

No, it wasn't actually Born in the U.S.A.

A.U.īritain's Olly Murs will likely have no better chance to break into America than on the back of this reggae-tinged dance track, with a hook that just-just-just won't quit. Life is Good was Nas' best-received album in ages largely because it was his most personal-perhaps nowhere moreso than on "Daughters," an honest, moving account of Nas' realization that he "ain't always been the strictest parent," and how his little girl's rapid maturation is creating questions for him he never thought he'd have to answer. E.E.Ģ007's neo-soul invasion finally reached South Korea with this smash hit from Survival K-Pop Star winner Lee Hi, who sings with a Winehousian groove with that belies her 16 years. Kanye's health conscious diet plan makes you forget about his flawed knowledge of 1999's In Too Deep. Music's take on the Chicago up-and-comer's breakout hit, you can practically feel crazy pupils of Pusha T burn deep into your skin as he barrels through his opening verse (woo!). KANYE WEST, PUSHA T, BIG SEAN, JADAKISS, "DON'T LIKE.1" Mraz's third big hit, spaced over the course of a decade, was maybe his best, the first time when his goofy personality failed to overwhelm the strong pop songwriting underneath, resulting in a sweet love song that should be soundtracking married couples' first dances for decades to come.

A.U.Ģ012 saw many claimants to Justin Timberlake's vacant throne, but none could match the swagger of the young JT like this Apollo 13- quoting Brit. Miranda's ballad of loss and heartbreak, co-written by husband Blake Shelton about a real-life tragedy, would have endured for its heart-rending rawness ("You went away / How dare you? / I miss you!") anyway, but Lambert maybe owes Cassadee Pope a thank-you card for turning it into one of the biggest reality TV hits of the year as well. Kellz is back with an instructional anthem for the people that should only be remembered for one word: "Populate." -E.E. The shimmering, shimmying nocturnal pop gem off Canadian pixie Grimes' acclaimed Visions album, made all the more memorable by an exceedingly cute and unpretentious music video. Don't be surprised if this abrasive-but-impossibly-catchy jam ultimately ends up being sampled by as many pop and hip-hop songs as Major Lazer's "Pon de Replay"-its prickly, lurching groove gets under your skin like no other song since.
