BEST: 8) Dedication To My Ex - Lloyd ft. Andre 3000
Clean version of the video, shockingly. And I'm actually talking about that version too, the song's perfectly good without all the references to some lady's cat! The uncensored version practically makes me wet myself just for the sheer audacity of it, but yeah, censored version is the one I actually prefer.
My only familiarity with Lloyd before this was from Bedrock, which was in my opinion a terrible song for many reasons. This was a very pleasant surprise. One of the things I discovered this year is that I'm an absolute sucker for pop/r&b songs with brass (or synth in the style of brass) in them. Just songs that do something different for a change! This song has an awesome old-school feel to it, helped by the simple drums, and it really puts the focus on Lloyd's voice which keeps just the right side of the whininess divide in this song. And of course Andre 3000 knocks his verse out of the park. All in all, very fun song, could've gone higher but for the 'Earthquake' rule.
WORST: 8) Yeah 3x - Chris Brown
No, no, no. I'm one of those people who hates Chris Brown and everything he stands for. This was not his worst song of the year, but it was the worst to be a top 10 hit in the UK, so it's what makes my list. The main crimes of this particular song are stealing (it steals pretty blatantly from I Gotta Feeling and I'm Not Alone, the latter being an incredibly blatant steal of the hook) and of lyrics that accomplish nothing. What's that, you like to party, everyone should say yeah and put their hands in the air? What an incredible, original message! This is one of the most banal songs of the year, recorded by someone who has no right to be near the charts unless he creates something genuinely brilliant. Almost everything above this in the worst list is at least bad in a unique way, but this is just unoriginal in content and style, and written by someone who has no right to a career. Go away 3x.
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James - Board 8's Resident Warm And Safe, Slipper-Wearing User
& The Cream of Porcupine Tree Fanboyism