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 2012, the year I celebrated my 38th birthday. A mere ten of these songs remain familiar to me today, with just two of them appearing in my collection in one way or another.
#71: Adele – Rolling in the Deep
iTunes stats: N/A
Winner of three Grammy awards, it was ranked the 82nd best song of all time by Rolling Stone in 2021.
#47: Psy – Gangham Style
iTunes stats: N/A
Peaking at #2, it was the highest charting song by a South Korean artist up to that point.
#36: Maroon 5 featuring Christina Aguilera – Moves like Jagger
iTunes stats: N/A
The collaboration spent three weeks at #1.
#33: Taylor Swift – We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together
iTunes stats: 2 plays
Jumping from #72 to #1 in its second week of release, it was her first chart topper on the Hot 100 and tied her with Kenny Rogers for the most Top Ten entries by a country artist with eleven.
#29: LMFAO featuring Lauren Bennett and GoonRock – Party Rock Anthem
iTunes stats: N/A
Featured in 21 Jump Street, which won the MTV Movie Award for Best Music.
#13: LMFAO – Sexy and I Know It
iTunes stats: N/A
The first #1 on the year, it spent two weeks atop the Hot 100.
#7: Kelly Clarkson – Stronger (What Doesn’t Kill You)
iTunes stats: N/A
Clarkson’s third #1 hit, it spent three non-consecutive weeks atop the Hot 100.
#3: Fun featuring Janelle Monae – We Are Young
iTunes stats: N/A
The lead single from the group’s sophomore album, it spent six weeks at #1.
#2: Carly Rae Jepsen – Call Me Maybe
iTunes stats: 25 plays
Spending nine weeks atop the Hot 100, it was the first #1 by a female Canadian artist since 2007.
#1: Gotye featuring Kimbra – Somebody That I Used to Know
iTunes stats: N/A
The track, which won two Grammy awards, spent eight weeks at #1.