Member Since: 11/8/2011
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11 songs from 2014 that are killing it in 2015
Fetty Wap - "Trap Queen"
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First released back in March 2014 (over 15 months ago), Fetty Wap’s “Trap Queen” defines a slow come-up. Back then, Fetty was just beginning to develop his now internationally known crooning abilities, and he released “Trap Queen” with hopes that it had that je ne sais quoi that makes a song of the summer a song of the summer. Fetty had the right hunch, but his timing was a year off. Although the song got a respectable amount of play last summer, both on NY/NJ radio stations and on Fetty’s SoundCloud, the track didn’t truly take off until it received a major push from Fetty Pendergrass’ new record label, 300 Entertainment.
In the wake of that push the record took off, as it soared up to the No. 2 spot on the Billboard charts this May. We now live in a post-“Trap Queen” world where endlessly annoying frat bros and sorority girls beat the term to death, overly analytical thinkpieces claim that its our generation’s one true love song, and out-of-touch old folks etymologize the song’s title until you feel like puking all over their old wrinkly faces.
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OMI - “Cheerleader (Felix Jaehn Remix)”
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Jamaican singer OMI released “Cheerleader,” a cheery and simple love song backed by a classically staccato reggae rhythm, all the way back in 2012. And then nothing really happened. The song wasn’t released outside of OMI’s native Jamaica and didn’t even do much there. Then, two years later it received a remix and a rocket ship-sized boost from German producer Felix Jaehn.
The remix toned down the song’s original reggae swing and replaced it with a more dancehall, club-ready tempo. Out went rhythm guitar and in came the thumping bass line that lets people know they are listening to a dancehall record. In the wake of the remake, the song became an international smash, reaching No. 1 in many countries and currently sitting at No. 4 here in the U.S. So yeah, hand us and everyone else a big fat late pass on this one.
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Tove Lo - "Talking Body"
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In 2014, Swedish song bird Tove Lo stepped out from behind the scenes with the hugely successful*Queen of the Clouds. Before the album’s release Lo did most of her work away from the spotlight, contributing heavily to songs produced by human hit factory Max Martin and writing for scores of other pop stars. With “Talking Body,” Lo found herself excelling in being the center of attention.
“Talking Body,” and the album’s other single, “Habits (Stay High),” are both massive-sounding records. The track is powered by its driving synths and is most excellent when the chorus repeatedly enters its enrapturing crescendos. Her stadium-ready sound has landed her two of her songs on the upper reaches of the Billboard Hot 100 and made her days of writing solely for others a thing of the past.
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Mark Ronson, Bruno Mars - "Uptown Funk"
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Few songs became as inescapably popular in 2015 as “Uptown Funk.” Mark Ronson and Bruno Mars essentially put on their mad scientist lab coats and stepped into the studio intent on cooking up the perfect pop song. And holy **** did they succeed. The track’s doo-wop bass lines and Nile Rodgers-esque guitar are drenched in the same musical nostalgia that helped Daft Punk’s*Random Access Memories*gain entry into the core of pop culture’s heart. Combine that with Mars’ now proven inability to sing anything not catchy, and this one was destined for glory from its inception.
Even though the song spent 14 weeks atop the Billboard charts, its greatest achievement is the fact that it has managed to not become completely hate-able. By this time last year, showing anything but utter disgust toward “Happy” made you the target of immense amounts of shade. “Uptown Funk,” though, is as fun as when it first came out. Although it was released more than seven months ago, you are as likely to hear the track blaring out of anybody’s car window this summer as you were last winter.
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Omarion, Chris Brown, Jhené Aiko - "Post to Be"
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“Four score and seven years ago.” “One small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind.” Those are a couple epic sayings that are etched into the American memory forever. But, are they as important as “but he gotta eat the booty like groceries?”*No. No, they are not.
Few sentences have had as much impact or been as vital to the growth of world culture as those eight words spoken by Jhene Aiko on Omarion’s “Post to Be.” Yes, the rest of the song is great, but in all honesty nothing else matters. DJ Mustard’s excellently bouncy production allowed him to add another notch to his presumably gigantic belt, and Omarion (are we just dropping that whole Maybach O thing?) sounds as good as he has since B2K. But none of that matters. In 1,000 years when aliens look back at our history to try and understand what we as a species were capable of, all that will be remembered is Jhene’s ode to eating butt.
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The Weeknd - "Earned It"
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The Weeknd and*50 Shades of Grey*is a match made in some sex-crazed BDSM heaven. Both have won the hearts of many with their overly seductive and borderline uncomfortable raunchiness. “Earned It,” the Weeknd’s orchestral ode to lust off the film’s soundtrack, is about as Weeknd-y a song as there is. The lyrics are concisely provocative, moving past the usual flirty-ness that defines most R&B and powering straight ahead into graphic eroticism.
Released as the soundtrack’s lead single back in December, the song peaked at No. 3 on the Billboard Hot 100 in May and still sits on there at No. 10. “Earned It” is joined in Billboard’s top 25 by the equally lewd “The Hills” and the absolutely perfect “Can’t Feel My Face.” Needless to say, almost two years removed from*Kiss Land, the Weeknd is on a hot streak.
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For the complete list, click HERE
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