They’re here…
Single bells, single bells, singles all the way! Oh, what fun is to rank all my favorites from the past 365 days. You’ve seen the songs from 100-41 so far, and now, we enter the coveted top 40. It’s the cream of the pop as we head towards the top. All the big songs are here, from a “Restless Heart” to “True Love”. Get ready to “Cruise” until the countdown is “Gone, Gone, Gone”. So, be “Brave” and read on through this jungle of jams into the house of hits.
Peak positions listed are as of the last chart included in the year dated November 24, 2013. Those marked with a plus had not yet reached their highest position as of that date. Ties in points were broken based on peak, number of weeks at peak and number of weeks in the top 40.
We start off this section with some Men (and Women) At Work from a land “Down Under”…
040. Sheppard – “Let Me Down Easy” (#10)
Writers: Jason Bovino, Amy Sheppard, George Sheppard / Producer: Stuart Stuart
Night and day, I’ve been doing the math, to calculate… this countdown. What did you think I was going to say? The first hit from this Australian sextet went to #10 for three weeks and top 20 on Australian radio. Their first album is out next year.
Related Posts: Profile on Sheppard (April 27, 2013), CMJ Wrap Up (October 21, 2013)
**Second of two songs in the top 100
039. Maroon 5 – “Love Somebody” (#7)
Writers: Adam Levine, Nathaniel Motte, Ryan Tedder, Noel Zancanella / Producers: Tedder, Zancanella
From their 2012 album Overexposed, the band managed to score four top ten singles in a row from their latest effort. A fifth single, “Lucky Strike”, got as high as #27 a few weeks ago. Lead singer Adam Levine is still a judge on NBC’s The Voice.
Related Posts: Pop About To Drop (January 17, 2013)
**First of two songs in the top 100
038. Olly Murs – “Army Of Two” (#5)
Writers: Iyiola Babalola, Wayne Hector, Darren Lewis, Olly Murs / Producer: Future Cut
Written as an anthem for his fan base, dubbed the Murs Army, “Two” soldiered onto the charts internationally, but only charted moderately well, just missing the top ten in his native United Kingdom. On my chart, it climbed to #5 for two weeks.
**Second of three songs in the top 100
037. Matt Hires – “Restless Heart” (#7)
Writers: Amund Bjorklund, Alex Dezen, Matt Hires, Espin Lind / Producer: Espionage
After failing to reach the top 40 two years ago with “Honey, Let Me Sing You A Song”, the 28-year-old singer-songwriter took the folksy route and went top ten with this single from This World Won’t Last Forever, But Tonight We Can Pretend.
036. The Script – “Six Degrees Of Separation” (#6)
Writers: Andrew Frampton, Steve Kipner, Danny O’Donoghue, Mark Sheehan / Producers: Frampton/Kipner
The Irish trio led by singer and former The Voice U.K. judge Danny O’Donoghue took on that theory of connectivity in their biggest song of the year, which appropriately peaked at #6. A fourth album by the group will be released next year.
**Second of two songs in the top 100
035. Plain White T’s – “Should’ve Gone To Bed” (#9)
Writer: Tom Higgenson / Producer: Tim Pagnotta
Originally released on an EP earlier this year, “Bed” also serves as the first single from the band’s forthcoming album American Nights, due February 11. It was the quintet’s first top ten single since 2010, when “Rhythm Of Love” went to #7.
Related Posts: Single Premiere (April 2, 2013)
034. Kelly Clarkson – “People Like Us” (#6)
Writers: Blair Daly, James Michael, Meghan Kabir / Producer: Greg Kurstin
It was an anthem for the ages, a righteous celebration of “the damned” and “the lost and forgotten”, but radio and retail seemed to forget it was actually being released. Though it underperformed nationally, it still went top ten on my survey.
Related Posts: Latest From The Greatest (January 9, 2013)
**Second of two songs in the top 100
033. Katy Perry – “Roar” (#3)
Writers: Lukasz “Dr. Luke” Gottwald, Katy Perry, Max Martin, Bonnie McKee, Henry Walter / Producers: Cirkit, Gottwald, Martin
Remember when this leaked on a Saturday morning? I do. The hype was huge and “Roar” soared to #1 on the Hot 100 in a few short weeks. While second single “Unconditionally” quickly burned out, all eyes are on the third single, “Dark Horse”.
Related Posts: Single Premiere (August 10, 2013), Album Review of PRISM (October 17, 2013)
032. fun. – “Why Am I The One?” (#6)
Writers/Producers: fun. (Jack Antonoff, Andrew Dost and Nate Ruess), Jeff Bhasker
After the big success of third single “Carry On”, the trio made a music video for this song, but it never ended up seeing a full release at radio, which was rather disappointing. Despite the very limited promotion, “Why” rose to #6 on my weekly chart.
031. Family Of The Year – “St. Croix” (#7)
Writers: Family Of The Year (James Buckey, Joseph Keefe, Sebastian Keefe and Christina Schroeter) / Producers: Family Of The Year, WAX LTD
2013 was a big year for this California band as their song “Hero” topped the AAA radio chart for a week, their first ever significant hit. This followed it up during the summertime, but only achieved some minor airplay at the Alternative format.
Related Posts: The Social Nettwerk (April 26, 2013)
Check back tomorrow for 30-21 on the year-end chart and let me know what you’re liking so far below!
