40: Beyonce - "If I Were A Boy" (from I Am... Sasha Feirce)
Even though it seems like Beyonce is really just a gay man with a va-jay-jay, she really is a girl. A girl who thinks she could be a better man than her own man. It's a fascinating look at gender roles and identity, something I've enjoyed the exploration of in pop music this year. Plus, it's acoustic soul, diva style! Listen Here.
39: Natasha Bedingfeild - "Pocketful Of Sunshine" (from Pocketful of Sunshine)
Delightfully chill in it's club-friendly sound, Natasha proves to be more than that "Unwritten" girl on the title track to her second US release. Listen Here.
38: Kanye West - "Love Lockdown" (from 808 & Heartbreaks)
From the emo-est titled R&B album in history comes this... song. I can't pin down a genre for it, the melding of tribal beats, gospel piano and auto-tuned vocals create a futuristic pop sound with an ancient feel. Like a spaceship landing on a Mayan temple, it doesn't seem a wrong as your mind thinks it should. Listen Here.
37: Taylor Swift - "White Horse" (from Fearless)
Against an acoustic guitar and fiddle, the youngest female artist to co-write ever song on a platinum debut loses her fairy tale dreams and grows up a little. Love and loss never sounded so heartbreakingly sweet. Listen Here.
36: Robyn - "Cobrastyle" (from Robyn)
She presses triggers, she don't push people's buttons. That's the little Swedish firecracker Robyn, covering the Teddybears and proving her flow is as tight as her Ziggy Stardust 'do. Listen Here.
35: Jordin Sparks - "One Step At A Time" (from Jordin Sparks)
There is one reason, and one reason alone, that I love this song. Synching my footsteps to Jordin's heel clicks and workin' it the fuck out. Listen Here.
34: Petra Haden - "An American Crime (End Credits)" (from the film An American Crime)
There is something so haunting, so bone-chillingly perfect about the end credits of the true crime horror film An American Crime. Vocalist Petra Haden, whose A Capella versions of "Don't Stop Believing" and "Thriller" are mainstays in my playlists, is arranged by composer Alan Laser to create a frightening A Capella track, with just a creepy little piano coda thrown in at the end. Listen Here.
33: Amy Winehouse - "Fuck Me Pumps" (from Frank [US Release])
This song has been around a while, but in the US we never got to here it. After the massive success of Amy's Back To Black, her Mercury-prize-winning Frank saw a US release. This is the crown jewel of the disc, a sprightly diss to the party girls in their tight jeans and fuck-me-pumps, with a tongue in cheek admission that without them there is no night life. Listen Here.
32: The Spill Canvas - "All Over You" (from No Really, I'm Fine)
Sometimes breaking up is more than hard to do, it's damn near impossible. The Spill Canvas understands this, sometimes "I gotta feel you in my bones again, I'm all over you, I'm not over you." Pain makes for awesome pop music! Listen Here.
31: Bat For Lashes - "What's A Girl To Do?" (from Fur & Gold)
Jack a classic drum and tamborine beat (from The Ronettes' "Be My Baby") then add creepy lyrics and a Bjork-y vocal. That's how you get classic indie-weirdo gold. And I loved it! Listen Here.
30: Santogold - "Anne" (from Santogold)
A percolating thunder beat and lo-fi vocals combine to tell the tale of Anne, a girl who "make lack virtue, but I'm penitent" before sliding into a gospel chorus of "J-J-J-Jesus Pieces, rescue me, the more I try, the more it gets too complicated" Listen Here.
29: Chris Brown -"Forever" (from Exclusive: The Forever Edition)
Due to writing this and number 20, Chris Brown was the king of pop in 2008. (Oops, don't let MJ here me say that!) The sweet beat, the catchy lyrics and the all around poppiness of the track are hard to resist, so I didn't bother. Truly a great moment in mainstream pop, even if it is an ad for Doublemint Gum. Listen Here.
28: Duffy - "Mercy" (from Rockferry)
It sounds like the kinda song the kids at the sock-hop would have had to hide from the chaperones, but Duffy's bouncy tribute to the brassy sounds of the sixties came out this year. "Mercy" owes a huge debt to Dusty, Aretha and The Supremes, but what girl singer worth her salt doesn't? Listen Here.
27: Jay Brannan -"Half-Boyfriend" (from Goddamned)
The Shortbus actor appears on the list for the second time with this tribute to falling in love with a fling. Jay really feels what he's singing, a must for any coffeehouse folkster, and what he's feeling resonates so loudly with what I'm feeling that it just works. "My one hope was that I'd survive you" Listen Here. (found via Towleroad.)
26: Little Jackie - "The World Should Revolve Around Me" (from The Stoop)
And the funk don't stop! My summer song of 2008 was a break-up jam with sass and attitude. Funky and flava-ful, I could not get enough of Little Jackie, even after New York Goes To Hollywood stole the single for it's theme song. Listen Here. (found via Pop Candy)
25: Estelle feat Kanye West - "American Boy" (from Shine)
The guitar riff as beat, the ego-poking rap from Kanye, the line "Don't like his baggy jeans, but I'mma like what's underneath 'em" - what's not to love? Listen Here.
24: Taylor Swift - "Love Story" (from Fearless)
Taylor plays fairytale princess to her Romeo in this slick country-pop tale of teenage love. Cute as a button, and catchy as hell. Listen Here.
23: Sam Sparro - "Black And Gold" (from Sam Sparro)
This is the first time I've ever heard a crisis of faith set to electro-funk. Questioning God's existence never made me want to dance so hard! Listen Here.
22: Lady Gag feat Colby O'Donis - "Just Dance" (from The Fame)
That beat! If anything could keep my feet moving and my ass shaking, it was the debut single from the newest Electronica star in America. I love this record baby, but I can't see straight anymore. Getting fucked up always sound fun, but Gaga manages to make it sound transcendent. Listen Here.
21; The Veronicas - "Untouched" (from Hook Me Up)
Sleek, sexually charged and symphonic-poppy, "Untouched" was the single radio should never had ignored. Finally getting airplay, thanks to requests, this slice of Pro-Tools heaven should be burning up the charts soon, and deservedly so. If you only click on one link in this list, make it this one. Listen Here.
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