So...I am glad I haven't been around to do any Billboard chart updates because the scourge of 2011 has been topping the charts for much of the summer. Why anyone likes that song will forever be beyond me...it's basic, common, and quite annoying tbh...and still sits at #2...but anyway...
Congratulations are in for LEGENDTINA AGUILERA!! She has finally followed up her 2001 #1 hit Lady Marmalade with another song, making her one of the few elite artists to have a #1 hit in three decades! And she did it all by herself! Isn't that amaz....wait, what? Oh...hmm....it appears she didn't actually pull this off on her own...in fact she is only a feature? Well while this is still exciting, let's not all get too crazy and call this a comeback...the Lady of X still has to find a way to put out an album that people care about after the Bionic Massacre. I am crossing my fingers because I love singers who yell and strain like her...but the battle is not over yet.
As mentioned in the previous post, Foster The People hit #3 for the first time with their first single! How nice for them...I do love to see diversity on the charts, and Pumped Up Kicks more than deserves its spot on it. Good for you! Following FTP is Bad Meets Evil's Bruno Mars assisted Lighters. This sort of surprises me that people have taken to this song the way the have, but it is one of the better cuts on that album and I love me some Bruno, so I am happy with this. Rounding out the Top 5 is Katy Perry's Last Friday Night, tumbling all the way from #1. But that desperate Missy Elliot remix did it's purpose in getting Slutty Perry her 5th #1 and tying Michael Jackson's record...and during his birthday week on top of it! Bitch has no shame!!
The rest of the Top 10 is complete shit, save Her Minajesty's infectious Super Bass, so I will not be speaking on that. I just...I can't you guys. I can't talk about the drivel that has been infecting our Hot 100 for much of this year. I refuse.
Oh!!! But!!! Couple of other quick notes:
1) Barbra Streisand has landed at #4 with her latest album What Matters Most...an incredible achievement if you think about how small her market is at this point. It also makes her the first artist to have a Top 10 album in 6 decades. Thank you America for still having a vestige of taste! (Game's album is #1 so most of the taste is gone, of course)
2) There is a new chart in town: the K-POP HOT 100!!!!! So now all of you people desperate for some stunning k-pop can check out what the current hot singles are...thank you Billboard!
Indie it-group-of-the-moment Foster the People celebrate their most recent achievement of hitting #3 on the Billboard Hot 100 by sitting down with Bing to describe their short journey to superstardom. Most of the time when bands like this get success we all have to hear their many gripe stories of all the tiny gigs and shitty tour buses they had to endure before hitting it big....FTP on the other hand, formed in 2009, and are already at the top of the indie rock game. Personally I love these guys and their album, so I am happy they became successful sooner rather than later. Catch their video below!
The Saturdays, girl group not-so-extraordinaire (I kid...love these girls), took to British morning show This Morning to perform their latest hit, the generic but fun and hit-worthy All Fired Up. The girls sounded good, but typically don't have the most exciting performances. Rochelle and Vanessa always sing on point...I just wish more time had been put into Notorious...it is one of my one of my favorite songs of the year and didn't get the shine it deserved. Check out the girls performance here!
Hey all!
I know we have been coming back and going away again a few times, which makes for inconsistent blogging...but I'm working on new systems to be able to keep up with it and keep up to date with things easier even when things get hectic! So hopefully this will be the last "return" I do for a long time!
So earlier this week we delivered the Top 10 albums released in 2011...so now we wanted to treat you ADD chil'ren with the Top 50 songs RELEASED in 2011. Meaning, a song like E.T. that was released on Teenage Dream last year is no eligible for this list. There might be a couple songs which were technically released as a single in December, but if it is on an album released this year, we still counted it. Also, this is not a singles list, so there are album tracks on here as well as singles. I hope you enjoy, and look forward to hearing what you all think of our list!
1)Lady GaGa – The Edge of Glory
An audio parade, no song hit me this year so far the way EOG did. It is a joyful anthem complete with saxophone solos, elevated vocals from GaGa, and is one of the best songs we have heard from the Lady ever. Sure, the video sucked, but that doesn’t stop me from screaming like a 14 year old stan when it comes on in a club!
2)Adele – Someone Like You
Where EOG grabbed me with elation on first listen, I remember when Adele premiered this song on the Jools Holland show late last year and it put me on the opposite spectrum of emotions. I didn’t even have anyone to relate the lyrics to as many do, but I was immediately emotional. I watched it for hours that night, just watching her sing and mean every single syllable of the song, and even get a bit misty near the end. It was a small sample of what was to come with 21, but remains Adele’s finest moment of what will be a long and stunning career.
3)Britney Spears – Hold It Against Me
As I mentioned in my albums post, I am not Britney fan. But when this demo popped up, I played it out like it was the first dance song I had ever heard. And then came the final product. I played it over 100 times in just one day, and to this day it is the best dance song made this year. Britney hasn’t sounded so natural, sexy, and confident in a while without the help of auto-tune, and the dubstep breakdown is enough to be using the trend without being drowned out by it. One of Britney’s best songs in years, and definitely the best off of her sub-par album. But with singles like this, how could I hold it against her?
4)Jennifer Lopez – On The Floor feat Pitbull
One of the most surprising and undeniable hits of the year is JLo’s Stereo Love rip-off. She came back hard with a stunning video, a hot dance routine, and live singing during her performances. Oh, and that chorus. THAT CHORUS. I swear I can’t get my speakers loud enough when the chanting begins. Months and months after the fact, it is still exciting to hear in a club and while her 2nd single and album aren’t doing the numbers I am sure Miss Jenny would like, she can be happy that she has made one of the finest club songs of this entire EuroPop era.
5)Beyonce – Run The World (Girls)
This song being so high on the list might surprise people. The song flopped! The sample is nowhere near subtle! I don’t care. If I didn’t love it when it premiered (I did), and the video wasn’t undeniably flawless (it is), and her performances hadn’t been anything short of career defining (they are)…at the heart is still a drag queenly, hair flipping, dancing, good ass time. Pon de Floor and all of the Major Lazer brand of dance music has been on my iPod for a couple years now, and I don’t mind hearing Beyonce growl and yelp all over it. It was a perfect pairing, and all of the visuals that go along with it were just amazing bonuses.
6)Emmylou Harris- The Road
Emmylou is like a successful Stevie Nicks (I KID!). But, their earthy, folky auras have always reminded me of each other. But whereas the First Lady of Fleetwood Mac went the way of a mystical witch, Emmylou has resigned herself to become this musical fairy figure in the country and folk world. She is at any festival she can find in the country, she is singing light backing vocals on any numbers of artists’ songs, all the while using her flawlessly light and aged soprano voice to put out her own wistful music. The Road is one of her finest moments in years, and also one of her weariest. “So I carried on, you can’t be haunted by the past. People come, people go, and nothing ever lasts,” Harris sings on this track with the type of authority that only comes with the wisdom of old age. Please Emmylou…keep it coming.
7)Adele – Rolling in the Deep
If Someone Like You is the primary song choice for Adele when she is wistfully mourning the end of her relationship, Rolling in the Deep is one of the fiercest and most knocking break-up jams post-Since U Been Gone. “See how I’ll leave with every piece of you, don’t underestimate the things that I will do,” she threatens to her ex, making it clear that her broken heart will not go unavenged. It is the perfect album opener, and the biggest song of 2011 so far. I dare you to not tap your foot along to it.
8)Lady GaGa – You & I
I surprised even myself when I put this song so far up on the list. We have been hearing this song from GaGa’s tour for about a year now, and while the tour version sounded like another rehash of Speechless which was a rehash of Brown Eyes, the heavily produced version on the album is far different. It is a Southern rock anthem that has a direction that I could see GaGa going in and being quite successful. It is a well-written song, sung to perfection, and has an authentic pub sing-a-long feel to it. Is it as good as Speechless is in terms of GaGa ballads? No. But it is far and above most of the songs on the album, and one of the best songs of the year.
9)Beyonce – Schoolin’ Life
I knew another Bey song had to make my top 10. Was it going to be the gleeful 90s throwback Love On Top? The dramatic and sung-for-filth Best Thing I Never Had? No. It had to be this one. I like when Beyonce gets ghetto, and I LOVE it when she brings sassy Sasha to the table. This track oozes in spunkiness, and is one of the instant classics of this era. Who needs a degree when Beyonce schools us in life?
10)The Saturdays – Notorious
My favorite girl group around right now has unleashed their lead single for their upcoming single, and it is quite the choon. More attitude and bumpin beats than one track ever deserves to have, these chicks DELIVERED on this one, stating in no uncertain terms that they are the baddest bitches around. And I am inclined to believe.
11) Explosions in the Sky - Human Qualities
12) Nicole Scherzinger - Poison
13) Wynter Gordon - Still Getting Younger
14) Alison Krauss & Union Station - Dimming of the Day
15) Beyonce - Love On Top
16) Kreayshawn - Gucci Gucci
17) Beth Ditto - Open Heart Surgery
18) Dr Dre ft Skylar Grey & Eminem - I Need a Doctor
19) Dev - In The Dark
20) Kelly Rowland ft. Lil Wayne - Motivation
21) Natalia Kills - Mirrors
22) Blake Shelton - Honey Bee
23) Beyonce - Best Thing I Never Had
24) Lady GaGa - Schiße
25) Adele - Set Fire to the Rain
26) Wynter Gordon - Til Death
27) The Low Anthem - I'll Take Out Your Ashes
28) Chris Brown ft. Justin Bieber - Next 2 You
29) Katy B ft. Ms Dynamite - Lights On
30) Lady GaGa - Born This Way
31) Nicole Scherzinger - Don't Hold Your Breath
32) Adele - Take It All
33) Clare Maguire - Last Dance
34) Swizz Beatz ft Eve - Everyday (Coolin')
35) Lissie - Oh Mississippi
36) Bright Eyes - Ladder Song
37) Lupe Fiasco ft. Skylar Grey - Words I Never Said
38) Britney Spears - How I Roll
39) Alex Gaudino ft. Kelly Rowland - What A Feeling
40) Jennifer Hudson - I Remember Me
41) Trina ft. T-Pain - Ghetto
42) Alison Krauss & Union Station - Paper Airplane
43) Mohombi ft. Nicole Scherzinger - Coconut Tree
44) Jordin Sparks - I Am Woman
45) Coldplay - Every Teardrop Is A Waterfall
46) Dierks Bentley - Rovin' Gambler (with the Punch Brothers)
So, over here on Better Than Ya Faves, we listen to a lot of new music every day. 2011 has been a particularly music heavy year in every genre of music, and it has been hard to sift through the good vs the bad. But now that we are officially halfway through the year, we decided to put together a list of the best albums that have come so far. It was tough especially because how do you compare a dance heavy album like Britney Spear's Femme Fatale against an acoustic folk album like Gillian Welch's The Harrow and the Harvest? Well, there is no real science. So obviously people will disagree with the order of some of this (Court disagrees on most of this post, in fact), but after much deliberation, this is what I have come up with. Please leave your comments and thoughts on what you think of my list!
1)Beyonce – 4
Most of us Beyonce stans assumed that she would come in and dominate a large part of the year…but I don’t think any of us expected what was to come. 2 flop singles, 3 week early album leaks, and an album of lower tempo, non-commercial song choices. The most unexpected part, however, is how perfectly it works. After I personally nixed a couple of the ballads after adding in the spectacular deluxe tracks, 4 has become the sleeper album of the year so far, encompassing a whole range of emotions and sounds while Beyonce shows off vocals better than she has in her entire illustrious career. All hail, King B.
2)Adele – 21
What else is there to say about the most successful album of this year? Adele not only avoided the sophomore slump coming off of her Grammy winning debut album, she emerged from the neo-soul British revolution from a few years ago as the leader. On 21, Adele took her first life-changing relationship’s end and channeled it into one of the most poignant, heartbreaking, and relatable break-up album we have seen for some time. Hearts across the world have connected to this near perfect album, and trust me when I say that Adele is just getting started.
3)Wynter Gordon - With the Music I Die
Having just finished my review for this album, I don’t want to retread too much. I will just point out that this is the best dance album to come out this year, absolutely perfect in its compact tracklist. Wynter’s debut shows an abundance of intelligence, spunk, and soul all while keeping us moving on the dancefloor. A rare accomplishment by any pop artist, much less a newcomer like Ms Gordon…but impeccably done regardless.
4)Lady GaGa - Born This Way
The most talked about, most hyped album of the year with the biggest promo campaign by the biggest popstar on the planet right now. Born This Way was always going to be an event from the moment GaGa began foolishly bragging about it over a year ago. Does it live up to its reputation? No. It is a scattered, schizophrenic collection of songs more than it is a cohesive album, and much of the 17 tracks are either filler or simply don’t belong with the other tracks. However, there are enough brilliant moments that either harken back to the GaGa we used to love or show a glimmer of the GaGa that this album COULD have introduced to make it still one of the year’s best releases.
5)Gillian Welch - The Harrow & The Harvest
My favorite folk artist is finally back on track! With 2 flawlessly haunting, Appalachian roots albums to start her career, her albums since then have come up a little flat. Harrow & the Harvest is the one that can measure up to her earlier work, and even has the potential to best them. Written with the usual talent of conjuring the dustbowls of America to the listener’s mind, Gillian serenades us with a series of songs that any folk listener can appreciate over and over.
6)Nicole Scherzinger - Killer Love
Maybe I am biased. Maybe I was rooting for Nicole so hard for so long that this album isn’t as good as I think it is. But her success in the UK show that maybe it is not the case. Nicole picks a roster of mostly Red One tracks to serve as her first official debut album post Pussycat Dolls. It is a loud, boisterous dancefloor-filler type of album, with smart lyrics and absolutely killer vocal delivery. Nicole has one of the most powerful and distinctive voices in pop, and boy can she wail on a big dance track. And yet it is on the softer songs like the gorgeous Amenjena that the listener is able to hear exactly what Nicole is capable of, and it is those moments that snagged her this spot on my Top 10.
7)Britney Spears - Femme Fatale
A Britney fan, I AIN’T. I maintain that she has always been one of the most overhyped, over produced, and overrated pop females of all time. Sure I love a lot of her music, but not only does that have very little to do with her, but it is often in SPITE of her that I like it. This set of songs is no different. Certain songs such as Hold It Against Me, How I Roll, and Gasoline are brilliant, others like Inside Out and Big Fat Bass make for the most derivative and boring dance songs this side of LMFAO. However, enough moments shine to make this album a Top 10 Album contender and even if she has been delegated to not much more than a Singles Artist at this point, there are enough singles to keep this album afloat for quite a few months to come.
8)Explosions in the Sky - Take Care Take Care Take Care
The world’s most successful post-rock band presented their first album since they hit it big with the Friday Night Lights theme song and really being one of the only bands of the genre to break out. Accordingly, it is their most mainstream album with more heart in it than their usual shadow casting and dark sounding sounds. Of course, even at their most mainstream they remain a relatively niche band. No vocals, 8-10 min long songs…but one listen to the stand-out “Human Qualities” should leave any doubters wondering if perhaps EITS are on to something. And that thing is that no singer is needed to make one of the most humanizing albums of the year.
9)Chris Brown – FAME
It’s been a long road for my man Breezy. We all know it happened. We all know it is not to be forgiven or forgotten. But perhaps it is time to let him get on with his life…he has done his time and has worked ceaselessly with mixtapes and features to get back in the public’s good graces. All of it leading up to FAME…possibly his most urban outing yet. This time around, Chris is rapping. Chris is singing. Chris is clubbing. It is a bit all over the place for me, and yet still manages to stay low energy for the most part. He is reported to be following this up with his Fortune LP later this year…if it can fix the problems with FAME, this just might be Breezy’s biggest year yet.
10)Alison Krauss & Union Station - Paper Airplane
The lady with the most Grammy’s in history has left her solo outings behind and returned to her band, Union Station. While I maintain that her male counterpart should let Alison take care of the singing on all of the songs because her voice is LITERALLY that of an angel’s, this is a mostly delicate, fragile, and masterful folk album that breaks your heart over and over again. It may not have the full heft or heart of the other heartbreak queen of the year, but it certainly has more poise. I wouldn’t be surprised or upset if this album snatched Grammy for Album of the Year in 2012, even if it only makes #10 on this list.
The real winner of this past season of American Idol, Pia Toscano, is ready to come show the vocal lessers like Adele and Celine Dion how to knock a song out of the park! It has been confirmed that she has been signed to Interscope and her first single will drop next week. It's called This Time, and is written by one of the most flawless writers in the industry: Ester Dean. Known for smashes like S&M, What's My Name and Super Bass, as well album tracks like Xtina's Vanity, Ester is best when writing sassy and sexy radio fodder.
This is great news because the only valid complaint about Pia during Idol was that she was slightly boring...so with the right spunky song she can finally smash the way she is supposed to! I am rooting for ya Piamazing!
