31 May 2012 Ireland's best Eurovision placing of the 2000s was actually in 2000, when a man with a mullet sang a soft rock power ballad called 'Millennium Of Love' and finished sixth. (Bambie Thug has since equalled that sixth-place finish in 2024.) One place above him was a German comedian in a yellow cowboy … Continue reading Loreen – ‘Euphoria’
Tag: 10s
Various Artists – ‘The Rocky Road To Poland’
10 May 2012 The song I associate with Ireland's trip to Euro 2012 is 'The Fields Of Athenry' as sung by Irish fans sometime after a Spain in third gear had knocked in their fourth goal. I wish it wasn't. I was watching at home on TV in France, crumpling like a collapsed deckchair of … Continue reading Various Artists – ‘The Rocky Road To Poland’
Fun ft. Janelle Monáe – ‘We Are Young’
19 April 2012 Jack Antonoff of Fun has now gone on to greater fame and fortune as co-writer and producer with Taylor Swift. I wonder if 'We Are Young' was in his CV when he was pitching for that gig. Probably not. Perhaps the more pertinent question is: what did Taylor Swift see in this? … Continue reading Fun ft. Janelle Monáe – ‘We Are Young’
Carly Rae Jepsen – ‘Call Me Maybe’
22 March 2012 I was surprised to discover that 'Call Me Maybe', which went to number one in Carly Rae Jepsen's native Canada in February 2012, Ireland in March 2012, the UK in April 2012 and the US in June 2012, had actually been released in Canada in September 2011. That's a whole five-to-six months … Continue reading Carly Rae Jepsen – ‘Call Me Maybe’
Gotye ft. Kimbra – ‘Somebody That I Used To Know’
2 February 2012 I approach 'Somebody That I Used To Know' under the impression that it had disappeared from the popular consciousness. Yes, it was inescapably mahoosive in 2012, but who listens to it now? Actually, quite a lot of people; as I write this, its streaming and viewing figures are each over one billion, … Continue reading Gotye ft. Kimbra – ‘Somebody That I Used To Know’
Jessie J – ‘Domino’
19 January 2012 What if Katy Perry records were good? That's the intriguing, albeit low-stakes, premise of 'Domino'. Sure, its parts don't hold much promise. By early 2012 I was well weary of big-budget in-your-face EDM. The Jessie J school of brash naffness has limited appeal. Neither EDM nor Jessie J are a good fit … Continue reading Jessie J – ‘Domino’
Flo Rida – ‘Good Feeling’
12 January 2012 In fairness, there are parts of this Flo Rida hit I like. You've got its propulsive EDM-synth-pop energy with a twist of techno and Euro-house, plus that chorus vocal is bright and soulful. The thing is, those parts happen to be borrowed—or as the Irish Number Ones legal team prefer me to … Continue reading Flo Rida – ‘Good Feeling’
Little Mix – ‘Cannonball’
15 December 2011 First thing I checked: was there an anti-X Factor counter-movement behind the original 'Cannonball' at Christmas 2011? If there was, it didn't get far. Damien Rice's version re-entered the Irish charts at a mere no. 19 before gravity and nominative determinism took hold. (It had already entered the Irish and UK charts … Continue reading Little Mix – ‘Cannonball’
The X Factor Finalists ft. JLS and One Direction – ‘Wishing On A Star’
1 December 2011 This 2011 iteration of The X Factor's annual side-hustle forwent its usual militaristic poppy-kissing to raise money instead for a UK children's palliative care charity. The Irish record-buying public, who had magnanimously put previous X Factor collective singles like 'Ooh, Aah, Up The British Army' and 'Come Out Ye Talibans' to number … Continue reading The X Factor Finalists ft. JLS and One Direction – ‘Wishing On A Star’
Rihanna ft. Calvin Harris – ‘We Found Love’
13 October 2011 The unlikely roll call of women who've achieved notoriety by running carefree in a field of crops includes Theresa May and, while shooting the video for 'We Found Love', Rihanna. The latter incident was in a field in Co. Down, as you'll recall, and involved a no-nonsense Ulster farmer (who was also, … Continue reading Rihanna ft. Calvin Harris – ‘We Found Love’
