Tag / Charli XCX

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iTunes Top 200 Artists: #70-80

Music.  It is a powerful thing that brings people together, creates memories, and evokes emotions.  It is the universal language that speaks to the soul.  It forms the soundtrack of our lives.

It has now been five years since we last counted down the Top 200 artists in my iTunes library, featuring the songs I have listened to the most since 2007.  It is time to do so again, seeing which performers still resonate and if any newer ones have joined the fray.  So, without further ado, here are my most listened to artists, based on number of plays as of January 1, 2026.

We continue today with our next batch of ten artists, covering three acts I’ve seen perform live.

#80: The Beastie Boys
iTunes stats: 140 plays
Previous ranking: #76

The hip-hop pioneers, who disbanded in 2012 after Adam Yauch died of cancer, picked up 25 new listens in the last five years, leading to a four-spot drop in the rankings.

#79: Bush
iTunes stats: 141 plays
Previous ranking: #79

The winners of the American Music Award for Favorite Alternative Group in 1998, who I saw in concert back in 1996, picked up 32 additional listens while dropping staying even on the list.

#78: Britney Spears
iTunes stats: 143 plays
Previous ranking: #79

The troubled pop princess and one-time Grammy Award winner (surprised you there, didn’t I) sees a 31% increase in plays over the past five years, going up one spot.

#77: Fiona Apple
iTunes stats: 147 plays
Previous ranking: #77

The Manhattan-born singer/songwriter, who I’ve seen in concert twice, picked up 33 new listens, raising her total 29%.

#76: Black Eyed Peas
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iTunes Top 200: #8

Music.  It is a powerful thing that brings people together, creates memories, and evokes emotions.  It is the universal language that speaks to the soul.  It forms the soundtrack of our lives.

It has now been five years since we last counted down the Top 200 songs in my iTunes library, featuring he songs I have listened to the most since 2007.  It is time to do so again, seeing which older songs still resonate and if any newer ones have joined the fray.  So, without further ado, here are my most listened to songs, based on number of plays as of January 1, 2025.

Today, we continue with our in-depth look into each song in the top ten.  Two songs have tied for the eighth most listened to song in my library, with 144 plays since my stats began in late 2007.  Both have ties to the baseball team on the south side of Chicago and the various playlists I have made for them over the years.

#8: Journey – Don’t Stop Believin’
iTunes stats: 144 plays, most recently on 8/27/2024
Previous ranking: #8

Originally released in October of 1981 as the second single off the band’s Escape album, the song peaked at #9 on the Hot 100 and quickly became one of the band’s signature hits.  The song got a second life in the 2000s, starting locally after it became the rallying cry for the 2005 White Sox when A.J. Pierzynski and teammates heard it being sung in a bar in Baltimore.  Steve Perry, who was the band’s lead singer when the song was recorded, was on the field following Game 4 celebrating with the team and sang the song at the rally back in Chicago two days later.  It finally dropped off my White Sox victory playlist starting with the 2015 season.

In 2007, it appeared in the final episode of The Sopranos, which led to a surge in digital downloads of the song.  In 2012, it became the best-selling digital track from the 20th century, and it surpassed 7,000,000 downloads by 2017.  In 2021, the song inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame.

#8: Icona Pop – I Love It (Feat. Charli XCX)
iTunes stats: 144 plays, most recently on 9/28/2024
Previous ranking: #14

Featuring vocals from British singer Charli XCX, the song by the Swedish synth-pop duo became their first US hit, peaking at #7 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 2013 following an appearance of the HBO show Girls.  The song was written by Charli XCX after the group’s producer sent her two of the duo’s beats, but she knew she couldn’t release it on her own due to the difference in sound.

Over the last decade, the song has been played often at the former Guaranteed Rate Field both to pump up the crowd and for between inning highlight packages.  It’s inclusion on recent entries of my White Sox victory playlist has led to its rising total.

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Fifty Years Of Music – 2013

Fifty years ago, I made my first appeared on the Earth.  In celebration, we are going to take a look at the year-end Billboard Hot 100 singles chart for each year of my life and see what songs resonated with me at the time and if they continue to do so to this day.

We continue our look back at the music of my lifetime with 2013, the year I celebrated my 39th birthday.  A mere seven of these songs remain familiar to me today, with just three of them appearing in my collection in one way or another.

#73: Ylvis – The Fox (What Does the Fox Say?)
iTunes stats: N/A

A novelty song by a Norwegian comedy duo, it spent three weeks at #3.

#71: Taylor Swift – 22
iTunes stats: 4 plays

The sixth track from her fourth studio album to hit the Top 20, it reached #20.

#55: Psy – Gangham Style
iTunes stats: N/A

Only the second K-Pop song to chart on the Hot 100, it spent seven weeks at #2.

#28: Icona Pop featuring Charli XCX – I Love It
iTunes stats: 143 plays

The first US hit for both artists, it went all the way to #7.

#27: Rihanna – Diamonds
iTunes stats: N/A

The twelfth #1 hit of Rihanna’s career, it spent three weeks atop the Hot 100.

#18: Miley Cyrus – Wrecking Ball
iTunes stats: N/A

Spending three non-consecutive weeks at #1, it became her first chart-topping hit.

#16: Taylor Swift – I Knew You Were Trouble
iTunes stats: 3 plays

The second single from her fourth studio album, it peaked at #2.

#15: Lorde – Royals
iTunes stats: N/A

Spending nine weeks at #1, Lorde became the youngest female artist in 26 years, since Tiffany in 1987, to top the Hot 100.

#11: Bruno Mars – Locked Out of Heaven
iTunes stats: N/A

The lead single from his sophomore effort, it spent six weeks at #1 across 2012 and 2013.

#10: Katy Perry – Roar
iTunes stats: 2 plays

Nominated for two Grammy awards, it spent two weeks atop the Hot 100.

#2: Robin Thicke featuring T.I. and Pharrell – Blurred Lines
iTunes stats: N/A

The longest-running #1 single of 2013, it topped the charts for twelve weeks.

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iTunes Top 200 Artists: #101-110

It’s been 4 years since we last counted down the Top 200 artists in my iTunes library.  Since my iTunes stats are still intact, across multiple PCs, iPods, iPads, and iPhones, I figured it was time to take another look at the artists that have entertained me the most based on number of plays from late 2007 through January 1, 2021.

We wrap up the first half of the countdown with today’s batch of 10 artists, the second tied for 110th place, 2 tied for 108th, the single artist at 107th through 103rd, and the 2 tied for 101st.

#110: K’s Choice
iTunes stats: 73 plays
Previous ranking: #101

Only 28 new listens to 5 different tracks from the arguable one hit wonder from Belgium over the past 4 years led to a 9 spot drop.

#108: INXS
iTunes stats: 77 plays
Previous ranking: #117

One of Australia’s highest selling music acts of all time, the band increased their listens by 108% to move up 9 slots.

#108: Sublime
iTunes stats: 77 plays
Previous ranking: #103

The Long Beach based ska band added 33 new plays to the 4 songs they have in my collection.

#107: Pink
iTunes stats: 78 plays
Previous ranking: #123

The 3-time Grammy winner added 43 additional listens to the 4 songs that are in my collection.

#106: Ugly Kid Joe
iTunes stats: 80 plays
Previous ranking: #111

The poorly-timed hard rock band, who started to hit it big just as alternative rock was taking over the world, managed to double their play total.

#105: UB40
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iTunes Top 200: #11 – 19

itunes_image4 years ago, we last counted down the Top 200 songs in my iTunes library. Since my iTunes stats are still intact, across multiple PCs, iPods, iPads, and iPhones, I figured it was time to take another look at my most listened to songs, based on number of plays as of January 1, 2020.

We break in to the the top 20 today, with the last batch of songs that scored less than 100 listens since my stats began in late 2007.

#19: Metallica – Harvester Of Sorrow
iTunes stats: 59 plays, most recently on 10/10/2019
Previous ranking: #15

Released as the first single from the band’s fourth studio album, it was used as the at-bat music for former White Sox first baseman Paul Konerko for the majority of his career.

#19: Foo Fighters – My Hero
iTunes stats: 59 plays, most recently on 10/14/2019
Previous ranking: #21

The highest ranking tune from the Foo Fighters, up 2 spots from four years ago, is this live version from their previously mentioned concert in London’s Hyde Park.

#18: Nancy Faust – Take Me Out To The Ballgame
iTunes stats: 60 plays, most recently on 3/28/2019
Previous ranking: #14

A slight decrease for the final 7th inning stretch performance of Nancy Faust’s career as White Sox organist.

#17: The Lonely Island – Natalie’s Rap (ft. Natalie Portman & Chris Parnell)
iTunes stats: 63 plays, most recently on 2/14/2019
Previous ranking: #15

A slight drop for the second digital short from The Lonely Island, which featured Natalie Portman playing against type as a lewd gangsta.

#16: Purdue “All-American” Marching Band – Hail, Purdue!
iTunes stats: 71 plays, most recently on 10/25/2019
Previous ranking: #17

A slight increase for this older version of the Purdue fight song, used during my time at the school.

#15: Purdue “All-American” Marching Band – Hail Purdue
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iTunes Top 200 Artists: #150-159

3 years ago, we first counted down the then Top 100 artists in my iTunes library.  Since that time, I’ve successfully managed to migrate my music collection to a new PC with the stats intact.  So, I figured it was time to take another look, expanding out the field to the top 200 artists, based on number of plays from late 2007 through January 1, 2017.

Today, we continue our journey with the last group of artists that make up the bottom 50 on our list.

#159: Divinyls
iTunes stats: 29 plays
Previous ranking: N/A

The Australian band touched themselves all the way up to tie for this spot on the chart.

#159: Bree Sharp
iTunes stats: 29 plays
Previous ranking: N/A

2 tracks from the singer’s debut album combine to place her on the chart.

#152: Violent Femmes
iTunes stats: 30 plays
Previous ranking: N/A

The debut album from the Wisconsin band contributes 4 songs that make up their total.

#152: Robin Sparkles
iTunes stats: 30 plays
Previous ranking: N/A

The alter ego of Cobie Smulders character from How I Met Your Mother combines her 2 Canadian pop hits to make up this total.

#152: Me First and the Gimme Gimmes
iTunes stats: 30 plays
Previous ranking: N/A

The punk rock supergroup, who only do covers, use 4 tracks to combine for their total.

#152: Lenny Kravitz
iTunes stats: 30 plays
Previous ranking: N/A

The son of TV’s Roxie Roker makes the list thanks to 4 tracks.

#152: Kanye West
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