30 August 2012 Here's Little Mix with their second Irish number one. 'Wings' still has one foot in The X Factor winner's-single idiom of inspirational journey. Happily, though, it forgoes that genre's usual sludgy balladry, instead going for up-tempo brass, handclaps and kick-bass drums. The verses are haters-be-hating sassy, the double-movement chorus is sweeping, the … Continue reading Little Mix – ‘Wings’
Tag: 10s
Of Monsters and Men – ‘Little Talks’
16 August 2012 Or if you like, the music from a ton of TV ads and montages but not the ukulele one, which is 'Riptide' by Vance Joy. Interestingly, while 'Little Talks' was originally a US hipster pick in late 2011 and then a global hit in 2012—between ad breaks as well as during them—it … Continue reading Of Monsters and Men – ‘Little Talks’
Rita Ora – ‘How We Do (Party)’
9 August 2012 Fans of copyright claims, case law and incongruous swearing will enjoy the details of Oyewole v. Ora, a legal action taken in New York by US poet Abiodun Oyewole against the Notorious B.I.G. and Rita Ora. Oyewole claimed Biggie's track 'Party And Bullshit' as interpolated by Ora's 'How We Do (Party)' infringed … Continue reading Rita Ora – ‘How We Do (Party)’
Calvin Harris ft. Example – ‘We’ll Be Coming Back’
2 August 2012 Today's who's-related Irish Number Ones factoid: British singer Example, a chart-topper in Ireland with 'We'll Be Coming Back', is a nephew of '80s Irish footballer Tony Grealish. I'm not aware of Calvin Harris being related to any famous Irish person, but let that pass. 'We'll Be Coming Back' is the fourth of … Continue reading Calvin Harris ft. Example – ‘We’ll Be Coming Back’
Florence & The Machine – ‘Spectrum (Say My Name)’
19 July 2012 As a lifelong pop fan I normally look for fast-acting bangers rather than slow-burning growers, so it's rare that a tune or album I previously didn't get into suddenly clicks for me at a later date. However, that's what happened for me with the first Florence & The Machine album, Lungs. I … Continue reading Florence & The Machine – ‘Spectrum (Say My Name)’
Will.i.am ft. Eva Simons – ‘This Is Love’
12 July 2012 Flo Rida followed at number one by Will.i.am: no doubt my enthusiasm is leaping off the screen at you. A couple of months earlier, our chart-topper was the glorious 'Call Me Maybe'. Now, this. 'This Is Love' gives the people of 2012 what they want: insipid R&B-pop piano-plinking verses; the whoop-holler hip … Continue reading Will.i.am ft. Eva Simons – ‘This Is Love’
Flo Rida – ‘Whistle’
21 June 2012 Have I been too harsh on Flo Rida and his Guetta-flavoured sub-Black Eyed Peas output? After all, 'Whistle' has that catchy, likeable whistling hook and a lighter, breezier sound. Maybe Flo Rida has developed as an artist and a human being. No, of course I haven't been too harsh. 'Whistle' is laboured, … Continue reading Flo Rida – ‘Whistle’
Cheryl – ‘Call My Name’
14 June 2012 That title may well have been deliberately pointed. Cheryl, in 2012 an A-list UK celebrity from her judge's role on The X Factor, had changed one married name for another, then split up with the latter, and released this single using the former name. No doubt the air was thick with webloid … Continue reading Cheryl – ‘Call My Name’
Loreen – ‘Euphoria’
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’
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’
