Music is one of the most important elements to any party. It sets the mood, and to some extent, dictates how the crowd should behave. If you are looking for new songs to play on your next party, here is a rundown of the top ten Dance/Club songs based on Billboard Magazine for the first week of August.
Top Ten: Love Game by Lady Gaga
The new divette (baby diva) of Pop music strikes again with this catchy tune. Electropop is all the rage right now and Lady Gaga delivers another danceable ditty like it is nobody’s business. You will love the song once you get over how dirty the lyrics are.
However, I am not sure that much may be said about Gaga’s artistic relevance in this song, because it sounds to me like it was very well calculated to become a Pop hit (read: to sell). Well, it achieves that, and so much more. The chorus has been quoted again and again (and has even been featured in Urban Dictionary) because of the line “I wanna take a ride on your disco stick”, which has left all the green-minded partyphiles guessing. Over all the song is catchy, fun, and danceable. It was clearly made to be played in clubs, and partyphiles have responded and put it on the tenth spot. I give it 3 (out of 5) shots of tequila.
Top Nine: Love Etc by the Pet Shop Boys
This song definitely took a lot of time to get used to. It sounded much like something new pop tarts would do like Lily Allen and Lenka. However, this is from one of the oldest and most respected Electropop groups in the world: the Pet Shop Boys.
This single sounds light, sunny, summery and very English; which is never a bad thing. However, I think it lacks a bass line that most kids from our generation would look for. The song seems to end too soon, and there isn’t anything about the song that stands out to me. I am amazed that it reached the top spot on the Billboard dance Charts a couple of weeks back. Thank god, the video for this song was amazing and there are a couple of other remixes to this song that is quite likeable. The Pet Shop Boys could do so much better, and because of that, I give this song 2 shots of tequila.
Top Eight: Crazy Possessive by Kaci Batagglia
This song about being crazily possessive towards one’s love interest has not proved to be as popular ion the Philippines as it is in the rest of the world, but I like this song. It starts with a bang, and Kaci’s vocals are powerful enough to ride the hard beat. It sounds like a Lady Gaga track, if Gaga was blessed with enough pipes as Batagglia.
The song sounds edgy, and at times angry (which is perfectly in harmony with the message of the song) with Kaci singing in a full, nasal, sometimes auto-tuned voice; but the tender parts where Batagglia almost whispers the words are what makes the song unforgettable. I give it 4 shots of tequila.
Top Seven: Money’s Too Tight to Mention by Simply Red
This song was actually released back in the 80s, so this isn’t anything new. However, the British group, Simply Red released this again with their Greatest Hits record. I would not, ever, party to this song, just because I seldom appreciate songs that are older than me.
But, the song is quite relevant today, with the recession and all. I give it 1.5 shots of tequila. Billboard, how can you dance to this tune?
Top Six: Fire Burning by Sean Kingston
I always thought of Sean Kingston as a one hit wonder. With this song, he proves he’s got more of his brand of reggae-pop up his red, rolled-up sleeves. The song is repetitive, catchy, and upbeat; it is fun, sexy, and is a perfect candidate for LSS.
Top Five: Patron Tequila by the Paradiso Girls featuring Lil Jon
This is one of my favorite songs to play on my radio show, and this song is currently making the rounds in all the hottest bars in the country. With lyrics like “By the end of the night I’m gonna have you drunk and throwing up”, this song was definitely made to be played in clubs.
The song, originally recorded (but not released) by Keri Hilson, has been given new life by the gorgeous Paradiso Girls, the Brit version of the Pussycat Dolls, under the same manager, Robin Antin. Unlike the Dolls, the Paradiso Girls only have three singing ladies, the fourth member is a DJ, and the final member, a Filipina named Shar Amor, is the group’s resident rapper.
I do not know if Patron Tequila payed the Girls to sing this track, but the song is as heady, hypnotic and likeable as the Mexican’s poison of choice. I give this song five shots of Patron tequila. How can I not?
Top Four: Sing by Wynonna
This song isn’t exactly a party song, it’s more of a country ballad, however, it got to the fourth spot because of the remixes included in the single.
The remixes for this song are, in my opinion, more beautiful than the original, and I think, Ms Judd should seriously contemplate on switching genres. Maybe she could be the next big house diva, much like Moony. It is surprising how a “country” song could turn into such a beautiful party ditty. For that, and for Ms Judd’s effort to try to keep up with the times, I give this song 3.5 shots of Tequila.
Top Three: Waking Up in Vegas by Katy Perry
Waking Up in Vegas marks Perry’s return to up-tempo pop songs after that somber ditty “Thinking Of You”. However, this song is a bit cutesier than her first three hits, and somehow, I think Miss Perry lost her edginess in it. I imagine this song to fit in real well in Miley Cyrus’ or Ashley Tisdale’s bubble gum pop/rock albums.
Nevertheless, this is a pretty good song. The lyrics are clever, the chorus is catchy, and it almost sounds like a tourism ad for
Top Two: Hush Hush by the Pussycat Dolls featuring Nicole Scherzinger
Nicole Scherzinger sounds great in the first part of the song where she sings the mid-tempo R&B ballad with heavy, sometimes breathy, vocals. She proves that she has an actual vocal range and can sing it with the best of them. She pours her heart out as she sings “I don’t want to stay another minute…I don’t want you to say another word, hush hush, hush hush”, and you could feel genuine emotion there for a second, until it proceeds to become a bizarre and terribly out-of-place cover of the Disco hit “I Will Survive”. From strong vocals, Scherzinger immediately switch to an annoying, almost yodeling voice with a twang that is anything but attractive.
I personally do not understand why they would sample Ms Gaynor’s song in this mid-tempo ballad, but somehow, one of the producers thought it would be cool. It isn’t; it sounds awkward and forced. After releasing Jai Ho, which was amusing and obnoxious all at the same time, I thought the Pussycat Dolls would actually give us a good song, unfortunately, I was wrong, and we have to live with this song for probably another two weeks, because that is how long I predict it will still be on the airwaves.
By the middle of the song, YOU would want to tell the Dolls to “hush, hush”. I give this moronic musical mash-up two shots of tequila.
Top Spot: Give You Everything by Ericka Jayne
I first heard (and saw) this song on Youtube, and I was smiling and bobbing my head 30 seconds into the song. It is a fun ditty which I hope makes it to the hottest local bars in the metro, because this was definitely made for all night parties. Ericka Jayne is like a mix of Madonna and Lady Gaga, if you could imagine that, but Jayne is a bit cheekier with somewhat of a British sensibility about her (although she’s American).
From the opening beats, you are hypnotized and caught up in the musical loops of this song. You suddenly find yourself looking for a dance floor and a cold drink. It sounds like the ‘90s bubble gum pop everyone used to dance to, but more current, less corny, with an edge. She doesn’t really show her vocal prowess, and she doesn’t need to. She sings the song simply and it works.
I give this 5 shots of tequila.
Catch Confessions of a Partyphile, the radio show, on 105.9 Mix FM every Wednesdays, 6 to 9 PM. For comments, suggestions and more confessions from this partyphile please visit http://party.i.ph
