JUMP TO: 100-76 II 75-51 II 50-26 II 25-1
It had only been around for a few years, but YouTube was continuing to change the face of music - and did so literally in 2009, with new artists starting to emerge from the video-sharing website, notably Justin Bieber, who was discovered by Scooter Braun and championed by Usher, and released his debut single that year.
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| Who'd have guessed this group of geeks would break chart records around the world? |
Number 25 "Telephone" by Lady Gaga / Beyonce Knowles
Mentioned below
Number 24 "I Do Not Hook Up" by Kelly Clarkson
Mentioned below
Number 23 "Art Of Love" by Guy Sebastian / Jordin Sparks
A couple of years earlier, Guy Sebastian was in danger of becoming what so many other Idol and The X Factor winners and finalists had become: a covers act. While his 2006 album, Closer To The Sun, and its singles had performed adequately, I couldn't help but think there was some record company pressure behind his decision to release soul covers collection The Memphis Album in 2007.
Unlike many of his ex-reality show peers, Guy avoided the remake downward spiral and returned to releasing original material in 2009 - and was rewarded with his first ARIA number 1 in five years: "Like It Like That" (number 98 on this list). He swiftly followed that up with this ballad duet with American Idol winner Jordin Sparks, who we'll be seeing more of before we reach number 1.
Number 22 "Try Sleeping With A Broken Heart" by Alicia Keys
I've never been as enamoured with Alicia Keys as the rest of the world and while I've liked a handful of her songs over the years (until this release, her 2004 single "Karma" was my favourite of hers), many of her biggest hits ("Fallin'", "No One", "Girl On Fire") leave me cold. Possibly because it sounded like nothing else she'd previously released, this second single from The Element Of Freedom album quickly became my new favourite.
Number 21 "Forever Is Over" by The Saturdays
Another act I don't seem to rate anywhere near as highly as many others is girl group The Saturdays, who I've always seen as a poor man's Girls Aloud - will less artistic consistency. Indeed, "Forever Is Over" was the first song by the group I really loved and it sounded nothing like previous singles like "Up" and "Work". Over the coming years, I'd have similarly inconsistent feelings towards their music.
Number 20 "Can't Get Over" by September
A couple more singles by Swedish songstress September impressed in 2009 - "Can't Get Over" and "Until I Die" (number 59 on this list). Unlike previous hit "Cry For You", which made no secret of its '80s inspiration, these two songs weren't as clearly based on other songs, although I always thought "Can't Get Over" sounded a little similar to "Bette Davis Eyes". Turns out, September had already sampled the Kim Carnes song on a track from her In Orbit album called "Midnight Heartache".
Number 19 "Don't Be On With Her" by Miami Horror
Speaking of being influenced by '80s songs, here's the best Prince track not released by The Artist himself - with "Don't Be On With Her" sounding more than a little like "When Doves Cry". The track was taken from the Melbourne band's debut EP, Bravado, and by the end of 2009, they'd also released their debut single, "Sometimes" (number 76 on this list).
Number 18 "Zero" by Yeah Yeah Yeahs
At the harder end of the electronic band spectrum is this trio from New York, whose music I'd never gotten into before - but this lead single from the It's Blitz! album impressed me and seemingly every other music critic in 2009, ending the year atop best singles lists in NME and Spin.
Number 17 "When Love Takes Over" by David Guetta featuring Kelly Rowland
The song that changed everything for David Guetta, "When Love Takes Over" featured his first high profile guest vocal - from the former Destiny's Child member - and gave him his first UK chart-topper and Australian top 10 hit. Since then, he's monopolised music, with more than 20 major singles released as lead or featured artist, although with questionable quality control since this classic.
Number 16 "Fight For This Love" by Cheryl Cole
The timing couldn't have been more perfect for Cheryl Cole to go solo. Firmly ensconced on the judging panel of the UK version of The X Factor, she'd successfully turned her public image around from being the Girls Aloud member most likely to end up behind bars to the nation's sweetheart. Plus, with the girl group on hiatus, "Fight For This Love" filled a void on the pop landscape and duly raced to number 1 in the UK.
Number 15 "Again And Again" by Keane
"Better Than This" (number 87 on this list) was released as the final single from Keane's Perfect Symmetry in early 2009, but this track was one of my picks from the album and could easily have been a single. Surprisingly - to me, anyway - none of the singles released from the UK chart-topping album performed anywhere near the band's normal standards and it was back to more typical Keane fare for their next release.
Number 14 "Fireflies" by Owl City
More '80s-influenced synthpop now, with this debut single from the artist otherwise known as Adam Young. "Fireflies" had hit stamped all over it - and it was an unsurprising number 1 in Australia, the UK and the US, and reached the top 5 in stacks of other countries. It also drew comparisons to the work of Postal Service, the group fronted by Death Cab For Cutie vocalist Ben Gibbard - something Adam acknowledged, even if he is more of a Death Cab fan.
Number 13 "11th Dimension" by Julian Casablancas
I've never been a big fan of The Strokes, but that hardly mattered when it came to this debut solo single by lead singer Julian Casablancas, since it sounded nothing like the garage rock sound favoured by his band and instead fit into the '80s-referencing synthpop sound of the late '00s. Whether or not that was the reason, "11th Dimension" and album Phrazes For The Young were commercial disappointments.
Number 12 "To Lose My Life" by White Lies
An act that did have an indie rock sound were British newcomers White Lies, who hit the top spot in the UK with their debut album, To Lose My Life..., from which this was the third single. The album's second single, "Death" (number 91 on this list), also ended up as its fifth, since it was re-released in 2009.
Number 11 "Last Night" by Carolina Liar
Like Keane, Carolina Liar released one of my favourite singles of 2008 - in this case, "I'm Not Over". They also had more great songs where that came from, with "Last Night" and "California Bound" (number 27 on this list) standouts on the Coming To Terms album, even if the record label didn't see fit to release them as singles.
Number 10 "Love Comes" by Bananarama
I thought the days were long gone when Bananarama would wind up with a song in my year-end top 10, having not wound up there since 1991 with "Preacher Man", but after almost two decades of average pop songs, Keren and Sara came up with the goods for what will probably be one last hurrah. Produced by Ian Masterson (one half of Trouser Enthusiasts), "Love Comes" sounded every bit like a Bananarama song while still feeling current.
Number 9 "Bad Romance" by Lady Gaga
She'd been big in 2008, but Lady Gaga was a veritable pop behemoth in 2009. Constantly in the news, for her outfits as much as her music. When it came to the latter, the hits were relentless - and after milking debut album The Fame dry of singles, she released another hit-laden mini album, The Fame Monster.
"Bad Romance" was the lead single from The Fame Monster, and it came complete with her most OTT music video yet... until the next single, "Telephone" (number 25 on this list), topped it. Two more Gaga tracks also make this top 100, "Paparazzi" (number 50) and non-single "The Fame" (number 88).
Number 8 "Battlefield" by Jordin Sparks
Jordin Sparks had done pretty well with her first post-Idol album, but what she really needed to push her career over the edge was a Ryan Tedder power ballad. The OneRepublic singer was carving out quite the side career as a songwriter and producer for female artists, with his handiwork also heard on Beyonce Knowles' "Halo" and "Already Gone" by Kelly Clarkson in 2009 - controversially, it would turn out.
"Battlefield" was easily my favourite of the three songs and kicked off Jordin's second album campaign in earnest - only for it to falter soon after, with second single "S.O.S. (Let The Music Play)" (number 51 on this list) nowhere near as big a hit. Also on this top 100: "Young And In Love" (number 44), a track from her debut self-titled album.
Number 7 "Don't Stop Believin'" by Glee Cast
In May 2009, a sneak peek of new musical comedy series Glee was aired, with the full season to commence in September. It was laugh-out-loud funny (mostly thanks to Jane Lynch's Sue Sylvester), and emphasised diversity with its characters and storylines. It may have lost the plot a bit since then, but at the time it was groundbreaking TV.
Then, there was the music, which wasn't always necessarily what you'd expect from a high school dramedy about a show choir (think "Rehab", "I Kissed A Girl"). That was especially the case with the episode's big finale, a version of Journey's "Don't Stop Believin'". Turning the classic American rock ballad into a rousing multi-part vocal number was a stroke of genius (with credit due to Petra Haden for her 2007 arrangement of the song) and the Glee cast recording become a massive hit - the first of many remakes that would clog the charts over the years to come. In the UK, the Journey original also became a hit, 28 years after its original release and has since sold over a million downloads there.
Number 6 "My Life Would Suck Without You" by Kelly Clarkson
Now she'd gotten My December out of her system, Kelly Clarkson could go back to the business of making storming pop smashes - and the dream team of Max Martin and Dr Luke were assembled for "My Life Would Suck Without You". The return to form didn't end there - follow-up "I Do Not Hook Up" (number 24 on this list) and album track "If I Can't Have You" (number 47) were just as boppy, while the artwork for the All I Ever Wanted album and its accompanying singles could not have been more diametrically opposed to her previous project if it tried.
Number 5 "The Spell" by Alphabeat
Time for a Eurodance triple play, and first up are our friends from Denmark, who wound up with my number 1 single for 2008 (and another three songs in the top 20). Alphabeat moved on to their second album in 2009, for which they used early '90s Italo house and commercial dance music as inspiration. "The Spell" was the first cut from the album of the same name - and maintained their status as my new music obsession.
Number 4 "Evacuate The Dancefloor" by Cascada
Over to Germany now for an original track by a group who'd become more known for cheesy dance remakes of songs like "Truly Madly Deeply" and "What Hurts The Most" in the past few years, but had started out with the global (except Australia) mega-hit "Everytime We Touch". The lead single and title track from their third album, "Evacuate The Dancefloor" saw the group fronted by Natalie Horler land another global (including Australia) smash with an original song. It was followed by two more singles co-written by the two other members of Cascada, Manuel Reuter and Yann Peifer - "Fever" (number 83 on this list) and "Dangerous" (number 107) - but neither those songs nor anything else the group have released since have come close to the level of success enjoyed by "Evacuate The Dancefloor".
Number 3 "Release Me" by Agnes
Back to Scandinavia with the breakthrough international hit for former Swedish Idol winner Agnes Carlsson, who'd had plenty of success at home in the wake of the reality series but changed record company and musical style for her third album, Dance Love Pop. That dancier sound was evident on "Release Me" and international follow-up "I Need You Now" (number 56 on this list), which both reached the UK top 40 - the latter only just.
Number 2 "All Stars" by Grafton Primary
In my runners-up spot for 2009 is a song that seemed to fly completely under the radar - the lead track from the EP of the same name by Australian duo Grafton Primary. The duo is comprised of brothers Benjamin and Joshua Garden, who grew up where you'd imagine: Grafton.
Number 1 "3 Little Words" by Frankmusik
For the second year in a row, a new act with an exuberant song snatched the top spot away from all competition - in this case, it was the debut single from British male artist Frankmusik (or Vincent Turner, as his parents named him). Complete with its joyful music video, which referenced the piano scene in Big, "3 Little Words" suggested Frankmusik would become one of my new favourite artists, something follow-up "Better Off As Two" (number 75 on this list) seemed to bear out. But, by the end of the year, Vincent had moved to LA and, in 2010, signed to Cherrytree Records - decisions which would dramatically alter the sound and feel of his subsequent releases.
My top 200 for 2009 in full:
1 3
LITTLE WORDS Frankmusik
2 ALL
STARS Grafton Primary
3 RELEASE
ME Agnes
4 EVACUATE THE DANCEFLOOR Cascada
5 THE
SPELL Alphabeat
6 MY
LIFE WOULD SUCK WITHOUT YOU Kelly Clarkson
7 DON’T STOP BELIEVIN’ Glee Cast
8 BATTLEFIELD
Jordin Sparks
9 BAD ROMANCE Lady Gaga
10 LOVE
COMES Bananarama
11 LAST
NIGHT Carolina
12 TO
LOSE MY LIFE White Lies
13 11TH DIMENSION Julian Casablancas
14 FIREFLIES Owl
City
15 AGAIN AND AGAIN Keane
16 FIGHT
FOR THIS LOVE Cheryl Cole
17 WHEN
LOVE TAKES OVER David Guetta featuring Kelly Rowland
18 ZERO
Yeah Yeah Yeahs
19 DON’T
BE ON WITH HER Miami
20 CAN’T
GET OVER September
21 FOREVER
IS OVER The Saturdays
22 TRY
SLEEPING WITH A BROKEN HEART Alicia Keys
23 ART OF LOVE Guy Sebastian / Jordin Sparks
24 I DO NOT HOOK UP Kelly Clarkson
25 TELEPHONE Lady Gaga / Beyoncé Knowles
26 BAD
BOYS Alexandra Burke featuring Flo Rida
27 CALIFORNIA BOUND Carolina
28 STRAIGHT
THROUGH MY HEART (SOLDIER DOWN) Backstreet Boys
29 SWEET DREAMS Beyoncé Knowles
30 TIK TOK Ke$ha
31 FUGITIVE Pet Shop Boys
32 DAWN OF THE DEAD Does It Offend You, Yeah?
33 SILLY
BOY Eva Simons
34 DON’T STOP Innerpartysystem
35 HEART
Bertie Blackman
36 GOOD
GIRLS GO BAD Cobra Starship featuring Leighton Meester
37 DON’T
TRUST ME 3OH!3
38 CELEBRATION
Madonna
39 LEFT
MY HEART IN TOKYO/PETE HAMMOND MIX Mini Viva
40 BOYS
& GIRLS Martin Solveig featuring Dragonette
41 IN
THE HEAT OF THE NIGHT Star Pilots
42 BODIES Robbie Williams
43 I
CAN’T STAY AWAY The Veronicas
44 YOUNG
AND IN LOVE Jordin Sparks
45 DON’T UPSET THE RHYTHM (GO BABY GO) Noisettes
46 HUSH HUSH; HUSH HUSH Pussycat Dolls
47 IF I CAN’T HAVE YOU Kelly Clarkson
48 EMPTY Jessica Mauboy
49 DID
YOU SEE ME COMING Pet Shop Boys
50 PAPARAZZI Lady GaGa
51 S.O.S.
(LET THE MUSIC PLAY) Jordin Sparks
52 LISTEN
TO YOUR BODY TONIGHT Black Kids
53 FOREIGN
LAND Eskimo Joe
54 UNTOUCHABLE
Girls Aloud
55 SAY
IT Booty Luv
56 I
NEED YOU NOW Agnes
57 MAGIC
Ladyhawke
58 HEAVY
CROSS Gossip
59 UNTIL I DIE September
60 I WISH IT COULD LAST Sam La More
61 GHOSTS N STUFF Deadmau5 featuring Rob Swire
62 NEED ME TO STAY Tommy Trash featuring Mr Wilson
63 YOU
WANT HISTORY Kaiser Chiefs
64 NEW
DIVIDE Linkin Park
65 MEET ME HALFWAY The Black Eyed Peas
66 REMEDY
Little Boots
67 I
GOTTA FEELING The Black Eyed Peas
68 SHOOTING
STARS Bag Raiders
69 YOU ON A GOOD DAY Sugababes
70 MILLION DOLLAR BILL / FREEMASONS MIX Whitney Houston
71 FIXIN’
TO THRILL Dragonette
72 WHATAYA
WANT FROM ME Adam Lambert
73 MISS YOU BOW WOW Girls Aloud
74 SONGS REMIND ME OF YOU Annie
75 BETTER
OFF AS TWO Frankmusik
76 SOMETIMES Miami
77 NEW
IN TOWN Little Boots
78 LEFT
BEHIND CSS
79 THE
END Simple Plan
80 IF
U SEEK AMY Britney Spears
81 METHOD OF MODERN LOVE / THIS IS TOMORROW Saint Etienne
82 WISH WE WERE OLDER Metro Station
83 FEVER Cascada
84 FALLING
ROCKETS Cicada
85 LIVE IN MY HEAD Zoot Woman
86 STUCK
ON REPEAT Little Boots
87 BETTER
THAN THIS Keane
88 THE
FAME Lady GaGa
89 BECAUSE
Jessica Mauboy
90 DO IT AGAIN Cassie Davis
91 DEATH
White Lies
92 LOVE ME ALREADY Black Kids
93 DOWN Jay Sean featuring Lil Wayne
94 WELCOME
TO THE WORLD Kevin Rudolf
95 FOR
YOUR ENTERTAINMENT Adam Lambert
96 TOMORROW
Ladytron
97 BOYS AND GIRLS Pixie Lott
98 LIKE
IT LIKE THAT Guy Sebastian
99 TELL
ME IT’S NOT OVER / THIN WHITE DUKE MIX Starsailor
100 I
WISH Mini Viva
101 CHANGE
Daniel Merriweather featuring Wale
102 DON’T
LET ME DOWN Eskimo Joe
103 BEEN
WAITING Jessica Mauboy
104 CAT
& THE EYE Van She
105 CONTROL
Metro Station
106 PICK
UP THE PHONE Dragonette
107 DANGEROUS
Cascada
108 FOOT
OF THE MOUNTAIN a-ha
109 FAREWELL
TO THE FAIRGROUND White Lies
110 BEAT
AGAIN JLS
111 LOVE
SEX MAGIC Ciara featuring Justin Timberlake
112 THE
FEAR Lily Allen
113 I
REMEMBER Deadmau5 & Kaskade
114 SOS
HELLO Grafton Primary
115 JUMP
Glee Cast
116 PHANTOM
BRIDE EP Erasure
117 MY
LOVE IS BETTER Annie
118 HEADS
WILL ROLL Yeah Yeah Yeahs
119 HOT
MESS Cobra Starship
120 READY
FOR THE WEEKEND Calvin Harris
121 HALO
Beyoncé Knowles
122 DON’T
LET IT GO TO YOUR HEAD Jordin Sparks
123 THE
WORLD WE LIVE IN The Killers
124 YOU
AND I Medina
125 LOVE
GAME Lady Gaga
126 A
DUSTLAND FAIRYTALE The Killers
127 QUICKSAND
La Roux
128 RED
Daniel Merriweather
129 LET
ME BE ME Jessica Mauboy
130 BIGGER
Backstreet Boys
131 BREAK
YOUR HEART Taio Cruz
132 MEMORY
OF YOU Girls Aloud
133 HEARTBREAK
MAKE ME A DANCER Freemasons & Sophie Ellis-Bextor
134 COME
ON BE GOOD Dragonette
135 EARTHQUAKE
Little Boots
136 BACK
TO THE START Lily Allen
137 BULLETPROOF
La Roux
138 HAZEL
Junior Boys
139 LOVE
LONG DISTANCE Gossip
140 AMBITIONS
Donkeyboy
141 SWEET
DISPOSTION The Temper Trap
142 KELSEY
Metro Station
143 22
Lily Allen
144 ALL
THE RIGHT MOVES OneRepublic
145 HOT
MESS Sam Sparro
146 WATCHA
SAY Jason Derulo
147 BYRDS
OF PREY Bertie Blackman
148 IF
I KNOW YOU The Presets
149 (IF
YOU’RE WONDERING IF I WANT YOU TO) I WANT YOU TO Weezer
150 SHE’S
MY WINONA Fall Out Boy
151 PERFECT
SYMMETRY Keane
152 AUTOMATIC
Tokio Hotel
153 CONFUSION
GIRL Frankmusik
154 BACK
OF THE VAN Ladyhawke
155 WE
WALK The Ting Tings
156 PERFECT
Depeche Mode
157 TELL
ME THE WORST Will Young
158 IMPOSSIBLE
Daniel Merriweather
159 IT’S
NOT MY PROBLEM Sneaky Sound System
160 SOMETIMES
Donkeyboy
161 UP/DOWN
Jessica Mauboy
162 FOREVER
Walter Meego
163 CHRISTMAS
EP Pet Shop Boys
164 I
TOLD HER ON ALDERAAN Neon Neon
165 METROPOLIS
Cicada
166 LOSING
FRIENDS OVER LOVE Eskimo Joe
167 CHASE
THAT FEELING Hilltop Hoods
168 THUMP
Bertie Blackman
169 UNFINISHED
BUSINESS White Lies
170 NO
YOU GIRLS Franz Ferdinand
171 FAME
Naturi Naughton
172 BROKEN-HEARTED
GIRL Beyoncé Knowles
173 THE
GIRL AND THE ROBOT Röyksopp featuring Robyn
174 3
Britney Spears
175 STRONG
AGAIN N-Dubz
176 I
WILL BE HERE Tiesto featuring Sneaky Sound System
177 I’M
NOT ALONE Calvin Harris
178 ELEVATOR
Junior Sanchez featuring Good Charlotte
179 ALONE
Glee Cast
180 DIE
TONIGHT LIVE FOREVER Innerpartysystem
181 ABOUT
A GIRL Sugababes
182 REVOLVER
Madonna featuring Lil Wayne
183 RETURN
THE FAVOR Keri Hilson featuring Timbaland
184 WORK
The Saturdays
185 FUNHOUSE
Pink
186 FLASHBACK
Calvin Harris
187 WATER
AND A FLAME Daniel Merriweather/Adele
188 RUSSIAN
ROULETTE Rihanna
189 FRAGILE
TENSION/HOLE TO FEED Depeche Mode
190 KNOCK
YOU DOWN Keri Hilson featuring Ne-Yo & Kanye West
191 COMING
TO TERMS Carolina Liar
192 END
CREDITS Chase & Status
193 EASY
Dragonette
194 LOVE
ETC Pet Shop Boys
195 SHE
WOLF Shakira
196 MORNING
AFTER DARK Timbaland featuring SoShy & Nelly Furtado
197 HOW
DO YOU SLEEP Jesse McCartney
198 ULYSSES
Franz Ferdinand
199 WRONG
Depeche Mode
200 BAD
INFLUENCE Pink
MY YEAR-END CHARTS
'Look On the Floor (Angel City Remix)' - the edited version anyway (not sure from memory if it has edit in the mix title), was another good latter-era Bananarama track, I thought. I wasn't too fussed on the regular single version though.
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