25 Days Of Christmas Countdown Day #20: Top Western Songs 2015

The Western pop scene doesn't get enough love from K-pop or J-pop fans. I will never understand why some of those fans (K-pop fans in particular) rave about other countries' pop music being SO much better than American stuff when it's pretty much exactly the same thing. Just with more groups instead of solo singers. There's nothing wrong with preferring one over the other, but to say that there's this vast difference in musical style & quality is wrong. There's crap music in K-pop, J-pop, and American pop, just like there's good music in all three. This list was also really incredibly difficult because of the sheer amount of artists this covers. I'm going to need to have a better solution next year lol. Spotify playlist at the bottom this time instead of YT videos.

#10: The Weeknd - In The Night

#9: Demi Lovato - Kingdom Come (ft. Iggy Azalea)

#8: Colette Carr - Three Percent

#7: Zedd - I Want You To Know (ft. Selena Gomez)

#6: Ellie Goulding - On My Mind

#5: Adam Lambert - Evil In The Night

#4: Walk The Moon - Work This Body

#3: Fall Out Boy - Fourth Of July

#2: Melanie Martinez - Pity Party

#1: Pentatonix - Ref

Enjoy! What are some of your favorite Western tracks of the year?

Selena Gomez & The Scene - When The Sun Goes Down

I've actually never listened to this album the whole way through. At least I don't think I have. I find that odd since it contains some of my favorite tracks ever released by Selena. I'm hoping to find some other songs of the same quality for her final album with The Scene.

Track #1, Love You Like A Love Song: For some reason I kept thinking this was on A Year Without Rain. I was very confused when I started to do that post & this wasn't on the track list. I associate this album with songs like Hit The Lights which are more mainstream dance pop while this sounds like a continuation of Naturally and A Year Without Rain. That's a good thing though. Undoubtedly the best single of her career, I really feel like this song helped to bring her to some public attention for her music. 5/5

Track #2, Bang Bang Bang: It's crazy how great this style works for Selena. I don't know what the heck she is thinking going in the direction that she is with her new single. She can do whatever the heck she wants, but gosh she has such a winning formula with the dance pop stuff. I find the song pretty lyrically immature, but the music of the song saves it. It's probably closer to synthpop than electropop or dance pop. Stylistically, it's close to Love You Like A Love Song which made it an ideal candidate to be a pre-release single. 4.5/5.

Track #3, Who Says: So a funny story about this song. A friend of mine didn't like Selena at all. Like she would mention it whenever she saw her on TV. About a year or so after this came out, she sent me a message about it and how she liked it. Coming into the present, she really likes Selena's music. I've always found that amusing lol. For me, it's not one of my favorites from her. It's okay, I'm just not that into pure pop/pop rock songs anymore. The content of the song is good though. 3.5/5.

Track #4, We Own The Night (ft. Pixie Lott): As a fan of Pixie Lott's music, I had been very excited to hear their collaboration when I saw the tracklist. The song is unfortunately such a let down. It's more pop rock (which is closer to Pixie's style at the time) and it sounds strange coming right after Love Song & Bang. Beyond that, the chorus goes nowhere. It's so flat and lifeless. Pixie's vocals in the song are pointless as well because you can barely hear her in anything over Selena's vocals. 3/5.

Track #5, Hit The Lights: Even though I love her Stars Dance album, this is my absolute favorite Selena song. There really isn't anything super special about it that makes it stand out. It's just a standard dance pop song like everything that you could hear on the radio from like 2010-2012. It just hits me in a way that none of her other songs do. 5/5.

Track #6, Whiplash: Another of my favorite Selena songs. It sounds so much like something Britney would do, but unlike the track before that sounds like Katy, this works. It's like if Toxic was done for Blackout instead of earlier. I swear this is what Toxic would have sounded closer to. Should've been a single. 5/5.

Track #7, When The Sun Goes Down: I had big expectations for this song because the title reminded me a lot of Stars Dance which is one of my favorite songs by her. I don't know what possessed me to think I could be excited over a song by a title. I don't really care for this song. This is something Katy Perry should have done and doesn't suit Selena at all. 3/5.

Track #8, My Dilemma: I guess there had to be a Disney-esque track on the album didn't there (I don't count Who Says as Disney-esque since most pop stars were on that whole "love yourself" train a few years ago.) I don't hate Disney music, in fact quite the opposite, it's just weird when the singles of an album are trying to say "I'm trying to be mature!" but then there's songs on the album that sound like Kiss & Tell. Even though this song doesn't mesh with the album concept well, I like it. It's a catchy tune. 4/5.

Track #9, That's More Like It: Ah. Perhaps I spoke too soon with track #7. This is way more Kiss & Tell. In fact, My Dilemma is much more mature than this. The "make my dinner, bring it to me" line is so cringy. Yikes...spoke too soon again. The bridge is even worse. 3/5.

Track #10, Outlaw: The verses of this song are so promising. They are along the lines of Hit the Lights & Whiplash. Unfortunately, the chorus and bridge fall so flat in comparison. They're just absolutely lifeless. 3.5/5.

Track #11, Middle Of Nowhere: The most disappointing thing about this album is that in a lot of the songs, the verses are so good but the choruses just fall flat or change style too much. This song is just another example of that. It's verses are like a tamer Whiplash, yet the chorus is Kiss & Tell. It's disappointing. 3.5/5.

Track #12, Dices: The Spanish version of Who Says.

I really don't care a whole lot for this album. The songs I like from it are fantastic, but the album as a whole is very average. I was expecting more due to my love for some of the songs on the album. 4/5.

Selena Gomez & The Scene - A Year Without Rain

From the time that it was announced that Selena was going to have a "band" instead of just going solo I knew that she would definitely end up going solo. The whole band thing was pretty silly...especially because she was practically solo anyway. It was a gimmick to have her do something different from Miley & Demi I believe. This release is her ("their") second album.

Track #1, Round & Round: This song is probably my least favorite lead single of hers (sans her new one which I find awful actually). It feels kind of a step back from Naturally and is more childish to me. The dance pop direction definitely fits her though. Her first album's style never really worked for her. 4/5.

Track #2, A Year Without Rain: The type of music that this song is describes my ideal Selena music perfectly. For a newer song of hers that gives off the same feel it would be Stars Dance. The pulsing beat in the background is so nice. Since she's not the best singer, the music really helps to mask that. And that also brings up what I dislike about the song. Her, uh, adlibbing I guess you could call it, is extremely annoying. Her voice is not meant for it and the music doesn't help sadly. 4/5.

Track #3, Rock God: Whatever happened to Rock Mafia? They made some great tracks. I haven't heard anything produced by them in a while. This is such a great track and has so much attitude. A surprisingly rebellious track on a Disney star's album (as she was still very much Disney at this point). 5/5.

Track #4, Off The Chain: This song will remain one of Selena's best ever. How it wasn't a single I will never now. It's a lot like Naturally except with a more danceable beat. I'd love another song like this. 5/5

Track #5, Summer's Not Hot: It certainly does not sound like Selena in the beginning of this song. This song really sounds more like something Demi would put out that Selena. The only thing that makes it more Selena is that it has a dance pop beat instead of being more straight pop. It's also a very Disney Channel song. There's nothing wrong with that, it just belongs more on her first album than this one. 3.5/5.

Track #6, Intuition (ft. Eric Bellinger): I have no idea who the feature is. I haven't heard his name anywhere. I'm guessing he must be part of another Hollywood Records group or something. It's just a really random feature that adds male vocals to a song that would have been perfectly fine without it. The song itself really fits perfectly on this album. It's a good mix of the more dance direction the album was taking with the more Disney pop of the first album. It works where Summer's Not Hot doesn't, by not alienating the fan base from the old album and having a new direction to appeal to more people. 4/5.

Track #7, Spotlight: Yeah the lyrics of this song aren't very good and the spoken bridge can be a little annoying, but this is probably my favorite song of the album. It's got a quality to it that makes it extremely catchy. I really can't describe it. I just think it's great. 5/5.

Track #8, Ghost Of You: I guess all albums just have to have a ballad don't they? What I appreciate about this song is her vocals and the production. I'm not going to sugarcoat it, I don't believe Selena can sing well at all. She does sounds quite good here. Sure it's been through a lot of studio filters and computer programs, but it sounds really nice with the minimal production compared to some of the other more dancey songs. 4/5.

Track #9, Sick Of You: This song sounds right off of her first album. It's not a bad thing in this case at all. Even though it's more pop rock instead of dancey, it works really well on this album. It's somewhat more mature than other songs on her first album and doesn't sound much like the Disney pop rock stuff. In fact, it reminds me a lot of Kelly Clarkson. 4.5/5.

Track #10, Live Like There's No Tomorrow: This album's over already? Wow it feels so short. It's too bad the album doesn't end on a high note. This song doesn't fit the album at all, which makes sense because it was a song for some movie she did. Even though it's my least favorite song of the album, I don't mind that it's here. It makes sense to put a promotional song like this on the album. It also sounds a lot like Jason Derulo's Marry Me....well, I guess his song would sound like this since this came earlier. I want to sing "will you marry me" at the chorus so much. 3/5.

The album is a step up from her first one. It's not so amazing as to blow the average listener away, but it's a nice album from a girl who was still very much a Disney artist at the time. 4/5.

Song Recommendations (March 4, 2015 Edition)

The ice in this area ended up cancelling all of my classes today so I have a little more time to write stuff (although I should really be studying for an exam tomorrow but whatever.). I like doing these recommendation posts a lot. I hope those that read them like it too. Makes it easier to maybe find something new than my usual posts.

Alyson Stoner - Beat The System

I've really been enjoying this song today. The lyrics are wonderful. She should be as big as Demi & Selena now tbh.

Zedd - I Want You To Know (ft. Selena Gomez)

Yeah it's generic blah blah blah. But it's GOOD. Like beyond good.

After School - Triangle

After School's first Japanese album was wonderful so I don't know why it took me until this week to listen to their second one. The album's good but this is my standout track from it.

Lovelyz - Hi~

K-pop's been very meh for the past few years. Not a very huge fan of this style, but I can't stop listening to this song. I guess that's a good thing right?

Jeanne Maria - Kindan no Suites

I really hope I romanized that title right....sometimes Google Translate doesn't do that properly xD. Saw this MV on H!O. I really love the general idol thread there & I'm thankful for the people that post there cause I've found some really great songs on that board. Wasn't certain I liked this at first but I think it's pretty darn great for an indie? idol group.

Enjoy!

Selena Gomez - Stars Dance

You have no idea how excited I was when Selena started releasing music. Falling Down was my jam back in the day. I had always really liked her on Disney Channel so I was happy she was now singing....even if she doesn't have the best voice. Of course her first two albums were very Disney Channel crowd oriented, nothing wrong with that. She was still really young then and why alienate your main crowd right away? I bring this up cause it drives me crazy when I see people criticizing Disney stars for releasing "little kid music". What else are they supposed to put out? You think parents would be okay with someone that their kid is watching on Disney Channel releasing a Nicki Minaj Anaconda like video for their very first single? (Although to be fair I wouldn't call Anaconda a mature song...but you get the point.) Of course not. Her third album showed a more mature side, and then onto this fourth album (has it really been FOUR already? Wow...) she really came out with something more mainstream.

Track #1, Birthday: I think this is the one song on the album I really truly hate. It's just so so bad. It has so much potential in the verses. SO MUCH. But that chorus just destroys everything. It kind of reminds me of a HyunA reject song. So thankful this was never released as a single...because if it ever hit it big I'd want to stab my ears with scissors. 2/5.

Track #2, Slow Down: Admittedly, I'm fairly sick of this song. For the longest time though, it was one of my favorite tracks on the album. Still disappointed it wasn't a big hit like Come & Get It was. Maybe back in 2009-2010 when Lady Gaga was really big it would've done better because it sounds like something that could have been on The Fame. Just wish that ending wasn't there. Can't stand it when there's little talking bits at the beginning and ends of songs. 5/5.

Track #3, Stars Dance: This is such a pretty song musically. Probably my favorite song on the CD. Would have rather had this as a lead single than Come & Get It. Hoping for more songs like this on her future album. 5/5.

Track #4, Like A Champion: This was one of the skippable tracks on the record at first. However, I really came to like it after I got sick of the songs I had originally attached to. It's the perfect track for those days where you just feel in charge of everything. 5/5.

Track #5, Come & Get It: I still think it was a good choice for the first single, but it's not one of the best songs on the CD. I like the Bollywood flavor of the track. I really don't know a great deal about Bollywood, but the sound music wise sounds cool to me. 4/5.

Track #6, Forget Forever: Now this song sounds like it would fit perfectly in her earlier albums. The beat's cool, but other than that it's a fairly forgettable song (didn't intend to use 'forget' in it xD) 3/5.

Track #7, Save The Day: Back to the club bangers! You can so easily tell what kind of music I prefer. Like Slow Down, this is another song I played to death. This probably would have been a better choice than Slow Down as a single. At least in my opinion. Same basic idea and lyrical content, but this just feels like the better song. 5/5.

Track #8, BEAT: I'm in the middle with this song. On one hand, it's very catchy and the beat is quite wonderful, but on the other, it sometimes gets dangerously close to falling into "Birthday" territory. The album's been out for almost two years now and I still can't make up my mind about it. 3/5.

Track #9, Write Your Name: Not a song I gave much attention to when I was really listening to the album, but it's pretty good. I'm guessing I'll probably forget all about it again though when it's over. Sometimes I wonder how many songs I know of that are good, but just so unremarkable that I can't remember them. 4/5.

Track #10, Undercover: And this was the third of the three tracks I really focused on when I first got the album along with Slow Down & Save The Day. This is the best of the three tracks. 5/5.

Track #11, Love Will Remember: Kind of in the same boat as Write Your Name except not as good. I could envision this song on When The Sun Comes Down. It's almost too poppy for the rest of the album. The rest of this album for the most part is very EDM so it's a bit of a jarring change from the rest of the album. 3/5.

Track #12, Nobody Does It Like You: I think this is where the deluxe edition starts? I'm not sure what all songs were Target exclusive in the USA and if there even was a true deluxe edition outside of the Target version. I truly hate the word swag. It's such an affront to the English language. Or any language. That's probably my only gripe about the song. Personally, I'd swap this song and Love Will Remember for the standard tracklist. It fits the standard album better. 4.5/5.

Track #13, Music Feels Better: I honestly don't remember listening to these last three tracks on the the CD. I know I did. My iTunes says I did. I just don't recall their existence. I say this because I really like this song. It doesn't fit the album really, and sounds more like a When The Sun Comes Down or even A Year Without Rain track, but it's just so catchy I love it. 5/5.

Track #14, Lover In Me: Now these last two songs are definitely the Target exclusives. Now what does this sound like.....I swear this sounds like something else. Love the pulsing beat in the verses. Ahhhh no. Why. Aw man. I'm disappointed. The verses sounded like they were building up to a crazy chorus but the chorus is just too poppy for the verses. I need some soaring vocals and EDM like Ariana's Break Free. Maybe I'll get that next album. She is working with Zedd. 3.5/5.

Track #15, I Like It That Way: Ugh. The beginning is cringeworthy lyrically. Oh come on! Seriously?! This is the chorus that Lover In Me should have gotten and Lover In Me's chorus should have gone to this! I realize that they were probably produced by two completely different people, but it's still a tragedy. 3.5/5.

The album is certainly her best album yet, and really is going to be hard to top for me. I'm hoping that her next album will completely blow this out of the water though. Man....I'd really love to give this a 4.5 or a 5....but then I remember Birthday exists. Hoping for no more songs like that for record number five. 4/5.