12 February 2025 - Edward Maya & Vika Jigulina - Stereo Love

This falls firmly in the category of songs you have heard, but you didn't know the title of.... or the artist. 

Edward Maya is Romanian, and he enlisted Moldovan-Romanian artist Vika Jigulina to provide the vocals for what ended up being a slow burn of a worldwide hit.   The song was a huge hit worldwide starting with its release in 2009, culminating with its peak on the US pop charts (#16) in 2011.... so yes, it was a three year build. 

But there's more.  It's 2025, and this song is STILL on the Moldovan and Polish pop charts - and has remained a huge Eastern European hit.  

It is also the rare hit to include significant accordion.  

Oh, you know they've performed this song live, and you know there was a signficant amount of accordion involved.

11 February 2025 - Kendrick Lamar - tv off

MUSTAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARD!

Yes, this is the song that Kendrick used to close his Superb Owl halftime performance, and it was a brilliant choice.

You might notice that there's a significant tempo change at about the 1:55 mark of this song - and that's because the song was recorded at two different times... and that means a little Mustard on the beat was needed for the transition.   

And no.  This isn't an official video.  C'mon, it's mostly footage from the "Not Like Us" video. I used it anyway.

7 February 2025 - Gina G - (Ooh Aah) Just A Little Bit

It's rare that we get to post a song that came in EIGHTH in the Eurovision song competition.

Especially when it's a song by a non-European singer.

Gina G is very much from Australia.

But she did represent the UK, and it is there that this song hit #1.  In the United States, it hit #12 on the pop charts in 1996, and would be the last Eurovision song to hit the US charts for more than 20 years.  The upbeat song also garnered a Grammy nomination - the ONLY Eurovision song to ever get that.

We weren't kidding about Eurovision.

6 February 2025 - Pitbull ft. Christina Aguilera - Feel This Moment

So Mr. Worldwide and Xtina performed a song together that ended up being a big hit but has the biggest songwriting team I've ever seen on a song, and that's even before you include all the members of a-ha, whose big hit song was DEFINTELY lifted for this song.  

Well, the song was special and a worldwide HUGE hit.  You're gonna feel every one of those 136 beats per minutes.  Seriously, we counted.   

Despite being obviously not together in this video, they have performed this song together several times. My personal favorite was at the 2013 Billboard Music Awards, where Morten Harket - who you might recognize from a-ha - took his song back at Mr. Worldwide's urging. 

31 January 2025 (Special Edition) - Marianne Faithfull - As Tears Go By

This song was written by Marianne Fathfull's boyfriend, Mick Jagger, along with Keith Richards, reportedly for her (she denied that).  The Stones version came after hers, and yes, was better known, but her version - her debut single in 1964 - was also a hit in the US, UK and Canada.

Marianne Faithfull passed away on January 30th, aged 78.  Her voice is one that will live on in music history. 

31 January 2025 - The Cardigans - Erase / Rewind

Look, I've been clear about how very cool I think The Cardigans were and are. 

This song is yet another log on that fire.   

A cool, slower song than was their norm, it followed "My Favourite Game" as a single and, like that song, was a big hit all over Europe and not so much in the States. That whole Gran Turismo album is a classic and more people should listen to it.  

As was their style at this point, there are multiple versions of this video.  In this one, the walls close in to the point of almost crushing the band, but then a door opens.  It's better than a beheading, right?

This version of the video intersperses scenes from the movie The Thirteenth Floor, which featured this song prominently.  

The band is still getting crushed, though.  

Yes, there's a version where the band clearly gets crushed.  No one wants to see that one, though, right?

30 January 2025 - Savage Garden - I Want You

I feel like a recurring theme here is songs that I could not freaking stand when they were out, and songs I actually like in hindsight.

THIS song is absolutely and firmly in that category.  God, I hated this song.  I thought it was drivel.

Now, I appreciate the pop pleaure of the rapid-fire lyrics and what sounds like a Fine Young Cannibals sample running throughout the whole song. (As far as I can tell, it isn't, and I hope I didn't just spark a lawsuit). 

This was their debut single, and not nearly their biggest hit (although it was top 5 around the world), but it's possibly their most enduring.   

This band was, of course, a bigger hit in their home country of Australia than elsewhere - and this song was a hit there first.  Since this was their debut song, their original video was a little lower budget...

So, a lot of the appeal of this song is that it's a duo and the song is immaculately produced.  It sounds polished.   

So how would a song with that production and that energy play live?

Surprisingly and exceptionally well.  If you didn't like this song already, you likely will after this performance.