While 2012 may seem eons ago for many, we’re still rocking out to the tracks that topped the charts back then.
As we continue celebrating 7 years of T.H.E – Music Essentials, we decided to round up seven songs from over the past seven years that undoubtedly still have us sing and dance along in gay abandon when we hear them.
Here are our top picks for the earworms from over the past seven years that’ll probably be crowd pleasers even many many years later.
2012 – Don’t You Worry Child – Swedish House Mafia
Swedish House Mafia in themselves was a global phenomenon, but one doesn’t have to think twice to recall their most memorable track. How many times can you remember yourself yelling “Don’t you worry, don’t you worry child. Heavens got a plan for you” on the dance floor? If this isn’t the ultimate sing-along dance track of the century it leaves us wondering what could be!
2012 was quite the year for dance music as other noteworthy releases included “Clarity” by Zedd and “Reload” by one-third of the Swedish House Mafia trio, Sebastian Ingrosso.
2013 – Wake Me Up – Avicii
While we can now only wish we could wake him up, the late Avicii’s 2013 hit “Wake Me Up” dominated the charts and the hearts of his fans alike. Known for his catchy melodies and meaningful lyrics, thinking back today, the song holds a lot deeper meaning. Coming from his debut album True the track went on to become one of the most commercially successful dance music tracks ever.
2013 also saw the last of what we heard from Daft Punk with Random Access Memories, and particularly, the groovy “Get Lucky.” It was also the young 17-year old Martin Garrix broke onto the scene with “Animals.”
2014 – Summer – Calvin Harris
Calvin Harris is not only one of the highest paid DJ’s in the world, but also a constant hitmaker of sorts. His summer jam from 2014, “Summer” debuted at the top of charts and even got him into the Top 10 of the Billboard Top 100. The superstar DJ is now also kicking off a newly-announced residency at Ushuaïa Ibiza this summer from August-September 2019.
Another track that shot to the top in 2014 was “Get Low” by Dillon Francis and DJ Snake. The groovy track was accompanied by a vague video featuring both artists. The king of crossovers between dance music and pop, David Guetta also released one of his popular songs that year, “Lovers On The Sun.”
2015 – Lean On – Major Lazer
This one will linger on for many years to come, not just the infectious track that is “Lean On” but also the accompanying dance step that we see the trio of Major Lazer along with DJ Snake and MØ do through the video.
A common factor between the next track we have for 2015, is Diplo. “Where Are U Now” by Jack Ü (Skrillex & Diplo) brought around the return of Justin Beiber and also was his first of many to follow forrays into the world of dance music. Another spectacular release from 2015 was “Opus” by Eric Prydz. The man and his many monikers never cease to amaze, and this track was a testament to just that.
2016 – Closer – The Chainsmokers
Love them or hate them, The Chainsmokers are here to stay. After breaking to stardom with their viral single “#Selfie” in 2015, the duo followed it up in 2016 with a slew of hits, the biggest of the lot being “Closer.” In the United States, “Closer” became both The Chainsmokers’ and Halsey’s first number one single on the Billboard Hot 100 and the song stayed at the top spot for 12 consecutive weeks!
In a year that clearly saw a lot of pop influence in dance music, another stand out track was “This Is What You Came For” by Calvin Harris featuring Rihanna. And furthermore, “Let Me Love You” by DJ Snake and Justin Beiber also dropped the same year packing it with pop influences galore.
2017 – Something Just Like This – Coldplay and The Chainsmokers
After they caught momentum, there was pretty much no stopping The Chainsmokers. Dominating another consecutive year with their unlikely collaboration “Something Just Like This” with Coldplay, the duo out and out topped charts with this radio hit.
The soulful vocals of Christ Martin are complemented by the groovy downtempo beats by the duo. We were sure hoping for something JUST like this when the news of the collaboration broke, and they sure delivered!
Another year where there were unlikely collaborations between the world of dance music and some of the biggest names in the pop scene we saw “It Ain’t Me” from Norwegian star Kygo’s first EP Stargazing, where he collaborated with American singer and songwriter Selena Gomez. While Skrillex had been lying low on his solo career while he collaborated on a number of projects such as Jack U and Dog Blood. 2017 saw Skrillex come back with a single release after a while. His collaboration “Would You Ever” with songwriter Poo Bear who’s first single this was a lead vocalist, turned into a sure-shot hit, like pretty much anything Skrillex lays hands on.
2018 – Losing It – FISHER
Love it or hate it, we’re sure you’ve heard this track in pretty much 90% (or more) of the festival or club sets through the second half of 2018. “Losing It” spent 17 weeks on Billboard’s Hot Dance/Electronic Songs chart, reaching #1 in December.
Australian producer FISHER teamed up with Chris Lake who co-produced the mega-hit. To say it went on to become a festival staple after its release in July,2018 would be an understatement.
A recurring name on this list as one of his many collaborations, is DJ Snake. He teamed up with the who’s who of the music scene for “Taki Taki.” This track in addition to its funky beats features vocals by American singer Selena Gomez, Puerto Rican vocalist Ozuna, and American rapper Cardi B. Blurring boundaries, the moombahton track kicked off by Ozuna, later sees Selena and Cardi singing and rapping in English and Spanish alike. Another song that dominated the floors and charts alike was “Happier” by Marshmello and Bastille. As Marshmello himself had put it, whether you’re a fan of his or hate him, when this track plays, everyone sings along! And that’s a fact cementing the popularity of the track straight up.
While 2019 has only just begun, we have seen a fair share of quality releases and promising ones on the way already. Tell us who is currently at the top of your playlists for 2019!
Also read: 7 Game-Changing DJs and Their Impact Over the Last 7 Years
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