on air: 2009 year in music, pt. III

I HATE THIS PART
The Pussycat Dolls
Doll Domination

Gotta talk to you now before we go to sleep. But will we sleep once I tell you what's hurting me?

This is, by far, the best song in Nicole Scherzinger and the Pussycat Dolls' catalog. It's not the usual bump and grind Pussycat track, nor is it a grating, pointless ballad by Scherzinger (in fact, its vocals pack an emotional wallop - "I gotta do eeeeeeeeeeeeet"). I Hate This Part is nestled somewhere in between and that's what makes it awesome. I think.

HALO
Beyonce
I Am... Sasha Fierce

I got my angel now.

If it weren't for Glee's awesome mashup of Halo and Walking On Sunshine, I wouldn't have acquired a certain liking for this song. And just for the record, Kelly Clarkson's Already Gone is miles better than Beyonce's rip-off.

LOVE STORY
Taylor Swift
Fearless

I got tired of waiting, wondering if you were ever coming around.

This was such a huge hit because I believe, deep down in each of us there's a little Taylor Swift, earnestly singing 'You'll be the prince and I'll be the princess. It's a love story, baby, just say yes. Oh oh.'. Oh, to be young, naive and romantic!

POKER FACE
Lady GaGa
The Fame

And baby, when it's love if it's not rough, it isn't fun.

Truth be told, most songs by written by the great GaGa seem like a patchwork of lines that sounds good despite it not making any sense, whatsoever. Like with Poker Face, I don't care if it talks about her sexual preference. All I know is that the house remix of this song is hot.

IT'S ALRIGHT, IT'S OK
Ashley Tisdale
Guilty Pleasure

I'm so much better without you.

"So don't you bother what I do!" One listen to this track will surely get me back on my feet. Its words are so self-empowering. Back in the day when I was down and out, Ashley Tisdale's song was my saving grace. It helped me get back what I seemingly lost.

THE CLIMB
Miley Cyrus
OST - Hannah Montana: The Movie

Ain't about how fast I get there. Ain't about what's waiting on the other side.

Miley Cyrus is one of our favorite topics, the King and I. One night, while we were heading home, I remember saying that it usually takes one genuinely good song for me to change my mind about an artist. The Climb, truth be told, is one of the best songs I've heard this decade. That's a lot considering it's by the one artist whom I can't stand. So yeah, I haven't changed my mind about my great dislike of Cyrus.

JAI HO! (YOU ARE MY DESTINY)
The Pussycat Dolls feat. A. R. Rahman
Doll Domination

You are the reason that I still believe".

"Alam mo inis na inis ako sa'yo nung panahon na yun," I remember Binx telling me. We watched The Pussycat Dolls concert here in Manila last year, and I was not in the mood to party. Short of the story, I was sulking the entire night despite his effort to cheer me up. That extra ticket, I handed it to some random stranger hoping he'd have more fun watching the concert.

OBSESSED
Mariah Carey
Memoirs Of An Imperfect Angel

You a mom and pop, I'm a corporation. I'm the press conference, you a conversation.

For the better part of 2009, the word "obsessed" has been a running inside joke between Binx and I. To my delight, Mariah Carey released a song entitled as such. I was like, "Why are you so obsessed with me?" Fun dark times.

YOU BELONG WITH ME
Taylor Swift
Fearless

Walking the streets with you and your worn-out jeans. I can't help thinking this is how it ought to be.

I swear Taylor Swift brings out that person who sings in front of his mirror, with a hair brush for a mic, in me. But only when I know that I'm alone.

HOW DO YOU SLEEP? (REMIX)
Jesse McCartney feat. Ludacris
Departure: Recharged

How do you stay awake knowing all I do is think of you?

How Do You Sleep's infectious beats and bittersweeet words got stuck in my head the first time I listened to Jesse McCartney's 2008 offering, Departure. Despite his relative success, I don't know what's keeping this talented guy from getting the recognition he deserves.