Rolling Teenpop 2007 Thread

Here are a bunch of singles (mostly "teenpop-oriented") I'm considering voting for with my Predicted Critical Support (PCS) ratings out of 5.

0 = I predict it will get no support (aside from MAYBE 1-2 people on this thread)
1 = I predict it will get very light support (a smattering of votes here and there)
2 = I predict it will get moderate support, enough to squeak it into the top 50, perhaps
3 = I predict it will get good support, enough to squeak it into top 40
4 = I predict it will get very strong support, enough to squeak it into top 20
5 = I predict it will get huge support, a guaranteed top 10

(My sliding scale probably makes no sense, but anyway...)

Kleerup ft. Robyn, "With Every Heartbeat" (3)
Gwen Stefani, "Early Winter" (2)
Rihanna, "Umbrella" (5)
Beyoncé, "Irreplaceable" (3) (unpredictable; not sure how last year's showing will effect this year's)
Aly & AJ, "Potential Breakup Song" (2)
Silversun Pickups, "Lazy Eye" (4)
M.I.A., "Bird Flu" (3) (album will surely do better)
Sugababes, "About You Now" (0)
Los Campesinos! "You! Me! Dancing!" (3)
50 Cent feat. Justin Timberlake, "Ayo Technology" (3) (this one's hard to predict... it feels like it's growing in stature a little)
Mims, "This Is Why I'm Hot" (4)
Dude & Nem, "Watch My Feet" (5)
Audio Club, "Sumthin' Serious" (0)
Sharam, "P.A.T.T. (Party All the Time)" (0)
Tim McGraw with Faith Hill, "I Need You" (1) (?)
Gui Boratto, "Beautiful Life" (1) (?)
Fergie feat. Ludacris, "Glamorous" (3)
Lloyd, "Get it Shawty" (1)
Rihanna, "Don't Stop the Music" (2) (this may usurp "Umbrella" from my own list)
Hilary Duff, "Outside of You" (0)
R Kelly vs. Broken Social Scene, "I'm a Flirt" (0)
Killers, "Read My Mind" (3)
Rich Boy, "Throw Some D's" (4)
Jordin Sparks, "Tattoo" (2)
Britney Spears, "Piece of Me" (3)
Siobahn Donaghy, "Don't Give Up" (0)
Debbie Harry, "Two Times Blue" (0)
Kylie, "Speakerphone" (0)
Los Campesinos!, "Death to Los Campesinos" (1) (this may usurp "You! Me! Dancing!" from my own list)
Natasha, "Hey Hey Hey" (0)
UGK feat. Outkast, "International Players Anthem" (5)
Yung Berg, "Sexy Lady" (0)

Gwen Stefani, "Early Winter" (2)

actually, this should be a (1) - I don't think it's really "out there" yet.

M.I.A., "Bird Flu" (3)

I'm thinking this is a (2) now... I should've proofread this before submitting, obviously.

Los Campesinos! "You! Me! Dancing!" (3)
Los Campesinos!, "Death to Los Campesinos" (1)

Who or what is this? I honestly don't think I've ever even heard of it before.

Also surprised by this prediction from Scott:

Dude & Nem, "Watch My Feet" (5)

Is that really a huge critics' record? Again, I had no idea.

Frank: Hilary Duff, Cheetah Girls, and Crazy Frog all also do covers of "Last Christmas" and those are just among the Christmas albums I reviewed on my blog last year.

I'd forgotten about "Sumthin' Serious." It's funny (though not nearly as funny as "Outta My Head").

Yeah, I'm baffled about the singles status of "Early Winter" (which right now is sitting at number 11 in my top 10); "Sexy Lady" is currently in my top 10, though could fall off if there are any newer, sexier ladies. I think your songs are good and your predictions are accurate (though I'm still expecting that Mims will have a harder go of it than you and Xhuxk think). I doubt that "Irreplaceable" will get enough votes this year to qualify. Dude N' Em will be confused by the fact that not even Dude & Em have figured out how to spell their moniker. Really. Check their website and their myspace page and they can't make up their mind.

Xhuxk, I think Robyn's "Be Mine!" placed in the P&J forties a couple of years ago, though its ranking was confused by the fact that originally the assistant poobahs had counted "Be Mine!" and "Be Mine" as separate songs (this year things will be confused by the fact that "With Every Heartbeat" was originally billed as Kleerup f. Robyn and then became Robyn f. Kleerup). There was some discussion of "With Every Heartbeat" upthread, though I wouldn't say that that's a good predictor of poll results. Attention at p4k would be more significant.

Songs on Scott's list I can't remember hearing:
Los Campesinos! "You! Me! Dancing!"
Sharam, "P.A.T.T. (Party All the Time)"
R Kelly vs. Broken Social Scene, "I'm a Flirt"
Killers, "Read My Mind"
Los Campesinos!, "Death to Los Campesinos"

The U.S. critics that care about Robyn will have voted for "With Every Heartbeat" in last year's polls, since that's when it was first released. I love it, but I don't consider it a 2007 song, regardless of when it peaked in the U.K.

Attention at p4k would be more significant.

It was Pitchfork's #57 song ... of 2006.

R Kelly vs. Broken Social Scene, "I'm a Flirt" (0)

I'm strongly considering voting for this.

I finally got Avril's Best Damn Thing from the library and I kind of hate it. The Luke tracks are catchy like "Girlfriend" and overbearing like "Girlfriend" and make me feel like I'm walking through a blizzard of sugar, the Butch Walker tracks are like the Luke tracks but not even catchy, the more normal and warm tracks are just blah as songs and even they're given a bright sheen that irritates me in the context of all this blistering sugar. I can see how someone who at 17 who was trying to grow up and sounded like it will at age 22 try to reaffirm her youthful exuberance, but the result here just seems screechy and infantile. Of course I need to invoke The Boney Joan Rule, since as a fan of "Cum On Feel The Noize" and "Bodies" I can be plenty enamored of the screechy and the infantile, but this time I'm just annoyed. Which isn't to say that "Girlfriend" isn't catchy and that "I Can Do Better" isn't compelling and "I Don't Have To Try" isn't Runawaysish. But, you know, the Ted Nugent album is more fun (at least the first half).

Who or what is this? I honestly don't think I've ever even heard of it before.

Brit kids making indie dance noise, basically, causing a ruckus while doing so.

I wasn't sure about Dude n' Em -- I assumed this was something like a phenomenon, but it only reached me as such by reading somewhere that it was, not ACTUALLY experiencing it as such. (it actually seems kind of obscure to me.)

The r. kelly / BSS thing is probably the latter's best recording, and even one of the former's best (though it's a mashup, and doesn't have the polish of his other stuff, obviously). I love how t-Pain sounds in this version, especially.

FYI, Sharam, "P.A.T.T. (Party All the Time)" is my sleeper hit of the year, and will probably sneak in towards the bottom of my top 10. I first heard it on a "high energy" type of station, and thought it was the stupidest idea for a song ever. I still might think that, but I've never stopped loving how it sounds.

John, if even half as many critics vote "With Every Heartbeat" this year as did last, then it counts and the votes are combined in P&J, if they're following the same rules as in the Xgau era (and assuming the poobahs are as competent, which I'm not assuming, since given the cheapness of the new regime poobahhood will probably be depopulated). Don't know how Idolator will deal with holdovers, especially since Gawker managed to lose last year's ballots.

Just one last thought on my own PCS list: if Rihanna (a shoo-in), Dude & Nem (highly questionable), and UGK (probable, esp. given recent events) are the only ones I consider "huge support" candidates, what am I missing? What are the other obvious hits that will climb the top 10 this year? I can't think of the big obvious poll topper sorts of songs I've missed. (Though, actually, I realize now I should've listed "Lip Gloss" as well, but I'd have rated it a 4 and not a 5.)

I don't consider it a 2007 song, regardless of when it peaked in the U.K

If it peaked in the U.K. in 2007, I guarantee that plenty of people consider it a 2007 song (though they may or may not be critics.) (And there have certainly been plenty of non-U.S. -- and U.S., for that matter -- hits over the years that I sure didn't hear on their release dates. Maybe even most of them. And I doubt I'm alone, so I'm not sure why Robyn -- who I'm still skeptical about, of course -- would be any different.)

if Rihanna (a shoo-in), Dude & Nem (highly questionable), and UGK (probable, esp. given recent events) are the only ones I consider "huge support" candidates, what am I missing?

Souja Boy. (And maybe Avril? Maybe Christina Aguilera? Maybe a different Britney? Among other things.)

My guess is "D.A.N.C.E." has a decent shot at top 10 and so does "Upgrade U". I'd put "All My Friends" as a near top 10 lock but I guess I don't really know. It was #1 on the Stylus list.

I'd bet "Girlfriend" for top 10 as well.

There's the problem of crossing years, but I'd think that "Rehab" might do well if it gets enough this year for last year's votes to qualify; maybe "Back To Black," though I'd hardly say it's assured in the Top 20. The Timbo/Hilson?

And I simply have no reading for how music critics are rating "Gimme More" and "Piece Of Me," which I think are both better than "Toxic" but I don't think the critical community is with me on this. They could go top twenty, or they could bomb out altogether.

Is Kanye West's "Stronger" in play? Another thing I can't read.

Other than "Lazy Eye," what are the indie singles that critics are getting behind. "Standing In The Way Of Control" would have gotten most of its votes in 2006, right?

D.A.N.C.E."..."Upgrade U"... "All My Friends"

Off the top of my head, I can identify the artists who did exactly zero of these.

I could totally see "Rehab" beating "Umberlla," come to think of it. And yeah, "Stronger" will be way up there.

I should also say here that it kind of ticks me off that my Avril feat. Lil Mama vote will probably count toward just plain Avril votes (which it's not), but if it does, Lil Mama will help "Girlfriend"s's standing, I'm sure.

If it peaked in the U.K. in 2007, I guarantee that plenty of people consider it a 2007 song (though they may or may not be critics.)

Your parenthetical here is key, Chuck. The people who vote in P&J and Idolator tend to be U.S.-based critics, and I'm guessing that the U.S.-based critics who care about Robyn in the first place would've heard this in 2006 (on Pitchfork or on blogs or wherever) and considered it a 2006 song, since to their knowledge it didn't blow up any more than that. It's not a case of hearing "Toxic" in 2003 or "Since U Been Gone" in 2004 or "Crazy" in 2005 or "Rehab" in 2006 but then finding it inescapable the following year. It's a case of hearing an mp3 in 2006 and having no reason to encounter it further after that.

so does "Upgrade U"

Beyonce or Lil Wayne? I don't think either of them have much of a shot, to be honest.

Let me add: I have no pulse on the critical consensus and don't even have a vote myself. My predictions are not particularly educated guesses.

"All My Friends" deserves to do well, but again its something I don't have much of a reading on. (Xhuxk, it's LCD Soundsystem.)

I'm guessing these are top 10.

Kanye West, "Stronger"
Amy Winehouse, "Rehab"
Peter Bjorn + John, "Young Folks" (with 2006 carryover votes)
Rihanna, "Umbrella"
Avril Lavigne, "Girlfriend"
Lil Mama, "Lip Gloss"
LCD Soundsystem, "All My Friends" (if this isn't Pitchfork's #1, I'll be very surprised)
Feist, "1234"

Can't think of what the other two will be...

I'm calling Fall Out Boy on the top 10. And I see 'Piece of Me' placing a lot higher than just top 50.

Also, I'd be really surprised if Lip Gloss hit the top 10. Thrilling, but shocked.

See, Chuck mentioning "Soulja Boy" as a potential (or probable?) Top 10 just proves how little I probably know; I would've assumed that among critics Dude & Nem stand a better chance, even though the Soulja Boy is a much more popular record.

"Rehab" I totally agree with--I wouldnt' be shocked if it won (it'll bridge a major age gap, I'm guessing) (note that I don't think the oldtimers around here--present company included--really count among the demographic I'm thinking... even Greil Marcus likes "Rehab"!).

I'll begrudgingly admit "Girlfriend" will be Top 10, despite having come to really dislike it myself after an initial positive reaction (don't know the Lil Mama vers.). Sincerely hope "1234" isn't right up there, but yeah, it probably has a shot also. (I've tried to convince myself I like Feist, even taking my wife to see her live once, but I think I'm giving up on that illusion.)

I think Timbo/Hilson's got a shot at the top ten. And I'm skeptical about "Young Folks" and "Stronger" (but see below), and I wish "Girlfriend" and "1234" wouldn't make it but I think they will. And there's a chance that a lot of people will consider "Rehab" old news. I'm pleased you're all sure that "Lip Gloss" is a lock. I think Rihanna slaughters everyone else, but I was sure in 2005 that "Gold Digger" would be lucky to get Top 5 and that the battle was between "Since U Been Gone" and "1 Thing," so my prognostication isn't particularly valuable.

The Britney's a really hard call. The Idolator poll allots points for singles, correct? If so, I'd give it better chances there than in P&J, because I think some voters will want to throw their weight behind it (just because it's Britney, and they'll want to see it place) (and duh, because they also really like it). But in P&J, I can't see it garnering enough actual votes to do all that great.

Or wait, am I just imagining that Idolator allots singles points? I don't have that e-mail handy right now.

Not that this means anything pollwise, but here are iTunes best-selling singles of 2007:

1. Fergie "Big Girls Don't Cry (Personal)"
2. Gwen Stefani "The Sweet Escape"
3. Plain White T's "Hey There Delilah"
4. Avril Lavigne "Girlfriend"
5. Fergie "Glamorous"
6. Kanye West "Stronger"
7. Maroon 5 "Makes Me Wonder"
8. Akon "Don't Matter"
9. Timbaland "The Way I Are (feat. Keri Hilson & D.O.E.)
10. Shop Boyz "Party Like a Rock Star"

I like the two Fergies more than any of the others, but that won't impress pollsters. I'm surprised by the strength of "Stronger," since I'd thought most Kanye purchases would go towards the album.

Speaking of "Rock Star (Party Like A)," do you think the Nickelback "Rockstar" will place in the P&J top 100 (it seems to have charted on Billboard twice, once last year and once this)? I doubt that it will get much rock-critic support, but if any Nickelback song would, I'd think it would be this one.

What'll be the highest-ranking P&J song to feature Akon? (Probably the Stefani.) Lil Wayne?

My guess is the highest Lil Wayne is "Upgrade U", the highest Akon is "Sweet Escape" and that T-Pain has no songs that chart particularly well.

Wow. Plain White T's kicked some ass this year.

I doubt that it will get much rock-critic support, but if any Nickelback song would, I'd think it would be this one.

Didn't "How You Remind Me" or whatever it was called actually place in the P&J singles top 40 a few years back?

("Rockstar," though, is only my second favorite Nickelback song, behind "Photograph." I've yet to hear their version of the song that Travis Tritt covered, though, and Tritt's cover is great.)

2. Gwen Stefani "The Sweet Escape"

I wouldn't be surprised to see this as a Top 10 in one of the polls.

Forgot to mention that I like Da Shop Boyz, but prefer the soundalike by Montana Da Mac, "Rock On" I think it's called. Don't like either enough to vote for them, mind you.

Am I right in assuming that lots of critics loathe "Party Like a Rock Star"? It strikes me as the sort of record a lot of rock critics (by which I also include hip-hop critics) would loathe.

xhuxk, do all the Nickelback songs still sound exactly the same? (I haven't heard one since "Someday")

do all the Nickelback songs still sound exactly the same?

Nope -- Some sound constipated in a catchier or more touching way than others. (And though "Rockstar" would be slow for, say, Kid Rock song, it is not slow as Nickelback songs go. It is also funnier than any other Nickelback song, or at least it tries to be. But it is not as funny as if Kid Rock or the Shop Boyz or Joe Walsh or Dr. Hook and the Medicine Show wrote a song about a similar topic, as they might do someday, not even close.)

Anyway, I have more Nickelback comments upthread somewhere, I think...

lots of critics loathe "Party Like a Rock Star"

Morons.

(That was mean...sorry. Actually, I get the same idea, but I hope I'm wrong.)

("Party Like A Rock Star" is only the Shop Boyz' second best song, though, after "Rollin'." But the former is the one that will make my singles balllot anyway, since it's a single.)

Sharam, "P.A.T.T. (Party All the Time)"

I loved this when it was up for review in the old-skool weekly Stylus jukebox -- I think I gave it its highest score (7 or 8), and remember redundantly saying that it put me in touch with a "subconscious need I wasn't aware I had."

I doubt Fall Out Boy will pull an MCR this year and gain some critical support (they won't on my ballot anyway, since I still don't like them) -- I get the feeling there's still more general resentment toward them that will work against "Arms Race" placing. But who knows.

I'm hoping for a groundswell of support for "See You Again." I'm also hoping I win the lottery and/or get some of the revenue from Hannah Montana ticket sales.

Also this: Over the weekend, Alicia Keys single No One received a 59% kick on the Radio Disney Music Mailbag.

Also this: three AmIdols currently on the Radio Diney Top 30: Jordin with "Tattoo," Daughtry with "Over You," and Carrie with "Ever Ever After."

Also: who the hell is Colbie Caillat? Oh wait, I've heard this song. (A lot, actually...no idea where! I think my girlfriend's sister was playing it during Thanksgiving.) I wonder when Kate Gnash will find her way to Radio Disney? She's like halfway there.

Beyoncé, "Irreplaceable" (3) (unpredictable; not sure how last year's showing will effect this year's)

Not much (if any) support this year...It received quite a bit of support last year, I think.

I think Gui Boratto will rank higher than you predicted, and Rich Boy will not make the top 40.

I'm guessing these are top 10.

Kanye West, "Stronger"
Amy Winehouse, "Rehab"
Peter Bjorn + John, "Young Folks" (with 2006 carryover votes)
Rihanna, "Umbrella"
Avril Lavigne, "Girlfriend"
Lil Mama, "Lip Gloss"
LCD Soundsystem, "All My Friends" (if this isn't Pitchfork's #1, I'll be very surprised)
Feist, "1234"

Can't think of what the other two will be...

-- jaymc, Tuesday, 11 December 2007 19:29 (2 hours ago)

Mostly OTM, though these stand a chance, too:
UGK feat. Outkast - Intl. Player's Anthem
M.I.A. - Paper Planes
Panda Bear - Bros
The National - Fake Empire
Battles - Atlas
Snoop Dogg - Sensual Seduction (???)
Justin Timberlake???? (I consider those songs 2006, but most were released this year)

"Ever, Ever After" is from a Disney movie so that's almost cheating. That Colbie Caillat song has been in the top 10 of the Billboard Hot 100 for months now even though nobody seems to know who she is. Apparently, she got a record deal through Myspace or something I dunno. I like the song.

I like "Over You" less than all 4 teenpop "Over It"s this year.

So has everybody forgotten "Candyman" by Xtina already? Nobody thinks that one has any chance of placing? (As my favorite hit by her since "Genie in a Bottle," I hope it does, but I don't expect to vote for it myself.)

hahahaha

(No)

Snoop Dogg - Sensual Seduction

I voted for this, but I voted for it as "Sexual Eruption" in P&J and "Sensual Seduction" in Idolator. I think I prefer the edited title (and that way it includes the video)...there might be name problems but I doubt it will place very well anyway, unless the video gets more people to vote for it.