Top 10 Songs of 2024

 The Top 10 songs of 2024!!

2024 has been a great year for fun pop songs getting into the upper portion of the Billboard HOT 100 Singles chart. Here's my Top 10 favorite songs of the year:

A Bar Song (Tipsy) - Shaboozey

The success of this HUGE smash hit is completely thanks to the amazing Beyonce who included new artists like Shaboozey on her outstanding and innovative album Cowboy Carter. She shined the spotlight on him and the crossover mainstream general public learned about this infectious song. We couldn't get enough of it!        

Yes, and... - Ariana Grande

We already know she's an all-around talent who excels at everything, but one of the reasons for that is because she has respect and knowledge about the amazing music and artists that paved the way. This song is a celebration of Madonna's Vogue with its throbbing dance beat and the video is a tribute to Paula Abdul's Cold Hearted. In addition, the remix includes Mariah Carey, the Queen of the Remix!!      

Water - Tyla 

While this song was a very big hit, it should have been even bigger. Tyla has everything it takes to be the next big thing with her catchy songs, great vocals and impressive visuals. The problem is that the industry is holding her back and boxing her into the limited Afro Beats category instead of giving her the full-on POP crossover mainstream push. With the proper promotion there would be no stopping her.         

Too Sweet - Hozier

This is that pop smash you'd hear in the background and ask "what is this?" and "will you play it for me again!" It's undeniably enjoyable music.             

Texas Hold Em - Beyonce

Beyonce is the #1 Pop Artist so far this century because she DELIVERS the crowd-pleasing smash hits. Everyone online was creating dance videos to this song and everyone else was watching them on repeat. She's so good at what she does and we are just lucky to be here and enjoy it. And on top of that, she truly has an important socio-political point of view that reaches far beyond her own personal success that uplifts and celebrates others.         

Espresso - Sabrina Carpenter

This little dynamo achieved unheard of success having THREE songs in the top ten at the same time for over a month. The secret was that the songs were just fun and catchy.          

Die With A Smile - Bruno Mars and Lady Gaga

Bruno Mars is truly a master at creating pop music. He knows what he's doing and it was so nice of him to bring Lady Gaga along for the ride on this one.      

Lose Control - Teddy Swims

The surprise success of the year is Teddy Swims getting more popular week after week all year long. This song just kept connecting with a bigger audience. That's what happens with great music.      

We Can't Be Friends - Ariana Grande

As we waited all year to finally see Ariana Grande show off her acting, singing and dancing in Wicked, we had this fantastic song to hold us over.     

I Had Some Help - Post Malone 

Post Malone proved this year that he's capable of handling any genre of music and making it into smash hit popular songs. His country album is jam-packed with strong collaborations like this one that you're not going to be able to resist no matter how hard you try.    

The Top 5 - DIVAS!

The top 5 finalists will all be singing two songs each. The first will be a song from the year they were born and the second will be a selection from a legendary Diva.

Candice Glover was born in 1989 - the same year that Paula Abdul spent three weeks at #1 with Straight Up. Candice veered away from the dance beat and decided instead to focus on a lighter arrangement where her vocals shined through. But even more importantly, for the first time in the competition she expressed an ease and confidence with her style and stage presence.

Janelle Arthur was born in 1989 - the same year that Vince Gill had a hit with When I Call Your Name. This was a genuine and heartfelt moment of a beautiful voice and sweet personality sharing the gift of music with us. Janelle is so lovely and sincere you feel everything with her.

Kree Harrision was born in 1990 - the same year that She Talks To Angels was a hit for the Black Crowes. This song choice was step backwards for Kree. She was back to being a nameless and faceless voice who was given a microphone but has zero personality and stage presence.

Angie Miller was born in 1994 - The same year that The Pretenders had a hit with I'll Stand By You. This was an outstanding emotional and vocal live concert moment. Angie tore it up at the piano playing with perfection and her voice was totally beautiful.

Amber Holcomb was born in 1994 - The same year Without You was a #3 hit for Mariah Carey. So we all know it wasn't as amazing as Mariah's version, but it was still very good. Her voice is strong and she looked so completely wonderful in a sleek and stylish mini dress.

When You Believe brought Mariah Carey and Whitney Houston together for the first time. This double diva powerhouse ballad was a great opportunity for Candice to show off more of what she can do. It was all about her voice and she did it perfectly.

Dumb Blonde is an example of what makes Dolly Parton a legendary diva. Janelle is the perfect young diva who is capable of rocking the stage with this kind of song. She is vibrant and dynamic every time she gets on stage and her bouncy blonde hair and sparkly outfit were the ideal match for her great vocal performance.

Have You Ever Been In Love is a typical Celine Dion vocal throw down that exemplifies her as one of the greatest divas. Kree Harrison, unfortunately, doesn't even come close to how amazing Celine is. It was a weak effort in comparison to the greats. Kree lacks a distinctive quality that makes her special and unique.

Halo is a Beyonce diva moment and Angie Miller ran in here grabbed it for herself and completely stole the show. She looked incredible and her vocals displayed a pure and crystal clear resonance that knocked over all of the competition. It was like I was hearing this song for the first time. It was beautiful.

Barbra Streisand is the Diva standard that all others are judges against and Amber Holcomb effortlessly rose to the challenge. Her performance was grand, classic and divinely pure. What a lovely talent!

All five of the remaining finalists are very good, but one of them is noticeably lacking in all areas including vocal range, stage presence and style. Kree Harrison should be the lowest vote getter be sent home this week.

The Top 6 Perform

The Top 6 will each perform 2 songs tonight. Song #1 will be from the Burt Bacharach and Hal David catalog and song #2 will be a song the finalist wish they had written.

Anyone Who Had A Heart was a top 10 hit for Dionne Warwick in 1964. Angie Miller makes singing and hitting all of the range of notes in the song look effortless She took this classic ballad and delivered it with grace, poise and crystal clear beauty.

I Say A Little Prayer is another Dionne Warwick song that went to #4 in 1967. Amber Holcomb sounds wonderful and looks great on stage. This is one of the catchiest and most fun songs of all time and she did not disappoint.

They Long To Be Close To You was the very first #1 song for the Carpenters in 1970. It kicked off an impressive string of hits and earned them the Grammy for Best New Artist. Lazaro Arbos served up a very sweet and subtle rendition of the song. Unfortunately the song didn't allow him to showcase himself at his best.

What The World Needs Now is exactly the kind of song Kree Harrision needed to showcase herself at her best. It was all about her voice. She struggles when it comes to having any stage presence or personality but that wasn't necessary this time around since all she needed to do was stand there and sing.

I'll Never Fall In Love Again is yet another selection from the Dionne Warwick collection. This one hit the top 10 in 1970. Janelle Arthur is the exact opposite of Kree as she completely embodies an entertaining stage presence and vibrant personality. Janelle sounded sweet and wonderful as she worked the entire stage and related to every single member of the audience.

Don't Make Me Over was the very first hit for Dionne Warwick in 1963. Candice Glover is another one who just stood there and let her vocals shine through. It was a beautiful performance of this great song.

Angie Miller wishes she had written Love Came Down by Keri Jobe. It's a inspirational ballad where Angie was at her best vocalizing to perfection while playing at the piano. She is a natural performer and a star and she truly shined tonight.

Amber Holcomb wishes she had written Love On Top by Beyonce. Amber quite literally strutted her stuff in cut off hot pants and high heels. The song didn't allow her vocals to stand out on top but it was still a entertaining performance.

Lazaro Arbos wishes he had written Angels by Robbie Williams. Lazaro has the voice and the spirit of an angel and he let it sparkle to all of his many fans with this lovely performance.

Kree Harrison wishes she had written Help Me Make It Through The Night by Kris Kristofferson. It's a classic country ballad, but the reality is that there have been numerous much better renditions than what Kree offered tonight. It just sounded drab and lifeless.

Janelle Arthur wishes she had written The Dance by Garth Brooks. Janelle sang every word and you could tell it was from her heart and that she meant it. It was a very special moment and we were lucky to have her share it with all of us.

Candice Glover wishes she had written LoveSong by The Cure. Candice took it up even a notch higher with this world class, stellar performance. It was more like something from a seasoned professional than something from a talent competition. She really surpassed all expectations.

The girls are doing an amazing job every week and even though we totally and completely love Lazaro he is most likely going to end up in the bottom three along with Janelle and Amber. He is going to get my votes, but I still predict that he will be the one going home.

The Top 10 Girls take their first shot

The Top 10 Girls can sing any song of their choice to try and win your votes:

Zoanette Johnson went first with an attempt at Tina Turner's #1 hit from 1984 What's Love Got To Do With It. The expectations were high as the judges gushed about her, but she failed miserably. Zoanette could hardly remember the lyrics and she looked like a complete mess.

Breanna Steer stood center stage and let her vocal range be the focus. She looked very classy and poised performing Beyonce's 2007 R and B slow jam Flaws and All. It was tender, emotional and presented Breanna as a star of the future.

Aubrey Cleland chose to sing Big Girls Don't Cry that Fergie took to #1 in 2007. She is a strikingly beautiful young woman who is completely ready for starring in videos. Vocally it is evident that her range has its limitations, but this song did not challenge her too much.

Janelle Arthur is the definition of a classic country girl. She is sweet, genuine and lovely and with her vocals tonight she saved it all for the end. She belted out a superbly pure final note that was thoroughly impressive.

Tenna Torres served up a cover of a Faith Hill song twisting it up with a soulful and impeccable vocal. She clearly has a the range to hit the highs and the lows and everything in between. And along with all of this, Tenna is just a very nice girl as well.

Angie Miller sat at the piano, sang an outstanding vocal and thoroughly brought the house down. She carries herself like a seasoned professional who is quite simply a true artist. She performed a brand new song that can be found on the debut album from Season 11 Miss American Idol finalist Colton Dixon. He needs to thank her for helping to raise the profile of his album. I see a spike in sales after this.

Amber Holcomb took on the 1996 hit from Whitney Houston and the Preacher's Wife soundtrack, I Believe In You And Me. She could definitely rise to the challenge and pull it off and make it look effortless. Great job.

Kree Harrison struggled and strained vocally to hit the notes. She sounded weak and forced as she tried to sing the song. The judges seemed to like her, but I just didn't see it. She seems to totally lack stage presence, personality or any style whatsoever.

Adriana Latonio did her best to provide a showstopper, but her youth and inexperience didn't quite allow her to measure up. She has a very nice voice and a sweet personality, but that's not enough to carry her through.

Candice Glover added some passion and energy to John Legend's Ordinary People. It was an outstanding interpretation of a great song that she was able to make even better.

There was some great talent to be found in the top 10 girls tonight but only 5 can make it through. Here's my prediction: Aubrey Cleland, Janelle Arthur, Angie Miller, Amber Holcomb and Candice Glover.

The Top 9 - Sing Heroes

The Top 9 finalists received some professional advice from Stevie Nicks and they were able to select a song from their personal music heroes:

Colton Dixon chose to sing a song by Lifehouse. It was an emotional and heartfelt ballad that allowed him to convey the substance and the meaning of the song. You could tell that this inspirational song of worship truly means something to him.

Skyar Laine chose to sing a song by Miranda Lambert, Gunpowder and Lead. This is the kind of tough girl anthem that is perfect for her. The vocals were strong, but she wasn't quite putting the genuine punch in the lyrics like she knew what she was singing about.

Colton, Elise, and Phillip came together to perform the Fleetwood Mac classic, Landslide with Colton on lead vocals. It was flawless. Elise took the mic to sing Stevie's signature hit Edge of Seventeen. It was a perfect match for her sound and look. Then Phillip took lead vocals on Don't Stop and it was no big surprise that he butchered it.

Heejun Han chose to sing A Song For You by Donnie Hathaway. He claimed he was going to take things more seriously, but he's still a big fake and a phoney. There wasn't a shred of sincerity in a single note that he sang. Boring and forgettable.

Hollie Cavanagh chose to sing the debut single from the Supreme Miss American Idol, Season 4 winner, Carrie Underwood, Jesus Take The Wheel. Hollie served up the real deal with her outstanding and impressive vocal range along with an emotional connection that was completely convincing and true.

Deandre Brackensick chose to sing Sometimes I Cry by Eric Benet. This was a heartbreaking R&B ballad that was interpreted by Deandre like a seasoned professional. He has a smooth and sultry falsetto that is made to make a man melt! Mmmm Mmmmm Good!

Jessica Sanchez chose to sing Sweet Dreams by Beyonce. AMAZING! Beyonce may be her hero, but Jessica did this song even better than Beyonce ever did! She slowed it down to be a ballad and seriously showcased that could seriously become a bigger star than her hero.

Deandrea, Joshua and Heejun performed a medley of Michael Jackson hits including The Lady in my Life, Rock With You and P.Y.T. This a was perfect fit for Deandre to completely shine and put Joshua and Heejun in the place of back-up singers where they are a better fit.

Phillip Phillips chose to sing a song by Johnny Lang. This allowed him to show the world who is and what he can do. And this is all he can do. He openly admits that he has no range, versatility or ability to appropriately interpret a musical theme or adapt to a different style.

Joshua Ledet chose to sing Without You that was a world wide smash hit for Mariah Carey in 1993. His voice couldn't be more different than Mariah's, so he was totally able to make it his own and he jam-packed it with an over the top emotional punch.

Jessica, Hollie and Skylar performed a medley of Madonna songs including Like A Prayer, Borderline and Express Yourself. These popular hits sounded better with the wonderful voices of these three young girls than Madonna could have ever lip-synced on her own.

Elise Testone chose to sing Whole Lotta Love by Led Zepplin. Elise is an all out ROCK STAR. She exuded some full on credibility as she tore the roof off the place. HOT HOT HOT!

It was a great night of live music entertainment, but it's still easy to make my prediction for the bottom three. It has to be Skylar, Heejun and Phillip. But the one certain to be going home has to be Heejun. That sappy drivel he served us tonight was unbearable and a complete insult to the memory of Donnie Hathaway. It's best to get rid of Heejun now so he won't be disrespectful to anyone else.

And the Season 10 Miss American Idol is.....

Hopefully we've got two hours of awesome music entertainment ahead of us while waiting to hear who the Season 10 Miss American Idol winner will be. Things got off to a great start with the top 13 finalists coming together again to perform one of the biggest hits of the year so far, Lady Gaga's Born This Way. She was a great mentor for the finalists just a few weeks ago and now her full album is set to sell 850,000 copies in its debut week.

While having Lauren and Scotty in the top two might lead us all to believe that the show was going to be all about country music, but that is not the case at all. The Season 10 Miss American Idol 3rd Runner-Up James Durbin set the house on fire with his hard rocking heavy metal collaboration with Judas Priest. The stage was a flame in leather and studs to put it mildly! We were then treated to a true legendary diva on stage when Gladys Knight performed I Smile. Jacob Lusk was very lucky to be her back up singer.

Jack Black is a very funny comedy rocker so his take on the Queen classic Fat Bottom Girls was very entertaining. Unfortunately it was ruined by the creepy presense of Casey Abrams who was leering and lurking around the stage like a crazed stalker.

The girls from the top 13 then took the stage to perform a fierce medley of Beyonce's greatest hits. Thia was wonderful taking lead vocals on Irreplaceable and Pia was superstar quality at the front and center of Deja Vu. The real Beyonce then joined the girls for a fabulous rendition of Crazy In Love. The girl group medleys continued with T-Boz and Chilli from TLC taking us back old school for their hits No Scrubs and Waterfalls.

Country superstar Tim McGraw joined Scotty on stage to sing his mega hit Live Like You Were Dying. Scotty really did an amazing job keeping up with Tim and his voice fit perfectly with the song.

The Season 10 Miss American Idol 2nd Runner Up, Haley Reinhart was lucky enough to get the opportunity to sing a duet of Stepping Out with the legendary Tony Bennett. He was all class and she was all unintentional comedy.

Being married to one of the American Idol judges gives you the chance to perform on stage for this huge audience and there was no way that Marc Anthony was going to let this slip through his fingers. Jennifer played the role of background dancer while Marc entertained the crowd with his salsa extravaganza.

The boys from the top 13 performed a medley of songs from the Tom Jones greatest hits colelction. Stefano was the stand-out taking lead vocals on Kiss, which everyone really knows as a Prince song. Then Tom joined the boys for the popular favorite It's Not Unusual that is always a crowd pleaser no matter how old it is.

Lady Gaga is on track to being named the 2011 Artist of the Year and this performance of Edge of Glory is definitely a huge contributing factor. She was on top of a platform at center stage belting out this amazing anthem and dancing with a very handsome and sexy shirtless man. It is certain that after this outstanding spectacle she has recruited more montsters to put their paws up and join her!

The Supreme Miss American Idol, season 4 winner, Carrie Underwood, was the only member of the Idol Alumni Association to take the stage tonight. Lauren started out with the first verse of Before He Cheats and thankfully Carrie came out to join her. Lauren, unfortunately, seemed very intimidated in the presense of Carrie's greatness so this duet was very one sided.

Beyonce is about to release her fourth solo album and she has been hitting the media outlets hard with promotion. The first single, Girls Rule The World, has been out for a few weeks and even had its video premiere on American Idol last week, but it has still failed to reach the top 10 of the Billboard HOT 100. It's simply not very good compared to her previous jams. And now, she is ready to push another single, 1+1, that she performed tonight, but it's not very good either. Beyonce needs to get some better material.

Dragging out the announcement of the new American Idol a little bit longer, U2 took the stage in a desperate attempt to make their SpiderMan Broadway musical a hit. SpiderMan came flying over the heads of the audience while they sang one of the songs. It was visually interesting, but it didn't sound so fantastic. Finally, Steven Tyler had his chance to get center stage and sing Dream On.

And then the time arrived at last for Scotty and Lauren to stand together in the spotlight and have Ryan open the envelope that revealed that the Season 10 Miss American Idol winner is...... SCOTTY MCCREERY!

He took the mic to sing his new single, I Love You This Big, and went into the audience to hug his family and the rest of the finalists. He seemed very humbled and overwhelmed as the glitter fell all around him.

The Top 3 Perform

The Top 3 finalists will each perform three times tonight: 1. Their own personal song choice 2. a song selected by music producer Jimmy Iovine 3. a song selected by the judges. Pop music superstar Beyonce helped them work on their own personal choices:

Lonestar spent two weeks at #1 on the Billboard HOT 100 in 2000 with Amazed. Beyonce thought this song would allow Scotty McCreery to show more of his vocal range so he went for it full force. But even with throwing in some higher notes this song didn't feel like a natural fit for his style and personality.

Faith Hill had a hit in 1993 with Wild One and Lauren Alaina did her best to get over her nervous nature and sing her little heart out. Even Beyonce could notice that she is surrounded by uncertainty every time she tries to sing. She was doing her best to let go, but it came off as strained and screaming in a few places.

Led Zeppelin included What Is and What Should Never Be on their 1969 epic album Led Zeppelin II. Beyonce was very generous in praising the courage of Haley Reinhart for making this selection. Haley has many of the qualities necessary to be a star, including courage, but the fact remains that all the guts in the world isn't going to make up for the lack of talent. She is just a kid getting up there on stage and play acting.

Jimmy selected Are You Gonna Kiss Me Or Not by Thompson Square for Scotty. One of the best things to be said about an Idol finalist is that he sang the song better than the original and once again, that can not be said about Scotty's rendition. It was good, but it didn't come close to the fun and frolic to be found in the one we can see on CMT any time we want.

Jimmy selected If I Die Young by The Band Perry for Lauren. This one got close to being better than the original from the vocal range stand point, but it fell short in the area of emotional connection. In addition, her performances are always marred by her lack of confidence.

Jimmy selected Rhiannon by Fleetwood Mac for Haley. Along with her lack of talent this performance showcased her complete lack of an interesting personality. Stevie Nicks is an iconic persona where Haley is just a mess.

The judges selected the Kenny Rogers #5 hit from 1979, She Believes In Me, for Scotty. He's such a good kid with a full deep bass that sounds pure and clean. It would be nice if he had some personality traits with some energy or a performance style that was interesting, but he's so bland. He did a very good job with the song, but he has no texture to his voice to really make it special.

The judges selected the 2000 Grammy winner for Best Country Song, I Hope You Dance, for Lauren. She's a really sweet girl that would be lots of fun to go shopping at the mall with, but she has zero stage presence. Even when she hits a few nice notes she still appears scared and unsure of herself. This truly is one of the best songs ever and Lauren was just going through the motions.

The judges selected Alanis Morissette's You Oughta Know for Haley. This song let her scream her heart out and it didn't matter that she has no talent. I didn't think it was possible, but Haley's version was even more dreadful than the awful original.

Now more than ever I am convinced that Haley is only on the show this season because of some high powered connection that bought her this opportunity. I can't even begin to be able to predict which two will make it to the finals as none of these three have completely won me over. So I'm just going go with the boy and girl next door team of Scotty and Lauren making it through and predicting that Haley will finally be taken out of the running. But what do I know??????

Crush

As you all know, when David Cook ended up being crowned the Season 7 Miss American Idol, all of my attention went toward feeling bad for cute little David Archuleta. The judges set him up all season to think he was certain to get the crown. When he didn't, you could see that he was blind-sided by the news.

David Cook then went on to dominate the Billboard HOT 100 (for one week at least) with 11 songs debuting in the same week. David Archuleta had to once again settle for being in the shadows, but this week, his time in the spotlight has come! David Archuleta's first original single "Crush" has sold 166,000 downloads in the United States, according to Nielsen SoundScan, and opens at #2 on the Billboard HOT 100.

Compared to the chart achievements of the other American Idols, this is pretty amazing. Even David Cook's The Time Of My Life only peaked at #3. The only other Idol single to get up to #2 is Kelly Clarkson's Since U Been Gone from 2005. This is a very promising start to David Archuleta's music career.

Jordin Sparks, meanwhile, is continuing to inch up the Billboard HOT 100 with One Step at a Time which is now up to #21 this week.

The other exciting news to come out involves the Supreme Miss American Idol, Carrie Underwood, releasing a benefit single with some of the other biggest musical divas in the business. She will be joining 14 other superstars on the single to be released on Sept. 2nd that will benefit cancer research. The impressive list includes the biggest hitmakers of recent years, Fergie, Rihanna and Beyonce, and three other divas who share the honor of winning the Grammy for Best New Artist just like Carrie Underwood did. Those other divas are Sheryl Crow, the amazing Leann Rimes and the biggest mega-superstar diva of all time, Mariah Carey.

I will be right there on iTunes the day this song is available to buy it immediately. I haven't even heard it yet, but it's already my favorite song of the year!