Top 10 Most Addicting Songs of 2013

There will come a time in our future when our children will ask, “Mom, Dad, what kind of music was popular when you were my age?” Explaining the repetitive, electronic fusion trends of the late 2000s will be difficult and embarrassing (“No, honey, people actually liked listening to the same four words over and over”), but nevertheless unforgettable.

2013 has given us some of the most annoying, “how-many-times-will-they-play-this-in-an-hour,” dance inducing, and down right catchy songs. The ones we are all sick of hearing on the radio, but are still cranked onto full blast once the chorus comes on (I’m looking at you, Katy Perry).

Here are the top 10 songs that have gotten (involuntarily) stuck in everyone’s head in 2013.

 

10) “I Love It” by Icona Pop

If this wasn’t every girl’s post-breakup anthem, then I don’t know what was. Nothing says “kiss my ass” to an ex more than a song sung by two model-esque female vocalists, screaming about how they don’t care about crashing their car into a bridge (because a hit single can get you amazing car insurance), and bragging about how they’re nineties bitches (because only nineties kids remember the nineties).

 

9) “Cups” by Anna Kendrick
Walk through any middle school cafeteria in America with plastic cups in 2013 and see a gaggle of pre-pubescent girls showing off their cup smacking skills while singing along to this song.

Although Anna Kendrick’s movie-turned-radio version from Pitch Perfect doesn’t hold a candle to the original song, the internet parodies warranted by this annoyingly addictive hit make up for all the family parties that will forever be haunted by the memory of little girls singing off-beat to the utensil anthem of the century.

 

8) “Clarity” by Zedd and Foxes!

Every young, fresh-faced, female powerhouse vocalist who planned on auditioning for the 2013 season of any given reality singing competition squealed in excitement when this song became a hit. Move aside repetitive covers of Adele and Christina, new audition material has stepped on the scene. NBC’s The Voice used “Clarity” for two consecutive seasons, boosting votes for both Michelle Chamuel and Jackie Lee, while the X Factor’s Ellona Santiago secured a spot on Demi Lovato’s final four with her rendition.

 

7) “Get Lucky” by Daft Punk ft. Pharrell
And the award for most anticlimactic hit of the year goes to…

Somehow Daft Punk got lucky with the public’s affinity for mysterious frontmen and repetitive, nonsensical lyrics. (Also, Pharrell hasn’t aged in about 10 years).

 

6) “I Knew You Were Trouble” by Taylor Swift

The science behind this hit is simple:

Country singer doing dubstep + Goats = One of the biggest viral video sensations of the year

 

5) “Roar” by Katy Perry

Katy Perry’s triumphant comeback (after squeezing five #1 hits out of the same album for three years) touches right at the heart of every 13-year old girl – a song about animals and overcoming adversity. The song is bubblegum sweet and immediately recognizable, with the magic power of turning any grown man into a screaming little girl by the time the chorus drops.

 

4) “Wrecking Ball” by Miley Cyrus

If this video doesn’t flawlessly encapsulate the “Wrecking Ball” phenomenon in six seconds, then I don’t know what will.

 

3) “Blurred Lines” by Robin Thicke featuring Pharrell and T.I.

Aside from Pharrell being everywhere this year (isn’t that Pitbull’s job?), Robin Thicke struck a chord by pleasing guys with a naked-lady fest of a music video and angering feminists with his creepy, suggestive lyrics. With the #1 single of the decade, Robin Thicke might take the position of World’s Most Questionable Canadian since Justin Bieber announced his “retirement.”

 

2) “Royals” by Lorde

Nobody expected this 17-year-old New Zealand native to top the charts with her song about the hypocrisies of pop music. But what’s even more unexpected are the pseudo-possessed dance moves to go along with her haunting voice.

 

1) “Thrift Shop” by Macklemore & Ryan Lewis

Anyone who has said “what?” to a group of people in 2013 was met with the response “What, what, what, what?” Every person who went to Goodwill this year took an Instagram photo in their big-ass coat with the caption “Only got $20 in mah pocket,” every guy who walked up into the club said “what up” and bragged about the size of their poultry, and R. Kelly finally washed his sheets because everyone knew what they smelled like. This was the perfect smash hit to sky-rocket Macklemore & Lewis’ careers, establishing their position as influential musicians, seekers of social justice, and unforgiving bargain hunters.

 

For 2014, I predict more hits from Katy, less clothes from Miley, a lot of Beyoncé, and a weird scandal to erupt around Lorde and her possible demonic devices.

What songs were you addicted to in 2013? And what songs do you think should be left behind in the coming year?

Songs were selected from Billboard’s Hot 100 List for 2013