Pop's Top 200 - 1985-2015

[popstop]

Let's move along as we edge closer to #1

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#93 - Hey There Delilah - Plain White T's

2007

Someday you'll be done with school and I'll be making history I think it's the earnestness, or at least the illusion of it, that wins me over with this song. I can imagine a college freshman, with all his idealism and belief in the idyllic, imagining a happy life with his Delilah, and strumming away in his dorm singing mournfully about being apart. It's another of those songs that really only work from the perspective of youth because sung by an older man, it would sound obsessive and creepy, even without the college subtext. I might add that there just aren't enough songs out there that specifically mention a person's name - it's "you", or "honey", or god forbid, "bae" when adding a name instantly makes it more personal.  Popstop's chart - #1 (1 week) - June 2007

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#92 - Looking For a New Love - Jody Watley

1987

Hasta la vista, baby So, not only did Jody Watley add "Hasta la vista, baby" to the public lexicon well before the Terminator did years later, but she looked a lot better and was miles classier when doing it. This is 80s R&B at its finest, with horns and piano supplementing a distraught and frankly, pissed off Jody who is off to find a better man. IN researching this, I discovered that this song is the first to have hit #1 on the dance chart in two decades, first in 1987, and 2005. In 2005, she remixed this song in all sorts of styles - I'll have to check it out!

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#91 - Closer - Nine Inch Nails

1994

I want to fuck you like an animal ICONIC. Trent Reznor's loud and innovative style was a breakthrough for industrial music in the mid-90s. Grinding and sometimes inaccessible, Reznor ushered in a different type of musical era with moody, oddly-percussioned rhythms. Even today, he is challenging musical norms - his sublime scoring on David Fincher's films garnered hi an Oscar just a few years ago. As for this song, his odd style is disorienting, dark, and moody. The disturbing lyrics in this song signify more than just carnal lust - they are an ode to deep obsession that cannot be tamed.

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#90 - Nothin' To Lose - Josh Gracin

2005

It was noon time, down time, break time, summertime, Miller time, anytime... Still trying to figure out what possessed me to rank Kelly so low, and that means the highest (and only other) American Idol contestant goes to Josh Gracin, American Idol's original country idol before the likes of Carrie Underwood and Scotty McCreery came around. It's probably hyperbole to say Carrie wouldn;t have a career without Josh, but let's face it, he was the first to show that there was room and a market for country in American Idol. Josh Gracin did manage to have his only #1 on the country chart with this song, along with a few other top tens to go with it. I think he could have a decent career if he had been promoted better. Unfortunately, his career waned after five years. On my own chart, he was wildly successful for awhile there, charting in the top ten eight times and hitting #1 four times. Popstop's chart - #1 (3 weeks) - April 2005 Additional songs to chart: I Want to Live - #1 (5 weeks) - May-April 2004

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#89 - Body Movin' - Beastie Boys

1999

Now, tell me, party people - is that so wrong? I was into all things Fatboy Slim at this age, and the remix for this is on point. Plus it was a group on which I could bond with my brother and sister as they both had albums from them too. It's kind of a shame that there biggest hit was the silly Fight For Your Right, and that they have such a goofy band name because that all belies the brilliance that they put into their music over the years. Some of their sampling was just off the wall, such as in Intergalactic where they sampled from The Toxic Avenger. In any case, I was completely obsessed with this song, which lingered on my chart for months. Popstop's chart: #1 (4 weeks) - March - April 1999 Additional Songs to chart: Sabotage (1994) Intergalactic - #3 (3 weeks) - September 1998

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#88 - Stars - Grace Potter and the Nocturnals

2013

I lit a fire with the love you left behind First of all, can I just say how cool a chick Grace Potter is? First of all, she looks like THAT ----->; second of all, she can play a guitar like no one's business, and third of all, her whiskey-drenched voice can soar heights I never knew until this song. All the rock I'd heard from her until then was rough and growling, and then she surprises me with this tender and soaring song of yearning and heartbreak. This is the ultimate denial and bargaining song (in a top 200 chocked with them - I must relate too well) - not only has Grace not really contended with the loss of her love, but she refuses to acknowledge it with even a simple look to the stars.  Popstop's chart - #1 (4 weeks) - January/March 2013

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[H.]

#89, #90, #91, & #93!

[popstop]

Jul 20, 2015 16:31:26 GMT -5 @antigonerising said:

I haven't commented on much, but this is a great list!

Prince's never-ending war against the internets has always been my one reason for not doing a personal chart/top list for his songs. He has always been anti-YT so I'm surprised there was even a brief moment when he let something stay there. Now he's taken his stuff down from every streaming site except Tidal (of course we would go with the least popular of them all ) and this is not to mention that his discography is so dense that a lot of it is comprised of rare cuts, including one MASSIVE collection of unreleased songs/demos/alternate versions called The Work. It's just insane. But it means the mere idea of doing a list for stuff that you can't even link other people to is pretty much a pointless endeavor.

With that small vent out the way, 7 reminds me of one of my best friends. This was always one of her most favorite Prince songs - Diamonds and Pearls being another - because she says that she is always here for people counting or spelling in their music. She insists that this guarantees your song will be awesome, lol. I don't know that I agree with that as a whole, but she might be on to something.

Don't Know Why is such a beautiful song, but my absolute favorite by her is Thinking About You, from the Not Too Late album - funny enough, for pretty much the same reasons you love DKY. Even though the production is a bit more polished than on DKY her vocals still have that slightly untouched feeling, intensifying the sense of loss, regret, and resignation.

Thank you so much, Cynthia - now I am thinking of spelling and counting songs - Did she love when Gwen Stefani spelled bananas, or Fergie spelling Glamorous? :)

I would love to see a list with your take on Prince's songs. Unfortunately, some of his songs fell outside my window or When Doves Cry would have been an instant addition.

I gave Thinking About You since I hadn't heard it and it is terrific :) 

[surfy]

Bring Me to Life, I Gotta Feeling, Crazy Frog ( ), Lights, Hey There Delilah, and Stars!!! <3

I love this list so much!!!

[Deleted]

popstop I know she's a fan of Glamorous (and even Fergalicious, despite the blatant misspelling of 'tasty') and I think she was cool with Hollaback Girl, despite being generally neutral to Gwen.

I won't lie, the thought of doing a Prince list is very daunting...if I ever tackled it I would probably try to find some parameters to restrict it a bit. Like a top singles list maybe? Or at the very least, restricted to official releases only (no bootlegs or alternate versions, etc.). I want to say Disco did one for him, but I'm not entirely certain. Now all this talk reminds me that I did have another idea for a personal list that I actually did finish compiling and was going to do years ago, but starting school got in the way. I need to find my old files and get it together.

[Deleted]

#93!

[Green Baron]

I wanna fuck you like an animaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaal

[Green Baron]

should have used this photo of Trent at his sexiest

[popstop]

I almost tagged you for that one. I wasn't really sure if I should include the other members since Trent is basically NIN on his own.

[Green Baron]

Lots of good stuff on here, I'll read the descriptions tomorrow.

[popstop]

So this set seems to be a little sex focused today. I must have been feeling carnal when I got to this point of the list.

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#87 - If You Let Me Stay - Terence Trent D'Arby

1988

I didn't miss the water until the well ran dry D'Arby was something of a one-album wonder - his debut album yielded four Hot 100 charting songs, two of them hitting the top ten, including the #1 "Wishing Well." I chose the lowest performing of those singles (in the US) over Wishing Well, which is a little too school-time playground music for me. This song has all the hallmarks that would include it in classic 60s R&B - the opening glissando of the piano, the spoken word intro, and the soulful wailing throughout. It just sounds as if this song belongs to an earlier era. Despite such a promising start, Terence barely charted anything from subsequent albums - he had a slight #74 peak with the second single from his third album, and that was as good as his chart fortunes got from then on. HIs diva attitude and arrogance probably didn't help his career much. But what does all that matter when he we can still listen to something as confectionary as this song?

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#86 - Timebomb - Beck

2007

We got a red alert! It's really too bad that Beck is so associated with the Gen-X anthem "Loser" that more of his other work doesn't get airplay. His music is that of high level experimentation and it all comes together so seamlessly. While there were two or three other songs that could have made this list, Timebomb has an acuteness and quickness that just grabs your head and demands to be an earworm. There is an alarm-like quality to the song as Beck issues warning after warning that your good thing is about to end. Great stuff, but just the tip of the iceberg for our current holder of the Album of the Year Grammy. Popstop's chart - #1 (2 weeks) - October 2007 Additional songs to chart: Where It's At (1996) Que Onda Guero  - #4 - September 2005

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#85 - Love and Hope - Ozomatli

2008

The hope deep in his eyes are dreams he must let fly 2008 was the first year I was able to vote and I was all in with Obama. If you went to Obama's web site that year, you would have had a chance to purchase this album, and if you had done so, you would have been treated to this song - complete with samples from Obama's speeches. All that said, this song is a bit of an odd choice for the album despite its integration of the Hope meme so associated with Obama. The story of the song explains the pain of not being able to provide from generation to generation - the struggle is contained by the values of the title - love and hope can serve as a salve for these struggles. As for Ozomatli themselves, they are an amazing multicultural group, borrowing from their varying backgrounds - here we have a latin-based song laden with strings that amplifies the passion. Popstop's chart - #1 (7 weeks) - November-December 2008

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#84 - Shoop - Salt N' Pepa

1994

Brother, wanna thank your mother for a butt like that! The world needs more songs about sexy, sexy black men. After years of lyrics that typically objectified women, rap got served notice when Salt N Pepa's turned convention on its side. Here, Salt N' Pepa boldly ask about their potential lover's sexual prowess and how well-endowed he is before propositioning him with all the things she wants to do to, with, and on top of him. Even today, this kind of straightforwardness from women in rap is something of a unicorn. It's a bit unfortunate that they didn't usher in an era of more feminist rap.

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#83 - SexyBack - Justin Timberlake

2006

I'll let you whip me if I misbehave Oh my! Please misbehave, Justin! Where did this Justin come from? I don't think I ever charted one N' Sync song. I thought the boy bands were mostly cheesy as hell, and then he became a revelation a few years later with Rock Your Body and Cry Me a River, but none of those songs had the swagger and vaguely douchebaggery that goes along with the claim he makes in this song. And Justin is the kind of person who pulls it off. Now, pull it ALL off, Justin... Popstop's chart - #1 (2 weeks) - August 2006

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#82 - The Crablouse - Lords of Acid

1994

Mind your labia - they're never out of danger OK, well, the sex party is over. This raging, industrial song is sure to snap you out of whatever sexual bliss you're experiencing. Lords of Acid are probably a little too anatomical with their hypersexual take on well, getting crabs. However, was a sonic blast of anger it is! Just the kind of vitriol you;d want expressed when contracting an STD. This was kind of Lords of Acid's claim to fame - songs that were over the top, combined with the angriest dance music you;ve ever heard.

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[surfy]

SEXYBACK

[H.]

Great for Justin and Beck!

[Deleted]

back!

[DJDaveMick69]

Love reading this all-time chart, many good ones, especially Crazy Frog! Waiting eagerly for Las Ketchup... ;)

[popstop]

Jul 23, 2015 13:57:01 GMT -5 DJDaveMick69 said:

Love reading this all-time chart, many good ones, especially Crazy Frog! Waiting eagerly for Las Ketchup... ;)

LMAO, and Las Ketchup came in at #188! LOL

[DJDaveMick69]

Oh, sorry, I gotta REALLY read your chart better... :/

[popstop]

Well there's about 100 songs now, so it's a lot to read :)

[popstop]

Thank you, Proboards, for giving me a JS COde error when I was ready to post this and then make me lose all my subsequent work on it.

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#81 - Gulf Breeze - Eat Static

1990

Instrumental music We come to the second of four instrumentals that made the top 100. This one goes back a quarter century with a song that might have played at a rave or whatever early 90s kids did. I'm not really sure why it's called Gulf Breeze - I imagine traffic in some hot African country when I hear this song - mainly for unintelligble vocal that is roped in with the electronica. BUt also because the opening just sounds like the sizzle that would go with an exceptionally hot day. Researching, apparently the vibe was meant to be more UFO/space ambient, but that still doesn't explain the gulf breeze title.

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#80 - It's Alright (Baby's Coming Back) - The Eurythmics

1986

...and I don't care where he has been! Even though the cut-off for this list is 1985, there's still a lot of win when it comes to Annie Lennox that makes it a fool's errand to narrow it down to one song. Annie Lennox had an amazing career of two acts - first as part of a synthesizer duo in the 1980s, and then as a magnificent diva in the 1990s. I'm trying to pinpoint why it is I most like this song. I think it's a two-fold reason - for one, I love reading into the lyrics - it's apparent she broke it off with him once, but apparently, now she's ready to be there for him. Such a co-dependent relationship - she's ready to be there when he falls, which indicates that he has previously fallen in some way - addiction? cheating? And of course, there is always Annie's glorious voice - here seductive, yearning, and unashamed

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#79 - Nookie - Limp Bizkit

1999

You can take that cookie and stick it up your yeah! Well, OK, I'm not completely proud of this song's high placement, but I have to remain true to my 12 year old self who thought this song was everything. This song is the poster child for the rap-rock movement that was going on at the same time, which might not be the grandest moment for a music historian to review. I still like this song for its loser lyrics and energy. Popstop's chart - #1 (9 weeks) - September-November 1999 Additional Songs to chart: Take A Look Around - #1 (3 weeks) - July-August 2000

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#78 - Be Mine - Cecilia the Band

2005

You're a funny guy talking to my mother Oh god, I love this song. It's by what was a local band in the Washington, DC area that I had the good fortune to see. They have a great back story - they are a family with the parents and son providing the acoustics and the daughters harmonizing through the vocals. I think at one point, they were homeless, living in their car, and turned to this family band as a way to make ends meet. They eventually did get signed to a label but the album from which this song came was released after they were dropped by the label. While the copy I bought was in early 2005, the official release wouldn;t come for over a year later. By then, they had renamed themselves the Veltz Family and I have unfortunately never heard anything from them since. Popstop's chart - #1 (7 weeks) - February-March 2005

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#77 - Seven Day Fool - Jully Black

2007

I work for you, baby, work my hand to the bone I'm not sure what the appeal is for me of people singing about dysfunctional relationships - but I seem to be on a run of them in the last few days. This is a remake by Canadian singer Jully Black of an Etta Jsmes song, which discusses the many ways the narrator is willing to submit themselves in order to curry their favor's love. ANd not only are they desperate for that love, but that love is obsessively 24/7. It's an unhealthy romance, but it's clear from the song that there is happiness in slavery. Jully has the vocal chops to pull off an Etta James cover, but oddly, this was her only top 10 hit in Canada. Jully has never had a sound break through to the Hot 100. Popstop's chart - #1(2 weeks) - September 2007

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#76 - Titanium - David Guetta featuring Sia

2011

I'm bulletproof - nothing to prove. Fire away! Fire away! Well, if you've been paying attention, I violated my rules with this one since David Guetta also has a song way back at #190 with Sexy Bitch. I didn't catch it - oh well - still two different vocalists and Sia NEEDS to make the top 200. This song got mired behind some really strong competition in late 2011 (both songs are even further up on this list), so she never hit #1, but the song spent months hovering in the #3-#5 range. It's amazing what SIa can do with her voice - she can belt like nobody's business. Popstop's chart - #3 (3 weeks) - October-November 2011 Look at this chart run 9-8-6-5-4-4-3-3-6-3-4-4-6-6-4-4-9

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[H.]

Yay Titanium!

[surfy]

TITANIUMMMMMMMMMMMMM!!! <3333333333333333

[Deleted]

#76!!!

[Musicguy]

Love seeing Jody Watley on your chart. And Nothin' To Lose is one of my favorite songs by an AI contestant! <3

[mamooshka]

Enjoying the countdown.  Plain White T's - booyah!  ROFL @ 'bae'.... too funny! 

'If You Let Me Stay' did underperform. It was by far the best track on his debut release.

Great choice for the Eurythmics ... although the Utah Saints reconstruction of her 'Little Bird' eclipsed all output from the brilliant duo IMO. 

With a personality as big as her native country, a talent to match (she's written tunes for Sean Paul, Destiny's Child and Nas) AND a voice that shakes rafters in a Baptist church, Jully is one artist deserving of a follow-up. With due respect to Etta, Jully's cover of 'Seven Day Fool' is way fiercer than the original.

Attachment Deleted

[Rose "Payola" Nylund]

Jully Black's Sweat Of Your Brow is also a great song by her you should check out!

[popstop]

An iconic, yet depressing, set today - full of abuse, loneliness, failed relationships, and death.

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#75 (TIE)  Addicted to a Memory - Zedd featuring Bahari  King - Years & Years	2015
We are, we are a violent chemistry Yes, I suppose it's cheating to put in a tie, but both of these songs have about the same amount of play this year and are currently still charting, so it's difficult to assess their impact right now. I did a top 200 in 2010 and songs that were around in 2010 are in all in completely different positions. Kandi by One EskimO, for example, was ranked in the top 30. In any case, love this, love Zedd. And I love how he says this is a song that encapsulates his career. This embarks with a balladic vocal that erupts from dizzying sound to dizzying sound.  Popstop's chart - #1 (3 weeks) - June-July 2015
Let go of everything Zedd and Years & Years traded off the #1 positions the last few weeks, which is how they were both #1 in June and July. King just falls out of number one this week, so time will tell where this eventually goes in my canon of favorites. I love the lyrics of this song - "a king under your control" - the idea of feeling like royalty, but having no power in the relationship. THe idea that whatever was intoxicating before has soured, but not having the courage to end it. The kingmaker in this relationship really sounds like it's the other person. Popstop's chart - #1 (3 weeks) - June-July 2015

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#74 - Wrong Way - Sublime

1997

The only family that she's ever had are her seven horny brothers and her drunk-ass dad. Good lord, Annie has got a fucked up life. Twelve years old and being groomed for prostitution, she meets up with her own Travis Bickle, who knocks off her dad and takes her away from all that. Ultimately, Annie makes the hopefully wise decision to leave the narrator as well. This is all told in the wicked ska beat of Sublime, who had more than enough great songs from their third album, Sublime, which include stand-outs such as What I Got and Santeria. In a sad twist, lead singer Bradley Nowell died two months before the release of this class album.

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#73 - We Belong - Pat Benatar

1985

Always I'm surprised how well you cut my feelings to the bone This is the oldest song on the list and cuts (to the bone) as close to qualifying as possible. It peaked at #5 the very first week of 1985. This song recently regained popularity having been featured in Pitch Perfect 2, but it's made other movie appearances in Priscilla, Queen of the Desert and Talladega Nights. While this was her highest charting song (tying with Love is a Battlefield), Pat was nearing the end of her chart fortunes with this song - she'd have her last top ten hit, Invincible later that year. I love the complicated emotion of this song - recognizing that the relationship is falling apart, yet wanting to make it work. I love how it opens with a few scattered synth chords before erupting to strings and a children's chorus at the end. Pure perfection.

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#72 - Under the Bridge - The Red Hot Chili Peppers

1992

It's hard to believe that I'm all alone. Despite the rocking, crazy reputation of the band, their career kickstarted with this downbeat ode to desperate loneliness in the big city. The lyrics show Kiedis at a wit's end - feeling alienated from his band and love. The song distressingly ends with Kiedis getting high under said bridge to escape the pain of alienation. This is an extremely personal song that comes from lessons learned the hard way. That, combined with how it brought RHCP to public consciousness, is why I choose this out of their impressive body of work.

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#71 - Waterfalls - TLC

1996

Please stick to the rivers and lakes that you're used to I think we can all relate to giving into temptations that serve no purpose but to damage and destroy us. This song illuminates two such scenarios - a gangster making money selling drugs only to end up dead to his mother's supreme grief; a man unknowingly contracting HIV from his lover. But where the song really shines is in Left Eye's confessional rap in the midst of the song - expressing regret for missed opportunities, praying to make good on her second chances, and sending good thoughts to those who make similar terrible decisions. There would be more chart fortunes to come for TLC before Left Eye would sadly perish in an auto accident in 2002, ending TLC permanently. Additional songs to chart: Popstop's chart - No Scrubs - #2 (2 weeks) -  May 1999

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#70 - Boulevard of Broken Dreams - Green Day

2005

My shadow's the only one who walks beside me Good lord - first, RHCP is walking the city streets alone, and now Green Day? We have a loneliness epidemic in the rock world - we're going to need an intervention! At least we have bicoastal representation as Billie Joe is lonely in NYC as opposed to LA. And apparently if you're going to be lonely, NYC isn't such a bad place because whereas Kiedis' songs shows him at the end of his rope, Billie Joe feels empowered in lonesomeness. Such time gives him time to think and consider his direction in life. A powerful song from one of my favorite bands. Popstop's chart - #1 (4 weeks) - January 2005 Additional songs to chart: When I Come Around (1995) Popstop's chart: Know Your Enemy - #1 (5 weeks) - May-June 2009

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[popstop]

Jul 26, 2015 10:32:26 GMT -5 mamooshka said:

Enjoying the countdown.  Plain White T's - booyah!  ROFL @ 'bae'.... too funny! 

'If You Let Me Stay' did underperform. It was by far the best track on his debut release.

Great choice for the Eurythmics ... although the Utah Saints reconstruction of her 'Little Bird' eclipsed all output from the brilliant duo IMO. 

With a personality as big as her native country, a talent to match (she's written tunes for Sean Paul, Destiny's Child and Nas) AND a voice that shakes rafters in a Baptist church, Jully is one artist deserving of a follow-up. With due respect to Etta, Jully's cover of 'Seven Day Fool' is way fiercer than the original.

Sign Your Name is a big snoozefest to me. His vocals are the most impressive on the first single! Don't know why it didn't fare as well - they should have re-released it tbh.

I'll have to check out the Little Bird remake!

Jul 26, 2015 10:51:58 GMT -5 Rose "Payola" Nylund said:

Jully Black's Sweat Of Your Brow is also a great song by her you should check out!

For both of you, is Jully pretty well-known in Canada? I don;t understand why we get Bieber, but not her! She's fantastic, and I have to agree that Jully definitely out-sings the very fabulous Etta on Seven Day Fool. Her version is so on point!

[surfy]

Waterfalls and BOBD!!! <333333333

[H.]

I LOVE all of the songs in this set!

[Rose "Payola" Nylund]

Jul 27, 2015 17:36:43 GMT -5 popstop said:

Jul 26, 2015 10:51:58 GMT -5 Rose "Payola" Nylund said:

Jully Black's Sweat Of Your Brow is also a great song by her you should check out!

For both of you, is Jully pretty well-known in Canada? I don;t understand why we get Bieber, but not her! She's fantastic, and I have to agree that Jully definitely out-sings the very fabulous Etta on Seven Day Fool. Her version is so on point!

Not particularly. She's had a few hits on the radio in Canada but I don't think she's known overly well. In Canada, it's a bit of a challenge to make a name for yourself if you're not active on the tour scene across the country, unless you go the U.S. route.