Such a cute song. K'naan is a great lyricist and he can make some really clever rhymes. The song is basically teeming with older pop culture references (Billie Holliday, Frank Sinatra, Marvin Gaye, Betty White, Nancy Carrigan), some of which I didn't even know about until I looked up the lyrics. I think K'naan is very talented unlike many other artists in his genre and I wish he could break through to the US. If there's one thing to be learned from this song though...K'naan should stick to having other artists sing his chorus This is the first of two songs by K'naan in the list.
Andy Grammer "Miss Me"
It's a shame this was Andy's least successful single, because in my opinion it's his best by far. KYHU and FBM were cute, but really nothing special, and as I mentioned before I was afraid that he would be a one-trick pony. Thankfully he released this song and I was immediately proven wrong. It's a very mellow, slower song, and while it does carry an optimistic message like Andy's previous two singles, it's certainly presented in a different way. I just love his voice, it's so smooth and refreshing in a market where soft rock males are a dying population. And finally I have to mention the video, it's very brilliant and underrated, I love the concept of the glowsticks and the ending is really clever. This is the last of two songs by Andy Grammer in the list.
Mumford & Sons "I Will Wait"
People called their album the surprise success of 2012, but was anybody really surprised? I mean, they built up a huge rock fanbase with their first album, and their singles had great longevity on the charts with little to no pop support. Plus folk/rock/indie bands almost always have better album sales than single sales. It's obvious that people were here for this band and I knew to expect a big success for Babel. Now M&S were Top 10 last year with The Cave, and the reason they're a lot lower this year is that they're not evolving their sound. This song sounds very similar to Little Lion Man and Roll Away Your Stone, and while I love those songs, and we've all heard the saying "if it ain't broke, don't fix it", I don't think it would hurt them or their fanbase to switch things up a little. Still I'm happy for any band attempting to bring folk music (a very underrated genre imo) back into the mainstream, and M&S definitely did it in a big way during 2012. This is the only song by Mumford & Sons in the list.
Kelly Clarkson "Stronger (What Doesn't Kill You)"
I'm going to be a little critical on Kelly here, just because I know what she's capable of, and I know she can do better than this. I mean, it's a very appealing song on first listen, and it has a huge chorus that gets stuck in your head. The problem I have is it's not very original. I mean yeah, the song is made for a pop-rock voice, but the lyrics are so generic, it's like a half-assed attempt at creating another Firework/We R Who We R/F**kin' Perfect empowerment type of song. And while I did enjoy the song for a good amount of time, and I was happy for what was arguably her most successful single, I really wanted a stronger effort from her next time. Did I get it? In a way, but that's something to be discussed later. This is the second of three songs by Kelly Clarkson in the list.
Haley Reinhart "Free"
And right on the halfway mark of the countdown, a song that I made a last-minute edit to include. I loved this girl on American Idol, I was so disappointed when she came in third place and left us with that terribly boring and basic finale. So when I heard that she was coming out with new music, I was naturally very excited. And when I got to hear Free, I wasn't disappointed in the slightest. Haley isn't like any other pop artist on the market right now, she has such a unique, deep, growly voice that I fell in love with on AI and it carried over into this song. It has such a jazzy, bluesy feel and if I didn't know who it was by I might have mistaken it for a 60s or 70s record. It's a shame that she was dropped by Interscope when she has so much potential, I guess she's just too talented for them This is the only song by Haley Reinhart in the list.