My Favorite Singles of 2011

I did the albums, so now it’s time for my ~favorite~ singles of the year. I actually think there were a lot of great singles released this year and I actually managed to listen to quite a few of them, unlike the year’s album releases. I KNOW YOU ARE ALL EXPECTING THIS LIST TO BE ALL BRITNEY AND FOR A MINUTE I WAS CONTEMPLATING DOING THAT BUT I WILL SHOW RESTRAINT AND DIVERSIFY.

10/Jennifer Lopez – Papi (Listen/Watch)

First off, let me just say I am a huge Jennifer Lopez fan. I enjoy her music, I enjoy her looks, I enjoy her mediocre acting and I genuinely like her despite the ~diva~ rep she gets. I see myself in JLo because in a number of years I am going to be fierce and fucking fabulous and I will say, “Yes, I was born and raised in The Bronx and you will fucking deal with it.” Her album Love? was released this year and I really enjoyed most of it, it’s a good collection of pop tunes. The one song that stood out of the pack, though, has always been “Papi.” From the first listen, it was immediate love. It’s a delicious, fiery hot dance/pop number complete with a dance break á la the last decade and groundbreaking lyrics in the pop genre like “move your body,” “rock ya body,” and “put your hands up.” It starts off with an alarm-ish sound thing — always a good thing — and then evolves into a hand-clapping storming beat until it climaxes and the beat drops and JENNY FROM DA BLOCK starts sangin’. It’s glorious. Bound to elicit some sort of dancing from even Helen Keller.

09/Wynter Gordon – Til Death (Listen/Watch)

As I said in my snippet about her album, Wynter Gordon is a huge talent. “Til Death” is only proof of that very truth. It’s nothing mind-blowing or anything that changes the face of pop music, but just a song that is really fucking good. A fun track with a nice beat and catchy lyricism, what more could you want? Her vocals are soft and fun loaded with absolute conviction, you can’t help but get drawn in and sing along. The Denzal Park Radio Edit somehow makes it even more awesome.

08/Ke$ha – Blow (Listen/Watch)

Ke$ha is my qween. She’s brashy, loud, in-your-face, balls-to-the-wall fun with a shitload of glitter injected in there for good measure. She’s unapologetically pop and I love her for it. “Blow” is an absolute TUNE. It pulsates with sex and electro — which are very good things in pop music, fyi — and the chorus is major. Again, nothing groundbreaking or truly remarkable, just a fun pop song that you can listen to while getting ready to go out, in the car going out and while you’re out. It’s literally perfect and mentions boys dropping their Hanes. I mean, really, what more could you ask for?

07/Rihanna – We Found Love (Listen/Watch)

If you told me back when this song first emerged it would be the longest-leading number one single on the Hot 100 I would have laughed in your face. It’s a good song, yes, but to even think it would earn such an accolade? I didn’t believe it. And yet, it has somehow managed to do just that. With 8 weeks atop the Hot 100, it’s the year’s longest stint at number one. It isn’t hard to see why the public has embraced the song so much. The production is flawless, thank you, Calvin Harris and the song’s handful of lyrics allow that to really shine and dominate the presence. Rihanna’s vocals aren’t weak on this track, per se, but they sort of dim in comparison to the amazing production; they sort of float on the track, adding on to its superb sound and quality.

06/Neon Hitch – Get Over U (Listen/Watch)

I don’t know who Neon Hitch is or where she came from or what her plans for the future are, but what I do know is that everything she’s released so far has been excellent. Of the three tracks I’ve heard (“Bad Dog,” “Get Over U” and “Silly Girl”) “Get Over U” is my favorite by a whole lot. It’s soft but still so vibrant and her voice is so different than something I’d expect from a dance/pop artists, I absolute love it. It feels like this song is only a small taste of what she truly has to offer and I’m hooked. Cannot wait to see what 2012 brings for her and I wait with my debit card in hand to purchase her newest singles off iTunes.

05/The Saturdays – All Fired Up (Listen/Watch)

My favorited dance/pop act from across the pond, The Saturdays have never failed me in releasing delicious pop tunes. It’s a shame they’ve never gone to number 1, though. “All Fired Up” sounds like what is their voracious attempt to finally snag the coveted spot, and while it failed to do that for them, it remains a gem of a song. It’s sleek, sexy and oh so grown up from the singles they’ve released before. It snaps, crackles and pops with vibrancy, life and an infectious sound that gets stuck in your head and makes you want to dance. It is literally free of flaw, from the girls’ excellent vocal delivery to the beat, pulsating with bass and electronic-sex-pop.

04/Nicola Roberts – Beat of My Drum (Listen/Watch)

I’ve never warmed up to Girls Aloud so I found it surprising when I fell in love with Nicola Roberts. Her debut solo single, “Beat of My Drum” is a joyous, infectious pop tune that exudes naught but fun. Including a cheerleader-like chant (L-O-V-E!), a hot beat, vocal stuttering (!!!) and just a hint of Nicola’s enviable accent, it literally features everything needed for a good time. Don’t be alarmed when you start singing along on your first listen.

03/David Guetta – Titanium (feat. Sia) (Listen/Watch)

I honestly don’t even know where to begin with this song. It’s a beautiful emerald (my favorite stone kthx) shimmering with every positive aspect of a pop song: gorgeous ethereal vocals, effortless delivery, great beat that slowly makes its way to a boil resulting in a throbbing climax of surging electronic music. It’s so good it will make you WHIMPER. I did, at least…

03/Adele – Rolling In The Deep (Listen/Watch)

Adele is Jesus and you will deal. The lead single off her sophomore album is anthemic at this point. Adele’s honest vocals, the foot-stomping beat, the strumming, the way it all builds up to this glorious peak, everything about this song just works so well there’s no wonder it stayed at number one for as long as it did. Overplayed? Yes. But rightfully so.

02/Britney Spears – Hold It Against Me (Listen/Watch)

No other pop song released this year had such a strong and immediate reaction from me as this one right here. I remember when the demo leaked, I awoke to texts and tweets asking me what I thought of the song and immediately I jumped out of bed, powered up my mom’s laptop and downloaded the song off Hulkshare. And it was beautiful. I was literally reduced to trembles, as the force of the song overwhelmed me to such a degree. I remember someone on my Twitter timeline described it as “schizophrenic” and I couldn’t agree more; it starts and it stops and it starts up again and then revs its engine before going all out and exploding into a filthy bit of dupstep, etc etc. It was bliss upon the first listen and the second and the third and every single on thereafter, which is probably why it didn’t take long for it to catapult up to the top of my iPod’s most played songs, where it currently stands with 2414 plays and counting. Its a strong, solid pop record that made a statement that is as true upon its release as it is today: Britney Spears is STILL here2stay.

01/Marina & the Diamonds – Radioactive (Listen/Watch)

Back when I was crafting this list, I debated a long time with naming this song or “Hold It Against Me” as my favorite of 2011. Obviously I only wanted to say HIAM was my favorite because it’s Britney and all things Britney automatically get preference in my eyes, but when it comes down to it, “Radioactive” made the biggest impact on me throughout the entire year. I liked Marina’s debut album well enough, it was a great set of pop songs that were fresh and fun and everything a new artist should be, but it wasn’t the sort of record that captured my feelings or ears entirely and made me want to listen to it constantly all year. “Radioactive,” on the other hand, is exactly that kind of record. From the opening xylophone-sounding moments it grabs your attention and Marina’s full-bodied voices captures it entirely and holds it in its hand until the very last second when you’re aching to hear it again and again and again. While I think the concept of Marina’s alter-ego Electra Heart is pretentious and useless as fuck, I’m desperate for her full-length record to arrive.