The Top Twenty Best Hit Songs of 2012 - Part 2 (10-1)

This is Part 2 of my Top 20 Best Hit Songs of 2012. If you haven't read part 1, here's the link. https://urtarreviews.blogspot.com/2021/12/hey-everyone-drake-known-online-as.html

 10. Swimming Pools (Drank) - Kendrick Lamar

I have not listened to Kendrick Lamar's major label debut album Good Kid, Maad City, the album this song comes from, which is widely regarded as a 2010s classic. It's on my list of albums I need to hear someday. But I have heard from people who put this song on best lists that it's one of the worst on the album and if I agree with that then damn because this song is exceptional! The incredible production that creates an atmosphere that fits the lyrics perfectly, Kendrick's fantastic rapping as usual, the incredibly catchy and amazing "drank" ad libs, and of course the incredible lyrics. This song is about the relationship between peer pressure and drinking too much, by portraying a character who is peer pressured to drink a lot of alcohol and does so, with his conscience trying to get him to stop before he kills him. And this story is told very well and Kendrick sells it perfectly. And yet, this song doesn't just work when you're in the mood for a tragic tale, it has banging beats, catchy hooks, and great flows to make this song also work as an excellent rap banger. Great stuff!

9. Diamonds - Rihanna

This is just an absolute pop masterpiece. The glittering bubbly synths, Rihanna's heavenly vocals and the transcendent hook. This song is another case where the actual meaning of the lyrics isn't at all deep but the lyrics sound so badass that you don't care and they are still amazing. This song is exceptional just based on sound. Oh also, this song wasn't written by anyone. That's an interesting fact (It was actually written by Sia but I wanted to pretend like it wasn't because fuck Sia)

8. Springsteen - Eric Church

This one is very nostalgic for me, and that's funny because I don't even remember hearing it that much back in the day. But yeah, just something about it just takes me back to my childhood and all my great childhood memories. But beyond just that this song is absolutely fantastic. I've always really liked Eric Church as a singer and songwriter and he delivers once again with this song. He sounds fantastic and the instrumentation backs him up very well with a fantastic groove. This song has so many catchy hooks just stitched in that I am absolutely not surprised this song was and still is his biggest hit. Lyrically this song is about how him and his ex who listened to Bruce Springsteen together a lot when they were together, how both of them think of each other and their fantastic times together whenever they hear a Springsteen song, even though they are so far away. Which is funny considering that this exact song makes me think of my childhood and all the great times I had then. Oh and speaking of that

7. Carly Rae Jepsen

2012 was the breakthrough year of the pop singer Carly Rae Jepsen who had two massive hits this year before unfortunately fading into irrelevance on the pop charts despite putting out the fantastic pop album Emotion which was majorly mismanaged if you ask me. I love both of her hits this year a lot so I'm going to be talking about both here. 

7a. Call Me Maybe - Carly Rae Jepsen

Just like Springsteen this song is incredibly nostalgic for me, it takes me back to all the best times of my childhood. But beyond that it's just so beautfiul, serene, and catchy! Carly sounds fantastic as usual, the instrumental is just phenomenal, with sweeping strings and glowing synths, and the hook is one of the catchiest of the decade! The lyrics are shallow and all, but they really don't matter in a massive pop song like this, at least to me. This song is on the list because one it takes me back to my best childhood memories and two because it's a damn exceptional pop classic. 

7b. Good Time - Owl City, Carly Rae Jepsen

Insert joke about the Niko Moon song of the same name from 2021 here

No but seriously I love this song for similar reasons to my love for Call Me Maybe. This song has so much nostalgia for my childhood just like that song, and it's just a damn exceptional pop song. The fantastic groove, great vocals from Carly and Owl City (who I need to listen to more from btw), the catchy hooks, and the opimistic lyrics. This song, unlike the Niko Moon song of the same name, makes me have a good time whenever I listen to it while also having a lot of nostalgia for me. 

6. Lights - Ellie Goulding

The fact this song didn't make my top 5 just shows you how stacked this year was because this song is a goddamn fucking pop classic! The glittering snyths that sound heavenly, Ellie's phenomenal vocals, and the fucking catchiness of the whole thing! This song just sounds so ethereal and heavenly! And this song is just about being afraid of the dark but it comes across like it means so much more because of how heavenly and ethereal it sounds! This song has already been canonized by most as a pop classic of the 2010s and I absolutely agree! Exceptional song!

5. Little Talks - Of Monsters And Men

This song is one of the most widely praised hits of the 2010s in this community and I absolutely agree. The fantastic instrumental, the phenomenal harmonies of the two singers who have so much chemistry with each other, one of the best bridges of the decade in pop music, the phenonmenal lyrics. This is a song about two lovers, one of which has died and the other is very close to dying and hears the voice of her husband assuring her that they will be fine in the afterlife, and in the bridge she says "I'll see you when I fall asleep" embracing death because she knows she will be fine in the afterlife and will be able to see her husband. It's a tragic tale told perfectly and the band sell it incredibly well making this song an absolute classic. 

4. Take Care - Drake, Rihanna

This is easily my favorite song I have heard from Drake. It's a sequel to their previous collab that I talked about on my 2010 best list, What's My Name. And as much as I love that song, I love this song even more. This song is about the two of them who have both been through a lot in relationships coming together and both finding a relationship that finally works with each other, and it's also about them assuring each other that they will take care of them. Just like with What's My Name, hearing a song like this from Rihanna just a few years after the Chris Brown incident is incredibly cathartic and pleasing to hear that she is in a working relationship after all the shit she's been through. I don't know what relationship issues Drake had been through but I don't need to in order to think this song is exceptional. Oh and also, the production is gorgeous and atmospheric, Drake and Rihanna have so much chemistry, and just sound so beautiful in this atmosphere. Such a phenonmenal song!

3. Die Young - Kesha

Oh I bet a lot of you are shocked this wasn't in my top 2, and I was too because this is one of my all time favorite Kesha songs, and this is coming from someone who is a Kesha fan. It's my favorite song on her album Warrior, her best album in my opinion, and her 2nd best song period, behind Kiss N Tell from Animal. This is just an exceptional club banger. The best club songs in my opinion have a sense of stakes to them, like Give Me Everything by Pitbull for instance. And this song is one of them. This song is about just partying as much as you can and making the most of the night with this guy, because you could die tomorrow. Kesha just absolutely owns this track with some of her most charismatic singing and "rapping" to date, and believe me that's a high bar. And the production is also phenomenal, fantastic guitar combined with phenomenal synths and drum kits from no producer weirdly (actually Dr. Luke). This song is one of my favorite songs from one of my favorite artists and the only reason it didn't make my top 2 is competition. 

2. Blown Away - Carrie Underwood

In the past year or so I've been really starting to like Carrie Underwood a lot. I have listened to three of her albums, Some Hearts, Play On, and the album this song comes from and is the title track of, Blown Away. All are great albums, my favorite of them being Blown Away which is a fantastic album that I would definitely recommend (although all get recommendations from me for sure). But my favorite song of hers is still Blown Away which is one of the best country songs I have ever heard. This song is the story of a girl whose father is a alcoholic, abusive, asshole, who abuses her and her mom. Then one night, a storm is coming, and the girl wishes that the storm would be of such a magical power that it would be able to destroy the house and kill her abusive father, then she goes and locks herself in the basement where the storm is unlikely to destroy. And her wishes come true, and the storm completely destroys the home and the father while leaving the girl and the basement untouched. This song is just incredibly cathartic and powerful. But what sets this above and beyond is the sound. The song sounds like a brewing storm in the verses and then the explosion in the chorus creates the feeling of a storm. The sound just adds to the dramatic story and makes this song an absolute experience! This song could have topped this list, but in the end there was one song from this year that I liked more. Before we find out what that was, the rest of the Honorable Mentions!

HM. Want U Back - Cher Lloyd

Well, uh, my 2012 worst list has already aged somewhat poorly because sometime between me releasing that list and now, this song grew on me a lot lol, and I have absolutely no words for why. Bridge still sucks though. 

DM. Domino - Jessie J

As much as I still hate Jessie's hit from 2011, Price Tag, this is just a really great pop song. 

HM. Locked Out Of Heaven - Bruno Mars

Not as fantastic as his three 2010 hits if you ask me, but still a really great banger. 

HM. Let Me Love You (Until You Learn To Love Yourself) - Ne-Yo

This song is actually great and always has been change my mind. 

HM. Scream - Usher

Not as great as Climax but still a really good party banger from Usher. 

HM. Feel So Close - Calvin Harris

This one just slaps. 

HM. Young Wild, And Free - Snoop Dogg, Wiz Khalifa, Bruno Mars

A really fun chill banger that also has a decent amount of nostalgia for me. 

HM. Give Your Heart A Break  -  Demi Lovato

This was my final cut and what a painful one it was, but yeah a damn fantastic pop song.

HM. Drunk On You - Luke Bryan

Luke Bryan has always been good in my opinion, and only has one bad hit, Knockin' Boots. So yeah expect to see me giving him Honorable Mentions in the future and maybe even him appear on a best list proper of mine sometime. Anyway, this song is too adorable for me to not love. 

HM. Home - Phillip Phillips

This song is like if Wanted by Hunter Hayes were a great song. 

HM. Gangnam Style - PSY

The objective best song of all time. No but seriously, this song is unironically a banger. 

HM. Part Of Me - Katy Perry

Not as great as Wide Awake, but still a really damn great pop song. 

HM. Mercy - Kanye West, Big Sean, Pusha T, 2 Chainz

Just a banger. 

HM. Titanium - David Guetta, absolutely no one else

WHY? WHY? WHY DOES S*A HAVE TO BE SUCH A GOOD SINGER! WHY DOES THIS HAVE TO BE SO GREAT!

HM. Whistle - Flo Rida

This song is great and always has been change my mind. 

HM. What Makes You Beautiful - One Direction

Nostalgic banger. 

HM. Some Nights - Fun

Another painful cut because this song is amazing, and I agree with most of the praise for it. So if you're wondering what I love about it just read or watch someone else's best of 2012 list. That said, I've always preferred Carry On, their final hit from 2013. 

HM. Payphone - Maroon 5, Wiz Khalifa

I guess I get the hate for this one, but also I really like it and it has a lot of nostalgia for me. 

HM. Somebody That I Used To Know - Gotye, Kimbra

One of the final cuts and an example of how to do a duet about a abusive relationship well, take notes Eminem!

HM. Thinking Bout You - Frank Ocean

This song isn't really my thing but I respect it a lot so it gets a mention. 

1. Paradise - Coldplay

Yeah I know this isn't the common pick for best hit of 2012, heck I don't think I have ever seen it in the top 5 of a best list, and with a lot of people they don't care for it or even dislike it. Heck I know some Coldplay fans who dislike or hate Paradise. However, I am not one to bow to popular opinion and if I'm being totally honest, Paradise is my favorite song I have ever heard from this group. Now I need to tell you I have never listened to Mylo Xyloto, the album this comes from which I've heard is a concept album although I don't know what it's about. So yeah, I am not judging this song in the concept of the album, I am judging it as a standalone song. Even if I had heard the album, which I might do sometime in the future given how much I love this song, I wouldn't be judging Paradise in the context of the album because that's not what I do on these lists, these lists are lists of my favorite hit songs of a year  not my favorite albums. Anyway, as a standalone song, Paradise is musical heaven. The delicate and gorgeous piano, the phenomenal calming drums, the beautiful synths, Chris Martin's angelic vocals, I could gush about how perfect this song is on a musical level for hours, but I'm obviously not going to. Just know this is one of the best songs I have ever heard on a musical level. This song is so perfect musically that it blows me away every single time! But the lyrics are also fantastic if a bit simple. This song is the story of a girl who had big dreams and expectations as a kid but when she gets older she has to deal with so many problems in her life and her only escape is her dreams. And the sound of this song conveys this story just as much as the lyrics do. All that would have gotten this song to the top 3 on this list but what got it to number one is that it speaks to me lyrically in a way no other hit of 2012 could. I am 18 at the time of writing this list, in my senior year of high school. When I was a kid, I thought life was nothing but rainbows and butterflies, and while I still have a pretty good life all things considered, I am on the verge of adult life in the world and I am honestly scared as shit about it. So a song about all your childhood dreams slipping away when you become an adult was bound to speak to me, and Paradise by Coldplay does. Paradise by Coldplay! The best hit song of 2012!

Thanks for reading this list! Urtar Reviews signing out! I'll see you next time!