Here's an easy New Year's Day prediction: 2008 will be even more about the single than 2007 was. As album sales continue to dwindle, record companies will put even more emphasis on artists to craft that one big, must-have song to push through every project.
Luckily, 2007 provided lots of great examples of how this could work.
Here are some of the year's best:
1. Rihanna, featuring Jay-Z, "Umbrella" (Def Jam):
It takes a mighty song to withstand radio oversaturation, but nothing handled it better than "Umbrella." (Cue the "ella, ella, ay! ay! ay!" effects.) Simultaneously current, with its groove and Jay-Z cameo, and classic, with a hook that snags even the most casual passerby, "Umbrella" will be the song from 2007 that everyone will still want to hear 20 years from now.
2. Justice, "D.A.N.C.E." (Ed Banger/Vice):
Breezy French disco never sounded better as the ode to Michael Jackson (exhorting him to "Do the dance!") fluttered into the clubs on those dainty synths and cutesy vocals.
3. Alicia Keys, "No One" (J):
An uplifting soul anthem in the old-fashioned sense - the kind Aretha or Chaka or Whitney would have sung in their heydays - "No One" is the song that proves Miss Keys belongs in that company.
4. Jay-Z, "Roc Boys" (Roc-a-Fella):
"And the winner is ... Hov!" Between the spectacular horn riffs and Jay's swaggering rhymes, "Roc Boys" is pure, top-of-the-world celebration, destined to be the soundtrack for pro sports championships for years to come.
5. Arcade Fire, "Antichrist Television Blues" (Merge):
A dark, depressing look into the world of stage parents and child stars that is cleverly disguised by the jangling guitar, the sweet backing vocals and Win Butler's diabolically earnest delivery.
6. UGK, featuring Outkast, "Int'l Players Anthem (I Choose You)" (Jive):
Andre 3000's brainy cameo makes this hip-hop wedding song a real thrill, though it wouldn't work without the soulful sample from the Willie Hutch nugget "I Choose You." R.I.P. Pimp C.
7. Amy Winehouse, "You Know I'm No Good" (Universal):
The most stylish of Winehouse's winning singles this year, it dresses up her self-esteem issues like a long lost James Bond theme, complete with horn blasts and strong, yet vulnerable, vocals.
8. Dan Le Sac vs. Scroobius Pip, "Thou Shalt Always Kill" (Lex):
One brilliantly broad statement after another, assaulting you with increasing velocity and ferocity over a clanging, squawking electro beat. My current favorite: "When I say, 'hey,' thou shall not say, 'ho,' when I say, 'hip,' thou shall not say, 'hop.'"
9. Glen Hansard, "Say It to Me Now" (Columbia):
In "Once," a movie filled with beautiful, wrenching moments, Hansard's raw, emotional performance of this song is the most beautiful and most wrenching.
10. Bone Thugs N Harmony, featuring Mariah Carey and Bow Wow, "Lil L.O.V.E." (Full Surface/Interscope):
Bone Thugs' double-time, tongue-twisting rhymes play nicely against Carey's silky, low-key singing on the refrain, creating a single as potent as "We Belong Together."
Source: Newsday.com
Luckily, 2007 provided lots of great examples of how this could work.
Here are some of the year's best:
1. Rihanna, featuring Jay-Z, "Umbrella" (Def Jam):
It takes a mighty song to withstand radio oversaturation, but nothing handled it better than "Umbrella." (Cue the "ella, ella, ay! ay! ay!" effects.) Simultaneously current, with its groove and Jay-Z cameo, and classic, with a hook that snags even the most casual passerby, "Umbrella" will be the song from 2007 that everyone will still want to hear 20 years from now.
2. Justice, "D.A.N.C.E." (Ed Banger/Vice):
Breezy French disco never sounded better as the ode to Michael Jackson (exhorting him to "Do the dance!") fluttered into the clubs on those dainty synths and cutesy vocals.
3. Alicia Keys, "No One" (J):
An uplifting soul anthem in the old-fashioned sense - the kind Aretha or Chaka or Whitney would have sung in their heydays - "No One" is the song that proves Miss Keys belongs in that company.
4. Jay-Z, "Roc Boys" (Roc-a-Fella):
"And the winner is ... Hov!" Between the spectacular horn riffs and Jay's swaggering rhymes, "Roc Boys" is pure, top-of-the-world celebration, destined to be the soundtrack for pro sports championships for years to come.
5. Arcade Fire, "Antichrist Television Blues" (Merge):
A dark, depressing look into the world of stage parents and child stars that is cleverly disguised by the jangling guitar, the sweet backing vocals and Win Butler's diabolically earnest delivery.
6. UGK, featuring Outkast, "Int'l Players Anthem (I Choose You)" (Jive):
Andre 3000's brainy cameo makes this hip-hop wedding song a real thrill, though it wouldn't work without the soulful sample from the Willie Hutch nugget "I Choose You." R.I.P. Pimp C.
7. Amy Winehouse, "You Know I'm No Good" (Universal):
The most stylish of Winehouse's winning singles this year, it dresses up her self-esteem issues like a long lost James Bond theme, complete with horn blasts and strong, yet vulnerable, vocals.
8. Dan Le Sac vs. Scroobius Pip, "Thou Shalt Always Kill" (Lex):
One brilliantly broad statement after another, assaulting you with increasing velocity and ferocity over a clanging, squawking electro beat. My current favorite: "When I say, 'hey,' thou shall not say, 'ho,' when I say, 'hip,' thou shall not say, 'hop.'"
9. Glen Hansard, "Say It to Me Now" (Columbia):
In "Once," a movie filled with beautiful, wrenching moments, Hansard's raw, emotional performance of this song is the most beautiful and most wrenching.
10. Bone Thugs N Harmony, featuring Mariah Carey and Bow Wow, "Lil L.O.V.E." (Full Surface/Interscope):
Bone Thugs' double-time, tongue-twisting rhymes play nicely against Carey's silky, low-key singing on the refrain, creating a single as potent as "We Belong Together."
Source: Newsday.com
