This guy is criminally underrated. I just recently got the chance to hear his album and to say I was "pleasantly surprised" would be a vast understatement. It's an effortless combination of folk-infused uptempos, emotional soul-tinted ballads, and even some shockingly authentic jazz-rock throwback tunes. Plus Gavin's voice is just pure magic, I could listen to it all day and never get bored. That being said...most of the tracks explore territory he has never explored before, but the label probably wanted at least a couple safe radio hits, and I feel like this was one of them. In other words, it lacks the unique qualities that I usually look forward to hearing in his music. And I'm a little pressed that this was chosen as the second single over the epic Who's Gonna Save Us. Oh well, I still gained a new favorite artist. I hope that since Gavin is no longer successful in the charts, he will pull out all the stops next time to deliver an epic album full of his own style and free of "radio hits". This is the first of three songs by Gavin DeGraw in the list.
109 Labrinth f/Emeli Sandé "Beneath Your Beautiful"
I'm confused as to why this wasn't a bigger hit in the US. It saw significant success throughout Europe, especially in the UK where it hit #1. I thought maybe because it's a ballad, but then again Ed Sheeran, Passenger, and most notably Adele have broken the US market with ballads recently so who knows. Anyways, I'll admit I was mainly inclined to hear this song because of Emeli. Her voice is so soothing and beautiful and she's a very talented songwriter. However I actually really enjoyed Labrinth as well! He has a distinctive raspy tone that adds emotion to the song and perfectly complements Emeli's softer approach. And also people need to stop complaining about the title. It's an intentional grammatical error, just like Labrinth's name. -.- This is the only song by Labrinth in the list.
108 New Politics "Harlem"
I think people sometimes get the idea that all indie bands are super stuffy and boring *eyes The Neighbourhood* so it's great to see fun, lively indie songs like this one come along once in a while. The chorus is so catchy and if the video isn't extremely high-energy then I don't know what is (awesome backflips!). It does have somewhat of a quick burn rate, but these guys deserved the US breakthrough that they just couldn't quite get. And this is another one where I can't figure out why. The song is very pop-friendly, more so than Sweater Weather or even Pompeii. There certainly wasn't any type of "indie overdose" this year; do people just not like rock songs with actual guitars in them? The GP really missed out here. This is the only song by New Politics in the list.
107 Macklemore & Ryan Lewis f/ScHoolboy Q & Hollis "White Walls"
I gotta say these guys have really surprised me with their debut era. Not only with their success on the charts, but also with their success on my playlist. When Thrift Shop finally began to grow on me, I thought "ok this is just a guilty pleasure, I'll never like another one of their songs again". And yet here we are three singles later, lol. This is probably objectively their worst one but it's just so damn addictive. I love the beat, the intro, and the freaking CHORUS. Plus the video is really cool, theirs always are (anyone else notice all the random cameos?). I certainly wouldn't mind if this duo stuck around a little while longer in the mainstream. This is the second of four songs by Macklemore & Ryan Lewis in the list.
106 Conor Maynard f/Ne-Yo "Turn Around"
This guy was definitely one of the most interesting breakthrough acts in 2012. A lot of people probably just wrote him off as another "pretty boy" with generic music for teenage girls to obsess over but 1) he's actually really ugly; not judging just saying and 2) there's so much more to him than that. He blends a lot of R&B and synth pop elements into his songs to elevate them beyond the basic level; Vegas Girl and Animal are two shining examples. These are the types of songs that Justin Bieber tried (and failed) to create on his latest "more mature" album. Sadly, Conor regressed a little bit on this one. The production is extremely generic and the feature from Ne-Yo doesn't help either; his voice in the song lacks any type of distinctive or unique quality. I do enjoy the song but hopefully Conor won't pursue this direction too much on his upcoming album. This is the only song by Conor Maynard in the list.
105 Chris Wallace "Keep Me Crazy"
This guy is extremely skilled at crafting catchy pop hooks. Candle (nostalgia! ), Remember When, and now this. Is he a little bit of a one-trick pony? Sure. But I can definitely see why some critics called him the "male Katy Perry". So the question must arise: why then is he not as successful as Katy Perry? Well, his music is more on the pop-punk side; that genre is pretty much dead right now. But pop radio clearly has some interest in him; Remember When reached #24 without ever debuting on the Hot 100, and Keep Me Crazy hit the Top 40 without even going Top 200 on iTunes. If the music is just given a bit more promo, I wouldn't rule out the possibility of future success for Chris. Anyways, back on the topic of this song, it's super addictive. It was actually able to get two separate runs in my countdown, one in the spring and one in the fall. The video is very weird though, lol. This is the only song by Chris Wallace in the list.
104 Alicia Keys "Tears Always Win"
Ah yes, RCA's last attempt to save the failing Girl on Fire era. This was sent for pop adds in May after its performance on American Idol and I'd like to think there was some sort of last-minute cancellation because I've never seen a song get zero adds in its first week before. It wasn't the best single choice but it is a soaring, beautiful R&B midtempo. The lyrics describe the mourning of a woman who is lost without her man, and Alicia's raspy vocals perfectly convey this feeling of grief. It's just such a shame this flopped because Bruno Mars has co-writing credits and his fingerprints are all over the song; if he had recorded it, I'm sure it would have become a huge hit. Next era Alicia, next era. This is the last of two songs by Alicia Keys in the list.
103 Of Monsters and Men "Mountain Sound"
I love how winners of huge US shows like The X Factor and American Idol can't even get success in their home country while acts like Of Monsters and Men, who won some irrelevant Battle of the Bands competition in Iceland, can cross over to the US to score Top 10 albums and multiple alternative hits (keep in mind, English isn't their native language). Really goes to show the credibility of those US competitions, right? Lol. I'm not quite sure how to describe OMAM's sound but I absolutely love it, it's like indie folk with that unique Scandinavian touch. Such a sound was virtually unknown in the mainstream until Little Talks. I have to say this one isn't quite as good as LT, and it didn't get an official release until the summer due to LT becoming a huge sleeper hit; I was already pretty tired of it by that time. However this band has certainly captured my interest, and I can't wait for more music from them. This is the only song by Of Monsters and Men in the list.
102 Ed Sheeran "You Need Me, I Don't Need You"
Who knew Ed had this in him? He's actually a really good rapper, better than many who pursue it as their main genre. And the poignant, beautiful lyrical metaphors in songs like Lego House and The A Team transform into witty boasts here. I mean, "They say I'm up-and-coming like I'm f**king in an elevator"? That has to be one of the best lines written in the past decade, if not ever. Absolutely genius. Now this one was supposed to be released to pop in July as the third US single from +, I remember because I made the single thread. And similar to Tears Always Win, I kind of hope there was a last-minute cancellation because if there wasn't, it was a complete flop. Just bring the new album Ed, I'm tired of waiting. This is the first of two songs by Ed Sheeran in the list.
101 The Fray "Love Don't Die"
Piano rock is a great style of music and these guys are definitely one of its defining artists. That's why I was so surprised to see them come back with an uptempo lead single; this would actually be the first real uptempo single in their career. Maybe they just wanted to regain their prominence at pop radio after Heartbeat underperformed. Either way I'm really glad they stayed true to their roots and didn't sell out like some other pop rock bands (SafetySuit ). This one does sound a little bit like Counting Stars, after all it was co-written by Ryan Tedder himself, but I can get over that because Isaac Slade is an infinitely better vocalist than Ryan. I'm really looking forward to Helios next year, it should be great! This is the only song by The Fray in the list.
Recap in the OP is updated!
Thanks for the comments and MERRY CHRISTMAS.
Plus the video is really cool, theirs always are (anyone else notice all the random cameos?). I certainly wouldn't mind if this duo stuck around a little while longer in the mainstream. This is the second of four songs by Macklemore & Ryan Lewis in the list.
), Remember When, and now this. Is he a little bit of a one-trick pony? Sure. But I can definitely see why some critics called him the "male Katy Perry". So the question must arise: why then is he not as successful as Katy Perry? Well, his music is more on the pop-punk side; that genre is pretty much dead right now. But pop radio clearly has some interest in him; Remember When reached #24 without ever debuting on the Hot 100, and Keep Me Crazy hit the Top 40 without even going Top 200 on iTunes. If the music is just given a bit more promo, I wouldn't rule out the possibility of future success for Chris. Anyways, back on the topic of this song, it's super addictive. It was actually able to get two separate runs in my countdown, one in the spring and one in the fall. The video is very weird though, lol. This is the only song by Chris Wallace in the list.
Just bring the new album Ed, I'm tired of waiting. This is the first of two songs by Ed Sheeran in the list.
). This one does sound a little bit like Counting Stars, after all it was co-written by Ryan Tedder himself, but I can get over that because Isaac Slade is an infinitely better vocalist than Ryan. I'm really looking forward to Helios next year, it should be great! This is the only song by The Fray in the list.
I used to love Candle. 