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EW's 10 Best Singles of 2008
10 Best Singles of 2008
EW critics rank Pink, Leona Lewis and Usher among the year's best. Plus: Their picks for the five worst tracks of the past 12 months.
WORST TOP 5
5. SHE'S COUNTRY by Jason Aldean
No disrespect to the Macon, Ga.-born Aldean for being the umpteenth opportuni*vore to jump on the Southern-pride bandwagon, but this magical gal he describes alternately as ''a juicy Georgia peach,'' ''a ragin' Cajun,'' and ''a bad mama jama from down in Ala*bama'' — she sounds...geographically confused. And also? Annoying.
4. HOUND DOG by James Taylor
Because a calypso-lite version of the suggestive Elvis rocker, recorded in ersatz Bobby McFerrin style from inside a loaf of Wonder Bread somewhere on Martha's Vineyard, is just what becomes a singer-songwriter legend most.
3. ADDICTED by Saving Abel
Yawn-y modern-rock riffs? Not a serious crime. But basing an entire song around a girlfriend's oral sex prowess (coupled with brilliant lines like ''I want to take my love and hate you till the end'')? That is just yuck.
2. ARAB MONEY by Busta Rhymes feat. Ron Browz
Offensive ethnic stereotypes are a pretty desperate late-career-CPR move. Bonus ''Make it stop!'' points for a hook so annoying you'll be reaching for the Advil in seconds.
1. LOLLIPOP by Framing Hanley
How in the name of Lil Wayne did anyone possi*bly think the world needed a whiny mall-rat rock cover of his hypnotic summer hit? Granted, rock guys covering urban jams is a trick that some*times works (see: Will Oldham's delirious, faithful takes on R. Kelly favor*ites), but just as often cheapens and disre*spects the original (see: Dynamite Hack's egre*gious slacker-brah version of N.W.A's ''Boyz-N-The Hood''). Framing Hanley? Not worth the Claire's boutique lip rings they rode in on.
BEST TOP 10
10. LIVE YOUR LIFE by T.I. feat. Rihanna
T.I.'s flow is lightning-quick as always, and Ri-Ri does her sirenlike crooning thing. But producer Just Blaze de*serves a Nobel Prize in Alchemy for successfully creating a hip-hop track that riffs off of Moldovan pop hit ''Dra*gostea Din Teï'' — a.k.a. the ''Numa Numa'' song of viral-video infamy.
9. SOUNDS SO GOOD by Ashton Shepherd
Nashville sent out plenty of highly polished gems this year, but none was as sweet as the 22-year-old Alabama native's old-fashioned country idyll. Her ode to a warm Southern night — counting stars, chasing lightning bugs — was the real, dirt-road thing.
8. I'M GOOD, I'M GONE by Lykke Li
Like her fellow countrywoman Robyn, Swedish indie chanteuse Li doesn't just tweak pop music — she spins it around, spanks it, and calls it Sally. Her husky-sweet vocals float like a feather, but it's obvious that her handclap beats mean business.
7. SO WHAT by Pink
Publicly exorcising the demons of a divorce never sounded so danceable. The always-provocative Pink ups her own in-your-face ante, and balances the song's undeniable humor with a surprising vulnerability.
6. AMERICAN BOY by Estelle feat. Kanye West
The London newcomer's ode to trans-atlantic infatuation is brimming with flirtatious charm—plus an especially playful rap verse from Kanye in a year when he has more often opted to sing his sorrows. Is it any wonder so many American boys (and girls) loved the song right back?
5. WHITE WINTER HYMNAL by Fleet Foxes
With pristine harmonies, pastoral imagery, and a round-and-round song structure, the shaggy Seattle-ites expertly blurred the lines between psychedelic folk and High Renaissance balladry. Take that, ''Greensleeves''!
4. BETTER IN TIME by Leona Lewis
The ginormous smash hit ''Bleeding Love'' could have been both her grand bow and her swan song; in*stead, the British talent-show winner (and Simon Cowell protégée) deliv*ered this gorgeous ballad, built sim*ply on piano, percussion, and that flawless voice — all about healing from love, not bleeding for it.
3. PAPER PLANES by M.I.A.
Thank Judd Apatow's up-in-smoke comedy Pineapple Express for popu*larizing this 2007 Clash-sampling, cash-register-rattling überjam, but all the song needed was an opportu*nity — it turned out no one on the cor*ner did have swagger like her.
2. BLIND by Hercules and Love Affair
Antony Hegarty's throaty vibrato has often brought tears to our eyes, but who knew the Antony and the John*sons leader — who joined dance DJ Andy Butler for this project — would sound so fantastic belting out a disco anthem?
1. LOVE IN THIS CLUB by Usher feat. Young Jeezy
Usher sees your PDA, and he raises you 1,000 percent on this irresistibly libidi*nous ode to public sexy-time — ahem, ''making love.'' It's hard to believe a simple GarageBand beat could be so insanely ear-wormy. And yes, hot.
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