Sochi top 25, including songs heard frequently and enchantingly.
It's curious what survives the years.
25. "Party Rock Anthem," LFMAO featuring Lauren Bennett and GoonRock (2011)
24. "Stayin' Alive," the Bee Gees (1978) --
23. "Volare," written by Domenico Modugno and Franco Migliacci (1958) --
22. "Born This Way," Lady Gaga (2011) -- Given the wretched Russian anti-gay law, this might come as a surprise, but truth-on-the-ground is always more nuanced than synopses-on-the-TV-news, of course. Hearing "Born This Way" resonate over the Olympic Park late on a Saturday night might have made you crack, "Maybe they don't know what the words mean," but another funny thing is that the young Russians do know. They do.
21. "Wake Me Up," Avicii featuring Aloe Blacc (2013) --
20. "Locked Out Of Heaven," Bruno Mars (2012) --
19. "Rolling In The Deep (remix)," Adele (2011) --
18. "La Bamba," Ritchie Valens (1958) --
17. "Mamma Mia," Abba (1975) --
16. Medley: "Sweet Dreams (Are Made Of This)," Eurythmics (1982)/"Seven Nation Army," White Stripes (2003) --
15. "Skyfall," Adele (2012) --
14. "Sticamen," Ivan Dorn (2011) --
13. "Pump It Up," Elvis Costello (1978) --
12. "Feels So Close" (2012) and "Let's Go" (2012), together in a Calvin Harris entry --
11. "Misirlou," Dick Dale and His Del Tones (1962) --
10. "Tribute," a composition by Eric Radford (2006) -
9. "Up Where We Belong," Joe Cocker & Jennifer Warnes (1982) --
8. "Black Cat," words by Misha Tanich, music by Yuri Saulsky (1963) --
7. "You Ain't Seen Nothing Yet," Bachman-Turner Overdrive (1974) --
6. "Hello," Martin Solveig and Dragonette (2010) --
5. "Superstar," from "Jesus Christ Superstar,"
4. "Not Gonna Get Us," t.A.T.u. (2002) --
3. "Good Feeling," Flo Rida (2011) --
2. "Y.M.C.A.," Village People (1978) --
1."Get Lucky," as performed by Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs Choir (or Russian Police Choir) before the opening ceremony, Daft Punk (2013) --
I don't know how well ARTPOP did in the long run, but all of the promo singles had HUGE leads on iTunes, when the album dropped it was #1 on iTunes for awhile, all the album tracks were in the top 20 or so, etc.
It's really not surprising when you think about it... there are a huge number of LGBT people in Russia who don't have a voice right now, so Gaga could be an outlet for that. I'm proud of her and I hope her music is at least some comfort to those who need it in Russia.
