Fantastic song, it was like a bolt from the blue and so original sounding when I first heard it. I feel like Hey Brother is more overplayed these days personally, I hear that a lot more now.

If you ever get the chance to go to the Avicii Experience in Stockholm, I very highly recommend that. It makes the story and creation of this song (and many of his others) feel even more amazing. The high sales were crazy, it felt like the peak of the download boom before it quickly tailed off.

I loved it, then really went off it due to overplay but I have to say I probably love it more than ever these days!

I knew when I first heard it that it would be gigantic, especially following 'I Could Be The One'. Aloe Blacc being part of such a huge #1 a long time after his one hit seemed somewhat quirky at the time.

It sounded really good and unique when it first came out.

Loved it, got fed up with it and now I’m somewhere in between.

I'm not the biggest fan of Wake Me Up either Jaz... it's not awful or anything but I always found it a little novelty almost, if anything I probably like it a bit more now than I did at the time.

I've got a soft spot for Under Control mainly because of uni memories, I do agree it's quite generic and feels of it's time, I do think Hurts do a good lead vocal though.

I really loved Ellie's first two albums and was happy that she got a number 1, but Burn was a disappointing sellout following that and her material sadly continued to sound more and more pedestrian since.

Happy is one of the songs that's very marmite and I can definitely see why people don't like it, but I personally do think it has a very nice charm to it, it's quite brilliantly conceived really as it's hard to hate someone just being happy and it's rare you have a song that's so innocent and pure.

A lot of Avicii's work hits very differently after he died as a lot of them have quite a tragic, poignant tone, even if he didn't actually write this one, it certainly fits in with his theme. It got extremely overplayed at the time and I wasn't a huge fan of Avicii's country direction he went in, but I have grown to appreciate it a bit more now.

16 Animals - Martin Garrix.

Number one for 1 week

Year end number 64

I’m moving up to songs I like a lot now.

Animals is a ‘house’ instrumental by the then 17 year old Dutch DJ and producer Garrix, the only spoken words are  ‘We're the f*****g animals’, which appears twice in a low pitch.

Garrix became one of the youngest artists to enter at the top of the UK Singles Chart with their debut single, a record held by Billie Piper’s  ‘Because We Want To’ from July 1998.

In debuting at number one that week it finished ahead of ahead of stiff competition, one was from an advert which we’ll see here later, and another was Ellie Goulding’s Children in Need charity song ‘How Long Will I Love You’.

In general, instrumental tracks reaching the top of the charts were still quite a rare occurrence. For example in the US ‘Animals’ was the first instrumental track to reach the top 40 on the Billboard Hot 100 since 1999.

I’m a big fan of this, perhaps more now than when it was released. It feels like a prime EDM track, both infectious and energetic and an anthem perfect for festival crowds. It also changes pace very often and although that can seem disjointed in some songs, here I think it works well.

I especially love the speeding up ticking clock introducing the beat and the unusual for the time, minimalistic ‘quiet’ drop, which bucks the trend by dialing back on the bombast.

Although he had many more UK hits, this remains Garrix’s only number one single to date.

6

Quiz -

1. Answer - "Believe in Me" it finished in 19th place.

2. Which band reformed to play the half-time show at Super Bowl XLVII?

Absolute banger, a key highlight of the year for me

I'm not mad about that position for 'Wake Me Up', was of course amazing to witness those huge sales but 'You Make Me' was always my biggest takeaway from that era, which was overshadowed by the admittedly influential country-dance direction of the singles either side of it.

'Animals' is more like it though! Love that build-up and drop, plus it was indeed quite unusual to have a largely instrumental #1 as you say. I enjoyed the more forgotten follow-up 'Wizard' too but lost interest quite soon after that.

Yeah - Animals is a proper banger. Something totally different to all the other #1's. It is my #14.

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)

14. Martin Garrix - Animals (16)

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)

Really wondering that one specific dance song is still missing as I find that one generic at best.

Animals is strong, I'd rank it around the same area I guess or maybe a touch higher, was cool to see an instrumental at No.1 like that.

There was a song I really loved by him from the following year called Helicopter, and more recently Bizarre with Madonna, a great dance artist.

15 We Can’t Stop - Miley Cyrus.

Number one for 1 week

Year end number 28

We Can’t Stop was released as the lead single from Miley’s fourth studio album Bangerz, and was her first UK number one.

In common with seemingly many of the number ones by female artists in this era, We Can’t Stop had apparently been offered to Rihanna first, I feel it really suits Miley though. The track also includes a sample of the track ‘La Di Da Di’ by Doug E. Fresh and MC Ricky D.

It’s an R&B influenced electro pop song whose lyrics focus on house parties, recreational drug use, and living life unapologetically.

I love the bittersweet contrast of having lyrics about a hedonistic party but musically, instead of a club banger, it has slower moodier almost sad vibe.

With hindsight it obviously marked Miley’s progression from her Disney Hannah Montana persona to an edgy mature pop star, moving from the ‘Party In The USA of her childhood to this new adult ‘party’.

The music video is a bit weird and also seemingly intentionally provocative. It features rebellious behaviour designed to shock, but to also shed her former child-star image.

It was additionally promoted with the aforementioned highly controversial performance at the 2013 MTV Video Music awards, involving a provocative duet with Robin Thicke which I won’t discuss again here, aside from saying that the ensuing publicity certainly helped propel Miley’s career.

At times, especially with the pitch changed intro, it feels a bit strange. At other times it’s simplistic but with a great rebellious message, live your life to the full without worrying about what others think. It was a brave risky move to provoke in this way, but it certainly paid off.

Miley would be back very soon with an even better song…

6

Quiz -

1. Answer - Destiny's Child.

2. Which artist became the first to perform on all seven continents by playing a gig in Antarctica in December 2013?

"We Can't Be Stopped" is OK but a bit forgettable. I have ranked it in the lower midfield at #19. And yes her other one from that year is better.

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)

14. Martin Garrix - Animals (16)

17. Pharrell Williams - Happy (19)

19. Miley Cyrus - We Can't Stop (15)

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)

A fair assessment of “We Can’t Stop” I think. The raunchiness is a bit cringeworthy looking back but I guess she had to find a way to transition from teenage to adult star.

“Animals” would probably be top 10 for me - a great track and perhaps the last instrumental #1 depending on how you define it.

I never really liked We Can't Stop much, but Miley has always been extremely hit and miss for my taste, even with her big hits. Agree the other is stronger and more on the 'hit' side of my taste.

'Animals' is decent but never been a huge one for me.

Never cared for 'We Can't Stop'. It's pretty trashy which is probably the point but misses the spot for me. The other one is definitely the better one to come!

Yeah I didn't like 'We Cant Stop' at the time either and the video is cringe. Still, no Adéla- Ain't In LA without the influence of 'We Cant Stop'.

'Animals' is a good instrumental dance track although I prefer trance or progressive house to big room house with its cruder drops. 'Animals' though is still very late 90s trance influenced, the minimal drop is like Hi-Gate - Pitchin' (In Every Direction).

Edited Thursday at 14:132 days by TheSnake

I quite like it and I have good memories from it at the time, even though as a song it's fairly unremarkable. Also agree the other forthcoming one is worlds better!

I dont like either of her number 1s from 2013 but if I had to pick one that was better then it would be the one to come.

Cover Versions In 2013

I hope you don’t mind me taking a little diversion before continuing the countdown.

There were a few cover versions reaching number one in 2013 (I think four in total) and I feel like I’ve been treating them quite harshly so far (though there is one still to come). 

I’m really not keen on them in general, especially if they add little, I like it much more if they are reimagining the original. 

So I set myself a challenge to find some more cover versions that were made in 2013 that I like or at least find interesting. Here’s what I came up with, I’d be interested to know what you think, and if you like any of them (or maybe they’re all rubbish🫢)…

Tame Impala – "Prototype" (OutKast cover)

Natalie Maines  (Dixie Chicks frontwoman)– "Mother" (Pink Floyd cover)

Dirty Projectors – "Climax" (Usher cover)

Arctic Monkeys – "Hold On, We're Going Home" (Drake cover)

Postmodern Jukebox – "We Can't Stop" (Miley Cyrus cover)

Daughter – "Get Lucky" (Daft Punk cover)

Haim – "Strong Enough" (Sheryl Crow cover)

Twin Shadow – "I'm on Fire" (Bruce Springsteen cover)

Mandatory Fun - ‘Weird Al’ Jankovic

Humour me please! While were discussing cover versions, I’d also like to recognise the majesty of the career of Weird Al and this album which parodies many of the number ones of 2013. This, his last album, became his first and only US number one. Pharrell Williams, among others, said he was honoured to be spoofed by Yankovic. I think it’s worth a listen, though it’s probably ‘marmite’ to many!

Some highlights :-

• ‘Handy’ (Fancy - Iggy Azalea and Charli XCX)

• ‘Foil’ (Royals - Lorde)

• ‘Word Crimes’ (Robin Thicke, Pharrell and TI)

• ‘Inactive’ (Radioactive - Imagine Dragons)

• Tacky’ (Happy - Pharrell Williams) with an appearance by Jack Black in the video

• The ‘Now That’s What I Call Polka’ medley (featuring Get Lucky, Thrift Shop, Scream & Shout and Wrecking Ball among others)

I’d love any suggestions for great cover versions of the era that anyone might have?!