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Best and worst AC songs of this decade?

C

carolinaradio

Almost an entire decade has passed since the turn of the century. Since we're 5 months away from ending this decade, I thought I would ask - what do you think are the best and worst AC songs of the 2000s?

I only began paying close attention to the format in 2005 or so, so I may have not heard some good material from the early 2000s that didn't get much airplay. IMO, some of the best were "Put Your Records On"/Corrine Bailey Rae, the 3 Five For Fighting songs ("The Riddle", "Superman", "100 Years"; 'Riddle' is my favorite of his but it doesn't get much attention), "Unwritten"/Natasha Bedingfield, "Time of My Life"/David Cook, "Breakaway"/Kelly Clarkson, and "You're Beautiful"/James Blunt. I think these will continue to be staples of the format. Edit: another little song I've heard on AC that I like is Howie Day's "Collide." Pretty good.

In all honesty, I think the worst ones to come out were mostly in the past 2 years. The KT Tunstall one....Jason Mraz's "I'm Yours"....that Uncle Kracker/Dobie Gray "Drift Away" remake....Taylor Swift...Colbie Caillat....Jordin Sparks' "Tattoo"...that Fergie song....Leona Lewis..."Apologize" (OneRepublic), etc.. Maybe I'm just sick of hearing the Mraz and Swift songs, but these songs really lack. I knew these were hits, just didn't care for them at all. Something's just missing.

What do you think about AC in the 2000s? What was good....what was not-so good?
 
I haven't cared for much AC in the past 20 years or so, but I have to admit "Hey There Delilah" isn't bad.

"Black Horse and the Cherry Tree" is ... different.

Does "Everything" by Michael Buble count as AC? He did a couple of others too. Somehow because he does the music I like that "legitimizes" him.

Do the other artists doing big-band style music count as AC? There's been a lot of good music made this decade.
 
I remember the other Michael Buble song. It was "Home". Also, he did "Moondance", which was an old song.

I believe "Come Away with Me" and "Don't Know Why" by Norah Jones were considered AC. I certainly rank those among the best.

"Heaven" by Los Lonely Boys" is also good, though when I was at the barber it got on my nerves. AC is just going to get on my nerves. That's all there is to it.
 
I heard "Viva la Vida" by Coldplay on an awards show and actually sort of liked it. Imagine me liking Coldplay.

Someone did a new version of "True" by Spandau Ballet" but it wasn't AC.

There's also a new version of "Always" by Atlantic Starr which sounds aC and is really mild. I don't know by who, but Dial Global plays it.

"Alone" be Celine Dion I can do without. Anything by Celine Dion I can do without.
 
Barry Manilow seems to have done a whole album of AC classics, though I don't know if AC radio plays them.

I thought of someone else I like. Feist became popular when "1234" was played in that commercial.
 
vchimpanzee said:
I haven't cared for much AC in the past 20 years or so, but I have to admit "Hey There Delilah" isn't bad.
Click to expand...

Ditto on the first part. Cringe on the second. There have been few decent AC songs in the past decade. Most of the ones mentioned are grunge/alternative rock light. Dreadful music that depresses.

I do give high marks to Michael Buble, Norah Jones and Sarah Bareilles. Everyone else is pathetic. We seem to be undergoing a musical de-evolution to the worst degree possible.
 
The thing with songs on AC now especially is that there isn't much material ORIGINATED for the format. This stuff like Love Story, You Belong With Me, I'm Yours, the Daughtry songs, Apologize, Bleeding Love, Better in Time, Time of My Life, Hot and Cold, You Found Me, etc were virtually pop/country (in TS's case) that made their way to AC stations. The true "AC"-type material (Jason Mraz/Colbie Caillat's 'Lucky', Plain White T's '1,2,3,4', etc) has gained little traction.

I think Come On Get Higher and Her Diamonds are good. They were popular on CHR but fit well with the AC format. And I agree, Michael Buble's "Everything" and Norah Jones' "Don't Know Why" are a couple of my favorite songs. Colbie Caillat's "Bubbly" is good also.
 
carolinaradio said:
The thing with songs on AC now especially is that there isn't much material ORIGINATED for the format. This stuff like Love Story, You Belong With Me, I'm Yours, the Daughtry songs, Apologize, Bleeding Love, Better in Time, Time of My Life, Hot and Cold, You Found Me, etc were virtually pop/country (in TS's case) that made their way to AC stations. The true "AC"-type material (Jason Mraz/Colbie Caillat's 'Lucky', Plain White T's '1,2,3,4', etc) has gained little traction.

I think Come On Get Higher and Her Diamonds are good. They were popular on CHR but fit well with the AC format. And I agree, Michael Buble's "Everything" and Norah Jones' "Don't Know Why" are a couple of my favorite songs. Colbie Caillat's "Bubbly" is good also.
Click to expand...

Colbie Callait starts off "o.k." but the repetition of the same chords over and over again wear on your ears. That's the problem with most artists. They think they are hot, but artistically, they just don't pull it together.
 
elchupacabras said:
vchimpanzee said:
I haven't cared for much AC in the past 20 years or so, but I have to admit "Hey There Delilah" isn't bad.
Click to expand...

Ditto on the first part. Cringe on the second. There have been few decent AC songs in the past decade. Most of the ones mentioned are grunge/alternative rock light. Dreadful music that depresses.

Everyone else is pathetic. We seem to be undergoing a musical de-evolution to the worst degree possible.
Click to expand...

I guess I'll be the contrarian here. I didn't listen to AC much for a long time because to my ears it was way too sappy, the golds were 70s songs I didn't even like much when they were currents.
About 6 months ago the wife & I were in a restaurant that had the local AC on, and I was pleasantly surprised at what they were playing. All the stuff vchimp hates was a breath of fresh air to me. I still lean more toward Hot AC, or sometimes CHR, but I'll listen to this one now too. At least until 7pm when Delilah comes on. Gag!
BTW, I'm 62, not some kid. I just can't hack a format consisting of nothing but sappy ballads.
 
I like the traditional AC format myself also, and like the new songs and most of the 2000s ones (can do without the country crossovers) that AC is playing.
 
Noone mentioned "Breathe" by Faith Hill which I think came out in 01? "I'm like a bird, trying to think what came out earlier in the decade
 
imhomerjay said:
Breathe was released in '99.
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I looked that up, and that is true; however it did not hit the charts until December of 1999, and thus did not peak until 2000. As much as I would like to leave it behind in 1999, unfortunately we must consider it for the 2000s, the "aughts" or the "zeroes."
 
firepoint525 said:
imhomerjay said:
Breathe was released in '99.
Click to expand...
I looked that up, and that is true; however it did not hit the charts until December of 1999, and thus did not peak until 2000. As much as I would like to leave it behind in 1999, unfortunately we must consider it for the 2000s, the "aughts" or the "zeroes."
Click to expand...

At least Faith Hill had some talent, now country/pop has wanna-be's like Taylor Swift. Can anyone say "bubblegum?"
 
I am sick of hearing Taylor Swift on AC. One station here is still burning her 3 AC hits to DEATH. None of them make me cringe as much as 'Teardrops.' However, she's not as bad as Miley. ::)
It hasn't done great, but I think Mariah Carey attempting to cover Foreigner's "I Want to Know What Love Is" is pretty brutal. I don't like that Five For Fighting song "Chances" either.

I like Pink's new song "Please Don't Leave Me." I don't know if it'll do well, but it's better than a lot of what's been out there. Musically, it sounds a lot like "Who Knew."
 
elchupacabras said:
firepoint525 said:
imhomerjay said:
Breathe was released in '99.
Click to expand...
I looked that up, and that is true; however it did not hit the charts until December of 1999, and thus did not peak until 2000. As much as I would like to leave it behind in 1999, unfortunately we must consider it for the 2000s, the "aughts" or the "zeroes."
Click to expand...

At least Faith Hill had some talent, now country/pop has wanna-be's like Taylor Swift. Can anyone say "bubblegum?"
Click to expand...
True. I didn't see anything wrong with "This Kiss" at first. I guess considering what's out there these days, that's country. "Mississippi Girl" is also good.

It's really the instrumentals that are the problem on her songs.
 
I heard "Haven't Met You Yet" by Michael Buble on the radio. Not great, but it's one of the better songs of this decade in AC. My station seems obsessed with 70s AC for some reason. I thought the 50s were the main decade for this music.

I'm going to put "Streetcorner Symphony" by Rob Thomas on the best list.
 
I'll take Faith Hill in any decade, any century. A powerful voice and easy on the eyes to boot. ;)
 
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