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MusicTalker's #1 Song of 2010-2014 is...
Member Since: 1/1/2014
Posts: 43,331
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4/10
I absolutely love Teenage Dream 
Love Me Harder (though I think it is a bit high) and Blank Space 
Super Bass placed well 
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Member Since: 1/1/2014
Posts: 43,973
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10/10 Flawless set as usual 
Some highlights:
Gimme The Smash I Don't Know I Want, why wasn't this the lead single for Part2 
Part 2 singles were so messy 
The bad and dull songs released as singles while the hot, more interesting and experimental songs left as basic album tracks. Ugh, a mess!!
Teenage Dream: probably my favorite Katy song. It's a tight race between this and ET
Super Bass: I'm surprised by how well this has aged
Black Skinhead: 
I hope to see New Slaves and I Am A God in the top20 at least 
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Member Since: 2/16/2010
Posts: 69,775
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Quote:
Originally posted by Superpower
10/10 Flawless set as usual
Some highlights:
Gimme The Smash I Don't Know I Want, why wasn't this the lead single for Part2
Part 2 singles were so messy
The bad and dull songs released as singles while the hot, more interesting and experimental songs left as basic album tracks. Ugh, a mess!!
Teenage Dream: probably my favorite Katy song. It's a tight race between this and ET
Super Bass: I'm surprised by how well this has aged
Black Skinhead:
I hope to see New Slaves and I Am A God in the top20 at least |
There are two Kanye songs in my Top 20, but not those two!
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Member Since: 8/19/2013
Posts: 27,248
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8/10 amazing set 
Treacherous is top 10 in Taylor's discography for me. 
Hands On Me is such a good bop.  Love Me Harder too.
Primadonna, damn almost forgot about that song. I bopped to it a lot.
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ATRL Senior Member
Member Since: 9/26/2001
Posts: 22,475
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70-61: Oh man, "Devil In A Blue Dress"! God damn, that song still kicks as much ass as it did five years ago. "Man Down" is fine, too. Oh, and Kacey, because naturally. 
60-51: I like to think of "Black Skinhead" as Kanye's take on Gary Glitter's "Rock and Roll Part 2". Hell, in some ways, it's already surpassing it as a sports anthem...which doesn't surprise me. This song was seemingly made to be played at sporting events.
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Member Since: 2/5/2014
Posts: 29,111
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Quote:
Originally posted by MusicTalker
I actually do like Not a Bad Thing, I just prefer other songs on 2 of 2 a lot more. I thought it was a boring single choice, which could explain its sales. It was a Top 10, hit, though, so it wasn't a bad choice by any means.
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I like the whole breezy alt rock feel to it but there were better singles. True Blood would've been amazing around Halloween.  but I love all of part 2, maybe more than one.
My guess for your Kanye singles: bound 2 and Blood on the Leaves
Edit: I was just thinking Yeezus, I change to All of the Lights and Bound
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Member Since: 10/13/2003
Posts: 48,022
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Quote:
72 Maroon 5 - Give a Little More 2010
69 Ariana Grande - Right There (featuring Big Sean) 2013
63 Kacey Musgraves - Follow Your Arrow 2013
58 Taylor Swift - Blank Space 2014
57 Kanye West - Black Skinhead 2013
55 Ariana Grande & The Weeknd - Love Me Harder 2014
51 Katy Perry - Teenage Dream 2010
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missed out on your half decade countdown but I finally caught up 
I will be keeping up with countdown 
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Member Since: 2/16/2010
Posts: 69,775
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Half-Decade Special: Top 100 Songs of 2010-2014
100-91
90-81
80-71
70-61
60-51
50-41:
50 Usher - Hot Tottie (featuring JAY Z) 2010
Hot Tottie is purely a sexy R&B song, and essentially the follow-up to Lil Freak in terms of song's purpose and sound. It has a foreboding and moody beat aided by extremely heavy bass lines. Usher sings about his escapades with a woman in his classically seductive manner, making it yet another one to add to his list of great ones throughout his career. JAY Z's verse is a nice surprise and actually a nice addition to the song. It's a purely fun verse. In fact, I mainly like this song for the amount of fun it is, and of course also for it's awesomely addictive composition. It's easily one of Usher's most engaging and exciting new songs of the decade. I think this was a minor hit in the US, but I'm not surprise it didn't smash since the lyrics allude to a lot of cheating. That would be my only con: I wish he would've made this a sexy song without alluding to cheating, which is never the right thing to do.
49 Sevyn Streeter - It Won't Stop (featuring Chris Brown) 2013
I had never heard of Sevyn before hearing this song, except for briefly seeing her name in the feature credits of Chris Brown's Fortune album the year prior. But, I had never heard her voice or anything. When I checked out It Won't Stop on a whim, I immediately loved the chilling and airy vibe that her voice brought across. In fact, I would describe this entire song was chill and simplistic, guided by an equally minimalist snapping beat in the background. A solo version of this song exists, but I prefer the version with Chris Brown. He adds a male/female dynamic to the song that gives the song more meaning, and he, like Sevyn, sounds appropriately relaxed and restrained. This is one that I vibe to a lot or listen to when I want a song that will calm me down. It's a modern R&B gem from the 2010s, for sure.
48 Beyoncé - Haunted 2013
The definition of a grower track right here! I didn't fully appreciate this song when it came out, as I got more distracted by other immediate favorites on the self-titled. However, this one stuck with me and slowly become one of the absolute finest on an album that's easily Bey's finest work so far. Haunted is experimental and unlike anything other pop girls are doing nowadays; in fact, I think it's a song that will inspire other tracks like it in future R&B or pop girl's albums. It starts off with the chant, rant-like Ghost, eventually seamlessly transitioning into the incredible Haunted, a (fittingly) haunting and darker-than-usual song for the King. I would even say it might be Bey's darkest song to date. It sounds paranoid and urgent with Bey proclaiming "I'm into you, you must be onto me". The song never goes where you expect it to and sounds like one thing one minute and entirely different thing a minute later. It's a bit polarizing at first, but that's only because it follows no preconceived formula. Once you learn this song's own formula and structure, you'll be as obsessed with it as I am. It truly takes you on a journey.
47 Dawn Richard - Frequency 2013
Unlike Haunted, which is a long track but totally worth being that long, Frequency is too short, clocking in at barely three minutes and fifteen seconds. I normally don't like when songs go over 4 minutes, but in some cases, it really isn't enough. This is how I feel about Frequency, my favorite song Dawn Richard to date, and the absolute highlight from the criminally underrated Goldenheart. It's a simple, synthy R&B song where Dawn's smooth vocals smoothly guide the track along from gorgeous note to note. There are so many layers to each aspect of this song, from background vocals to harmonies to production, that I always nitpick for each time I listen new again. It's sometimes hard to remember just how many years Dawn has been at it, but this song always reminds me that she's become a pro at what she does. Even better is that this song fits perfectly as a piece between Northern Lights and Warfaire. While this would've been a smash in the hands of someone with a bigger following, it belonged to no one but Dawn and only she could do it this much justice.
46 Beyoncé - ***Flawless (Remix) [featuring Nicki Minaj] 2014
Already on my 2014 YE countdown at #5: it's in-your-face, blunt, feminist, and a powerful fusion of hip hop & R&B. Bey shows that she's more perfect than she already seems to be by riding that beat like an absolute pro of a rapper/singer/mogul, etc. She drops epic one-liners and makes the song a total meme, quote, and EVENT. Nicki adds to the ruthless clocks and delivers one of the best guest verses, or verses period, of her career. The original ***Flawless was already, well, flawless and a standout on self-titled, but the remix makes it an arguable iconic moment in Bey's recent matter. No doubt this song is full of social media and meme potential for years to come.
45 Katy Perry - Legendary Lovers 2013
How did Katy's label not release this in 2014? HOW?! It would've easily been another Top 10 for her, since it's clear people like this type of sound for her (ie Dark Horse). It's very different than anything else on PRISM and a bit left-field for Katy's usual style. It recalls elements of Bollywood music and changes tempo frequently from verse to chorus to post-2nd-chorus breakdown, making it a dynamic and interesting listen each time. Katy sounds restrained and sexy here, like she did on Dark Horse, only letting her voice get stronger on the chorus, making it an instant climatic moment. The chorus is huge and totally perfect for pop radio, but also perplexing with its lyrics. This makes the track not totally predictable, which I like and appreciated on an album that was sometimes otherwise too predictable. This could've one of Katy's big moments, but someone on Capitol was too doubtful and shut it down.
44 Drake - The Motto (featuring Lil Wayne) 2011
Yet another shoutout for YMCMB's ability to save some of the best tracks on their albums for BONUS tracks. I know I bought a lot of deluxe editions from their artists in the past five years. The Motto was the Super Bass of urban & rhythmic radio formats this year, becoming an immediate standout & radio draw within months of the album release. It's a fun, catchy, & braggadicious hip hop anthem with a beat that begs any and everyone to blast it loud as possible. The entire song is so much of hook that it even prompted an iconic and memorable hashtag - #YOLO. This just goes to show how much people like me were obsessed with the song three years ago. Despite its arguable overexposure, I still play this song all the time and it never truly burned out for me. It's relatively timeless, too. It's different than Drake's more "emotional" music, and anyone who complains about him being too whiny or personal needs to look here for a great example of how he can easily compete with the "less emotional" MCs. Drake is a well-rounded artist who can pull anything off, basically. Such as pull one of the quintessential hip hop songs of the 10s!
43 Christina Aguilera - You Lost Me 2010
Sia's stamp is all over this one, but for good reason, since it's hands down one of the best things Sia has ever been a part of. If you go back to when came out, I think Christina was about to go through a divorce, so it's easy to see why this song was/is so personal to her. It's a sparse and would-be-standard ballad in the hands of most other people, but Legend X completely knocks everything she sings here out of the ballpark and into my heart. She restrains herself for most of the beginning, but the song slowly picks up and becomes a jaw-dropping finale showcasing some of the most stunning power I've heard from the Legend. For some reason, I didn't bother to appreciate this cut until like 2 years I first heard Bionic, but it quickly become my favorite X song from that album. In addition, its my favorite X song since B2B, since You Lost Me ranks up there with Hurt in her best ballads to date. I would say those two are about equal in quality and sheer vocal prowess. If you doubt her vocal abilities, just press play and feel the awe come.
42 Calvin Harris - Sweet Nothing (featuring Florence Welch) 2012
I was so excited when I heard Florence would be working with Calvin Harris. I was ready to repeatedly get my life from Florence belting over a Harris juggernaut of an EDM beat. Both of them delivered everything I wanted in that department, and more, at least certainly in the repeat play department. It's a song that's typically dark for Florence, but more dark than Calvin's usual work, making it more than perfect that Florence provide that atmosphere for somewhere Calvin hasn't gone before. It sounds like a song from Lungs, with dramatic strings, powerful vocal beats, and beautifully personal lyrics, but all with a modern EDM-flaire and a beatdrop that enhances Florence's contribution rather than distracts from it. The beat drop is powerful and, most importantly, packs an emotional punch, sounding like the moment the ice breaks in a tense relationship that isn't going well. I hope these two work together more in the future, since Florence really brings out the best in anyone she works with. Calvin should be really proud of this song.
41 Drake - Hold On, We're Going Home (featuring Majid Jordan) 2013
As I mentioned before, Drake has proven many times that he can basically pull off anything he musically wants and do it better than most anyone else. One of the things he knows to surprisingly pull off is how to make an amazing pop/R&B song. He's done multiple times now with Find Your Love & Hold On, We're Going Home, but Home is even better than the first one from 2010, if that was possible. It's a throwback to R&B hits of the past sung entirely by Drake with little background vocals from Majid. There's no rapping whatsoever, but honestly it wouldn't fit at all so that was a wise move. People always complain about Drake being too emotional, but why bother when his "emotional" music is this amazing. Isn't music all about releasing your emotions? And when you can release your emotions into a smash hit... why not? Drake wins either way and in every way! He has a wonderful singing voice that makes this song everything it is: a sweet serenade to proclaim love to someone. In my personal life, this song won a lot of people over that normally weren't fans of his music, which I assume was one of the main reasons he released it as a single. It appeals to fans of ANY genre of music and can make anyone smile - including me.
Previously Done Countdowns:
 Top 100 Songs of 2014
Top 10 Albums of 2014
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Member Since: 6/3/2006
Posts: 51,724
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I know right? 'Legendary Lovers' was such a wasted single I also love Bey's entries in your c/d!
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Member Since: 4/25/2011
Posts: 41,661
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Legendary Lovers and Flawless are my faves.
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Member Since: 8/19/2013
Posts: 27,248
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Haunted, Flawless, Sweet Nothing
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Member Since: 1/1/2014
Posts: 43,973
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Haunted
Flawless
Legendary Lovers
Sweet Nothing
Hold On, We're Going To Slay You
So much perfection
But if Ariana wins 
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Member Since: 10/13/2003
Posts: 48,022
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You Lost Me 
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ATRL Senior Member
Member Since: 7/23/2007
Posts: 35,994
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Member Since: 2/16/2010
Posts: 69,775
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Half-Decade Special: Top 100 Songs of 2010-2014
100-91
90-81
80-71
70-61
60-51
50-41
40-31:
40 David Guetta - Titanium (featuring Sia) 2011
Sia returns to re-appear on my mid-decade countdown, but this time with a feature on an otherwise formulaic dance pop number. While this beat has been redone countless times since 2011, David did do this a lot of justice and make this one of his best productions to date. The person who really elevates this song to the next level, though, is Sia. Her vocals are honest, deep, and powerful, having her now easily identifiable accent throughout. She builds herself up to the song's huge chorus (one of the best to sing along to this entire decade), and then the breakdown. This song serves multiple purposes for me: it's both a great workout song, and it's an emotional song that packs a lot of punch in that department. Of everything Sia's done in the past five years, which has been a lot now, Titanium remains my absolute favorite of hers vocally... there's one other thing she's contributed to that I rank higher (it's super easy to guess).
39 Justin Timberlake - Don't Hold the Wall 2013
This is EXACTLY the type of stuff I wanted more of on The 20/20 Experience! JT is best when he delves deeper into his weirder and darker material with the help of Timbaland, apparent on his biggest hit to date, SexyBack, and on his most interesting of album gems such as Don't Hold the Wall. It's easily the most left-field song on Part 1 and also the entire Experience period, and clocks in at what could've been a droning seven minutes long. However, I can never tell the song is that since it's so well-done and dynamic for the entire duration, making it feel like half the time instead. It starts off with weird chants and ambiguous lyrics where JT presumably tells a love interest "I can do better, come closer to me". It's not quite clear what the song's about, but that makes you listen to it more often to guess what's actually going on. The song continues on with its amazing mood and THAT BEAT (my favorite Timbo beat since FS/LS) until the 4 minute mark, where it switches and gets faster. Timbo begins chanting alongside JT's voice in the background repeating him and responding to him in falsetto. This part could've been unnecessary, but it actually makes the song more exciting for me and puts the best finishing touch possible. In the end, it's one of the very best album cuts, and immediate standouts, on a great record.
38 JAY Z & Kanye West - ****** In Paris 2011
A jam that everyone will know, and I've yet to meet anyone that doesn't love it. JAY Z & Kanye West bring their most fun and cocky attitudes to this song, appropriate on a beat that calls for nothing less than the most braggadocious lyrics possible. It's nothing to be taken seriously, but no one does. It's just a song with a stellar Hit-Boy contributed beat, excellent and memorable verses by two legendary rappers, and an insane amount of replayability. It's been three years since it smashed beyond my expectations and I still play it just as much as I did when it first came out . Like The Motto, it's for sure a 10s hip hop classic!
37 Drake - From Time (featuring Jhené Aiko) 2013
Speaking of Drake, this may not be an adrenaline pumping future hip hop classic, but it's one of the most well-done emotional and personal hip hop songs of the 10s that actually does it job of tugging at the heartstrings. Jhené was a stellar choice for a feature to do the chorus, and she opens the song with one of the best moments on Nothing Was the Same, sounding vulnerable and truly into the lyrics. Drake equally brings it after she's done, spitting his verses at an amazing pace and flow all while keeping it really personal. He tells stories and personal anecdotes with every line and sounds more down on his guard than any other song I've heard him in yet. I think Time really exemplifies Drake skills and what sets him apart from other new artists of the 2010s. There's a reason he consistently sells so much and towers above his peers' record sales. I was hoping this song might be a hit to add to his extensive resume, but no one seemed to take the idea seriously.
36 Lana Del Rey - Without You 2012
Most people probably wouldn't put this song of all Lana songs as their very favorite one of hers to date, but for some reason, this has been my favorite song from her debut for almost 2 years now. I didn't quite get into her until mid-2013, but there were a couple songs that eventually won me over: Blue Jeans, Dark Paradise, Diet Mountain Dew, National Anthem, Million Dollar Man, and last but not least... Without You. Lana sounds ethereal and like her classic self, with her classic style of lyrical content ("everything I want I have: money, notoriety, and rivieras"). It's all grand scale and upping the drama, making it seem like the perfect soundtrack to a mid-1900s sequel to Gone With the Wind or Casablanca. It all leads to a somber and pleading chorus that she's "nothing without you" leading to one of her absolute biggest pop choruses and one that would've made radio realize why she's as big as she is. This one definitely should've been a single, but nonetheless it's inspired other songs by big artists without ever being released ("Wildest Dreams"). While Without You also deserved its due, since Wildest Dreams is probably a future #1, Born to Die has sold millions and is in contention for a classic album from the 2010s.
35 Disclosure - Latch (featuring Sam Smith) 2012
This song is well over 2 years old at this point, but I only just discovered late last Spring like the rest of America. In that short span of time, it's become one of my favorite successful British crossover successes to America in 5 years. It's a song that has instantaneous impact thanks to Disclosure's incredibly modern and relentless production, and then Sam sounds incredible and more than perfect. No one could've done Latch like Sam Smith did. Not only is it an epic pop song in every way that I've already mentioned, but I also love its lyrics that describe someone "latching" onto someone and falling in love with them. They're both descriptive and attention grabbing... everything that a pop song's lyrics are supposed to be. Latch straddles the line between R&B & pop thanks to both Disclosure & Sam, & its potential to be loved by millions, regardless of genre preference, is boundless. Why this didn't hit #1 or sell better in the US, I'll never know. A lot of British-to-the-US crossovers didn't get the success they truly deserved in 2014 (see also: Rather Be). At the very least, I think this song will be well-remembered for its genre-bending and uniqueness. It will not be forgotten.
34 Imagine Dragons - Radioactive 2012
This one is almost undoubtedly a future classic in the States. It was played EVERYWHERE in the 2010s and sung at the top of millions upon millions of lungs when it came on the radio. The slayage of this song has never truly stopped since early 2013, as its longevity has been quite remarkable. This song annoys A LOT of people, which I totally understand, but I continue to love it a lot. It by far remains the Dragons best song to date, and is much better than their follow-up Demons. Radioactive is a huge stadium pop/rock song with some elements of dubstep and EDM, which is the element that gives the song its unique touch. It doesn't seem contrived to appeal to more radio formats, but instead it feels woven into what the song was always meant to be, making it sound seamless. The electronic elements do give the song more of a punch, especially the first beat drop in the first verse. The lead singer of Dragons sounds very rock and gruff, and he pulls off the difficult-sounding chorus with impressive vocals that aren't drowned out by the times of production behind him. It's a song that could've been overwhelmed by too many things going on that isn't thanks to expert handling. In my eyes, Radioactive deserved all the success it got, and whatever it continues to get in the future. It's even proven to outlast bigger songs in 2013: Blurred Lines and Thrift Shop... super impressive!
33 Miley Cyrus - Wrecking Ball 2013
Like with Miley in general throughout 2013, I tried to avoid this song, especially after it came out right around her awkward VMA performance. It took me a good 3 months until the beginning of 2014 to actually really digest Wrecking Ball. I ended up giving in and recognizing that this song is insanely good. It starts off with a simple beat that leads up to the most interesting pop introduction, at least vocally, I've heard, as Miley's voice jumps back and forth between falsetto, making her underrated voice sound more awesome than it ever has. Then, the song truly HITS you like a wrecking ball and you're exposed to a chorus that's truly jumbo-sized in its sound. The chorus always hits me really hard, personally, and it doesn't get old after hearing it so many times. There's a reason this song smashed in spite of the video - because it stands as an amazing song on its own merit. It's by far the best song Miley has ever done, and honestly it will be difficult for her to surpass it with the next album. I wouldn't advise her to try to surpass it, though. Instead, she should just continue making great music and wait for the time to come when another Wrecking Ball comes her way.
32 Lil Wayne - 6 Foot 7 Foot (featuring Cory Gunz) 2010
Lil Wayne's career has been really volatile this entire decade, in terms of quality. A fair amount of his releases have not been good at all, but inbetween he's released some of his best stuff. One of his absolute best rap songs to date is 6 Foot 7 Foot, a sibling to past work A Milli but even better than its predecessor. The beat is dark and heavy, with incoherent chanting guiding it along, but it hits incredibly hard and sounds remarkable with a good speaker system. No rapper would give any less than 110% of that good a beat. Indeed, Lil Wayne delivers his best verses of the entire past 5 years, delivering great punchlines and reasons to regard him as a rap icon. He's often a polarizing figure in music, with just as many people loving him as hating him. In Foot, Wayne supports his polarizing position, declaring, "so misunderstood, but what's a world without enigma?" & proves why that makes him even better & stronger... which makes the song hit harder as a confidence anthem. In terms of my favorite parts of the song, the lyrics are truly IT & super impressive. I love everything about this, including Cory Gunz's impressive flows on his guest verse. It's just 4 minutes and 10 seconds of ruthless slayage and clocking.
31 Sabi - Where They Do That At (featuring Wale) 2012
R&B/Pop gem alert! This one is by an artist that I didn't expect to get a song I love so much out of... Sabi. I only knew her prior from the Cobra Starship song You Make Me Feel..., but her contribution to that song wasn't totally notable. I randomly listened to it after I saw it on ATRL (thanks ATRL!), and I've had it on repeat since. It's an earworm with a jumpy R&B beat that has a bit of nostalgic elements to it. It then goes into a great, poppy chorus that's replay-able until you can't possibly replay it anymore. Wale comes in the middle of the song and does a worthy, appropriately fun verse that keeps the bounce going. Finally, the bridge has gameboy-like sound effects and adds to the nostalgic effect, before going into the worthy, huge finale of the third chorus. This one is pure fun and should've smashed in one of these past few summers. In the hands of Rihanna, the potential would've been extraordinary.
Previously Done Countdowns:
Top 100 Songs of 2014
Top 10 Albums of 2014
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Member Since: 2/5/2014
Posts: 29,111
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Not Gonna Lie, Hold On We're Going Home not making Top 40 stung a decent amount, but Don't Hold The Wall making it as far as it did made up for it.
I don't know why people hate on Radioactive, it's as bombastic and huge as I would hope a song called Radioactive by a band called Imagine Dragons could be. I love the song.
6 Foot 7 Foot is wicked. It's a great song also.
Latch, From Time, and Paris deserve a spot on any best of list. From Time was robbed from single treatment At least we got a SNL performance
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Member Since: 5/3/2010
Posts: 26,013
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Member Since: 12/25/2008
Posts: 14,110
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You Lost me, Titanium and Wrecking Ball are amazing, my faves of this set
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ATRL Senior Member
Member Since: 7/23/2007
Posts: 35,994
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Member Since: 8/19/2013
Posts: 27,248
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Wildest Dreams Without You 
Latch, Radioactive, Wrecking Ball
I used to bop to 6 Foot 7 Foot
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