Pop Shots - Songs That Should Dominate The Summer
Welcome to your weekly dose of pop world musings. Covering all things pop culture, this week Pop Shots is hitting you with some thoughts on which songs might rule the summer. Spring is almost in full effect, but the top of the Billboard Hot 100 has remain fairly unchanged for quite some time. While Pharrell’s “Happy” continues to make us joyful, the advent of summer means it’s time for a sea-change when it comes to radio playlists. With that in mind, I’ve found five songs currently taking up residence in the bottom half of the chart that would be perfect fits to be 2014’s songs of summer. The chart positions I’m using are from the Billboard Hot 100 as it was listed on Billboard.com this past Thursday, and since this is Pop Shots, you know everything is seasoned with a little bit of attitude.
If Iggy Azalea’s “Fancy” blows up this summer it will likely have a Macklemore effect on the mainstream, and hip-hop, media. By that I mean there will be hundreds of misguided, click bait, articles written about how Iggy’s “stealing” the culture. Knowing that “Fancy” hitting it big will make the heads of so many easily offended, overly opinionated, internet a-holes explode is reason enough to root for the song. A rise up the chart would also cause hipsters to have to call a meeting to decide whether or not they’re still allowed to like Charli XCX, who is one of their current faves. Am I a little evil in my desires here? Perhaps, but who says I can’t have some fun? The Clueless inspired video for “Fancy” shows Iggy and Charli share influences with an entirely different segment of society that hip-hop normally reaches out to, and their ascension would result in a conflagration that would be enjoyable to watch.
Every summer needs a good pop rock anthem or two, and 5 Seconds of Summer’s “She Looks So Perfect” would be a great choice to be one of those songs. Not only does it have a slight pop punk vibe, nicely capturing the ebullience of the genre, “She Looks So Perfect” has a ridiculously catchy chorus that will have you singing about American Apparel underwear until the leaves on the trees change color for fall. As an added bonus, the video is filled with people joyously ripping their clothes off and stripping down to their underthings, which is something I like to encourage in the summer. Heck, summer is even in the name of the band. Wait, is that cheating? Hmm, I don’t recall making any rules, so I’m gonna have to say it’s allowed.
This song has been out for a while, but I feel like it hasn’t come close to hitting its stride. Neon Trees make the kind of songs that have an incredibly amount of longevity, “Animal,” and “Everybody Talks” being perfect examples of this, so “Sleeping With A Friend,” with its 80s inspired goodness, shouldn’t be leaving us anytime soon. Thankfully, it’s the kind of song we don’t want leaving us anytime soon. “Sleeping With A Friend” is a classic – crank it up every time it comes on the radio – kind of tune that we all eventually learn the lyrics to. Every time you hear it, the lyric “all my friends” sticks in your head, as does Tyler Glenn’s “ooh ooh” refrain, so just start enjoying the madness of never getting out of your head now.
OK, let’s all forget the ill thought out duet with Rihanna, because Shakira’s latest, “Empire,” is a kick ass song that builds to a fantastically passionate climactic chorus that shows she still has what it takes to be one of the queens of pop. The chorus, with its vocal distortion, turns what would have been simply a good song into something really special. Shakira’s been hit or miss over the past half dozen years or so. She’s ranged from the forgettable, like “She Wolf,” to the far more enjoyable “Loca.” While her Latin music never fell off, “Empire” is a welcome return to greatness for Shakira’s pop career, and has a triumphant feel fitting for such a reclamation.
Summer is the time when nightclubs are packed to capacity, and they always need a new monster hit that will get every woman in the house amped up to order a round of shots and get on the dance floor. Cash Cash and Bebe Rexha’s “Take Me Home” seems like a perfect fit to be that song for the summer. It has the kind of crossover appeal that will make it a radio hit, and also seems like one of those songs, like Icona Pop's "I Love It," that has the ability to stick around long enough to be huge, even if it takes a while to get there. If it does eventually get there, I do wonder how Pete Wentz will feel about it.
And with that, my time is up for the week, but I'll be back next week with more shots on all things pop.
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