The Top Twenty Best Hit Songs Of 2012 Part 1 (20-11)
Hey everyone, Drake, known online as Urtar Reviews here and holy shit was 2012 a stacked year for pop music! While I stand by it not being the best year of the 2010s, mainly because of all the bottom barrel garbage the year had at its worst, the best of 2012 was both legendary and in large numbers. So because of that, I am making this best list a top 20 and therefore I will be doing it in two parts. In Part 1 I will go over picks 20-11 and some Dishonorable Mentions, and then Part 2 will go over 10-1 and the rest of the Dishonorable Mentions.
Now as usual, rules and disclaimers:
Songs are eligible for this list if they either made the Jan-Dec Year End Hot 100 for 2012 or the Billboard Year End Hot 100 for 2012 and didn't make either list in 2011. This means that the following songs on the 2012 Jan-Dec and Billboard Year End lists are ineligible for both this list and my best list and will instead be eligible for my 2011 lists:
Without You by David Guetta and Usher
Someone Like You by Adele
The One That Got Away by Katy Perry
Ni**as In Paris - Jay-Z, Kanye West
Moves Like Jagger by Maroon 5 and Christina Augilera
It Will Rain by Bruno Mars
Party Rock Anthem by LMFAO, Lauren Bennett, and GoonRock
Good Feeling by Flo Rida
Sexy And I Know It by LMFAO
We Found Love by Rihanna and Calvin Harris
5 o'Clock by T-Pain, Lily Allen and Wiz Khalifa
Rolling In The Deep by Adele
Stereo Hearts by Gym Class Heroes and Adam Levine
Now a disclaimer. This is all just my opinion and if you dislike or hate a song I put here that is totally fine because music is 100 percent subjective, and I will respect your opinion if you do mine.
With that out of the way, let's get into what I consider to be the Top Twenty Best Hit Songs of 2012!
20a. Nicki Minaj
As I said in my Girl On Fire entry on my worst list, I actually really like most of Nicki Minaj's early hits, and 2012 was a great year for her. Aside from Girl On Fire and Dance (A$$) which I don't really care for, she had three hits I love in 2012 including features, so I'm gonna review them all in order from my least favorite to my favorite.
20a. Pound The Alarm - Nicki Minaj
While my least favorite of these songs, Pound The Alarm is still a very fun club banger. I've always had much more of a soft spot for Nicki's pop/club side than her rap side, at least when it comes to her own music. The Night Is Still Young is the only song I've heard from the Pinkprint that I enjoy for instance. But yeah, this song is absolutely wild, Nicki has so much charisma and just owns this song. The beat is also pretty good, although the drop could admittedly be better. But yeah just a really fun club banger.
20b. Turn Me On - David Guetta, Nicki Minaj
Yeah this one is a hot take because I know a lot of people hate this song, but I really like it. I've always had a larger tolerance for David Guetta's production than most, but still the beat of this song is pretty bad. So why is this song so good? Well, the star of this song is Nicki Minaj herself. Like I get why people hate these lyrics, her asking this guy to get in bed with her because it'll save her life, but that's the point. This song is establishing Nicki's character as this crazy woman who thinks that she'll die if she doesn't have sex with this guy and Nicki portrays this role incredibly well! She has so much manic energy that she portrays this maniacal woman incredibly well and also just makes this song so fun to listen to! Great song that deserves more praise than it gets in my opinion.
20c. Starships - Nicki Minaj
Just like Pound The Alarm this song is just a very fun club banger. Nicki absolutely owns this song with some ideas that shouldn't work together like a dubstep drop, verses and pre chorus that are similar to Yeah 3x by Chris Brown of all things, and a Twinkle Twinkle Little Star refrence of all things, and yet, they all just somehow work together for an incredible club banger that was my favorite of her 2012 hits.
19. International Love - Pitbull, Chris Brown
I've been criticized before that I supposedly am refusing to like Chris Brown songs because of what he did and well to those who have said that to me, while yes I hate most of his songs, I would still hate them even if he didn't do the things he did. And, contrary to popular belief, he has made a few songs I like. Yeah 3x is pretty good, and High End is pretty great, although that song is carried hard by Future and Young Thug. My favorite song he's ever been on is this song by Pitbull, who I've always really liked. And Pitbull does good verses here as usual. I mean sure, his lyrics are shallow, but if you're going into a Pitbull song expecting deep lyrics you are doing it wrong. This song is about how sex with this girl is so good that it makes them think of the best parts of the places they traveled. Like yeah this isn't deep, but it has this magical charm to it, which combined with Pitbull's charisma and Chris Brown's hook where he sounds legitamately incredible, like he's absolutely blown away by this girl. And I mean, you could argue a song with Chris Brown being blown away by a girl isn't a good thing, but it works well for me. Especially if I turn my brain off and forget that it's Chris Brown singing the hook. And despite how great this is, it isn't even top 5 on Pitbull's album Planet Pit which is a fantastic album that I would definitely recommend. So yeah, you got on my good graces for once Chris, don't expect to have it happen more though. And Pitbull you're on my good graces as usual. Great song!
18. Good Girl - Carrie Underwood
This song is pretty underappreciated if you ask me, at least in this community. It's been completely overshadowed by her other hit from this year, and while I agree that that song is better, we'll talk about it later in Part 2, this song is still damn fantastic. Carrie Underwood is a fantastic singer and sounds great here with a ton of range, force and charisma, and she absolutely sells these lyrics about her being cheated on by a guy and instead of getting revenge on him like she has on other songs like Before He Cheats, she tries to warn his next girlfriend that he's gonna cheat on her too, but she won't listen to Carrie. But Carrie really wants her to realize this because she likes this girl and doesn't want her heart to be broken like hers was. And again, she absolutely sells this, as well as just singing her ass off. The instrumentation is pretty good too if a bit standard for this style of pop country. And this probably isn't top 5 songs on her album Blown Away which is an incredible album by the way.
17. Hard To Love - Lee Brice
This one seems to be a contentious pick. From what I've seen it seems like the consensus on this song is that it's pretty bad because it's pessimistic and self hating. And I mean I get it. But to me it just works very well. I can be a pessimist myself and I can get depressed sometimes. Nothing serious usually, but I do tend to get depressed. And songs like this are pessimistic in a way that just comes across as comforting to me, in a a similar way to a song like Supalonely from 2020. I can't really explain what makes this song and Supalonely work so well for me to help me when I'm feeling pessimistic or depressed where other pessimistic songs can make me feel more depressed, but there's something that is there, and it makes this song really work for me. Plus, Lee Brice is a great singer and the instrumentation fits the atmosphere very well. The only reason it isn't any higher is that I don't listen to it very often, because I have to be in the mood for it.
16. Wide Awake - Katy Perry
15. So Good - B.o.B.
Oh B.o.B., you were so good and then you just had to release Flatline. Such a shame, because Bobby Ray was so good in his prime. While not my favorite hit of his, that's still Nothin' On You, So Good is a dman excellent song about all the incredible things he's gonna do for her, take her around the world and give her so many pleasures and it's just so adorable. Also the beat is incredible and he sounds amazing. That's all I really need to say. Amazing song.
14. I Cry - Flo Rida
As you all probably know, I actually have a big soft spot for most Flo Rida songs. Sure his songs aren't deep but that's not what you go to Flo Rida songs for. You go to them for massive hooks and big hype-building flows combined with lyrics that mean nothing but sound fucking badass. I have heard this song probably over a hundred times in my life, and I still don't know what this song is about and frankly I do not give a fuck. This song is fantastic because of the incredible sampled hook, Flo Rida's verses building a ton of hype with his charisma, the great beat, and the fact that his lyrics just sound so badass. So in other words a typical great Flo Rida song.
13. We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together - Taylor Swift
Oh I bet a lot of you are shocked this didn't make my top 10, given how much of a Taylor Swift simp I am, and what can I say except that while this song is awesome it's never been one of my absolute favorite songs on Red. Like yeah, it's great, but when it's on an album with songs like All Too Well and Begin Again, it kind of pales in comparison. However, even if it's mid tier on Red, it's still a damn fantastic song in it's own right. This song is Taylor finally cutting off an asshole who she had an on and off again relationship with with a lot of sarcasm. Sure it's cheesy, but that adds to the charm for me and combine that with the great instrumentation and performance from Taylor and you have a damn fantastic pop song!
12. Set Fire To The Rain - Adele
The fact that this didn't make my top 10 just tells you how stacked this year was because this song is one of my favorite Adele hits, and is and always was better than Rolling In The Deep fight me! Anyway, this song is just absolutely incredible! It's about a relationship coming to an end. Adele has finally realized this guy is no good for her, but she doesn't wanna leave him because she loves being with him. But, she finally cuts it off to better herself and get with someone who will treat her better. And Adele sells this incredibly well with phenomenal vocals and incredible amounts of emotive presence! Also, she just sounds incredible in general and the instrumental is phenomenal as well!
11. Everybody Talks - Neon Trees
Again I bet a lot of you who know me are shocked this didn't make my top 10. If you don't know I love this band. Their 2020 album I Can Feel You Forgetting Me is one of my favorite albums of all time and the lead single from it, Used To Like is a top 3 song ever for me. Well, just like We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together, while this is a fantastic song, it's not one of the absolute best I've heard from this band. If this song were on I Can Feel You Forgetting Me it would be the 2nd worst song on it, behind Going Through Something. Still, Everybody Talks is a damn fantastic song in its own right. The killer grooves, the fantastic vocals from Tyler Glenn who is a powerhouse of a singer, the fantastic instrumental. But this song got a lot better for me when I realized what it was about. This song is about how Tyler Glenn as a gay man was in the closet about being gay and dating a woman who spread rumours he was gay while he was trying to remain in the closet. Finding this out made me realize that this song probably means a lot to Tyler Glenn and also caused it to hit harder for me. Anyway, fantastic song and stream I Can Feel You Forgetting Me and Used To Like!
Now before the end of Part 1, let's go over some of my Honorable Mentions, and we'll go over the rest in Part 2.
HM. Cashin' Out - Cash Out
An underrated rap banger about success.
HM. Heart Attack - Trey Songz
Underrated fantastic R&B song from a hit or miss artist.
HM. Come Over - Kenny Chesney
This song was written by Sam Hunt and is easily the best thing he has ever done.
HM. Climax - Usher
Oh boy this was a painful cut. Usher's fantastic siren-like vocals, the beautiful instrumental and the great lyrics. One of the final cuts.
HM. The A Team - Ed Sheeran
This is a pretty underappreciated cut from Ed about a girl he met when he served at a homeless shelter and is very well written. It's not a song that I listen to often, but when I do it's fantastic. I'll take it over boring filler like Bad Habits or Shape Of You any day.
HM. Pontoon - Little Big Town
A pretty fun beach country song, a genre I'm kind of a sucker for. Doesn't make up for their OTHER YEAR END HIT though.
HM. Back In Time - Pitbull
This song just slaps I don't have more to say.
HM. It's Time - Imagine Dragons
This was one of the first songs I ever loved as a kid even though I didn't care about music much at all, I loved this song, and while it's cooled on me hard over the years as a different song from this album that was also a Year End hit has overshadowed it for me, it still has nostalgia for me and is still a great song.
HM. Brokenhearted - Karmin
I have no words for why I love this song lmao.
HM. Adorn - Miguel
Still waiting for this to click for me fully, but it's very good still.
So yeah that was Part 1 of my Top 20 Best Hit Songs Of 2012!
Urtar Reviews signing out! I'll see you next time!
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