History AwesomeMusic / Pop

* "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hq3Q3FfJkK4n Footloose]]" by Kenny Loggins is just made up of awesome.

* Mis-Teeq's "Scandalous" (or as most people recognize it, the theme to ''Catwoman'') is an excellent dance song.

* SClub7 may be cheesy teen pop, but [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8FR0SBQd4X4 "Have You Ever"]] is pretty good.

%% ZeroContextExample entries are not allowed on wiki pages. All such entries have been commented out. Do not uncomment them without expanding them to explain what makes them awesome. A list of song titles is not context. "___ definitely qualifies" is not context. Write the example so that someone who has never heard of the song might understand why it is awesome.

* Bon Iver's cover of Peter Gabriel's "Come Talk to Me". Wow. Just... Wow. Though everything he does is MadeOfWin.

* [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SRsZ_PjPyVw "Karma Killer"]] by Music/RobbieWilliams, is a spectacular, vicious TakeThat against... somebody. Possibly Music/TakeThatBand, which would be MadeOfWin.

%%* {{Erasure}}. "A Little Respect" is positively ''made of amazing''.

** For 35 years, only one song (Music/TheBeatles' "Hey Jude" in the fall of 1968) could match the nine-week No. 1 run of "Auf Wiederseh'n Sweetheart", with EltonJohn's double-sided smash "Candle in the Wind 1997"/"Something About the Way You Look Tonight" finally surpassing Lynn and the Fab Four by Christmas 1997, en route to Elton's eventual 14-week ride at No. 1 (since tied with 2015's "Uptown Funk!" by Mark Ronson). Both "Auf Wiederseh'n Sweetheart" and "Hey Jude" remain tied for fourth on the all-time longest-running No. 1 U.S. pop hits by British artists.

** "Bad Romance". Suddenly it becomes clear that, no, this isn't just an eccentric yet generic pop star, LoveItOrHateIt, her music is taking this somewhere different.

* '''Sir John Lennon''' and his fantastic, international peace-and-love-anthem song "Imagine".

** Her EP ''Once Upon Another Time'' is the best thing she's ever done.. With [[DreamTeam Ben Folds]] producing, and every song in a different genre, it should be a classic. Especially "Lie To Me".

* Vera Lynn, a British singer-songwriter of the 1940s through mid-1950s who broke ground in so many ways. Lynn – born Vera Margaret Welch March 20, 1917 in London – became one of the first, if not the first British artist to gain widespread popularity in the United States, but it doesn't end there. In 1952, at the peak of her popularity, she released the song "Auf Wiederseh'n Sweetheart", a ballad that went on to reach No. 1 on all three of ''Billboard'' magazine's popular music charts in use at the time (Best Sellers in Stores, Most Played by Disc Jockeys and Most Played in Jukeboxes, for nine, six and four weeks, respectively) that summer. (The chart generally considered to be the gauge of popularity at the time was the Best Sellers chart, meaning "Auf Wiederseh'n Sweetheart" is generally credited with a nine-week No. 1 run on ''Billboard'''s pop charts.) Think about this for a second as you consider the following:

* Music/TakeThat (the band, not the trope):

* [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SRsZ_PjPyVw "Karma Killer"]] by Robbie Williams, is a spectacular, vicious TakeThat against... somebody. Possibly Music/TakeThat, which would be MadeOfWin.

* Say what you will about LindsayLohan, but she has some damn good songs. This might be sacrilege, but her cover of Stevie Nicks song "Edge of Seventeen" is actually pretty good. She doesn't stray too far from the original, and her raspy voice is a good fit for the song.

* Music/KylieMinogue's "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aNNAkCyCyBw Light Years]]"; a dazzling piece of dance, and a perfect conclusion to the album of the same name

* Music/KylieMinogue's "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aNNAkCyCyBw Light Years]]"; a dazzling piece of dance, and a perfect conclusion to the album of the same name.

* No love for Music/KylieMinogue? Try "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aNNAkCyCyBw Light Years]]"; a dazzling piece of dance, and a perfect conclusion to the album of the same name.

* Mis-Teeq's "Scandolous" (or as most people recognize it, the theme to ''Catwoman'') is an excellent dance song.

* Girls Aloud's [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bBPtP4t2J1k "Biology"]] and [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T2rZVOdOCPY "Sexy! No No No..."]]. The songs' lyrics and structure might not make any sense but by the time the songs are over, it has wormed your way into your heard and you just want to listen again to figure out what just hit you.

** The Stop remix of "(You Drive Me) Crazy." Its raw power and crowd singing in unison can transport any listen all the way back to the late 90s!

** "Here We Go" sounds like it's MADE for a Bond film. And who xould ever forget their kickass cover of "Teenage Dirtbag" by Wheatus?

** The Stop remix of "(You Drive Me) Crazy." Holy. Shit.

* Music/JenniferLopez. It's almost impossible to resist dancing to songs like "Dance Again", "On The Floor", "Love Don't Cost A Thing", "Papi", "Jenny From The Block" and "Let's Get Loud".

* Dusty Springfield, folks. Dusty. Springfield. "Dusty in Memphis" is a fracking masterpiece. An amazing talent, much missed.

* {{Music/Madonna}}. Her best stuff in the 80s defined a generation of women and gay men. Try looking at a wedding gown the same way after ''those'' [=VMAs=].
** "Vogue". That song just kicks so muck ass...

* The Jackson 5 and "I Want You Back". Not only did it hit #1 (as did the next four Jackson 5 singles), not only has it been sampled and sampled and sampled ("Izzo" and "Jump" and "My Baby" and "Take Me There"), not only did KT Tunstall put together [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xANiW9yWvGE a staggering SOLO live performance of it]], but the "all I need!" at the end of the breakdown is as pure as pop has ever gotten, or likely ever will.

* [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7f_HsjpSVaI "Holding Out for a Hero"]] by Bonnie Tyler. Awesome by itself but quite possibly '''the''' best driving song ever.

* Say what you want about the quality of the TV show, but Series/HannahMontana's [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t93u0qg5q_M "Nobody's Perfect"]] is just plain awesome.
** Music/MileyCyrus got a similar reaction to [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3RSlhNJFohI "Fly on the Wall"]]. It was seen as the turning point where she stopped doing the rather generic songs Disney was giving her and was growing into a true artist.

* [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8UVNT4wvIGY "Somebody That I Used To Know"]] by Gotye. The entire song is amazing and haunting, with great production and lyrics. [[UpToEleven And then Kimbra comes in.]] The song pretty much needs its own trope page. Not to mention the music video, which compliments the song beautifully.

* I Blame Coco's [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0j6VoW6vv9Y "Selfmachine"]].

* Music/SimonAndGarfunkel are one of the greatest folk duos ever to pick up a guitar and a microphone. The reasons why are many.
** [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4fWyzwo1xg0 "The Sound of Silence"]] was the song that put them on the map (though it took a few attempts to do so; it appeared on both their unsuccessful first album ''Wednesday Morning, 3 A.M.'' and their more successful second album ''Sounds of Silence''), and the haunting lyrics about humanity's inability to communicate are some of Paul Simon's best. It forms one bookend of their second album; the proudly anti-social "I Am a Rock" forms the other, the singer outright refusing to communicate with the outside world for fear he will be hurt as he has been in the past.
** From ''Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme'', we have the brilliantly constructed and beautifully rendered "title track", "Scarborough Fair/Canticle". While based in England, Paul Simon was introduced to the English folk song "Scarborough Fair" by Martin Carthy, but they decided to give the song that little bit extra by re-working Simon's anti-war solo ballad "The Side of a Hill" with a new melody by Art Garfunkel to be sung in counterpoint as "Canticle". Add a dreamlike acoustic guitar riff, harpsichord, and glockenspiel, and you have all the makings of an absolute classic. The album also gives us the travelling musician's anthem "Homeward Bound", the buoyant "59th Street Bridge Song (Feelin' Groovy)", and the enigmatic "For Emily, Wherever I May Find Her" (just who - or what - is Emily? Simon and Garfunkel have given several possible answers).
** ''Bookends'' boasts the irresistibly catchy "Mrs. Robinson", made famous by its use in ''Film/TheGraduate''; the driving guitar rhythm and spiky brass of "Hazy Shade of Winter"; the gradual build of energy leading into the refrain of the "road trip" classic "America"; and the wistful "Old Friends" with its orchestral score that leads straight into a reprise of the gentle "Bookends Theme" that opens the album, now with lyrics that pick up the thread from the previous song:
--->Time it was, and what a time it was, it was\\
A time of innocence, a time of confidences\\
Long ago, it must be, I have a photograph\\
Preserve your memories, they're all that's left you
** The entire album ''Bridge Over Troubled Water''. The title track is pure dynamite, especially once Paul Simon joins Art Garfunkel on vocals; "El Condor Pasa (If I Could)" makes excellent use of Daniel Robles' Peruvian folk-inspired tune with haunting lyrics about preferring to take action rather than be acted upon; "Keep the Customer Satisfied" features a positively explosive use of big band brass; [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l3LFML_pxlY "The Boxer"]] is a plaintive, beautifully sung classic;[[note]] Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel insist that the so-called "lie li-lie" refrain is actually "la la-la", but no-one believes them - not even their own children.[[/note]] and "The Only Living Boy in New York" sticks long in the memory with its heavily echoed vocalise refrain and lyrics appealing to the memory of the duo's early years even as they grew apart.

** His cover of "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun", and "Another Life To Lose", which is a Coldplay-size TearJerker.

* Music/OwlCity: "Hot Air Balloon", "Fireflies", "Panda Bear", "Tip of the Iceberg" and "Deer in the Headlights" were all especially memorable.
** [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9l5yajhtPk4 "Alligator Sky"]].
** Or "Vanilla Twilight" or "On The Wing" or "Strawberry Avalanche"... Or just about anything by them.

* Music/{{Adele}} has SO many. Among them are "Rolling In The Deep", "Chasing Pavements", "Someone Like You", and "Rumour Has It".

* Styx, especially "Mr Roboto", "Come Sail Away" and "Renegade".

* Music/KatyPerry's ''[[EvenBetterSequel Teenage Dream]]'' album. "California Gurls", "Teenage Dream", and "Firework" just win in so many unique ways.

* Music/ImogenHeap. You've probably heard heard "Hide and Seek" one way or another, but try to listen to "The Moment I Said It" or "Half Life" without being moved. "Aha!" and "Daylight Robbery" are also awesome, but in a different way.

*** "So Pure" was a crowning moment because it was fun, it was cute, it didn't have a case of "I'm going to fit as many syllables as I can onto a line"-itis. The video was cool too.

* Music/LadyGaga's "Bad Romance". Suddenly it becomes clear that, no, this isn't just an eccentric yet generic pop star, LoveItOrHateIt, her music is taking this somewhere different.

* Music/DepecheMode! Their song "Precious", live, is an awe-inspiring experience.

* Say what you will about LindsayLohan, but she has some damn good songs, such as: "Rumors", "Speak", "Confessions Of A Broken Heart (Daughter To Father)", "Bossy", "Can't Stop Won't Stop", "Too Young To Die", "Stay", and "Stuck".
** This might be sacrilege, but her cover of Stevie Nicks song "Edge of Seventeen" is actually pretty good. She doesn't stray too far from the original, and her raspy voice is a good fit for the song.

%%* Music/TakeThat (the band, not the trope). "Never Forget" and "Love Love" to name but two.

* Music/ChristinaAguilera's [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ScjucUV8v0 "Candyman"]] is a [[GenreThrowback old-school]], jazzy, raunchy good time. [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=86W8gLaRm24 "Still Dirrty"]] is friggin awesome too.

* Music/JessieJ's "Domino" is so incredibly infectious that you just can't help but sing along to it.

* Most songs by The Police, and everything by Sting. The band reformed in 1986 to release a new version of "Don't Stand So Close To Me". By this point, Sting was venturing into jazz and experimental albums, and had expanded his vocal range; Andy Summers had been playing guitar forever; and Stewart Copeland had scored movie themes. It. Was. [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QzToHyAq17E AWESOME.]]

** The entire album ''Bridge Over Troubled Water''. The title track in particular is pure dynamite.
** ''Bookends'' is another classic album. Start with "Mrs. Robinson" and go from there.
** [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l3LFML_pxlY "The Boxer"]] is a plaintive, beautifully sung classic.[[note]] Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel insist that the so-called "lie li-lie" refrain is actually "la la-la", but no-one believes them - not even their own children.[[/note]]
** [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4fWyzwo1xg0 "The Sounds of Silence"]] was the song that put them on the map (though it took a few attempts to do so), and the haunting lyrics about humanity's inability to communicate are some of Paul Simon's best.
* "Music/WeAreTheWorld". You got Music/LionelRichie, Music/RayCharles, Music/StevieWonder, Music/BruceSpringsteen, Music/MichaelJackson, Music/BillyJoel, Music/WillieNelson, numerous others, and a [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M9BNoNFKCBI HUGE backing choir of well known names]].
** And twenty-five years later, they released [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Glny4jSciVI another version]] with another all-star line-up.

* If you can't sing along or dance to Music/{{Fun}}'s "We Are Young", you seriously need to see a doctor.
** Along with "We Are Young", we have "Some Nights", another one of their simply amazing mainstream hits.

* Even though it was for ''Twilight'', Music/ChristinaPerri's song "A Thousand Years" is especially awesome. Even more so since it perfectly fits ''Anime/PuellaMagiMadokaMagica''. Fans of either are likely to use it for wedding dances for many years to come.

* Music/{{Lorde}}'s "Royals". With its catchy {{minimalis|m}}t snap beat, her intelligent lyrics and her wonderful vocals, it's no wonder it broke into the U.S. at #1 on the Billboard Hot 100.

* All four songs from ''Heartbeats'', Versant's only EP, are excellent, with intelligent lyrics and intense instrumental and vocal work.

* Aloe Blacc's soulful, energetic performance on [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HGy9i8vvCxk The Man]] makes you feel warm all over.

* Icona Pop's "On a Roll" is perhaps the most [[EarWorm awesomely catchy]] electropop song ever created.

* Music/BackstreetBoys: Play "I Want It That Way" at any karaoke bar or party and see what happens. Or... play "Drowning" when you're alone and watch the same affect except solitary.

* Music/{{Rihanna}}'s "Umbrella". Oh, so good...
** And the Manic Street Preachers' [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=inzGVKxPajI cover.]]
** And the [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-3qrgqpX2Ho cover]] by the acapella group The Duke's Men of Yale. Also a SugarWiki/{{Funny Moment|s}} if you can see them do it live with choreography.

* Music/{{Pink}}. "Sober" is hands down one of the most emotional songs of the 2000's. And let's face it, we've all gotten "So What" stuck in our heads.

** "Blow Me (One Last Kiss)" rivals "Since U Been Gone" by {{Music/Kelly Clarkson}} as the greatest breakup anthem, ever. Those lyrics...
--> I'll dress nice, I'll look good, I'll go dancing alone,
--> I will laugh, I'll get drunk, I'll take somebody home...

* In 2009, Kelly Clarkson released [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HZGhQEtb9xM "My Life Would Suck Without You"]]. It not only kicked ridiculous amounts of ass, it rocketed from #97 to #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 within two weeks. '''Two''' weeks! That's what you call an overnight success and if that doesn't scream CrowningMusicOfAwesome, nothing does.

** "Since U Been Gone" anyone? The bitter breakup lyrics, the guitar solo, and her confident vocals? It has appeared on over 40 albums, both Entertainment Weekly ''and'' The Atlantic Magazine named it the best song of the 2000's, and it ''even made Rolling Stone's "500 Greatest Songs of All Time" List''. That's quite a feat coming from a singer whose future was questionable after her {{Series/American Idol}} fame had died down. This song proved Kelly was here to stay, and she wasn't just another fluke winner of a reality show.

* Music/BritneySpears' full discography, including, but no way being limited to, "Womanizer", "Circus", "Hold It Against Me", "...Baby One More Time", "Toxic", "I'm a Slave 4 U" and "Oops!...I Did It Again".

** "Till the World Ends"'s soaring chorus and thumping beat can make anyone want to get up and dance.

* Cyndi Lauper. Specifically, "Time After Time", "Unchained Melody", "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun" and lots of others.
** "Time After Time" also has [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jWy0DhVgZn0 the Quietdrive cover.]]

* Justin Timberlake's [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U41KPUfOSFk "Mirrors"]] is amazing. It gives us many reasons to welcome him back to mainstream pop.

* Music/FrankieGoesToHollywood had numerous awesome moments, but the 12" "Annihilation" mix of "Two Tribes" takes the cake. Not only do you get the EpicRiff intro, but also the magnificent black humour of Patrick Allen telling us exactly what to do if your grandmother or any other member of the family should die while in the fallout shelter.

** Blow Me (One Last Kiss) rivals "Since U Been Gone" by {{Music/Kelly Clarkson}} as the greatest breakup anthem, ever. Those lyrics...

--> I will laugh, I'll get drunk, I'll take somebody home

** "Since U Been Gone" anyone? The bitter breakup lyrics, the guitar solo, and her confident vocals? It has appeared on over 40 albums, both Entertainment Weekly ''and'' The Atlantic Magazine named it the best song of the 2000's, and it ''even made Rolling Stone's "500 Greatest Songs of All Time List''. That's quite a feat coming from a singer whose future was questionable after her {{Series/American Idol}} fame had died down. This song proved Kelly was here to stay, and she wasn't just another fluke winner of a reality show.