I am a big fan of Pharrell's music and I loved 'Happy' when it first came out.

However, it became overplayed and then I didn't enjoy it as much. That's probably why I preferred his next 2 singles (Marilyn Monroe, Come Get it Bae) as they were not as commercially successful or had a lot of airplay but sounded just as good.

Edited September 6Sep 6 by Charlielargepotatoes

I love 'Under Control', admittedly it came and went and is pretty much forgotten though. It was at least nice to see Hurts get a #1 credit to their name.

I loved 'Happy' for a couple of months but since then I've barely been able to stand it. I preferred the follow-up 'Marilyn Monroe' and it's a shame that didn't do much in comparison.

18 Burn - Ellie Goulding.

Number one for 3 weeks

Year end number 15

Burn is taken from Halcyon Days the reissue of Ellie’s second studio album, Halcyon. The song had been originally recorded by Leona Lewis for her third album Glassheart, but this version was ultimately scrapped. It became Goulding’s first UK number one.

I do like Burn and I generally prefer Ellie’s uptempo songs to her ballads.

I really love her distinctive voice anyway and the vocals sounds great here. Certainly it’s very catchy and the verses are very pretty, but its ‘gonna let it burn’ refrain does get a bit repetitive. The lyrics feel a bit generic too, perhaps sounding less personal, because unlike most of her songs, this was written by others and not Ellie herself. Musically the verses build like an EDM track but the chorus is definitely more pop leaning, so there’s a nice contrast between the two. I love the synths too especially toward the song’s end.

5

Quiz -

13. Answer - Beyoncé

14. David Bowie surprised fans in 2013 by releasing his first album in ten years. What was the name of this Number 1 album?

I'll forever associate The Saturdays with BuzzJack as their artist forum was so popular on here when they were an active group. The loud fans on the forum, in addition to Flo Rida previously getting in their way a couple of times, meant it felt like a moment when they finally achieved that #1. However, I agree it's far from their best work - pretty bland, ill-fitting and sounds dated now. Their "up" songs are their best for me as my Saturdays top 3 is genuinely 'Up', 'All Fired Up' and 'Not Giving Up'!

I quite like 'Under Control', hardly re-inventing the wheel for Calvin and does feel forgotten but it's decently atmospheric, largely thanks to the commanding vocal performance. It was great to see Hurts on a chart-topper.

'Happy' has always been irritating for me so I'm pleasantly surprised to see it fairly low down here. I LOVED the follow-up 'Marilyn Monroe' though! I wasn't aware that Cee Lo Green had originally recorded 'Happy' so that was interesting to learn, I wonder how that version would've done.

I think I liked 'Burn' at first but tired of it very quickly. I'd been a big fan of the Lights era and enjoyed the standard Halcyon ('Figure 8' is still my favourite song of hers), but this felt like a decidedly more generic direction.

Three middling ones there imo. Haven't heard 'Under Control' since it was in the chart. Not one you hear anywhere really unsurprisingly but it's ok.

No complaints about 'Happy' being this low. The lyrics and inspiration I can get but never understood the fuss over it generally and yeah it irritates me as well.

'Burn' is fairly overrated as well. I do like a handful of upbeat Ellie songs but she's pretty hit or miss for me.

Burn is good, among the better ones to drop out so far. Not on a par with Hurts/Calvin but decent enough. It sounds a lot better than I thought it did at the time, didnt even go top 40 for me, prob Ellie OD by that time a factor.

'Burn' is solid, and an essential part of that wonderful summer.

Unfortunately it got so chronically overplayed that I haven't really felt the need to play it out of choice since.

I really like "Burn", abit of it's time but it is a banger and I have ranked it at #11.

05. One Republic - Counting Stars (22)

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

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

11. Ellie Goulding - Burn (18)

17. Pharrell Williams - Happy (19)

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

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

23. Calvin Harris & Alesso Feat. Hurts - Under Control (20)

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)

Burn - Ellie’s FIRST EVER number 1!

Burn is decent enough, it kind of just reminds me of robot Ellie meme though now.

I never loved it like I loved Figure 8, which deserved to smash, or even her lovely cover of How Long Will I Love You.

Burn is good, I quite liked it at the time and yes it is quite EDM influenced.

I do like “Happy”: I feel like the energy of it is quite genuine and it has a nice retro aesthetic. Its monster sales were a little baffling though.

“Burn” is fine but marked the point when she was losing her quirky shine and just churning out mainstream pop.

17 Wake Me Up - Avicii.

Number one for 3 weeks

Year end number 3 (70 in 2014)

Number 2 watch -

Best Song Ever - One Direction

I have to admit, I’m a bit nervous about putting this song here, as I suspect (especially based on previous comments) that it will be much loved. Just to say, I do like it a lot, I just never loved it. And 17th place, in the middle ground, is not bad.

This was released as the lead single from Avicii’s debut album True and features the (uncredited) vocals of Aloe Blacc, though Blacc later released an acoustic solo version of ‘Wake Me Up’ himself. Blacc also wrote the lyrics about his career as a singer and musician being his lifelong dream, hence the phrase ‘wake me up when it's all over'.

I’ve seen the song sometimes described as ‘Folktronica’, a combination of EDM, soul and country music. It was certainly a new twist on the dominant EDM of the time, and was definitely summery in its vibe, another successful transfer from the dance floors of Europe.

In the UK the original release date was intended to be 8 September 2013, but in the absence of the original, as was often the case in this era, a cover version was released first, this time by a group called ‘Spark Productions’, this version reached number 26 before Avicii conceded to public demand and decided to release it early, on 15 July 2013.

It became Avicii's second UK number one, both in 2013 and his career, and sold a massive 88,000 copies in its first day (!) going on to sell 267,000 in its first week, becoming the fastest-selling single and biggest single week sales of the year. It had 3 weeks at number one, then a further 4 at number two, during a period of huge selling chart toppers. It passed 1 million sales within 4 months, and eventually became the 43rd best selling single in UK chart history.

A charity version of Wake Me Up made by Gareth Malone's All Star Choir as the official BBC Children in Need single also reached number one in 2014, spending an incredible total of 3 weeks in the top 100, 1<7<54<out!

It’s just a personal preference, but I was not really a huge fan of that resurgence of Mumford and Sons style bluegrass ‘foot stomping’ country folk (I really dislike Gary Barlow’s Let Me Go) but to put a dance beat to it meant it had some undeniable energy. I certainly prefer it to OneRepublics attempt at something similar this year. Avicii would go on to attempt the trick again, with diminished success, on his Hey Brother single later in the year. I do, however love the lyrics, both optimistic and emotional at the same time. Aloes great gravelly soulful vocals carry this very well in the verses and I certainly prefer that to the chorus.

Ultimately Avicci’s life was tragically cut short far too soon and this was left as his last UK number one. A very sad loss.

5

Quiz -

1. Answer - The Next Day

2. What was the title of the UK's entry in the 2013 Eurovision Song Contest sung by Bonnie Tyler?

I’ve never really been a huge fan of this even before it was horribly overplayed. I’d much rather hear “Hey Brother” or even “I Could Be The One”, both of which I think are much more atmospheric tracks. I guess “Wake Me Up” was groundbreaking in its way at the time - the formula has gone on to be recycled in so much soulless EDM since though.

"Wake Me Up" is awesome - one of the songs where the Avicii formula worked best. Absolutely uplifting and great vocals. My #3.

03. Avicii - Wake Me Up (17)

05. One Republic - Counting Stars (22)

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

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

11. Ellie Goulding - Burn (18)

17. Pharrell Williams - Happy (19)

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

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

23. Calvin Harris & Alesso Feat. Hurts - Under Control (20)

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)

That is a pretty surprisingly low placing for 'Wake Me Up'. Would be my #1 or #2 here. 'Hey Brother' is also very good too. Avicii at his best for this 2 or so year period!