Monday, February 20, 2012

Top 3 Pop Songs (Male Edition)

I've been rolling it over and over and over in my head, trying to come up with 3 different male pop stars that encompass my criteria for what makes a great pop song for my categories (80s, 90s, and 00s) and I can't come up with 3 different stars because one just keeps eclipsing all the others.  So I'm going to run with it.

80s



Michael Jackson - Billie Jean
Who else but the King of Pop is going to reign supreme (Thanks Iron Chef) in this challenge. The video is iconic, the song is larger than life and the minute you hear the first note drop, you know exactly who and what it is.

90s



Michael Jackson - Smooth Criminal
Unapologetically, I am a Michael fan. Always have been, always will be. We will never have another artist like him in my lifetime. Over the top, theatrical, flashy.  He even held the patent for the shoes that allowed the 45 degree lean.  He is a big enough star that he holds both my spots for 80s/90s.  This song is theatrical and the video is the same.  This is one of the original cuts of the video from the movie Moonwalker.  If you haven't seen Moonwalker, you need to because it is a love letter to the genius that was Michael Jackson.

00s


*Nsync - Pop
Even the video I chose had Michael Jackson in it. Can you name any other band that had as much sway over the industry as *Nsync? They ruled the airwaves for the majority of the 2000s. This song is the epitome of what a pop song is more than any other I've chosen.  Their VMA performances set the standard for what they should be and other artists attempted to be as big as they were.  Their performance with Britney from the 1999 VMAs was incredible and they totally ruled the school (pun intended).  What is crazy about that video is that Justin never sang lead it was just JC.  I wonder if that was by design some how.

Any way, those are my choices for best pop songs, male and female for the past 30 years.  God that is so weird.  What do you think?  Am I off base, do you have a song you feel is better?  Let me know.

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