Nick Jonas's music has always been a bit hit or miss for me - I couldn't stand "Jealous", but I loved "Chains" - but Close is easily the best single he's ever released in my opinion. The minimalist but enticing production in the verses makes this song mesmerizing to listen to, the lyrical delivery from both members of this duet is excellent, but above all, Nick and Tove's vocals blend together PERFECTLY on this track. They really make it sound like they're a permanent duo on this song as opposed to two solo artists collaborating one time, and that's hard for a one-time collaboration to pull off effectively. Admittedly I didn't really find myself listening to this much after it had peaked (hence why it's pretty low on my list), but it definitely earned a spot in my Top 50.
#44: "Piece By Piece (Idol Version)"
Kelly Clarkson
Kelly's known for having many songs with honest emotionality in both her lyrics and vocal delivery, and this version of Piece By Piece is one of her strongest examples of that. In this song, she tells a meaningful, emotional story with such raw honesty that I admittedly couldn't help but tear up a little bit when I first watched her live performance of this on American Idol. It always impresses me when a song that's so simple and toned down can completely capture me, and that's what Kelly is able to do on this song with her incredible vocals and lyrics shining over just a simple piano backing track.
Let me start this off by saying that I absolutely could not stand "Fight Song". Like it was easily one of my least favourite songs of 2015. So you can imagine how surprised I was when I found myself really liking Rachel's follow-up single. While it's similar to its predecessor in the sense that it's a positive, uplifting song that borders on being a bit too corny, the difference here is that I find the lyrics in Stand By You to be more clever and her vocals more enjoyable to listen to. While the Brave-esque piano chords in the background of the chorus might be a bit too overdone at this point, that's one flaw in an otherwise really nice and enjoyable song to listen to.
To be honest, while Kesha's style of pop music is fun to listen to, I've never really been drawn in by it and considered myself a fan of hers. But this song truly shows her potential and what she's capable of when paired with a strong producer and more complex lyrics than her brand of dance songs usually presents. In terms of production, this is probably my favourite by Zedd since the amazing "Clarity", and Kesha really shines here as a person and an artist instead of simply being a generic part of a generic dance track. The fact that this song accompanied Kesha's heartbreaking story throughout 2016 definitely gives it a few bonus points, but this song still stands on its own and impresses.
Discovering Zara was one of my favourite parts of music in 2016. Her type of pop is extremely fun and carefree, but it also doesn't feel too generic and dumb, and that's very evident in Lush Life. This song is just so damn catchy from start to finish that I can't imagine anybody not having this song as one of their guilty pleasures at the very least. That being said (and many Zara fans may yell at me for this), this is actually my least favourite of Zara's singles and I didn't find myself replaying it nearly as much as her other 2016 singles, hence why it barely misses my Top 40.
I LOVE Close, it deserved to smash harder. Lush Life is great too, but idk what european radios were doing because it was on FOREVER. A bit overplayed for me, but still cute.
It's a really cute song and I consistently liked it throughout the year, but there was never really a period where I loved it, which happened for me with her other singles.
It's a really cute song and I consistently liked it throughout the year, but there was never really a period where I loved it, which happened for me with her other singles.
You liked Ain't My Fault and I Would Like more??
Never Forget You remains her best though, hope you can agree on that