Top 10 Best Hit Songs of 2005

I’d like to start with an apology for just how angry I ended up getting on the worst list. I just really hated a lot of the worst songs that came out in 2005. Between so much crap, it really isn’t hard to see why people really don’t like this year. Hell, even putting together the best list for this year ended up proving difficult, just because even the stuff that was better than ‘okay’ just didn’t elicit much of an emotional reaction out of me. Much like was the case with my ‘best of 2001’ list, I actually needed to go sifting back through the list of hits from this year to pick out enough songs to list here. But ultimately, I was able to pull this off, and even sort through them without too much difficulty. Still though, it felt like my options for this list were fairly limited. But I’m sure you’re all still waiting for an exact verdict from me regarding this year. So, what do I have to say about 2005? Was it one of the worst, if not the worst year in pop music history?

…Well, it’s hard to say for certain. For starters, I haven’t covered nearly enough years to make the judgment call on whether any of the years I’ve looked at are the ‘worst.’ For another, pop music tends to be fairly subjective. Just because I disliked some of the songs on the worst list doesn’t necessarily mean that there won’t be people out there that liked at least one of those songs. Hell, there may even be someone out there that likes all ten of the songs that made the list. Highly unlikely, but it is still a possibility. However, based on the years I’ve covered so far, I would have to conclude that no, 2005 is not the worst year in pop music I’ve covered so far. For the most part, the music from 2005 just didn’t really elicit a reaction from me. It wasn’t boring; it just wasn’t all that interesting. Both 2001 and 1986 were probably arguably worse, with most of the hits from 1986 just being flat out boring and most of the music from 2001 just being terrible. As far as pop music years go, on a scale of one to five, 2005 rests kind of between 2 and 3; not necessarily bad, but certainly lacking qualities that would make it truly good. Good music did still come out this year, but it just didn’t really feel as monumental as in some of the other years I’ve covered.

Speaking of the good music, let’s take a look at that right now, starting with our honorable mentions:

If It’s Lovin’ That You Want (Rihanna) [--; 36; 2 weeks]

This was the year that introduced us to Rihanna. Her work is kind of hit or miss, but ultimately, I’d say that her contributions to this year were, for the most part, positive. I feel like it’s nice that her personality developed a bit more as her career continued, since that made up for the fact that she needed to rely fairly extensively on autotune. That said, this is still a nice enough song that plays to Rihanna’s strengths.

Dance, Dance (Fall Out Boy) [--; 22; 8 weeks]

Ah yes, Fall Out Boy, yet another act that the pop music world was introduced to in 2005. Their second album was the one that broke them into the pop charts, with the strength of songs like this and ‘Sugar, We’re Goin’ Down’. Personally, I think I prefer this song between the two just because it’s got a bit more energy. I realize that Fall Out Boy are kind of a divisive act and that those that don’t like the band will most likely disagree with this pick. However, I’m going to stand by it. Fall Out Boy may be complete dicks, but they’re talented dicks.

Like Toy Soldiers (Eminem) [--; 34; 4 weeks]

And I thought people would disagree with the decision to put Fall Out Boy on here. God I’m going to have to fight for this one. I guess I’ll start by saying I recognize the faults of this song. The music’s not exactly the best that Eminem could have gone with, and the idea of Eminem trying to put his foot down and put a rest to the concept of beefing doesn’t have a very strong case behind it, which Eminem himself points out in the song. However, I would still say, when you have some of the other songs off of Encore to compare it to, I maintain that Eminem could have done a whole lot worse. And besides, the fact that Eminem seems to recognize that some beefs aren’t worth starting, and acknowledges that there are points where beefing can go too far is still something I can get behind. Also, I feel like the use of the sample in this song actually improves on it a little, what with the marching drums and the vocalists adding a bit more soul to the performance than Martika had on the original version. Again, I realize this song has flaws, but considering it’s trying to be self aware and thoughtful, as opposed to most other hip-hop songs from this year, which were just filthy, unpleasant and not at all sexy despite their attempts at being so, I feel more willing to give it a pass.

La Tortura (Shakira ft. Alejandro Sanz) [60; 23; 9 weeks]

Is it weird that I have a lot fewer issues with Shakira’s vocals when she’s singing in Spanish? Also, I feel like I can get a lot more into Shakira destroying some asshole than I ever got into Beyoncé doing the same. Plus, this song actually gives us a sense of the guy actually getting put down and what kind of asshole he really is. It reminds me a lot of ‘Somebody That I Used To Know,’ if it were more predominantly told from the perspective of the girl who was screwed over in the relationship, and if it were sung entirely in Spanish. Okay, so it’s not a perfect one-to-one comparison, but I still think it’s a nice song. I wonder if I’ll ever actually get to put a Shakira song as an official entry on one of these top ten lists at some point.

Live Like You Were Dying (Tim McGraw) [--; 29; 2 weeks]

A subject matter that’s likely been done to death at this point, but good God does Tim McGraw just sell it on this song. I’ve gotten mostly mixed signals regarding how people feel about him, so I’m not sure what I should expect if I ever get the chance to cover him on one of my top ten lists. I might be willing to give the guy a chance though. After all, country music is still mostly foreign territory to me, and I like to give everything a chance to make a case for itself. Besides, I actually liked the duet he performed with Nelly the previous year, ‘Over and Over,’ even if it had elements that kind of ruined the tone of the song, and I didn’t even mind his output from 2001 all that much. So yeah, I’d be interested if I got the chance to check out more stuff from Tim McGraw.

Dirty Little Secret (The All-American Rejects) [--; 27; 6 weeks]

Okay, this one I mostly let slide due to nostalgia, but I legitimately do like the All-American Rejects. I personally think their next single immediately after this one, ‘Move Along,’ was a lot better, but I feel like this one has appeal to it also. It’s got a nice melody, and it’s really catchy. Apparently though, as far as the ‘dirty little secret’ in the song, it’s apparently that the band’s songwriters Tyson Ritter and Nick Wheeler were both in happy, long-term relationships. That doesn’t really do much to justify the kind of emo tone of the song. Still, I’d take this over ‘Boulevard of Broken Dreams’ any day of the week.

Best Of You (The Foo Fighters) [68; 18; 14 weeks]

If I had this song to go off of, I’d say that The Foo Fighters are what Nickelback would be like if Nickelback didn’t suck. There is a bit of sludginess on this song, but it doesn’t interfere with the melody or bog the song down. Dave Grohl’s vocals are really gravelly, but they don’t grate on my nerves the same way Chad Kroeger’s do. Also, while this song’s message is aiming to be universal like a lot of Nickelback songs aimed for, it feels like it was written from somewhere real while Nickelback’s music just feels like it was manufactured to imitate reality and doing so badly. I think I mostly placed this song on here because of Grohl’s performance, because goddamn does he give his all on this song. In fact, his performance here was so powerful, he ended up coming close to injuring his throat during the initial rehearsals of the song and was worried about the prospect of performing it live. I think we’re all glad that he overcame that fear, because this song is a masterpiece.

Seasons Of Love (Cast of Rent) [--; 33; 1 week]

Considering this was the year that gave us the film adaptation, I’m assuming we’re going with the version done by the cast of that film. Also, let me just say that I understand why there are people that don’t like this musical. The characters don’t really paint themselves as being all that sympathetic and, especially for Mark, some of their concerns just come across as really petty. “Oh, I’m upset about the fact that my friend who was letting our rent slide is now suddenly asking us to start paying to live in the apartment now.” “Oh, life sucks for us because we can’t go out and get real people jobs because we’re artists.” “Oh, I hate that my mom keeps calling me to check up on me because it’s lame to have a loving family to fall back on.” Yich. That said, I still like the songs from this musical a lot, and this one is by far my favorite. It’s a song focusing on how to measure the value of a year in one’s life, ultimately saying that one should measure their life in love. And that’s something I can get behind, even though my love life lately has been pretty much nonexistent. But that’s a story for another day.

Beverly Hills (Weezer) [20; 10; 35 weeks]

I will at least say that I don’t think this is Weezer’s best song. However, I wouldn’t call it their worst either. Yeah, it’s an indication that the band sold out, but considering what other rock music was getting played on the radio at the time, Nickelback were still the faces of mainstream rock music at this point, I’d take post sell-out Weezer. And even in terms of songs about wanting to be rich and famous, the alternative option there was to this was Gwen Stefani’s ‘Rich Girl.’ You can see why I’m more inclined to be lenient with this song than Weezer’s fan base was probably willing to be, right?

Now that we have that taken care of, can I get an encore? Do you want more? We’re counting down…

…THE TOP 10 BEST HIT SONGS OF 2005!

#10.

Now we’re all familiar with the concept of boy bands. Boy bands have been around since the 1960s, at least. And despite the changes in genre and style, they continue to thrive today. For some reason, even though you’d think people would be sick to death of them at this point, they persist, they survive, even if only for a brief period of time. Hell, boy bands are such a big deal that there are often times where two or more of them are caught up in some kind of fandom war over which is superior. And even after they die off, others of their kind inevitably replace them. Bottom line, the world seems to love its boy bands, and I’m not sure if that’s changing anytime soon.

What about girl groups though? We’ve seen a number of boy bands over the years, but I don’t think I can count the number of girl groups that have been big in the US on more than one hand. We don’t generally have more than one girl group out at a given time. I mean think about it, TLC were around in the early ‘90s, but were soon superseded by the Spice Girls. And the Spice Girls were quick to dissolve soon after their appearance and were replaced with Destiny’s Child. Hell, even back in the ‘60s, when we had the Supremes, we didn’t really have any other major girl groups out to compete with them. Why does this seem to be the case? Why don’t girl groups seem to gain the same kind of hype in the United States as boy bands?

Well, there could be a number of reasons for this. Some are just under poor management and end up dissolving because their record company goes bankrupt. Others just have personal problems crop up between the members of the band. For some, it’s just that one artist tends to stand above the other members and ends up leaving the group to start a solo career. Still, these things aren’t really unique to girl groups; boy bands have this happen also. And this still doesn’t explain why girl groups don’t tend to capture the popular consciousness of the people in the US the same way they have in other countries, or even the same way as boy bands. I feel like there may still be more factors to consider in this.

However, while Destiny’s Child may have ended up losing steam by 2005 once Beoyoncé went solo, another girl group quickly rose up to replace them as the big girl group of the US at this time. I am, of course, referring to the Pussycat Dolls.

#10. Stickwitu (The Pussycat Dolls) [--; 5; 9 weeks]

The Pussycat Dolls actually managed two hits in 2005, this one, and their debut album’s lead single, ‘Don’t Cha,’ which featured rapper Busta Rhymes. While I thought that song was decent enough, I felt like this song was a bit stronger as a single. Maybe it’s just personal preference, but I tend to prefer love songs over songs bragging about being so much better for a guy than his own girlfriend. Don’t get me wrong, I like a good dance song now and then, but what ‘Don’t Cha’ felt like to me, more than anything else, was the world’s warm up to Avril Lavigne’s ‘Girlfriend’. ‘Stickwitu,’ however, is a song about commitment and knowing when you have something good and not letting go of it. And considering how many songs we were getting about sex and fleeting moments of pleasure, it was nice to hear something more long-term crop up.

In addition, the music to this song helps match that tone. It’s soft, smooth and romantic, which is what the song calls for. This is a nice contrast to a lot of other hip-hop songs at the time, which were just in your face and not pleasant to listen to. There’s a reason why this was the song that earned the Pussycat Dolls their first Grammy nomination, specifically for Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals. It was a demonstration that the group had range, that they could sing more than just overly sexual dance songs.

As I said though, with some groups, the reason they don’t last is because of lack of equality regarding the treatment of their members, and the Pussycat Dolls were sadly in this position when they ultimately fell apart in 2010. Even when they were starting out, apparently Nicole Scherzinger, the group’s lead singer, was receiving a lot more attention and special treatment compared to the other members of the group, and at around the end of 2009 through to the beginning of 2010, each member of the group ended up leaving one by one for one reason or another, until Scherzinger herself ended up leaving, ending the Pussycat Dolls. Still, this song is a shining example of what they were capable of, both individually and as part of the group, at their best. They may not have stuck with us forever, but it was nice while it lasted.

#9.

Back in 2004, there was a brief spike in indie rock music. It wasn’t prominent; almost nothing really broke the top 40, but there were quite a few indie acts that saw some success that year. Modest Mouse, Franz Ferdinand, the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, the Arcade Fire, the Postal Service. Sadly, none of these acts actually ended up being that big again, and we wouldn’t end up seeing indie rock music cropping up in the mainstream for another eight years after that, but for a brief moment, indie rock music showed that it could gain some level of success, even if the pop charts wouldn’t necessarily recognize them for it.

However, there was one indie rock act that actually did manage a top 40 hit, right at the tail end of this genre’s brief moment of success. So, if nothing else you can’t say the genre went down without a fight.

#9. Mr. Brightside (The Killers) [16; 10; 34 weeks]

Technically, this song was originally released in 2003, and it saw minor success. However, it saw much more success with its re-release the following year. Sadly, since I didn’t really pay attention to music on the radio…well, good music on the radio sadly, I ended up missing it the first time around and didn’t actually hear the song until several years later, through my coworkers’ Pandora Radio stations while at work. And honestly, I’m really kicking myself for missing out on this one because it is glorious. It’s easily one of the best rock songs to chart this year, and a recognizable classic in mainstream rock…well, back when mainstream rock was still a thing anyway.

Given the subject matter, I feel like I shouldn’t like this song nearly as much as I do. It’s a song about catty jealousy and suspecting a lover of cheating. The emotions behind the song don’t sound as smooth and nuanced as the vocals and music would suggest; it just comes across as really pissy. That attitude is probably the main reason why this song didn’t place higher on the list. Envy normally isn’t really an attractive subject matter to write a song about. I mean, Nick Jonas attempted to write a song that made envy sound sexy just last year, and that wound up terrible. Seriously, ‘right to be hellish’?

Of course, what drags this song down in the subject matter and tone is more than compensated by the musical delivery. This song may not be trying nearly as hard as ‘Jealous’ was, but it certainly succeeds far better at painting an appealing picture of possessiveness. And that can be traced to two things: the guitar work, courtesy of the band’s guitarist Dave Keuning, and Brandon Flowers’s vocals. While it is a bit annoying that Flowers rarely strays outside of a single note when singing his lyrics, his voice adds some stability to the melody, keeps it grounded. The best way I can think of to describe it is that it sounds a lot like Rivers Cuomo if he could actually carry a melody.

Sadly, the Killers never did see the same level of success that they achieved with this song, with many people dismissing their second album as ‘Killers Lite,’ but it is still a strong backbone off of which their legacy was built. Open up your eager eyes, and eager ears folks; this one is definitely worth a listen.

#8.

Something I’ve grown to discover about the 2000s: they were a terrible time for hip-hop and rap music. I mean, between rap metal, the devolution into sex and debauchery and the explosion of crunk, these two genres just were not in a happy place during the 2000s, and that was probably most apparent in the middle of the decade, when hip-hop dominated the pop charts. That’s not even to say that all crunk is bad; I can enjoy Lil’ Jon now and then. However, even he wears out his welcome after a while, and there are still songs of his I don’t like. Suffice to say that there was a lot of really bad hip-hop and rap music I needed to wade through when going through this year.

However, let it not be said that I am not one to find the silver lining in any given situation. Even in a year that gave us things like ‘Wait (The Whisper Song),’ ‘Some Cut’ and ‘My Humps,’ there was still at least one good hip-hop song to come out this year. And it came from none other than one of the most influential Dirty South rappers to achieve mainstream success during the decade.

#8. Get Back (Ludacris) [77; 13; 12 weeks]

This may be the hardest song for me to justify putting on this list, just because I am really out of my element talking about hip-hop from this time frame. I guess I could start by saying I feel like I tend to have more of a taste for hip-hop that doesn’t take itself so seriously. That’s why I generally couldn’t get into any of the mindless sex and party jams that came out this year; they were expressing really dirty, unpleasant sentiments and playing them completely straight. That’s part of the reason why I’m able to get into some of Lil’ Jon’s music; the guy is not exactly taking himself all that seriously is all I’m saying. I guess another issue I have with all the songs about sex, clubbing and objectifying women is that, besides just not being pleasant to listen to, none of these songs do anything to distinguish themselves from one another. Hearing all these songs saying pretty much the exact same things over and over after a while just becomes boring to listen to. So, hearing this goofy, ridiculous number about Ludacris picking fights with people trying to cause drama was a surprisingly refreshing break from all that.

Much like with ‘Danger (Been So Long)’ from 2001, this song mostly won me over because of Ludacris’s force of personality. When compared to the other hip-hop and rap songs that came out this year, the guy clearly sounds invested; he doesn’t sound like he’s bored or on autopilot on this song. And believe me, when this year gave us songs like ‘Candy Shop’ and ‘Goin’ Crazy,’ you have no idea what a breath of fresh air it was to hear a song where the artist actually sounded like he gave a damn. Of course, the song’s also walking kind of a thin tightrope between being serious and being goofy, and there are points where it’s hard to tell whether or not we’re supposed to be taking Luda at face value. And yet, I feel like it manages the balance between the two despite this. Part of the reason for that is the production, which gives us this fun, energetic party jam that works surprisingly well with Ludacris’s delivery.

Much like with Outkast, I feel Ludacris is kind of hit or miss for me, but here he definitely hits. Though, by that I don’t mean that literally, which might be hard to tell if you actually listen to the song. Still, I feel like a sock across the jaw was exactly what the genre needed at this point, considering what the alternatives to this were. However, this wasn’t the best hip-hop song to come out this year. That’s coming a bit later; trust me.

#7.

…Yeah, Green Day is appearing on both lists for this year.

#7. Holiday (Green Day) [39; 19; 25 weeks]

‘Holiday’ is proof that protest songs don’t all have to suck. It’s also proof that, when they actually put forth the effort, Green Day are capable of writing songs that provide legitimate reasons for being angry and pissy, while also making them fun to sing along to. I know I said on my worst list that not all of Green Day’s songs that I listened to back in the day hold up when revisiting them now, but I think this song is one of the few that actually does. The problems I have with Green Day are, for the most part, absent on this song, and it does a good job showing what the band is capable of at their best.

I know I’ve been harsh on other protest songs in the past. I put ‘Give Peace a Chance’ by the Plastic Ono Band on my worst of 1969 list, and listed System of a Down’s ‘B.Y.O.B.’ as a dishonorable mention on my worst list for this year. So, how can I be so harsh on those songs yet give this one a pass? Well, there are actually a number of reasons for it. Those other two songs suffer…well, because of terrible lyrics in both cases for starters, but they have different problems as well. ‘Give Peace a Chance’ tries to be an earnest, quiet riot against the Vietnam War, but it fails because it doesn’t have the kind of righteous fury that would embolden listeners to get behind it. ‘B.Y.O.B.’ is quite the opposite, being a very angry song protesting against the war on terrorism brought on by the Bush administration. However, it goes wrong in the complete opposite direction, focusing way more on being angry to the point that they forgot to make the song actually pleasant to listen to. Even if I could get behind the sentiment in the song, why would I want to when it sounds like horseshit? ‘Holiday,’ however, not only gives us a very angry presentation, but it does so while still sounding awesome. And unlike ‘Boulevard of Broken Dreams,’ this doesn’t sound like a dull, sludgy mess. The instruments are clear and concise; it actually sounds like I’m listening to a rock song and not just a bunch of instruments melted down into a gross slurry of sound like what Nickelback or Creed’s music tends to sound like.

It really is a shame that, of the singles that actually were hits off of ‘American Idiot,’ this was the lowest charting one, because it is easily the best of the three. Hell, along with the title track, it’s one of the best singles off of that album period. Sadly, they would never see this same level of success. They would still have two more top 40 hits after this album, but this would pretty much be the end of Green Day’s time as major hits on the pop charts. Still, as I said, this is a shining example of what Green Day were capable of when they were at their strongest. If you beg to dream and differ, I won’t blame you, but considering the alternatives were ‘Wake Me Up When September Ends,’ which, while not bad, wasn’t particularly interesting or impressive, and ‘Boulevard of Broken Dreams,’ which I’ve already spoken my mind about on the previous list, I’ll take this, honestly. This may not be the dawning of the rest of our lives, or even the dawning of Green Day’s success, but it is still a damn good song.

#6.

Since a lot of the songs that made it higher up on the pop charts this year were pretty bad, most of the songs on this list charted quite a bit lower, either peaking lower on the top 20 or just lower on the Billboard year-end hot 100, if they even charted on that at all. This next song is kind of a case of both, not even managing to crack the top 20, which makes it kind of an anomaly in terms of songs that made the year-end hot 100. However, I feel like that’s less the fault of the artist himself and more the fault of the music buying public at the time, because while not necessarily a great artist, he is, or at least was, an interesting one.

#6. Ordinary People (John Legend) [87; 24; 11 weeks]

I know I put a lot of dumb pop songs on lists like these, but that doesn’t mean I don’t like to get classy now and then. And in 2005, when the big songs at the time included things like ‘My Humps,’ ‘Hollaback Girl,’ ‘Run It!’ and other such songs of the kind, it’s nice to find that the year was also able to give us something like this. I’ve heard John Legend described as the male Alicia Keys, in that he’s technically a good artist but fairly limited in terms of musical variety and scope. Having now listened through his discography, I think I can say that said description isn’t entirely inaccurate, but I feel like he does still have some semblance of range. This song doesn’t exactly demonstrate that, but it is at least an example of what John Legend is capable of when he’s on his ‘A’ game.

This song wasn’t just classier than most of the music that was coming out at the time, it was also a lot more complex in terms of subject matter and just general structure. Well okay, maybe it’s not that complex structurally. It’s pretty much just a bare-bones, piano ballad, something we didn’t really see a lot of back in the day, as opposed to, say, 2013-2014, when we had about a dozen different guys performing them, from Bruno Mars to A Great Big World, even getting yet another one from John Legend. And while I wouldn’t call ‘All Of Me’ the worst song ever written, it still pales in comparison to ‘Ordinary People.’ As I said, it’s a lot more complicated; where ‘All Of Me’ can basically be summed up as saying ‘I heart you,’ ‘Ordinary People’ is about all the confusion and complicated emotions that come with being in a relationship, or even just being in love in general. And it accentuates it with all these various complex chord progressions and arpeggios and things.

While it is appreciated that John Legend is starting to see more presence on the pop charts nowadays, and seeing greater success at that, it really is a shame that his more recent out put hasn’t been nearly as interesting as the promise presented in this song. It really should’ve been a bigger hit than it was. But, at least we can still remember him for being the man who dared to present something like ‘Ordinary People’ in a time populated by mindless R&B and hip-hop. Way to add a little class to the pop charts, Mr. Legend. Let’s hope we see more work like this in the future.

#5.

When I was growing up, I’d have to say that the hardest period of my life would have to be middle school. It was probably a hard time for a lot of people; everyone was going through puberty, they had to put up with teachers that, for the most part, didn’t seem all that invested in teaching them, and in this particular environment, I came to form the following theory: middle schoolers are evil. Many of you may disagree with me on this, but from my experience, middle school was that period of time when the other kids were old enough to know how to be their cruelest, but not old enough to know better. Some of you might argue that high school was even worse, but honestly, I felt like high school was surprisingly tame compared to middle school. Most of my high school experience was being pestered by girls trying to get in my pants, whereas middle school had people going out of their way to make my life miserable; shoving me around, mocking me, physically assaulting me in some cases, deliberately riling me up to get me in trouble. Hell, I could probably even argue that I was evil in middle school; it was the only time when I actually got banned from attending one of my classes. Granted, that was because I was goaded into starting a fight with someone, but that never happened in high school.

However, even in this horrible, horrible time in my life, there was still at least one thing I could use to escape: music. Well, okay, mostly I escaped through video games, but music was a close second. There were a number of groups I listened to in middle school to keep myself distracted from how awful my classmates were: They Might Be Giants, Simon and Garfunkel, Eiffel 65, Evanescence…Yeah, I had very eclectic tastes growing up. However, there is one band that I started listening to around the end of my time in middle school that I feel really helped shape my taste in music and helped me grow up a little: Coldplay.

#5. Speed Of Sound (Coldplay) [57; 8; 18 weeks]

Yeah, Coldplay’s ‘X & Y’ album was one of the main things I listened to around the time I finished my middle school tenure. In that regard, I guess this was a bit of a biased pick for this list, so I’m probably going to get some flack for this. However, I will stand by my decision to include it. Admittedly, this song wasn’t one of my favorites off of ‘X and Y,’ but I’m honestly just glad that the band got at least one hit out of it, in the US anyway. And apparently I’m not alone in my love of this album, because it was the best-selling album of the year. I’m not sure if I’d say that its success could be entirely attributed to the strength of this song, but if I had to wager a guess, I’d say it at least helped it along.

The song was inspired by front man Chris Martin’s daughter, Apple, as well as the music by English alt rock singer Kate Bush. The song even takes its drumbeat from Bush’s 1985 song ‘Running Up That Hill.’ Having heard both songs, I can definitely hear the similarities. However, I feel like Coldplay varied the beat enough that they make it their own. And, of course, the vocals sound as pretty as ever on this song. I realize most people are turned off by falsetto singing, but I’ve always had a soft spot for Chris Martin’s vocals. They’re light and airy in all the right ways; they actually sound like they create a sense of atmosphere. And while the lyrics don’t really make a direct reference to Martin’s daughter, some of them could be interpreted as representing the shock and confusion Martin might’ve been going through at the realization that he’d be a father. If that is the case, then it’s certainly better than Scott Stapp’s similar presentation in the Creed song ‘With Arms Wide Open.’

Of course, the song has also received a lot of criticism. Most particularly, it’s been pointed out that it sounds an awful lot like the band’s previous hit single, ‘Clocks.’ And while I do notice the similarities; the keyboard melody and drum section especially; I still think that it differentiates itself enough that it’s not just a complete recycling of one of their earlier works. Interestingly enough, even Chris Martin has admitted that this is actually one of his least favorite songs; Coldplay never plays the song live, mainly because of his dislike of the recording, stating in several interviews that they ‘just didn’t get it right.’ Even so though, I feel like Coldplay missing the mark was a lot better than a lot of the rock acts from this year getting their work spot on.

While I am surprised that it was this song that, not only would be Coldplay’s only hit single off of ‘X and Y,’ but would also be their biggest hit single until ‘Viva la Vida’ in 2008, I am happy that they at least had some success this year. And fortunately, they’ve only gotten better as time has gone on, something I can’t really say about a lot of acts. However, this wasn’t the only act we would see crossing over from the UK this year. Speaking of which…

#4.

And now, I present probably the most obvious choice on this entire list.

#4. Feel Good Inc. (The Gorillaz ft. De La Soul) [37; 14; 25 weeks]

Yeah, if you’re actually genuinely surprised to see this song appearing on this list, I have a five star hotel on Mars I’m interested in selling you. Probably the only thing shocking about this particular pick is the fact that it isn’t the #1 for this list. I did strongly consider doing so, but…well, I don’t know how else to put this: the over exposure wore me out. Yeah, I put ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ on the #1 spot for my 1976 list, but that was because ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ was a goddman masterpiece. I’m not saying ‘Feel Good Inc.’ isn’t, but there are certainly better Gorillaz songs out there. I do still appreciate that the group got at least one hit song though.

It is worth noting that, at the time, ‘Feel Good Inc.’ was kind of a shift in sound for the Gorillaz. Most of their singles up until this point had a fairly laid-back feel to them, even the party songs. I almost got the impression that the group almost felt like they were too good for the pop charts, which…yeah, they kind of were. Now, I’m not saying that this same attitude isn’t present in ‘Feel Good Inc.,’ but listening to this song kind of gave me the impression that they actually had something to prove this time around. There clearly felt like more effort was being put into this song, certainly more than most other songs being released at the time. I mean, listen to the driving bass and vocal beat-bop that drive the song forward. And of course, there’s De La Soul’s verse, which is easily the best rap performance of the year.

But what’s the message behind the song? Well, it’s actually not all that complicated. 2-D, the lead singer of the Gorillaz, talks about how the city he and the other members of the band are in is in a state of unhappiness and trapped in an illusion of freedom brought on by the titular ‘Feel Good Inc.’ Presumably unlike the rest of the city’s residents, 2-D is completely aware of the illusion and longs for true happiness, not only for himself, but that he can share with everyone else in the city. The ‘Inc.’ in question could be seen as describing the modern pop music scene…well, modern at the time, and how people would willingly attach themselves to any kind of generic, happy-sounding song regardless of its quality. The desire for true happiness could be seen as the desire for music that actually has something real, something of merit behind it rather than the disposable garbage that had pretty much become what pop music had devolved into at that point. De La Soul’s verse, however, seems to be a bit more confrontational about its approach to the situation, stating that the only way to truly escape the ‘Inc.’ is through direct assault, bringing down the establishment by fighting for their freedom and killing everyone involved. This seems to suggest improving the pop music scene by destroying the competition; cleansing the pop charts of all the mindless trash directly until people are forced to accept work that has quality and substance behind it. 2-D’s repetition of the hook, however, suggests that he rejects such an act and wants to escape some other way, some way that doesn’t require bloodshed.

Okay, maybe that was a bit more complicated that I let on, but the idea of not liking the state that pop music is in isn’t all that strange or bizarre. I’m guessing a lot of people felt the same way, otherwise why would people be considering this year among one of the worst in pop music history? I can understand why a lot of people would like this song, and honestly so do I. I like songs like this that try to offer people something different from what pop music normally has to offer, something that doesn’t copy the same formulas of other songs. I realize that the idea of songs trying to offer something more to people is, in a way, also kind of a formula that some artists have come to copy, but honestly, this is a formula I’m okay with people trying to copy. The desire for change and recognizing when something has become tired and overly played out is something I can agree on; it’s something I’d like to see people attempting to do more often in pop music.

Now, as I’ve stated, I don’t think this is the best song in the Gorillaz discography. I can think of a few songs I personally enjoy more than ‘Feel Good Inc.,’ even on the same album. However, this was the one that actually got popular, which is kind of funny considering it did so by trash talking pretty much every other song that got popular at the time. Granted, it might’ve had a bit more impact if it had charted a little higher, but we would get that several years later with the likes of Macklemore and Lorde, so I guess there’s that. In that sense, I guess the Gorillaz kind of served as the ones to lay down the groundwork for those acts. Good on you, guys. Here’s hoping you keep turning forever, hand in hand.

#3.

Now, some of you out there may be familiar with the concept of moving, packing up your things and changing your address to somewhere completely different. I admit, I’m not terribly familiar with the concept, since the only times my family has moved were when I was really young, so I don’t really remember what any of my prior places of residence were like all that well. However, I do get the feeling that something like that would be quite a bit for someone to take in. The shift in location and lack of familiarity would probably be a bit jarring to some. Hell, it’s not even just your address that changes; your neighborhood, the people you interact with, even your job or school would likely have to change to accommodate the move. So, with all that in mind, how would an artist, particularly a musical artist, cope with something as staggeringly monumental as this? Well…

#3. Chariot (Gavin DeGraw) [96; 30; 6 weeks]

Yeah, this wasn’t the lowest charting song I’ve seen make it into the year-end hot 100 for a given year, but it’s pretty close. And it’s a shame it charted so low too, because this is one of Gavin DeGraw’s better songs, or at least one of his more interesting ones. Nowadays he makes generic, uninspired schlock like ‘Not Over You’ and the like. Of course, he actually had two hit songs this year, this one and his debut hit single, ‘I Don’t Want To Be,’ which I thought was okay.

Anyway, as I mentioned, this song seems like it was meant as a means for Gavin to cope with his move from his rural hometown to New York. And his explanation at the title seems to support this. As he put it: “’Chariot’ is a metaphorical vehicle for getting to a place in your mind that is more broken down and laid back. It’s somewhere to be just for a moment—instead of being wrapped up and living wherever you’re living and consumed with what you’re doing. It’s a place to release and chill out.” So, basically, the ‘chariot’ in question is the sense of escape from where you are in the present moment and finding peace and mindfulness. And the music does a nice job matching that mindset, what with it’s fairly laid back sound and the fairly casual attitude Gavin presents in the song.

I’ll admit that the song’s not perfect; there are still a few lyrics that confuse me. For example: “Your favorite fruit is chocolate-covered cherries/And seedless watermelon/Nothing from the ground is good enough.” Aren’t watermelons fruit that grow on the ground? And what does this have to do with the idea of escaping from the present moment? I mean, cherries can be used to symbolize fertility, merrymaking and festivity, while watermelons can be used to symbolize uncleanliness, laziness, childishness and unwanted public presence. I guess I can kind of see where he was going with it, but it’s still a bit of a stretch to make the connection. 

Even with those issues though, I still like this song. I realize people are probably going to argue that some of the songs lower on the list are better than this one, and that this really doesn’t have any reason to place so high, but…I don’t know folks, I just really like this song. It’s upbeat, it’s optimistic, it’s probably thinking a bit harder than it needed to. I just think it’s a really well put-together song, and I feel like it’s a shame that Gavin DeGraw just stopped being as interesting as this. You know what, maybe this was just a fluke; maybe the guy just really wasn’t as imaginative as this single promised he could be, but I’m at least glad that we got this song out of him. If only he could’ve followed through with what it promised.

#2.

2005 was a big year for American Idol winner Kelly Clarkson. With the release of her second album, particularly off of the strength of its first single, ‘Since U Been Gone,’ she firmly established herself as an artist in her own right and not just a mannequin singing hollow inspirational anthems that are basically the musical equivalent of cotton candy without the flavor. Yeah, ‘Since U Been Gone’ was a huge hit single, with even hard rock and indie rock fans admitting to it being a guilty pleasure or feeling stupid for liking it. Many people consider it the moment when she shook off her handlers and started writing the music she wanted to write. It even won Kelly a Grammy for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance, a Teen Choice Award for Choice Single and an XM Nation Music Award for Best Pop Sing-Along Song. People love this song.

…Honestly, I couldn’t ever get into ‘Since U Been Gone.’ Don’t get me wrong, I think it’s a good song and I can understand why people like it, but something about it always kind of kept me from fully buying into it. I guess part of the issue comes from the fact that, for all everyone goes on about how it’s the song that had Kelly Clarkson writing the music she wanted to make, she doesn’t actually have writing credits on the song. In fact, the song wasn’t even originally made for her; it was made for Pink, who turned it down. And then it was offered up to Hilary Duff, who also turned it down because she couldn’t hit the high notes. Yeah, I know that I’ve stated that artists can take songs they didn’t actually write and make it their own, but this song still feels uncomfortably impersonal.

Fortunately, Kelly Clarkson did release a song this year that, not only had her as one of the writers on it, but that I actually really liked. 

#2. Behind These Hazel Eyes (Kelly Clarkson) [10; 6; 30 weeks]

If you want me to point you to a song that perfectly captures all of Kelly Clarkson’s strengths as a performer, it’s not ‘Since U Been Gone,’ ‘Because Of You’ or one of the other singles off of her second album I’d point to; it’s this one. I realize she came out later, but I can point to each of the big hits off of Kelly Clarkson’s ‘Breakaway’ and compare them to the singles released on Adele’s ‘21’ years later and how each one is an improvement. ‘Rolling In the Deep’ is basically her ‘Since U Been Gone,’ ‘Someone Like You’ is her ‘Because Of You,’ ‘Set Fire To the Rain’ is arguably her ‘Breakaway,’ and ‘Rumor Has It’ is her ‘Walk Away.’ However, there really isn’t a song that parallels ‘Behind These Hazel Eyes,’ not in a way that improves on it anyway. 

Part of the reason I feel like this song works for me a lot better is with how the songs are framed. Where ‘Since U Been Gone’ had Kelly sounding pissed but optimistic, with ‘Behind These Hazel Eyes,’ her attitude is quite the opposite; being devastated by how things in the relationship in question turned out. And honestly, that feels a lot more like how someone would feel after a relationship. Yeah, one might be pissed off at someone when things don’t work out, but ending a relationship is also painful and depressing, and it feels like your world is being knocked out from under you, and that’s the feeling I get from ‘Behind These Hazel Eyes.’ It just feels a lot more real and believable. And she’s not presenting it in a way that paints the guy in the relationship as a cartoon villain; she’s focusing almost entirely on her own personal struggle to keep herself together after things fell apart. And also unlike ‘Since U Been Gone,’ she pins the blame for the relationship not working on herself. Not a healthy action to take, mind you, but again, based on my own experience, that feels a lot more believable, or at least more relatable. This isn’t just some power fantasy, ‘destroying some asshole that did her wrong’ kind of deal; she’s torn up over this and feels completely powerless.

I guess another reason that I take more of a liking for this song over the one before might also have to do with continuity. Kelly Clarkson has, at this point, released a dozen more songs since this that have sounded like or been about the same thing as ‘Since U Been Gone.’ It’s kind of worn out whatever appeal there could be to the song by this point. However, while there are dozens of ‘Since U Been Gone’s, there is only one ‘Behind These Hazel Eyes.’ However, much like with Gavin DeGraw, she deviated from this particular direction after her third album flopped and she decided to go back to making safe, tame pop music that didn’t push any boundaries. Still though, this was a nice refresher hearing a female pop star sing about emotions that sounded like they were coming from a real place and have it actually sound as good as this. I’m not broken up inside about Kelly’s decision to go pop again, but I’m glad that she waited until after this song to do so.

#1.

I admit, even I’m kind of surprised by my own #1 pick for this list. I’m not saying that because I don’t like the song; I do, a lot. I’m not complaining about this song being the #1, but I guess what shocks me about it is the degree to which I ended up liking it. I mean, I was expecting it to make the list, definitely, but the best hit song of the year? Many people out there will probably disagree with this choice, and I don’t blame you for doing so, people have their own opinions about things; that’s just how differences in taste work. However, I will at least try to offer my case and see what comes of it. So, without further ado, ladies and gentlemen, my favorite hit song from 2005:

#1. Lonely No More (Rob Thomas) [22; 6; 26 weeks]

Yeah, I know, lead singers of rock bands deciding to go solo and remake themselves with a more pop image has kind of a negative stigma to it. I mean, you’ve got artists like Peter Cetera and Gwen Stefani demonstrating how such a direction can end badly, for the audience anyway. However, I’m kind of surprised how well Rob Thomas manages to wear the mantle of ‘pop star’ despite starting out in the post-grunge genre. Keep in mind; this was the same genre that gave us Nickelback and Creed, who are about as un-pop as you can get…and also terrible. And yet, I totally buy Rob Thomas as a pop performer.

However, some of you are probably wondering how I can give this song a pass when I hated ‘Rich Girl,’ which was the hit song that transitioned Gwen Stefani from a ska and rock artist into pop music. And that’s a perfectly reasonable question to ask, but there are two major things about this song that place it head and shoulders above ‘Rich Girl’. The first is the music; where ‘Rich Girl’ was going for a hip-hop sound and took a sample from an actual good song and turned it into shit, ‘Lonely No More’ goes more for a funk pop feel, and doesn’t rely on a sample of another song to carry the melody. And as I said, the darker funk sound works surprisingly well for Rob Thomas, where Gwen worked with hip-hop music about as well as pickles and ice cream; it just wasn’t an appealing combination.

The second thing about ‘Lonely No More’ that won me over was the subject matter and lyrical content. Part of the reason ‘Rich Girl’ didn’t work for me was because it was basically just a brag track, a song that pretended to cater to the poor and disenfranchised and instead just served as a means to stroke Gwen’s ego by showing off how much fame and money she had. ‘Lonely No More,’ however, is a song about loneliness, unease about starting a new relationship and trying desperately to find someone that would be the right fit for the narrator. And that’s something I can completely relate to. And it helps that the guy delivers it with a sense of desperation and insecurity.

So, what’s the lesson we take from this? I guess that, if you’re going to split off from your band and start marketing yourself as a solo act and a pop artist, make dark, funky sounding music instead of taking cues from mainstream hip-hop. You don’t need to feel lonely anymore, Rob Thomas; we’re all grooving to this song along with you. There you have it folks: ‘Lonely No More’ by Rob Thomas, my pick for the best hit song of 2005.