As the Second Week of Summer comes to a close we're seeing more of the same although there are a few good tracks on the horizon that may be dominating our ears on the way to a Title. Let's get to it.
#8: "Judas" by Lady GaGa
GaGa's first appearance on the Winners List, "Judas" is a really insane song that has a shot to take off, tho I think if it hasn't taken off by now it's not going to in the next few weeks. With her album Born This Way debuting today interest may pick up but frankly, "Judas" just isn't that good of a song. It seems like more a cry for attention through controversially Biblical lyrics and the subsequent video that is really just a reminder that Madonna lived this life better twenty years ago. Actually there hasn't been a whole lot of controversy because it's not all that controversial, which makes it again just seem like a cry for attention. From the heavy 80s influence on the whole album it's clear that GaGa just wants to be Madonna. There isn't a whole lot of innovation in "Judas," it's basically a Jesus-themed version of "Bad Romance." It could stick around but the far better GaGa track "The Edge of Glory" is much more radio-friendly and evidently one of the best tracks on the whole album. In fact, "The Edge of Glory" is so pop-y that when I first heard it on the radio I assumed it wasn't GaGa but rather some other song I had heard months ago. Once that thing seeps into the culture tho it'll be a genuine contender for the Crown.
#7: "Written in the Stars" by Tinie Tempah ft. Eric Turner.
This song doesn't seem to be going away. It's really a pretty irritating song without a whole lot of redeeming qualities at all. It's also what I'd call a secretly popular song - no one really cares about it but it remains on the Winners List because its the kind of song good for backgrounds at parties or Barbe-Qs or other mindless Summer Fun. We'll see how much longer it hangs out here.
#6: "Just Can't Get Enough" by The Black Eyed Peas
This track is a bit of a departure from typical B.E.P. crap. It's less about partying and humping and a bit more genuine. Still it's very Pop Sounding and definitely a safe song for the group. It's pretty popular but it seems to fade in and out of zeitgeist instead of dominating like "Boom Boom Pow" and "I Gotta Feeling" did. I suspect it'll come and go for a few weeks on this List but never penetrate that deep.
#5: "Down on Me" by Jeremih ft. 50 Cent
Moving up a few slots this week is "Down on Me" which hasn't slowed down at all despite my forecasting. I am surprised it's still around as it's been on the charts for a very long time already (27 weeks, by far the longest of anyone in the Top 10 of the Hot 100). It doesn't really seem like it can slow down but there should be enough competition soon enough to push this one out of contention.
#4: "The Show Goes On" by Lupe Fiasco
This was a landmark week for Lupe, with a huge spike in airtime as well as a Peak Chart Position. This is one of my favourite songs of the year so far, the lyrics are intelligent, the beat is an excellent sample of Modest Mouse's "Float On" and Lupe is a talented singer and rapper. This is definitely an old song though and I wouldn't expect it to flash around much more like it did this week. The way this song was everywhere this week was strange tho it did find its highest lifetime charting so who knows, its popularity may just be peaking now.
#3: "Till the World Ends" by Britney Spears
What a fitting song for the supposed Rapture this weekend. Holding at #3 for the second week in a row is Britney's Ode to Doomsday Partying. It's nice to see her a bit relevant again and I would expect this track to hang out on the list a while longer but I'd be very surprised to see it any higher. Nicki and Ke$ha own the Remix tho, which is interesting for the artist's true popularity and talent right now.
#2: "Rolling in the Deep" by Adele
This song is long overdue for being overplayed. Yeah she's a fat and ugly female pop star with a hell of a set of pipes but "Rolling in the Deep" has been everywhere for far too long. Although it was ranked again #1 on the Hot 100 I just didn't think it was absorbed everywhere the way "E.T." was this week so they've flip-flopped positions.
#1: "E.T." by Katy Perry ft. Kanye West
We do need to talk about this video here. What the hell? Honestly I have woken up to vH1 every morning this past week to this fucking thing. I call it bizarre without any real merits with a very strange ending (half-Katy/half-Deer about to bang the Robot Albino Black Guy) and a huge departure from Katy's more typical sexual and cute videos. The whole song is drastically different from other upbeat Katy tracks of yesteryear, "California Gurls" obviously being the most prevalent. Her string of hits off Teenage Dream is remarkable, not only for their consistent popularity but the fact that "California Gurls," "Teenage Dream," "Firework" and "E.T." are all very different sounding songs. Katy's proving a monumental range here and making the kind of videos and pushing the kind of songs she wants to after years of selling sex and getting hits.
Like I mentioned, there are some big songs just waiting in the wings. In addition to "The Edge of Glory," which will be huge, I've got my eye on "Dirty Dancer" by Enrique, Usher and Weezy (a legendary trio comes together for an average song), "Party Rock Anthem" by LMFAO, "Give Me Everything" by Pitbull and of course the still climbing Nicki Minaj effort, "Super Bass." We'll see how this turns out, there are a lot of eager Summer Anthems out there and if the rain holds off for more than an hour this week we might actually feel like we've earned it!
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