WORST: Mike Posner - Cooler Than Me
Before he was taking pills and making decent songs, Mike Posner was a terrible artist who had zero charm. There's no better example of his lack of charm with this beautiful song "Cooler Than Me". Mike Posner attempts to sing (debatable) a song about a girl who isn't into him because she thinks she's so much cooler than him. He tries all his tricks to get her, but she doesn't go for it because she thinks she's better than him. It's pretty easy to see why she's not into him, cause he seems pretty desperate and as soon as he is rejected he just starts complaining about how you don't like him because you're stuck-up. Mike Posner just comes across as super whiny and butt-hurt about being rejected in this song. His vocals aren't good and the music doesn't really help cover that up in any way. Just bad.
BEST: Michael Buble - Haven't Met You Yet
Every department store's favorite artist Michael Buble hit the charts pretty big in 2010 with this song. Maybe the last time that Michael had a huge hit that ended being one of the highest selling of the year. I'm not too familiar with the work of Michael Buble, outside of his Christmas work. This song is dangerously catchy though and unlike Mike Posner, the vocals are on point and the music has a nice cheery element to go along with the romantic lyrics. It's all just very nice and fluffy, like eating a dessert. Including the guilt afterward.
WORST: Drake - Find Your Love
So it's really been a whole decade of hearing Drake on the radio or seeing him multiple times on the best selling list of a year. This is somehow even more boring than his current work. It's one of those Drake songs where he tries really hard to be romantic but comes across as more insincere and cheesy. The music is okay, a mix of a lot of different sounds that work fairly well together sometimes and other times sounds a bit messy. Drake's vocals and lyrics just leave a lot to be desired and the song just drags and feels way longer than it actually is because of how boring it is.
BEST: Lady Antebellum - Need You Now
I've always really loved this song. It's one of those songs that perfectly captures a specific feeling. The feeling of missing someone and wanting to see them badly again even though the relationship is over or on the rocks. The music and vocals come together to really show off the desperation and loneliness the lyrics are explaining. Unlike Drake, where you don't really feel much emotion from his vocals to match his lyrical content in the previous song. Using music to express how you feel at a certain time makes for a great song, especially when you can feel the emotion in the instruments and vocals. Whether it's a love song like Michael Buble's song or a song about missing someone like this one.
WORST: Black Eyed Peas - Imma Be
One of the most annoying songs of the decade easily. Besides the obvious constant repetition of "Imma be" throughout the ENTIRE song that definitely doesn't get old before the first verse. None of the other lyrics really make sense, but I'm assuming it's all just generic brag rap lyrics. Fergie tries to be cool, TRIES. But really she shows all of her weaknesses as an artist instead.
Things do kind of pick up towards the last minute of the song and it becomes a little more tolerable and interesting. But having to sit and listen to the first few minutes isn't worth it to hear a slightly better song at the end. This song is just lazy and not as clever as they probably thought it was.
BEST: Katy Perry - California Gurls
It's crazy to think that at one point Katy Perry actually made fun pop music that was enjoyable to listen to. This song is catchy as hell and just really fun from the music to the catchy melodies. Lyrically it's nothing memorable, but it gets the job done of being a fun summer jam song you can play in your car or at a party. That's it. Pretty simple. Oh and Snoop Dogg.
WORST: David Guetta/Akon - Sexy B*tch
This song is just...gross. Not just the lyrics either, but the loud annoying music by David Guetta. I seriously couldn't even finish listening to the song because it was so loud and annoying musically. Maybe I'm just getting old? I don't know, but this is the kind of song I wish never existed. This style of music was at its peak popularity in 2010 though, and pop music has changed a bit since then. I don't want to talk about or ever listen to this again.
BEST: Lady Gaga - Bad Romance
Actually, this song is kind of loud and messy musically too. Why does this work more than the last song then? Probably because of the lyrics not being gross, but also because of Lady Gaga actually having lots of charisma and talent. Lady Gaga just has the ability to make weird things like this work. Despite its weirdness, it's still catchy and has a pretty powerful chorus that's very memorable. It still has a lot of the same sounds that other pop songs had at the time, but it manages to stand out in the right ways...unlike the next song.
WORST: Far East Movement - Like a G6
I'm gonna put as much effort writing about this song as they did in actually making it. It's not a good song. It's really bad.
BEST: Eminem - Not Afraid
The late 2000s were not easy for Marshall. Two pretty bad albums killed a lot of the momentum he made for himself in the 90s and early 00s. I think this album was a nice comeback from all that though and this song one of the biggest singles from it. It feels like a more honest and mature Eminem. It's not as good as his earlier work in my opinion and maybe that's because of nostalgia on my part, but that's just how I feel. This was still a step in the right direction to finding a new Eminem I could get behind. Sadly it didn't really end up going nowhere, but I still enjoy this album for what it did at the time.
WORST: Jason Derulo - Watcha Say
I think I've talked about this song on here before, but basically, I hate this song. I hate the way it uses the sample from a song I love (Hide and Seek by Imogen Heap) and butchers it. I hate the way crappy autotune on Derulo's voice. I hate the stupid lyrics. I hate the crappy beat. I hate the way Derulo annoyingly inflects on certain words.
BEST: Maroon 5 - Misery
Anyone who's read my music posts on here probably knows how much I hate Maroon 5 and their terrible music. It wasn't always that way though. Before they became a seven-person band that makes emptier sounding music than bands with one member, they actually made pretty fun music. This song was from their third album, which was OKAY but compared to their last three albums was AMAZING. This song is fun, funky, energetic and actually sounds like a band is working on it. Adam's vocals sound better when he's singing along to a nice bassline and funky guitar. It's not great, but I still don't mind listening to this, at least it doesn't bore me like their new stuff.
WORST: Justin Biber - Baby
Yeah, it's been a whole decade of Bieber. This was his big breakout hit song that everybody knew but wanted to forget. It's easy to look back and make fun of this super cheesy song with annoying vocals, but it's also nice to know that Bieber did eventually outgrow this and made a few decent songs. The saddest part though it Ludacris being involved in this... I hope the money was worth it?
BEST: Owl City - Fireflies
I'm not sure if I actually like this song or it was just different enough from everything else that it was refreshing to hear. I do really like Adam Young as an artist and this album did have some good tracks and he has gone on to make some enjoyable albums under the Owl City name and under his own name. This song was really different than anything else on the charts at the time, which is really surprising how big it became. There's always a song like this every year though, much like last year's "Feel It Still". The difference here is that Owl City did have another pretty big hit a few years later, which will probably be on the best of for that year if I get that far.
WORST: Ke$ha - Blah Blah Blah
Take every annoying trend from 2010 and throw into a bucket, mix it with awful vocals and a guest appearance by one of the worst "bands" of the 2000s in 3OH!3 and you got whatever this is. How did a song that seemed to be designed to be annoying become such a huge hit? Thankfully Kesha has improved a lot over the years and has even made some good music. As for 3OH!3, well they still suck but at least they aren't getting attention anymore.
BEST: Kings of Leon - Use Somebody
In the 2010s, alternative rock music just doesn't have the same appeal as it did in the 90s and early 00s. So whenever a band like Kings of Leon can make a name for itself and even get heavy radio play in pop stations it's always a surprise. Though like most bands that get a big push like this, they never did reach the same heights in their follow-up albums. Still, they gained enough of a following around this time to keep being one of the more well-known and successful alternative rock bands of the decade. The song "Use Somebody" was a great rock anthem, the kind of song that probably does great at live shows and livens up the crowd. It's a great sing-along rock song with simple, but memorable lyrics and melodies.
WORST? Miley Cyrus - Party in the USA
Before Miley broke out of the Disney Channel and created a new image for herself, she was making songs like this one. Which is a song I'm probably supposed to hate, but I just can't for whatever reason? It's just too catchy and dumb to really hate. The lyrics are pretty stupid, but she was barely 18 at the time and didn't even write this song. It was written by a bunch of "professionals" and Jessie J, who's never been good at writing lyrics. It's catchy, but it's still not a good song other than that. The song is about the first time Miley (I guess?) went to Hollywood and how nervous and out of place, she felt being from Nashville. Then a song by Britney Spears and Jay-Z played on the radio and made her feel at home somehow? Also, everyone thought she was weird because she was wearing shoes? I don't know.
BEST: Gaga & Beyonce - Telephone
In my opinion, probably the best charting pure pop song of 2010. Super catchy, great vocals from two pop titans Gaga and Beyonce and pretty good music by 2010 pop standards. The song builds to a big explosive memorable chorus which Gaga has seemed to master at this point. When you put two big names like that on a track you expect pop greatness and I think they delivered on that promise.
THE WORST SONG: Young Money - Bedrock
Young Money was Lil' Waynes group and this song was their big hit. Young Money was Lil' Waynes attempt to make big stars out of all the people on his label and I guess it worked in some ways. Looking at the names on this track, a lot of the member did go on to have huge solo careers and become pop stars. You got two big stars starting out in Drake and Nicki Minaj. Also a lesser star, but still a pretty big name in Tyga (who's just terrible). Everyone else in this song never made it past this point though (that I know of?). This song is easily the worst of the year though. With so much star power and name, you'd think this song would be great. The lyrics are full of stupid cliches and sometimes make no sense at all. The chorus is somehow worse and Lloyds awful vocals definitely don't help. Even Lil Wayne, who's supposed to be the big name, feels like he's not really trying and gets outshined by Drake and Nicki in their verses. It's a mess and it shouldn't be.
THE BEST: Paramore - The Only Exception
It was impossible for this not to be my best charting song of the year. Paramore is one of my favorite bands and it's not often that one of my favorites gets on the charts like this. Even though it was really low on the list (number 93), it still a song that has left an impact on me since it's release. Even almost a decade later this song is one I often return to and still get a lot of enjoyment from. While the lyrics are a bit of a romantic cliche, it still comes across as very genuine and sweet. The acoustic guitar is a nice touch to add to the dreamy romantic vibe of the song. Haylie's vocals have always been some of the best in rock music and she does great here to show some vulnerability and make the song feel real in its message. Just a great song overall and easily my favorite of the year from the list here.
2010 was a mixed year in pop music, there was a lot of bad but there was enough good around to keep it from being a terrible year in music. It would go on to get worse later on in the decade. We got a little preview of the coming trends and superstars this year though. Artists like Nicki Minaj, Drake, Bruno Mars, and Taylor Swift were still working their way up at this point. They would eventually become the biggest names in the music world in the coming years. Thankfully the loud electronic music trend would die down in the coming years and eventually be replaced by a lot more depressing music. which is... better?
2010 had great music outside of the charts though. Here are a few albums I remember being great from that year (in my opinion):
Kanye West - Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy
Vampire Weekend - Contra
Civil Twilight - Civil Twilight
Arcade Fire - The Suburbs
Young the Giant - Young the Giant
Anberlin - Dark is the Way, Light is a Place
Gorillaz - Plastic Beach
MGMT - Congratulations
Sufjan Stevens - The Age of Adz
Beach House- Teen Dreams
House of Heroes - Suburba
Deas Vail - Birds & Cages
Vampire Weekend - Contra
Civil Twilight - Civil Twilight
Arcade Fire - The Suburbs
Young the Giant - Young the Giant
Anberlin - Dark is the Way, Light is a Place
Gorillaz - Plastic Beach
MGMT - Congratulations
Sufjan Stevens - The Age of Adz
Beach House- Teen Dreams
House of Heroes - Suburba
Deas Vail - Birds & Cages
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