I love a good dance track. One that will get me up in a second. I think a lot of bad things get said about mainstream music these days, but there is a lot of good stuff out there that is being missed because of the fact that people think there is nothing good in the charts these days. I hate music snobs who think that just because everyone is listening to it, then its no good. I think they are doing just as much harm to the music industry as Simon Cowell.
Here are my top 5 floor-fillers of 2011. I don’t go out much these days, but if I did, these are the songs that I would be up jumping about to.
Number 5
Olly Murs ft. Rizzle Kicks – Heart Skips A Beat
There is so much to hate about this song. Olly Murs. I was never a big fan of him when he was on The X Factor. He comes across as arrogant and cocky and he wears silly hats. On this track however, I find him incredibly likeable. His voice is bouncing along and the song has a lot of energy because of it. The ‘hip-hop duo’ Rizzle Kicks. Who are they? I have never heard of them before but they give this song a great beat and a catchy tune which is hard to get out of your head. I cannot, however, forgive the line ‘…should’ve just taken her to the cinema to see Saw’. It sticks out like a sore thumb and makes me hate this song a little bit. The ska beat is my favourite thing about it. I’m a huge fan of ska and this song gives a little love to the genre. It is a great Summer track. Not repeatable like a good catchy song, but good enough that if it comes on, you don’t instantly hate it.
Number 4
Moves Like Jagger – Maroon 5
I love this. Undeniable love. I’ve never been a fan of Maroon 5, and I actually forgot they existed. I’m not entirely sure if this is a comeback and I don’t care. They have given me this song and now they can go away again. I love everything about it, that hook which makes you want to get up and start clapping like an insane person. That chorus line you cannot stop yourself from singing along to. Even my boyfriend, who has stated his hate for this song has been caught singing it. I love the video, a wonderful concept of getting people to dress up and imitate the man himself intercut with snapshots of his questionable moves onstage throughout the years and a sly dig at Jaggers advancing years with an interview clip stating he didn’t expect to last this long in the biz – filmed in the sixties. This song hit us not long after Cher Lloyds atrocity Swagger Jagger. Unlike that horrendous excuse for a song, this one uses his name whilst knowing who he is. The video is clearly full of love for the man and his bodyshaking. Clips of Jagger swinging his thing will always be welcome in my home.
Number 3
The Wanted – Glad You Came
I’m beginning to sense a bit of a theme here. I am not a fan of The Wanted. They are a manufactured boyband made up of pre-teens for the sole purpose of making money. They have no music ability whatsoever. However, one day, this song infiltrated my brain and it has stayed there ever since. This has everything a Summer song should have. A hook that you can remember and a fun sun-soaked bassline. It has an Ibiza sort of sound to it, one that you just know is going to stick around for years. A part of me is a bit uncomfortable watching this video. I’m not sure how old these boys are but I’m pretty sure that most of the girls dancing around them in their bikinis are a good five years older. And I’m not huge on them singing about girls coming either, however innocent it may be. But yeah, I like this song, I cannot deny it.
Number 2
Jennifer Lopez ft. Pitbull – On The Floor
Let’s get this out of the way first. I LOVE Jennifer Lopez. She was huge when I was a teenager and when everyone hated her because of her dive-like ways, I was falling in love with her. I loved her hair and her dance moves. I loved her audacity for being so blatantly a superstar. To be honest, if I had bucket-loads of money, I would do the exact same thing. Without her, Beyonce or Rihanna would not have the careers they are enjoying now. Her re-mixes with Ja Rule are some of the best RnB songs of the early decade and her song ‘Get Right’ is a brilliant track that no one can deny. I never expected her to make a comeback, I thought she would be resigned to showing up at fancy dinners for the rest of her career. But this is a brilliant return to form. A heavy techno beat over a sample of the forgotten Lambada song from the late eighties makes for a great club hit. When I first heard this, I instantly had images of the nightclub back home that my best friend and I used to frequent and it made me smile, and it made me want to go back and have a bloody good dance. That’s what good club hits should do, make you want to go to your old haunts and dance the night away.
Number 1
Rihanna ft. Calvin Harris – We Found Love
Saving the best till last. This is easily one of the best tracks to come out this year. An absolute stonker. I’m a huge fan of both Rihanna and Calvin Harris so I knew I wasn’t going to be disappointed by this song when I stumbled upon it via a cover that Coldplay recorded for the Radio 1 Live Lounge (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=66G64oTu5z4). It’s a tragic tale about love gone wrong, the bass line is astounding, euphoric and messy, clearly inspired by Van Helden. The video works as a fantastic short film, starting with Rihanna in a bath in a London high-rise telling the story of a tragic end. Beautifully shot in and around the streets of London, it’s the grittiest Rihanna has ever been seen, she should do more of this. Calvin Harris goes from strength to strength and this really sells me on his abilities as a producer, its masterful stuff. If I was still going clubbing, this is the song that everyone would be waiting on coming on, everyone would rush to dancefloor to enjoy the euphoria. I wasn’t expecting Rihanna to come out of her glitzy world to do a song so gritty but she completely ups her game on this record and it shocked me. There is so much more in her, clearly.
Sew It Begins 