The 20 best pop singles of 2012 so far

June 30, 2012 in Music with 0 Comments

With the end of June comes the end of the first half of 2012. So soon?!

The commercial pop world has, as ever, been coughing up enough tuneage to keep us occupied, and before the next six months forces the last six out of our memories, let’s take a moment to remember 2012′s finest songs so far… in, naturally, alphabetical order.

‘Boyfriend’
Performed by Justin Bieber
Written by Justin Bieber, Mike Posner, Matthew Musto, Mason Levy
Produced by Mike Posner and Mason Levy
Bieber went a bit Timberlake with the first cut from his second proper album Believe, and a right tune it is too. Shunning the big kitchen sink synths and just sticking to a bog-standard R’n'B/pop production style, it is undoubtedly the best release of his career so far, and also one of the best of 2012.

‘Call Me Maybe’
Performed by Carly Rae Jepsen
Written by Carly Rae Jepsen, Josh Ramsay, Tavish Crowe
Produced by Josh Ramsay
Oh God, it’s so simple – why didn’t anyone write it sooner? ‘Call Me Maybe’ is, on paper, absolutely awful. A saccharine voice, lyrics that would fit right in in one of those made-for-TV Disney movies and a daft video to boot, it inexplicably became one of the big hits of the year thanks to support from Justin Bieber and enough radio airplay to ensure it cemented itself in the heads of a nation for weeks on end. Somehow this is one of the most basic-yet-amazing pop records in a very long time.

‘Call My Name’
Performed by Cheryl Cole
Written and produced by Calvin Harris
You hear Calvin produced it, and you immediately compare it to ‘We Found Love’. ‘Call My Name’ does have all the basic ingredients of that Rihanna enormotune, yes, but once you shave away what you think it should sound like, it’s another ace to add to Cheryl Cole’s collection of mega-selling hits. Plus the choreo in the video is, to use a technical phrase, SIIIIIIIIIIICK.

‘Can’t Say No’
Performed by Conor Maynard
Written by Conor Maynard, The Invisible Men, Sophie Stern, Jon Mills, Joe Dyer, Kurtis McKenzie
Produced by The Invisible Men and The Arcade
Now that Bieber has revolutionised his image, the differences between ‘Boyfriend’ and ‘Can’t Say No’ aren’t as vast as Conor would perhaps like to admit. But here arrives a young British popmaker with some real potential. His demographic-crossing hip-pop sound is unlike anything any other British male soloist is offering in the mainstream at the moment, and the debut album should make for an interesting spin.

‘Charlie Brown’
Performed by Coldplay
Written by Guy Berryman, Jonny Buckland, Will Champion, Chris Martin, Brian Eno
Produced by Markus Dravs, Daniel Green, Rik Simpson
Enhanced even more by those amazing glowing wristbands, ‘Charlie Brown’ is a prime example of Coldplay-Does-Euphoria. It may not have scored the big chart points that No1 hit ‘Paradise’ did, but this follow-up is just as worthy of the public’s affection. Proving the band have still not lost their mojo, much as they may have altered it a tad since their indie beginnings, ‘CB’ is another brilliant addition to the sizeable Coldplay canon.

‘Dance Again’
Performed by Jennifer Lopez featuring Pitbull
Written by AJ Junior, The Chef, Enrique Iglesias, RedOne, Pitbull
Produced by RedOne
I think it was Popjustice who coined a term for ‘Dance Again’s breed of pop that is pretty spot-on: Lamazing. As in lazily amazing. It’s unlikely that a lot of time or effort went into this tune. It’s not like RedOne reinvented himself after making his name with songs that sound more-or-less identical. And yet ‘Dance Again’ has that same homosexual-baiting magic that ‘On The Floor’ did last year. “REAL MUSIC” bores be damned, it just works.

‘Dark Side’
Performed by Kelly Clarkson
Written by busbee, Alexander Geringas
Produced by Greg Kurstin
Pushing sales of album Stronger past those of predecessor All I Ever Wanted, ‘Dark Side’ is Kelly’s second consecutive single release to be helmed by Greg Kurstin, and her inifinite-th consecutive single release to be incredible. ‘Dark Side’ is a midtempo classic that is both a ballad and anthemic; a song about embracing a lover’s weaknesses as much as their strengths. Oh Kelly, you are fucking good.

‘Do It Our Way (Play)’
Performed by Alesha Dixon
Written by Nigel Butler, Alesha Dixon, Ray Hedges
Produced by Madman
OH GOD THIS ONE’S SO HARD TO DESCRIBE. Imagine if all the annoying bits of Jessie J and all the annoying bits of Natasha Bedingfield’s songs came together… and the result was good. I don’t even know why this is good. Maybe it’s the chorus. Maybe it’s the fact that Alesha representing Weight Watchers is a little odd. Maybe it’s just the fact that Weight Watchers even released an official single. I don’t know. But this song is GOOD.

‘Give Your Heart A Break’
Performed by Demi Lovato
Written and produced by Josh Alexander, Billy Steinberg
Reaching the giddy heights of ‘Did Not Chart’ in the UK, ‘Give Your Heart A Break’ follows ‘Call Me Maybe’ and ‘Boyfriend’ along the line of thinking that pop doesn’t necessarily have to be a Club Banger to be amazing in 2012. Just a simple tune about putting a potential squeeze at ease, it showcases a different side to Demi’s voice and deserved to do a lot better than it did. Still, in the US it’s still climbing so there’s always that. Bring on The X Factor USA #teamdemi.

 ‘Glitter & Gold’
Performed by Rebecca Ferguson
Written by Rebecca Ferguson, Alex Smith, Paul Barry
Produced by Mark Taylor, Alex Smith
A much more sensible choice for a single than ‘Too Good To Lose’, ‘Glitter & Gold’ has a similar message to Rebecca’s debut ‘Nothing’s Real But Love’, but delivers it in a much more aggressive way. With a stomping beat not dissimilar to Adele’s ‘Rolling In The Deep’, it’s another fine example of Rebecca’s excellent songwriting, and album Heaven’s swift return to the Top 10 as a result of this song was fully warranted.

‘Is This Love’
Performed by Aiden Grimshaw
Written by Aiden Grimshaw, Jarrad Rogers, Joel Pott
Despite a warm critical reaction and a loyal fanbase, Aiden Grimshaw failed to launch his recording career with a bang with ‘Is This Love’, which is a real puzzler. It’s an excellent song – another strain of evidence to prove that any kind of artist can come from The X Factor these days, and another strain of evidence that the 2010 series (which also provided us with Cher Lloyd, One Direction, Matt Cardle and Rebecca Ferguson) was among the most interesting.

‘National Anthem’
Performed by Lana Del Rey
Written by Lana Del Rey, Justin Parker, The Nexus
Produced by Emile Haynie, Jeff Bhasker
Sneaking in just this week, ‘National Anthem’ is arguably Lana’s finest single to date. Pushing her darkly euphoric sound to its maximum, its chorus is inexplicably rousing and its lyrics are some of the best on her Born To Die LP. Match that song with an epic video in which she plays Jackie Kennedy at the time of JFK’s assassination and you’re on to one of the big success stories of 2012.

‘Next To Me’
Performed by Emeli Sande
Written by Emeli Sande, Hugo Chegwin, Harry Craze
Produced by Craze & Hoax
When Emeli Sande’s second single ‘Daddy’ only just managed to squeeze itself into the Top 20 last autumn, things didn’t look too great for her. But then came a string of one-to-watch prizes and this corker of a single – an infectious slice of piano pop able to appeal itself to fans of many genres.

‘Picking Up The Pieces’ 
Performed by Paloma Faith
Written by Paloma Faith, Wayne Hector, Tim Powell
Produced by Nellee Hooper
Paloma Faith finally found her first ever Top 10 single with ‘Picking Up The Pieces’, a heart-wrenching ballad about being your other half’s second choice. Seeing in her second album Fall To Grace, which outperformed the peak chart position of its predecessor in its first week, it remains an enduring favourite.

‘Primadonna’
Performed by Marina and the Diamonds
Written by Marina Diamandis, Julie Frost, Lukasz Gottwald, Henry Walter
Produced by Dr Luke
Sending Album Of The Year So Far Electra Heart straight to No1, ‘Primadonna’ may have failed by a hairline to secure Marina Diamandis her first Top 10 hit, but it certainly established her as an artist able to tread a well-worn path in her own unique way. Packed with dark lyrics and underscored by a throbbing bass synth, it’s a carefully calculated masterpiece.

‘R.I.P.’
Performed by Rita Ora
Written by Drake, Farhad Samadzada, Mikkel S. Eriksen, Tor Erik Hermansen, Nneka Egbuna, Renee Wisdom, Saul Milton, William Kennard, Tinie Tempah
Produced by Chase & Status, Stargate
With Jay-Z by her side and Drake writing her breakthrough solo hit, Rita Ora is not a newcomer to be taken lightly. Simultaneously attempting to break both the UK and US markets, all the while serving as a guest judge on The X Factor, she’s made a rapid ascent to fame that makes ‘R.I.P.’ the first of what I assume to be many big hits for her.

‘Stronger (What Doesn’t Kill You)’
Performed by Kelly Clarkson
Written by Jörgen Elofsson, Ali Tamposi, David Gamson, Greg Kurstin
Produced by Greg Kurstin
Despite only peaking at No8, ‘Stronger’ is now Kelly Clarkson’s biggest-selling single in the UK – surpassing ‘Since U Been Gone’, ‘Because Of You’ and even her only No1 ‘My Life Would Suck Without You’. And why? Because it’s a CHOON. Opening with a guitar reminiscent of a The xx offcut before exploding into an all-out Pride-friendly anthem, it’s rightfully one of the big radio hits of the year. 10 years in, Kelly’s still on top of her game.

‘We Are Young’
Performed by fun. featuring Janelle Monae
Written by Nate Ruess, Andrew Dost, Jack Antonoff, Jeffrey Bhasker
Produced by Jeff Bhaskher
Like a showtune, a light-rock song and a pop song all rolled into one, ‘We Are Young’ is, along with Kelly’s ‘Stronger’ and Carly-Rae’s ‘Maybe’, one of the biggest-sellers of the year-to-date on both sides of the Atlantic. And – at least for me, anyway – it still doesn’t sound overplayed, regardless of the ridiculous number of times it gets spun on the radio.

‘When She Was Mine’
Performed by Lawson
Written by Andy Brown, Paddy Dalton, Duck Blackwell, Ki Fitzgerald
Produced by Duck Blackwell, Paddy Dalton, John Shanks
The best bit about ‘When She Was Mine’ is that their second single, released later this month, is even better. ‘When She Was Mine’ is a pop-rock nugget that mixes the sounds of The Script and The Wanted together to create a tune perfect for a relaxed summer’s day. Its rapid exit from the charts implies they still have a way to go to secure themselves some longevity, but hopefully they’ll get there.

‘Wide Awake’
Performed by Katy Perry
Written by Katy Perry, Bonnie McKee, Lukasz Gottwald, Max Martin, Henry Walter
Produced by Dr Luke
And lo, one of the longest and most successful album campaigns of all time finally draws to a close. Katy’s Teenage Dream era has now spawned EIGHT massive hit singles, and whilst I was never particularly taken with ‘Part Of Me’, ‘Wide Awake’ sees it out on an emotional high. Who knows if she will be able to match the success of the last two years with her next album, but whatever happens we’ll always have ‘Firework’, ‘ET’, ‘Last Friday Night’ et al. It’s been emotional…

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Ultimate Top 10 ‘difficult second albums’ of the last decade in pop

June 23, 2012 in Music with 0 Comments

The second album is notoriously tough, particularly in the fickle industry we know as pop. One minute you’re the country’s favourite newcomer, your singles are played on commercial radio about 204 times a day and your debut album flies off shelves quicker than you can say ‘Gabriella Cilmi’. But then the second album comes around and it all goes to pot.

Anyone remember Duffy’s second album Endlessly? Anyone brave enough to compare sales of Pixie Lott’s 2009 breakthrough Turn It Up with its 2011 sequel Young Foolish Happy? Did anyone even notice Alexandra Burke releasing her second LP a couple of weeks ago?

The follow-up is a death trap, and while many (JLS, Lady GaGa, Beyonce, The Wanted, Olly Murs, Britney Spears, Cheryl Cole etc etc) stay consistent, some come back far, far stronger than before. So today, as it is reported that poor Burkey is cut up about seeing her first-week album sales swan dive 95% and, on the other end of the spectrum, that Justin Bieber is heading for his first simultaneous transatlantic chart-topper, we take a look at the best 10 Second Albums to emerge from the pop world over the last 10-ish years.

10. Joe McElderry – Classic
August 2011, follow-up to 2010′s Wide Awake
Critics were (understandably) unimpressed, but fans were certainly a lot more taken with Joe’s first post-Cowell record than they were with his debut. Classic, released just four months after he was dropped from his SyCo record deal, outsold its X Factor-friendly predecessor within weeks of being released. Unfortunately it didn’t do a great deal for Joe’s reputation as one of the talent show’s least successful winners, but he is currently the only champion from the show’s roster to score three Gold-selling albums, and that wouldn’t have been possible without Classic.

09.  Girls Aloud – What Will The Neighbours Say?
November 2004, follow-up to 2003′s Sound Of The Underground
The excitement around Girls Aloud looked like it was off down the drain very quickly, until producers Xenomania whipped out their A-Game and their second LP paved the way for what was to come over the next four or five years. ‘The Show’ and ‘Love Machine’ were both welcomed warmly by critics and pop music fans, and if it weren’t for this album the band would probably have disbanded a lot sooner. Who knows what Cheryl would be doing now…

08.  Justin Bieber – Believe
June 2012, follow-up to 2010′s My World/My World 2.0
Just how successful this album will turn out to be in the long run remains to be seen, but its opening sales figures are nothing to be scoffed at. Believe has edged ahead of Cheryl Cole’s A Million Lights in the UK midweeks and could become his first ever No. 1 album in this country on Sunday, while in the US Madonna’s record for the best first-week sales of 2012 looks likely to be overtaken. But whether or not Believe has the longevity to out-do My World(s) remains to be seen.

07. Justin Timberlake – FutureSex/LoveSounds
September 2006, follow-up to 2002′s Justified
How do you follow an album that sells 8 million copies worldwide? With one that sells 10 million worldwide, that’s how. FutureSex/LoveSounds gave us a new, edgier Justin – one who has had a lasting influence on Bieber and our very own Conor Maynard, and one who is still missed today. ‘SexyBack’, ‘My Love’ and ‘What Goes Around… Comes Around’ were all global smash hits, and it remains a tragedy that he’s stepped away from hitmaking to focus on his much less interesting film career.

06.  Sugababes – Angels With Dirty Faces
August 2002, follow-up to 2000′s One Touch
Everyone nowadays seems to be wetting themselves over the reunion of the “original” three Sugababes, but lest we forget that very few people really gave two shits about them back in the day. Their album peaked at No.26 and lost them a record deal. But when Siobhan left (claiming Keisha bullied her) and Heidi Range was bought in, things really started to pick up. Led by singles ‘Freak Like Me’, ‘Round Round’ and ‘Stronger’, Angels… went triple platinum and is the band’s top-selling record to date.

05. Will Young – Friday’s Child
December 2003, follow-up to 2002′s From Now On
Following a debut album that he himself probably detests, Will came back in 2003 with a game-changer that paved the way for one of the longest careers in talent show history. Friday’s Child launched with the enormohit ‘Leave Right Now’, and also produced ‘Your Game’, aka Song With The Coolest Video 2004. His more dedicated fans will say that Echoes is his best record to date, but there’s no way that would have even been released were it not for Friday’s Child.

04. Lily Allen – It’s Not Me, It’s You
February 2009, follow-up to 2006′s Alright, Still
Lily made a media-baiting name for herself in 2006 with her first record, but it was 2009′s sequel that cemented her position as one of the country’s best popstars. ‘The Fear’ rocketed to No.1, ‘Not Fair’ became an instant fan favourite, and it remains a (may-as-well-be-a-) criminal offence that ‘I Could Say’ was never given single treatment. Confirmation this week that she’s back in the recording studio with Greg Kurstin is among the best pieces of news EVER.

03. Katy Perry – Teenage Dream
August 2010, follow-up to 2008′s One Of The Boys
One of the most successful second album campaigns in the history of pop, Teenage Dream spawned eight (yes EIGHT) singles that were ALL global hits, and were – mostly – all amazing. ‘Firework’! ‘Teenage Dream’! ‘E.T.’! ‘Last Friday Night’! ‘The One That Got Away’! The album propelled its singer from a slightly whacky newcomer to one of the most famous faces on the planet, and also paved the way for one of the most successful concert tours of all time. Good luck with album 3, Katy…

02. Kelly Clarkson – Breakaway
November 2004, follow-up to 2003′s Thankful
Kelly’s attempts to break the international markets with her debut album fell flat on their face – in the UK for one, Thankful only charted at No. 41. But then came Breakaway. Initially making only a minor smash when the title track was chosen as the lead single in the US, it wasn’t until ‘Since U Been Gone’ hit airwaves that its sales skyrocketed and propelled Kelly to the most famous she has ever been, and ever will be, in her whole career. ‘Behind These Hazel Eyes’, ‘Because Of You’ and ‘Walk Away’ followed in similarly huge fashion, the live version of ‘Beautiful Disaster’ went down a storm, and the album sold 6.2 million units in the US, and 1.6 in the UK.

01. Adele – 21
January 2011, follow-up to 2008′s 19
Who else?! Whether or not you’re sick to the back teeth of hearing about it by now (and understandably so),  21 is one of the best-selling albums of all time. Resonating with so many people in so many places, it only dropped down as low as No12 for the first time a couple of weeks ago (this being after 18 months in the Top 10) and is STILL riding high in the US. Grammys, Brits, world record after world record… Adele admits herself that her third album stands a cat in hell’s chance of matching the success of 21, but to be fair, she’d really have to go some to pull that off.

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And the best track on Katy Perry’s The Complete Confection is…

March 26, 2012 in Music with 0 Comments

Katy Perry unveiled the Complete Confection edition of Teenage Dream today, and whilst it only has three completely new tracks – technically two, given most of us are acquainted with ‘Part Of Me’ – it’s not exactly the best re-release in the history of re-releases.

But this song is quite special. ‘Wide Awake’ isn’t as magical as ‘The One That Got Away’ was back in 2010 before it became the victim of an incredibly over-juiced single campaign, but it has some nice electro-ballad production that Katy hasn’t really explored before.

Take a listen:

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Katy Perry movie Part Of Me for release this summer

March 7, 2012 in Film, Music with 0 Comments

Katy Perry is following in the footsteps of Justin Bieber and the cast of Glee by bringing out her own concert movie.

Katy Perry: Part Of Me has enlisted Project Runway and Top Chef producers Dan Cutforth and Jane Lipsitz, who put together Bieber’s Never Say Never last year, and will cash in on the star’s currently unstoppable superstardom.

The star posted on her Facebook page:

“Ready for huge news?! FINALLY, my MOVIE is coming out with Paramount this summer! It’s called “KATY PERRY: PART OF ME” Presented In 3D!”

So expect lots of awkward audience banter, the occasional emotional to-camera monologue and lots and lots and lots of hit singles.

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Katy Perry’s The Complete Confection: Artwork and tracklisting details

February 9, 2012 in Music with 0 Comments

Katy Perry re-releases Teenage Dream next month under special deluxe edition package, The Complete Confection.

It’s out in the US on March 26, and the artwork appears below:

In a statement she says: “It was an incredible honor to tie the King of Pop’s Billboard Hot 100 record, but I’m moving forward and had a few things left to get off my chest. So this is the complete special edition of my album for my fans.”

In terms of tracklisting, the set will feature all 12 original songs from Teenage Dream, plus the Kanye West and Missy Elliot versions of ‘E.T.’ and ‘Last Friday Night’, the acoustic mix of ‘The One That Got Away’, three new songs and a 7-minute megamix of the six hits ‘California Gurls’, ‘Teenage Dream’, ‘Firework’, ‘E.T.’, ‘Last Friday Night’ and ‘The One That Got Away’.

These three new songs better be good, Katy…

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Top 50 Singles of 2011: 10-6

December 23, 2011 in Music with 0 Comments

For almost a week we’ve been working our way through our pick of the 50 best pop singles of the past twelve months, and today we finally crack into the Top 10.

But, as ever, just to needlessly draw it out even more we’re doing the top fifth one half at a time. Numbers 10-6 are today, and the all-important (it’s not that important) Top 5 will follow tomorrow.

10. Demi Lovato – ‘Skyscraper’
July, US Peak #10
After a few ill-fated attempts at “breaking the UK”, Demi Lovato’s ‘Skyscraper’ never officially made its way overseas, but there was no denying the hype. Celebrity fans were too many to count, and the song shot to the US iTunes No. 1 spot within hours of release. Stained with the pain its vocalist was going through at the time of recording, this epic Tony Gad ballad allowed Demi to reach out to a wider audience than ever before, and allowed her to haul her career back on track following an intensely rocky few months away. Empowerment Anthems don’t come much more empowering.

9. Britney Spears – ‘Hold It Against Me’
January, Peak #6
They don’t call her Godney for nothing. Dubstep’s gradual seep into the world of pop has infuriated the genre’s most hardcore fans, but before other pop tunes pissed them off by fiddling with their beloved sound, Britney Spears (arguably) started it all off. Chucking a random dubstep breakdown into the middle of what was already an amazing return to form, ‘Hold It Against Me’ kicked off the Femme Fatale campaign on an impeccable high and heralded in the best Britney era since In The Zone (i.e. better than Circus). With a chorus that left you hanging right up until the ball-busting finale, this was without question one of the year’s most almighty pop essentials.

8. Avril Lavigne – ‘What The Hell’
January, Peak #16
A song that deserved much more commercial success than it had, ‘What The Hell’ was a care-free Avril classic that showed the former ‘Sk8er Boi’ “rocker” wasn’t totally sold on the prospect of growing up just yet. The chant-a-long chorus is accessible to all and the Max Martin production is just so… Max Martin (good thing). Album Goodbye Lullaby was great, but if it was lacking anything, it was more songs like this.

7. Katy Perry – ‘The One That Got Away’
December, Peak #20
A year and a bit old it may be, but tiresome it ain’t. One of the best songs from Katy’s Teenage Dream album was FINALLY given a release as a single in the later stages of the year, and came equipped with a video even sadder than the One Of The Boys weep-fest ‘Thinking Of You’. Tinged with a sadness that makes other album tracks like ‘Peacock’ and even ‘California Gurls’ look immature and daft, ‘TOTGA’ is another exceptional piece of hitmaking from the unstoppable Mrs Brand.

6. Rebecca Ferguson – ‘Nothing’s Real But Love’
December, Peak #10
With a talent so breathtaking even the most adamant anti-X Factor critics turned their heads, Rebecca Ferguson was cruelly robbed of radio airplay from the big stations with her debut single, but miraculously still managed to take her debut album Heaven to platinum status in under a fortnight. Lead single ‘Nothing’s Real But Love’ is classy, sophisticated, understated and beautiful. Those already writing off Matt Cardle (the winner to Rebecca’s runner-up) need to chill out considering his album Letters was intermittently strong and is still charting relatively well… but, that said, you’re in a minority if you don’t agree that, for one reason or another, Round 1 goes to Rebecca.

Coming up in tomorrow’s Top 5, one male and three females. If maths is your thing, you’ll have worked out from that that one of them pops up twice…

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Listen: New version of Katy Perry’s ‘The One That Got Away’ featuring B.o.B.

December 19, 2011 in Music with 0 Comments

Katy Perry is gunning for her record-breaking sixth US No1 hit from the Teenage Dream album, and after employing Kanye West and Missy Elliot to give a helping hand to ‘E.T.’ and ‘Last Friday Night (T.G.I.F.)’ we now have B.o.B. on ‘The One That Got Away’.

Well done everyone on shitifying this perfectly good tune:

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Top 50 Singles of 2011: 40-31

December 19, 2011 in Music with 0 Comments

On Saturday the Trash Lounge Top 50 Singles of 2011 began, starting with Jennifer Lopez at No. 50 and wrapping up with Charlene Soraia at No. 41. Catch up in full here.

The list continues today with a handful more of the year’s finest pop hits, and if you have any issues to raise then remember the voting is still open on the readers’ poll – you decided the shortlist, and you’ll decide the winners.

So, here we go with Numbers 40-31…

40. Katy Perry – ‘Last Friday Night (T.G.I.F.)’
June, Peak #9
Katy continued to milk Teenage Dream for all it was worth in 2011, with a further three singles. Two of them appear in the TL Top 50, and here’s the first. With a video featuring cameos ranging from Glee’s Artie to Rebecca ACTUAL Black, ‘Last Friday Night’ was another effortlessly cool, bright and breezy slice of Perry Pop. Singing about the nights out we all enjoy (or rather, wish we all enjoyed), Katy writes another killer chorus and puts her own quirky quirkiness on it by chucking in a saxophone solo.

39. One Direction – ‘What Makes You Beautiful’
September, Peak #1
The band you know you should hate but you just can’t, One Direction propelled to No. 1 in September with this ‘Summer Nights’-esque tune written by Glee favourite Savan Kotecha. Does it cynically aim for the target audience knowing damn well it’ll make thousands of pounds from them? Yes. But is it hands-in-the-air sing-a-long-able anyway? Yes. The term ‘guilty pleasure’ often sounds ridiculously snobby, but in this case it couldn’t be more fitting.

38. Selena Gomez & The Scene – ‘Love You Like A Love Song’
July, Peak #58
The TL review of Selena Gomez “& The Scene”s latest album When The Sun Goes Down – their THIRD UK LP release in just over a year – was, in hindsight, a little too harsh. It didn’t set a new boundary for pop music as we know it, but it was a lot more of a slow-burner than it was given credit for, and ‘Love You Like A Love Song’ is a stellar example of a track that is, quietly and without anyone really noticing, rather brilliant. With fantastic production that makes the most of Gomez’s limited vocal ability, it’s “the band”s best single release so far.

37. Ed Sheeran – ‘Lego House’
October, Peak #5
Ed made an impressive début in 2011, and though he’s not quite as un-commercial as he sometimes gives the impression of wanting to be, his tunes are undeniably lovely. ‘The A Team’ and ‘You Need Me, I Don’t Need You’ may have been very different but equally very good, but it’s ‘Lego House’ that is his personal best so far. Simple, effective and heart-warming, it shows off the ever-growing talents of one of Britain’s most promising emerging artists.

36. Beyonce – ‘Love On Top’
December, Peak #22
The first half of Beyonce’s comeback album 4 was a massive let-down, but then, as if from nowhere, the second half was freakin’ brilliant. ‘Love On Top’ is the highlight, not least because it showed the happily married Lady B taking a break from singing laborious break-up songs and just being happy. With a deliciously uplifting FIVE key changes, it may not have set the charts up in flames, but it certainly deserved to.

35. Nicola Roberts – ‘Beat Of My Drum’
June, Peak #27
The baby of Girls Aloud took her Team Ginge mantra to the masses in 2011, as she launched her tepidly-received solo career. Commercially she may not have done anywhere near as good as Cheryl Cole, but by critics she was universally applauded. Sounding like a slightly maturer Daphne & Celeste single, ‘Beat Of My Drum’ got her off to a flying start, with a gloriously bonkers chorus and a bizarre-but-cool video to match. Let’s hope her record label look at the reviews rather than the sales figures, and let her make more tunes like this.

34. Lana Del Rey – ‘Video Games’
October, Peak #9
Bombarding the international One To Watch lists for 2012 is Lana Del Rey, an intriguing American songstress with a haunting vocal and a penchant for harps that only Florence Welch can really understand. ‘Video Games’ arrived in the Autumn with masses of critical acclaim, and with a slot on Jools Hollands’ show to get her off the ground, her status as an Officially Cool Maker Of Pop was secured. To everyone’s liking? No. But you’ve got to be at least a little bit curious as to what she’ll do next…

33. Calvin Harris – ‘Feels So Close’
August, Peak #2
Progressing his sound from the whacky space-out-pop of ‘I Get All The Girls’ etc, Calvin pulled off a corker with ‘Feels So Close’. Falling victim to the fanbase-heavy appeal of Olly Murs, this was a deserving No. 1 that may have been lyrically basic, but the sound of it spoke for itself. Good enough to make us forget that he occasionally comes across as an arrogant nob in the media, it was a good go-to for anyone who found Kelis hook-up ‘Bounce’ a little too weird.

32. Nicole Scherzinger – ‘Try With Me’
November, Peak #18
The X Factor performance may have been bizarrely all over the place considering it was just her, the music and a small platform, but The Scherzinator’s under-appreciated ‘Try With Me’ proved that, despite the naffness of ‘Right There’, she has a good ear for a properly good pop tune as well. Written and produced by the brilliant duo Nervo, this brilliant track started as a twinkly piano ballad before exploding into an all-out electropop floorfiller, without losing an ounce of its emotional resonance.

31. Rihanna feat. Calvin Harris – ‘We Found Love’
October, Peak #1
Ah, Rihanna. In case you’ve been living under a rock all year, she’s a relentlessly hard working popstar who’s developed a would-be-tiresome habit of bringing out a new single every 14 minutes. That’s “would-be” because, as ‘We Found Love’ shows, she still has the odd tendency to be amazing. Thanks to some more fantastic work from Calvin Harris, this chart-invader stayed at No. 1 for what felt like a thousand years, but never felt over-played. At least not to these ears.

Coming up in Nos. 30-21, two ladies who made impressive debuts in 2011, two very different bands, and one of our best-loved talent show winners. Find out who they are on Wednesday…

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Watch: Katy Perry finally premieres The One That Got Away video

November 11, 2011 in Music with 0 Comments

She performed an acoustic cut on The X Factor last month but today Katy Perry unveiled the official music video for her emotional new single, in which she stars as an elderly lady with a heartbreaking past.

‘The One That Got Away’ is thought to have a seven-minute-plus “director’s cut” come along at some point, but for now the standard version does the song fairly decent justice. Particularly at the end.

Remember, if ‘TOTGA’ gets to No1 in the US it will make Katy the first artist to ever achieve six chart-toppers from one album. ‘California Gurls’, ‘Teenage Dream’, ‘Firework’, ‘E.T.’ and ‘Last Friday Night’ all did it, now all she needs is a sixth…

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Rihanna who? Katy Perry’s The One That Got Away looks a bit good

November 4, 2011 in Music with 0 Comments

Currently, Rihanna is the frontrunner for the year’s best video courtesy of ‘We Found Love’, but she may well have to step aside if this preview from Katy Perry is anything to go by.

‘The One That Got Away’ – already established as one of the most amazing songs by Katy, like, EVER - receives its video premiere on November 11th (next Friday) and a snippet was unveiled today.

Take a look:

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