Top 2(00)8 Songs of 2008 (Part 3)

Everyone who has a blog and their mother have excellent countdowns of their favorite songs/albums of 2008, so I figured I’d follow the trend and give in to the peer pressure. However, the task itself was incredibly formidable. I couldn’t really decide my favorite songs, to be honest, so I turned to my best friend/stalker, Last.FM, to tell me what my favorite songs are. Although I don’t entirely agree with the order, these are the top 28 songs I’ve listened to in the past 12 months in terms of overall plays. As always with when I talk about songs, if you’d like one of these songs to sample for yourself, just comment and let me know.

20. Candy Coated Chaos “Treat”
My love for cCc aside, this song stands on its own as a brilliantly hot track. The song was co-written by the incredible Simon Curtis, and produced by Jadion (who really deserves his own article…coming soon). This song almost has a swirling-like intensity with a monotone type chant, talking about how underrated Rochella, Brittany & Stephanie are, and their keen ability to make a dancefloor smash. Mark my words: 2009 will be these girls' year to shine. Go download this song for free (http://www.trueanthem.com/artists/CandyCoatedChaos) and be able to tell your friends you knew they were gonna be huge back in ’08.
Best Part: “What you know about cCc…you’re looking at your boy asking, ‘Who are those three?’” and “Wait for them to hit the lights, and then you’ll get a treat…”

19. P!NK “So What”
The fact that P!NK brings us back to the pop glory that is Max Martin (“Oops! I Did It Again”, “…Baby, One More Time”, “I Want It That Way”, almost every good teen pop song from 1999-2000) alone makes this song awesome. But the fact that P!NK channels her real life experiences and pain and makes them danceable is a whole other feat. This song is pop perfection in its intensity, catty-ness and the mere attempt to sound OK after breaking up with someone who you used to call the love of your life. P!NK is back, in a big way.
Best Part: “The waiter just took my table and gave it to Jessica Simps”, “So What? I’m still a rock star, I got my rock moves” and of course: “Na na na na na na na (repeat for a few seconds)”.

18. Gavin DeGraw “In Love With A Girl”
Okay, so maybe it sounds a little like “I Don’t Wanna Be.” Okay, a lotta bit. But I don’t care. There’s just something about Gavin’s voice melding with the sound of that guitar that makes me go crazy weak in the knees. It may not be as epic in sound and lyrics as “We Belong Together” (which I swear I want to be one of the songs played at my future wedding), but it does just fine for me and my ovaries, thank you. And let me tell you, it sure is fun to sing while driving with your girlfriends late at night after eating at Applebee's. Just saying.
Best Part: “I’m in loveeee with a girlllllll. I’m. In. Love. With.”

17. JoJo “Can’t Believe It”
This was not released as a single, and for all intensive purposes, is a cover comeback song to T-Pain/Lil Wayne’s “Can’t Believe It”. But to me, this just proves, once again, the staying power and tenacity of Ms. JoJo. From the minute I first heard “Leave”, I got the same kind of goosebumps I got when I first heard “Genie In A Bottle”, and I will stand by that comment for as long as I live. It’s hard to believe she’s 18 now! JoJo’s got a voice of a champion, and puts her own spin on this track (which, it turns out, a lot of people wanted to cover in’08, despite the song’s lack of impact on Top 40 radio), making it instantly different, listenable and poppy, without taking away her signature R&B appeal. It’s not as incredible as her cover of SWV’s “Weak”, but it’s pretty darn amazing. I can’t wait for her new record.
Best Part: I can’t choose. It’s all good.