Summer Jam 2010: June 21 Winners

Welcome once again to the ongoing search for the King of Summer Jam 2010! It seems as though the contenders for the moment have largely stabilized although it's still anybody's game. Finally, this was GaGa's week, contrary to what Billboard thinks, this chick was everywhere. Summer's getting in full swing now and with a great weekend passed now we're in the thick of it. Let's get it started:

#8: "Young Forever" - Jay-Z & Mr. Hudson

Back on the list this week, this song doesn't seem to be going anywhere. I had a great moment this week when I heard this on the radio while simultaneously another station played "Forever Young" by Alphaville. Both songs still suck.

#7: "Your Love is My Drug" - Ke$ha

Still pretty potent, "Your L is my D" took a bit of a tumble but is still relatively strong. Its unoriginal pop tones seem to be hindering its potential amidst many other catchier cooler songs this summer. It should soon be squeezed out of competition.

#6: "Bulletproof" - La Roux

Steadily climbing, La Roux just seems to not go away! It's a smaller song that will probably have a bit more staying power than other flash in the pan tracks. It's reminiscent of "American Boy" by Estelle and Kanye a few summers ago - that smaller song that proves its popularity and uniqueness, something we'll still be hearing in 2012. Because of this it's also about guaranteed to not rise to the top and conquer our specific zeitgeist.

#5: "OMG" - Usher ft. Will.i.am

Now, the Top 5 this week were all fantastically close, so don't consider this a huge drop for "OMG," it's still certainly a contender and I wouldn't say it's slipping too far. There were however a handful of songs that kicked its ass this week and it's #5 for that reason. I was pretty excited when radio versions came out this week that don't feature that awkward stop and reset at the beginning of the track. When this thing flows, it works supremely.

#4: "Airplanes" - B.o.B ft. Hayley Williams

Slipping just a tad, but again, this race was close. The track's hopefulness and legit beat are growing on me and like "OMG" there's no reason to count it out of the race yet. Paying close attention to both the single B.o.B and the Eminem versions belays subtle differences and as long as Hip-Hop stations are playing the Slim Shady version it's pounding double duty across slightly varied genres, which should continue to help its chances.

#3: "Billionaire" - Travie McCoy ft. Bruno Mars

Here is your flash in the pan Summer Song. It's a longing song while at the same time pretty hopeful and altruistic. It's got to be part of the appeal, just the simple notion that everyone you love could have a couple bucks. In some way it's still selfish but come on, it's a good riff on being a billionaire. It likely won't climb higher than this and will be out of the radio by July.


#2: "Alejandro" - Lady GaGa

Very close to the top spot this week but it's lack of Billboard Popularity has held it back. The boost from the Music Video release a couple weeks ago has finally taken effect. This has been climbing both this list and Billboard's tirelessly ever since its release and it's very close to reaching its full potential of a great Summer Jam. Also someone finally mashed it up with Ace of Base, take a listen.

#1: "California Gurls" - Katy Perry ft. Snoop Dogg

This track finally got a music video as well and it's pretty incredible. Take a gander here:



Yep. Gratuitous candy sex on display. This track is such a fantasy and the video really shows its likeness to heaven. I can't picture a more perfect world than the one Katy Perry describes and everything ridiculous in the video should spike the popularity up a few notches. Legendary cuteness. This is the song to take down for Queen of Summer 2010 and that's certainly a tall order. Heavenly.

No Taio Cruz this week, in case it doesn't appear again (not bloody likely), I need to mention how hot the chick is in that video. She's ridic hot. I'm in love. Next week we'll see if the Black Eyed Peas can rock the charts a bit (although "Rock That Body" is one of their worst songs, it's as if they've really given up into the techno synth shit instead of producing anything close to a good song). I'm also keeping an eye on Ne-Yo's new track, "Beautiful Monster". Both these have some potential to be good summer hits (the Tron beat of "Beautiful Monster" in particular...) and Norwegian Morning Wood will be sure to be there when the Pop Happens!