11. Katy Perry – “Rise”
Camille Espiritu: I am so in love with this song. Rise embodies empowerment, confidence and strength. A message that I can definitely get behind on. Usually Katy Perry’s songs are upbeat and fast paced, but this track has a gradual build throughout and I really enjoy it. Looking forward to hear what the rest of her album sounds like. A
Cristina Moreano: There is not a better way to start the Olympics this year than listening to a song filled with a message of inspiration and motivation for all athletes. Way to go Katy! A
12. P!nk – “Just Like Fire”
Gabrielle Bondi: Why do I like this song? Kind of like Timberlake’s “Can’t Stop This Feeling,” this song feels manufactured and bland. I think it’s my longing for some old P!nk that has me occasionally listening to this new track. C-
Bri Lockhart: Unfortunately, Lite FM has ruined P!nk for all of eternity for me. She’s still awesome, but I don’t like listening to her music–it all kind of runs together in a tangle of vague optimism. Case in point. C
Camille Espiritu: P!nk’s music usually contains lyrics of empowerment, individuality and embracing your unique qualities. I’m happy to report that, even though the song was for a Disney movie, P!nk still stayed true to herself and her music. She got to embody the world of Alice Through the Looking Glass while bring the punk rock star that she is. B
13. Fifth Harmony feat. Ty Dolla Sign – “Work from Home”
Bri Lockhart: As someone who used to find Fifth Harmony wholly unimpressive as a girl group, I’m still surprised at how much I love “Work from Home.” The lyrics are ridiculous and don’t always make the most sense, but the innuendo is hilarious, whether that’s intentional or not. Out of the two songs on this chart that have a chorus mainly comprised of repeating the word “work,” I prefer this one. A-
Camille Espiritu: I’ll admit, I really liked this song. The members of Fifth Harmony carry confidence and swag that you can immediately hear on this track. Though they’re confidence is on point, I liked their older music much better. Their older music showed off their harmonies (no pun intended) and their individual vocal range. You don’t get that in this track. B
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Jon Winkler: *beat to “Work From Home” plays in background* this song is dumb, dumb, dumb, dumb, dumb, dumb, dumb C-
14. Meghan Trainor – “Me Too”
Ashley Bulayo: I give her props for being very confident. B
Cristina Moreano: Good track with a catchy chorus, but I kind of miss the doo-wop style of her last album. B
15. Florida Georgia Line – “H.O.L.Y.”
Ashley Bulayo: Man, I still don’t know how I feel about this song. It’s just… Not my cup of tea but then again, I won’t say I normally go crazy for FGL songs. B-
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Ryan Gibbs: A milquetoast adult contemporary ballad that’s only distinguishing feature is that it’s from these bro-country dudes. Even when they’re being sensitive, they don’t bother turning off the T-Pain autotune machine. Grating. D
16. Mike Posner – “I Took a Pill in Ibiza”
Ashley Bulayo: I was obsessed with this song when I heard it on his EP before it got remixed like crazy. C-
Gabrielle Bondi: The remix takes a sensitive acoustic song and makes it sound like everything else on the radio. D
Bri Lockhart: This is one of those songs that I completely expected to hate, but ended up loving upon first listen. As someone who doesn’t love slower tracks, I actually prefer the remix, but my exposure to that automatically put the original slower track into my good graces. A-
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Ryan Gibbs: Todd in the Shadows made a good point a few months ago on how refreshing it is to hear a song like this. I can’t think of very many songs about feeling like you’re a washed up one-hit wonder at 27 years old. I don’t like the mopey original, but the remix is fine enough. Kind of wish it was a little darker to reflect the mood of the lyrics, though. B
Camille Espiritu: I don’t like the remix and I don’t think it does the song justice because you can’t hear the lyrics that are buried in the beat. It wasn’t until I saw Mike Posner perform this song on Ellen that I changed my opinions about this song completely. If you listen to the live version, the addition of the saxophone is a really nice pairing to the beat. But the real star is the lyrics. Mike Posner is really vulnerable in this song and his lyrics brings to light true honesty about his life in the limelight. Clearly, I can go on and on about the song so I’ll end it with this- A.
Brittany Menjivar: There’s fantastic irony in the fact that a lyrically pensive confessional song about a “singer who already blew his shot” ended up being the single that launched Mike Posner back into the spotlight. I don’t find the dissonance between the song’s message and the sound of the remix bothersome; in my opinion, the electronic instrumentation only adds to the wistful feel of the original. A
17. Britney Spears feat. G-Easy – “Make Me”
Cristina Moreano: Britney Spears is back with a softer beat, balancing a little R&B with mellow pop. G-Eazy is definitely a good complement to Spears voice. Not bad. B
Camille Espiritu: I was pretty hesitant about the track before listening to it because Britney Spears and G-Eazy sound like an unusual duo, but I was pleasantly surprised. I could have done without so many layers in the beat, just so Britney’s vocals and the lyrics could have been shown off more. But I thought that G-Eazy complimented the song well and the beat building up towards the end of his verse added to the song’s fluidity. B
18. Drake – “Controlla”
Ashley Bulayo: Always rely on Drake on making the songs that you could easily request in bars. C+
Jon Winkler: Damn, R&B Drake strikes at my heart again. “Controlla” may suffer from Drake using the Caribbean sound a bit too freely here, but he makes it work as he confesses his soul of being lonely and wanting to truly love again. Go ahead and get another beachside lap-dance Drizzy, tears dry on their own buddy A-
19. DJ Khaled feat. Drake – “For Free”
Ashley Bulayo: TBH, I didn’t even know this was DJ Khaled’s song. But I don’t hate it! B
Jon Winkler: This one’s fine, Drake has a fine flow here and the beat is solid. But another rapper upping the vibe of the song would’ve helped, whereas it all feels like a brief pit stop onto something bigger B
20. Drake feat. Rihanna “Too Good”
Ashley Bulayo: Last night, I came into a realization that this song is actually not that bad. B+
Jon Winkler: Whereas most of Views put me to sleep, this new single actually has a great story to it. Drake is a solid storyteller when it comes to romances and when they end, and this one has very vivid detail to it about a man realizing he can’t stand the woman he’s with but feels undoubtedly intoxicated by her. I’m honestly amazed this is a single, but then I realized Rihanna is on it and she sounds great and she and Drake are actually dating so the public is hyping this song for the eventual messy crash of their relationship, which they’ll slurp up like cereal. Great song though B+
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