I first encountered Annie's debut solo single as the soundtrack to a gorgeous piece from the second season of So You Think You Can Dance, and it's stuck with me ever since. The desperate love song goes for a striking mix of delicate emotion and epic scope that still resonates two decades later, despite a lack of urgency in the composition or delivery. No wonder it has become perhaps Annie's signature song. Receiving ten scores of 9 or above and only one below 8, "Why" is also the first track in this rate to achieve an average of above 9.
Reinventing an obscure New Wave song from '80s band The Lover Speaks as a pop torch ballad, Annie score her biggest UK hit ever. This lead single from her covers album was also a moderate US success, earning Annie a Grammy for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance (and later servin as the basis for Nicki Minaj's breakthrough hit, "Your Love"). Though "No More 'I Love You's'" did well with voters, it wasn't quite enough, missing out on the top five by two hundredths of a point.
Gwen's final solo single (thus far) presents a crumbling relationship in majestic fashion, favoring a glamorous, gorgeous sound of sadness over gritty authenticity. Though it was not an official U.S. single, it did serve as the soundtrack to Gwen's 2008 HP television commercials. It also becomes the first song on this countdown to score at least five 10's.
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Originally posted by supaspaz
"4 in the Morning" (2007) The Sweet Escape
Hot 100: #54
Hearkening back to '80s synthpop, this quietly emotional ballad finds Gwen pleading with her lover to "make it worth the fight." Though the song's poor chart performance essentially halted the momentum of The Sweet Escape, it becomes the album's highest-ranking single on this list.
Quote:
Originally posted by supaspaz
"Cool" (2005) Love. Angel. Music. Baby.
Hot 100: #13
Call it the Curse of Trolldonnas! In an effort to avoid a repeat of the 2004-05 Behemoth rate, in which this ATRL favorite claimed victory, madonnas tanked his score for Gwen's mellow, synthtastic fourth single from Love. Angel. Music. Baby. He needn't have worried, as "Cool" was never in the running to win, but it did cost the song a surefire top ten finish.