Originally posted by Flame Beat Z000 Make a Move is such a catchy song and really enjoying it now. Like what you said about Gavin. The US just really don’t know what’s good for them. BYB is such a wonderful song. Don’t come at The Neighbourhood like that even though it is true and I still like it. So letting it slide. Harlem is indeed catchy and all that. White Walls is just a good car anthem with a great video showing those cadillacs. Keep Me Crazy is fine and yeah never knew he was from White Tie Affair. Hmm. Tears Always Win is another beautiful song of hers. Like hearing Mountain Sounds in the car, like You Need Me, I Don't Need You and don’t know why the song wasn’t a proper single in the US? Ehh on The Fray song. Guess that they don’t have it anymore. It’s’ not all bad though. She ain’t You does have a rocking sound to like and it’s decent, but not really all that interesting esp. the lyrics. #Beautiful is such a warm-summer song with a vibe just like it and good work by those two. Wildest Moments has such a nice vibe that Jessie sings like an angel echoing some good words. Sure Be Cool If You Did is a nice old song by Blake, My Kind of Love speaks to me and haven’t heard of the remix. Out on the Town is a good song by them and good old Hits 1 always added some random songs here and there. Nice insight on It's a Beautiful Day. Never bother to realized that. Genius. Foxes has such good vocals and so youthful. Did you see what I did there!? I like Wagon Wheel and nice write-up on it from Bob Dylan to Old Crow Medicine Show to your old middle school principal. Never thought about that way for Six Degrees of Separation. Their first three singles are the only good songs to like from their #3 album. Great sets with such good music. Keep it up!

Originally posted by Red Is the other fun. song "Why Am I the One"? Either way, I'm intrigued.

Avril Lavigne
"Here's to Never Growing Up"



Honestly, when I first saw the title of Avril's forthcoming lead single this March, I thought it was a joke. The youthful and rebellious spirit was nothing new, but Here's to Never Growing Up just sounded so...blunt. That title alone turned me off a little bit and I'm sure it did as well for quite a few other people. Then again, Avril's never been one to care much about what others think, so I figured the song would at least be interesting to hear. I took the opportunity to listen in full on its release day, and to my surprise, it wasn't so bad. The similarities to Complicated were a plus, since I adore that song. The melody was a bit watered-down and generic, but still enjoyable. And as time went on, I grew to love this little ditty. It's an acquired taste; in all honesty, so is Avril's whole discography. That's why people can have such polarizing opinions about her. I just happen to be on the more positive end of that spectrum.

Oh and one last thing that's been bugging me: what is so youthful about listening to Radiohead? I seriously don't get it. Not to knock their talent or anything, I think they're a great band, but I cannot picture a teenager "singing Radiohead at the top of [their] lungs" in any type of public space. It's just bizarre. Someone please clue me in. This is the second of three songs by Avril Lavigne in the list.


The Saturdays
"What About Us"



This year wasn't too bad in terms of guilty pleasures, sometimes they're just popping up everywhere lol. But I've never been able to get away without at least one super-catchy late spring / early summer guilty pleasure; last year it was Wallpaper's Best Song Everrr (don't judge) and this year, it was these five lovely British ladies with their #1 UK smash What About Us. And can you blame me? I mean, from the simmering, sultry verses to the bright, infectious pop chorus, the whole vibe of this song absolutely screams "summer". If you could define the season with only one song, this would be it. I also think that maybe Brit-Pop is just my guilty pleasure in general; I absolutely loved Pixie Lott's All About Tonight in late 2011. Whatever the reason, this was one of the major songs to get me excited for summer! Ironically, it hit #1 in the UK during the dead of winter. Heh. This is the only song by The Saturdays in the list.


Carly Rae Jepsen
"Tonight I'm Getting Over You"



Some of you may remember how I snubbed Call Me Maybe from my 2012 list in favor of This Kiss. Well I shouldn't have done that and I regret it, in retrospect CMM is better than quite a few songs that I put in the lower positions of that list. The reason for the snub was probably Carly's voice; it's so sweet and syrupy that listening to it for a full song is almost like a sugar overdose. But she's not as talentless as some people might think; after all, she did finish third in a Canadian talent competition. And this one is probably my favorite of her three singles this era. The verses are so enchanting and magical, they hook you in until the EDM beat comes at the chorus to transform the song into a full-on dance party. The beat really should annoy me, but for some reason it doesn't. Maybe because it's a refreshing break from the endless sugary-ness of CRJ, lol. Apparently the GP got tired of the sugary-ness too, because not even a Nicki Minaj remix could save this one from flopping. Oh well, her success was fun while it lasted. This is the only song by Carly Rae Jepsen in the list.


Outasight
"I'll Drink to That"



Wow, what an interesting change of pace for Outasight. This guy is mainly known for his upbeat pop-rap hits like Tonight is the Night and Now or Never, but he decided to tone it down and take more of a singer-songwriter approach on this one. It's very reminiscent of artists like Phillip Phillips and Jason Mraz. Am I wrong in saying that it even sounds a little bit country? Maybe the country stereotypes are just screwing with my mind (the pickup truck in the video, the fact that it has the word "drink" in the title), but the melody definitely has a strong acoustic guitar base. Of course, Outasight's voice isn't "country-sounding" in the slightest, so he gives the song his own unique touch. The lyrics are very inspirational as well; if you're going through tough times it can be helpful to forget your troubles once in a while and just have a great time drinking and partying with friends. I wish more people could see this side of Outasight; they would realize how very underrated and talented he is. This is the only song by Outasight in the list.



fun.
"Carry On"



I love finding random coincidences in the ordering of songs when I make these lists. For example, last year I put M83's Midnight City at #83 without even realizing it until I did the writeup. And this year, among other things, I put the two drinking anthems about persevering through tough times on consecutive spots. I kinda wonder if one was inspired by the other. Or if both were inspired by The Script's For the First Time. Musically though they are very different songs; if you're looking to get your spirits up, I would say listen to this one rather than IDTT. Why? Because it just has a ton of rock glory. The epic guitar solo is really all it needs to solidify its status as a feel-good anthem, but the humongous chorus doesn't hurt either. Arguably, fun.'s first two singles this era were "feel-good anthems" as well. It seems like they're just trying to hone their craft, and they're doing a pretty great job if I do say so myself. This is the last of two songs by fun. in the list.


Ne-Yo
"Forever Now"



Ne-Yo seems to think that since he had success with one generic pop/R&B song, he can expect success from that music for the rest of his career. Apparently he hasn't seen what happened to Enrique Iglesias, Taio Cruz, and Iyaz: a couple big hits (or in Enrique's case, comeback hits), then a quick fade into irrelevance. I'm sure he doesn't want that for his own career, and this one flopping should be a huge red flag. That being said, I'm not completely averse to anything generic like some people on this site. I can fully accept that there are some great generic songs out there, and this is one of them. The beat and the lyrics are very entrancing, as are Ne-Yo's smooth vocals, and if you watch the video you'll see that the man's a pretty excellent dancer. That's why I don't expect him to go straight into a smooth R&B slow jam for the lead single next era. I'm just asking for something a little more true to his roots, like Mad (the best single in his discography). This is the only song by Ne-Yo in the list.


Passion Pit
"Carried Away"



Indie pop is one of the most interesting genres to gain popularity this decade. It never fails to bring a refreshing, unique sound into my music library. I don't know any of the super underground artists, but I do know plenty of bands that are right on the cusp of major success, and Passion Pit is one of them! They remind me a lot of Matt & Kim (another underrated band if you wanna check them out) in their distinctly upbeat and energy-filled approach towards the genre. The synthesizer, nowadays an instrument usually reserved for mainstream pop and hip-hop music, is a huge presence here, and it perfectly complements Michael's light, airy vocals. And I really have no way to describe the video other than "wonderfully wacky and weird". Kind of like Foster the People's Call It What You Want. Which by the way, also has tons of euphoric synthesizer! Well there's more from these guys coming up, so I won't say too much. This is the first of two songs by Passion Pit in the list.


Emeli Sandé
"Next to Me"



My #3 from last year! Good times, good times. VH1 was a true visionary on this one; they listed Emeli as their You Oughta Know artist all the way back in June 2012, and over half a year later she managed to gain success here in the US. I gotta give them a shout-out, because they gave me a head start in discovering this amazing artist. Clown is actually my favorite of hers; it's so emotional and relatable and it would have charted very high here if it had been a US single. (Just for the record, I started allowing non-US singles to chart in my countdown later this year; that's why songs like The City and There Goes Our Love Again can appear here. The removal of this rule will affect all future Best Ofs.) But this one is still a great, great song. The only reason it's so low is that I was already kinda tired of it by the time the rest of the US started to catch on. And even then, it got another successful run in my countdown; it's just so addicting, from the looping piano-based rhythm to the upbeat, soaring chorus. I need that new album in 2014 Emeli. This is the last of two songs by Emeli Sandé in the list.


Pink f/Nate Ruess
"Just Give Me a Reason"



Let me just say that this is, in my opinion, by far the worst single from the TTAL era. Yes, even worse than True Love. Yet it became a huge worldwide smash and one of the biggest hits of Pink's career. Which annoys me, like, a hell of a lot. The masterpiece and glorious power ballad Try deserved all of this success. And that's not the only epic power ballad she's created; think Misery, Lonely Girl, Who Knew, Nobody Knows, Sober...I mean, how do you go from those to this mush? Nate's voice does mix well with hers, but that doesn't save the song from being extremely boring. If you like this softer side of Pink, you can have it to yourself. Because I really don't need to hear any more singles like this. Please.

...Ok, I just did a lot of dragging. I do enjoy the song, otherwise it wouldn't be here. It's just that Pink is one of my faves, I absolutely love her music, so I think I'm allowed to be a little hard on her sometimes. After all, this isn't a ranking of the songs in her discography. It's a ranking of the best songs of 2013, and as such, JGMAR gets a decent placement. This is the first of two songs by Pink in the list.


David Guetta f/Sia
"She Wolf (Falling to Pieces)"



I have never seen a pop era that was milked quite as much as Nothing But the Beat. There were a total of seven singles here in the US, and some European countries had even more. Guetta's making Katy Perry look like an amateur lol. Well I'm actually surprised this one got an official US release; after all, the other Sia-featured track had just gotten done smashing. But it did, and it proceeded to flop quite miserably. Really, what was the logic behind this? The GP is not here for the same artists collaborating over and over and over unless they bring something new to the table each time (see: Jennifer Lopez and Pitbull). And this one...it's not worse than Titanium, but it's not better either. It literally IS Titanium. The songs are so freaking similar. That being said, I really love Titanium (should have put it higher on my Best of 2012!) so having a repeat isn't necessarily the worst thing in the world. Just no more Sia collabs as singles, please. This is the only song by David Guetta in the list.