twostepcubchart's Best of 2014: Part Five - #60 to #51...

It's time for the fifth installment of my year-end list of the biggest songs on my personal weekly chart in 2014. You can catch up on parts one through four by clicking here...

#60 - "Superheroes" - The Script
         from the album No Sound Without Silence (2014)
         twostepcubchart peak: #12 (two weeks)
         weeks on the chart:  18 (so far in 2014 - still charting)

The Irish pop/rock band, who had my top song of 2010 with "Breakeven", came back for their fourth album after lead singer Danny O'Donoghue's stint as the "Adam Levine" on the British version of The Voice with this anthemic fist-raiser.

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#59 - "Not A Bad Thing" - Justin Timberlake
         from the album The 20/20 Experience, 2 of 2 (2013)
         twostepcubchart peak: #7 (two weeks)
         weeks on the chart: 20

Originally a "hidden track" on the second volume of Timberlake's latest project, "Not A Bad Thing" proved to be more popular than the rest of the record, which I feel in total would've been much stronger as a single-CD set. Justin came in at #10 last year with "Mirrors" from 20/20/ Part One. Also, too, personally I think this is one of the worst music videos of the year.

#58 - "Demons" - Imagine Dragons
          from the album Night Visions (2012)
          twostepcubchart peak (in 2014): #7 (three weeks) (peaked at #5 in 2013)
          weeks on the chart (in 2014): 17

The Las Vegas modern rock band had the #1 song of the year on my recap with "Radioactive", while also coming in at #4 with this song, spending 42 weeks on my list last year, and made it over a year's worth of charts by the time it was done. (Another song of theirs, "On Top Of The World", came so close to making the top 100 this year as well.)

#57. "Shake It Off" - Taylor Swift
        from the album 1989 (2014)
        twostepcubchart peak: #9 (four weeks so far in 2014 - still charting)
        weeks on the chart: 15 (so far in 2014 - still charting)

Last year Taylor made my year-end list twice with "Everything Has Changed" at #52 and "I Knew You Were Trouble" at #65, both pop records in their purest form. So it was no surprise that Taylor's next album wouldn't even try to pass off as country (as Billboard tried to do with "We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together"), and the result is "Shake It Off", a panel-tested product that does its job, with Taylor totally in on the joke. Embracing her perception in the gossip rags, she turns a twee expression of corporate individualism into something personal, making her legion of fans ignore that this is as much an ad as a 30-second Walmart spot. But, hey, it's fun. So there's that.

#56 - "The Man" - Aloe Blacc
         from the album Lift Your Spirit (2014)
         twostepcubchart peak: #5 (two weeks)
         weeks on the chart: 16

After getting his break in America providing (uncredited) vocals for Swedish DJ Avicii's hit "Wake Me Up", which came in at #21 on my list last year, Blacc struck out on his own and nabbed a top-ten pop hit with some help from the sports programs where an Beats headphones ad featuring the song appeared.

#55 - "Ghost" - Ella Henderson
         from the album Chapter One (2015)
         twostepcubchart peak: #23 (so far in 2014 - still climbing)
         weeks on the chart: 25 (so far in 2014 - still charting)

Originally a casualty of the circus that is singing competition shows, coming in sixth on The X Factor UK because people were "hate-voting" for crap novelty queen Rylan Clark or powderkeg mess Christopher Maloney. She won in the end by Simon Cowell making sure she had a record out, and proved to be the biggest act from the season (now that winner James Arthur has self-immolated his career), placing three singles in the British top-20. This one has finally caught steam in America, possibly making her the new Olly Murs here.

#54 - "I Choose You" - Sara Bareilles
        from the album The Blessed Unreal (2013)
        twostepcubchart peak: #10 (two weeks)
        weeks on the chart: 18

The singer/songwriter, who had my #8 song of last year with "Brave", an anthem of self-worth that nabbed her a bunch of Grammy nominations, followed that up with a more intimate song that grew to include relationships, and kept it in the equality vein by making the romantic song the soundtrack to a marriage proposal by a fan to her girlfriend, and a man to his girlfriend. Proving without saying a word that love is equal, no matter the gender. Amazing.

#53 - "Fancy" - Iggy Azalea featuring Charli XCX
         from the album The New Classic (2014)
         twostepcubchart peak: #10 (two weeks)
         weeks on the chart: 19

"Rap music racist white guys listen to." But seriously, the proclaimed "song of the summer", a "drag act" in the truest sense, as this Australian immigrant (I guess nobody's asking for her papers) struck gold as this record couldn't be stopped no matter what from this synth-bass line that would not leave your head.

#52 - "Red Lights" - Tiesto
         from the album A Town Called Paradise (2014)
         twostepcubchart peak: #8 (five weeks)
         weeks on the chart: 18

The Dutch trance master followed Avicii's footsteps, making a more "earthy" dance record, landing him his first year-end hit in the process.

#51 - "Roller Coaster" - Luke Bryan
         from the album Crash My Party (2013)
         twostepcubchart peak: #5 (two weeks)
         weeks on the chart: 18

It seems like Luke and Jason Aldean are the Tim McGraw and Garth Brooks of this decade, battling it out for who is racking up the most hits. And while Aldean (like Brooks) sold albums by the truckloads, it was Bryan (like McGraw) that stayed the middle of the road for a constant stream of singles that kept in on the singles charts every week, like this pleasant bit of summer nostalgia.

Well, we're halfway through, and I'll return tomorrow with some French Canadians with a hit revived by a German, the King Of Pop is resurrected, and the songs anyone with kids knows by heart.