Incredibly, 2016 is almost up. And that means one thing — the return of our annual Top Tracks countdown!
As usual, the team from wiwibloggs voted for their favourite 2016 releases and recordings by and featuring Eurovision stars. Songs which competed at Eurovision or national finals were excluded (they’ve been analysed to death in our jury reviews), as were artists who’ve yet to compete on the Eurovision stage (sorry [insert name of your favourite national final act]).
After considering well over 100 songs, we finally settled on our top 50. And now we’re ready to share it with y’all. We’ve published five tracks daily for the past few days.
Tomorrow, Christmas Eve, we’ll announce our number one, giving you just enough time to send any last requests to Santa. But first, it’s time to reveal numbers ten to six.
What song will join Loreen’s “We Got The Power”, Emmelie De Forest’s “Drunk Tonight” and Lena’s “Traffic Lights” in our Hall of Fame?
Best songs of 2016: (10-6)
10. Måns Zelmerlöw “Fire In The Rain”
What we said: The song is a fusion of folk-pop sounds with electronic accents, a continuation of the sound of Måns’ 2015 album Perfectly Damaged.
“Fire in the Rain” tells the story of a relationship that’s survived hardships and has come out even stronger. Unlike Adele’s similarly titled “Set Fire to the Rain”, which is an angry dissection of a failed relationship, Måns’ song is celebratory, portraying the relationship as a fire that burns strong, even in the rain. (Robyn)
9. Lena “Beat to My Melody”
What we said: It’s an infectious serving of summery pop and narrates the impact of Lena’s lover on her life — “you’re the beat to my melody”.
The video initially seems like an expensive fashion advertorial, the “Satellite” hitmaker rocks a range of high-end looks from blue faux fur to a pink pants suit. But it’s cleverer than that.
The first half shows Lena in a sunny, bright environment, full of open space and freedom. Conversely, the latter portion of the clip is much darker. Lena wonders long empty corridors and writhes in a padded cell. The contrast represents both the freeing and controlling characteristics of any relationship.
There are very few former Eurovision artists who could pull off such a smart move. But then no other former Eurovision artists are Lena. (Padraig)
8. Jedward “Hologram”
What we said: Jedward’s hologram symbolises the end of a relationship. Gone is the chemistry they had with their baes.
The song embraces EDM, creating a club banger. It’s the perfect tune to use to dance away your heartache.
The music video delivers plenty of drama. We discover John and Edward in a wintery landscape, as they and some dramatic looking girls strut and pout around the icy environment.
Jedward also make an appearance with different hair colour to their usual sunny blonde. John is looking all dark and mysterious with black hair, while Edward has gone for an edgy blue. And if you’ve ever had trouble telling them apart, their new Jedsthetic has makes it a whole lot easier. (Robyn)
7. Amir “On Dirait”
What we said: Like his Eurovision song “J’ai cherché”, “On dirait” is also a song in praise of someone who has brought positivity and support to Amir’s life.
The chorus is full of optimism, with Amir singing “It looks like we all have an angel/It looks like, it really looks like it’s you/It looks like in this strange world/It looks like you have always been here”. (Robyn)
6. Greta Salóme “ROW”
What we said: “ROW” is a mixture of electro and indie-pop and doesn’t sail far away from the atmosphere of Greta’s Eurovision entry.
The message of perseverance comes through loud and clear with the tribal beat and uplifting lyrics. As she sings: “Row and row your boat, until you’re safe and sound, up the river, going, going, going down.”
In the video you can see Greta run around Iceland’s iconic volcanic landscape, rolling down a dune of black sand and looking pensive inside an abandoned cabin. For a landscape junkie the scenery is a perfect fix — and Greta serves some remarkable eye candy, too. (Steinunn)
How’s the list shaping up? Are these among your best songs of 2016? What songs do you want to see in the top five?Let us know below.
@Mar “Beat To My Melody” qualifies as it was only released as a single in 2016. And since it’s our list, it’s our rules and therefore it qualifies.
As for the quality of the songs, the list is based on the combined top songs of 12 members of the wiwibloggs team. No one had the same top and it would have been very boring if we had. The purpose of this countdown is to generate discussion, as well as to celebrate the past year in music. What non-mediocre songs would you have included?
How does Beat to my Melody qualify for this list? It appears in Lena’s 2015 álbum.
IMO this top is shaping up to be quite mediocre. What is something as bland as Fire in the Rain doing in the top 10?
I’m sorry but imo ‘Row’ is so horrible, I can’t even stand it, at least the refrain. However ‘Fire In The Rain’ is one of my favorite songs this year, love it!
I think that it will be the wonderful Dami Im and her ”Fighting for love” 😀
Did you see her performing at Carols In The Candlelight into Melbourne ? She was AMAZING ! 😉
A well-deserved placing for Greta Salome; she’s mesmerising. 🙂
Also it’s good to see that Jedward are still making music after all these years (unlike some other former X Factor UK stars).
Great to see Greta Salome deservedly in the Top 10 – at least it happened somewhere!
Loïc Nottet