Listen, I’ve seen some of y’alls lil lists and they’re fine… but they’re not my list. Definitively, without question, these are the best 100 songs of the decade – every single one is infinitely listenable, a credit to the medium, and will sound just as excellent in 10, 20, 30 years time if climate change doesn’t kill us all first. The ranking was basically worked out by putting the songs into alphabetical order and then starting at the bottom simply asking myself if I would skip the song above to get to the one below. So you can basically read this as one big long skip to the #1 spot. Words below, playlist here. Thanks for reading anything I’ve written this past 10 years. I do it for the fun of it and that means I never have to compromise on my opinions – I hope you’ll follow me into the next 10 for more of this nonsense.

100. JASON DERULO – ‘TALK DIRTY’ ft. 2 CHAINZ

I just want to take this opportunity to say that Jason Derulo doesn’t get the respect he deserves.

99. TINIE TEMPAH – ‘PASS OUT’

Tinie Tempah and Labrinth are a better songwriting team than Lennon/McCartney, don’t @ me. This track is notable for both being a banger and for putting Scunthorpe on the map.

98. CARLY RAE JEPSEN – ‘CALL ME MAYBE’

Where were you when you found out Carly Rae Jepsen was a “big” 25-years-old when she released this tween-bop fizzy sugar explosion of excellence?

97. SIGRID – ‘DON’T KILL MY VIBE’

The entire youth experience distilled into three minutes.

96. G.R.L – ‘UGLY HEART’ / LITTLE MIX – ‘SHOUT OUT TO MY EX’

95. PARAMORE – ‘STILL INTO YOU’

Deep, meaningful romantic love songs are great but fevered, energetic declarations that someone still really fancies you are better.

94. THE 1975 – ‘PEOPLE’

Raucous, riotous, rebellious.

93. MARK RONSON – ‘UPTOWN FUNK’ ft. BRUNO MARS

Fleur East’s impact.

92. JONAS BROTHERS – ‘SUCKER’

An effortless evolution from Disney boys to chart-topping men.

91. PETITE MELLER – ‘BABY LOVE’

When I write my memoirs you can hear the story of how a planning meeting for this artist almost made me quit working in music forever.

90. RAE SREMMURD – ‘BLACK BEATLES’ ft. GUCCI MANE

*freezes in a double thumbs up*

89. CHILDISH GAMBINO – ‘THIS IS AMERICA’

A jarring jolt between ebullient cheer and pan-faced seriousness, the soundtrack to the last five years and the next five to come.

88. ARIANA GRANDE – ‘NO TEARS LEFT TO CRY’

Big yes to this delicate, perfectly balanced layer cake of hope and despair, iced with UKG drums.

87. J HUS – ‘DID YOU SEE’

Smooth, audacious braggadocio.

86. SKEPTA – ‘SHUTDOWN’

Even just the thought of Skepta performing this on Jools Holland gives me shivers. A real, iconic, history in the making moment in the story of grime moving into mainstream.

85. CHILDISH GAMBINO – ‘3005’

A really potently obvious hit song that came just a little too early in Gambino’s rise to the top to get the recognition it should have.

84. JENNIFER LOPEZ – ‘ON THE FLOOR’ ft. PITBULL

There is no Oscar-buzz actress Jennifer Lopez without the revival triggered by the success of Lambada-sampling popstar J.Lo and that’s on periodT.

83. BRITNEY SPEARS – ‘HOLD IT AGAINST ME’

When this song leaked a few days before its release I played it on repeat at top volume for approximately six hours and when I finally turned it off my flatmate came in to check on me because he thought something might be wrong.

82. MY CHEMICAL ROMANCE – ‘SING’

The quickest and simplest way to convey how chaotic this decade has been is to explain that this song charted at #58 but the Glee Cast version hit #49.

81. KELIS – ‘4TH OF JULY (FIREWORKS)’

Nothing I ever say or do will be as good as this song.

80. HAYLEY KIYOKO – ‘CURIOUS’

Just that one tongue-tripping lyric about Santa Monica pier would have been enough to land this song on this list.

79. NIALL HORAN – ‘SLOW HANDS’

Niall Horan got the old One Direction writing gang back together and made the song that, deep in my heart, I always wanted One Direction to make.

78. STORMZY – ‘BIG FOR YOUR BOOTS’

Listening to this song feels like I’m grabbing my imaginary dick and beating my chest. Fight music.

77. SZA – ‘DREW BARRYMORE’

I pressed play on this to spark my brain into words and almost started crying so… yeah.

76. BEYONCÉ – ‘FORMATION’

It took me this whole decade, but ‘Formation’ finally got me onboard the Beyoncé train.

75. DNCE – ‘CAKE BY THE OCEAN’

This sexy little strut of a song formulated when DNCE were trying more for a cooler Alphabeat than a cheesier Maroon 5 could be the only song I listen to for the rest of my life and I really wouldn’t be mad.

74. ALESSIA CARA – ‘HERE’

There is a whiff of “I’m not like other girls” meme about this song, but I feel like its self-aware about it and that’s why it’s great.

73. ADELE – ‘WHEN WE WERE YOUNG’

My heart gets a tiny little hairline crack in it every time I hear Adele belt “let me photograph you in this light in case it is the last time // that we might be exactly like we were before we realised we were sad of getting old” and one day the hairline cracks will reach a critical point and my heart will shatter and that’s how I will die.

72. NICOLE SCHERZINGER – ‘YOUR LOVE’

This is actually my most played song of all time, which means on average I have listened to it 35x a year for the past five years.

71. 5 SECONDS OF SUMMER – ‘SHE LOOKS SO PERFECT’

Under all the punky Good Charlotte homaging grubbiness, I knew the moment I heard this song that these boys knew their way around a massive pop chorus.

70. JUSTIN TIMBERLAKE – ‘MIRRORS’

I think the metaphor is a little clunky and doesn’t quite make sense, but like, I’m not a fucking pedant, I know this is one of the greatest love songs ever written.

69. JUSTIN BIEBER – ‘CONFIDENT’ ft. CHANCE THE RAPPER

Much of the Journals project left me cold but ‘Confident’ is undeniably top tier Bieber, self-assured and still slapping six years on.

68. PITBULL – ‘GIVE ME EVERYTHING’ ft. NE-YO, AFROJACK & NAYER

Went off back then, still goes off right now. A proper, drive you up the wall earworm of a song.

67. JUSTIN BIEBER – ‘BOYFRIEND’

This is just *NSYNC’s ‘Girlfriend’ updated and I tried so hard to resist it because I thought it was such a rip off and then I caved and played it like 70 times in one sitting.

66. B.O.B. – ‘AIRPLANES’ ft. HAYLEY WILLIAMS

Let not the song suffer because every basic girl you went to high school with had this as her Facebook status – that chorus is just universally, undeniably flawless.

65. CHANCE THE RAPPER – ‘NO PROBLEM’ ft. LIL WAYNE & 2 CHAINZ

Another song that gets me fired up and ready to rumble… HUH! HUH!

64. CHERYL COLE – ‘PROMISE THIS’

Queen of interpolating French nursery rhymes.

63. JESSIE J – ‘DO IT LIKE A DUDE’

That “stomp! stomp! I’ve arrived” opening line is so bold and exciting. Very of its time – dubstep in pop music! – but what a time it was.

62. WILLOW – ‘WHIP MY HAIR’

Remember the very beginning of the decade when 9-year-old Willow Smith put every pop girl on notice, but then pivoted to alternative out of sheer generosity?

61. ED SHEERAN – ‘SHAPE OF YOU’ STORMZY REMIX

I’m sorry, I’m straight.

60. NICOLE SCHERZINGER – ‘DON’T HOLD YOUR BREATH’

An extra dramatic moment for an extra dramatic popstar.

59. KYLIE MINOGUE – ‘ALL THE LOVERS’

This is just… beautiful, isn’t it? What a sentiment. What a sonic treat. What a woman.

58. HAIM – ‘DON’T SAVE ME’

Ugh, see how good they are when they actually deign to write a chorus?

57. MARK RONSON – ‘NOTHING BREAKS LIKE A HEART’ ft. MILEY CYRUS

Country-disco really is the genre I never knew I was missing from my life.

56. ROBYN – ‘CALL YOUR GIRLFRIEND’

How does this song manage to be both mature and sympathetic and petty and gloating at the same time?

55. LILY ALLEN – ‘OUR TIME’

90% of your faves owe something to Lily Allen whether it be sound, aesthetic, lyrical style or ballsy attitude, but no one’s ready for that conversation, so let’s just say this sweet, soft, ode to the afterparty is probably her best ever.

54. M.I.A. – ‘BAD GIRLS’

Female empowerment anthems don’t get harder than this.

53. KATY B – ‘KATY ON A MISSION’

Maybe the coolest dancefloor record of all time? I hear “When we erupt into the room” and my heart skips, what an emotion it evokes.

52. MAROON 5 – ‘MOVES LIKE JAGGER’ ft. CHRISTINA AGUILERA

That jaunty whistle sound. Can’t shake it once you hear it. So deliciously, irritatingly catchy. I’m in love with how this song lowkey annoys me. The Voice, as a franchise, has done absolutely nothing for creating superstars, and also gave us Gwen Stefani and that country dude as a couple, but when the revolution comes we should remember we probably wouldn’t have got this Adam Levine x Christina Aguilera team up without it and perhaps allow it some redemption.

51. LIZZO – ‘JUICE’

So vibrant, so bouncy, so fun.

50. BILLIE EILISH – ‘YOU SHOULD SEE ME IN A CROWN’

Years ago, my friend Richard’s cat approached me – having been wholly indifferent to me for days – and put a gentle paw on my leg. There was a split-second where I thought what a sweet gesture this was and then I felt claws sinking into skin through my jeans. And that’s what listening to this song is like.

49. 5 SECONDS OF SUMMER – ‘YOUNGBLOOD’

Like I said: I always knew these boys knew their way around a big pop chorus.

48. RITA ORA – ‘I WILL NEVER LET YOU DOWN’

A big, crashing, hands-in-the-air dance pop tune that can truly always be relied on.

47. NICKI MINAJ – ‘SUPER BASS’

The first glimpse of pop!Nicki was the best glimpse of pop!Nicki.

46. GIRLS ALOUD – ‘SOMETHING NEW’

The best girl band of the decade and they only released one track in the last ten years. That’s power, luv.

45. NICK JONAS – ‘JEALOUS’ REMIX ft. TINASHE

There’s a hint of short man energy in this “square up, bruh” Nick Jonas track but like… I do think it’s sexy, still. Exceptionally good in its original form, the addition of Tinashe took it from a 9.5 to a 10. I loved the gospel version too. He really did chuck everything at the promo of this, huh?

44. ONE DIRECTION – ‘DRAG ME DOWN’

This is actually serving as a placeholder for at least seven One Direction singles, all of them equally as repeatable as this one. Whatever you think of them as a boyband, there’s absolutely no denying they have got it when it comes to their discography.

43. DRAKE – ‘NICE FOR WHAT’

Drake is a better popstar than he is a rapper and the Lauryn Hill sample and the bounce music influence combined on ‘Nice For What’ to give Drake his best pop song since ‘One Dance’.

42. FRANK OCEAN – ‘THINKIN BOUT YOU’

One of the most important artists of the decade – remember when we all put life on hold to watch him saw some fucking wood??? – and this song captures the magic of his songwriting so perfectly.

41. KENDRICK LEMAR – ‘HUMBLE.’

Another absolutely crucial artist, I know the Grammys ain’t shit but the fact ‘HUMBLE.’ didn’t win Record Of The Year is such a travesty. In 10, 20 years time this track will still be absolutely vital listening and no one will remember ‘24K Magic’ unless Apple Music (because you know they’ll be the dominant streaming service by then) emerge it for a Throwback Thursday playlist.

40. SELENA GOMEZ – ‘BAD LIAR’

Selena Gomez has put her name to many a better than average pop song but ‘Bad Liar’, in all its quirky weirdness, is the first time she did something truly interesting.

39. LADY GAGA – ‘TELEPHONE’ ft. BEYONCÉ

Beyoncé, more than any other artist this decade, defined it as a visual one, but that is thanks in no small part to Lady Gaga. ‘Telephone’ as a song is excellent pop, but ‘Telephone’ as a music video was such an event. I will think about Gaga eating a cinnamon bun out of Beyoncé’s hand until the end of my days.

38. TAYLOR SWIFT – ‘SPARKS FLY’

There is a particular brand of female-led, guitar-driven pure pop music that I can’t get enough of (Stacie Orrico’s legacy!) and ‘Sparks Fly’ is one of its most shining examples. Genuinely, for all I am mostly unimpressed by Taylor Swift, I think this track is exceptional. “Drop! Everything! Now! // Meet me in the pouring rain…” Ugh! My heart pounds!

37. TORI KELLY – ‘SHOULD’VE BEEN US’

In the same lane as ‘Sparks Fly’ this one-that-got-away jam has been on pretty much constant rotation for me since I saw the MTV VMAs performance that put it on my radar.

36. THE NEIGHBOURHOOD – ‘SWEATER WEATHER’

This swirly soft-grunge love song, rendered in black & white, is the first song The Neighbourhood ever wrote together. Imagine writing a #1 single your first time round. Incredible.

35. NERINA PALLOT – ‘PUT YOUR HANDS UP’

Can you believe Kylie Minogue turned this down? In all my life I never have wanted to get married, but I might do it just so I can have my first dance be this song.

34. LADY GAGA – ‘THE EDGE OF GLORY’

Much of Lady Gaga’s early output is extremely dated now (yes, even ‘Bad Romance’!) but ‘The Edge Of Glory’, starting on a heartbeat and ending on a flatline, borrows just enough from the past to give it a timeless air.

33. TYLER, THE CREATOR – ‘EARFQUAKE’

There’s just something to be said for leaving all your emotions in the booth like this.

32. JANELLE MONAÉ – ‘Q.U.E.E.N.’ ft. ERYKAH BADU

I have loved this song since long before it was revealed it was originally entitled ‘Q.U.E.E.R’ (you can still hear the original lyric in the BVs) and knowing that information now, looking at how Janelle is living her best, most authentic life, just makes it all the more special.

31. MIGUEL – ‘WAVES’ REMIX ft. KACEY MUSGRAVES

The original ‘Waves’ is psychedelically horny and brilliant in its own right, but the slowed down, more kushy remix with Kacey Musgraves gives it a sensuality that had previously been hidden. It’s one of the sexiest songs I’ve ever heard in my life.

30. MUNA – ‘I KNOW A PLACE’

Such euphoria. A song about fighting for your joy, even when the world is hostile to it. Truly exhilarating.

29. RIHANNA – ‘BITCH BETTER HAVE MY MONEY’

Rap!Rihanna is my favourite Rihanna, but honestly I think a good 40% of my enjoyment of this song comes from how mad it made White Feminists.

28. MARIAH CAREY – ‘#BEAUTIFUL’ ft. MIGUEL

This song is gorgeous and fluttery and sun-soaked and romantic and should have been #1 for decades.

27. KACEY MUSGRAVES – ‘HIGH HORSE’

I actually think Kacey has better songs than ‘High Horse’ but none that I enjoy as much as this one. Spangly and pithy, if you don’t know someone who knows someone who thinks they’re cooler than everybody else… consider perhaps that you are that person.

26. JESSIE J, ARIANA GRANDE & NICKI MINAJ – ‘BANG BANG’

Absolutely outrageous that Ariana Grande basically hijacked what is actually Jessie J’s song and now scoffs at the very idea of performing it live. Regardless of what Ariana thinks (and she has notoriously abysmal taste in her own music) this song absolutely fucking bang bangs and will continue to bang bang until the end of time.

25. SELENA GOMEZ & THE SCENE – ‘LOVE YOU LIKE A LOVE SONG’

Controversial opinion, but I think Selena did all her best work before she dropped “The Scene” (remember that trend of inventing bands for stars to front?) and ‘Love You Like A Love Song’ is the proof. Rock Mafia did an excellent trade in producing songs for ex-Disney stars but they had really perfected the formula by the time they got to this song. Just really well-written pop.

24. JANELLE MONAÉ – ‘MAKE ME FEEL’

Every time I feel sad that Prince is dead, I listen to this song and remember that he’s not.

23. RIHANNA – ‘RUDE BOY’

Before I got old and tired and boring I used to absolutely love when this song came on “in da club” and gave me an opportunity to completely let my hips go. It has such flirty energy but it’s also like… kind of emasculating? Rihanna is such a top.

22. BRITNEY SPEARS – ‘WORK BITCH’

A song so explicitly composed for workout playlists that it almost (almost!) makes me sign up to the gym if I listen to it in a weak moment. Flamboyant and camp, it did what it needed to do – sell Vegas tickets by the shedload.

21. KANYE WEST – ‘MONSTER’ ft. JAY Z, RICK ROSS, NICKI MINAJ & BON IVER

Still the only verse anyone is willing to give her any real credit for, Nicki Minaj really bodied the vets on their own territory here – with no album out! The jewel in the crown of Kanye’s redemption opus.

20. KENDRICK LAMAR – ‘ALRIGHT’

Released right in the middle of the momentum of the #BlackLivesMatter movement, how could anyone know it would actually get worse? It almost feels quaint now. Still, I feel hope when I listen to this song.

19. THE 1975 – ‘SOMEBODY ELSE’

A break up song for the modern age, whomst among us hasn’t sunk into a hole listening to this song on repeat while feeling some type of way? I love it when the maudlin kicks up into something resolute and savage towards the end – “get someone you love? get someone you need? // fuck that get money” is such a forever mood.

18. BRUNO MARS – ‘FINESSE’ REMIX ft. CARDI B

A colourblock of new jack swing swagger, it’s the arrogance of the way the line “it don’t make no sense” is delivered that just gets me every time. I maintain that this is Cardi’s best feature – she sounds so comfortable and in her element.

17. ARIANA GRANDE – ‘INTO YOU’

Sometimes when I play this song I think about someone shaking up a champagne bottle in slow motion and then popping the cork off just as the chorus takes off, exploding champagne fizz everywhere. The best pop songs build up like an orgasm and hit like one too.

16. RITA ORA – ‘ANYWHERE’

Nothing makes me happier than when I remember there was a time where dunking on Rita Ora was the #1 trend and people would say all sorts of horrible, lowkey misogynistic shit about her and it was really a struggle to be a fan but then she got herself a new record contract and a new A&R team and started putting out genuinely brilliant material and now she’s headlining venues like The O2 and we have songs like ‘Anywhere’ to listen to. In the wise words of the immortal Prince “if you’re not a Ritabot, you’re a bloodclot”.

15. SNAKEHIPS – ‘ALL MY FRIENDS’ ft. TINASHE & CHANCE THE RAPPER

Disenchantment has never sounded so soaring. The lonely emptiness of the party scene pulled out into the cold air to be reckoned with on a chanting, echo chorus. Captures the feeling of being “lonely in a crowd” so perfectly. Listening to this song is like pressing down on the sting of a papercut. Hurts so good.

14. DJ KHALED – ‘WILD THOUGHTS’ ft. RIHANNA & BRYSON TILLER

As we move towards a sustainable future, I hope to see more recycling and reuse of excellent songs of yore, particularly if the results are of this calibre. Bryson Tiller’s dodgy “cremation” punchline couldn’t derail the greatness, not when off set against Rihanna’s cheekily sexy “I know you wanna see me nakey-nakey-naked”.

13. TYLER, THE CREATOR – ‘SEE YOU AGAIN’ ft. KALI UCHIS

Tyler and Kali invented the love song, and indeed, love itself, with this dreamy ode to a fantasy romance. Tyler originally wrote this song for Zayn Malik and has since revealed that a number of his other songs were written with other popstars in mind. When someone finally gives him the chance to exec a pop record, it’s going to be fuego.

12. THE 1975 – ‘THE SOUND’

Ostentatious as all get out, ‘The Sound’ is an absolute stormer of a pop song, the kind that sounds magnificent on headphones but brainmelt fantastic in a live setting. The most overtly joyous and energetic song in The 1975 discography, I wish they were this colourful more often.

11. ZARA LARSSON – ‘LUSH LIFE’

Very very very narrowly missing out on top 10 placement, ‘Lush Life’ is a meticulously crafted summer bop that sounds so fucking fresh no matter how many times I hear it. I have never skipped it. I am delighted by it every time it hits my ears. I cannot imagine there will ever be a time this song plays and I don’t immediately play it again at least once more.

10. TINASHE – ‘2 ON’ ft. SCHOOLBOY Q

I remember feeling a little frisson of excitement when I heard ‘2 On’ for the first time, watching the music video on YouTube. Maybe it didn’t quite shake out right (and I also kinda knew it wouldn’t when this didn’t rise any higher than #24 on the Billboard chart) and maybe Tinashe isn’t one of the biggest stars in the world right now, but ‘2 On’ will genuinely last a lifetime. This decade has had DJ Mustard all over it (if its not his beat, it’s his influence you’re hearing) but I think this is his best work. There’s not a single criticism to be made. It just bangs.

9. ARIANA GRANDE – ‘BREAK UP WITH YOUR GIRLFRIEND, I’M BORED’

I wrote a fair bit about this song in the year round up the other day, but suffice to say I just love Ariana’s “I’m a little bitch for the fun of it” anthem so much.

8. RIHANNA – ‘WORK’ ft. DRAKE

‘Work’ is this decades “every girl runs from the bar and the bathroom to the dancefloor when this comes on” song. It’s so sexy and playful, a real “girls girl” of a song. I also love how it balances Rihanna’s island roots with a more modern R&B sound. It’s just so glossy and flossy, I put it on every time I need a lil shot of self-esteem.

7. THE WEEKND – ‘CAN’T FEEL MY FACE’

The story of how The Weeknd went from indie mixtape darling to full-fledged superstar is one of my favourite origin stories of all time. One day, after he had enjoyed the fruits of his success as a featured artist on a song by Ariana Grande, The Weeknd went unto Max Martin, the lord of all pop music and said unto him “maketh me into a Michael Jackson-esque superstar” and Max didst doest so and the world saw it and it was good. ‘Can’t Feel My Face’ is like a lightning bolt shock of genius – it sounds like nothing Max Martin has ever created before, or indeed probably ever will again. Instantly classic.

6. TOVE LO – ‘TALKING BODY’

Tove’s Queen Of The Clouds album really was the blueprint for pop music in the second half of the decade, with ‘Talking Body’ being the “patient zero” for many records that came after it. I was actually late on the Tove train and I remember feeling so upset that I hadn’t realised how good ‘Talking Body’ was because I had missed out on so many days of listening to it. Completely unashamed of being direct and clear about her intimate wants and desires, Tove’s music has a freeness that no one else is quite able to match and you can hear that liberation the most on this song – in all it’s dynamic glory.

5. BECKY HILL – ‘LOSING’

I don’t think anyone has ever conveyed so much storytelling and emotion with a single, distracted “anyway…” as Becky Hill does on ‘Losing’. Honestly the apex of British songwriting this decade – Becky and co-writer/producer MNEK were 20 years old when they wrote this heart-achingly beautiful song. I feel sick! Brilliance. Just… perfection.

4. AZEALIA BANKS – ‘212’ ft. LAZY JAY

The boss level of problematic faves but this list would just be a lie to not include Azealia Banks. ‘212’ is but a small capsule of the raw talent Azealia has access to. I weep to think of what we might have had if she had been honed artistically and managed creatively instead of left to her own devices to indulge her basest urges. ‘212’ still sounds new and innovative and like nothing else I’ve heard before.

3. BROCKHAMPTON – ‘BOOGIE’

A cacophony of rowdy energy, in some ways I am still recovering from my first play of ‘BOOGIE’. I can’t remember the last time a song surprised me so deliciously – ricocheting around my brain like  a bouncy ball and hitting up against every sensory receptor, all brassy and bombastic. BROCKHAMPTON have not been so indulgently loud and silly before or since, a grown up seriousness seems to have settled on them now. I would love for them to find this version of themselves again.

2. THE 1975 – ‘LOVE IT IF WE MADE IT’

Yet another genre for The 1975 to try their talented hand at – ‘Love It If We Made It’ puts politics into 80s-tinged electrofunk for a dizzying whip through a period of seemingly unending fuckery. No matter how miserable it gets – and sometimes it really does get very miserable – the optimism laced through the chorus of this song always picks me right back up.

1. KATY PERRY – ‘TEENAGE DREAM’

Earlier Michael immediately guessed that this song would be topping this list, which I think goes to show how ‘Teenage Dream’ is not just subjectively, but objectively the best song of the decade. Katy Perry has the rushes of new love bottled up in the wide-eyed earnestness of the lyrics and the pink candyfloss cloud sound of the beat. It’s intoxicating to listen to, the chorus cutting through the thrumming heartbeat guitar chords of the verses for a sharp snap into clarity of feeling, drums pounding like heart against ribs now, before settling bank into that pleasant momentous anxiety of the verses again. The spontaneous handgrab feeling of the bridge, tat ardent pledge about skintight jeans in the middle-eight, the truly uninhibited ad-libbed “yoooooooooou make! me! feel!” over the top of the beginning of the final chorus… Part of the magic of ‘Teenage Dream’ is how you can play it on day one of a new relationship or day one thousand and it still makes perfect sense. It’s a modern classic, a complete triumph, and the absolute very best pop song of the last ten years.