1. Mariah Carey f/ Miguel - "#Beautiful"
This has been out long enough now that it feels pretty clear that it's not a very big hit, that it's never quite took off at R&B radio or pop radio, that it won't break the cycle of underperforming later Mariah singles. But it's still an incredibly winning, singular song, a really admirable risk for both her and Miguel to take, just so beautiful (I really just typed out that word without thinking about the title) and summery and warm but also a bit odd and slight and frayed at the edges. I mean, a Mariah Carey single with amp buzz, I love it. Really kind of the first new Miguel song since Kaleidoscope Dream, which makes it an event in and of itself. Here is the running Spotify playlist of all my favorite singles of 2013, by the way.

2. Bruno Mars - "Treasure"
Was always a favorite off Unorthodox Jukebox, wondered if it might be a little too stylized to be a radio single, but ended up coming out at the perfect time in the summer of "Get Lucky" to sound of the moment.

3. Kendrick Lamar f/ Jay-Z - "Bitch, Don't Kill My Vibe (Remix)"
I was impressed but slightly blase about this track when I originally rated it in a Remix Report Card, but now that it's blanketed the airwaves, I have to admit it's some of my favorite shit out. I tend to respect Kendrick more than I actually enjoy his music, particularly because once you actually look at his lyrics, they often don't hold up at all. But the way his verses on this kill not just Jay's (big fuckin' deal in 2013, to be honest) but his own from the original makes me interested in what he'll do next. I love how he ends the song with "I need a 10-second drum solo, see you at Woodstock," because that verse is basically a great drum solo, I actually tap my fingers in time to the syllables. Also one cool thing about it being a single is that gorgeous string outro also gets added to the intro a lot of times when they play it on the radio now, if they're talking over the intro or just one a music bed to open it with before the chorus starts.

4. Mario f/ Nicki Minaj - "Somebody Else"
Always happy to see Mario put on for Baltimore, he really could've come with something obvious and 'of the moment,' but this feels kinda unique and fresh, especially considering it's Polow Da Don with a soul sample. The drums have this weird groove, almost reminds me of The Firm's "Phone Tap," all the backmasked synths and shit are kinda eerie, Nicki stays on topic without getting all-out bland like she usually does on relationshippy songs, shit is dope.

5. Brett Eldredge - "Don't Ya"
One of my favorite songs on country lately, cheesy as hell but the guy has a great voice, almost has a Ray Charles grain to it on some lines. The hook is massive, the way it comes down to just his voice and a kick drum for a couple bars. And then it's all over in 3 minutes flat, not enough hits do that these days.

6. Meek Mill - "Levels"
I guess this song isn't gonna pop off as a radio hit or anything, but it's pretty dope, makes me feel like Meek Mill still has some momentum going into Dreamchasers 3 and the next album, after Dreams & Nightmares ended up kinda weirdly underrated despite being basically what a major label Meek album should sound like. He had the best version of "Started From The Bottom" and this feels like maybe a stab at something influenced by that, except, y'know, thank god no Drake anywhere near it.

7. Frank Turner - "Recovery"
Have heard this on the radio a little bit, moderate alt-rock hit by some British folk/punk guy, manages to stand out from, say, Mumford And Sons by being really wordy and having a lot of personality and humor by comparison, also really huge catchy chorus.

8. Justin Timberlake - "Tunnel Vision"
I'm a little irritated that Timberlake is doing this 2-albums-in-one-year thing and brushing the first to the side so quickly, not that it's an especially good album, but the two big hits off it were pretty tiresome, and just as he released a decent song as a single, he brushed it aside to make room for the regrettably titled "Take Back The Night" off of the next album. And here I was still hoping "Pusher Love Girl" would at least be a promo single for R&B radio or something, oh well. "Tunnel Vision" is good, though, it always kinda faded into the background on the album for me, but it works on its own, even if that stupid video just underlines how it's kind of like a "My Love" retread, to a less embarrassing degree than that "Mirrors" is a "What Goes Around" retread.

9. Anthony Hamilton - "Best Of Me"
It's funny how this might be the only song on Billboard's airplay charts right now from a 2011 album. Anthony Hamilton just has a knack for these slow burning hits that stay on R&B radio forever, "Charlene" and "Can't Let Go" being the most obvious examples, but "Pray For Me" basically lasted through all of 2012 and now the follow-up is keeping the album on the airwaves 18 months or so later.

10. Kelly Clarkson - "Tie It Up"
One of the few songs I've written about on Singles Jukebox lately, nothing amazing but I just love her voice and dig anything she does in a country direction, I hope this is an indication that she's finally doing a whole country album.

Worst Single of the Month: Taylor Swift - "22"
This song has already kinda come and gone pretty quickly, it actually missed the top 10, which is unheard of for a Taylor Swift pop radio single, but I think that just underlines how incredibly awful this song was. I mean, holy shit.

This entry was posted on Sunday, July 21, 2013 at 10:22 PM. You can skip to the end and leave a response.