Top Songs Of 2012- Billboard Hot 100 Edition*

Well, we’ve arrived at the end of 2012, which means it’s time to look back on the year that was in pop music, and attempt to count down the best of the hit music that graced our radios, iPods, and whatever strange newfangled music-listening methods the kids are using these days.  It was a big year for Justin Bieber, Taylor Swift, Kelly Clarkson, Pink, Flo Rida, and Ke$ha, and we were introduced to sensations like One Direction, PSY, and Carly Rae, but you won’t find any of them on this year’s list, because, frankly, their music annoyed me, and it’s MY list and I get to make the rules.  So, without further ado, here’s my definitive list of the best of the year’s biggest hits:

*The following songs were all included in Billboard Magazine's Year-End Top 100 chart for 2012.  If a song wasn't included in the chart, it wasn't eligible for my list either.

20. Little Big Town- "Pontoon": 

This was the unofficial summer country anthem of 2012, or at least it was for me.  Not because I went to a bunch of cool parties and bars over the summer where this song was always playing (I didn’t), but because the hefty 50-year-old guy whose cubicle was next to mine at my summer job kept his radio locked on Country 102.5 eight hours a day, five days a week, and I don’t think there was a single song he liked to sing along to more than this one.  He especially liked the part where she says “MMM-Motorboatin!”  Not sure what that was about, but either way, it was a catchy song, so it sneaks in at #20 on my list.

19. Jay-Z and Kanye West- "Niggas in Paris": 

Somehow, this is the only rap song on this year’s list.  Last year at least had two, and I didn’t think it could get any lower than that for what used to be my favorite genre, but apparently it could.  Here’s my awesome anecdote for this song (and the reason I even included it at all): French Socialist presidential candidate Francois Hollande actually, literally, used this song, lyrics included, in an extended campaign ad featuring him touring low-income areas in France, including the town of Creil (pronounced “cray”), and, instead of producing a controversy, it appeared to help his campaign, and now he’s President of France.  Envelope-pushing campaign-ad producers should probably be flocking to France.

18. Fun. feat. Janelle Monáe- “We Are Young": 

Take a look at the “Alternative” and “Rock” sections of the iTunes Store, and notice the complete popularity difference between the two.  “Alternative” is filled with songs just like this one, that get played on the radio and that everybody knows, while “Rock” is pretty much a defunct genre.  “Alternative,” to be fair, has pretty much become “pop with guitars,” but still, it’s fascinating to see the way one genre has completely become integrated into pop music, while the other has shuddered and died.  A full explanation would require a much longer post, so I’ll cap this by saying, yeah, “We Are Young” is a real catchy song, and that’s why it gets #18 this year.

17. Jason Aldean- "Fly Over States": 

Yet another great country anthem from the king of modern country anthems.  Jason Aldean is playing Fenway Park this summer, and I'm having a lot of trouble finding a willing participant to attend with me, since Boston will never be a huge hotbed of country music enthusiasts.  But, people of New England, if you’re gonna see any country show, it would have to be Jason Aldean and his arena-ready country-rock, at a historic venue like Fenway, right?  Who’s with me?

16. Maroon 5- "One More Night": 

I wrote about this song back when it came out, over the summer (actually, it was my last post before this one) and I expressed my disappointment with it- I thought it was boring, and I wished it built up to something a little bigger.  6 months later, though, and after “One More Night” spent 9 weeks atop the Billboard chart, I gained a lot more respect for the song.  You can’t go into the listening experience expecting a whole lot to happen, and then you’ll be much more pleased with the end result.  Good lesson for life, actually.

15. The Wanted- "Glad You Came": 

I said there would be no One Direction on this countdown, and I meant it.  But that doesn’t mean all British boy bands were exempt.  “Glad You Came” is actually a jam, regardless of who made it.  I won’t go so far as to say I’m a fan of The Wanted, but I definitely appreciate their contribution to pop music in the form of this song, anyway.  But yeah, boy bands are still not exactly my “thing.”  Even when they’re in their twenties and make dance-pop.

14. Neon Trees- "Everybody Talks": 

Last we heard from these guys, they were in my year-end countdown back in 2010 with “Animal."  In the meantime, the only time I heard from them, they were pairing up with Kaskade in an odd collaboration for his album Fire & Ice.  Now they came back in 2012 with another great single that I’ll forever get mixed up with their other great single.  It’s cool, though- better to have two great singles than one, right?

13. Jason Aldean- "Take a Little Ride": 

Here’s the highest-ranking country song on this year’s countdown, and the second track from Jason Aldean.  Not much to say that I didn’t already say on “Flyover States,” except that I’ve noticed a trend in the subject matter of almost every country song by a male artist.  Not that I didn’t already know contemporary country was incredibly formulaic, but still: it shocks me that, almost without fail, they’re all about picking a girl up in your truck, providing alcohol, and driving to some remote location to hang out for the night.  Like, every time.  I have a couple questions.  First of all, exactly how prevalent is this activity in rural areas in real life?  Is every male between the ages of 18-34 really doing this every night?  Is there really nothing else to do but drive around?  Because based on the proportion of country hits that make this claim, I would have no choice but to assume so.  Also, if so many people are drinking and driving so often, how come there aren’t more car accidents being reported?  I smell a conspiracy, perhaps being swept under the rug by the corporate types in Nashville so they can sell more records espousing dangerous morals to our children!  This is an outrage!  Ban country music!

12. Coldplay- "Paradise":   

This is one of the oldest songs on the list, and I know I wrote about it over a year ago, when I mostly focused on its awesome music video.  If I did a separate music-video countdown for 2012, I’m pretty sure “Paradise” would take the number one spot.  But now, you don’t need me to do such a countdown, because I’ve already told you what number one would be!  The rest is irrelevant anyway.

 

11. Imagine Dragons- "It's Time": 

This is the last song outside of the top 10, and the last song that doesn’t get classified as pure pop or dance music.  The last bastion of “real” music, if you will.  Imagine Dragons came onto my radar a couple months ago, and I quickly obtained their whole debut album, Night Visions.  I very rarely go for whole albums, so when I do, I can safely say I recommend them highly.  If you value my taste in music, you should definitely check out Night Visions.  Which of course means most of you will probably immediately X it off your list of music to check out.  Whatever.  More for me.

10. Cher Lloyd- "Want U Back": 

Into the top 10, and into the first of three similar-sounding upbeat pop songs that I’m inevitably going to get confused with each other when I look back on 2012.  Cher Lloyd first appeared on the British X Factor (the original version) and used it to springboard her career in the UK.  “Want U Back” was a hit over there at the same time I was there, and when I came back to the States, it followed me, which I was totally cool with.  High production value and catchy beats gets you a spot in the year-end countdown more times than not.  And yes, Cher, you sound just like a helicopter...

9. Karmin- "Brokenhearted": 

This song’s been around all year, but suddenly, in the last month or so, I finally realized it’s a jam on the level of the other songs around it in the top 10.  Karmin started as a YouTube act out of Seward, Nebraska and Brookline, Massachusetts (seriously, check out their Wikipedia), and their covers of pop songs caught the attention of some record execs, and before you know it, they had a jam on their hands in “Brokenhearted.”  I’m hoping for more sounds like this out of them in 2013.

8. Jessie J- "Domino": 

Honestly, this deserves to be higher on the list, because it’s the single best pure pop jam this year, and one of the best of the new millennium, really.  But, it shares so much musically and sonically with the two songs right before it on the list, that I felt I should put it here at #8, in the interest of continuity.  Still, I can’t say enough praise about “Domino.”  It’s just endlessly happy, positive, and infectious, and Jessie J is British, which makes it just that little extra bit cooler.  The least I could do was give it number 8, just behind 2012's power players.  More like this from Jessie J in 2013 and maybe she’ll climb a little higher on next year’s chart.

7. Calvin Harris- "Feel So Close": 

Never mind “Paradise” or “Domino,” this is the oldest song of 2012.  That may sound like an oxymoron, but check it: this song was released as a single August 2011, didn’t peak until late April, and now has been released again as part of Harris’ full-length major-label debut album 18 Months.  2012 has been the Year Of Calvin Harris, with his album release and multiple hit singles, and “Feel So Close” was not his highest mark on my year-end countdown.

6. Alex Clare- "Too Close": 

This was definitely one of the most widely-hated songs of 2012, due to its inclusion in a series of ads for Windows operating systems.  While “Too Close” was unavoidable in 2012, I, for one, never got tired of it.  In fact, I hate on the haters hating on it.  Who doesn’t like electro-folk singer-songwriters?  Really a genre I expect to take off in 2013.  Plus, it was good to know that Apple isn’t the only tech giant capable of springing the musical careers of the artists featured in its ads.

5. Katy Perry- "Wide Awake": 

This was one of two real pop songs of the summer for me.  Hard to believe this was the final single from Teenage Dream, two and a half years after its lead single “California Gurls” was released (although “Wide Awake” was actually only included in a re-release of that album which came out this year, but whatever, still cool).  Probably the most epic pop album ever in terms of the sheer numbers of singles it produced.  Personal connection: I listened to “Wide Awake” every morning at 7:30 AM on the train this summer to try to wake up- it rarely worked.

4. Ellie Goulding- "Lights":   

Correction: THIS is actually the oldest song on the countdown.  It was released in the US in May 2011, but somehow didn't gain real popularity until well after it was released, and thus it's eligible for inclusion in this year’s countdown.  I first discovered the Bassnectar remix of this song last year, but this year I discovered the original version, and realized it’s just as good.  This was the other pop song of the summer for me; it essentially got daily listens for most of the summer, which allows it to rise all the way to number 4.

3. Adele- "Set Fire to the Rain":   

Yet another old song (originally released February 2011 as part of Adele’s album 21, and finally released as a single in the US in November 2011), and yet another British artist in the top 10 this year.  Seriously, there are only 2 American acts in my top 10 this year.  What on earth happened?  Last year almost every act was American, this year only two.  Is that a sign of a trend, or is it a coincidence?  Was there more foreign influence on the charts this year, or do I just have a particular taste for foreign music?  I think it’s just a coincidence, but it’s something to watch for in 2013.  If it happens again, I’d say we have a trend on our hands.

2. Calvin Harris feat. Ne-Yo- "Let's Go": 

Here’s the first of two straight-up jams that top this year’s chart.  As I mentioned already, Calvin Harris had a big 2012, and I’d say his album 18 Months still has a few more singles in it, which could mean he’s in for an equally big 2013.  I certainly hope so, because he became one of my favorite artists this year, anchored largely by big-time party songs like this.  In fact, I’d already be willing to bet his song “Sweet Nothing” will be on next year’s countdown, probably in the same area of the chart as this one.

1. David Guetta feat. Sia- "Titanium": 

I had a hard time picking number one this year, but ultimately I thought “Titanium” was a fitting choice.  I really got into dance music this year (although I guess that trend started more in 2011), and David Guetta has been the leading commercial figurehead for the EDM movement in America lately.  “Titanium” represents probably his best work, complete with powerful vocals from Sia and an equally gigantic beat to match.  I love songs that sound big, and probably no song on Billboard’s year-end chart sounded as big as this.  Thus, it gets the number one spot for 2012.  Here’s hoping 2013 is even bigger!

If you made it all the way to the end of the countdown, here’s a couple special treats in case you haven’t seen them already: first, the always classic DJ Earworm year-end mashup for 2012, and second, my personal favorite mashup of 2012 pop hits, Pop Danthology 2012.  Definitely check out the second one if you like pop music and have a few minutes to spare, you won’t be disappointed.  Happy New Year’s, and stay safe!  See you in 2013!

 DJ Earworm:

Pop Danthology: