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#8 Love Me Again - Raye

What RAYE wants you to know is that she will maintain her sense of glamour amidst her grief.

Hellow howyoudoin Iwuzwundrin if

Capturing the vulnerable embarrassing moment where you want your man back despite all the wrong that occurred is the way to my messy heart. Capturing it in diamonds and glamorous hair and make up as she’s belting and then drinking in her chanted hook la la la love me is the way to the Top 10.

Watch this space ... Could she be the next true pop r-n-b diva of the 20s ?

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#10 Loverboy (Firecracker) -

Mariah Carey

Doot doo doos &

Da da dah dah duhns

Mariah Carey adds Da da dah duhns and Doot doo doos as a seasoning to her familiar infectious pop soul music. Infectious so that the doot doo doos and daht dah duhns were placed into every blockbuster era lead single of the 90s.

Sometimes they featured a shoop-de-doot or la-di-da

Sometimes a refrain of gimme ya love or a whoa oh oh replaced but held the same effect

Doot doo doos and Dah daht duhns meant Mariah Carey had a new song and you weren’t going to deny her the effervescent glee of whimsy and magic that came with a brand new Mariah Carey song.

In 2001, things were different.

Mariah Carey’s lead single Loverboy to Glitter crashed into the summer of 2001 among upbeat singles by Britney Spears Janet Jackson Destiny’s Child and Mary J Blige in a chaotic flurry of stereo; a percussive beat peppered by giggles, whispers, boisterous YEAHs, and grunts by a series of voices not always Carey’s and back dropped by a girl chant of Whooooooo on a loop.

The lyrics featured Mariah’s usual elusive lover, this time not a dream-lover or a fantasy but a real live man bringing Mariah sublime delirium and when he invites her over ... she comes ... every time. Ladies and Gentleman, Mariah Carey has been having sex and it’s thrown her off kilter.

Matching in chaos were Mariah’s appearances to promote the record. Her look, bleached blonde and 80s arcade house chic slammed into our consciousness with a collective whoa wtf. This girl really wore a red bandana as a top with hot pants and Swarovski studded belt. This eclectic mix of styles and fun wasn’t working for the always polished, sleek and sexy Mariah we spent our childhoods adoring. She was crashing TRL with ice cream trucks and ripping her T-shirt off making Carson Daly way uncomfortable. she even was making use of social media tactics before they were invented in a live interview in the parking lot of a mall by erratically sub tweeting disc jockeys who hate on her and having her microphone ripped away from her by her own publicist.

Rampant tabloid drama sunk the project despite the lambs buying the single and rocketing it to the #1 best selling single of the year, and #2 on the Hot 100 and yet, the most dramatic progressive lead single of her career thus far had not been heard. It sat in the vaults. What the world heard and what the radio rejected was the last minute project scraped together after Mariah’s intended Loverboy was leaked to unscrupulous producers and a singer Mariah doesn’t know. The sample and vibe of the song was stolen, Mariah’s confidence was shaken and a breakdown was imminent - all because of a bitch we don’t even know !

The rise from the ashes has been documented and iconic. In 2020, a year which is likely our karma for how we discarded Mariah in 2001, Mariah Carey blessed us by opening up that vault and letting us finally hear Loverboy as originally intended.

The track starts with a breath and there they are. The Doot Doo Doos. At last. Justice for Loverboy.

The chaos still exists. It’s contained as chaos should be. The mastermind presents a diva, her Bells and whistles jumping about a springy rainbow beat of techno music, thick, full breasted vocals and cheerful slutty backgrounds. The hook makes sense here, and the urgency of Mariah’s horniness feels appropriate not desperate. This is a woman on the pulse of her sexuality and the future of where pop music was going. Aggressive 80s nostalgia, pumping beats, light hearted full throated gulping vocals and carefree fun energy.

There’s no way anyone could believe that had this version been released, it would not only still be the #1 selling single of 2001 but the iconic airplay dominant song of the summer, rightfully taking its place among the Mt Rushmore of Mariah singles with Dreamlover Fantasy Honey and Heartbreaker. But then again maybe Loverboy fell so We Belong Together could fly.

For that reason, it beat out hundreds of songs in 2020 to remain my most played of the year and #10 to kick off the Top 10 Pop Songs of 2020.

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Doubted when they reject a man (dyke) Doubted when they lead a man (bitch) Doubted when they support a man (enabler) Doubted when they beat a man (cheater) Doubted when they accuse a man (liar) Doubted when they lose to a man (flawed)

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In the age of Trump, Christian and White Supremacy are flooding our courts. The trajectory of society has bent itself toward equality and inclusion and is conversely met with a fever pitch alarm decrying the end of decency and the dissolution of the Great American Family. The supposed soldiers of Christ will not rest while gay men and women, transgender men and women and our allies gain ground in establishing our rightful place as equal citizens. The #10 song of the year, HIM, by Sam Smith, appeals to both groups and sets the stage for the possibility of a resolution. Assuming the point of view of a young preachers son in Mississippi, Sam comes out to his father, both here on Earth and his Father in Heaven. The unabashed use of the male pronoun in a pop song being used by a relevant pop star is a revelation, of not actually the first time it’s ever happened. Sam enlists the help of an empassioned Gospel choir declaring without apology that HE loves HIM. From here on out, this subtle song is the document of RESISTANCE. No more will Christian Fundamentalism determine who can love whom. The laws on paper may be safe now, tho ever threatened in this age, our declaration of our existence will not be silenced. Not just our declarations of love but our declarations of existence persisted in 2017. The rise of trans visibility exploded in all facets of our society. Our military, politics, entertainment, journalism, fashion, sports, and for the purpose of this post, our music. Antony & The Johnson’s frontman Antony Hegarty transitioned to her true identity Anohni this year and released her most palpable and purest work of her career. She has eschewed common love songs, as was the case in her earlier work, and used her voice to expose the fragile hypocrisy and violence of humanity. She tackles nuclear war as a metaphor for the social warfare we engage in as we tear each other down while also exposing the literal threat of avoiding the humanity of the lives who die at the rainstorm of bombs into their backyards. While we in America fight about politics and continue to demonize Hillary Clinton, slut shame, grapple with whether black lives actually matter, and absorb ourselves in consumerism, a Trans artist from the UK is the only one calling us to be aware of what’s happening to our forgotten brothers and sisters, the victims of hate and violence and extremism. #9 Crisis by ANOHNI is a clarion call to wake up. She made it easy with gorgeous vocals and a synth arrangement that envelops your body with pulsing bass and strings invoking drone sonar. Her warm tenor voice does not judge us but admits her own complicity in this violence. She is the voice of mankind, showing us what we’ve done and apologizing profusely throughout. Heed her call.

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I knew #postmalone was a movement when I was In the presence of @brando_1596 and @steven.costa_ and #congratulations was played. The universe we lived in together drifted away and they transported to the BROniverse. In the BROniverse they hate us cuz they ain’t us, Bernie Sanders is President, but we’re still woke AF and respect women cuz let’s be real we haven’t quite figured out how to get laid properly. In the BROniverse the struggle is real living in moms basement and Vine isn’t a thing anymore. Post Malone came to save us in 2017 and we are forever grateful. Also have to be said that Miley Cyrus is the female bro, and sis did it this year by remembering the twangy ditties she sang on her daddy’s knee. She succumbed to Hollywood too fast too furious and needed to know, going home suited her just fine and she finally found her voice. Also shout out to the biggest song of the year coming from PUERTOOO RICOOOOO while Donald Trump is trashing our community left and right, leaving the lights off in San Juan. #despacito 16 weeks at #1 comes from a Latino with some help from Biebs. Racists take note - we never will ever go anywhere! Dua Lipa and Katy round out the rest of the group - sticking to the basics of straightforward melodies, gulping vocals and smart production and they rose to stand out ... on to the Top 10 tomorrow. 15. Despacito - Luis Fonsi Daddy Yankee & Justin Bieber 14. New Rules - Dua Lipa 13. Save As Draft - Katy Perry 12. Younger Now - Miley Cyrus 11. Congratulations- Post Malone

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#bethditto is a rock star. Sexual abandon, confidence, talent, style and heart she’s equal parts Bowie, Madonna, Debbie Harry, Grace Jones, Tina Turner, Aretha and Mick Jagger. A better singer than Adele and just as fat - why don’t you all pay bigger attention to her ? She rounds off the bottom half of the Top 20 with Lover, a transcendent, mournful metal-band-power-ballad. You all deserve to know her. 20. Bad Liar - Selena Gomez 19. Swish Swish - Katy Perry 18. Friends - Justin Bieber 17. Shining - Beyonce & Jay-Z 16. Lover - Beth Ditto

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#harrystyles is a rock star now An actual rock band, #localnatives sang about an anonymous “Mrs. President” #lorde stayed weird #pharrellwilliams and N.E.R.D stayed pushing the envelope. #jayz apologized while two Latinas #camilacabello #cardib topped the charts in 2017. We all resisted persisted and changed this year. Taylor is here cuz #zaynmalik is bae. Stick to melodies Taylor- stop rapping. 30. Green Light - Lorde 29. Lemon - N.E.R.D ft Rihanna 28. I Don’t Wanna Live Forever - Zayn & Taylor Swift 27. Sign of the Times - Harry Styles 26. Be The One - Dua Lipa 25. In and Out - Beth Ditto 24. 4:44 - Jay-Z 23. Bodak Yellow - Cardi B 22. Havana - Camila Cabello 21. Fountain of Youth - Local Natives

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#perfumegenius put out a mysterious and evocative pop album filled with weird vocals and wall of sound productions and #SamSmith took us to church. The gays are the future. Meanwhile #Mariah is still here and I Don’t care if you have shit to say about it. This song is a bop and deserved more. (I’ll discuss more later) 2017 intro’d us to #dualipa , YouTube star #alexaino while #haim came back. #mileycyrus began her journey to her roots (thanks Gaga) and #bethditto found her voice 60-51: 60. I Don’t - Mariah Carey 59. Love Someone- Miley Cyrus 58. Blow Ya Mind - Dua Lipa 57. Too Good at Goodbyes- Sam Smith 56. Does It Feel Like Falling - Alex Aino 55. Attention -Charlie Puth 54. Fire - Beth Ditto 53. Pray - Sam Smith 52. Slip Away - Perfume Genius 51. Want You Back - HAIM

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#perfumegenius put out a mysterious and evocative pop album filled with weird vocals and wall of sound productions and #SamSmith took us to church. The gays are the future. Meanwhile #Mariah is still here and I Don’t care if you have shit to say about it. This song is a bop and deserved more. (I’ll discuss more later) 2017 intro’d us to #dualipa , YouTube star #alexaino while #haim came back. #mileycyrus began her journey to her roots (thanks Gaga) and #bethditto found her voice 60-51: 60. I Don’t - Mariah Carey 59. Love Someone- Miley Cyrus 58. Blow Ya Mind - Dua Lipa 57. Too Good at Goodbyes- Sam Smith 56. Does It Feel Like Falling - Alex Aino 55. Attention -Charlie Puth 54. Fire - Beth Ditto 53. Pray - Sam Smith 52. Slip Away - Perfume Genius 51. Want You Back - HAIM

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You wouldn’t know it from listening to the radio but diverse music exists out there. Like none of Trumps cabinet talented young diverse artists make up a wide range of sounds and stories. #khalid brings new life to the same story of teen apathy #arianagrande sings about good sex #Kesha sings about self preservation #kendricklamar opines about loyalty to sex loyalty to love loyalty to money and the lines that blur between them. #chrisstapleton just wants his girl back and she’d be dumb to not take him as raw as that #Tennessee scream is, and #leonbridges just wants to take us back. #mileycyrus Pretends to have never swam in the ocean - she began this year stripped of pretense and I’m thinking that I actually believe her. #paramore finds a new sound and a song about leaving it all behind. Finally newcomer #terenceryan tells the story of the working class that again, Trump will never understand 40. Young Dumb & Broke - Khalid 39. River -Leon Bridges 38. To Live and Die in New England - Terence Ryan 37. Side to Side - Ariana Grande ft. Nicki Minaj 36. Learn to Let Go - Kesha 35. Slow Hands - Niall Horan 34. Malibu - Miley Cyrus 33. LOYALTY - Kendrick Lamar ft. #rihanna 32. Tell Me How - Paramore 31. I Was Wrong - Christ Stapleton

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#Kesha put out an opus and she got #dollyparton onto the list !!! This is legend. The pair teamed up to duet a song written by Kesha’s Mom that Dolly originally recorded before Kesha was born and turned into a jam band stunner. #lanadelrey continued her dominance of emotional ballads #ritaora flopped again but the song is amazing #taylorswift only had this song make it this far onto the list. First time in history. It’s a shame and frankly embarrassing 50. Mistakes - Lake Street Drive 49. The Weekend- SZA 48. Don’t Blame Me - Taylor Swift 47. Do You Still Love Me - Ryan Adams 46. New York - St. Vincent 45. Issues - Julia Michaels 44. Roulette - Katy Perry 43. Your Song - Rita Ora 42. Love - Lana Del Ray 41. Old Flames (Can’t Hold a Candle to You)- Kesha and Dolly Parton

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2017... What Happened? This year was the worst. We got an ogre for a President, Beyoncé stopped making albums, White Supremacists murdered protestors, Mariah’s New Years Eve, there’s still lead in Flint, Taylor Swift’s album sucks, and Hillary isn’t president. These songs distracted me: 70-61 70. Shape of You - Ed Sheeran 69. I’m Poppy - Poppy 68. Sorry Not Sorry - Demi Lovato 67. Mi Gente - J Balvin & Willy William Ft. Beyoncé 66. Bad Mood - Miley Cyrus 65. Boys - Charli XCX 64. Chantaje - Shakira & Maluma 63. Did Young - Sylvan Esso 62. Feels - Calvin Harris ft Pharrell Katy Perry & Big Sean 61. I Did Something Bad-Taylor Swift

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# 2 Living For Love - Madonna

The Queen of Pop Music. The only artist in this top 10 to have debuted before this past decade. Up until a few days ago - this song was sitting comfortably at # 8. A few weeks before that, it was comfortable in the top 30. I don’t know what happened to me but despite having loved this song since it premiered exactly a year ago this week, its DNA has purposely positioned itself inside my soul adequately in time to mark this occasion of being named the 2nd best pop song of 2015. 

The hook of this song is actually right after the first verse, and theres no true formal chorus. Diplo’s beat drops into a fuzzy rubber bounce house breakdown, and a gospel singer sounding like a hybrid of co-writer Alicia Keys and Madonna herself wail off in the background. 

Looove - gonna lift me up. 

Its the kind of immediate awakening you only receive after months of listening to a song.  And since then, I’ve been locked in - and of course I am. This is Madonna. She has captured the mind and soul of the pop music fan for over 30 years. Reinventing herself each year, an incarnation of a better, faster, Madonna each time. At times she’s been a caricature of herself. Maybe not as great, but somehow always more athletic, conditioned, wittier. She’s always been beyond the reproach of an ever increasing group of haters as in 2015 we moved into a society that groused at watching Madonna, a woman now closer to this side of menopause and less like a virgin. What’s wrong with society that Madonna, agile and fun loving as she is can’t get her freak on without people complaining? What set this year’s Madonna critics apart from years past wasn’t so much that they hated her any more than when she used to really enrage the uptight moms and oh no she didn’t crowd, this time it was all centered on what she shouldn’t be doing just based on her pushing 60 years old. See Madonna had made it acceptable for every pop singer to thrust her hips forward in female empowerment, to raise their fists and grab their crotch at the same time as twirling their hair and batting their eyelashes. But now, Madonna wasn’t allowed to be Madonna.  Bringing it back to the theme of the Top 10 - Fuck That. 

Love is worth it. It’s worth the going through of pain and confusion that will naturally come. I don’t believe love is ever over.  Even when it is. Even when they won’t behave. When they force you, against your best intentions, to act against yourself and become mean and bitter. When you see them at their worst, your heart opens to save them and love them with everything you are, and they still push you away. Love is there to lift you out of that. 

Love didn’t come to you because of your union. Love was there in you. In him. In her. and it grew and became a new species because of what you shared. But once that love filtered off into the glitter of space, the love you brought is still yours and still where you will stand as you walk on now. Better than before. Maybe defeated for a little while, not destroyed. 

And bitch, its Madonna. 

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#3 fourfiveseconds Rihanna Kanye West Paul McCartney

I think I’ve had enough. The hump day battle cry. The I don’t give a FUCK what’s going on. I’m needing to break out and break free and FUCK YOU if you think I need more than an acoustic guitar to express my rage. What’s going to happen is this. Life is going to throw you a giant cement ball of fury and hate and you know what, you’re not going to catch that shit. You’re going to weave over to the left and let that shit crash and roll away cuz yeah you go to cross fit and yea you’re strong as fuck and will mess up any bitch that steps, but you’re not beat to break another nail or throw out your back catching that garbage. 

That’s what this song is. FUCK IT ALL. it should be called Fuck Five seconds - i’m wilin’ out RIGHT NOW. (RN) 

Rihanna dropped this song Beyonce style without notice, promised an album and then never delivered it. She said FUCK Y’ALL. You can hate on her cat in heat vocals and Kanye’s lazy auto tuned mess vocal but you can’t deny the energy that we all need to express. We need to rage in a way thats not obvious or basic. No real screaming, just that rage from the gut, that rage that pushes us out of the comfort zone and forces us to take stock of what’s going on in our lives and pushing out that cement ball. Not with our bodies - but with our stank faced side eye.  BYE FELICIA

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# 4 King - Years and Years

While we were worried about Trap Queens and the Nae Nae - actually brilliant pop music was being heard out there in England. a string of #1 songs wrapped in their warm electronic sounds bolstered by Olly Alexander’s soaring beautiful tenor - my heart got wrapped. 

Lead single King blows the roof off the house that codependence built. At once you were his King blessed in his favor and love until before long you were lost under his thumb. Eventually you have to say goodbye - and you might as well do it while wailing out a effervescent melody.

Another song you hadn’t heard this  year cuz you messed up ur life. 

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#5 The Eye - Brandi Carlile

The dissolution of a promise is a learned activity. One would not know until they’re thrown into the fervor of love and the reality of stunted growth that they have no business being there. Brandi Carlile knows this and knows it well because no song in 2015 perfectly captured my own experience of holding on to someone who was flailing in the elements of their own demise. 

No more words from me could adequately capture the power of this song, its perfect harmonies, heartbreaking vocals, than the lyrics themselves.

The Eye - Brandi Carlile

It really breaks my heart To see a dear old friend Go down in the worn old place again

Do you know the sound Of a closing door? Have you heard that sound somewhere before?

Do you wonder if she knows you anymore?

I wrapped your love around me like a chain But I never was afraid that it would die You can dance in a hurricane But only if you’re standing in the eye

Where did you learn to walk? Where did you learn to run? Away from everything you love

Did you think the bottle Would ever ease your pain? Did you think that love’s a foolish game?

Did you find someone else to take the blame?

I wrapped your love around me like a chain But I never was afraid that it would die You can dance in a hurricane But only if you’re standing in the eye You can dance in a hurricane But only if you’re standing in the eye

I am a sturdy soul And there ain't no shame In lying down in the bed you've made Can you fight the urge to run for another day?

You might make it further if you learn to stay

I wrapped your love around me like a chain But I never was afraid that it would die You can dance in a hurricane But only if you’re standing in the eye You can dance in a hurricane But only if you’re standing in the eye

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#6 All I Ask - Adele

Hello, Its not Hello. What could happen to a pop music fan after years of depraved absence from one of its world’s most treasured beings? Foolishness. Adele did not fix what wasn’t broken, and why would she? She’s the top of her game, your game, your man’s game, your boss’ game. The only person more loved in 2015 than Adele was Pope Francis. Actually she def is more loved than Frankie. So of course we all ate up Hello. It was our last supper before being completely slayed.

7 million albums and one month later, Adele is in “bitch can do no wrong” land, living comfortably as its mayor holding court over us lesser and we bow down to her throne. But even she can’t get away on THIS list, with a song like Hello. So I’m not content to just give it its due without having to mention that even tho its beautiful, and essentially perfect, I - and you know you do to - are annoyed at the melody, the drama and the omnipresence of it. 

I present to you the far superior album track - All I Ask. Written with Bruno Mars, Adele without even trying or having to prove it, has even more solidly defined herself as this generations VOICE. Joining Whitney, Mariah, Barbra, Aretha, Judy and Billie as the preeminent vocal masters of their times. 

It doesn’t even matter that I speak about this song, its sweeping melody, graceful elegant vocal, epic key change and heartbreaking lyrics. Adele is the master of all our hearts - All I Ask is the next step in finding yourself in a break up. Sometimes you need one last night. One final goodbye.