March 7, 2009 Part Two

The rest of 2009.

20 - "Green Light," John Legend featuring Andre 3000
19 - "Thinking of You," Katy Perry
18 - "Let it Rock," Kevin Rudolf featuring Lil Wayne.
17 - "Poker Face," Lady Gaga
16 - "Womanizer," Britney Spears

　
The second half opens with one of the biggest pop hits by the smooth soul singer born John Roger Stephens.  It's a funky little plea for a woman to give him the signal to, well, go forward.  Andre 3000 provides a welcome presence.  Could this song stop traffic?  Probably not, but I dig it.

Katy Perry is here again, this time with a power ballad about how she still thinks about her ex even when she's with her new beau.  This style doesn't really fit her the way it does, say, Avril Lavigne.  Not surprisingly, it's the lowest-charting single she's had since she became a star.

Next is Kevin Rudolf, a rock singer who signed to the hip-hop label Cash Money and scored a big hit with this dance-rocker about, I don't know, rebelling against stuff.  Lil Wayne chips in with rhymes about sex.  For a while, it was played a lot at sporting events, seemingly in place of the highly annoying Jennifer Lopez song "Let's Get Loud."  It wasn't an improvement.

Then it's our first encounter with one Stefani Germanotta, the Akon discovery now known to the world as Lady Gaga.  Her second hit was this jittery, hooky synth-dance number that uses gambling as a sexual metaphor.  Both the track and her voice were just so otherworldly at the time that you couldn't help but pay attention.  And so, Ms. Gaga receives this week's Uneasy Rider.

Rounding out this batch is Britney Spears with antother of her charttoppers.  It's a driving dance track about a woman who knows to much to fall for a slick Lothario's act.  The song's incredibly catchy, and she cops the required attitude with the greatest of ease.  One of her best.
　

15 - "Live Your Life," T.I. featuring Rihanna
14 - "Mad," Ne-Yo
13 - "Untouched," The Veronicas
12 - "I Hate This Part," The Pussycat Dolls
11 - "Right Round," Flo Rida featuring Ke$ha

　
This group opens with T.I.'s second appearance of the week, this one an anthem about doing what you do no matter what, assisted by a Rihanna hook.  It's catchy pop music that sounds good.  That's pretty much it.

Ne-Yo makes his third appearance this week with a ballad based around that perennial bit of couples' advice "Never go to bed angry."  We don't find out if Mr. and Mrs. Yo settled their argument before turning in, but somehow, I think they did.  But I won't speculate on how this was accomplished.

Next are Austrailian twins Jessica and Lisa Origliasso, who got their band name from one of my favorite films of all time, Heathers.  Their biggest American hit was this punky bit of bubblegum about needing someone you can't physically be with.  It obviously drew comparisons to some of Avril Lavigne's stuff, but for me, it's just a little above that.  It's just got a little extra something that I can't put my finger on.  Whether you're a Swatch dog or a Diet Cokehead, give it a listen.

Then it's one of the last hits by those Pussycat Dolls. It's slick breakup pop, fronted by possibly Nicole Scherzinger's best vocal performance.  Far from a classic, but a respectable effort.

Anchoring this quintet is Flo Rida's second #1.  It's another sex rap, this time featuring a chorus that repurposes Dead or Alive's 80s favorite "You Spin Me Round (Like a Record)."  Not nearly as fun as "Low," but it did introduce the world to a young lady named Ke$ha.  Whether or not this is a good thing, I leave to you.

Can I get a Top Ten, a medium fries, and a large Mountain Dew?
 
10 - "You Found Me," The Fray
This boredom factory produced its third Top Ten in the form of this song about finding God and asking him about all the bad things that He allows to happen.  I'm not sure it was the real God, though, for I don't think He smokes cigarettes.  And I imagine He has better taste in music.
　

9 - "Dead and Gone," T.I. featuring Justin Timberlake
The rapper's third entry here is a rap that recounts the real-life murder of one of his friends.  Timberlake sings emotionally on the choruses.  Affecting.
　

8 - "My Life Would Suck Without You," Kelly Clarkson
The original Idol picked up a #1 with this slick, self-explanatory dance-rocker.  Another piece of catchy Max Martin fluff.  Kelly's better than this material, but after the commercial disappointment of the My December album, she needed to come back with a surefire hit, so I don't begrudge her.

7 - "Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)," Beyoncé
This spacey, sexy number about male fear of commitment has become Ms. Knowles' signature hit.  I like it, and if it had fingers, I would put some jewelry on one of them.  Put your hands up.

6 - "Heartless," Kanye West
More synths and Auto-Tune from Kanye.  Fine, but "Love Lockdown" is much better.  And all in all, it's best he came back to rap.
　

5 - "Sober," Pink
Pink again, this time with a spare rocker about being able to feel happy and euphoric without alcoholic assistance.  More attitude and awesomeness.  She adds authenticity to female pop, which is a rare commodity these days.　
　

4 - "Just Dance," Lady Gaga featuring Colby O'Donis
Gaga's first hit was this party jam about booty-shaking intoxication.  Mr. O'Donis makes his second guest appearance of the week.  Wonder why he hasn't done much on his own.  Oh wait, no I don't.  I'm too busy grooving to this.
　

3 - "Circus," Britney Spears
Brit declares that people are of two types: "the ones that entertain, and the ones that observe."  It's not hard to guess which one she is on this slinky bumper about turning a dance floor into a three-ring spectacular.  Another of her best. 　
　

2 - "Gives You Hell," The All-American Rejects
The most recent Top Ten for these guys is this poppy tune about being better off than your ex post-relationship.  There's a bit of a reggae flavor to this.  I can't say I like this, but no song of theirs comes closer to achieving that status.

And four years ago, the top of the charts was occupied by...

1 - "Love Story," Taylor SwiftAccording to Mr. Seacrest, this was the first country song to top AT40 since Kenny Rogers' "Lady" in 1980.  And surprisingly, I have to say it's more "country" than that song.  It's a fluffy little tune about star-crossed teenage romance, complete with blatant Romeo and Juliet references.  But unlike that story, this ends happily.  Sugary sweet, but somewhat charming.  She hadn't started to grate yet on these ears.

Next time:  2010.