2010's music hits were still being played on the radio when 2011's smash singles were just getting started. With Facebook and Youtube anchored firmly in the camps of mainstream music, it was possible to listen to hit singles in the making months before they would later explode due to high radio play and digital singles sales. Such was the case with several of these hits, including my current #1 favorite song. Without further ado . . .
1. Pitbull - Give me everything (Ft. Ne-Yo, Nayer, & Afrojack) - I have already given this song its own anniversary post, but I have to highlight it again, as well as the youtube post that tipped me off in March of last year. The song is just so . . . listenable . . . in almost every situation I can think of. I want to hear it in the car. In the gym. At the club. At my wedding. Even at my funeral. From Pitbull's raspy opening to the wavy synth to the bright piano chords to Ne-Yo's delicious voice to Nayeer's magical chorus break to the fun rap verses to the unstoppable production from Afrojack, to rhyming "Kodak" with "Kodak" to the delightful pre-chorus. When I first heard it, it reeked of a titanic hit, and it did not disappoint, selling millions of singles and becoming the #1 radio song on Billboard for 2011, and a respectable #5 on the more prestigious Hot 100 list. Most of my other songs that I have gotten obsessed with slowly make it to lower and lower positions on my ever-growing list of favorite songs, but I can't see it happening with this one.
Now, the list gets VERY tricky. I loved GME so much that it was hard for me to "rank" songs during most of 2011.
2. David Guetta - Without you (Ft. Usher) - At first I wasn't sold on this song. I had been bummed that Guetta's first single, "Where them girls at," had kind of bombed in the U.S., peaking its first week on the chart then hovering in the 30's before falling away, but hearing it often on the radio in the fall had it grow on me. It's got dance, it's got beat, it's got emotion, and it has my men Usher and Guetta tearing it up.
3. Jeniffer Lopez - On the floor (Ft. Pitbull) - Almost anything with Pitbull is awesome and this track is no exception, with him stealing the show during his verses with hilarious lines such as "back it up like a tonka truck." J.Lo has a great voice, perfectly suited for pop/club type stuff, and RedOne's production is top notch. Perfectly suited for clubs or gyms.
4. David Guetta - Where them girls at? (Ft. Flo Rida & Nicki Minaj) - When I first heard this song, someone had stolen the vocals from Flo Rida and Nicki Minaj and substituted their own production for it . . . and it was still good. Nevertheless, I predicted it would be a smash hit, and it never happened. Even if other people didn't appreciate it, I did. It may sound a little too much like Guetta's "Sexy 'Chick,'" but it is one hell of a good time.
5. David Guetta - Little bad girl (Ft. Taio Cruz & Ludacris) - Another Guetta single that failed to take off in the United States (it was big overseas where they appreciate dance-oriented music more), but it's awesome. Guetta here has almost old-school nintendo type synths which go along with Taio's sexy British singing voice and Ludacris's fun rap verse.
6. Katy Perry - E.T. (Ft. Kanye West) - It originally came out in 2010 as a Katy Perry solo track, but for the single they added two verses from Kanye West and made it something special, and became massive on radio. Nothing really to add, it's awesome wherever you hear it, and it's slow "boom boom clap"
7. Ke$ha - Blow - Perhaps not as good as "Your love is my drug" or "Tik tok" or even "We R who we R," the song is a helluva lot of fun.
8. Gym Class Heroes - Ass back home (Ft. Neon Hitch) - I was predisposed against Gym Class Heroes because they partnered with Maroon 5 frontman Adam Levine, who I don't like, for "Stereo Hearts," but Neon Hitch won my heart in "Ass back home" with the absolutely amazing chorus that blows Travie McCoy's two rap verses out of the water. This is one of the songs where the chorus makes the song.
9. Kanye West - All of the lights (Ft. Rihanna, Fergie, Kid Cudi, Elton John, etc.) - Released in January 2011, it is one of the "oldest" songs of the bunch. It's an absolutely epic ensemble anthem, featuring so many vocals that I can't list them all. The most important contributor of the bunch, Rihanna, delivers an awesome chorus, while West's rap verses are delivered in his unique style and somehow makes it more memorable with the matureish content.
10. Adele -Someone like you - After the dreadful "Rolling in the deep," which I was very predisposed against because it kept "Give me everything" from being #1 on the Hot 100 for several weeks and is generally boring, "Someone like you" is an emotional, sad, wrenching, and yes, beautiful. Adele proves her vocal talent is second to none, even if not all of her songs are in my taste. I can respect her even while I change the radio dial for the majority of her songs.
Absent:
LMFAO - Party rock anthem - Okay, it's a fun song, but it's not that good or epic of a song in the way that the other songs on this list are. Leave my radio alone, and give me more Pitbull.
Runner-up:
Roscoe Dash - Good "Good" night - The title is explicit, and so are the lyrics, but this song is killer. You may recognize Roscoe Dash's distinctive voice from hits like "No Hands," and I really dig it. He's not for everyone, and I don't like some of his other songs, but the chorus in this song is great and the bass is awesome.
1. Pitbull - Give me everything (Ft. Ne-Yo, Nayer, & Afrojack) - I have already given this song its own anniversary post, but I have to highlight it again, as well as the youtube post that tipped me off in March of last year. The song is just so . . . listenable . . . in almost every situation I can think of. I want to hear it in the car. In the gym. At the club. At my wedding. Even at my funeral. From Pitbull's raspy opening to the wavy synth to the bright piano chords to Ne-Yo's delicious voice to Nayeer's magical chorus break to the fun rap verses to the unstoppable production from Afrojack, to rhyming "Kodak" with "Kodak" to the delightful pre-chorus. When I first heard it, it reeked of a titanic hit, and it did not disappoint, selling millions of singles and becoming the #1 radio song on Billboard for 2011, and a respectable #5 on the more prestigious Hot 100 list. Most of my other songs that I have gotten obsessed with slowly make it to lower and lower positions on my ever-growing list of favorite songs, but I can't see it happening with this one.
Now, the list gets VERY tricky. I loved GME so much that it was hard for me to "rank" songs during most of 2011.
2. David Guetta - Without you (Ft. Usher) - At first I wasn't sold on this song. I had been bummed that Guetta's first single, "Where them girls at," had kind of bombed in the U.S., peaking its first week on the chart then hovering in the 30's before falling away, but hearing it often on the radio in the fall had it grow on me. It's got dance, it's got beat, it's got emotion, and it has my men Usher and Guetta tearing it up.
3. Jeniffer Lopez - On the floor (Ft. Pitbull) - Almost anything with Pitbull is awesome and this track is no exception, with him stealing the show during his verses with hilarious lines such as "back it up like a tonka truck." J.Lo has a great voice, perfectly suited for pop/club type stuff, and RedOne's production is top notch. Perfectly suited for clubs or gyms.
4. David Guetta - Where them girls at? (Ft. Flo Rida & Nicki Minaj) - When I first heard this song, someone had stolen the vocals from Flo Rida and Nicki Minaj and substituted their own production for it . . . and it was still good. Nevertheless, I predicted it would be a smash hit, and it never happened. Even if other people didn't appreciate it, I did. It may sound a little too much like Guetta's "Sexy 'Chick,'" but it is one hell of a good time.
5. David Guetta - Little bad girl (Ft. Taio Cruz & Ludacris) - Another Guetta single that failed to take off in the United States (it was big overseas where they appreciate dance-oriented music more), but it's awesome. Guetta here has almost old-school nintendo type synths which go along with Taio's sexy British singing voice and Ludacris's fun rap verse.
6. Katy Perry - E.T. (Ft. Kanye West) - It originally came out in 2010 as a Katy Perry solo track, but for the single they added two verses from Kanye West and made it something special, and became massive on radio. Nothing really to add, it's awesome wherever you hear it, and it's slow "boom boom clap"
7. Ke$ha - Blow - Perhaps not as good as "Your love is my drug" or "Tik tok" or even "We R who we R," the song is a helluva lot of fun.
8. Gym Class Heroes - Ass back home (Ft. Neon Hitch) - I was predisposed against Gym Class Heroes because they partnered with Maroon 5 frontman Adam Levine, who I don't like, for "Stereo Hearts," but Neon Hitch won my heart in "Ass back home" with the absolutely amazing chorus that blows Travie McCoy's two rap verses out of the water. This is one of the songs where the chorus makes the song.
9. Kanye West - All of the lights (Ft. Rihanna, Fergie, Kid Cudi, Elton John, etc.) - Released in January 2011, it is one of the "oldest" songs of the bunch. It's an absolutely epic ensemble anthem, featuring so many vocals that I can't list them all. The most important contributor of the bunch, Rihanna, delivers an awesome chorus, while West's rap verses are delivered in his unique style and somehow makes it more memorable with the matureish content.
10. Adele -Someone like you - After the dreadful "Rolling in the deep," which I was very predisposed against because it kept "Give me everything" from being #1 on the Hot 100 for several weeks and is generally boring, "Someone like you" is an emotional, sad, wrenching, and yes, beautiful. Adele proves her vocal talent is second to none, even if not all of her songs are in my taste. I can respect her even while I change the radio dial for the majority of her songs.
Absent:
LMFAO - Party rock anthem - Okay, it's a fun song, but it's not that good or epic of a song in the way that the other songs on this list are. Leave my radio alone, and give me more Pitbull.
Runner-up:
Roscoe Dash - Good "Good" night - The title is explicit, and so are the lyrics, but this song is killer. You may recognize Roscoe Dash's distinctive voice from hits like "No Hands," and I really dig it. He's not for everyone, and I don't like some of his other songs, but the chorus in this song is great and the bass is awesome.
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