Lady Gaga – Bad Romance
The only artist with two tracks on our top ten list, the year really did belong to Lady Gaga. Bizarrely, we initially dismissed this track – saying that it was messy and disjointed. However, this really is a song that rewards repeated listens, and what we initially thought were flaws, are indeed what makes this song so special. Sonically brave, and a massive step forward from her earlier material, this is undoubtedly the most exciting track of the year. And that’s without even taking the awe inspiring video into account. Bravo!
Royksopp – The Girl & The Robot
Why was this not a massive hit? The mighty Robyn teamed up with dance maestro’s Royksopp to produce one of the most innovative, fresh and exciting records of the year. Sounding like a distant cousin of Robyn’s own ‘With Every Heartbeat’, this would have been massive had Radio One got on board.
Rich Girl – He Ain’t Wit Me Now (Tho)
We’ve expressed our love for Rich Girl a few times on this site, and this was the song that got us hooked – a harsh, uncompromising slice of urban sass, this sounds like the type of song Beyonce SHOULD have been making this year. Mainstream success still eludes them, but we’re keeping our fingers crossed that 2010 will be their year.
Lady Gaga – Poker Face
To be honest, we could have put pretty much all of Lady Gaga’s singles in the top 10, such is the quality of her output. Whilst ‘Just Dance’ kicked things off, it was ‘Poker Face’ that cemented our love for Ms.Germanotta. Still the biggest dancefloor track of the year...
La Roux – In For The Kill (Skream remix)
Unlike many others, we remained fairly unconvinced by La Roux throughout the year – indeed we think that most of her album sounds horribly novelty already. However, we simply cannot dismiss the Skream remix of ‘In For The Kill’ – dark and uncompromising, it was the song that launched dubstep into the mainstream...
BEP – Meet Me Halfway
The track that stopped Leona from hitting the top spot, and for us, the strongest of BEP’s three chart toppers this year, this laid back anthem was our highlight of the peas album ‘The E.N.D’
Leona – Happy
Whilst not as earth shatteringly brilliant as ‘Bleeding Love’, this simple ballad slowly but surely worked its way into our hearts mainly due to an amazing vocal, a lyric that resonated and a heart wrenching video.
Paloma Faith – New York (Starsmith Mix)
We were fairly unconvinced by Paloma’s debut, the Amy-ish ‘Stone Cold Sober’, but this powerful track, complete with remix by knob twiddler du jour Starsmith, changed that. One of the best choruses of the year...
Rihanna – Russian Roulette
Rihanna continued her worldwide dominance in 2009 with this startling piece of music. Eschewing her usual dancefloor sound in favour of a dark, claustrophobic ballad, this was one of the better comebacks of the year...
Thecocknbullkid – I’m Not Sorry
Now signed to Island and scheduled for a big push in 2010, it was this quirky little track released on the small moshi moshi label that grabbed our attention. An unconventional structure, strong vocals and an infectious chorus made this one of the undiscovered gems of 2009...
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