Day 95, and we’re at Now! #95, which was released on 18th November 2016.
Time for some party season hits!
Track 1: James Arthur – Say You Won’t Let Go
I can’t stand this one! It’s so saccharine, and the theme just sits really awkwardly with me.
Track 2: Little Mix – Shout Out To My Ex
Great solid piece of pop – really like this.
Track 3: Clean Bandit, Sean Paul and Anne-Marie – Rockabye
The Christmas number one for 2016 – and, notably, the first Christmas number one since 1999 that wasn’t either a charity single or a talent show winner. It’s a good song – although I find the theme too cheesy – but really I like this one for the hilarious bit in the video where all the old dudes in the pub mime along to Sean Paul’s vocals.
Track 4: The Chainsmokers and Halsey – Closer
It’s a bit repetitive, but I quite like this tune. The lyrics are pretty daft though!
Track 5: Major Lazer, Justin Bieber and Mø – Cold Water
It’s an okay tune, but it’s a bit generic.
Track 6: Ariana Grande and Nicki Minaj – Side To Side
Great piece of pop – love the rhythm on this.
Track 7: Sia – The Greatest
I find the chorus really grating, but the tune on the verses is okay.
Track 8: Calvin Harris – My Way
Nothing to do with the Frank Sinatra song. This one’s got an irritating tune, and is very repetitive.
Track 9: Hailee Steinfeld, Grey and Zedd – Starving
Cheesy, too slow, and the lyrics are a bit awkward.
Track 10: MO – Who Do You Think Of?
This is the girl group MO, not to be confused with the solo singer Mø who also appears on this Now! compilation (twice). This is a good, danceable pop tune – quite like this one.
Track 11: Neiked and Dyo – Sexual
Highly irritating tune, too high-pitched, awkward theme. Not a fan.
Track 12: Anne-Marie – Alarm
Repeated artist alert! We’ve already had Anne-Marie on track 3.
Great atmosphere, but again I’m not keen on the theme.
Track 13: Olly Murs – You Don’t Know Love
I quite like this one – there’s a nice ’80s tinge to the backing track.
Track 14: Mø – Final Song
Repeated artist alert! We’ve already had Mø on track 5.
Pretty tune though, quite like this one.
Track 15: Maroon 5 – Don’t Wanna Know
The tune is super irritating, but the video, which parodies the Pokémon Go phenomenon, is great.
Track 16: JP Cooper – September Song
The chorus for this rips off the chorus of Jealous by Nick Jonas, so whenever I get one or the other stuck in my head it usually turns into an unwelcome mash-up. The rest of the tune is just annoying.
Track 17: Shawn Mendes – Mercy
Too slow for me, but it’s an okay tune.
Track 18: Ellie Goulding – Still Falling For You
Dull, saccharine and irritating.
Track 19: Emeli Sandé – Hurts
Great tune, great atmosphere. Really like this one.
Track 20: Michael Bublé – I Believe In You
Too cheesy for me.
Track 21: Craig David – All We Needed
The official Children In Need single for 2016 – and it’s finally something that’s not a cover! I’m so glad the trend has finally shifted!
What I’m not glad about is that this track is super slow. The piano’s nice, though.
Track 22: Drake, Wizkid and Kyla – One Dance
This was number one for fifteen weeks in the summer of 2016, equalling the second place for longest-lasting number one held by Wet Wet Wet since 1994 for Love Is All Around. I found this really interesting – because I have clear memories of the Wet Wet Wet chart run from when I was nine, I was able to compare the way fifteen weeks felt as a child versus as an adult. It went a lot quicker as an adult, because time always does (I’m a firm believer in the theory that we are constantly subconsciously comparing intervals of time to our total life so far, which is why time just gets faster and faster as you age), but it also felt like I did and achieved more, probably because I was running and working so much during that summer.
Anyway, the track. It’s got a good beat, and the tune’s okay, but it certainly didn’t deserve to be number one for fifteen weeks. Thankfully it didn’t equal or beat Bryan Adams’ 1991 record of sixteen weeks for Everything I Do (I Do It For You), so that still stands.
Track 23: DJ Snake and Justin Bieber – Let Me Love You
Repeated artist alert! We’ve already had Justin Bieber on track 5.
This tune is almost unbearably irritating and cheesy. Not my thing at all.
Track 24: Fifth Harmony – That’s My Girl
The tune’s a bit annoying, but it’s got a good rhythm.
Track 25: Sigma and Birdy – Find Me
Too slow, but the atmosphere’s okay.
Track 26: Martin Garrix and Bebe Rexha – In The Name Of Love
Pretty tune on the vocals, but the electro hook annoys me.
Track 27: Nevada, Mark Morrison and Fetty Wap – The Mack
This is the second ’10s cover version of Mark Morrison’s 1996 hit Return Of The Mack, after the one by Mann, Iyaz and Snoop Dogg in 2011 (which was also called The Mack). It doesn’t really add anything to the original.
Track 28: Tieks and Dan Harkna – Sunshine
It’s got a good beat, but the tune annoys me.
Track 29: Zara Larsson – Ain’t My Fault
Okay tune, but the theme is really problematic.
Track 30: Bob Marley & The Wailers, Lvndscape and Bolier – Is This Love
Semi-cover of the 1978 classic, with some dance rhythms over the top. It’s got a good atmosphere, but it can’t touch the original.
Track 31: Digital Farm Animals, Cash Cash and Nelly – Millionaire
Irritating kiddie-style vocals on the chorus, and the tune annoys me.
Track 32: Snakehips and Zayn – Cruel
Forgettable tune, boring vocals.
Track 33: Matoma and Becky Hill – False Alarm
Another bland tune.
Track 34: Galantis and Hook ‘N’ Sling – Love On Me
I’ve never been keen on the vocals on this one, which sound to me like someone is faking a Scottish accent.
Track 35: Charli XCX and Lil’ Yachty – After The Afterparty
Irritating tune, but I quite like the theme.
Track 36: Dua Lipa – Blow Your Mind (Mwah)
Good beat, annoying chorus.
Track 37: Louisa Johnson – So Good
Good solid piece of pop with a great atmosphere. Not keen on the theme though.
Track 38: James TW – When You Love Someone
Pretty tune, but it’s a bit too slow and acoustic-y for me.
Track 39: Wilkinson and Karen Harding – Sweet Lies
I find this tune very generic, and the beat is like every other dance track this decade.
Track 40: Craig David and Sigala – Ain’t Giving Up
Repeated artist alert! We’ve already had Craig David on track 21.
I quite like the tune and the tinkly instrumentals, but the chorus is kind of annoying.
Track 41: Charlie Puth – Dangerously
Good atmosphere, but it’s a little too high-pitched for me and the theme’s a bit saccharine.
Track 42: Offaiah – Trouble
Very repetitive tune, not keen.
Track 43: Christine & The Queens – Tilted
Good, interesting track. I really like the instrumentals on this one, and there’s something lovely and classic about the vocals.
Track 44: Lady Gaga – Perfect Illusion
I like the rock edge on this one.
Track 45: Niall Horan – This Town
Saccharine acoustic ballad, and I don’t like the theme. In short, it’s pretty much everything I dislike.
