MTV’s list of the Best Songs of 2011 is like one of those old
late-night commercials for awesome sampler albums: You’ve got your pop
hit, a bit of rock, some hip-hop, R&B and a tune or two that you
just can’t fully define, but which you definitely shook it to at some
point over the past 12 months.
Last week, MTV correspondent Sway Calloway moderated a spirited
roundtable discussion with some of our very own experts: James
Montgomery and Rob Markman (MTV News), Yomi Desalu and Malika Quemerais
(MTV Music and Talent) and Tamar Anitai and Nicole James (MTV.com). The
panel managed to narrow it down to their top 10.
We will say that the year’s ultimate “Party Rock Anthem” made the
cut, as did Rihanna’s waltz into the world of dubstep, a kitchen-sink
empowerment anthem for anyone who’s ever felt marginalized, and an
unexpected smash about a school shooting that is so catchy you might
miss the sinister lyrics. Two of rap’s titans are also on the list, as
is a pop princess who hopped on the Empowerment Express, an R&B
singer who went the Dirty South route with two hip-hop icons, and a
Latin rhymer asking for some eye contact over a club-banging beat.
10. “Firework,” Katy Perry
Sure, its release as a single came in late 2010, but the true impact
of “Firework” was felt in 2011. It rang in the New Year at #1, was
Perry’s top single of the year and is nominated for the Record of the
Year Grammy. More importantly, the song’s message touched fans all over
the world as the pop star toured the globe. “I wrote this song for
anyone who ever needed a song. To help them, to lift them up,” she told
the crowd when I saw her at New York’s Nassau Coliseum this summer. The
arena shook as every person sang along with her and pyro lit up the
stage, raining down like a wall of sparklers. —
John Mitchell
9. “Look at Me Now,” Chris Brown
Tough, aggressive and completely unapologetic lyrically, Chris goes hard on the
F.A.M.E.
track, which also features rap heavy-hitters Busta Rhymes and Lil
Wayne. Grinding production, bleeping noises and bumping beats answer
Brown’s siren call about not really caring very much what anyone thinks
about him and his bad-boy rep. Why? Well, mostly because he’s “fresh
than a mother—-er.” Given Brown’s nefarious past, it was a catchy, bold,
brash statement from one of R&B’s biggest young stars. —
Jocelyn Vena
8. “N—as in Paris,” Kanye West and Jay-Z
Kanye West picked a fitting Will Ferrell sound bite for “N—as in
Paris,” but not even Yeezy could have predicted just how much his and
Jay-Z’s second
Watch the Throne single would get the people
going. After leading with “Otis,” the Throne’s kinetic follow-up joint
seems to be the ultimate people’s choice. The brash title and profane
hook (“Ball so hard mother—-ers wanna fine me”) doesn’t exactly scream
radio hit, but that’s exactly what it has become, peaking at #1 on the
Billboard
Rap Songs chart. The song has become so popular that Hov and ‘Ye have
performed it as many as nine times in a single night during their
WTT Tour run. Now that sh– cray! —
Rob Markman
7. “Pumped Up Kicks,” Foster the People
If you went to a rock club or major festival, turned on satellite
radio, or visited any retail store that sells skinny jeans, you were
likely entranced by the Los Angeles trio’s breakout hit “Pumped Up
Kicks.” The combination of lyrics about a psychotic, gun-toting teen and
cheery, New Wave-y bass bounce, seven-dwarves-worthy whistling,
hypnotic electronic effects and former jingle writer Mark Foster’s
dreamy falsetto vocals revived the feel of mid-1990s alt-rock. Plus, as
it turns out, this potential one-hit wonder ended up having plenty more
to offer. —
Gil Kaufman
6. “Give Me Everything,” Pitbull
Pitbull is perhaps music’s most underrated hitmaker, but if 2009′s “I
Know You Want Me” and “Hotel Room Service” weren’t enough to convince
the naysayers, the Cuban pop-rapper’s omnipresent “Give Me Everything”
should’ve done the trick in 2011. On paper, a song featuring Pit, Ne-Yo,
Afrojack and sexy-siren Nayer might seem a bit all over the place, but
by the end of the four-minute, 12-second jam, it all worked out quite
nicely. There’s a reason the one-night stand ode hit #1 on the
Billboard
Hot 100. The energetic dance groove, rapid rhymes and the track’s
infectious hook were choice ingredients for the perfect party record. —
R.M.
5. “Born This Way,” Lady Gaga
Quick, name another top 10 hit that seeks to empower the LGBT
community, drag queens, the disabled or anyone who is “black, white
beige, chola descent … Lebanese … orient.” You can’t, because nobody but
Mother Monster has the
cojones to release “Born This Way” as
the first single off an eagerly anticipated sophomore album. The tune
mixes soaring rhetoric with equally pulse-quickening beats. Of course,
it was accompanied by a viscous-liquid-dripping seven-minute video that
added to Gaga’s mind-tripping visual canon and further established her
as one of the biggest triple threats in music. —
G.K.
4. “Party Rock Anthem,” LMFAO
LMFAO’s ode to being the life of the party is
the definition of
a guilty pleasure, and it was an instant hit, topping the charts and
playlists. With a fist-pumping beat and lyrics that are nearly as silly
as the leopard-print pants Redfoo and SkyBlu typically rock, “Party Rock
Anthem” had everyone from your grandma to Justin Bieber “shufflin’. ” —
J.V.
3. “We Found Love,” Rihanna
Rihanna fully embraced EDM on her
Talk That Talk
single. Produced by Calvin Harris, “We Found Love” is a swirling party
track about love and loss. It took pop’s obsession with dance music to
the next level thanks to its killer production. Sparse at times and
completely enthralling at others, “WFL” is sad and joyous all at once. A
call back to ’90s raves, the song made pop lovers want to break out
their glow sticks and just dance. —
J.V.
2. “Super Bass,” Nicki Minaj
It wasn’t
Pink Friday‘s first single — hell, it wasn’t even
technically on the album’s proper track list! — but “Super Bass” had all
the right ingredients. There’s the bright and airy guitar intro, which
eventually builds into a full pop affair complete with a knocking 808
and, of course, that patented bass drum. Lyrically, Nicki threw a
shout-out to 1980s rap legend Slick Rick and threatened to slap a chick
all in an effort to woo her drug-dealing crush. Typically,
cheery-sounding pop hits aren’t so edgy, but the Harajuku Barbie has
successfully elbowed her way into the spotlight alongside starlets like
Katy Perry and Taylor Swift — and has done it her way.
1. “Rolling in the Deep,” Adele
Was there any doubt? The megahit so dominated 2011 that calling it
the Song of the Year is putting it mildly. And we’re not just talking
commercially — though it
was the year’s best-selling track — or
critically, mostly because focusing on those details fails to tell the
whole story. Consider it the anthem to end all anthems, the feel-bad
song of our time, the antidote for the Auto-Tuned masses. But maybe it’s
best just to call it Adele’s coronation into the ranks of the all-time
greats. She’s now and forever the Queen of Pain. Long may she reign.
