MUSIC/ 2011 Top Twenty in the UK

2011 was a splendid year for British music. All you need to think of to be convinced of this is Adele!
I have tried to capture the situation of the UK, which is currently very diverse, with a top twenty ranking of the most significant singles of this year.

20. Chase & Status – Flashing Lights
With the help of an eclectic array of artists (from CeeLo Green to Tinie Tempah, from folk singer Claire Maguire to rapper Dizzee Rascal) Chase & Status recorded a dubstep album with promising commercial potentiality. Perhaps it’s also because of this group that dubstep is not underground anymore, whether that’s positive or negative, who knows?

19. Noah & The Whale – L.I.F.E.G.O.E.S.O.N
The London folk scene came to prominence in 2010, and Noah & The Whale keeps it going, albeit not to the heights of Mumford & Sons, who also conquered the US this year.

18. Christina Perri – Jar Of Hearts
Out of nowhere, this ballad reached the British shores after having charmed the Americans. It may be just a one hit wonder, but it deserves its success so far, even if only for the line “I Lost the Love I Love the Most” which sums up all the guileless teen poetry of this splendid number.

17. Wretch 32 ft Josh Kumra – Don’t Go
Wretch’s debut was the clubby Traktor featuring L Marshall, which reached #5 on the singles chart in January. Less than a year later, their third single, “Don’t Go”, has gone straight to #1 and confirms that Wretch is here to stay.

16. Foster The People – Pumped Up Kicks
This very original composition came out in the US in 2010 but was under the radar until the release of the album in 2011 and its final release in the UK.

15. Jay Z & Kanye West – Otis
When 2 giants like Jigga and Ye collaborate, you would expect a classic album. This record is sonically perfect, with incredible hooks (thank you very much, they are all samples!), unfortunately the content is quite poor, just the usual money BS we have heard from them both several times before.

14. Rihanna ft Calvin Harris – We Found Love
What a year 2011 was for Calvin Harris! Despite saying that he wanted to focus on writing for other artists rather than his solo career, he released 2 smashes like Bounce ft Kelis, and Feel So Close, but he didn’t lie, and this Rihanna song proves it, though it seems like it is Rihanna who is being featured on a Calvin track!