The Best Of 2017 - part 5

JUMP TO: 100-81 II 80-61 II 60-41 II 40-21 II 20-1

Even in a year that hasn't been the best for new music, the top 20 songs on my annual chart are a pretty solid list. Let's start counting down to the inevitable (and no, I don't mean Ed Sheeran)... 

20. "Stay Up Late" by Monsieur Adi featuring Red

It'd been a few years since we'd heard music from (as opposed to remixes by) Monsieur Adi, the French DJ/producer who featured in my year-end top 100s for 2013 and 2014. Then, at the tail end of 2016, he returned with "Bad Habits", but it was this year's "Stay Up Late", featuring a thrilling vocal by Red (aka former The X Factor contestant Nicole Simpson), that proved he was back on form. 

19. "Neon Blue" by Steps

I have to admit, I wasn't thrilled when I discovered "Neon Blue" was picked as the third single from Steps's comeback album, Tears On The Dancefloor - I would've chosen a song we'll see in a little while. To me, it felt like it could've been released in 1999, while many of the songs on the new album sound more current. But as its placement here suggests, I came around in the end. It's classic Steps - on a par with, say, "Better Best Forgotten" or "Here And Now" - although one thing that does distinguish it from their previous hits is that Lee gets a decent solo.

18. "Cloud 9" by Jamiroquai

Here's another song that sounds like it could've come out years ago. The second single from Automaton, "Cloud 9" has a similar vibe to 2005's "Seven Days In Sunny June" - a breezy disco ballad with a killer melody.

17. "New Rules (Initial Talk remix)" by Dua Lipa

Up until a month or so ago, this UK chart-topper and ARIA chart number 2 hit didn't make my top 100. I understood the appeal of the song and its music video, but I just found the melody a bit underwhelming, especially after "Hotter Than Hell". But it's amazing what a bit of '80s production can do for my interest in a song. Inspired by Stacey Q's "Two Of Hearts", Japanese producer Initial Talk created an unofficial remix of "New Rules" that made it the aerobics soundtrack it never was - and then, to her credit, Dua gave an official release the green light. 

16. "Electric Nights (Pete Hammond mix)" by Parralox

One good '80s remix deserves another - and there are few remixers who can capture that moment in time better than Pete Hammond, the former PWL staffer responsible for countless mixes in the late '80s, and more recent throwback remixes for Kylie Minogue, Mini Viva, Alphabeat and Parralox. This year, he teamed up with the latter again to transform this single from the Subculture album into a glorious burst of nostalgic synthpop.

15. "Dearly Beloved" by Kiesza

Three years after "Hideaway" and its one-shot music video, Kiesza returned at the very start of 2017 with brand new track "Dearly Beloved". The seemingly buoyant song was actually inspired by the death of her friend, musician Alicia Lemke, whose white guitar the Canadian singer plays in the music video.

14. "Love Me More" by Chase & Status featuring Emeli Sandé

Unlike the track we saw from them in Part 1, this most recent single from Chase & Status is very much what I would expect from the duo behind "Lost And Not Found" and "Count On Me". It's also not a million miles away from Emeli Sandé's "Heaven", making me think the collaboration would've been massive five years ago. In 2017, unfortunately, it wasn't the hit it deserved to be.

13. "I Will Love Again" by Steps

Here's the Tears On The Dancefloor track I would've released as third single - Steps' version of Lara Fabian's English-language debut from 2000. A minor hit in Australia and a flop in the UK for the Belgian singer, "I Will Love Again" was a great choice for a remake.

12. "Anywhere" by Rita Ora

Just when it looked like Rita Ora was going to pull a Samantha Mumba and abandon her music career in favour of exploring opportunities in Hollywood, the singer/actress/reality TV host returned in 2017 with a pair of pop hits (and a feature on the Avicii track we saw in Part 1. "Your Song" was good (and just missed by top 100), but "Anywhere" put her back in "I Will Never Let You Down" territory. 

11. "Roulette" by Katy Perry

Proof that even the biggest artists in the world can hit a speed bump in their career, Katy Perry's fifth album, Witness, faced mixed reviews, singles under-performing and sales well below what she'd come to expect. And yet, it contained the best song she's ever released as far as I'm concerned.

10. "More Than Friends" by James Hype featuring Kelli-Leigh

The original was one of the biggest singles of En Vogue's career and 21 years later, the moody R&B track was transformed into a veritable banger courtesy of British DJ/producer James Hype and singer Kelli-Leigh Henry-Davilla, who actually received a credit for her work, unlike on previous hits she'd performed on by Duke Dumont and Secondcity. 

9. "Strangers" by Halsey featuring Lauren Jauregui

After appearing on one of the biggest singles in ARIA chart history (The Chainsmokers' "Closer") in 2016, Halsey's second album, Hopeless Fountain Kingdom, was one of the most anticipated of 2017. And one of its most buzzed about tracks was "Strangers", the promotional single featuring Fifth Harmony member Lauren Jauregui that delved into a relationship between two women that's gone sour.

8. "Find You" by Nick Jonas

Solidifying his status as the best Jonas brother, Nick Jonas released his best single yet in "Find You". The acoustic guitar-meets-dance track was co-written and produced by Swedes Svante Halldin and Jakob Hazell (aka Jack & Coke), who were behind my 2012 number 1, "Euphoria" by Loreen. 

7. "Say Love" by Julian Jordan x SJ

While Nick Jonas traipses around the desert in the video for "Find You", Dutch DJ/producer Julian Jordan shot his clip in - and got inspiration for "Say Love" from - the freezing landscape of Iceland. The tender electronic track is a departure from Julian's normally harder club-oriented sound.

6. "What's Wrong" by PVRIS

The second appearance on this list by the electro-rock trio comprised of singer Lynn Gunn, guitarist Alex Babinski and bass player Brian MacDonald, "What's Wrong" is big on energy, emotion and hooks.

5. "Now" by Grace Mitchell

Twenty-year-old American singer Grace Mitchell has been busy in 2017, releasing upwards of half a dozen singles that span a variety of genres. Naturally, since it appears here, "Now" is the poppiest of those songs - a hand-clapping, big chorused celebration of being in the now.

4. "Don't Look Back" by Full Of Keys

Just when I'd given up hope that 2017 had anything else brilliant to offer, this Scandipop gem from Swedish singer Anni Bernhard (who goes by Full Of Keys professionally) sneaked out at the end of November. With one of the biggest choruses of the year, "Don't Look Back" was her first new song in over a year-and-a-half.  

3. "Cut To The Feeling" by Carly Rae Jepsen

Thank goodness for Carly Rae Jepsen and her dedication to big pop moments. While many of her contemporaries do their downright best to avoid anything remotely approaching a melody, the Canadian singer continues to release uplifting, exuberant music, like "Cut To The Feeling", which was recorded during the sessions for the Emotion album but only ended up seeing the light of day after it was used in animated film Ballerina.

2. "Real Life" by Duke Dumont x Gorgon City featuring NAATIONS

Separately, they've been incredibly consistent performers the past few years, with a combined tally of nine singles in my year-end top 100s between 2013 and 2016. Clearly more powerful together than they've ever been apart, dance acts Duke Dumont and Gorgon City both achieve their highest rank in 2017 with "Real Life", a '90s piano house-influenced track with vocals handled by NAATIONS (the Australian duo comprised of Nat Dunn and Van She's Nicholas Routledge).

1. "Scared Of The Dark" by Steps

If you've flicked through my year-end charts from 1998 to 2001, this should really come as no surprise. Steps took out my number 1 spot in the first three of those years (and were at number 4 in 2001), and given "Scared Of The Dark" didn't venture too far away from their brand of perky pop, it was always going to be odds-on favourite to end up as my favourite song for 2017. And so here it is, with all the elements you'd expect - a slow-to-fast intro, a soaring chorus, nods to ABBA, a key change and the obligatory join-in-at-home dance routine. The best of turn-of-the-millennium pop wrapped in 2017 pop/dance production. Welcome back, Steps.

My top 170 for 2017 in full:

1           SCARED OF THE DARK Steps

2           REAL LIFE Duke Dumont x Gorgon City featuring NAATIONS

3           CUT TO THE FEELING Carly Rae Jepsen

4           DON’T LOOK BACK Full Of Keys

5           NOW Grace Mitchell

6           WHAT’S WRONG PVRIS

7           SAY LOVE Julian Jordan x SJ

8           FIND YOU Nick Jonas

9           STRANGERS Halsey featuring Lauren Jauregui

10         MORE THAN FRIENDS James Hype featuring Kelli-Leigh

11         ROULETTE Katy Perry

12         ANYWHERE Rita Ora

13         I WILL LOVE AGAIN Steps

14         LOVE ME MORE Chase & Status featuring Emeli Sandé

15         DEARLY BELOVED Kiesza

16         ELECTRIC NIGHTS / PETE HAMMOND MIX Parralox

17         NEW RULES / INITIAL TALK REMIX Dua Lipa

18         CLOUD 9 Jamiroquai

19         NEON BLUE / ADAM TURNER MIX Steps

20         STAY UP LATE Monsieur Adi featuring Red

21         I FEEL ALIVE IMRI

22         MOVE SLOW Magdalena Bay

23         DANCING WITH A BROKEN HEART Steps

24         SET ME OFF Magdalena Bay

25         1UL Danny L Harle

26         BREAKING KIND Steve Angello featuring Paul Meany

27         HAIDE Helena Paparizou

28         GALAXY Dannii Minogue

29         DISCONNECT Clean Bandit and Marina & The Diamonds

30         MY CONSEQUENCE Hey Violet

31         SUN COMES UP Rudimental featuring James Arthur

32         FEEL THE NIGHT Luxxury

33         STRANGERS Sigrid

34         SKELETONS MY

35         THIS SUMMER Sigrid Bernson

36         AUTOMATON Jamiroquai

37         HOME Joe Goddard

38         DON’T TAKE THE MONEY Bleachers

39         FAKE FRIENDS Sigrid

40         DO IT Rae Morris

41         SUPERFRESH Jamiroquai

42         WINTER PVRIS

43         BAD THINGS Noella Nix

44         LADY POWERS Vera Blue

45         NO MORE SAD SONGS Little Mix

46         DARK LOVE Miami Horror featuring Danny Pratt

47         NOBODY Niia

48         WON’T SAY TOO MUCH Liv Lovelle

49         BEAUTIFUL LIFE The Sound Of Arrows

50         BURNING ECHOES Storme

51         OVERNIGHT Parcels

52         MAN IN THE MOON LCAW featuring Dagny

53         NEVER STOP FM-84 featuring Ollie Wride

54         WHITE WING DOVE Priest

55         BACK IN THE ROOM KLP

56         ONE OF US Nina

57         STORY OF A HEART / 7TH HEAVEN MIX Steps

58         ANYMORE Goldfrapp

59         DON’T WORRY The Sound Of Arrows

60         SUNROOF courtship.

61         MOVING ON Roosevelt

62         HOT2TOUCH Felix Jaehn, Hight & Alex Aiono

63         BACK FOR ME Electric Guest

64         SOUNDING THE ALARM The Pigeon Detectives

65         SUPERNATURAL Bright Sparks

66         DIVE IN KYKO

67         READY TO GO Hurts

68         LOS AGELESS St Vincent

69         CLAP YOUR HANDS Le Youth featuring Ava Max

70         FEELS Calvin Harris featuring Pharrell Williams, Katy Perry & Big Sean

71         BEAUTIFUL ONES Hurts

72         CELEBRATE Sigrid Bernson

73         THE CURE Lady Gaga

74         EYES WIDE OPEN Scavenger Hunt

75         LOVERS StéLouse featuring Brave

76         ALREADY THERE ARY

77         SOMEONE Anna Of The North

78         LOVE IN RUINS Gryffin featuring Sinead Harnett

79         UNPREDICTABLE Olly Murs / Louisa Johnson

80         IN THE WATER Nakita

81         HEAVY Powers

82         TAKE ME ON joan

83         CALL ON ME / RYAN RIBACK REMIX Starley

84         HOPELESS DREAMS Stockholm Noir

85         IS YOUR LOVE ENOUGH? Little Mix

86         BOY LIKE A GIRL Stockholm Noir featuring Ofelia

87         UNCONDITIONAL Sinead Harnett

88         RIVER Adrees

89         CROSS MY MIND A R I Z O N A featuring Kiiara

90         GONE ionnalee

91         WATERSLIDES Pixx

92         MOVE YOUR BODY Sia

93         CRUEL SUMMER Daniella Mason

94         MAKE YOUR MOVE Ronika

95         POWER Little Mix featuring Stormzy

96         LONELY TOGETHER Avicii featuring Rita Ora

97         ISLAND Stockholm Noir

98         SAY IT TO MY FACE Maty Noyes

99         THIS MOMENT Chase & Status and Blossoms

100        CHASING HIGHS / ROOSEVELT MIX Alma

101        UNUSUAL RAC featuring MNDR

102        DANGEROUS Glades

103        GAIA Sacre

104        EMPTY BLOCKINGS Amanda Mair

105        I KNOW Aly & AJ

106        YOUR SONG Rita Ora

107        I NEED YOU Luxxury

108        HEARTLINE Craig David

109        WARRIORS Tigertown

110        WALK AWAY Le Youth

111        LOVER LIKE YOU Rudie Edwards

112        WOULD YOU MIND PrettyMuch

113        CRYING ON THE BATHROOM FLOOR Muna

114        TECHNO PARTIES Lustgas

115        OUT OF MY HEAD Loote

116        ON MY MIND Disciples

117        ATLETICO (THE ONLY ONE) Rae Morris

118        DON’T YOU FEEL IT Sub Focus featuring ALMA

119        JEALOUSY Disciples

120        CASTLE ON THE HILL Ed Sheeran

121        RUNNING BACK TO YOU Bright Light Bright Light with Elton John

122        THERE FOR YOU Eves Karydas

123        GOOD TIMES KLP

124        SOS LKA

125        TOKYO joan

126        THE CALL Sacre

127        HUMAN NATURE Paperwhite

128        YOURS Now, Now

129        DON’T CALL Lost Kings

130        I WANNA DANCE WITH YOU AGAIN Band Of Gold

131        HOLD ON Flor

132        I CAN’T GO ON Robin Bengtsson

133        THERE’S NOTHING HOLDIN’ ME BACK Shawn Mendes

134        TEASE Ralph

135        SYMPHONY Clean Bandit featuring Zara Larsson

136        YOU DON’T KNOW ME Jax Jones featuring RAYE

137        LOVE YOU LIKE THAT Dagny

138        LOVE SO SOFT Kelly Clarkson

139        GRAB THE MOMENT JOWST

140        PHYSICAL The Aces

141        CRYBABY Paloma Faith

142        HIGH ON ME Guy Sebastian

143        WHAT ABOUT US Pink

144        CHAINED TO THE RHYTHM Katy Perry featuring Skip Marley

145        PLOT TWIST Sigrid

146        ALPHABET BLOCK Marnie

147        SHAPE OF YOU Ed Sheeran

148        A MILLION SONGS Sophia Somajo

149        GOLD ANGEL (SAVOIR ADORE MIX) Minke

150        IMPOSSIBLE Steve Lipson featuring Avec Sans

151        GLOW IN THE DARK Force Major

152        SWEET DREAMS BØRNS

153        WE ARE Avec Sans

154        OSLO Anna Of The North

155        HIGHER GROUND Roland Tings featuring Nylo

156        FAKE MAGIC Peking Duk and AlunaGeorge

157        DYING TO KNOW Tegan & Sara

158        LIONS IN THE NIGHT Julia Bergwall

159        GREEN LIGHT Lorde

160        THE MAN The Killers

161        GO TO WORK Nadine

162        17 MK

163        GIANTS Take That

164        BEAUTIFUL TRAUMA Pink

165        SILENCE Marshmello featuring Khalid

166        LOST IN YOUR LIGHT Dua Lipa featuring Miguel

167        FRIENDS Justin Bieber and BloodPop®

168        ISSUES Julia Michaels

169        WANT YOU BACK Haim

170        FIRST TIME Kygo featuring Ellie Goulding

Yep, only 170 songs on the full list this year - let's hope 2018 has more to offer. And you can listen to them all here:

My 25 Years Ago... recaps return on January 10, with the first chart of 1993. If I have time, I'll sneak something else in before then.

MY YEAR-END CHARTS

1979 II 1980 II 1981 II 1982 II 1983 II 1984 II 1985 II 1986 II 1987 II 1988 II 1989

1990 II 1991 II 1992 II 1993 II 1994 II 1995 II 1996 II 1997 II 1998 II 1999

2000 II 2001 II 2002 II 2003 II 2004 II 2005 II 2006 II 2007 II 2008 II 2009

2010 II 2011 II 2012 II 2013 II 2014 II 2015 II 2016 II 2017 II 2018 II 2019