Top 10 Songs of 2022

 The Top 10 songs of 2022!!

2022 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:

About Damn Time - Lizzo

The world is so lucky to have a genuinely dynamic and interesting artist like Lizzo giving her voice and personality to such fun, catchy and great music. She is truly a breath of fresh air in the toxic environment of social media attention seekers. It's About Damn Time that she gets the recognition, accolades and awards she deserves.      

Late Night Talking - Harry Styles

From the moment the beat kicks in you are transported to the disco ball illuminated roller rink to thoroughly enjoy this slice of artfully crafted pop music perfection.    

Shivers - Ed Sheeran 

Ed's follow up single to last year's Bad Habits proved that he means business when it comes to being more than just a sweet and nice balladeer. Shivers kept us dancing tapping our toes all the way into the new year.        

I Like You - Post Malone and Doja Cat

While it's been a couple of years since Post Malone delivered an across the board pop smash, Doja Cat has been on a hot streak for three years in a row now. The two of them together guaranteed a sure fire across the board crowd pleaser.           

Big Energy (REMIX) - Latto and Mariah Carey

Tom Tom Club's Genius of Love has to be the most well-liked song for sampling in history. Already a huge #1 hit used in Fantasy by Mariah Carey in 1995 it came back again this year and Latto was very smart to invite Mariah back for the ride. The song was stalling on the charts until the remix breathed new life into it and suddenly it was inescapable.          

Sun Roof - Nicky Youre and Dazy

This song came out of nowhere from a completely new artist and it became an immediately memorable part of the pop music soundtrack for the year.          

Bad Habit - Steve Lacy

Gotta love it when a rap/hip hop artist comes out as bisexual - sparking your interest - and then listening to find that you genuinely enjoy the song.         

The Kind of Love We Make - Luke Combs

For two years in a row now he has won the CMA Country Music Association Entertainer of the Year and it's because he knows how to crank out powerful love songs with a great beat. Play this with the man you love and see if it doesn't help put you both in a good mood.    

As It Was - Harry Styles

He's a text book case study for the artist who wants to be the most successful break out solo act after being a part of the biggest boy band in history. The high fashion persona, the sexually fluid appeal to anyone and everyone along with the catchy hits with a great beat. Turn on any radio station for the entire year and this song was playing - SUCCESS!   

I Ain't Worried - One Republic 

One of the best parts of the first Top Gun movie was the hit packed soundtrack. While the Top Gun sequel all these years later failed to deliver multiple hits, it did serve this very buoyant jam to entertain our ears as we left the theater.  

2014 Year End Charts

The #1 album on the Billboard charts for all of 2014 is The Soundtrack to the movie Frozen featuring Idina Menzel.

There were some strong showings from the Miss American Idol finalists on the 2014 year end charts. The Season 1 Miss American Idol winner, Kelly Clarkson has the highest ranking at #17 with her holiday album Wrapped in Red. The Season 5 Miss American Idol third runner up, Chris Daughtry comes in at #86 with his album Baptized. The Season 10 Miss American Idol winner, Scotty McCreery, comes in at #170 with his album See You Tonight. The Sound of Music: Music from the NBC Television Event featuring songs from the Supreme Miss American Idol, Season 4 winner, Carrie Underwood, finishes out the year at #197.

The Top 5 singles for 2014 on the Billboard HOT 100 are: #1 Happy by Pharrell Williams, #2 Dark Horse by Katy Perry, #3 All Of Me by John Legend, #4 Fancy by Iggy Azalea and at #5 Counting Stars by OneRepublic.

The Miss American Idol finalist who makes the highest showing on the year end singles chart is also the ONLY Miss American Idol finalist who made the chart. It is no surprise that it is the Supreme Miss American, Season 4 winner, Carrie Underwood. at #99 with her duet with Miranda Lambert, Somethin' Bad.

The Miss American Idol winners also had a minimal showing on the Billboard 2014 Top Artists of the Year chart:  The Season 1 Miss American Idol winner Kelly Clarkson lands at #97.

The Results - Motown

The results show this week was even much more of a concert than usual. The actual results were pushed all the way back to the end of the show without anything being revealed until the very last last 5 minutes!

We started out with the Top 8 finalists doing a group performance of Bob Seger's Old Time Rock and Roll and then Season 11 Miss American Idol finalist, Colton Dixon returned to the Idol stage. Colton has done pretty well in the area of Christian Rock. He has released an album that has topped the Gospel and Christian charts, but it really just sounds like some fun pop rock music. He performed his latest single, Love Has Come For Me.

The Season 5 Miss American Idol 1st Runner Up, Katharine McPhee, has been singing some amazing music every week on the awesome TV show Smash every week, but she didn't perform any of that music for her return visit tonight. Instead she joined pop group One Republic on there latest single. Katharine looks and sounds wonderful in everything she does these days. It was nice to see her.

American Idol judge Keith Urban does not have a new album out, so he took the stage and sang one of his great songs from his 2010 album, Get Closer. He is a great artist and the song Long Hot Summer was a wonderful introduction to him for those fans who might not be aware of how accomplished he is.

After the complete disaster of a group performance from last night it was no surprise that the three boys, Lazaro, Devin and Burnell were in the bottom three while all of the girls were safe. It turned out that Devin had to sing for his life and even though he genuinely moved the crowd with his outstanding version of Impossible, the judges chose to not use their save and he has been eliminated from the competition too soon.

I only got one of my predictions right this week.   

The Top 12 boys take their first shot...

After the lackluster performances from the girls last night, the boys have hopefully learned their lesson and are ready to blow us away tonight...

Todrick Hall is 24 and he decided to sing Since U Been Gone that the Season One Miss American Idol winner took to #2 in 2005. You have to applaud Todrick's effort to mix it up and take this pop rock anthem and turn it into a hip hop jam, but his weak vocals took all the excitement away.

Aaron Kelly is 16 and he decided to sing the 2009 Rascal Flatt's hit Here Comes Goodbye. Aaron took a risk by singing a song with the word "goodbye" in it as he could be predicting what he'll be doing tomorrow night. The vocals were pretty good, but the performance was plain boring.

Jermaine Sellers is 27 and he decided to sing Get Here that went to #5 for Oleta Adams in 1991. Jermaine did his best to over sing this jazzy old person favorite and make it more exciting than it actually was.

Tim Urban is 20 and he decided to sing the 2007 hit Apologize that hit #2 by One Republic. Tim owes many people including One Republic and the entire listening audience an apology for taking up 5 minutes of our lives with this bland offering. Next time it is suggested that everyone turn the volume down and just look at his cuteness without listening.

Joe Munoz is 20 and he decided to sing the non-hit You and I by Jason Mraz. It wasn't a hit for Jason and this forgettable rendition will not be a hit for Joe either. His nice vocals did very little to leave much of a mark.

Tyler Grady is 20 and he decided to sing the classic rock anthem that hit #1 in 1970 from the Guess Who, American Woman. Tyler has the image to be an entertainer in the spotlight, but his vocals simply aren't that good.

Lee Dewyze is 23 and he decided to sing Chasing Cars that was a hit in 2006 by Snow Patrol. Lee is the raspy singer that the rock fans are going to love, but he kinda made the song almost unrecognizable with his screaming.

John Park is 21 and he decided to sing the jazz standard made famous by Billie Holiday, God Bless The Child. This song was clearly very special to John, but even his impressive vocals weren't enough to make it sound current and fresh for a new audience.

Michael Lynche is 26 and he decided to sing the 2004 top 5 hit by Maroon 5, This Love. It's most noticeable that Michael is a really big guy taking up space on the stage, but he actually has some talent in there as well.

Alex Lambert is 19 and he decided to sing a complete hot mess disaster called Wonderful World. This poor young guy was such a nervous wreck on stage that it was a huge relief when it was finally over.

Casey James is 27 and he decided to sing the lovely ballad that Bryan Adams took to #1 in 1985, Heaven. Casey has a very easy going manner and vocal style that worked well with this familiar old favorite.

Andrew Garcia is 24 and he decided to sing the 2005 top 10 hit Sugar We're Going Down by Fall Out Boy. Andrew did his best to reinvent this fun rock song and make it into a boring acoustic ballad. It showed some originality, but it went in the wrong direction.

I wouldn't have believed it could be true, but the boys actually did worse than the girls! None of them really took advantage of the opportunity to make an exciting first impression. Casey James and Michael Lynche should be safely coming back next week, but the rest of these guys better hope their moms are calling in many votes to save them. I predict that Tim Urban and Alex Lambert will not be so lucky when the votes are counted....

The Top 3 sing the judges choice

For the first time in 8 seasons of American Idol, three boys have made it to the top. Here's what they did to prove they are worthy of wearing the Miss American Idol crown this season:

Danny Gokey went first singing a song selected by Paula Abdul. In 1988 Terence Trent D'arby hit #30 with his hit Dance Little Sister. It's a fun and energetic song that Terence brought his unique style to. Danny got up there and screamed like he usually does with absolutely no style or stage presence. There is nothing special about this finalist.

Kris Allen then performed his song that was selected by Kara and Randy. One of the biggest hits of 2007 spending many weeks in the top 5 on the Billboard HOT 100 was Apologize by One Republic. It's a haunting ballad with a hypnotic beat. Kris sat at the piano and mesmerized the crowd with his skillful and talented interpretation. And it goes without saying that he looked better than ever in the spotlight.

Adam Lambert was next singing his song personally chosen by Simon Cowell. U2 released One as a single in 1992 from their album Achtung Baby and it peaked at #10. Adam took this great song and made it even better. He brought even more emotion and more passion with his exceptional and unique vocals.

In case you were wondering when the Idol Gives Back show was going to be this year, we learned tonight that there isn't going to be one. The Supreme Miss American Idol, Season 4 winner, Carrie Underwood went all the way to Africa to provide an update on how the millions of dollars raised have been spent. A lot of great stuff has been done with the support of American Idol fans.

For the second round tonight, the top three finalists were able to select any song of their choice. Danny Gokey decided that he would take a stab at the top 5 classic ballad from 1975, You Are So Beautiful by Joe Cocker. The original version was such a huge success because it paired a simple sentiment with Joe Cocker's notable stage antics that were often described as spastic. Danny just sat there while his rendition of this amazing song provided nothing of note. His vocals were boring and his stage presence is non-existent.

Earlier this season Kanye West performed his recent #2 hit, Heartless, on the American Idol stage. I went on the record stating that his live performance was a mess and that Kanye cannot sing. Tonight Kris Allen demonstrated how this catchy pop hit should have sounded all along. He turned the song into an acoustic guitar extravaganza with smooth buttery vocals that just pulled in the audience and left us all wanting more.

The last performance of the night was Adam Lambert's thrilling interpretation of the #12 hit from 1993, Aerosmith's Cryin'. As the cover boy on the current edition of Entertainment Weekly, Adam is already the proven stand out star of the season. He has earned this position from his outstanding vocal range that he showcased tonight like he has every week so far. He genuinely takes command of the stage every time he steps up to the mic. He oozes star quality with every note he sings and every step he takes.

The prediction for who should be in the finals is a complete no brainer. Kris Allen has gotten better every week showing that he is so much more than a pretty face. He's a multi-talented musician with incredibly smooth vocal skills. Adam Lambert is already destined to hit the top of the charts with fresh and energetic hot hits. His voice and face demand to be on the radio and in videos. And then there's the lump named Danny Gokey. The judges have inappropriately showered praise on him all season and he's fallen for it. He thinks he's a great singer, yet he's only been able to scream and shriek week after week. Danny should spare himself the embarrassment and hope he doesn't make it to the finals next week. Let the talented finalists, Kris and Adam take that special place and give the fans a very exciting show.

2008 Year End Charts

The #1 album for all of 2008 on the Billboard chart is As I Am by Alicia Keys. It's no surprise that the only Miss American Idol finalist to be in the top ten on the Year End Album chart is the Supreme Miss American Idol, Season Four winner, Carrie Underwood. She lands at #9 with her hit packed second release, Carnival Ride.

You have to go all the way down to #33 to find the next Miss American Idol finalist represented on the chart. Season Five 3rd Runner Up Chris Daughtry continued to have success through 2008 with his first album that was the #1 album for all of 2007 on that Year End Chart. Just a little bit behind Daughtry, Jordin Sparks, the Season Six Miss American Idol winner ends up at #35 with her debut album.

Carrie Underwood's first release, Some Hearts, that first hit the shelves back in 2005, continues to sell so well that it holds onto the #89 position on the 2008 Year End Chart. Her three year old album came out ahead of the debut release from Oscar winner and Season Three finalist, Jennifer Hudson, who sits at #93.

The only other Miss American Idol finalist is represented further down the chart, the under-appreciated album from Season Six 1st Runner Up, Blake Lewis, could only beat box it's way to #150 on the 2008 Year End Chart.

The top 5 songs of 2008 on the Billboard HOT 100 singles chart are: 1. Low - Flo Rida 2. Bleeding Love - Leona Lewis 3. No One - Alicia Keys 4. Lolli Pop - Lil' Wayne 5. Apologize - One Republic.

Just missing the top 5, Season Six Miss American Idol winner, Jordin Sparks lands at #6 with her duet with Chris Brown, No Air. Chris Brown actually ended up as the #1 Artist on the entire Billboard HOT 100 also landing at #9 and #10 with his smash hit songs, With You and Forever. Jordin Sparks definitely selected the right person to work with in 2008!

All by herself Jordin managed to end up at #30 with her hit song, Tattoo. She also made the 2008 year end chart at #61 with her third single, One Step At A Time, all from her debut album.

Season Seven Miss American Idol winner, David Cook, logs in at #69 for the year with his winning song, The Time Of My Life. That's just a little bit above the first single from David Archuleta, The Season Seven Miss American Idol 1st Runner Up, who rests at #76 with Crush.

The final song from a Miss American Idol finalist to register on the 2008 year end Billboard HOT 100 chart comes from Chris Daughtry with Feels Like Tonight at #95.

Overall, it was another great year on the charts for the Miss American finalists. I can certainly say the Jordin Sparks turned out to exceed just about everyone's expectations. She got off to a very slow start, but proved she has what it takes to be a smash hit!

And the Season 7 American Idol is....

Here we are: Two hours of fun and entertainment until the crowning of the Season 7 Miss American Idol. It all started out with a preview of this year's American Idol tour as the top 12 finalists were reunited in a high energy performance of the top 5 smash from 1970 by Rare Earth, Get Ready. Then those other 10 finalists were dismissed so the fans could see the Davids come together for a great duet. You wouldn't think that their distinct styles would blend well together, but it turned out to be quite harmonious.

Mike Myers has officially crossed the line into being totally weird as his shameless promotion for the Love Guru was just plain creepy. Thankfully it was followed a very cool performance with Seal and this year's second runner up, Syesha Mercado of his hit Waiting For You. As we have come to expect, Syesha looked and sounded great. Then, on the other side of the coin, we were forced to endure Jason Castro mumble his way through Hallelujah again. Honestly, once was enough.

The top 6 girls: Kristy Lee Cook, Amanda Overmyer, Ramiele Malubay, Carly Smithson, Brooke White and Syesha Mercado joined together to bring to life an exciting Donna Summer medley including She Works Hard For The Money and the #1 smash, Hot Stuff. It was fun to see the Queen of Disco herself take the stage and sing her latest release before launching into the Oscar winning Best Original Song, Last Dance.

At the beginning of this season when we first saw the top 24, it is quite likely that many fans selected Carly Smithson and Michael Johns as front-runners to make it here to the finals. It was quite a surprise when they both got sent home way too early. For a a nice little consolation prize these two very talented singers had the chance to sing a duet in front of this huge audience. They gave a bouncy big band arrangement of a song by the Box Tops that spent four weeks at #1 in 1967, The Letter. Just a taste of what could have been....

The top 6 guys: David Hernandez, Chikezie, Michael Johns, Jason Castro and our top finalists, David Cook and David Archuleta joined forces to give us a Bryan Adams medley consisting of Summer of '69 and his #1 hit Heaven. This Canadian rocker came out to sing his latest jam and then wrapped things up with his hit Somebody.

This may come as a surprise to you, but one of the most recognized hits from ZZ Top, Sharp Dressed Man, was never released as a single and therefore, it never hit the Billboard HOT 100. Even so, it was still a nice sizzling opportunity for David Cook to rock out with the bearded guitar heroes. Much less sizzling was Brooke White sitting barefoot and strumming her guitar with Graham Nash. While the Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young top 20 hit from 1970, Teach Your Children is a classic song, this duet was just as drab as everything else Brooke gave us all season. The show needed a huge injection of youthful exuberance after this and no one does it better than THE JONAHS BROTHERS!!!!!! EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!! They were right there singing their hit SOS!!! EEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!

One Republic recently peaked at #2 earlier this year with their smooth synth pop song, Apologize. It was the perfect contemporary hit to match with David Archuleta's pure, sweet, sincere and earnest voice. The show is more than half over and there have been no appearances by any former American Idols! How can that be? Just when we thought Ruben's (Season 2 Miss American Idol) song last night was all we were going to get, the reigning queen, Season 6 Miss American Jordin Sparks came out on stage in glittering high heels and a spangled gold dress to sing her newest single, One Step At A Time. Her first single, Tattoo peaked at #8 and her latest, No Air is still in the the top 5 after peaking at #3. Who says the Idols aren't as successful as they used to be!

As if Jordin wasn't enough, the Idol alumni doesn't get any better than the Supreme Miss American Idol from Season Four, Carrie Underwood. She looked absolutely stunning as she belted out her new single, Last Name. Her stylist deserves an award. I mean seriously, her hair, that dress, her legs, her shoes - FLAWLESS! Carrie is just plain HOT! And the song is the catchiest thing ever. It started out, "hey cutie where are you from?" then in turned into - Oh NO what have I done!

The top 12 gave us one last medley of George Michael hits including, Faith, Father Figure and Freedom 90 before George graced the stage to sing his #1 smash that Carrie Underwood did so well on Idol Gives Back, Praying For Time.

Two hours of great entertainment flew by and it was finally time to give the Season 7 Miss American Idol crown to one of the Davids. The envelope was opened and David Archuleta had to step aside and give congratulations to this years winner - DAVID COOK! The rocker was brought to tears as he thanked his brother for encouraging him to give this a shot. He made it all the way to this night of having the glitter fall around him as he sang The Time Of My Life.