Psy

Psy

With 2012 coming to its end, we’ve decided to have a look back at the year and find the biggest songs to have hit the airwaves this year.

While we may not have loved, liked, or even tolerated all of this list (you’ll find what we though were the best and worse songs of the year coming up tomorrow and the day after), these were the five most popular tracks to be brought out in 2012.

 

5) Rihanna – Diamonds

After all the PR mistakes this year, everyone was just wanting Rihanna to get back to the music. When she did, she didn’t take any prisoners.

Her return came in the shape of Diamonds, a Sia penned ballad that really aloud Rihanna to flex her vocal muscles and really found a home in the hearts of Rihanna’s followers.

The song hit the charts like a hammer, getting to the top of the pile in the UK, US and thirteen other countries upon its release, as well as a gargantuan amount of radio airplay.

Click here to buy Rihanna – Diamonds

4) Taylor Swift – We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together

Taylor Swift’s love life has now become a bigger topic of conversation and it all started with this rather barefaced breakup song.

With a chorus that will not escape your head all day once it gets in there, Taylor Swift’s latest ballad about her continuingly poor love life choices was the impetus behind her fourth album Red becoming the fast selling album of the year in the US and getting her number one slots all over the globe.

The song has now been Grammy nominated and was called the second best song of the year by Rolling Stone. No bad going for a good old fashioned moan.

Click here to buy Taylor Swift – We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together

3) Carly Rae Jespsen – Call Me Maybe

After finishing third in Canadian idol four years ago, it’s not all gone quite to plan for Carly Rae Jespen with her being forced to pay her band in meals and struggling to get a record deal.

Call Me Maybe came out of nowhere, and instantly became an internet sensation.

Thanks to a ridiculously catchy chorus, fun hooks and hopelessly upbeat backing track, Call Me Maybe was a smash hit on the web, a success that was echoed in the charts, with the song going to number one in nearly twenty charts around the world.

Nine months and countless parodies later, many of which are in the millions of views themselves online, the song was definitely the pop tune of the summer and like Swift’s tune has been Grammy nominated.

The video’s success even got to become the first act signed to Justin Bieber’s record label and has made her a full blown pop sensation in the blink of an eye. It wasn’t the easiest road to glory, but Carly Rae Jepsen’s finally getting the rewards for her labours over the past few years.

Click here to buy Carly Rae Jespsen – Call Me Maybe

2) Gotye – Somebody That I Used To Know

Despite being released to the public last year, it was only in 2012 that Gotye’s track Somebody That I Used To Know became a sensation.

Featuring New Zealand based singer Kimbra, this sombre ballad of a romance gone wrong struck a real chord with viewers, brought in by Gotye’s amazing vocal and he heartfelt lyrics making it a wonderfully alternative pop song.

After attracting millions of views in no time whatsoever, the song was finally released as a single and went to number one in nearly 30 different countries around the world, making it a certified worldwide smash hit.

Gotye’s not afraid of never reaching the same heights again, quite content with being called a one hit wonder. When you’re one hit’s that big, it’s hard not to agree with him.

Click here to buy Gotye – Somebody That I Used To Know

1) Psy – Gangnam Style

Was there ever going to be anything else that topped this list?

No other song broke across not only the continental barrier, but the language one too, making South Korean rapper Psy into a global phenomenon.

Over the second half of the year it’s been impossible to escape the Korean track, as it’s been all over the TV, radio and the internet. Everywhere celebrities are trying to do the dance, parodies are popping up and Psy has even picked up prizes at award shows and a contract with Scooter Braun.

The key to it wasn’t just the super catchy song. It was the crazed, insane video that accompanied it that made Gangnam Style the biggest thing to hit the internet and music industries this year. Even after so much exposure, the video is still hilarious, Psy’s dancing still brilliant and the song as listenable to as ever before.

Now officially the most watched video on YouTube, cruising up to a billion views withing six months of its release, Gangnam Style is unquestionably the biggest song to have come out of 2012

Click here to buy Psy – Gangnam Style

So, how many of that five did you have on repeat this year? Let us know in the comments below and make sure you check back in tomorrow to hear what our favourite singles of the year were.

FemaleFirst Cameron smith

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