We’re in the home stretch now, folks. Our survey takes us now to 2008. This year (the tail end of 2007 actually) gives us the last major change in the Hot 100 formula until 2013 - streaming and satellite radio are now included in the metrics along with terrestrial radio. There was no carryover this year, and we have 14 songs to choose from, including a few artists we haven’t heard from in several years, and some we’ll be seeing quite often in the last few polls.
Busy day ahead so before my quick vote I will add I have a scary hatred for 2008, first time I considered abstaining ever. Thank God Leona Lewis vanished in the U.S and I wished Katy Perry would have met the same fate. I laugh when people claim somehow that Beyoncé’s single is a great classic or what not. Most her music sounds dated. No worth mentioning the pile of garbage found on this list. What a pathetic end to her #1 singles Mariah Carey had with this song. Only savior on this list if Coldplay, not their best single but their only pop #1 and they walk away with this. May Leona Lewis single burn in hell!
“Single Ladies” was an easy pick, with “Live Your Life” coming in second in the world-famous Ponch8 Music Rating System.
Now for dead-ass last place. This year features the first Dr. Luke-produced #1 single. Dr. Luke has abused Kesha in all sorts of ways, including rape, druggings, and verbal abuse over the last decade. Every Dr. Luke-produced song that doesn’t feature Kesha will receive an AUTOMATIC ZERO score in the Ponch8 Music Rating System and will automatically finish dead-ass last. “I Kissed a Girl” gets an AUTOMATIC ZERO. (Note: Kesha appears in the video for this song, so obviously the video is much better than the song itself.)
This largely mirrors my own opinion. In general, I find Coldplay excessively mellow and same-y. Viva La Vida is easily their best song, and it’s a breath of fresh air in this list - in an age of party songs, club songs, and general bubblegum, along comes an orchestral rock anthem with explicitly religious lyrics and universal themes about the corrupting influence of power and what it feels like to lose it all.
“I Kissed A Girl”, “Bleeding Love”, and “So What” are also enjoyable IMO.
Well, maybe - one of my ideas for a future poll is to use the Billboard year-end charts and do a “Best of the Top 40” retrospective for the sake of all those who were upset that some of the most iconic jams of their day never made it to #1.
Surprised at the lack of love for Leona Lewis, maybe it’s because her style is less exposed in Britain than the US. Personally I think she is possibly the best singer ever discovered by a TV talent show, in terms of sheer vocal ability. And I like Bleeding Love, even though I’m not a fan of the lyrics and it’s (still) somewhat over-played.
Usher’s is the only song I’m not ashamed to still like and it got me so much ass in college. I damn near grew up on Usher so I’m very fond of his music.