A Year In Pop: The Final Reckoning

[freakytigger.livejournal.com]

Here are the 50 top non-reissues (FSVO reissue) from the Top 40 polls last year, with their position in the reader's poll also indicated. By all means ask in the comments box if there are any other songs you want to know the fate of. The scoring system took into account both % of votes and # of voters.

1. Rihanna - "Umbrella" (Readers Poll: 1st) (TOP TRACK FOR MAY)
2. Girls Aloud - "Call The Shots" (RP: 9th) (TOP TRACK FOR NOV)
3. Aly & AJ - "Potential Break Up Song" (RP: 2nd) (TOP TRACK FOR OCT)
4. Girls Aloud - "Sexy! No No No" (RP: 18th) (TOP TRACK FOR SEP)
5. Robyn ft Kleerup - "With Every Heartbeat" (RP: 7th) (TOP TRACK FOR AUG)
6. CSS - "Let's Make Love And Listen To Death From Above" (RP: No Votes)
7. Rihanna - "Shut Up And Drive" (RP: -) (TOP TRACK FOR JUL)
8. Britney Spears - "Gimme More" (RP: 5th)
9. The Gossip - "Standing In The Way Of Control" (RP: -) (TOP TRACK FOR JAN)
10. Amerie - "Take Control" (RP: -) (TOP TRACK FOR APR)
11. Amy Winehouse - "Back In Black" (RP: -)
12. Kylie Minogue - "2 Hearts" (RP: -)
13. Amerie - Gotta Work (RP: 10th)
14. Groove Armada ft Mutya Buena - "Song 4 Mutya" (RP: 15th)
15. Avril Lavigne - "Girlfriend" (RP: 4th) (TOP TRACK FOR MAR)
16. Roisin Murphy - "Let Me Know" (RP: -)
17. Dizzee Rascal - "Flex" (RP: -)
18=. Robyn - "Handle Me" (RP: -)
18=. Rihanna - "Don't Stop The Music" (RP: -)(TOP TRACK FOR DEC)
20=. Amy Winehouse - "Tears Dry On Their Own" (RP: -)
20=. Eve - "Tambourine" (RP: 48th)
22. Sugababes - "About You Now" (RP: -)
23. Peter Bjorn & John ft Bergsman - "Young Folks" (RP: -)
24. Mark Ronson ft D Merryweather - "Stop Me" (RP: -)
25. Justin Timberlake - "What Goes Around Comes Around" (RP: -) (TOP TRACK FOR FEB)
26. Leona Lewis - "Bleeding Love" (RP: 45th)
27. Dizzee Rascal - "Pussyole" (RP: 24th)
28. McFly - "Babys Coming Back"/"Transylvania" (RP: -)
39. Amy Winehouse - "You Know I'm No Good" (RP: -)
30. LCD Soundsystem - "North American Scum" (RP: -)
31=. Sophie Ellis Bextor - "Catch You" (RP: -)
31=. Sophie Ellis Bextor - "Me And My Imagination" (RP: -)
33=. Timbaland ft Nelly Furtado - "Give It To Me" (RP: -)
33=. Rihanna - "Hate That I Love You" (RP: -)
35. Dizzee Rascal - "Sirens" (RP: -)
36. Lady Sovereign - "Love Me Or Hate Me" (RP: -)
37. Long Blondes - "Giddy Stratospheres" (RP: -)
38. White Stripes - "Icky Thump" (RP: -) (TOP TRACK FOR JUN)
39. T2 ft Jodie Aysha - "Heartbroken" (RP: 20th)
40. Ciara - "Like A Boy" (RP: -)
41. Timbaland ft Doe/Keri Hilson - "The Way I Are" (RP: 33rd)
42. Natasha Bedingfield - "I Wanna Have Your Babies" (RP: 29th)
43. Unklejam - "What Am I Fighting For" (RP: -)
44. My Chemical Romance - "Teenagers" (RP: -)
45. Justin Timberlake - "Lovestoned" (RP: -)
46. Feist - "1234" (RP: 40th)
47. Kanye West - "Stronger" (RP: 14th)
48. Nelly Furtado - "Say It Right" (RP: 32nd)
49. Gwen Stefani - "The Sweet Escape" (RP: -)
50. Christina Aguilera - "Candyman" (RP: -)

(Note: if voting stays as is, "Piece Of Me" would come top of this poll.)

Comments

[atommickbrane.livejournal.com]

I think you have a stats problem. I feel I should do some sort of intervention?

[alexmacpherson.livejournal.com]

Considering some of the dross up there, I consider the lack of support for the following songs nothing short of SCANDALOUS, and would like to pose the question "WTF are you playing at" to all who failed to tick them:

Alicia Keys - No One
J Holiday - Bed
Sean Kingston - Beautiful Girls
R Kelly ft. T-Pain & TI - I'm A Flirt
Samim - Heater
Soulja Boy - Crank That (Soulja Boy)
P Diddy ft. Keyshia Cole - Last Night
Chris Brown ft. T-Pain - Kiss Kiss
50 Cent ft. Justin Timberlake - Ayo Technology
Kelly Clarkson - Never Again
Mims - This Is Why I'm Hot
Akon - Don't Matter
JoJo - Too Little Too Late
Kelly Rowland ft. Eve - Like This

How are ANY of those untickworthy? They're all AMAZING, not just any good at all. And considering the appalling Long Blondes are up there...

[alexmacpherson.livejournal.com]

And BOTH Fergie singles!!!! wtf people you are nuts.

[justfanoe.livejournal.com]

I can't specifically remember all these but I know I didn't vote for "No One" and "Bed", both of which I consider extremely mediocre. "Kiss Kiss" I didn't vote for 'cause it's just kinda annoying. "Don't Matter" is probably the worst hit single Akon has had as a main artist, but I might have ticked it anyways I forget. However, I agree with you on most of these.

[chezghost.livejournal.com]

Alicia Keys - No-One: explained why i dislike this at the time - slush
J Holiday - Bed: ditto, just think it's a really boring song
Sean Kingston - Beautiful Girls: never wanted to hear that hook again
R Kelly ft. T-Pain & TI - I'm A Flirt: only heard the meh original
Samim - Heater: novelty doesn't so much wear thin as fails to arrive in first place
Soulja Boy - Crank That (Soulja Boy): i like the "YOOO" bit but otherwise do not get the love for this - might as well just be listening to the acapella
P Diddy ft. Keyshia Cole - Last Night: still not round to that second chance
Chris Brown ft. T-Pain - Kiss Kiss: missed this i think
50 Cent ft. Justin Timberlake - Ayo Technology: this is OK
Kelly Clarkson - Never Again: don't really like KC music
Mims - This Is Why I'm Hot: boring in it's original form but great with Toto JoJo (sounds like the monkey from Powerpuff Girls)
Akon - Don't Matter: pass
JoJo - Too Little Too Late: pass
Kelly Rowland ft. Eve - Like This: liked this the most out of these

[freakytigger.livejournal.com]

Positions are slightly low cos they include reissues and the top 50 doesn't.

Alicia Keys - No One - 149th
J Holiday - Bed - 165th
Sean Kingston - Beautiful Girls - 69th
R Kelly ft. T-Pain & TI - I'm A Flirt - 120th
Samim - Heater - 160th
Soulja Boy - Crank That (Soulja Boy)- 62nd
P Diddy ft. Keyshia Cole - Last Night - 245th
Chris Brown ft. T-Pain - Kiss Kiss - 187th
50 Cent ft. Justin Timberlake - Ayo Technology - 108th
Kelly Clarkson - Never Again - 55th
Mims - This Is Why I'm Hot - 100th
Akon - Don't Matter - 185th
JoJo - Too Little Too Late - 103rd
Kelly Rowland ft. Eve - Like This - 56th

[ninebelow.livejournal.com]

So what explains the Amerie situation then? I much prefer Gotta Work, it got my third place vote and I think it is the best thing she's done. In the comments a quite a few people have said that Take Control is much better but in the end no one voted for it.

And whilst we are at it: how can 1 Thing top the Pitchfork list a couple of years ago and no pop get anywhere on it this year? Was 1 thing a temporary bit of tokenism?

[freakytigger.livejournal.com]

Re P4K list - Timberlake won it in '06. Highest pop this year was Umbrella at #5. Reason is probably different writers shouting about different things backstage?

[freakytigger.livejournal.com]

Oh and also Timberlake is a boy and seen as more a controller of his own work than, say, Rihanna. Which plays well with P4K voters.

(Dunno where 1 Thing came!)

am i right in thinking

[blue-russian.livejournal.com]

that the fact that, say, T2 - "Heartbroken" and Kanye's "Stonger" did well in the RP but not so well here suggests that they had a few huge fans but not broad-based support?

Re: am i right in thinking

[alexmacpherson.livejournal.com]

The lack of ticks for 'Heartbroken' still perplexes me. I've never seen anyone say anything negative about it on Poptimists (apart from Matt, who still likes it and didn't vote anyway), but there has been a whole lot of love for it.

[ninebelow.livejournal.com]

Timbaland didn't do very well really, did he? For a year where he has dominated my telly his highest thing is No 25. And 'Say It Right' is trumpd by 'Teenagers' :( The indignity.

[katstevens.livejournal.com]

No Enrique :(

I can't really fault the top 5, though.

[bengraham.livejournal.com]

All of which begs the question:

Is Rihanna now more popular amongst Poptimist members than Girls Aloud? Rihanna has 4 songs in the Top 35, and came out on top in both the Readers' Poll and this.

[blue-russian.livejournal.com]

Well, the GA album came out later in the year, so that's not entirely fair. We are due for a big ballad from GA next, aren't we, and that is likely to score lower. Strategicallly speaking, I think Rihanna was helped by the fact that her monster hit was a ballad

[poptasticuk.livejournal.com]

I think GA are more popular as an act but Rihanna's output this year has, in my opinion at least, been definitely her best. GA are pillars of Poptimism but Rihanna has been the pop star of 2007.

[freakytigger.livejournal.com]

Also - obviously - GA's vote in the reader's poll was split. Nobody voted for Sexy! AND Call The Shots, whereas most people who ticked one will have ticked the other in the pop polls so they both do equally well.

Whereas look at the Rihanna results - "Shut Up And Drive" got almost as high a % of ticks in its week as "Umbrella" did (fewer ticks cos fewer voters that week) but NOT ONE POPTIMIST gave it a single point in the readers poll. So GA were victims, kind of, of having 2 very different hits.

They were also victims of their only other eligible track being that duet with the Sugababes (which came 238th)

[jeff-worrell.livejournal.com]

Amy Winelodge did an AC/DC cover last year? Huzzah!

bad girl (at night)

[chezghost.livejournal.com]

A big omission from this list is that Dave Spoon thing ft. Lisa Maffia.

Re: bad girl (at night)

[freakytigger.livejournal.com]

Yes, should have done better. It was 156th, just below a Bloc Party track.

Emo

[freakytigger.livejournal.com]

The Poptimist Emo Kru (founder: cis) has enough muscle to place songs high in end of year polls and generate talk about teenrock but not enough muscle to carry the weekly poll voters much. Fall Out Boy's highest placing was 66th, two below "Grace Kelly" by Mika.

At the bottom

[freakytigger.livejournal.com]

The worst act of 2007 according to the weekly polls was Scouting For Girls, who released three singles in 07, none of which managed a single tick. (Simply Red, Stereophonics and Jack Penate managed this with two singles apiece.)

Re: At the bottom

[ninebelow.livejournal.com]

Hooray!

WOT?!

[piratemoggy.livejournal.com]

Peter, Bjorn & John?! I thought there was a general consensus that that was a Very Bad Thing.

Re: WOT?!

[alexmacpherson.livejournal.com]

there is among sane people - it is still the most vile thing I've heard this decade! INCLUDING GNASH!