Honestly what I love the most about this band is their simplicity. They don't use any catchy pop choruses or unnecessary gimmicks to sell their songs, they just rely on their cute, charming folk sound. And sonically, that is exactly what Submarines embodies. It's very bouncy bright, and upbeat, and it can always put me in a good mood. Yet the story of the song is not so "bouncy and bright"; it tells of a man who could not get people to believe him when he predicted the Japanese attack at Pearl Harbor. I love songs with interesting lyrics, and so I was sure to debut this one on my weekly countdown as soon as it got a video. Sadly it got old rather quickly, but the second song of The Lumineers will be much higher here. This is the first of two songs by The Lumineers in the list.
129 Skylar Grey f/Eminem "C'mon Let Me Ride"
Ok I'll admit this one is a little bit of a mess, but it's a damn hot mess that's for sure. For those of you who don't know, this is a sarcastic song that Skylar and Eminem used to criticize the gross oversexualization of the music industry (translation: she's not a sellout!). It's bizarrely written and shamelessly s!utty, and somehow it just works. Not only did she create her own unique sound, but she also managed to diss most of the major pop stars along the way. Plus, those who liked "ballad Skylar" would have been pleased with her latest album anyways. As with pretty much any sarcastic song, there was bound to be some criticism from those who just “didn’t get it"; however, I think this girl has a lot more up her sleeve. She’s a very interesting artist. This is the only song by Skylar Grey in the list.
128 Five for Fighting "What If"
This guy reminds me of Secondhand Serenade in that he absolutely never fails at making hauntingly beautiful piano ballads. 100 Years is without a doubt one of the best songs of the 2000s decade. Unfortunately I think that song has a greater legacy than John himself, and people really stopped checking for him after that. But 10 years later, I'm still here as a fan. This song is very consistent with John's signature piano ballad style, and while I didn't love it quite as much as his previous singles for some reason, it's still a very nice and relaxing song to listen to. It's at least good to know that he can always perform well in the Adult Contemporary charts. This is the only song by Five for Fighting in the list.
127 Armin van Buuren f/Trevor Guthrie "This Is What It Feels Like"
Keeping with the pattern from last set of Canadian hits that failed to cross over to the US. Apparently, Trevor Guthrie used to be the lead singer of soulDecision. You learn something new every day, lol. Well I'm actually surprised that this one didn't see more US success, because it reminds me in many ways of Don't You Worry Child. However, it's not a huge loss. In retrospect, the song is pretty boring and generic; it seems like Armin was going for that magical feel and fell a little bit flat with the end product. I did enjoy it for a short amount of time so it gets one of the lower spots here. This is the only song by Armin van Buuren in the list.
126 Bruno Mars "When I Was Your Man"
A lot of people seemed to hate this song in 2013. I think the reason may be that it's close to the Doo-Wops and Hooligans sound, which admittedly was pretty cheesy. Now obviously I don't hate it, I actually really loved it at first and thought it would be one of my top songs of the year. But it got old EXTREMELY quickly. By the time it was seeing some success on the Billboard Hot 100, I almost couldn't stand to listen to it anymore. This + the rest of the UJ era has really helped me discover that I like Bruno's uptempos better than his ballads; there will be some examples of that later on. This is the first of three songs by Bruno Mars in the list.
125 Atlas Genius "Trojans"
This band's sound is probably best described as buoyant indie-pop in the vein of Walk the Moon, Grouplove, and Passion Pit. The sound is very present in the band's debut single Trojans, and I personally think it could have been a very successful hit in the US if it had been released to pop radio. But alas, it never was, and Atlas Genius remain obscure and underrated musicians. Their second single If So, which barely missed my chart this year, also has that catchy, upbeat sound; maybe they could release it to pop in 2014? After all, the success of Safe and Sound this year is encouraging. They're not the most interesting band in the world, but they do deserve a breakthrough. This is the only song by Atlas Genius in the list.
124 Emblem3 "Chloe (You're the One I Want)"
First major guilty pleasure here. I know a lot of people hate this song and I can understand why, the rapping is pretty annoying. However, I'm a sucker for a huge catchy pop chorus and well, they definitely got that right. The reggae fusion in the song is also rather interesting. It's pretty obvious that Emblem3 won't make any further appearances on the Hot 100 or on my chart though, so they should enjoy it while it lasts. I hate the name Chloe btw. This is the only song by Emblem3 in the list.
123 OneRepublic "Counting Stars"
I was tempted to leave this one out of the list altogether but well, I guess I did like it at one point in time. The song is very unique, I'll give it that, and it would be rather difficult to classify under just one genre. But ugh, Ryan's voice just does not sit well with me. There's some bothersome quality about it that is especially present in his falsettos, and from what I've seen he's a pretty awful live singer. The song was tolerable only for a couple weeks, I can't fathom how it had so much longevity here in the US. Other bands of 1R's caliber, The Fray, Lifehouse, even The Script deserve this success so much more. Well let me stop my rant lol the song is solid and nothing more, I hope it wouldn't surpass Apologize as their most successful single. This is the first of two songs by OneRepublic in the list.
122 Megan & Liz "Release You"
Now this is pretty much the definition of melt-in-your-mouth, bubblegum pop music. Songs from this genre can get very obnoxious and repetitive, but they can also become major addictions, and the latter is what happened with Release You this summer. If you're not familiar with this song, I will say that it's produced by Max Martin and Shellback and it's rather generic. Megan & Liz were obviously just aiming for success by releasing it (which they could've achieved if their label had promoted). However, it's an extremely well-crafted pop song; the chorus is so good it's almost euphoric. And the video is definitely worth watching; it's just concert footage but it really highlights their great vocals and charisma while performing live. This is the only song by Megan & Liz in the list.
121 The Script "If You Could See Me Now"
This song has a very deep and emotional message that I think we all can relate to. It also takes an interesting spin on the clichéd theme of missing a loved one by focusing on Danny and Mark as they ponder what their deceased parents would have thought of their careers; would they "stand in disgrace or take a bow"? However, there is one thing I don't get. Why would they think to make this into a rap song? I mean, there are certain pop-rock artists like Ed Sheeran and Jason Mraz who rap in some of their songs, but at least they're pretty competent. This rapping almost has a comical value and detracts from the emotion displayed in the lyrics. I do like the song but if this is what their whole album's like, then I can see why the critics called it a disappointment. This is the first of two songs by The Script in the list.
Thanks for the comments! Recap will always be in the OP.
This Is What It Feels Like got old for me very quickly. Dance music that turns into a pop melody get old quickly after so many of them pop-up, much like the self-empowerment anthems from 2010/2011.
Release You, we discussed this before. They clearly made it to be a hit. Which it should've been. But the song is a bit childish, though I still like it.
Chloe. That song was a grower. I like Emblem3 though lol.
Counting Stars is ok but I wish it would stop winning so many games in the games section.
100 Years was actually a song we were supposed to learn in Sign Language when I took it my Junior Year (I sucked at sign language though, totally flunked out of it ).
This is the first of two songs by The Lumineers in the list.
Apparently, Trevor Guthrie used to be the lead singer of soulDecision. You learn something new every day, lol. Well I'm actually surprised that this one didn't see more US success, because it reminds me in many ways of Don't You Worry Child. However, it's not a huge loss. In retrospect, the song is pretty boring and generic; it seems like Armin was going for that magical feel and fell a little bit flat with the end product. I did enjoy it for a short amount of time so it gets one of the lower spots here. This is the only song by Armin van Buuren in the list.
I know a lot of people hate this song and I can understand why, the rapping is pretty annoying. However, I'm a sucker for a huge catchy pop chorus and well, they definitely got that right. The reggae fusion in the song is also rather interesting. It's pretty obvious that Emblem3 won't make any further appearances on the Hot 100 or on my chart though, so they should enjoy it while it lasts. I hate the name Chloe btw. This is the only song by Emblem3 in the list.
I mean, there are certain pop-rock artists like Ed Sheeran and Jason Mraz who rap in some of their songs, but at least they're pretty competent. This rapping almost has a comical value and detracts from the emotion displayed in the lyrics. I do like the song but if this is what their whole album's like, then I can see why the critics called it a disappointment. This is the first of two songs by The Script in the list.
are very great songs
Havent listened to these but heard alot of great things about The Script
).