Top 20 Albums of 2014: 6-5

6. Ola - Carelessly Yours



This album has been around for awhile, released at the very beginning of the year. I had been waiting for it so long, and it doesn't disappoint. The singles do outshine almost everything else on the album, but there are many of them and they are sprinkled wisely throughout the running order. The only reason the album isn't ranked higher is that I just haven't returned to it as often this year as I'd expected to. I don't know why that is... perhaps because the newer songs aren't as strong and I'd already played the older ones so much last year?

5. 2NE1 - Crush



Korea's coolest girl group finally made their comeback this year. After many single releases, which I've chosen to pepper throughout the running order of this new album, they finally released something more substantial. Even without those bonus tracks, the album stands as one of their most consistent. A bit ballad-heavy, maybe, but I certainly can't fault any of the tracks themselves. I also give them props for trying some different things with production and structure. It gives the album a varied feel.

Top 50 Singles of 2014: 50-46

50. Bleachers - Rollercoaster



An homage to the summers of the 80's, in a different world this could have soundtracked a John Hughes movie. I love the cascading drums.

49. Ola - This Could Be Paradise



One of the best surprises of the year, Ola came back with a soaring dance track that subtly reinterprets Over The Rainbow over a surging beat.

48. Kliff - Maija



A Euro-inspired dance track that lit up the summer. It's all about that chorus and the build-up to the full dance beat at the end.

47. Roy Kim - Home 



A beautiful, Autumn-influenced ballad. This guy is one of the few artists who can capture my attention with his gorgeous voice alone.

46. VIXX - Error 



A theatrical, futuristic dance track with a sorrow-filled heart. Brings back memories of Bigbang's awesome Monster two years ago.

Don't forget, if you'd like to listen to the Top 50 Singles Countdown in full, download the audio version!

Ola - This Could Be Paradise

"All I see is rainbow tears"

At the beginning of the year, I was almost certain that Ola Svensson's latest album would end up to be my favorite of the year. Turns out that won't be the case. That doesn't mean the album isn't amazing... it just hasn't had the staying power with me personally that I'd expected it to. I'm not even sure why that is, except maybe that the singles are so perfect that they overshadow most everything else around them. That said, it's still awesome that Ola's released a new track. It might only be available in Russia right now (which is interesting because the lyrics seem to be a rallying cry for gay rights), but the edgy dance sound fits in perfectly with the album and will certainly be added to the tracklist on my ipod. This Could Be Paradise is the kind of easy, effortlessly cool dance/club track that Swedish artists seem to be able to compose in their sleep. I can't get enough of this kind of stuff. And best of all, it's inspiring me to give that album another spin after months of gathering dust.



(Music posted for evaluation purposes only. Buy the single here. Follow me on twitter and facebook.

Ola - One Day

"Changes will never come unless you can run"

I will be shocked if Ola Svensson's new album isn't in my top three when it's time for 2014's end-of-the-year countdown. Actually, scratch that, I'll be delighted, since that will only mean that this year has been unprecedented in its awesomeness. For now, though, I'm just going to close my eyes and become one with this fantastic record. But before I do, I want to highlight the closing track. Aside from the one-two punch of amazing singles that opens the album, One Day is my favorite song. It's a sterling example of that big, anthemic, galloping pop that I die for. I mean, those synth stabs are just made for fist pumping! And that chorus is like a line of exclamation marks strung together. It's big glossy pop without forgetting a sense of helter-skelter production that gives it personality and depth. Argh! I'm done, now. But please import a copy of the album. It's worth your time.



(Music posted for evaluation purposes only. Buy the album here. Follow me on twitter and facebook.

Top 50 Singles Of 2013: 5-1

5. Isac Elliot - New Way Home



The youngest act to ever land in my top ten, and that's thanks to this Avicii-like dance track that outdid Avicii himself. It's absolutely massive.

4. Ola - Tonight I'm Yours



I was always going to love this. Patrick Berger and Kristofer Östergren and Ola working together? It's a match made in pop heaven (and that string section certainly doesn't hurt)

3. Ulrik Munther - Tell The World I'm Here



I've always liked Ulrik's music, but with this song it was as if he was aiming straight for my specific tastes. Bombast, sweeping production, anthemic delivery and a positive message to tie it all together.

2. Darin - En Apa Som Liknar Dig (A Monkey Who Looks Like You) 



Not strictly a 2013 song, but I had to include it because I'm not sure if there was a track I played more often this year. It transcended its place as part of a Swedish reality show and became an enormous hit on its own merits.

1. G-Dragon - Crooked 



For the second year in a row, Korea (and specifically, a part of K-pop band Big Bang) has taken the top spot. G-Dragon remains the coolest pop star on the planet, and this stadium-worthy rock anthem is his best song to date. I knew immediately that it would be in my top five. The more I play it, the more I like it. A pure shot of adrenaline with a frustrated, melancholic core.

Top 50 Singles Of 2013: 10-6

10. Lady Gaga - Do What You Want (with R. Kelly)



After the underwhelming Applause, this grower of a track stood out as exactly the type of thing Gaga needed in 2013. Sounds ever better as part of the album.

9. Miley Cyrus - We Can't Stop



The song that transformed Cyrus' career, and one of the best pop songs of the year. It's just effortlessly cool and doesn't even seem to try.

8. One Direction - Best Song Ever



Is it their best single? If it's not, then it's definitely second best. If they can keep putting out big slabs of pop rock like this, I think they're in it for the long run.

7. Kang Seung Yoon - Wild & Young 



Perhaps the most surprising (and little known) inclusion in my top ten. This Korean rock track sounds a lot like The Ark to me. I played it out this year.

6. Nicole Saboune - Conquer Or Suffer 



Speaking of sounding like The Ark, I was instantly taken with this glam/punk/rock track by Saboune, an alum of Sweden's The Voice. I mean, that hook!

Ola - Tonight I'm Yours

"It's you who dance for me"

With every single promo track, Ola Svensson is making a sturdier case for releasing the album of the year with his upcoming Carelessly Yours. I've always liked Ola's music, and rate his collaborations with hitmakers Tony Nilsson and Bassflow some of the best pop released in the last decade, With his past four singles, though, Ola has gone past being a popstar from a talent competition to becoming an interesting artist making mature, expertly produced pop music. His recent Swedish single, Maybe, was his biggest and most anthemic song yet, and Tonight I'm Yours follows suit. You know from the outset, with the surging strings and the pumping beat, that this is gonna be big. If the rest of the album lives up to the potential of these singles, we're in for something very special.



(Music posted for evaluation purposes only. Buy the single here. Follow me on twitter and facebook.

Ola - Maybe

"Today was as perfect as they come"

Early August has been a bit of a dry spell, but it seems like once Katy and Gaga dropped their singles, it opened the floodgates, because now I feel like I've got an entire playlist of awesome new music. Number one on that list is Ola Svensson's amazing new single, Maybe. I've always loved Ola. From Natalie to SOS to Unstoppable to I'm In Love, his string of singles is undeniably flawless. In fact, I'd go so far to say that it's one of the strongest runs in current pop music. That run continues (and maybe even hits a new peak) with the epicness that is Maybe. It's mature, somewhat experimental, and most importantly--a total anthem. If this is the new sound of his music, I am totally or it. If we're lucky to get an album as strong as this single, I might just explode as dramatically as the song's chorus.



(Music posted for evaluation purposes only. Buy the single here. Follow me on twitter and facebook.

Top 50 Singles Of 2012: 25-21

25. Bigbang - Blue



A melancholic, melody-driven single with some definite earworm production. Signaled the return of a band who would go on to have their best year yet.

24. Fun. - We Are Young



Single-handedly revived anthemic, theatrical pomp rock. Next step? Push it even farther, please.

23. Ola - I'm In Love



Another reinvention of his sound, this was one of Summer's most effortlessly cool tracks.

22. Elton John vs. Pnau - Good Morning To The Night



An exhilarating brew of old and new. Hearing Elton's 70's vocals over a modern dance beat was nothing short of spectacular.

21. Jedward - Luminous 



Proving that with the right production and song, they could be very credible indeed. far surpassed any expectations I had.