Featuring...well, you'll see.
10. Lana Del Rey - Venice Bitch
Track length: 9:36
UK release date: 18th September 2018
UK chart position: 0
Last decade's chart: N/A
Listens as at 8th October: 40
Gigs this decade: 0
A late entry to this chart! I had my top 100 locked and loaded as of my self-imposed deadline of August 14th this year. Then a trip to Redhill two weeks later had me listening to Lana's new album on the way, and walking round the quiet county town listening to this track on my good headphones as the sun rose, pre-run caffeine coursing through my veins, had me somewhat grumpily rewriting my list. (Then we had several other artists in the top 20 also release new music, but they've not released anything as good as the songs I'd included already.) This track completely surpassed my expectations of Lana (previously thought of unfavourably), being a 70s psych-pop/folk-rock vibe, with a post pop synth outro - not what I thought of from her! The album had several repeat listens that weekend and has turned around my opinion on her completely. I don't know that it would've clicked with me had I listened to it in the background while doing chores, but the combination of mood, weather and attention hit perfectly on that August morning.
A late entry to this chart! I had my top 100 locked and loaded as of my self-imposed deadline of August 14th this year. Then a trip to Redhill two weeks later had me listening to Lana's new album on the way, and walking round the quiet county town listening to this track on my good headphones as the sun rose, pre-run caffeine coursing through my veins, had me somewhat grumpily rewriting my list. (Then we had several other artists in the top 20 also release new music, but they've not released anything as good as the songs I'd included already.) This track completely surpassed my expectations of Lana (previously thought of unfavourably), being a 70s psych-pop/folk-rock vibe, with a post pop synth outro - not what I thought of from her! The album had several repeat listens that weekend and has turned around my opinion on her completely. I don't know that it would've clicked with me had I listened to it in the background while doing chores, but the combination of mood, weather and attention hit perfectly on that August morning.
9. Ariana Grande - One Last Time
Track length: 3:17
UK release date: 10th February 2015
UK chart position: 2 (2017 re-release)
Last decade's chart: N/A
Listens as at 8th October: 65
Gigs this decade: 1
Ooh, a post-apocalyptic pop video! A nice dance-pop tune about Ari pleading for a former lover to spend a final night with her before they move on completely, this probably would not have been high on my radar were it not for the events on her Dangerous Woman tour in Manchester two years ago. A friend of mine put it better than I could in a post at the time, about how the gig "would have been the first gig for so many there; the first real gig; the first gig without a parental chaperone. Becoming an adult; becoming grown-up."
It's impossible for me to listen to the song without thinking of the emotional performance at the OneLove concert in Manchester a fortnight later. The song has taken on a meaning bigger than itself, the hopeful tone becoming less about a final dalliance and more a statement of defiance, of not being cowed by circumstance, of hope for the future and remembrance of the past.
Ooh, a post-apocalyptic pop video! A nice dance-pop tune about Ari pleading for a former lover to spend a final night with her before they move on completely, this probably would not have been high on my radar were it not for the events on her Dangerous Woman tour in Manchester two years ago. A friend of mine put it better than I could in a post at the time, about how the gig "would have been the first gig for so many there; the first real gig; the first gig without a parental chaperone. Becoming an adult; becoming grown-up."
It's impossible for me to listen to the song without thinking of the emotional performance at the OneLove concert in Manchester a fortnight later. The song has taken on a meaning bigger than itself, the hopeful tone becoming less about a final dalliance and more a statement of defiance, of not being cowed by circumstance, of hope for the future and remembrance of the past.
8. Haileeee Steinfeld - Capital Letters
Track length: 3:39
UK release date: 12th January 2018
UK chart position: 39
Last decade's chart: N/A
Listens as at 8th October: 53
Gigs this decade: 1
Let's face it, anything that followed the above was going to struggle. So, we've got my favourite song of last year, an ideal summer song released in January on the soundtrack to a film franchise with issues! I'm genuinely not sure whether Hailee sees herself as an actress or a singer, as she seems to keep bouncing between the two - following support slots in a Katy Perry arena tour with a big budget spin-off movie from a summer blockbuster franchise, or hinting at finally releasing an album only to headline a TV series instead. The music she has put out over the last few years in dribs and drabs has been great enough to keep me on tenterhooks waiting for an album and headline tour, though!
(Also: Love Myself - which is "an empowerment record...ultimately about taking care of yourself and indulging yourself, whether that be emotionally or physically or with material things" and is definitely not about masturbation. Despite the title. And the clothing emblazoned with "self service". And the line "I'm gonna put my body first/And love me so hard 'til it hurts". And the line "I'm gonna touch the pain away/I know how to scream my own name". Definitely just an empowerment record. It's also another Julia Michaels track that missed out on the countdown!)
Gigs this decade: 25
2012 was a fallow year for gigs. Getting to grips with living in Brighton, adjusting to new responsibilities, live music fell by the wayside - until Dana discovered Lucy Rose, through the Brighton tag on Tumblr of all places, and bought us tickets for her gig at a seafront nightclub in town. Did Lucy make a good impression? Well, she's the only artist I've got a gig total in this decade of double figures! It's gotten to the point where we've become friends, where she misses us at London/south east gigs (we've gone along the coast to Southampton, Portsmouth and Ramsgate to see her) and where she's specifically asked to look at our wedding photos.
Note: the "gigs" total above includes the Brussels gig where I passed out three songs in and only recovered for the encore.
(Also: Shiver, a wistful ballad, and Floral Dresses, featuring some terrible over-acting from the handsome yet modest fan portraying the bartender in the video)
Let's face it, anything that followed the above was going to struggle. So, we've got my favourite song of last year, an ideal summer song released in January on the soundtrack to a film franchise with issues! I'm genuinely not sure whether Hailee sees herself as an actress or a singer, as she seems to keep bouncing between the two - following support slots in a Katy Perry arena tour with a big budget spin-off movie from a summer blockbuster franchise, or hinting at finally releasing an album only to headline a TV series instead. The music she has put out over the last few years in dribs and drabs has been great enough to keep me on tenterhooks waiting for an album and headline tour, though!
(Also: Love Myself - which is "an empowerment record...ultimately about taking care of yourself and indulging yourself, whether that be emotionally or physically or with material things" and is definitely not about masturbation. Despite the title. And the clothing emblazoned with "self service". And the line "I'm gonna put my body first/And love me so hard 'til it hurts". And the line "I'm gonna touch the pain away/I know how to scream my own name". Definitely just an empowerment record. It's also another Julia Michaels track that missed out on the countdown!)
7. Lucy Rose - Bikes
Track length: 3:35
UK release date: 14th August 2012
UK chart position: N/A
Last decade's chart: N/A
Listens as at 8th October: 44
2012 was a fallow year for gigs. Getting to grips with living in Brighton, adjusting to new responsibilities, live music fell by the wayside - until Dana discovered Lucy Rose, through the Brighton tag on Tumblr of all places, and bought us tickets for her gig at a seafront nightclub in town. Did Lucy make a good impression? Well, she's the only artist I've got a gig total in this decade of double figures! It's gotten to the point where we've become friends, where she misses us at London/south east gigs (we've gone along the coast to Southampton, Portsmouth and Ramsgate to see her) and where she's specifically asked to look at our wedding photos.
Note: the "gigs" total above includes the Brussels gig where I passed out three songs in and only recovered for the encore.
(Also: Shiver, a wistful ballad, and Floral Dresses, featuring some terrible over-acting from the handsome yet modest fan portraying the bartender in the video)
6. Camila Cabello - Havana
Track length: 3:54
UK release date: 2nd March 2017
UK chart position: 20
Last decade's chart: N/A
Listens as at 8th October: 45
Gigs this decade: 2
It's difficult to write something new about an artist who's featured three times already in this chart. This was a very strong single from someone who had previously only popped up on my radar as the subject of poor jokes referencing her departure from a girl group, and drew my attention (as the other three songs featuring her on this list will demonstrate). The pint-sized Latina quickly became someone to listen to regularly, and while her second album singles were very strong, thankfully they weren't quite as good as Havana so I didn't need to worry about rewriting this rundown!
(Also: Havana live on the Ellen Show, the performance that made me realise with the right team behind her she could push her way out of the second tier and become a superstar; Shameless, the track that made me understand what the kids mean by "thirsty"; and Cry For Me, which (along with Shameless) teased me with the crunching guitars and made me long for a heavier album.)
Gigs this decade: 2
An artist that's probably the last one that hit big, but for who I was ahead of the general public. Not by much, but Selena Gomez's performance of Royals at her Hammersmith Odeon gig in September was about a month before the single hit UK radio, and six weeks before we saw Lorde opening for Iggy Azalea (who dat?) and Bastille at a Vevo gig in Hackney. Lorde's first album was appreciated but not loved by me, but then she released this track as a prelude to her second album, and it blew me away. Her SNL performance took me from intrigued to eagerly anticipating Melodrama, and I remember consciously leaving my motorbike at home so that I could walk into work on the day of release and fully listen to it all. I'm quite verbose but still, I'm in awe at her turn of phrase.
(Also listen to: all of Melodrama)
Gigs this decade: 0
This is my most listened to song on Last.fm, a music tracking site I've been using and contributing to since 2005. Lena won Eurovision (a pan-continental singing competition, sort of a cross between Glee and The Hunger Games) with this song in 2010 and leveraged the ensuing fame into a strong pop career. Sadly she seems to stick to German speaking countries, despite the songs all being recorded in English, but one day I'll see her live. One day.
(Also: Skinny Bitch, a vicious response to press and stan criticism that would make the next artist nod approvingly; and Thank You, a kiss-off anthem unfortunately overshadowed by Ariana's thank u, next being surprise released a fortnight before.)
Gigs this decade: 0
Yes, I'm cheating. My list, my rules to break. I genuinely couldn't choose between these two tales of love - one from the prologue of a relationship, a confident swagger of a woman approaching a potential partner and informing them to break up with their girlfriend, as she's bored; the other a shy plea to be seen, that if they would just witness the heartache that the narrator is going through, not being noticed, having the possible partner distracted by somebody else, they'll see that the narrator is the best choice. (This was very nearly a trilogy until I realised that With Every Heartbeat - a track about post-relationship heartbreak - was released in 2007, and the Pete Tong version featuring Zara Larsson was released too late to be crowbarred in.)
Gigs this decade: 4
I don't think anyone can be surprised to see Taylor so high up. After purchasing a cheap ticket to her O2 gig on the Speak Now tour partly as an excuse for a break after working 10 hour days, six days a week rolling out a new system at work, I was surprised at how effective it was in turning me into a fan. I picked up her three albums cheaply second-hand and delved deeply into her back catalogue. My enthusiasm spread, and caught, with friends realising that I wasn't enjoying her material ironically but genuinely liked it, and thus checked her out themselves. Each subsequent album release was An Event, calendars marked and each eagerly anticipated. She followed up Speak Now with Red's sonically cohesive nature hiding a wistfulness among the pop nature of the singles. Next came her imperial phase - 1989 being the crossover into super-stardom. She was everywhere and had the material to support it (New Romantics, a song that 99% of pop musicians would sell their souls for, was hidden away as a bonus track!) but that blanket coverage had a downside, as some got sick of her and looked to bring her down.
Her response to the backlash, reputation, took a long time, a live show and a helpful nudge from professional wrestling to click with me properly, and is still hindered even now by the guest vocals on track 2. Lover was definitely a return to form and no artist has soundtracked my decade as consistently and thoroughly as Taylor has. With such a wealth of material to choose from, some might be surprised of my choice of song but it encapsulates many things I like about music - building songs to a big climax, storytelling in lyrics, amazing phrasing ("You tell me 'bout your past/thinking your future was me" and "I forget about you long enough/To forget why I needed to") - all in a track surrounded, but not overshadowed by strong singles, in an album that was generally overlooked by award shows and fans.
Also try: blimey, where to start? Check out most of Speak Now (tracks 3 and 5 are rather dreary, and track 10 is a banger that unfortunately hasn't aged well), all of Red except the duets, all of 1989 (deluxe edition - this is very important, as Wonderland/You Are In Love/New Romantics would easily appear in the top 20 of the decade if I didn't have the one song per artist rule), the reputation tour movie on Netflix (and thus reputation the album), and her latest album Lover.
It's difficult to write something new about an artist who's featured three times already in this chart. This was a very strong single from someone who had previously only popped up on my radar as the subject of poor jokes referencing her departure from a girl group, and drew my attention (as the other three songs featuring her on this list will demonstrate). The pint-sized Latina quickly became someone to listen to regularly, and while her second album singles were very strong, thankfully they weren't quite as good as Havana so I didn't need to worry about rewriting this rundown!
(Also: Havana live on the Ellen Show, the performance that made me realise with the right team behind her she could push her way out of the second tier and become a superstar; Shameless, the track that made me understand what the kids mean by "thirsty"; and Cry For Me, which (along with Shameless) teased me with the crunching guitars and made me long for a heavier album.)
5. Lorde - Green Light
Track length: 3:54
UK release date: 2nd March 2017
UK chart position: 20
Last decade's chart: N/A
Listens as at 8th October: 45
An artist that's probably the last one that hit big, but for who I was ahead of the general public. Not by much, but Selena Gomez's performance of Royals at her Hammersmith Odeon gig in September was about a month before the single hit UK radio, and six weeks before we saw Lorde opening for Iggy Azalea (who dat?) and Bastille at a Vevo gig in Hackney. Lorde's first album was appreciated but not loved by me, but then she released this track as a prelude to her second album, and it blew me away. Her SNL performance took me from intrigued to eagerly anticipating Melodrama, and I remember consciously leaving my motorbike at home so that I could walk into work on the day of release and fully listen to it all. I'm quite verbose but still, I'm in awe at her turn of phrase.
(Also listen to: all of Melodrama)
4. Lena - Satellite
Track length: 2:55
UK release date: 13th March 2010
UK chart position: N/A
Last decade's chart: N/A
Listens as at 8th October: 262
This is my most listened to song on Last.fm, a music tracking site I've been using and contributing to since 2005. Lena won Eurovision (a pan-continental singing competition, sort of a cross between Glee and The Hunger Games) with this song in 2010 and leveraged the ensuing fame into a strong pop career. Sadly she seems to stick to German speaking countries, despite the songs all being recorded in English, but one day I'll see her live. One day.
(Also: Skinny Bitch, a vicious response to press and stan criticism that would make the next artist nod approvingly; and Thank You, a kiss-off anthem unfortunately overshadowed by Ariana's thank u, next being surprise released a fortnight before.)
3. Robyn - Call Your Girlfriend / Dancing On My Own
Track length: 3:46 / 4:45
UK release date: 1st April 2011 / 1st June 2010
UK chart position: 55 / 8
Last decade's chart: N/A
Listens as at 8th October: 119 / 125
Yes, I'm cheating. My list, my rules to break. I genuinely couldn't choose between these two tales of love - one from the prologue of a relationship, a confident swagger of a woman approaching a potential partner and informing them to break up with their girlfriend, as she's bored; the other a shy plea to be seen, that if they would just witness the heartache that the narrator is going through, not being noticed, having the possible partner distracted by somebody else, they'll see that the narrator is the best choice. (This was very nearly a trilogy until I realised that With Every Heartbeat - a track about post-relationship heartbreak - was released in 2007, and the Pete Tong version featuring Zara Larsson was released too late to be crowbarred in.)
2. Taylor Swift - All Too Well
Track length: 5:29
UK release date: 22nd October 2012
UK chart position: N/A
Last decade's chart: N/A
Listens as at 8th October: 59
I don't think anyone can be surprised to see Taylor so high up. After purchasing a cheap ticket to her O2 gig on the Speak Now tour partly as an excuse for a break after working 10 hour days, six days a week rolling out a new system at work, I was surprised at how effective it was in turning me into a fan. I picked up her three albums cheaply second-hand and delved deeply into her back catalogue. My enthusiasm spread, and caught, with friends realising that I wasn't enjoying her material ironically but genuinely liked it, and thus checked her out themselves. Each subsequent album release was An Event, calendars marked and each eagerly anticipated. She followed up Speak Now with Red's sonically cohesive nature hiding a wistfulness among the pop nature of the singles. Next came her imperial phase - 1989 being the crossover into super-stardom. She was everywhere and had the material to support it (New Romantics, a song that 99% of pop musicians would sell their souls for, was hidden away as a bonus track!) but that blanket coverage had a downside, as some got sick of her and looked to bring her down.
Her response to the backlash, reputation, took a long time, a live show and a helpful nudge from professional wrestling to click with me properly, and is still hindered even now by the guest vocals on track 2. Lover was definitely a return to form and no artist has soundtracked my decade as consistently and thoroughly as Taylor has. With such a wealth of material to choose from, some might be surprised of my choice of song but it encapsulates many things I like about music - building songs to a big climax, storytelling in lyrics, amazing phrasing ("You tell me 'bout your past/thinking your future was me" and "I forget about you long enough/To forget why I needed to") - all in a track surrounded, but not overshadowed by strong singles, in an album that was generally overlooked by award shows and fans.
Also try: blimey, where to start? Check out most of Speak Now (tracks 3 and 5 are rather dreary, and track 10 is a banger that unfortunately hasn't aged well), all of Red except the duets, all of 1989 (deluxe edition - this is very important, as Wonderland/You Are In Love/New Romantics would easily appear in the top 20 of the decade if I didn't have the one song per artist rule), the reputation tour movie on Netflix (and thus reputation the album), and her latest album Lover.
1. Bella Thorne - Bitch, I'm Bella Thorne
YouTube (NSFW, but if you get fired for listening to this classic, it's not a job that deserves you) // Spotify
Track length: 3:14
UK release date: 18th May 2018
UK chart position: N/A
Last decade's chart: N/A
Listens as at 8th October: 269
Gigs this decade: 0 (sadly)
Of course it is.
Of course it is. Who else would it be?
Who else has run away with my music tastes throughout the decade, who I've tweeted too much about, who I've been completely dedicated to, who my fever for has gone higher and higher since the first time I listened to her? It just feels right, she gives me everything I need, for sure. Now that I found her it's like finding my favourite colour, she was there when I needed her, you could say I really like her.
1. Carly Rae Jepsen - Run Away With Me
Gigs this decade: 3
Of course it is.
Of course it is. Who else would it be?
Who else has run away with my music tastes throughout the decade, who I've tweeted too much about, who I've been completely dedicated to, who my fever for has gone higher and higher since the first time I listened to her? It just feels right, she gives me everything I need, for sure. Now that I found her it's like finding my favourite colour, she was there when I needed her, you could say I really like her.
1. Carly Rae Jepsen - Run Away With Me
Track length: 4:11
UK release date: 17th July 2015
UK chart position: 58 (SCANDELOUS)
Last decade's chart: N/A
Listens as at 8th October: 102
Of course it's Carly. Initially dismissed as a one hit wonder with Call Me Maybe in the early part of the decade, I ignored her until a work trip left me kicking my heels in a hotel room in Warrington. Dana suggested (in that lovingly direct way of hers) that I give Carly's new album, Emotion, a try. And then another listen. And another. I had it on repeat on the five hour train ride home the next day. I travelled up to London mid-afternoon to get to her gig hours before doors opened, on a cold and bitter December day, in order to get Dana and I a decent spot. Emotion became the yardstick against which all other albums would be subsequently judged (it's been noted that the two Taylor Swift albums that have been released after Emotion have not clicked with me in the same way as the ones before have).
It seeped into other areas of my life as well. One Saturday morning I cued up a playlist for a run consisting of related songs (Born To Run, Foxes' Feet Don't Fail Me Now) which included this track. When the saxophone opener blared out, I felt myself relax. My pace quickened, and the muscle aches faded away. I had conditioned my body to release endorphins at the sound of this song. Across the 71,000 tracks I've scrobbled, and the hundreds and thousands (if not millions!) of songs I've listened to over the 35 years I've been alive, there are very few songs that have such an instant gratifying effect on my mind, my body, my soul - and certainly none that have been released this decade.
Also try: look, if the above hasn't convinced you to listen to Emotion then nothing I say here will. We are truly blessed to be living at the same time as Carly is releasing new music. Even the collection of off-cuts from the album (Side B) has songs that far exceeded other artists' entire discography. And to prove she's not just a flash in the pan Carly's latest album, Dedicated, shows a career maturity in an album of unskippable songs.)
It seeped into other areas of my life as well. One Saturday morning I cued up a playlist for a run consisting of related songs (Born To Run, Foxes' Feet Don't Fail Me Now) which included this track. When the saxophone opener blared out, I felt myself relax. My pace quickened, and the muscle aches faded away. I had conditioned my body to release endorphins at the sound of this song. Across the 71,000 tracks I've scrobbled, and the hundreds and thousands (if not millions!) of songs I've listened to over the 35 years I've been alive, there are very few songs that have such an instant gratifying effect on my mind, my body, my soul - and certainly none that have been released this decade.
Also try: look, if the above hasn't convinced you to listen to Emotion then nothing I say here will. We are truly blessed to be living at the same time as Carly is releasing new music. Even the collection of off-cuts from the album (Side B) has songs that far exceeded other artists' entire discography. And to prove she's not just a flash in the pan Carly's latest album, Dedicated, shows a career maturity in an album of unskippable songs.)
