The Good & The Ugly: 2011

2011 was the year I was living in Puerto Rico during the 6th grade. Aside from the plethora of reggaetón artists, the only exposure to music I had during this time period was the singular pop radio station in the area. Lucky for me, the year end Billboard Hot 100 for 2011 suggests I wasn’t really missing much anyway. A lot of it is really difficult to sit through, the club boom was on its last grasps for air and so many of those songs reflected that idea. It was like partying on the last day before the world ends, there’s an energy that screams “fuck it”, regardless of its quality. It was also the weird transition period where the stars of the past decade were sinking or swimming in the new decade, trying to shoot for any attempt to keep a sense of relevance. On the other side of the spectrum, the newer stars were staking their claims as the next big things, even if some of those artists were mere flashes in the pan. It was a year splattered with new coats of paint, seeing what stuck.

Before I dive into the best and worst hits to grace the pop charts, here are some honorable mentions that just missed the cut: Foster The People- “Pumped Up Kicks”, Miguel- “Sure Thing”, Katy Perry- “Last Friday Night (TGIF)”, Adele- “Someone Like You”, Lupe Fiasco- “The Show Goes On”, Wiz Khalifa- “Black and Yellow”/”Roll Up”, and Cobra Starship- “You Make Me Feel”. On the bad lists, my honorable mentions keep…