Portal:Pop music/Selected songs

Portal:Pop music/Selected songs/1 "Say Say Say" is a pop song written and performed by Paul McCartney and Michael Jackson. The track was produced by George Martin (pictured) for McCartney's fifth solo album, Pipes of Peace (1983). The song was recorded during the production of McCartney's 1982 Tug of War album. After its release in October 1983, "Say Say Say" became Jackson's seventh top-ten hit in a year. It was a number one hit in the United States, Norway, Sweden and several other countries, reached number two in the United Kingdom, and peaked within the top ten in more than 20 countries, including Australia, Austria, New Zealand, the Netherlands, and Switzerland. Certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America, the song was promoted with a music video directed by Bob Giraldi. The video – filmed in Santa Ynez Valley, California – features cameo appearances by Linda McCartney and La Toya Jackson. The short film centers around two con artists called "Mac and Jack" (played by McCartney and Jackson), and is credited for the introduction of dialogue and storyline to music videos.

Portal:Pop music/Selected songs/2 "4 Minutes" is a song by American singer and songwriter Madonna from her eleventh studio album Hard Candy (2008), featuring vocals by American musicians Justin Timberlake and Timbaland. It was released as the lead single from the album on March 17, 2008, by Warner Bros. Records. The song's development was motivated by a sense of urgency to save the planet from destruction, and how people can enjoy themselves in the process. The writing was completed through discussions between Madonna and Timberlake about different situations, issues and relationships. According to Madonna, the song inspired her to produce the documentary I Am Because We Are (2008). An uptempo dance song with an urban and hip hop style, "4 Minutes" incorporates Timbaland's characteristic bhangra beats and the instrumentation used in the song includes brass, foghorns and cow bells. The song's lyrics carry a message of social awareness, inspired by Madonna's visit to Africa and the human suffering she witnessed in the continent.

Portal:Pop music/Selected songs/3 "Hey Jude" is a song attributed to Paul McCartney and John Lennon (though largely the work of McCartney), originally recorded by The Beatles for the self-titled The Beatles album, but released instead as a single. The song, despite its unusually long length (seven minutes, 12 seconds), became the Beatles' best-selling single, although they did produce a trimmed down version for American radio due to most stations' refusal to air a song of such length. The song–originally titled "Hey Jules"–was written for John Lennon's son Julian by McCartney, at a trying time for the Lennon family when John and his first wife, Cynthia, were getting divorced. The senior Lennon related to the song extremely well too, as he had just begun his relationship with his future second wife, Yoko Ono. McCartney had also just broken up with Jane Asher and was about to start seeing Linda Eastman.

Portal:Pop music/Selected songs/4 "Hollaback Girl" is a pop song written by Gwen Stefani and Pharrell Williams for Stefani's debut solo album Love. Angel. Music. Baby. As part of Stefani's vision of creating "a silly dance record", the song is strongly influenced by 1980s dance and hip hop music. Stefani and Williams wrote the song as a confrontational response to a derogatory comment that Courtney Love made about Stefani in an interview with Seventeen magazine. The song was released as the album's third single in early 2005. It was one of the year's most popular songs, reaching the top ten in most singles charts. In the United States, "Hollaback Girl" topped the Billboard Hot 100 for four weeks and became the first digital download to sell more than one million copies. The song received numerous award nominations, including Best Female Pop Vocal Performance and Record of the Year at the 48th Grammy Awards. Despite its commercial success, it had a polarizing effect on pop music critics, especially criticized for its repeated use of the word shit.

Portal:Pop music/Selected songs/5 "The Edge of Glory" (registered as "Edge of Glory" on radio) is a song by American recording artist and songwriter Lady Gaga, from her second studio album Born This Way (2011). "The Edge of Glory" is a dance song that speaks of the very last moments of life. According to Gaga, lyrical inspiration came from the death of her grandfather, who died in September 2010. Alongside a saxophone solo played by Clarence Clemons, the melody of the song resembles much of the musical works of Bruce Springsteen, and contains several qualities similar to that of 1980s adult contemporary musical works. The song received critical acclaim, with many critics deeming the song as an album highlight. Much of the praise went to the song's chorus and the musical production. Reviewers also complimented Gaga's vocals, describing it as "soulful". Critics lauded the simplicity of the music video, while comparing it to the works of Michael Jackson, Janet Jackson and Madonna.

Portal:Pop music/Selected songs/6 "Part of Me" is a song by American recording artist Katy Perry, released as the lead single from Teenage Dream: The Complete Confection, the re-release edition of her second studio album, Teenage Dream. It was written by Perry and Bonnie McKee, with production and additional writing by Dr. Luke, Max Martin and Cirkut. The song was not included on the original edition of Teenage Dream because Perry felt that it did not fit the composition of the album. The production draws inspiration from several genres, including house music, dance-pop, and power pop; reviewers compared it to Jessie J's 2011 single "Domino", and Perry's 2010 singles "Firework" and "California Gurls". Its lyrics describe a female protagonist who declares herself as un-breakable and strong following a dramatic break-up.

Portal:Pop music/Selected songs/7 "Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)" is a song by American recording artist Beyoncé Knowles from her third studio album, I Am... Sasha Fierce (2008). It was the album's lead single alongside "If I Were a Boy", contrasting Knowles' persona as herself and her aggressive onstage alter ego Sasha Fierce. Following her secret marriage to Jay-Z in April 2008, Knowles was inspired to write "Single Ladies" to explore men's unwillingness to commit. It is a dance-pop song with R&B, dancehall, disco and bounce influences. According to the lyrics, the female protagonist is in a club to celebrate after a recent end to a poor relationship; her former lover is also present. The song and the repeated refrain, "If you like it then you should have put a ring on it", are directed to him. Critics praised the song for its smooth production. "Single Ladies" won three Grammy Awards, including Song of the Year. It peaked at number one on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart. The accompanying music video was shot in black-and-white and features the J-Setting dance choreography inspired by "Mexican Breakfast", a 1969 routine choreographed by Bob Fosse. The award-winning video has been parodied and imitated around the world.

Portal:Pop music/Selected songs/8 "How Will I Know" is a song recorded by American recording artist Whitney Houston for her debut album, titled Whitney Houston, which was released in February 1985. Composed by George Merrill and Shannon Rubicam, the song was originally intended for Janet Jackson, but she passed on it. Houston then recorded the song with altered lyrics and production from Narada Michael Walden. An up-tempo dance song, the lyrics speak about the protagonist trying to discern if a boy she likes will ever like her back. "How Will I Know" received mainly positive reviews. The song became Houston's second number one single on the United States Billboard Hot 100. The song's music video features scenes of Houston dancing in a setting of video screens and colored partitions. The music video gave Houston exposure to the teens and MTV, a feat which black artists had traditionally found tough to achieve.

Portal:Pop music/Selected songs/9 "All Through the Night" is a song performed by American singer-songwriter Cyndi Lauper from her debut album She's So Unusual. It was written by Jules Shear for his album Watch Dog, as a mid-tempo folk-rock song. After The Cars recorded their own version, which they did not use on any of their albums, Lauper decided to cover it. Although she initially intended to do a straight cover of Shear's version, she turned it into a pop ballad instead. The song was the only single released worldwide by Lauper that did not have a music video. It peaked at number five on the Billboard Hot 100, becoming Lauper's fourth top five single in the U.S. Lauper became the first woman in the 26-year history of Billboard to take four singles from the same album to Top 5 on the Hot 100. The song was mostly positively received by critics. An acoustic version was sung by Lauper on her 2005 album, The Body Acoustic. In this version, Shaggy provided backing vocals.

Portal:Pop music/Selected songs/10 "...Baby One More Time" is a song by American recording artist Britney Spears. It served as Spears's debut single and title track from her debut studio album, ...Baby One More Time (1999). "...Baby One More Time" is a teen pop and dance-pop song that refers to a girl who regrets breaking up with her boyfriend. The song received generally favorable reviews from critics, who praised its composition. "...Baby One More Time" attained global success, reaching number one in every country it charted. It also received numerous certifications around the world, and is one of the best-selling singles of all time, with over 10 million copies sold. An accompanying music video, directed by Nigel Dick, portrays Spears as a student from a Catholic high school, who starts to daydream that she is singing and dancing around the school, while watching her love interest from afar.

Portal:Pop music/Selected songs/11 "Mama" is a song by British pop group Spice Girls. It was written by the Spice Girls, Matt Rowe and Richard Stannard, and produced by Rowe and Stannard for the group's debut album Spice, released in November 1996. "Mama" is a pop ballad that features instrumentation from keyboards, a rhythm guitar, a cello, and a violin, and its lyrics deal with the difficulties in relationships between mothers and daughters that appear during adolescence. It was released as a double A-side with "Who Do You Think You Are", and became the official single of the 1997 Comic Relief. Its Big TV! directed music video, featured the group singing to an audience of children and their own mothers. Despite receiving mixed reviews from music critics, "Mama" was commercially successful. Released as the album's fourth single in March 1997, it became their fourth consecutive number-one single in the United Kingdom, which made the Spice Girls the first act in UK chart history to have its first four singles reach number one.

Portal:Pop music/Selected songs/12 "La Isla Bonita" (English: The Beautiful Island) is a song by American singer-songwriter Madonna. It was released as the fifth and final single from her third studio album, True Blue, on February 25, 1987, by Sire Records. The instrumental version of the song was first offered to Michael Jackson before Madonna both accepted it and wrote the lyrics and melody. "La Isla Bonita" is noted for being the first Madonna song to have a Spanish influence in it, with arrangements of Cuban drums and Spanish guitar, maracas, harmonicas and a mix of synthesized and real drumming. The lyrics of the song tell about a beautiful island and was a tribute to the beauty of the Latin people according to Madonna. In the accompanying music video, Madonna portrayed two opposite characters – a pious girl and a passionate Latina. The Latin style and the flamenco red dress she wore became a trend later.

Portal:Pop music/Selected songs/13 "Beat It" is a song written and performed by American recording artist Michael Jackson, and produced by Quincy Jones (with co-production by Jackson). It is the third single from the singer's sixth solo album, Thriller (1982). Eddie Van Halen was hired to add the song's distinctive overdriven guitar solo, but was prevented by his record label from appearing in the music video. He did appear on stage with Jackson in Dallas during the Jackson brothers "Victory Tour." Following the successful chart performances of the Thriller singles "The Girl Is Mine" and "Billie Jean", "Beat It" was released on February 3, 1983 as the album's third single. The song was promoted with a short film that featured Jackson bringing two gangs together through the power of dance. "Beat It" (along with the song's music video) propelled Thriller into becoming the best-selling album of all time. In the decades since its release, "Beat It" has been covered, parodied, and sampled by numerous artists.

Portal:Pop music/Selected songs/14 "Material Girl" is a song performed by American singer-songwriter Madonna. Madonna explained that the concept of the song was similar to her life's situation at that time. According to her, the song was provocative, hence she was attracted to it. "Material Girl" consists of synth arrangements with a robotic voice repeating the hook. The lyrics identify with materialism, with Madonna asking for a rich and affluent life, rather than romance and relationships. Contemporary and old critics have frequently noted "Material Girl" and "Like a Virgin" as the songs that made Madonna an icon. The music video was a mimicry of Marilyn Monroe's performance of the song "Diamonds Are a Girl's Best Friend" from the 1953 film Gentlemen Prefer Blondes. The mimicked scenes are interspersed with scenes of a Hollywood director trying to win the heart of an actress, played by Madonna herself.

Portal:Pop music/Selected songs/15 "SexyBack" is a song by American recording artist Justin Timberlake from his second studio album, FutureSex/LoveSounds (2006). scussing "SexyBack", Timberlake revealed that he went "left", singing the song in a rock style, not an R&B style. He described the song as musicians David Bowie and David Byrne "covering" James Brown's 1970 song "Sex Machine". The track features Timbaland on backing vocals, while Timberlake's voice is distorted. The instrumentation used in the song includes a pounding bass beat, electronic chords, and beat box sounds. "SexyBack" received mixed reception from critics. The music video was filmed in June 2006; Timberlake decided to work with director Michael Haussman based on the latter's work on Madonna's 1994 music video "Take a Bow".

Portal:Pop music/Selected songs/16 "From This Moment On" is a song by Canadian recording artist Shania Twain, taken from her third studio album, Come On Over (1997). After finishing the track, both Twain and Lange concluded that the song would work best as a duet. Despite their first choice for the duet being Elton John, they chose country singer Bryan White instead, who took the opportunity. "From This Moment On" is a country pop track which received generally favorable reviews from music critics, who deemed it as one of the album's highlights. The song achieved moderate commercial success, reaching the top ten in Australia, Canada, United Kingdom and United States. An accompanying music video was directed by Paul Boyd, which depicts Twain walking on a hallway until she's joined by an orchestra to perform the song. "From This Moment On" has been performed on every tour by Twain since its release.