Discopop Directory: Top 10 singles of 2015

Usually, my Top 10 is a breeze to compile. I look at the songs I listened to most then write them down in order. This year, there were dozens all clustered around the same score - either evidence of a very good year or a totally banal one.

I will say this, though - the Top Five completely took me by surprise. I'd been preparing to write about Kanye's All Day, The Weeknd's Can't Feel My Face and Missy Elliot's WTF (Where They From?) in this list. In the end, they fell just short of the countdown - which proves something, although I'm at a loss to explain what it might be.

10) Demi Lovato - Cool For The Summer
The year's best Katy Perry song in a year where Katy Perry released no songs. Rip-roaring vocals and a terrific guitar riff from the "Sexy! No No No" schools of rock. Could have done without the gratuitous - and grammatically awkward - swear word in verse two.




9) Alessia Cara - Here
An "anti-party anthem"; a "loner anthem"; an "anthem for introverts". The critics' were united - this wasn't just a song about socially awkward teenagers, it was a rallying cry for like-minded souls. Never mind that Alessia Cara is the least introverted pop star this side of Lady Gaga. She just didn't like this one party. Still, with lyrics and melody this good, who's scoring points?




8) Lianne La Havas - What You Don't Do
A simple, sublime love song. "Those three little words are overused," she sings, before smiling: "You don't need to show it - I already know it." Gorgeous.




7) Major Lazer ft MØ - Lean On
It's great to see that a left-field, obtuse pop song like this can still have a global impact - even after it's turned down by Rihanna. Lean On needed a few listens to "bed in", but once I'd fallen under the spell of the lilting rhythm and MØ's unflinchingly positive lyrics (essentially a hipster re-write of the Neighbours theme tune) there was no turning back.




6) Disclosure ft Lorde - Magnets
This slinky story of boyfriend theft is the absolute highlight of Disclosure's ho-hum second album - and here's why. "Lorde was involved with every aspect of the song as opposed to just doing the lyrics and melodies and then leaving the rest to us," Guy Lawrence told Spin. "It was like someone challenging us, someone saying, 'We can get that extra ten percent.'”




5) Janet Jackson - No Sleeep
Janet's six year hiatus gave her a clean slate with the prudish US public, and it didn't hurt that her comeback single was an understated masterpiece. Jam and Lewis's silky-smooth groove recalled That's The Way Love Goes while the lyric - about ruffling the bedsheets with her beau - proved Janet could still sing about sex without using words like "moist".




4) Carly Rae Jepsen - I Really Like You
A 21st Century update of I Should Be So Lucky, with added glitter cannons (courtesy of former Cardigans writer Peter Svennson). The video starred Tom Hanks, for some reason.




3) Little Mix - Black Magic
HEY!

Little Mix's venture into "proper" girlband territory (80s pastiche, Motown pastiche, Jason Derulo duet) hasn't been a resounding success - but this song gets everything right. Predictable yet surprising, it transcends the appropriation of Cyndi Lauper's Girls Just Wanna Have Fun to become the most likeable single of the year. Then the "falling in love" coda kicks in and you think to yourself, "why am I grinning?"




2) Kendrick Lamar - King Kunta
I was disappointed that The Weeknd's Michael Jackson rip-off tribute Can't Feel My Face didn't make the Top 10 - but at least this contains an allusion to Smooth Criminal. It is neither as incisive nor as powerful as Kendrick's other big hit of 2015 (Alright was adopted as the rallying cry of the Black Lives Matter movement) but King Kunta sounds much better at parties.




1) Carly Rae Jepsen - Your Type
Move over Sam so-called Smith, this is the saddest pop song of the year. I might be married with two children, but it transports me straight back to 1995 and being infatuated with someone who didn't know I existed. There's something in Carly's delivery - resigned, but hoping her pleas will make a difference - that breaks your heart in two, and then into smaller and smaller fragments with every chorus. It's not the most original or complex song on this list but I found myself singing it at top volume, by myself, in the car at midnight. And that, pop fans, is the ultimate seal of approval.

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Ellie Goulding gains the power of telekinesis and 12 other songs you may have missed

Songs You May Have Missed is a semi-regular round-up of songs I didn't manage to post about in a timely manner. It includes new discoveries, songs that took a while to appreciate and videos I simply missed.

This week's selection is particularly strong, for some reason. Enjoy below.

1) Major Lazer - Powerful (ft Ellie Goulding and Taurus Riley)
Ellie Goulding recently sparked speculation she was recording the new James Bond theme with the following tweet.

Live and let die

— Ellie Goulding (@elliegoulding) July 9, 2015

Of course, she could just have been marking her appreciation for the best Geri Halliwell b-side of all time. But while we wait for confirmation on the Bond thing, here she is bending forks like a sexy Uri Geller in the new Major Lazer video.




2) Disclosure - Omen (ft Sam Smith)
"It just would have felt wrong to not have him on the record," Howard Lawrence said of Sam Smith. "We speak to Sam everyday. He's our best mate. And he's the best singer in the world. Why would we not put him on the record?"

One answer would be "because it will inevitably suffer in comparison to Latch". But this track just about escapes that fate. Although it could do with being about 30bpm faster.






3) Tove Styrke - ...Baby One More Time
"Britney Spears - she's fierce," sings Tove Styrke on her current single, Number One.

As if to prove it, she's covered the pop star's debut single, smattering it with ice cold synths and building up to a Bjork-ish conclusion.





4) George Ezra - Barcelona
The sixth (sixth!) single from George Ezra's million-selling Wanted On Voyage album, is accompanied by a video shot deep in the rainforest. By which I mean Cornwall's Eden Project, which is why George has to wear that fetching mustard-colour jacket.





5) Gatlantis - Peanut Butter Jelly
The feel-good hit of the summer now has a feel-good video to go with it. It's about as infectious as you'd expect from Christian Karlsson and Linus Eklöw - whose credits include Britney's Toxic and Icona Pop's I Love It.





6) Shura - White Light (extended version)
A disturbing video for Shura's shimmering, space disco epic - which is released today.

The Manchester singer is currently in the studio putting the finishing touches to her debut EP for later this year.





7) George The Poet - Sorry Love, It's You Not Me (ft Lucy Rose)
Just added to the 6 Music playlist, this is a great piece of narrative rap, detailing the end of a relationship - with a devastating hook: "It's just you're forgettable. I think that's the issue".

Things to love: George's languorous delivery, and that infectious bassline.





8) Carly Rae Jepsen - Run Away With Me
The first track from Carly's new album, Emotion, comes with a fly-on-the-wall video, following the singer around a promotional trip to Japan, New York and Paris.

"I didn't even know we were making a music video until about halfway through it," Jepsen said in a statement. "David [Kalani Larkins - director] always has a camera in his hand and he has a way about him that makes you forget that it's there. I can remember watching over his shoulder as he uploaded the footage, recounting memories of the trip that I had almost already forgotten."






9) Izzy Bizu - Give Me Love
Seeing the name Izzy Bizu, readers of a certain age will inevitably be reminded of Sooty and Sweep.

For everyone else, here's a rollicking, drum-powered pop stomper from Barnes, in South-west London.





10) Lianne La Havas - Green and Gold
Described as "kind of an autobiography," Green & Gold sees Lianne La Havas narrate her life story, from a six-year-old "trying to watch cartoons through the static" to a "star in the city", feted by Prince and Stevie Wonder.

This is the third taster from her "sophomore" (second) album, which is shaping up to be one of the best soul records of the year.




11) Sarah Harding - Threads
"It's quite rocky - but it's also got pop and dubstep influences as well," says Sarah 'Girls Aloud' Harding. "There's a real mish-mash of different styles."

Mish-mash is probably the politest way to describe this, to be honest. *sad face emoticon*




12) Kira Puru - All Dulled Out
The debut single from Melbourne doom-pop singer Kira Puru is a little rough around the edges, but the balance between vulnerability and raw emotion is subtly captivating.





13) Cyril Hahn - Inferno ft Say Lou Lou
An aching, wistful summer jam that feels ripped from the soundtrack of a John Hughes movie.

"You know I'd hurt and suffer just to be with you," sing Say Lou Lou over Cyril Hahn's twinkling synths. "Pull me underground, never let me down, my inferno".

And that's the lot. Loads more musical goodies to come on the blog this week. If you're new, say hello on @mrdiscopop or in the comments field below.

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Lianne La Havas: What You Won't Do

Lianne La Havas is clearly a woman in love. After the sensual nu-soul of Unstoppable, her new single is a blissed-out eulogy to her beau.

"It's what you don't do, the games you don't play," she sings. "I know you love me. I don't need proof."

Splashed with old-school soul harmonies, What You Won't Do is excellently funky - and surely destined to be her first top 40 hit.

Lianne La Havas - What You Won't Do

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Cotton's last stand

Today marked Fearne Cotton's last show on BBC Radio 1 (although she's popping up to host some of the Big Weekend coverage before she hangs her headphones up for good).

Never as bad a DJ as her detractors would have you believe, she championed Lana Del Rey and Fleet Foxes on daytime Radio 1, making up for her inexplicable love of Kodaline. Well, almost.

Her last show was a truly star-studded affair with appearances from Dave Grohl, Ricky Gervais and... er, Keith Lemon. But the best bits were the surprise songs recorded in her honour. And, bless the BBC, they've put them up online for your listening pleasure.

My personal favourite was this cover of Dolly Parton's 9 to 5 by Lucy Rose. In typical Live Lounge fashion, it took a perky pop song and turned it into a seriousface acoustic "jam". But in this instance it really works. A cover of unusual beauty.


Rae Morris also popped up with a cover of Ben Howard's Keep Your Head up that practically defined the word "ethereal".


Lianne La Havas played Fearne's favourite song, Etta James's At Last.


And Coldplay (no wait, come back) penned a tune especially for the occasion, called Gone But Not F. Cotton.

Witty and affectionate, it was a highlight of the show.


So #FarewellFearne, as twitter would have it ("it's not like I'm dead," the presenter wryly observed). You played some good music, you were brilliantly scathing about Fuse ODG, and you said "amazing" a lot. I'll miss you even more than the paparazzi who waited outside the BBC every day to see what kaftan you'd worn to cover up the baby sick.

I'm also looking forward to Clara Amfo's take on the show, and the Live Lounge, when she settles into the hotseat next week. I've heard they've revamped the whole format - so it'll be interesting to see what difference the new host makes.

And, if you're interested, here's Fearne's hand-picked playlist from her last show.

• Arctic Monkeys - Hold On, We're Going Home (Radio 1 Live Lounge, 13 Sep 2013)
• The Avalanches - Since I Left You
• Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros - Home
• Kodaline - The One (Fearne Special)
• Chris Malinchak - So Good To Me
• Hozier - Do I Wanna Know? (Radio 1 Live Lounge, 15 Sep 2014)
• Take That - Pray (Radio 1 Live Lounge, 22nd November 2010)
• James Blake - Limit To Your Love
• James Bay - (Your Love Keeps Lifting Me) Higher and Higher
• Duke Dumont - The Giver (Reprise)
• Royal Blood - Out Of The Black (Radio 1 Live Lounge, 18 Feb 2015)
• First Aid Kit - Stay Gold
• Dave Grohl - My Hero (Radio 1 Live Lounge, 4 Nov 2009)
• Kings of Leon - Dancing On My Own (Radio 1 Live Lounge, 10 Sep 2013)
• Jack White - Sixteen Saltines
• Lucy Rose - 9 To 5
• Coldplay - Gone But Not F Cotton
• D.A. - Glowing
• Adele - Hometown Glory (Radio 1 Live Lounge, 27th Jan 2011)
• Eaves - As Old As The Grave
• Rae Morris - Keep Your Head Up
• SOAK - Immigrant Song
• Lianne La Havas - At Last
• Fleet Foxes - Helplessness Blues
• Darwin Deez - Constellations
• Tom Odell - Farewell Fearne
• Lana Del Rey - Video Games

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Dancing on her own

I've waxed lyrical about the new Lianne La Havas single, Unstoppable, twice already. A blissed-out, love-struck intergalactic soul jam, it's one of my favourite songs of the year so far.

A video came out this morning, which sees the Londoner so overcome with joy that she starts dancing around with a big grin plastered all over her face. It's quite lovely.

Lianne La Havas - Unstoppable

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The return of Leona Lewis and 10 more songs you may have missed

A semi-regular round-up of songs I've been too busy, lazy, stupid or myopic to blog about in the last week or so.

Today's page sees the long overdue comeback of Leona Lewis, a high school gem from Mark Ronson and a heart-warming performance by the Blur.

Enjoy!

1) Leona Lewis - Fire Under My Feet
It's as if Leona Lewis, owner of the world's most pointless umbrella, downloaded the blueprint for Adele's Rolling In The Deep and ran it through a cheap 3D printer.

The results are good - this is a perfectly-rousing slab of gospel pop - but you can't escape the nagging feeling that you've heard it, better, before.

The lyrics are bound to earn a few tabloid inches, given that Leona's new material has been very publicly trailed as a sideswipe at Simon Cowell, whose label she left last year. "Moving on to bigger things, I begin to spread my wings," she sings. "No longer in chains, I'm dancing over these graves."

A return to form, yes. But there's better to come on her new album.





2) Prince - Baltimore
A call for gun control in the US is the centrepiece of Prince's protest song, Baltimore - inspired by the death of youngster Freddie Gray in police custody.

"If there ain't no justice then there ain't no peace," chants the purple one over the sound of marching feet. It's a stirring, timely tune.





3) Lunchmoney Lewis - Bills
Lunchmoney, as well as holding a Guinness record for the worst stage name ever, has worked with both Nicki Minaj and Jessie J. This song sounds more like 1990s novelty abomination Scatman John, though.

A contender for song of the summer, with all the dumb joie de vivre that implies. You are never going to hear the end of it.





4) Mark Ronson and Mystikal - Feel Right
Set in a school talent show, and starring a marvellous mini-Mystikal, this video is a riot.





5) Chemical Brothers ft Q Tip - Go
It's unreasonable to expect the Chemicals to match the lunatic brilliance of Push The Button on this, their latest collaboration with Q-Tip. And so it turns out - Go has a brilliantly nagging bassline, and the duo still know how to build a crescendo, but the chorus falls sadly flat.

It's not helped by an abnormally uninspired Michel Gondry video.





6) Rachel Jane- Awaken
Born in Bristol and raised in Bath, 19-year-old singer/songwriter Rachel Jane is shaping up to be one to watch this year.

Awaken is one of the most surprising, rhythmically complex songs I've heard in ages. Beatboxing, tribal percussion, and drum and bass loops all get referenced in this primal, chanting track that rips up Florence's template and rearranges the pieces into something altogether more lissome.







7) Ed Sheeran - Photograph
Ed Sheeran raids the family archives for this touching little ditty.

Following the singer (who looks adorably like the Milky Bar kid) from cradle to stardom, it ends with the young Ed climbing on a rock and being asked by his father, "Are you at the top of the mountain?" - before cutting to Sheeran on stage saluting a festival crowd. Lucky bastard.






8) Lianne La Havas - Unbreakable (Jungle remix)
Jungle's shimmering, summery funk snuggles up to the supple new single from Lianne La Havas. A clever, thoughtful remix that elevates the original.






9) BenZel - Waiting.... ft Ben Abraham
Jessie Ware collaborators BenZel are in fact super-producers Benny Blanco and Two Inch Punch. Their new single is a stuttering, chaotic electro banger, drenched in pitch-shifted vocals.

Worth sticking around to the end to hear a sample of the common-or-garden soul track the duo ripped apart to make their record.







10) Lyza Jane - If It Hurts
Alt-pop singer Lyza Jane describes this video as "looking like Barbie's bad trip". She's not wrong.





11) Blur - Tender (acoustic with Jimmy Fallon)
You can't help but be buoyed by the irrepressible grins on Graham Coxon and Damon Albarn's faces during this performance. It's nice to know the band - whose Magic Whip album is much better than it has any right to be - are properly enjoying their reunion. Or this bit of it, at least.

And that's your lot for this week. More as soon as I can muster, I promise!

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Listen to Lianne La Havas' lush new single

Summer vibes abound on the new single from Lianne La Havas - whose shoulder-rubbing exploits with Prince and Stevie Wonder have clearly paid off.

Produced by Paul Epworth, Unbreakable finds the singer soaring through space, trying to repair a relationship she has ended. Lianne's voice flutters around an orchestral backdrop, punctuated by harp glissandi and a funky finger-picked guitar.

If you've got a field nearby - stand in the middle of it, stick this on, throw your arms out and spin around in the sun. Perfect.



Unbreakable is taken from La Havas' second album, Blood, which is out in July.

As well as Epworth, it features collborators such as Aqualung's Matt Hales, Disclosure's Howard Lawrence and Jamie Lidell.

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Lianne La Havas video "frenzy"

I'll keep this short as I'm about to head off to the Brits, where Lianne La Havas has a stunning zero nominations. Not that she doesn't deserve them - her debut album, Is Your Love Big Enough, was one of last year's best. Produced by Matt Hales (aka Aqualung) it was a quirky, plush, sonically adventurous record, bound together by La Havas' stunning vocals, recorded up close with precious little processing.

In other years, she would almost certainly have been a contender for Best British Female - but the 22-year-old simply couldn't compete with the commercial clout of Emeli Sande or the tear-stained nostalgia for Amy Winehouse. But Ms La Havas doesn't need the Brits. And, in an Adele-style finger salute to the voting academy, she's uploaded two new videos on the day of the awards.

So, here we have the piano-led confessional Gone, and the beautiful Scott Matthews cover Elusive. Enjoy, then remember what you could have been watching when Ben Howard pops up on your telly tonight.

Lianne La Havas - Gone


Lianne La Havas - Elusive

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