1. Rihanna feat. Calvin Harris - We Found Love (written by Harris; 2011; Released September 2011; UK #1) It couldn't really be anyone else could it?! We Found Love got off to a shaky start, but by the end of the year it has come out as my favourite song of 2011. For someone who puts out music more often than most Rihanna has the knack of picking just the right moment to release her tracks. We Found Love was accompanied by a video that was so British it was almost like an episode of Skins. That intro is like pure euphoria when it kicks in...
2. Adele - Rolling in the Deep (written by Adkins, Epworth; 2010; Released January 2011; UK #2) It's been a tough one between the top 3, all three songs i have listened to over and over again since they were released. Rolling in the Deep, Adele's comeback song, sits at 3 in my chart. Since i heard it in November 2010 i instantly loved it. So bluesy, so powerful and so scorned, Adele belted this one out like her life depended on it. The yang to Someone Like You's yin, the pair would come to define Adele's stellar year.
3. Lady Gaga - Born This Way (written by Germanotta, Laursen, Blair, Garibay; 2010; Released February 2011; UK #3) Born This Way already feels like a classic. Maybe it's often spoken of similarities to 'Express Yourself', or maybe it's just that it's a bloody great song. Sitting in the cannon alongside 'Respect', 'I Will Survive', 'Respect Yourself' and the aforementioned Madonna track, BTW showed that in Gaga's world we are all just made the way we are and should make no apologies. No wonder she's the Gay's very own Jesus.
4. Kanye West feat. Rihanna, Kid Cudi, John Legend, The Dream, Charlie Wilson, Fergie, Alicia Keys, Ryan Leslie, Tony Williams, Elton John and Elly Jackson - All of the Lights (written by West, Bhasker, Jones, Trotter; 2010; Released January; UK #15) Kayne West is the type of artist who continues to stay well ahead of the trends. He takes risks, he tries new things and above all he is controversial. All of the Lights is one of the stand out tracks from his album My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy, featuring another sterling turn from Miss Fenty, the song packs in more guest appearances than the Vanity Fair post Oscar party (well almost). From Elly Jackson to Elton John, it's truly an eclectic bunch who all work to make the song probably the best hip hop (if you can call it that) tune of the year.
5. Lady Gaga - The Edge of Glory (written by Germanotta, Garibay, Blair; 2011; Released May 2011; UK #6) When The Edge of Glory first dropped it's effect failed to impress me. Whilst the world of music blogs and twitter were saying it was a return to form for Gaga (though in my opinion she'd never lost form - as you'll see a bit further up) i was yet to be drawn in. I'm not sure when it clicked with me, maybe it was the story behind the song, maybe it was the amount of airplay it received, or maybe i just had enough time to appreciate what she was trying to do, but all of a sudden The Edge of Glory became one of my favourite tracks of 2011. The video, however, is shocking!
6. Rihanna - California King Bed (written by Harr, Jackson, Renea, Delicata; 2010; Released May 2011; UK #8) For me, Rihanna is nearly always at her strongest when she's melodramatic. Her slow work is often over looked as fluffy, but some of her strongest songs (notably Cold Case Love and Firebomb from Rated R) have been of the melancholy kiss-off ballad. California King Bed from Loud is no exception to this, using the metaphor to describe a relationship where physically she is close to someone, but emotionally they are far apart, Rihanna utilises her breathy vocal to excellent effect. It may not be her strongest single choice of all time, but you can feel every note.
7. Bruno Mars - Grenade (written by Mars, Lawrence, Levine, Brown, Kelly, Wyatt; 2010; Released January 2011; UK #1) The strongest song from Mars's debut, Grenade was ever so fatalistic. A tune about unrequited love set to a repetitive piano beat that paved way for a chorus that dropped like a bomb. Giving Mars his third UK number one, the song was one of feelings in the extreme, giving us one of the best uses of a inanimate object in a pop song since Rihanna invited us all to stand under her Umbrella.
8. Drake feat. Rihanna - Take Care (written by Graham, Smith, Shebib; 1959; Released November 2011; UK #9) A Drake and Rihanna cover of the Jamie xx remix of Gil Scott-Heron's take on the Bobby Bland song 'I'll Take Care of You' sits at number 8. Just like a good man, you can't keep a good song down and this is definitely the case with this ditty. Given a more mainstream edge the Drake and Rihanna version features a gathering of island drums along with a dark and yearning vocal which saw a wealth of internet buzz during the release of Drake's album of the same name. Rhi Rhi has the golden touch as we'll continue to find out.
9. The Saturdays - All Fired Up (written by Deal, Higgins, Gray, Yuill, Drestin, Cooper; 2011; Released September 2011; UK #3) With Girls Aloud out of the picture Xenomania were prime for the picking and who better to swipe their pure pop berries than next best thing - The Saturdays. The sharing of the song, very GA, saw lead singer Vanessa White shine through and get all the best lines (a la Nadine), for All Fired Up was a dancefloor banger that would sit well both in 'beefa' and your younger sister's bedroom. If 2012 alludes us a GA reunion then The Sats should def look for a Brian Higgins fronted effort for their next LP.
10. Maroon 5 feat. Christina Aguilera - Moves Like Jagger (written by Levine, Blanco, Malik, Shellback; 2011; Released June 2011; UK #2) A megahit on both sides of the Atlantic, Moves Like Jagger saw a return to form for Maroon 5 and reminded us all just why Christina Aguilera is still a defining voice of our generation. With a distinct whistle based tune this dancefloor dream followed the recent trend of name checking Mick Jagger in song (he even appeared in the video). Fun, frivolous and very fetch, Moves... was the hit of 2011 that no one saw coming.
11. Nicki Minaj - Super Bass (written by Maraj, Johnson, Dean; 2010; Released April 2011; UK #8) There is little in life to be thankful for what Taylor Swift has bought to the music industry, however all was forgiven when she declared on US radio that one of her favourite songs of the moment was a bonus track on some versions of Nicki Minaj's album 'Pink Friday'. What she started became nothing short of a phenomenon in the US, for said song, Minaj's Super Bass, which Swift then proceeded to rap on air, was picked up nationwide and 'forced' dear Nicki to release it good and proper. With all the boom-badoom-booms it was the type of song that got lodged in one's head (and the US top 10 for a record amount of weeks), but it is nothing like an unwanted house guest.
12. Beyonce - Love on Top (written by Knowles, Nash, Taylor; 2011; Released September 2011; UK #22) From the moment i heard it it was the stand out track on the '4' album, Love on Top is the perfect celebration of an 80s era Luther Vandross. Featuring a staggering amount of key changes, the song's smooth grooves were juxtaposed by a more gravely vocal from Beyonce, We're talking more Aretha than Rod, this is still Beyonce. Just like 1 + 1 mentioned below, it was another foray into unfashionable territory for B during 2011, but such a welcome one.
13. Adele - Someone Like You (written by Adkins, Wilson; 2010; released January 2011; UK #1) The biggest song of the year (and the song it spawned) are at numbers 13 & 14. In the lead up to releasing her sophomore album, 21, Adele took to the Jools Holland stage and performed Someone Like You to wide acclaim, however it took a more mainstream show - in this case the BRITs - to propel the song in the upper echelons of songs known as the superhit. Sitting a top the UK singles chart for 5 non-consecutive weeks the song dominated the air waves and saw an onslaught of X Factor style covers. The original is still touchingly raw and beautiful.
14. Glee Cast - Rumour Has It / Someone Like You (written by Adkins, Tedder / Adkins, Wilson; 2010; Released November 2011; UK #35) Glee has become well known for it's love of mash-ups, from the bouncy Halo/Walking on Sunshine to the Halloween inspired Thriller/Heads will Roll, but it came up trumps with an Adele mash up to end all mash ups and in the process became the second best thing the show has ever done. Lead by the powerhouse voices of Amber Riley and Naya Rivera (Mercedes and Santana in the show, who luck will have it have the best song Glee have ever done also in their repertoire - River Deep, Mountain High) the song took the usually sombre Someone Like You and combined it with the more pounding Rumour Has It to create emotionally wrought song that even made the UK top 40. Which is no mean feet in itself considering no one watches Glee anymore.
15. Chipmunk feat. Chris Brown - Champion (written by Fyffe, Brown; 2010, Released February 2011; UK #2) It's the Chris Brown sung chorus and bridge that make this song so powerful. With it's military clap beat and lyrics about over coming adversity Chipmunk showed he could create an anthem for the new decade. He also alluded to interesting foresight by jumping back on the Chris Brown wagon when it was still taboo to do so, which could explain it's failure to impact in the US at the time. Released now, i reckon it would have been a different case entirely.
16. Lady Gaga - Marry the Night (written by Germanotta, Garibay; 2010; Released November 2011; UK #16) The storming opener to Lady G's second full length album (some would argue third) is a rock disco stomper who's 13min plus video delved deep into the troubled psyche of one Miss Germanotta. Marry the Night harks back to the glory days of Madonna and Bruce Springsteen with several lashings of Cher's melodrama, all in all doing what Gaga does best - homage.
17. Bruno Mars - Marry You (written by: Mars, Lawrence, Levine; 2010; Released August 2011; UK #11) Yes it's cheesy and yes it's lyrics are a bit odd and meaningless, but my god does it make you feel good. It already sounds dated and is sure to be used at wedding discos for years to come, but there is just something about Mars's endearing and flipant vocal which resonates with the listener. It's also a reminder that we have all done some interesting things when we've been on the 'dancing juice'.
18. Beyonce - 1+1 (written by: Nash, Stewart, Knowles; 2011; Released August 2011; UK #71) It's been noted by critics how Beyonce took the rather unorthodox step in 2011 of making an album that was unfashionable. Whilst the whole world and it's record label went dance music mad the biggest popstar of our generation created an album that was incredibly mid tempo. Now when i say mid tempo i don't mean boring, for '4' was full of drama, emotion and clever songwriting. At the emotional core of this was this simple yet effective song that showed Beyonce's crackling vocal off to full effect. It's beauty is in it's rawness.
19. Nicki Minaj feat. Rihanna - Fly (written by: Hissink, Jordan, Maraj, Rotem, Rishad; 2010; Released August 2011; UK #16) The biggest Urban crossover act since Kanye West, Minaj has quickly cemented herself as the high priestess of pop-hip-hop. Dabbling in electro, dub step and j-pop, among others, her debut album has seen a smorgasbord of hits impact the charts. This Rihanna duet was one of the finest (though there is another appearance a bit later on) with soaring vocals that were made all the more poignant after the death of Minaj's cousin not long before it's mainstream release.
For about the last five or six years now I've put together my Top 20 songs of the year as a playlist on my ipod. Continually updating throughout the year as new songs are released. Yeah it's a bit geeky, but it means all my favourites are in one place. I also have monthly playlists, but we won't even go there...
So here it goes, i think the last time i posted my Top 20 was back in 2008 when Duffy's Warwick Avenue was my favourite song of the year. I won't deny it, there is going to be a lot of mainstream music in my list, there always is. With some songs the more i here them the more i like them (ask my old housemate who will vouch for this), hence the top song in this countdown having over 1,000 listens this year...savage.
Usually the maximum an artist features in one of these yearly lists is twice (one did manage three times last year), however this year there are several artists who feature more than once, the majority in fact. One act features five times (people who know me well won't be shocked when they see who it is), one song features twice but in two very different formats and six acts featured in my list last year.
Just to recap here is 2010's effort. All in all this was much more of a mixed bag than 2011.
Top 20 2010 1. Cee-Lo Green - Fuck You 2. Rihanna - Only Girl In The World 3. The Saturdays feat. Flo Rida - Higher 4. Lady Gaga feat. Beyonce - Telephone 5. B.O.B. feat. Bruno Mars - Nothin' On You 6. Eminem feat. Rihanna - Love the Way You Lie 7. Alicia Keys - Try Sleeping With a Broken Heart 8. Nadine - Insatiable 9. Cheryl Cole - Parachute 10. Train - Hey, Soul Sister 11. Eliza Doolittle - Pack Up 12. The Wanted - All Time Low 13. Kylie Minogue - All the Lovers 14. Katy Perry - Firework 15. Japayork - Teenagers 16. The Saturdays - Missing You 17. Jessie J - Do it Like a Dude 18. Rihanna - Rude Boy 19. Marina and the Diamonds - I am Not a Robot 20. The xx - Islands
So that'll give you an idea that this is going to be VERY poppy, but i'll make no excuses about that. I think singles were generally stronger this year than 2010 and with the way artists are releasing music, the line between singles and album tracks are becoming much more blurred which is probably to blame for the dominance of several key players. Here goes:
20. Emeli Sande - Heaven (written by: Sande, Naughty Boy, Craze & Hoax; 2011; Released August 2011; UK #2) With one hit single and a number one duet with Professor Green you'd be forgiven for thinking that Emeli Sande has already 'made it'. For not it seems, as she has picked up the 2012 BRITs Critics Choice Award, it sees her follow in the esteemed and, so far, only female footsteps of her predosessors including Adele and Ellie Goulding. This song is a clear indication that when it comes to picking a female vocalist the BRITS don't ever really seem to get it wrong.
I read an interview with Nadine Coyle in a magazine like Dazed and Confused or something a few months ago. In it she talked candidly about the recording process of Girls Aloud's songs and how Brian Higgins (Xenomania's fearless leader) would have her in the studio hours before the other four girls laying down the foundations to each song. Listening back now it's so obvious isn't it? Her voice resonates on nearly every GA chorus, why she didn't stick with the production house when she went solo is something i guess we'll never know.
And it's with that in minds, and a recent twitter conversation with another GA fan that I've pulled together what i believe to be Nadine Coyle's finest moments in Girls Aloud, those short burst of brilliance which in my mind made her the greatest member of the band. Whilst her solo career hasn't lived up to it's promise, none of the others could ever sing a rhyming couplet quite like Nadine.
10. Rolling Back the Rivers in Time
Lyric: #I always admitted pity/Cause I was getting lonely Oh-oh I wasn't lonely/Oh baby without you I always have hated pity/Needed you to hold me Oh boy you should've known me/I didn't know how to#
Listen from: 00.00
A Xenomania classic to kick off: using a distinct Nadine vocal to start off a GA track. Almost acapella this front secton stands out from the rest of the song, expect to see another few Nadine starters further down the list. Props must go to Nicola Roberts from following with a softer vocal.
9. Fling
Lyric: #It's just a fling baby, fling baby Nothing more than a fling baby, fling baby Just a bit of ding-a-ling baby, bling baby Don't want relationships so swing baby, swing baby!#
Listen from: 00.05
Folling on perfectly from number 10, Fling captures a punchy and confident performance that was befitting the band's 4th studio album. Dominating the song's chorus with a vocal that was more agressive than you'd expect from a girl band. The key word was of course ding-a-ling.
8. Sexy! No No No
Lyric: #I can't deny no way my d-d-dirty mind is saying/Lover, come and get me, get me But for a while I dropped that d-d-dirty style when I discovered/That it's sexy, sexy#
Listen from: 01.16
Sharing this with Kimberley, it's another full on vocal performance which made you want to always say dirty with three ds. One of GA's more left field moments it's first verse (i guess you could call it that) is seductive, hard and distinct.
7. Sound of the Underground
Lyric: #I don't know what it's pushin' me higher It's the static from the floor below And then it drops and catches like fire It's a sound I, it's a sound I It's a sound I, it's a sound I know#
Listen from: 02.48
Ah the debut single, a taste of what was to come. There were a few to chose from on this one, but the middle 8 break down (a slot that would often in future tracks be given to Kimberley) showed just what a powerhouse Nadine could potentially be. Following a decidedly dub-step break down Nadine's rapture into the final chorus is something that is even better during live performances.
6. Close to Love
Lyric: #I was snow white til I started to drift/Baby I didn't care, til I saw you there And your manner made my animal kick/But I just didn't dare, call me crazy yeah#
Listen from: 00.31
Another Tangled Up special, included more for the bizarre lyric as the tour de force vocal. The last inclusion from this album, the vocal isn't perfect but that adds to the charm of the performance and fits with the song's tone.
5. 100 Different Ways
Lyric: The whole song
Listen from: 00.00
A softer and more tender vocal this time round. Added only as a bonus track on second album 'What Will the Neighbours Say', the song stands out against the rest of this list with it's balladering, it was Nadine at her most vulnerable.
4. Revolution in the Head
Lyric: #Gimme-da-ting/Gimme-da-ting/Gimme-da-oh-oh-oh Gimme-da-ting/Gimme-da-ting/Gimme-da-oh-oh-oh Hey, hey, hey/Oh, oh, oh Hey, hey, hey/Oh, oh, oh#
Listen from: 00.15
Ah when Nadine went slightly reggae. What else needs to be said.
3. Biology
Lyric: #Why don't you fool me, feed me, say you need me, without wicked games/Come on and hold me, hug me, say you love me, and not my dirty brain Why don't you fool me, feed me, say you need me, without wicked games/Come on and hold me, hug me, say you love me, and not my dirty brain#
Listen from: 00.07
Often cited as one of the best pop songs of the last decade (thanks The Guardian) the opener of this song is pure Girls Aloud, and who else could pull off the bluesy vocal apart from Miss Coyle. It's even more obvious of her strengths when you hear how much she carried the rest of the track. Pure Girls Aloud brilliance.
2. Long Hot Summer
Lyric: #If you wanna get fresh/Get outta my car/Coz the boys up due we're going to fast/I'm taking my time now If you wanna fly high/Keep outta the sun/When your fingers start to burn/It's no fun/So why don't you climb now If you wanna get fresh/Then take a cold shower/Put your back on ice/Before you turn sour/Nobody can fool me Now i'm cleaning my head/And dusting my eyes/Every time i feel the temperature rise/I need you to cool me#
Listen from: 01.35
The one that nearly had it, the famous rap on Long Hot Summer. A great story about this and how Nadine really didn't want to record it as she feared she'd sound like an idiot. Brian Higgins convinced her to give it a try and promised he'd not put it on the track. She did it, he loved it, it went on the track and became Nadine's second best moment.
1. Untouchable
Lyric: #Whenever you're gone, gone/They wait at the door And everything's hurting like a bore Without any meaning/We're just skin and bone Like beautiful robots dancing alone#
Listen from: 03.24
This moment is captured so perfectly in the video, when she throws back her left hand and calls for the lost love as the band enter the earth's atmosphere. Not melodramatic at all...a great way to finish the radio edit and a great number one.
And there we have it, whether you agree with me or not, you cannot deny that some of Nadine's greatest moments are in fact Girls Alouds greatest moments and a sign of the great artist she could be. Leave your comments if you've got any you think i've missed.
One more that i cannot miss out, this beautiful version of Fields of Gold from Popstars: The Rivals. Simply the best reality TV show performance ever.
Posts
1. Rihanna feat. Calvin Harris - We Found Love
