30. Katy Perry - Teenage Dream
Track length: 3:47
UK release date: 23rd July 2010
UK chart position: 2
Last decade's chart: 56
Listens as at 8th October: 38
Gigs this decade: 2
Also known as Katy's imperial phase. This was the second single from the eponymous album, and the second US number one of a run of five from the same album - only the second to do it (after Michael Jackson's Bad). This is Katy Perry at the top of her game, playful and sexy, confident and coy, at once aloof and relatable. Subsequent albums have been patchy and chasing trends, which have dulled her star somewhat, but Teenage Dream (the song, the album, the tour) remains a highlight of the decade.
(Also: California Girls, the single that announced this era. Featuring Sasha Banks' cousin on additional vocals, it's redolent of a more optimistic time. Also try Roulette, which I know I plugged in the "missing out" section but it deserves more love. Even if the dice/playing card motifs in the live set suggest that they're not exactly sure how to play the game.)
(Also: California Girls, the single that announced this era. Featuring Sasha Banks' cousin on additional vocals, it's redolent of a more optimistic time. Also try Roulette, which I know I plugged in the "missing out" section but it deserves more love. Even if the dice/playing card motifs in the live set suggest that they're not exactly sure how to play the game.)
29. Little Mix - Shout Out To My Ex
Track length: 4:06
UK release date: 16th October 2016
UK chart position: 1
Last decade's chart: N/A
Listens as at 8th October: 20
Gigs this decade: 1
Three years on I'm still in awe at this song. A strong opener for a new era, it not only fires back at tabloid rumours about how the split between Perrie Edwards and her former fiancee Zayn Malik went down (and that's the only time you'll see him mentioned here), it also works perfectly as a dancefloor filler for scorned women. It's the track that made me take notice of a girl group I'd written off as reality TV fodder.
28. Paramore - Renegade
Track length: 3:28
UK release date: 11th October 2011
UK chart position: N/A
Last decade's chart: 54
Listens as at 8th October: 58
Gigs this decade: 3
It's been a tumultuous decade for Paramore. Only one band member has remained with the band for the full ten years, with both Farro brothers quitting (and one later returning) at the start of the decade. This track was the lead single from an EP written in response to their departure, and released to demonstrate to fans how little the band would be affected by them leaving. Their sound did mature as the last few years went on, away from the Paramore sound that I prefer, but this track is still a banger. (Ended up writing this entry on Hayley Williams' birthday. Procrastination pays off!)
(Also: Monster, another track from the Singles Club EP, which features a superb drum kick at 2:50, and Still Into You - a lovely track clearly written about a person which will now be amended to be about the fans)
(Also: Monster, another track from the Singles Club EP, which features a superb drum kick at 2:50, and Still Into You - a lovely track clearly written about a person which will now be amended to be about the fans)
27. Shawn Mendes ft. Camila Cabello - Senorita
Track length: 3:10
UK release date: 21st June 2019 (joint newest track!)
UK chart position: 1
Last decade's chart: N/A
Listens as at 8th October: 8
Gigs this decade: 0
We'll never know how much of their relationship is true, or promotional. But, given how this is just "Especially For You" for Generation Z, I'm not going to think about it too much, or make fun of anyone for how legitimate they believe it is. This is a cracker of a song, a great summer tune with Latin influences - one of those songs that I heard being played everywhere this summer and never once got bored of. Could that be due to Camila's vocals? Count up her number of appearances on this list and you'll have your answer.
26. Jonas Brothers - Sucker
Track length: 3:01
UK release date: 1st March 2019
UK chart position: 4
Last decade's chart: N/A
Listens as at 8th October: 11
Gigs this decade: 0 (happy, Mina?)
Another nice segue - from this decade's cover star of "Non-Threatening Boys" magazine, to last decade's! Another act I've been aware of, through relationships with my pop girls (Nick for having songs written about him by Miley and Selena, Joe for the same with Taylor and Aly Michalka, and Kevin...well) but it wasn't until their reunion this year, launched with this belter, that I properly gave them their dues. The Disney boy band have become men.
25. Kacey Musgraves - High Horse
Track length: 3:33
UK release date: 26th June 2018
UK chart position: N/A
Last decade's chart: N/A
Listens as at 8th October: 8
Gigs this decade: 0
I'd heard a couple of Kacey tracks before the Sigrid gig in November last year, Shazamed them to listen to them properly later on, and promptly forgot. It wasn't until Dana suggested that I check out her album Golden Hour early this year that I properly appreciated my favourite Bella twin - it's a great country album, without the problematic tinges that affect country music. (For example, the line in this track "you're classic in the wrong way" - *chef's kiss*) I do wish she'd stop taking jabs at Taylor, but I can imagine the constant lazy comparisons might get a tad wearing (I've seen similar complaints from any rock band with a female vocalist being incessantly compared to Paramore).
(Also: Follow Your Arrow - Kacey sets herself apart from the other country barbies by not sticking to the drug-free, anti-LGBT country message)
(Also: Follow Your Arrow - Kacey sets herself apart from the other country barbies by not sticking to the drug-free, anti-LGBT country message)
24. Fifth Harmony - That's My Girl
Track length: 3:23
UK release date: 27th September 2016
UK chart position: 26
Last decade's chart: N/A
Listens as at 8th October: 35
Gigs this decade: 0
Discovering Camila Cabello's solo efforts sent me scurrying off through her back catalogue, eager to devour more of her work. This inevitably led me onto Fifth Harmony, a band I'd previously only recognised in a sly Tove Lo lyrics, and appreciating their output properly. (Over the last few years I've stopped trying to hide my love of pop music.) Surprisingly, considering my entry point, my favourite 5H track is one that barely features Camila outside of some backing lines and vocal flourishes. That's My Girl is a proper anthem; a hands-in-the-air appreciation track that probably wasn't a response to a CW show lightly poking fun at their approach to feminism but never fails to boost my mood whenever I listen to it. Despite not being a girl.
(Also: Work From Home, an ode to the benefits of not commuting, including but not limited to: reduced environmental impact, mental health improvements, a healthy work/life balance, and getting absolutely railed.)
(Also: Work From Home, an ode to the benefits of not commuting, including but not limited to: reduced environmental impact, mental health improvements, a healthy work/life balance, and getting absolutely railed.)
23. Jenny Lewis - Just One Of The Guys
Track length: 3:51
UK release date: 3rd June 2014
UK chart position: N/A
Last decade's chart: 18
Listens as at 8th October: 30
Gigs this decade: 4
One of my favourite singers featuring Anne Hathaway, Brie Larson and Kristen Stewart (two Oscar winners, and a future winner) in the video. I don't need to say anything more.
22. Echosmith - Cool Kids
Track length: 3:57
UK release date: 31st May 2013
UK chart position: 17
Last decade's chart: N/A
Listens as at 8th October: 56
Gigs this decade: 1
Looking through my Last.fm stats for Echosmith, they seem to have an increase in listens every spring. The days get sunnier, the evenings get lighter, the temperature warmer, and that optimism and uptick in mood is perfectly reflected by the Sierota clan. They've never been able to top the track that launched them into the general public's consciousness but when you've got a song this good in your catalogue you don't need to.
21. Bruce Springsteen - American Skin (41 Shots)
Track length: 7:22
UK release date: 14th January 2014
UK chart position: N/A
Last decade's chart: 34
Listens as at 8th October: 8
Gigs this decade: 1
One thing I've become aware of over the last ten years is how many artists choose to use their platform for the power of good. Mr Springsteen had a working class childhood (as detailed in his excellent biography Born To Run) but other than that, as a white male, you'd not expect him to have faced much prejudice. It's good to see him using his fame to raise awareness of the police shooting of an unarmed black man (Amadou Diallo) and the issues that his audience may be too privileged to be aware of.
Next time...a duet between two artists you'll be full on shocked to see here, the last male vocalists on the list, and artists from Albania, Sweden, Iceland and Norway. It's like Eurovision, but sober.
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