The 100 Best Songs Of 2011: 60-51

60. REBECCA BLACK ‘Friday’

When did ‘Friday’ go from hilarious joke to song that I listened to and sang along to without irony? This is seriously amazing – her voice is still nasally as fuck but she’s proven elsewhere that she does have talent, and the lyrics are awful but their charm is in their ineptness. This is truly the definition of so bad it’s good. I love picking up little things that I previously missed, like the spoken “we gotta get down” at 2:39, or the background ad-libs during the final choruses. This is just such fun, fun, fun, fun, and is also the best meme ever. Queen of 2011.

59. BARBRA STREISAND ‘The Windmills Of Your Mind’

From one supreme vocalist to another! Barbra’s version of ‘The Windmills Of Your Mind’, from her album What Matters Most, was one of the most sublime, most flawless performances of the year. Her crystal-clear voice envelopes the lyrics with such clarity and professionalism, as the minimal instrumentation guides her gently. But really, no instruments are needed – if this was acapella it would be just as stunning. Babs is truly among the best singers I have ever heard in my life, and ‘The Windmills Of Your Mind’ shows that after almost fifty years in the industry she is just as talented as ever.

58. CLARE MAGUIRE ‘The Last Dance’

“Got to try, move on, but I promise you
I will kiss your crown when life takes me down
I’ll save my last dance for you my friend”

Written in memory of Michael Jackson, ‘The Last Dance’ was the massive standout from Clare Maguire’s very middling Light After Dark album. While the LP left a lot to be desired, ‘The Last Dance’ is a wonder to behold, riding colossal drums and Clare’s stunning voice to work as a standard love song and as a beautiful tribute to my all-time favourite artist. This and ‘Ain’t Nobody’ show a lot of promise – hopefully Clare can get it together for her next record, because her potential is through the roof.

57. LUCIANA ft. BETTY WHITE ‘I’m Still Hot’

The fact that Betty White is in my top 100 songs of the year is amazing. Grandmother Of The World, Betty is about 400 years old and is still working, still moving, still going to the toilet by herself and is even featured on the definitive version of 2011′s hottest club track, Luciana’s ‘I’m Still Hot’. With life-giving lyrics like “I’m still a Golden Girl/I may be a senior, so what?/I’m still hot”, Betty slayed all of my fave over-70 popstars (Yoko, Madonna, Vanessa Amorosi) and provided us with the nursing home anthem of the year.

56. BRITNEY SPEARS ‘Hold It Against Me’

Remember how excited we all were when this debuted? It sounded amazing then and it still sounds really good, even if the impact has dulled a little with time. From the club-ready chorus to the much-discussed dubstep breakdown, ‘Hold It Against Me’ is completely commercial and radio ready, yet it is harder and more interesting than previous lead single ‘Womanizer’ and instantly better than basically everything on Circus. There were better tracks on Femme Fatale, but the rush of ‘Hold It Against Me’ captures the excitement of new Britney perfectly.

55. TORI AMOS ‘Carry’

So, so beautiful. ‘Carry’ is an absolute triumph for Tori, who hasn’t done a song this simple and pretty since who knows when. As this list goes on I’m noticing that I valued simplicity almost as much as I valued my dearly beloved melodrama this year. It doesn’t get much more basic than this: Tori + piano, and the result is a floaty, calm lullaby. The best song from Night Of Hunters by far.

54. WILLOW SMITH ft. NICKI MINAJ ‘Fireball’

It’s no ‘Whip My Hair’, but what is? ‘Fireball’ is Willow’s attempt to win back some of the appeal she lost when ’21st Century Girl’ flopped, and while it doesn’t seem to be doing much yet, it’s been given an excellent video and Team Willow are doing everything they can to make this a hit. Nicki Minaj shows up for a G-rated but still awesome verse, and Willow does her general “I’m amazing” schtick while dancing around like a lunatic. A hugely appealing mess.

53. WEIRD AL YANKOVIC ‘Perform This Way’

The king returned with this genius parody of Gaga’s ‘Born This Way’, which was so serious that it was just begging to be made fun of. Touching on multiple elements of Gaga over the past year – the little monsters, the Madonna controversy, and the outrageous outfits – ‘Perform This Way’ was clever, well put together and most of all, funny. Bonus points for delivering the most WTF video of the year.

52. SHANIA TWAIN ‘Today Is Your Day’

Shania lives! A winner’s single without the reality show, ‘Today Is Your Day’ is the inspirational, raise-your-hands, hug-your-mother song of praise that reintroduced us to the Queen of Modern Country. Plunging us straight back into the her signature sound from ten years ago, Shania’s first single in yonks was full of cheese, full of Hallmark crap and I absolutely loved it. I sincerely hope an album is going to follow this one-off, because I am gagging for some new exclamation-point filled titles and uplifting female empowerment anthems. Let’s go girls!

51. RIHANNA ‘Where Have You Been’

The spiritual sister of ‘We Found Love’, the other Calvin Harris produced track on Talk That Talk, ‘Where Have You Been’ is a huge rave-up that builds and builds into an explosive mess of sounds. Using “compositional elements” of classic old-man song ‘I’ve Been Everywhere’, the creative yet commercial production lends itself to the way Rihanna has approached the track, which seems to be “sing the words and then get out of the way of the instrumental”. I love you Rihanna but Calvin is the star on this one.

The 15 Best Remixes Of 2011

Many of these songs are in my proper tracks of the year countdown, so here’s a no-frills look at the very best remixes of 2011.

15. YOKO ONO Talking To The Universe (Ralphi Rosario Vocal Mix)
14. DARREN HAYES Talk Talk Talk (Out Of Talk) (Hall & Oates Mix)
13. KE$HA Blow (Cirkut Remix)
12. LADY GAGA Judas (Goldfrapp Remix)
11. NICOLA ROBERTS Beat Of My Drum (Loverush UK! Radio Mix)

10. EVERYTHING BUT THE GIRL Missing (Fedde Le Grand Remix – Radio Edit)
9. DAFT PUNK The Grid (The Crystal Method Remix)
8. YOKO ONO Move On Fast (Rich Morel Vocal)
7. KYLIE MINOGUE Put Your Hands Up (If You Feel Love) (Pete Hammond Radio Edit)
6. ADELE Set Fire To The Rain (Moto Blanco Edit)

5. BRITNEY SPEARS ft. NICKI MINAJ & KE$HA Till The World Ends (Femme Fatale Remix)
4. HURTS Sunday (Seamus Haji Remix – Radio Edit)
3. KELLY ROWLAND ft. LIL’ WAYNE Motivation (Diplo Remix)
2. MICHAEL JACKSON Hollywood Tonight (DJ Chuckie Radio Edit)

1. DARREN HAYES Black Out The Sun (7th Heaven Club Remix) 

There Can Be Miracles, When You Belieb… And Other Assorted Developments

I saw the Justin Bieber film last week in Geelong with my fellow Little Nell enthusiasts Adem and Ben, and I fully expected to be bored shitless. I left that cinema a Belieber. Was I brainwashed? Did I undergo a transformation that is beyond the understanding of science? All we can know for sure is that I fucking love his album now, with ‘Never Say Never’ and ‘U Smile’ becoming personal favourites. The added buzz from liking something I’m supposed to hate is a little extra incentive but Justin is a genuinely great performer. I’m pissed I didn’t figure this out sooner.

I bought this 1999 one-off single by the Main Minogue from eBay last week, which hereby completes my modest Dannii collection, as I now own all her studio releases. Again, I’m pissed I didn’t realise how great she was years ago (although I have owned The Hits & Beyond for a long time), and ‘Everlasting Night’ is a nice counterpart to her masterpiece, Girl.

The new Michael Jackson single, ‘Hollywood Tonight’, is out on iTunes now with the amazing DJ Chuckie Radio Edit, a pretty stunning remix that elevates this excellent track and makes it even better than it was before. There hasn’t been a Michael Jackson remix this good since the Blood On The Dance Floor years.

I’m thoroughly enjoying this new collaboration addiction Britney Spears has developed, and the new remix of ‘Till The World Ends’ (i.e. song of the year) with Nicki Minaj and Ke$ha pushes all the right buttons. The three best moments:

1. “You was hot when? Ricki Lake.” – surely one of the definitive lyrical moments of 2011 so far.

2. “Th-th-th-this is the remix.”

3. Ke$ha making a triumphant entrance for the chorus. I love popstar unity – I stan hard for ‘We Are The World’ in all forms – and I live for big collaborations like this, especially when they turn out this good.

Just Killed Another Fashion Model, It’s A Mild Day: The ‘Monster’ Video Has Arrived

Warning: video will probably be deleted in like five seconds.

First things first (I’ll eat your brains… sorry), this is not quite the finished video yet. Second things second, this isn’t the classic I was hoping for. It’s no ‘What It Feels Like For A Girl’ or ‘Thriller’ or even a ‘Work’ by Ciara (which was absolutely a classic video and I’ll hear nothing to the contrary), but it does succeed on a number of levels. Here they are.

Level 1: Giving Nicki Minaj Something Amazing To Do

It is a known fact that Nicki’s verse on ‘Monster’ is the best part of the song and praise Kanyesus because it’s the best part of the video too. It seems like Monster Nicki has captured her Pink Girly counterpart, which is an interesting concept that also got played out on her album track ‘Dear Old Nicki’. What follows is DOUBLE THE NICKI, which could never be considered a bad thing.

Level 2: Possible Unintended/Subtle Humour

I thought Kanye moving the hands of the dead models he’s in bed with was a funny touch but maybe it wasn’t intended that way – and of course, there is always Nicki’s facial expressions.

Level 3: Everybody Is In It

How terrible would it have been if Jay-Z couldn’t do it or something and they had to do something else while his verse was on? Even Rick Ross is here and he only has four lines.

Level 4: The Atmosphere Fits The Song Perfectly

‘Monster’ was one of my songs of the year so it would have been disappointing to see them get the video wrong, but they did a very good job of complementing the track and all the things that made it so great. This is such a visual song, and I’ve been pretty much seeing a fake video in my head for the past few months while listening to it, and this video is fairly close in terms of look and feel to what I felt the video should be like.

Level 5: We Get Close-Ups Of Kanye’s Diamond Teeth

One day I’ll have diamond teeth, until then I can print out a screenshot of Kanye’s mouth and glue the bit of paper the screenshot is printed on to my own teeth. Raaahhhh, I’mma a motherfucking… weirdo.

The 100 Best Songs Of 2010: #3. Nicki Minaj ft. Sean Garrett – ‘Massive Attack’

The best use of a siren since ‘Ring The Alarm’ by Beyoncé and a frantic beat seemingly built for stobe lights, no song was more heart-poundingly exciting than ‘Massive Attack’ in 2010. If it were successful on the charts it would have been the Big Debut of Nicki Minaj but it was retconned into being a “buzz single” after it failed to take off – which is unfair because the song is her best so far. It didn’t deserve to be shoved off Pink Friday.

The first thing that caught my attention about ‘Massive Attack’ is that amazing hook provided by Sean Garrett, who also produced the song along with Alex Da Kid. Next was Nicki’s lyrics in the verses, which are just incredible. The one about Mr. Miyagi and the Phantom of the Opera gets me every time, as does the one about mango. The whole thing lends itself so well to repeated listens, because you keep picking up new little bits about the lyrics and productions that you didn’t notice the first 500 times. I’m still learning new things about ‘Massive Attack’ and I’ve overplayed it something chronic this year.

All this mixed with the video makes it easily one of the songs of the year, for me if not for the public. In a perfect world, though, this would have been Nicki’s commercial breakthrough.

The 100 Best Songs Of 2010: #5. Kanye West ft. Jay-Z, Nicki Minaj, Rick Ross & Bon Iver – ‘Monster’

from the album My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy

The best moment of Kanye’s stellar year, in a twist of cruel irony, had to be shared with others who almost steal his spotlight completely. Rick Ross appears first for a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it cameo, in which he acts as a hype-man more than anything else, before making way for Kanye’s first verse. Kanye is above and beyond his normal level of greatness here, and it makes the fact that the song just gets better all the more exciting.

Jay is next, vicious as ever using his monster metaphors as much as possible, but we all know what’s coming next. Nicki. She steamrollers over everybody else in the song, almost making us forget that there were even other rappers on it in the first place. Every line is filled with this contagious energy, and as she reaches the end, she also reaches breaking point: “look at what you just saw, this is what you live for” – then, an ear-splitting scream – “I’M A MOTHAFUCKIN’ MONSTER!!!”

And she’s totally right, moments like that – and songs like ‘Monster’ – are what I live for.

The 100 Best Songs Of 2010: #20-11

SCISSOR SISTERS

‘Night Work’

from the album Night Work

This album strikes a pretty good balance between fantasy and disappointing reality, and the opening track is the uplifting introduction a world that seems too good to be true. Using an extended clubbing-as-manual-labour metaphor, ‘Night Work’ slides along on a classic eighties riff and possesses perhaps the finest and most exciting chorus on the record, let alone those amazing lyrics. “You gotta keep on moving remember, this is what you asked for” – in the grand tradition of ‘Vogue’ and ‘Don’t Stop ‘Til You Get Enough’, dancing in a club is no longer something you do for five minutes between drinking bitch beers and falling down the stairs – it is your duty and your calling.

NICKI MINAJ ft. EMINEM

‘Roman’s Revenge’

from the album Pink Friday

Oh god oh god oh god. This is the stuff dreams are made of. I get a small panic attack thinking about how much I love it. ‘Roman’s Revenge’ teams up the arguable king and queen of 2010: Eminem and Nicki Minaj, who morph into their respective alter-egos to provide us with the greatest song on Pink Friday. I could list all the best bits but I’d just be describing the song from start to finish. Of particular note are the video game sounds in the intro, the tension-filled stuttering beat, “rahh rahh, like a dungeon dragon” – oh look at me, I’m just describing the whole song. In conclusion, from the lyrics themselves to the way they are delivered with such force to Nicki’s spoken outro – everything about this is perfect.

KATIE MELUA

‘The Flood’

from the album The House

What a weird song this is. Produced by William Orbit but not sounding immediately “Orbit-ish”, ‘The Flood’ is the sort of ethereal oddball epic that leads people to screech “KATE BUSH” even though I can’t think of a Kate Bush song that really sounds anything like it. Featuring lyrics that I’ll pretend to understand and a soaring chorus that could not have been done justice by a lesser voice, ‘The Flood’ begins as a slow existential ballad, then shifts tempo to become almost a completely different song, then afterwards moves back to the style from the beginning, taking us on a little journey not unlike the musical equivalent of a fantasy film.

MICHAEL JACKSON & AKON

‘Hold My Hand’

from the album Michael

Like ‘You Rock My World’, this is one of those songs that would be number one for months if it were sung by anyone but Michael Jackson. Because the rest of his catalogue is filled with such classics, new songs that would be a dream for any new artist feel underwhelming coming from such a legend. Well sure, ‘Hold My Hand’ is really quite good, but it’s no ‘Billie Jean’, is it? Once we move on from the fact that very few songs are as good as ‘Billie Jean’, we can appreciate ‘Hold My Hand’ for what it is: a well-written and catchy R&B ballad sung by a great voice, with help from Akon, whom I don’t find as disgusting as I’ve found many other people do. I actually quike like him and his voice, so his contribution on ‘Hold My Hand’, while slightly unnecessary for a song that could easily have been done solo, gives the song just that little bit more of a kick. Either way this is the best pothumous Michael Jackson song yet.

CEE LO GREEN

‘Fuck You!’

from the album The Lady Killer

Like Motown in an alternate universe, ‘Fuck You!’ is a true classic masquerading as a novelty. Cee Lo plays our clearly hurt protagonist who hides behind big sweary outbursts instead of just accepting how upset he really is – until he breaks down halfway through, to hilarious effect. With a chorus like that, catchy and fun to yell at the top of your lungs, how could ‘Fuck You!’ have been anything less than brilliant? Instead of relying on the LOL HE SAID FUCK factor, what we have here is an expertly crafted song performed by one of the most talented vocalists I think I’ve ever heard.

HURTS

‘Stay’

from the album Happiness

Earlier this year I had to do an assignment on a new artist for my Music Business course, and I chose to analyse Hurts, and ‘Stay’ in particular. Of note was how incredibly dramatic the lyrics and production are, but all with a knowing glance to the camera, a little window in the fourth wall that tells us Hurts know exactly what they’re doing and why. Never innocent, always polished and calculated, the atmosphere and theatrics in ‘Stay’ are the key to the artistic success of the song, but you still get the feeling that a raw, stripped back version without the big drums and layered vocals may still be just as powerful. The best thing about Hurts is first and foremost the strength of their vocals and songwriting, all the rest is a bonus that takes things to another level – but the touchstone of all their work is still their talent.

KANYE WEST

‘Power’

from the album My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy

‘Power’ touches on so many hot topics from Kanye’s past: social injustice, paranoia, politics, how great Kanye is, how awful Kanye is, all the people who have offended him, the eternal struggle between his good and bad sides, and all with one of his most breathtaking productions. I can hardly believe how huge this all sounds, especially the centrepiece, which starts casually – “How ‘Ye doin’? I’m surviving” – and then leads into the beat dropping out ushering in that amazing King Crimson sample, then moving into what sounds like something from the Streets Of Rage Sega Genesis game soundtrack. An absolute blockbuster, ‘Power’ is superhero theme music at its finest.

KYLIE MINOGUE

‘All The Lovers’

from the album Aphrodite

Lyrically simple but surprisingly melancholy, ‘All The Lovers’ features an understated vocal performance which is framed by rich, gorgeous production and this overwhelming feeling that Kylie is growing up – I know she’s grown up before, but she’s still going – and moving on. From what? I’m not sure. But as she sings “all the lovers that have gone before…” you can feel the history in her voice, and it is a lyric that wouldn’t sound right coming from some fresh-faced Elixie DooLottle who just graduated from stage school. This is the type of pop song you need to be mature to deliver effectively, and as Kylie floats above the beat, preparing us for the orgasmic instrumental climax (the first part of the song we all heard, and also the best bit), it becomes even clearer why she survived in the industry against all odds: because she was never afraid to add extra layers, extra elements to what could have been an emotionally empty club track.

ANTOINE DODSON & THE GREGORY BROTHERS ft. KELLY DODSON

‘Bed Intruder Song’

Perhaps my favourite pop culture story of 2010 is the Ballad Of Antoine Dodson. After his sister was the victim of an attempted rape, Antoine was on the news to talk about the attacker and delivered a chilling threat: “He’s climbing in your windows, he’s snatching your people up, so y’all need to hide your kids, hide your wife, and hide your husband, cos they’re raping everybody out here”. The hilarious nature of this mixed with his delivery made the video an instant viral hit, and when it was remixed by the Gregory Brothers, the whole thing reached a new level of fame, even making it to the Billboard Hot 100 and the BET Hip-Hop Awards. ‘Bed Intruder Song’ also happens to be one of the catchiest and most fun songs of the year, the original quote perfectly translated into autotuned bliss. It also has the bonus of being connected to a heartwarming story of something good coming from a bad situation. And call me crazy, but maybe there is more to ‘Bed Intruder Song’ than just being a fun remix of a viral video. There is – and stay with me here – a underlying sadness to the project (it was, after all, started off by an attempted rape) which is captured in the final line: “we don’t run around crying and acting sad, we just dust our shoulders off and keep on moving”, which reminds us that there are real people behind funny internet stories like this, and that not all of them are as lucky as this guy was.

NICOLE SCHERZINGER

‘Poison’

Who the fuck would have thought? With PCD dead are her solo career even deader, what was Nicole Scherzinger to do in 2010? Here’s what: rope in RedOne to give her his best non-Lady Gaga song ever, sing it like her life depended on it, and watch it become one of the best songs of the year. And suddenly, on the verge of 2011, Nicole Scherzinger looks like one of the most exciting things about the new year. There were few pop moments this year as invigorating as the desperate cry of “I got that poison! I got that poison!!” and even fewer songs that lent themselves so easily to repeated listens.

The 100 Best Songs of 2010: #40-31

ROBYN

‘Dancing On My Own’

from the album Body Talk Pt. 1

I must admit I had a bit of an eyeroll when I found out what ‘Dancing On My Own’ was about – it really seemed like an unnecessary retread of themes explored brilliantly in previous singles. But the song is executed perfectly, with rapid fire beats, a euphoric chorus and a wonderful vocal performance. When the music drops out then returns machine-gun style – that’s the kind of little moment that gets Robyn such across-the-board acclaim.

NICKI MINAJ

‘I’m The Best’

from the album Pink Friday

The perfect track to open Pink Friday, ‘I’m The Best’ tells the Nicki Minaj story from the start, with liberal amounts of bragging and clever wordplay to keep it interesting. The crowning moment, however, is the chorus: “I hear they comin’ for me/Because the top is lonely”. Hip-hop is rife with paranoia, from Nas’ classic line “I never sleep, because sleep is the cousin of death” to the entire career of Kanye West. While Nicki tries to enjoy her success, she’s always looking over her shoulder for the next upstart to proclaim herself the “best bitch doin’ it”, which gives ‘I’m The Best’ an extra element of emotion and vulnerability.

SCISSOR SISTERS

‘Any Which Way’

from the album Night Work

I was sure that ‘Invisible Light’ or ‘Night Work’ would follow ‘Fire With Fire’, but when ‘Any Which Way’ was announced as second single from Night Work it made me revisit the song and listen to it in a different way. As if it needed to be released as a single to ensure the brilliance of it wasn’t lost under more immediately impressive songs, it suddenly becomes clear than ‘Any Which Way’ is a complex and well-written track, complete with a glorious spoken bit from Ana Matronic and the kind of amazing chorus it seems this band could write in their sleep.

TAKE THAT

‘SOS’

from the album Progress

Following ‘The Flood’ was no easy task, and ‘SOS’ doesn’t match up to that incredible first single, but it does a great job of moving new old Take That into more adventurous areas single-wise. Whether that works out for them is yet to be seen (if ‘The Flood’ can stall at number two then literally nothing can be considered a surefire megahit “in times like these”), but we can be happy that they made a good choice artistically. The song sort of reminds me of what might happen if Coldplay went electro – and I love Coldplay, but let’s be honest they’d be even better if they went electro – but Chris Martin doesn’t have four other guys to help him out on the vocals when he needs it, and ‘SOS’ benefits from the back-and-forth between multiple vocalists that helps take “male vocal group” songs onto that other level they can sometimes get to when done really well. And this, my friends, is done really well indeed.

TAIO CRUZ ft. KYLIE MINOGUE

‘Higher’

from the album Rokstarr

Blah blah blah generic blah blah blah why wasn’t some album track a single blah blah blah Kylie should only ever do one style blah blah blah X was a mess blah blah blah. A simple pop song with a big dance floor beat never hurt anyone, especially not Kylie Minogue of all people, and while ‘Higher’ might not be deep or complicated, for me it recalls the joyous hooks of her PWL years and I see no problem with that at all. This is a song you don’t think about too much, you just tap your feet and sing along. Not innovative, not revolutionary, but 100% fun. 100% fun is always better than 1% fun and 99% overthinking it.

RIHANNA

‘Only Girl (In The World)’

from the album Loud

‘Only Girl (In The World)’ is the first Rihanna single since ‘Umbrella’ that I have not bought as soon as it went on sale. It wasn’t because I didn’t like it, but because I knew I would buy Loud the moment it was released, and I didn’t feel like spending $2.19 on a song when I could open my window and hear it any time I felt the urge. ‘Only Girl’, with its infectious beats and screamalong chorus, was everywhere I went, it became the type of inescapable pop single that Rihanna seems to attach herself to once every six months or so. ‘Pon De Replay’, ‘SOS’, ‘Umbrella’, ‘Don’t Stop The Music’, ‘Disturbia’, ‘Rude Boy’, and now ‘Only Girl’. And I bet my life there’ll be at least two more we can add to that list by the time this era is over. And the most amazing thing about all this? ‘Only Girl’ doesn’t sound like an obvious retread of anything Rihanna has done before, and neither do any of those songs I just listed. I’m going into a full-on fan mode now but how amazing is it that such an incredible run of megahits could also claim to be so diverse? I LOVE RIHANNA SO MUCH.

TAYLOR SWIFT

‘Back To December’

from the album Speak Now

Wistful guitar? It’s here. Slight country twang, but not so much that it scares off anyone who “wouldn’t normally like that sort of thing”? Present and accounted for. Sweet voice, personal-but-relatable lyrics? All right there. That’s right, you’ve just encountered the 2010 So-Good-It-Hurts Taylor Swift Ballad, and if it weren’t for the piano version of ‘Forever & Always’ I’d have to say ‘Back To December’ is the best T-Swizz ballad ever. The lead single ‘Mine’ might have been more instant but ‘Back To December’ has the more beautiful melody, better lyrics and a more sincere vocal performance. This song is a prime example of why people have taken Taylovelorn into their hearts and their iTunes libraries all over the world: because she writes amazing songs and she sings then in an amazing manner. And that, as Forrest Gump might say, is all I have to say about that (until the next time I find a reason to talk about her).

PET SHOP BOYS

‘Together’

from the album Ultimate

It takes several listens to click but when it does, ‘Together’ will stay in your brain for quite a while. Even my sister was going around the house singing it at one point, perhaps breaking the Guiness World Record for the youngest person to actually hear this song. ‘Together’ was the new single for the hits album Ultimate, and while it doesn’t stack up to previous PSB hits-collection-new-tracks like ‘Was It Worth It?’ or ‘Flamboyant’, it has its own special little identity while staying very much in line with the singles from the recent album Yes. Like so many Pet Shop Boys classics, the beat of ‘Together’ is up while the lyrics are ambiguously down, which, on one hand, ensures a platform for epic remixes, and on the other hand it makes sure you continue thinking about what the song means long after it has finished.

ROBYN

‘Don’t Fucking Tell Me What To Do’

from the album Body Talk Pt. 1

KICKDRUM. I said most of what I have to say about ‘Don’t Fucking Tell Me What To Do’ in my Body Talk Pt. 1 roundup, but I will just say again that it was one of my most played and most loved listening experiences of the year.

KE$HA

‘Your Love Is My Drug’

from the album Animal

In January I labelled ‘Your Love Is My Drug’ the first truly classic pop single of 2010. And while over the next twelve months thirty songs emerged which I thought were ultimately better, I still pretty much stand by what I said. One thing is certain: it still boasts one of the best hooks of the year, especially because Ke$ha sounds absolutely ridiculous while singing it. “YA LAV, YA LAV, YA LAV” she yells, completely free and unconcerned with staying within any limits or boundaries. And seriously, “I like your beard”? My heart explodes with joy every time. I can’t even.

The 100 Best Songs Of 2010: #70-61

PETER WALL & TONY ANSELL

‘ABC News Theme (Remixed By Pendulum)’

Who doesn’t love a good news theme? Dramatic, professional, and ready to lead into some man or woman in nice clothes telling us everything about everything. This particular theme will mean basically nothing to anyone outside of Australia, but if you’re like me then it recalls many a night when I had to sit through this instead of whatever much more interesting show was playing at the same time on a commercial station. But now, I get the last laugh, because Pendulum have stepped in and turned the ABC news theme – always a great piece of music for the intended purpose, but ultimately representing boredom – and turned it into this storming club “banger”. Brilliant result.

EMINEM ft. RIHANNA

‘Love The Way You Lie’

from the album Recovery

This song goes in a lot of different directions. It starts with a gentle piano and pained vocals from Rihanna, but then moves onto the first verse from Eminem, which is slightly angry but mostly disappointed and distressed. As the song continues, that anger is revisited and intensified, Rihanna shows a maturity that many thought she never had, and what could have been a bland relationship “drama” song becomes an affecting and extremely effective ballad that sees both of the artists growing and changing with the development of the track.

NICKI MINAJ

‘Right Thru Me’

from the album Pink Friday

A lot of people have a negative reaction to Nicki The R&B Star, but I like this incarnation almost as much as I like the Nicki Who Will Eat Your Face. On ‘Right Thru Me’ she aims for vulnerable, and she gets there, but she also shows us that ‘Your Love’ wasn’t a fluke, she can really do this as an artist if she wants to. We haven’t had a major female rapper since Missy Elliott and Missy did the same thing Nicki does here – puts aside her tough persona for a single or two here and there so we can see a new depth to the whole package. That ‘Right Thru Me’ also happens to be just a plain brilliant song is a bonus for everyone concerned.

SADE

‘Soldier Of Love’

from the album Soldier Of Love

Sade seems like the type of music I should love, but I’ve never gone back into their discography properly – I’m familiar with ‘Smooth Operator’, of course, but that is really the only Sade song I know well, apart from this single from their 2010 comeback. You can almost tell what ‘Soldier Of Love’ will sound like before you hear it, and that isn’t a bad thing for a band as established as this one is. What you see in the artwork and in the visuals of the video is what you get here – deserts, night skies, birds, generally pretty landscapes that have a hint of sinister to them, just a little bit of darkness. In front of rolling drums and slow moving but strong melody, Sade pulls you in with ‘Soldier Of Love’ and demands your attention.

KATY PERRY

‘Teenage Dream’

from the album Teenage Dream

Katy Perry’s second absolute classic single (the first was ‘Hot N Cold’), ‘Teenage Dream’ seems to capture something from the culture of decades past – if it wasn’t for the modern production this could be a song from the fifites. It reminds me of ‘Be My Baby’ or ‘You Can’t Hurry Love’ – while not being quite as great as those songs – or even that ‘Freddy My Love’ song that Cindy Bullens did for the Grease soundtrack. Maybe back then they wouldn’t have been so upfront about their skintight jeans, but the spirit of young love and all the myths surrounding it are here. You don’t care if the characters in this song will end up like the couple at the end of Meat Loaf’s ‘Paradise By The Dashboard Light’, hating each other for all eternity, what matters in ‘Teenage Dream’ is the here and now, and nothing else.

RIHANNA

‘S&M’

from the album Loud

The filthy cousin of ‘Only Girl (In The World)’, ‘S&M’ opens Loud with a set of lyrics that are obviously adult but almost defiantly immature. “Sticks and stones may break my bones/But chains and whips excite me”, Rihanna sings, and while she tries to muster all the venom in her voice, there’s still a childish playfulness in there, a little nod to how the lyrics sound like a playground chant. This is basically a ‘Rude Boy’ prequel, on that song she was the hardened bitch in leather, but on ‘S&M’ she is just beginning to explore sex beyond the missionary position.

KELIS

‘Flesh Tone Intro’

from the album Flesh Tone

Now this is how you open an album. Over a melody that comes straight from the golden age of video game music, Kelis slowly weaves her voice in and out of the beats and electronics, inviting us into the world of Flesh Tone and all the ups and downs that come with it. “Yoooooou draaaw meeee iiiiin” she sings, slowly but surely, before becoming strong and desperate. As the layers stack up, the voice intensifies, “every time I think I’m free you win”. Just when you think she might collapse under the weight, the music drops out and a confident Kelis steps in: “we. control. the dance. floor.” – and we’re off.

MICHAEL JACKSON

‘Behind The Mask’

from the album Michael

‘Behind The Mask’ shares many elements with ‘Is It Scary?’, the underrated almost-single from 1997′s Blood On The Dance Floor, most notably the fact that they share a bit where Michael sings “Let’s talk about it/I don’t wanna talk about it” repeatedly, perhaps playing out one of his internal conversations, putting it out there for all to see. But ‘Is It Scary?’ was Michael defending himself, while here he is the aggressive one. He whoops and hollers over a frantic mid-to-late nineties style production, recalling those paranoid, angry songs he made when his public persona was shattered. It all builds up with crowd noise, saxophone, vocals upon vocals and the kitchen sink – which feels quite close to the vibe given by the records made while Michael was alive.

NICKI MINAJ

‘Your Love’

from the album Pink Friday

How can something so out of character sound so brilliant? Nicki Minaj singing lines like “shawty, I’m-a only tell you this once, you the illest” over a sample from Annie Lennox’s ‘No More I Love You’s'? Why does this work? But the important thing is that it does work, and it sounds wonderful, a nice big R&B ballad in an age where we don’t get too many of them – at least not as interesting as this one. It may get a reputation as a guilty pleasure but ‘Your Love’ fights for attention over the louder moments on Pink Friday - and emerges as one of the best songs Nicki has done.

JOHNNY CASH

‘Ain’t No Grave’

from the album American VI: Ain’t No Grave

Laughing in the face of such an impossible subject, ‘Ain’t No Grave’ is one of Johnny Cash’s all-time great performances, and the best from American VI. He sounds so strong and so weak at the same time, commanding the song forward and pouring everything he can into the lyrics, yet there is that vulnerability, that little bit of unease that gives a spark of brilliance to so many Cash classics. ‘Ain’t No Grave’ is simply the last in a long line of stunning performances like this.

The 100 Best Songs Of 2010: #90-81

DAFT PUNK

‘The Game Has Changed’

from the album TRON Legacy: Original Soundtrack

One of the most thrilling little sections of the album, ‘The Game Has Changed’ charges forward in a storm of drums and strings, with electronic effects poured in at just the right times to make it all the more exciting. This perfectly captures tension and intensity, portraying a whole range of emotions and making this a clear highlight of a fantastic record.

LADY ANTEBELLUM

‘American Honey’

from the album Need You Now

This shares many elements with ‘Need You Now’ without sounding like a retread at all: the intertwined males and female voices, the pop approach with charming countrified twang, the impressive and catchy melody. It was a no-brainer for second single and became their third straight country number one and third straight single to reach the top thirty of the Hot 100. And they would have been the country crossover story of the year, if it wasn’t for that pesky Taylor Swift.

T.I. ft. CHRISTINA AGUILERA

‘Castle Walls’

from the album No Mercy

Oh boo hoo. That was my initial reaction to ‘Castle Walls’, in which T.I. and Christina Aguilera lament the life of the rich and famous, which really isn’t a subject many of us can relate to (although I’m sure it’s fascinating for them). I don’t think it will hurt this in the long run though, because as soon as you get past the theme you’ll find a worthy sequel to the melacholy classics that came from Paper Trail, ‘Live Your Life’ and ‘Dead And Gone’. Christina gives one of her most understated and emotional vocal performances, and shows a side of her voice that we don’t hear enough. In the grand tradition of ‘Love The Way You Lie’ and ‘Airplanes’, expect ‘Castle Walls’ to dominate radio in early 2011.

RIHANNA ft. DRAKE

‘What’s My Name?’

from the album Loud

This is the closest Rihanna has come to the light atmosphere of ‘If It’s Lovin’ That You Want’ and ‘We Ride’ since we all stood under her umbrella in 2007. ‘Rude Boy’ had the vibe, but it was still so aggressive. Here, she gives the man a chance to “go downtown” without forcibly pushing his head down there and then slapping him across the face with a giant dildo. No, it’s much more relaxed this time, and while Drake’s verse is still perplexing after multiple listens, ‘What’s My Name?’ will be remembered as the purest fun to be had on a Rihanna single since about 2006.

CHRISTINA AGUILERA

‘You Lost Me’

from the album Bionic

I love ‘Not Myself Tonight’ but this was still such a joy to hear as second single. In the grand tradition of ‘Hurt’, ‘Beautiful’, ‘I Turn To You’ and ‘The Voice Within’, ‘You Lost Me’ is a big ballad that makes excellent use of Christina’s obvious talents without shoving them down our collective throat. When I first heard Bionic I felt like ‘You Lost Me’ was just another one of the slowies, but it soon presented itself to be a truly amazing song, well written and with an almost perfect vocal performance.

ANNIE LENNOX

‘God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen’

from the album A Christmas Cornucopia

I’d listen to Annie Lennox sing her own shopping list so it comes as no surprise that A Christmas Cornucopia was a joy to behold. Basically every track is a standout because they all employ that wonderful voice but ‘God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen’ is especially rich and beautiful, with big drums and big booming Annie and big everything else. Let’s face it, there aren’t many vocalists in pop these days that match her for versatility or pure raw talent. God bless ye Annie Lennox.

B.o.B. ft. HAYLEY WILLIAMS & EMINEM

‘Airplanes Part II’

from the album B.o.B. Presents: The Adventures Of Bobby Ray

The subject of much derision and parody across 2010, ‘Airplanes’ was a huge, huge hit, and is actually a very good song if you look past the overplayed hook (which is still really great even after all that overexposure). As I’ve shown in my love for ‘Castle Walls’ and will show in my love for ‘Love The Way You Lie’, I adore the sad-rapper-sad-female-popstar formula and it is yet to get old for me, especially when the songs are as good as this. Part II is obviously superior to the original thanks to Eminem showing up and making everything that little bit better like he always does.

NICKI MINAJ

‘Girls Fall Like Dominoes’

from the album Pink Friday

Anchored by a huge Big Pink sample which drives the song along, ‘Girls Fall Like Dominoes’ is another chance for Nicki to brag about anything and everything, but you know what? I love listening to Nicki talk about how great she is, because I really believe it. With some other rappers it gets tedious but certain artists keep finding interesting ways to tell us about their strengths. From the namechecking of everyone from Madonna to Beyoncé to Grace Jones to the excellent production from J.R. Rotem, this is one of the best songs on Pink Friday, even if it is “just” a bonus track.

JAY-Z, RIHANNA, BONO & THE EDGE

‘Stranded (Haiti Mon Amour)’

from the album Hope For Haiti Now

Hip-hop king Jay-Z, pop singer Rihanna and rock legends U2 (without the other two)? It seems like an unlikely combination but it works very well and symbolises the unity between genres that comes from an event like Hope For Haiti Now. Rihanna amusingly drowns out Bono a little bit but their joint vocals work very well, while the whole thing is brought together by Jay-Z’s verses. It’s great to hear a charity single that is not just a lazy cover. This was put together with a lot of thought by very talented people, and you can hear that clearly in the final product.

PINK

‘Fuckin’ Perfect’

from the album Greatest Hits… So Far!!!

Both singles from the Pink hits album have been outsider anthems for the ages. ‘Raise Your Glass’ was the one you scream along to, ‘Fuckin’ Perfect’ was made for nights when you feel extra melodramatic (i.e. every night for some of us). In the grand tradition of ‘Don’t Let Me Get Me’, ‘Family Portrait’ and ‘Please Don’t Leave Me’, this wheels out desperate, strained (vocal-wise, I mean) Pink, the one who is sitting on the ground crying, wearing a big tutu-style dress and too much eyeliner like it’s 2002 all over again. All of these things are positives, and ‘Fuckin’ Perfect’ slots in easily with the other classics on Greatest Hits.