Top 20 Songs of 2007: #5-1

5. Nelly Furtado "Say It Right"
Okay, so it can be argued that this song is technically a "2006" single, but I'm including it on my list because I didn't actually hear it until January of the year. If you don't like it, you can suck it because it's my list. Anyways, the reason I love this song so much is because of it's mysterious nature. I have no idea what the song is about, but Furtado's haunting vocals and the out-of-this-world aura surrounding it draw me in ever single time (Listen, and watch this hypnotic video)

4. J. Lo "Do It Well"
While everyone had an opinion about another certain someone's big comeback in 2007, J. Lo released what I believe is her strongest album since J. Lo and probably the catchiest single of her career: "Do It Well". I don't think I'll ever understand why this wasn't played on the radio- this has to be better than "This Is Why I'm Hot," right?

Right? (Listen)

3. Rihanna featuring Jay-Z "Umbrella"
This is pretty much a "duh" pick for any pop music lover. If you don't like this song, then the terrorists really have won. (Listen, though you've probably heard this 10 million times)

2. Ciara "Like a Boy"
Finally! Someone with enough balls to stand up to all the gangsta, wannabe rappers who objectify women and brag about treating them like shit and asking them to think what it would be like if the roles were reversed. The song was a big hit on the radio in my area, and I'm definitely thankful for that, but I just wish it got more respect for what it is trying to accomplish. "Like a Boy" has an interesting message to get it across and it conveys it brilliantly through the lyrics (definitely more deep than "Hey hey, you you, I don't like your girlfriend") all while being compulsively listenable in the form of a perfect pop song. (Listen)

1. Carrie Underwood "Before He Cheats"
I went back and forth for awhile about whether "Like a Boy" or "Before He Cheats" should be number, but Carrie Underwood finally won out because I realized that I'm damn scared of her now after this song. I didn't think much of Underwood's career post-Idol: her country music was nothing special (definitely not on a Martina McBride or Sara Evans level) and, let's face it, "Jesus Take the Wheel" was just plain annoying. But then a funny thing happened. "Before He Cheats," the fifth single from her debut album Some Hearts, crossed over onto the pop charts. I resisted at first, but after awhile I fell in love with the pure anger and hatred Underwood puts in her voice toward this man who's done her wrong. Just listen to her sing "Well, I dug my keys into the side/Of his pretty little souped up 4-wheel drive" and tell me you don't think she has the ferociousness to actually do it. "Before He Cheats" takes the principles of Girl Power to a whole new level and empowers anyone, whether your male, female, gay or straight, to stand up and say you're not going to take it anymore. And that is why Carrie Underwood's "Before He Cheats" is the Number 1 song of 2007. (Listen)