I consider myself a pretty big fan of music, and as such I consider it a duty unto myself to be able to distinguish how good a song/artist/album/genre/etc. is. That said, there are a lot of songs from the year of 2013 that I actually consider to be pretty good. Even the songs that are generally considered to be complete crap (Scream & Shout, Daylight, Come & Get It, etc.) I couldn't find myself to hate. Now, make no mistake, there was still quite a bit of crap that was released, but I'll reveal my thoughts on that when I do my list of the worst songs of 2013. As for now, let's remain positive as I count down what I consider to be the Top 11 Best Hit Songs of 2013. By the way, in case you're wondering why 11, well, you'll find out in a minute. First, though, let's start off with some honorable mentions:
HM1/HM2) Songs: I Knew You Were Trouble/22
Artist: Taylor Swift
Year-End Billboard Positions: 16/71
Lovely start we're off to, isn't it? Alright, before you guys get mad at me for this, let me explain. Both of these songs just got better and better with each listen. I Knew You Were Trouble had excellent dubstep instrumentation with interweavings of electric guitar and piano that just gave the song a lot of texture, and 22 was just a brilliant combination of an acoustic guitar and EDM with a ton of energy that's really fun to listen to, pure and simple. As for lyrical content, 22 I just found to be about having dumb fun and living while one is young (even if the things mentioned in the song don't actually make her sound 22), and the presentation combined with the production I just couldn't deny really worked. As for I Knew You Were Trouble, I know a lot of people would ask why she went with the guy if she knew he was gonna be bad for her anyway, but I'd argue that that was the point in that it was a precautionary tale of how even though her gut told her that it probably wasn't a good idea to fall in love with him, she ignored it and thus had to suffer the consequences, thus sending out the message to listen to your heart when it tells you something is wrong because if you don't, you could wind up crashing and burning real easily, and no words can describe how much I respect that.
HM3) Song: I Love It
Artist: Icona Pop feat. Charli XCX
Year-End Billboard Position: 28
Simply put, this song is loud, obnoxious, and fun in the absolute best ways possible. The fuzz saturated, hard hitting industrial pounding beat that's full of energy, how much passion both Icona Pop and Charli XCX throw in to their performances, and just the fact that this thing is just a giant ball of power. If I were to have any complaints about I Love It, they would be that Icona Pop and Charli XCX sound way too similar, thus making it impossible to tell them apart, and the wreckless, destructive behavior promoted in the lyrics isn't exactly too healthy. The lyrics aren't meant to be taken THAT seriously, though, and aside from not being able to tell the performers apart, yeah, this awesome piece of music speaks for itself.
HM4) Song: Blurred Lines
Artist: Robin Thicke feat. T.I. & Pharrell
Year-End Billboard Position: 2
Oh, I just know some people are gonna be mad that this is here, but yeah, I like Blurred Lines. Quite frankly, it never really came off as rapey or all that pushy or even that misogynistic to me. It came off more as a guy trying to steal the girl of a guy who isn't quite treating her right, and he's making offers of rough sex and weed. I wouldn't exactly call that rapey. It's sexually explicit as all hell, but that doesn't quite equate to rapey. Besides, the end of the verse goes "the way you grab me, must wanna get nasty," which does indeed imply consent, and T.I. starts his verse with "one thing I ask of you," the key word being ask, which, again, implies consent. Honestly, had it not been for the "you da hottest b**ch in this place" line and a majority of T.I.'s verse, this song would've easily made the list. Yeah, it's sleazy, but it's a fun kind of sleaze, with its smooth bass line, tight percussion with interjections of cowbell, which I really liked, T.I.'s excellent flow, and Robin Thicke's smooth vocals, this song is easily what was the hardest to cut from this list.
There were a lot more I wanted to include, but I think those 4 will suffice. Alright, now that that's taken care of, let's get to the main stars of the show, shall we?
11) Song: #Beautiful
Artist: Mariah Carey & Miguel
Year-End Billboard Position: 81
Yes, I know this song has a hashtag in the title, but bare with me. Trust me, this song is what the title suggests it is. The synths and guitar line run smoothly together for some alluring instrumentation, Mariah & Miguel provide some nicely fluent vocals, and overall this song is simply a sweet listen. So how come it's so low on the list? Well, if you can believe it, it's not the hashtag keeping this song from being any higher. No, it's actually the huge amount of profanities that Miguel uses that drags this song down. Now, don't get me wrong, his performance here is great, but ummm... he swears waaaay to much. I honestly don't think this was a good place for Miguel to curse at all, let alone as much as he did. To be honest, it's kind of off-putting. Still, this is a great song.
10) Song: Body Party
Artist: Ciara
Year-End Billboard Position: 83
Remember when I said you'd find out why this was a top 11? Well, this is why. I came up with the other 10 songs for this list before I heard this song, but as soon as I did, I knew I just had to fit this one in somehow. I'm not going to lie, I went in to this with extremely low expectations. After all, this is the same woman who gave us the atrocity known as Goodies, and finding out that the song was produced by Mike Will Made-It certainly didn't help. To my surprise, however, this track blew those assertions clear out of the water. This sure is one hell of a sexy song. Mike Will Made-It's production is actually amazing, Ciara's vocals are soft and seductive, and really, I don't think I could've been more wrong about what I thought of a song before I heard it in my life. I should probably move to the next song before I embarrass myself any more than I already have probably.
9) Song: Mirrors
Artist: Justin Timberlake
Year-End Billboard Position: 6
Ok, I'll admit, when I heard Suit & Tie, I thought it was alright. It just had a bit too much arrogance to make this list, though, and Jay-Z's energy killing verse certainly didn't make things any better. Not that there's much less of it here, but this is still a much more enjoyable listen for me. The beat, while more held back and restrained, has a lot more bombast and energy behind it. The arrogance comes in to play when it's mentioned that the main reason he wants to stay with her is because she's a reflection of himself (hence the song title), but JT's delivery is so smooth and heavenly that the aforementioned arrogance is actually pretty forgivable to me. A lot of people prefer the radio edit to the original, but I actually like the 8 1/2 minute version a lot better because that's where I see Timberlake really drop the arrogance. In the extended version, Justin let's the girl in question know that it's HER that the song is about and that SHE is the inspiration for him making the song, and honestly, that's just something I appreciate and respect him for way too much to discredit him for.
8) Song: Still Into You
Artist: Paramore
Year-End Billboard Position: 100
Talk about one big burst of energy. Albeit, the lyrics are a bit generic, but the energy in not just the instrumentation but also in Hayley William's amazing voice really puts me in the mood to just be happy. Boy, it sounds like she's taking this break up well. Whatever, that's still not much of a deterrent. And no, Marc Mues, I don't really find Williams' vocals to be that grating. Speaking of big bursts of energy...
7) Song: Applause
Artist: Lady GaGa
Year-End Billboard Position: 37
With production reminiscent of old 8-bit Nintendo games and a lot of passion put in to it, Lady GaGa is back from her hiatus of one year to prove that she can still pump out some amazing tunes, and boy does she deliver here. A lot of people find the lyrics to be nothing more than complete and utter narcissism, but the way I interpreted the lyrics, it sounds a lot more like Lady GaGa does what she does to make people, especially her fans, happy, and I really can't fault her for that in the slightest. So yeah, not a lot to say about this song, it's just really fun and energetic.
6) Song: Clarity
Artist: Zedd & Foxes
Year-End Billboard Position: 24
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While we're on the subject of high energy songs, Clarity certainly doesn't disappoint. I think Zedd is definitely the best producer to come out of the EDM genre, and what a way to start off. Not only that, he brought along talented singer Foxes, who has an amazing voice. The verses and chorus, while short, offer a whole lot to the song with Foxes' general confusion as to why she still feels as though she needs the guy in question in her life even though she knows being with him is detrimental to her emotional state. The instrumentation provided by Zedd himself, while high energy, fits the general confusion provided by the lyrics perfectly, and overall I just find this song to be a great piece of ear candy.
5) Song: Wrecking Ball
Artist: Miley Cyrus
Year-End Billboard Position: 18
I can already hear you groaning in exasperation through my computer screen because I put this song on the list. Let me make it clear that I didn't like the video too much, I'm not too big of a fan of the "wild party girl" route that Miley's going in which she started last year, and I think her other two singles she's released off of her album Bangerz (We Can't Stop & Adore You) were absolutely boring (especially Adore You). That being said, Wrecking Ball as a song is simply amazing. The elements of the production are restrained just enough to let Miley's vocals shine through, she gives an amazing and emotional performance, and overall I enjoy the hell out of every single element in this song, Many point out that Miley herself isn't a very good belter, to which my response is as follows: so what? This song didn't so much call for someone to belt as it did for primal screams of pure agony which Cyrus is a perfect fit for. I think Spectrum Pulse said it best himself that while it's not the best track off of her newest album, it's damn close.
4) Song: Royals
Artist: Lorde
Year-End Billboard Position: 15
This song is just what we needed in 2013. Being the antithesis of the pop music concerned mainly with being conceited and bragging about pointless materialism, Royals stands out and says no to all of that, finally acknowledging that we're sick of it. The minimalist instrumentation coupled with Lorde's soft yet powerful vocals make for a song that commanded for all of the pointless bragging in music today to end (and hopefully one day people will listen). Granted, there are a few lines that I think were a bit unnecessary ("tigers on a gold leash" anyone?), but this is still a great track, and I'll let Lorde be my ruler any day of the week.
3) Song: Hold On, We're Going Home
Artist: Drake & Majid Jordan
Year-End Billboard Position: 34
It's pretty clear that Drake is way better at making smooth R&B tunes than brag rap, and it clearly shows here, especially considering that the single he had before this was the pure dreck that was Started From The Bottom. Despite being a clear duplicate of his 2010 hit, Find Your Love, Drake shows that he has pure heart and soul. Sure, the lyrics are extremely repetitive, but really I can't think of what could've been in the place of the parts where the lyrics are repeated. That, and you know what they say, don't fix it if it isn't broke. Just like in Find Your Love, the fact that Drake doesn't have a strong voice here really works to his advantage because it would've been way too abrasive in the hands of someone such as, say, Trey Songz. Overall, it's just a really smooth R&B tune that I can really dig.
2) Song: Get Lucky
Artist: Daft Punk & Pharrell Williams
Year-End Billboard Position: 14
I can tell that you were just waiting in anticipation for me to put this on the list, weren't you? Yeah, of all the disco trend themed songs to come out in 2013, is it really any question why Get Lucky was the most groovable? The awesome guitar work courtesy of Nile Rodgers, Pharrell's amazing vocal talent, and of course the production courtesy of the gods of electronica themselves. So why is this only number 2? Oh, I think it'll be obvious once you see my pick for the top spot.
1) Song: Same Love
Artist: Macklemore & Ryan Lewis featuring Mary Lambert
Year-End Billboard Position: 43
As extremely thankful as I am that this got big, if I had to pick another word to describe my reaction to this song getting big, let alone as much airplay as it did, it would be stunned. Seriously, very rarely does a song from the hip hop genre that gets big in today's generation have actual intelligence and social awareness backing it up. You know what? Screw it. I'll just come right out and say that this is the smartest rap song I've ever heard. It took a lot of guts for Macklemore to release this as a single, and I'm glad he did. He tackles the issue of LGBT rights with such raw grit and word play that I can't help but respect him (especially considering the fact that I myself am bisexual). The clever wordplay, beautiful instrumentation courtesy of Ryan Lewis, Mary Lambert's gorgeous chorus, and Macklemore's extremely spectacular delivery all culminate wonderfully to make this the song a glorious anthem to represent the LGBT community. Now, there are two main complaints when it comes to Macklemore's flow in this song, both of which I will tackle here. The first is that Macklemore sounds bored or uninterested, but as with Drake, I wouldn't have been able to take the song as seriously had a stronger approach been taken, so his soft-spoken delivery definitely works better for me here. The other is that he comes off as too preachy, and well, when you're tackling one of the most controversial social issues there is, how do you set an appropriate tone and not come off as preachy? Besides, I like that he sounds like he's giving a speech because this is definitely a speech that needs to be heard. Overall, Same Love is nothing short of perfect in my eyes and is definitely worthy of the top spot on this list. Congratulations, Macklemore.
You forgot This is Gospel by Panic! At The Disco, and 3005 by Childish Gambino. Those songs are underrated as hell. Other than that, good list, but I'm not a fan of I Knew You Were Trouble.
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