50. Duffy "Mercy"
Album: Rockferry
Genre: Pop, Soul
Producer: Steve Booker
US Billboard Hot 100: #27
We kick off the top 50 with none other than newcomer Duffy. It opens with some "Yeah, Yeah, Yeahs" accompanied by a nice beat, and then Duffy with her soulful voice starts singing about being seduced by someone while seeing someone else, and then the catchy chorus comes. The retro and soul sound make this song completely different from any other song released this year, even if people are often comparing her to Amy Winehouse or Joss Stone. Mercy is a great pop song, Duffy has an amazing voice, and this is just her first song in my list.
49. Kanye West "Flashing Lights"
Album: Graduation
Genre: Hip-Hop
Producer: Kanye West, Eric Hudson
US Billboard Hot 100: #29
This song was released by the end of last year, but it was good enough to be this high on this year's list. Flashing Lights is clearly one of the highlights from Graduation but when I saw the weird video, I was left speechless, not in a good way. Kanye never disappoints with his clever lyrics,
"and the wheather's so breezy, man why can't life always be this easy" and other rhymes give this song about a trouble relationship an interesting twist, and let's not forget the insane beat. I played this song non-stop back at the beginning of the year and the odd video didn't stop it from being in my top 50.
48. Ashanti "The Way That I Love You"
Album: The Declaration
Genre: R&B
Producer: L. T. Hutton
US Billboard Hot 100: #37
I have never been an Ashanti fan, but I was blown away when I heard this song for the first time. Ashanti really stepped up her game with this song and at the end it payed off because it gave her a huge hit in the R&B charts. Her vocals are a little over the top, but it's good enough to show her frustration as she finds out her boyfriend cheated on her. The video was simply brilliant, Ashanti stabs her boyfriend to death after finding proof of his infidelity with a twist at the end that it's up to the viewers to interpret. The Way That I Love You is one of the best R&B songs of the year, and possibly my favorite from Ashanti.
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