Singles of the Year 2012!

[Si Hunt]

In 2012 it was more difficult than ever before to define what constitutes "a single", because the idea of what a single is (and isn’t) continues to evolve. The Top 40 Singles chart, for instance, allows album tracks and songs that aren’t singles. There are songs in the Top 40 that don’t have videos, or single artwork, and haven’t been nominated as singles by artists or labels. But at the same time the Top 40 won’t include songs that have artwork and videos if they’re given away free. So my rules are quite flexible - anything released this year, or roughly at the end of last year which was too late to register in last years pre-Christmas analysis, counts.

I am using a few methods to find my list of tracks, lest any hits this year escape: my last.fm profile (SiHunt1234) which contains a week-by-week accumilated history of everything I have listened to on my MP3 player this year, a search of all the new songs added to our PC in the last twelve months, and the Popjustice Single Of The Year list in case they mention anything I liked which I've forgotten about and from which I cribbed a few bits of text which you just read.

When I began to compile this (from Number 1 down) I wondered if there hadn't been any great songs this year apart from the ones released by Nicki Minaj. Happily, the compilation process was something of a revelation - there have been loads. So let the countdown commence!

40. Christina Aguilera - Your Body




A good comeback single, albeit one which somehow failed to ignite. Had she released "Blank Page" or "Sing For Me" off the album instead, she would have clambered slightly higher up my list, but I don't suppose she's too bothered about that.

39. Tyler James - Single Tear




No idea who he is, but this is a sweet song. I like to walk along to this in the rain, in slow motion, looking moody.

38. Kylie - Timebomb




It was an odd year for Kylie - her 25th. She didn't seem quite sure what she was doing, and this little song popped out of nowhere, and turned out to be far better than doubtless she had intended.

37. Leona Lewis - Trouble




Poor Leona. How hard can the public fight to keep someone successful when her record company quite clearly want her to fail? Give her rubbish songs, delay the album for a year, and STILL we keep her in the Top 10. This was great, though we still have no idea who Childish Bambino is. Postscript: they finally brought her down by changing her third single choice at the last minute to something forgettable and not promoting it at all. Well done everyone.

36. J-Lo featuring Pitbull - Dance Again




"On The Floor" Part 2. Pitbull is like olive oil - somehow it works when you add him to something, but you wouldn't want to glug him down on his own.

35. Solange - Losing You




This came out in October but we've just discovered it. It's therefore hard to place but it has the whiff of being amazing. In another world, this would be Beyonce's comeback single.

34. Kelly Clarkson - Catch My Breath




Something of a return to form for Clarko as she ran out of good songs from her successful comeback album of 2011. This fizzed away in my ears as I wandered round Atlanta in October on my own with a sprained ankle. It's a good story.

33. Haley Reinhart - Free




Me neither, but for a whole day in October I played this obsessively.

32. Adele - Skyfall




Poor Adele's record company. She could fart right now and it would get to Number 1, yet all she wants to do is stay at home and put her feet up. How they must have cheered when she popped in to knock out this soulful James Bond tune, just Bondish enough sit proudly alongside greats from Aha and Lulu, but not quite enough to be a parody. It's actually quite funny listening to her growling her way through the lines while no-one has the guts to ask for a re-take. Never mind, it reminds me of "Diamonds" by Rihanna; not stunning the first time you hear it, but somehow endlessly re-listenable.

31. Girls Aloud - Something New




This took time to grow on me, but in truth it's a great comeback single, and certainly fit to stand up among their best. It would show a bit of commitment if they pledged a full album, rather than this little number and a substandard follow up to show for five years off, but you never know. With solo careers up the crapper, there's always a chance, especially as this has been quite successful.

30. Taylor Swift - We Are Never, Ever Getting Back Together




She'd like you to think she wrote this, but the lowly presence of one Max Martin (Britney, Katy Perry, Backstreet Boys, everyone else) suggests that perhaps he did the overly catchy tune and she did the "Exhausting!" ad-lib bit. Radio humped it to death, and in truth you were either going to find it teeth-gratingly unbearable or love it to bits and then still find it teeth-gratingly unbearable after a week. But you can't deny it's good for a sing-a-long.

29. Train - Drive By




"Oh I swear to you, I'll be there for you, this is not a drive by-y-a-a-ahhh"

28. Pixie Lott - Kiss The Stars




She's a lower budget Katy Perry and this sounds like what would come out of a computer if you played it every pop song from the last two years and extrapolated the average. Yet - YET! - it's really good, and if you play it before you go out, a weird thing happens. It makes you feel good.

27. McFly - Love Is Easy




They seem to think it's the best song they've ever written. It isn't, but it is jolly and has a nice video. Gotta love a bit of McFly. Any more where this came from boys?

26. One Direction - Live While We're Young




What can you say? An identikit follow-up to the big hit from the last album, nobody was trying very hard but did they need to? It was like everyone said "We didn't really milk that last hit as much as we could, so let's write some more of it". Fair enough.

25. Melanie C and Emma Bunton - I Know Him So Well




It is "I Know Him So Well". By two of the Spice Girls. That alone - and to be honest there's not much more to say - secured it a place in this list. Curiously cheap sounding, but one suspects that's the point. Both ladies scrub up well in the video.

24. Charlotte Church - How Not To Be Surprised When You're A Ghost (ONE E.P)




Oh dear, going through your "arty" phase are you love? See, the cover? Her mouth is stitched up! She's been artistically "gagged" by evil record companies wanting her to sell albums. But this is a beautiful song. The video features creepy ghost children.

23. Katy Perry - Part Of Me




At the tail-end of a campaign that wouldn't die, this was a song which leaked as a demo about two years ago, and I played to death then. To launch the album re-issue, she re-worked it. No bad song begins "Days like this I want to drive away...". It's a pretty by-numbers KP track after all the other singles, but it stomps, which I like, and if you are used to her honking vocals you couldn't ask for more. One of those tracks that is both joyful and sad at the same time.

22. Taylor Swift - I Knew You Were Trouble




Apparently, when you end a relationship with her, she writes all about it in a song. Watch out, Harry.

21. Justin Bieber - Boyfriend




Wasn't sure about this one at first, and it's quite a brave first single. But it's lazy, finger-clicking groove grabs you in the end and he definately brought his sound up to date. Mike Posner was an interesting choice behind the scenes, so a bit of a gamble all round, but it paid off thanks to Justin's impressive new hair.

20. Katy Perry - Wide Awake




Like "Boyfriend", this really didn't grab me at first. I didn't see it coming, as I found the melody quite draggy. It was the other half who alerted me to the oncoming storm of it's brilliance. "It's actually quite good" he said. And I kept listening, and thus found it Quite Good as well. Plus the video, where she recreates the start of the album campaign for the end, is amazeballs.

19. Robbie Williams - Candy




Really, really desperate for a hit and this did it. Well done, Robbie. More songs should contain a "hey ho". If only he'd remembered the "killer first single, even better next one" rule though. Oh well.

18. Nicki Minaj - Va Va Voom


This was going to be the first single, but they were so spoilt for choice it ended up as about the sixth! "I-I-I-I Wanna give you one last opt-shuuuun!" is all. It's that man Max Martin again! We might hear from her again later.

17. P!nk - Try




Not quite as impactful as "Blow Me (One Last Kiss)" but this is everything you want from a second single. Recreating the video move-for-move as a ballet-style performance piece at the VMA's didn't hurt either.

16. Will Young - Losing Myself




I really liked this, and he did well to get the sound he did this year. You suspect he'll be celebrating a solid job well done this Christmas. Hurrah for Will!

15. P!nk - (Blow Me) One Last Kiss




A cheeky title, and a monster come-back single by Pink and Greg Kurstin (Kylie, Kelly Clarkson etc). This tune's killer line is "I think this might be it for us" which somehow sounds powerful when taken out of context and used here. I like Pink (or P!nk, or whatever). I was late to the party, but every song I hear seems to nicely straddle populist radio and a punky individualism which is uniquely "her". Like all her songs, you can hear it when you're annoyed and it makes you happy.

14. Amelia Lily - You Bring Me Joy




She has the Rebecca Ferguson likeability factor - I want her to do well, plus she wore a Donna Summer hat on the single cover. There's a reason why it "shifted" a few copies - simply, this is a great song and that's why it did so well.

13. Kelly Clarkson - Stronger (What Doesn't Kill You)




Like with Pink, I came to her late, but have liked everything I've heard so far. And like Amelia Lily, I take to her so I want her to do well. Maybe it's the granny dancing, or the vague resemblance to Kirsty MacColl. She knows the "first single great, second single better" rule and this proved it. A very good year for her, so that's nice.

12. Olly Murs feat. Flo Rida- Troublemaker




The God Of Good Songs likes him. Really, really likes him. And you suspect if Will Young hadn't been off doing something else when this was being chucked around... but surely his luck can't continue indefinately? Can it? Or we might have to start giving him some credit.

11. David Guetta feat Sia - Titanium




I felt in my own way I "discovered" this because I loved it before it crept up the charts. If you've heard it, you probably know why. Someone once pondered to me why people never "ran out of songs to write". When a song comes along that's new, but sounds as if you've known it your whole life, and also musically is current, that's something great. You'll be meeting Sia again a bit later too.

10. Rihanna - Where Have You Been




This was the obvious hit of the "Loud" album to those that bought that CD. "We Found Love" Part 2, and another Calvin Harris. It was subsequently released, people who don't like albums loved it too, and justice was done.

9. Justin Bieber - As Long As You Love Me




There's a reason why the Bieber's album was worth risking your credibility to investigate. He's got the readies, so he was always going to hire the best talent to make it. Simple, really. This is a Rodney Jerkins "number", dark and brilliant. It takes two plays to click, and then you're there. Guitar = authenticity klaxon on the cover though.

8. Rebecca Ferguson - Backtrack




Jahmene Douglas should be pleased. The best way to really win the X-Factor is not to actually win it. I love this song! Fergo has a rich, coffee-tinged voice and I feel that, somehow, I want to be her friend. And she looks lovely on the cover in her shawl and umbrella. As if she's very cautious of a sudden thunderstorm as she nips down to Sainsburys for some bread. I haven't yet bought her album, but I shall keep buying tunes as good as this if she lets me know about them. That's the deal.

7. Justin Bieber & Carly Rae Jepson - Beautiful


Sorry. I know this by a deeply unfashionable pair of singing teens. I know it's contrived. I know it wasn't even a single. But it makes me want to cry every time I hear it, so it's going in.

6. David Guetta feat. Nicki Minaj - Turn Me On




David Guetta's a funny thing. His sound will date immensely, and he's probably about to seem very unfashionable, but while he turns out tunes as good as this, he should be okay. It's a Nicki song really in disguise though, isn't it? Again, a single line "Something tells me you know how to save me" is the star, but I do love the bonkers rap at the end. We can get a cracking chiropractor! In the video top-hatted Nicki with pink wig drags an axe round a Victorian themepark full of sinister dummy-people. And you can't ever ask for more than that.

5. Madonna - Girl Gone Wild




Poor Madonna. People seemed to hate this, and all the other new songs, with a passion. It tanked as a single, and drew nothing but criticism. But wait a minute! It's bloody brilliant. Pounding tune, up there with her best. The highlight is "You got me in the zone/DJ play my favourite song/turn me on!". It isn't complex, it isn't meaningful, it's just pure, irresistible pop music. And that's what she does best.

She got the highest grossing tour of the year, incidentally, so she probably won't mind too much that "Girl Gone Wild" was desperately under appreciated.

4. Rihanna - Diamonds




People are funny. Rihanna clearly hit a purple patch a year or two ago, which has somehow continued to produce singles which are bigger than the last ever since. "Umbrella", "Only Girl In The World", "We Found Love", then this. And people said she should release less. Why would you? If you're knocking out pop songs this good year after year... people are funny. "Diamonds" was, again impossibly, superb, and I remain convinced that this single will become a standard in years to come. Somehow I just never get tired of it the more I hear it. "I chose to be happy... you and I.... you and I... we're like Diamonds in the sky". People must joyfully sing that now without even remembering what a fantastic line it is.

3. Justin Bieber feat Nicki Minaj - Beauty And A Beat




Awful title aside, this is another Max Martin classic. How can you not love a song which begins with Nicki Minaj yelling "Justiiiiiiiiin Ggggrrrr!"? The video, in which a wet Justin Bieber drags the viewer with him round a water park before bumping into Nicki Minaj on a podium (and "Better keep an eye out for Selina!" is a very funny line to drop in her 15 seconds) must have been conjured up in my dreams and somehow found an avenue into reality. Major effort on the single cover, by the way. Someone has pasted the image of each star from their previous single covers together, and put a jagged line in between. It's almost like they were there together.

2. Nicki Minaj - Pound The Alarm




The secret of a good album is to launch it with the best song ever, then unleash a slightly better one as the follow-up. This gem, hiding away behind "Starships", encapsulates the very sound of going out for me, and sounds irresistible. It was a year (personally speaking) of working and playing hard, and "Pound the Alarm" became in itself a brief and annoying (if you follow me on twitter) catchphrase. What is it I love most about this song? That brilliant, kick-about beat as the verses begin - "What I gotta do to show these girls that I own 'em, some call me Nicki and some call me Roman!"? Or is the "Bottle! Sip! Bottle! Guzzle!" bit? Or is the build-up to the enormous chorus "Music.... makes me.... hiiiiiiiiigh"? No, I think in truth it is the very end of the song, after "Pound the Alarm!" in which the music exits to the enormous, unsubtle trumpeting of what sounds like en elephant farting.

1. Nicki Minaj - Starships




Yes, it's more Nicki. But you know me, right? This year has been all about her, even if she has throttled the life out of commercial self through over-familiarity. To be honest, right now I'm sick of the sight of her, but I'm not going to re-write history and pretend she hasn't been all over my year.

This has, already, become a bit of a joke. Radio loved it quite literally to death, as did the clubs, so we become sodden in over-fatigue for this slice of Red One produced rap-on-speed musical tartrazine. I've almost lost the joy of when I first heard this song - pounding as if trying to actually convert the sound of a hundred drunk people headbanging up and down in a club, pausing wistfully for bouts of nonsense lyrics ("Jump in my hoopty hoopty hoop!") and the main lyric, "Starships were meant to fly", now as over familiar and meaningless as "Plenty more fish in the sea". It's a shame, we all wore this song out. Very quickly.

But only because it was so welcome was it so devoured. Of course it's not going to win any awards for musical finesse, but was it ever meant to? A crazy song written for people to sing to and dance to. And that's what pop music's all about isn't it?

And that was 2012! Already cast-iron classics are emerging which are too late for inclusion in this years list, so "Figure 8" by Ellie Goulding will have to be remembered in twelve months time.

Dud of the Year: "Sing" by Gary Barlow and the Commonwealth Band feat. Military Wives. Simply awful.



Songs that should have been a single but wern't: "Masterpiece" by Madonna, "Marilyn Monroe" by Nicki Minaj. Is there still time?

Poor Tulisa.



Si.

[Dino]

Lost even more interest in modern stuff this year. However when I saw your number one, it reminded me of this!



As you were then!

[Nyder]

I felt really old reading that Si cos I don't think I've listened to many of those! Enjoyed reading it though. Is this a good opportunity to dip into some Bieber??

[Si Hunt]

By all means give any of my list a quick Youtube. You never know, you might find something you like!

Si.

[SiHart]

Great post Si!