best of ?Reinvention's Sticky & Sweet Top 25 | #1

[Tropical]

The Sticky & Sweet Top 25

The best 25 songs of 2018


 

2017 | 2016 | 2015

 

Welcome everyone to my 4th annual Sticky & Sweet countdown of the year's best tracks. As a huge fan of EDM, bubblegum pop and dance pop tracks, 2018 has been quite generous and has given this gay everything he wants. I will be ranking my top 25 songs that were released in 2018 and you will note, as usual, that I usually stan the songs that the rest of a fanbase generally doesn't care much for. 

 

Sit tight - we'll be starting, as Gaga would say, "soon"!

 

 

[Cloröx]

Looking for some bops and gems 

[Remmy]

I remember your previous lists being good so hopefully you keep it up

[Tropical]

25. My My My!
- Troye Sivan

 

 

I've never really been into Troye so basically paid him dust until suddenly he pulled a "Cool for the Summer" and finally I was COMPELLED to get onboard with what he's serving and I've been using his bops frequently ever since. First of all, "My My My!" is simply so upbeat and happy. It makes me feel good and I love that in the video he is serving gay, carefree, camp realness. There's nothing I am less in the mood for in 2018 that a gay artist doing his darndest to come across as straight-acting or masculine - I want someone to embrace their queerness with enthusiasm and passion and to me, Troye just brings that.

 

I think if I was a teenager I would be EXTREMELY obsessed with Troye as he is living that dream popstar life - like collabing with the Britney Spears of 2018, Ariana Grande. What is cooler than that? Anyway I imagine he must be a shining queer light for young male gays these days to feel a little more comfortable if they are a little more feminine.

 

That being said - Troye is SO GORGEOUS and he and his boyfriend are cute twink couple GOALS!

[Body Electrician]

MMM stanning  one of the best pop songs in a while

[Prismee]

MMM   

Quote

 

Britney Spears of 2018, Ariana Grande.

 

Stan  

[Tropical]

 

24. Chun-Li
- Nicki Minaj

 

 

Not really the best day to be giving Nicki praise but, alas, "Chun-Li" gave me a LOT of life when it came out. I never figured a Tekken character's name would be atop the charts let alone gay ICON Chun-Li herself. Nicki snapped on that one. I loved the gaming references to Donkey Kong, Tomb Raider and X-Men and overall the song was just super catchy.

 

I'm not really here for Nicki (outside of "Va Va Voom" - a jam and a half) but then she served the 1-2 punch of "Barbie Tingz" and then "Chun-Li" and I was shook. Nicki came back with a vengeance and honestly, it was some of her best material and deserved better. Well TBH it didn't deserve better it was completely out-of-keeping with what was popular at the time, which I suppose makes it even more impressive considering both songs did well.

 

Nonetheless - whether or not Nicki is a mess or not (and she usually is) - I will stay giving those two bops my streams. Feel free to tell me if there's anything on Queen I should be listening to.

[Blue Rose]

Great songs so far. Love both 

[Queen Conchita]

Woo love the graphics, but I do now want some of them fizzy snakes 

 

great first two songs.

[mokitsu]

love both songs, wish the respecting albums were a biT stronger though  

[TheWayWeWere]

MMM was a bop

Chun Li is low-key the only song from Nicki that I like this year  

[Tropical]

23. I Know
- Aly & AJ

 

So weird having these two return to my life after a decade's absence. I had firmly put them in my "nostalgia" file and was shocked with all the extra paperwork when I had to re-file them into the "serving some of the best, freshest sounds in 2018". Honestly I was shook.

 

Their entire 10 Years EP is incredible but "I Know" just really struck a chord with me, especially when it came out. I remember I was moping after a guy I liked rejected me, my job was mindless and I had no clue what I was doing with my life and felt very lost and depressed. So when this brooding, low-tempo song crept out of nowhere and so eloquently told me how I was feeling I was again reminded of the power of music and how calming it can be when somebody else is able to articulate the way you feel. It's a beautiful reminder that, despite our uniqueness, special lives and one-off personalities, there's always somebody else that has been through is going through what you're enduring.

 

"It's a state of mind that's bringing you down
So tell me what will get you out
You haven't left your bed in days
And I know we've all seen better days"

 

Not really that special on paper but ugh it really struck a chord. I knew I was being uncharastically depressed and I had really let these circumstances get me down, and Aly & AJ just let me know that my low mood was normal and understandable. I have really struggled with the idea of "love" and if I'll ever feel comfortable or happy in a relationship.

 

(I just realized this song was released in 2017 - welp! Well it's staying anyway. ) 

[Mr. Loco]

My my my! is the only song from Troye I have liked so far

[levi_valvi]

the aesthetics  

[Mezik]

Aly & AJ returning took me back to being in middle-school,  

They always serve some pop gems.

 

Troye's 'My My My' is infectious, I never expected him to serve such quality... and now all I find myself doing is having that song on every playlist I have made for the year.  

 

Chun-Li was okay, I just find Nicki so insufferable and annoying now that I can't enjoy her work. I use to love her, but her arrogance is just so off-putting.  

[lhdang2000]

My My My.  

 

Nicki's so annoying this year tho. I only love some of her featurings.

 

[ChapelHooker]

My My My! is my **** so I'll stay perched

 

 

[potent]

My My My is amazing and so is Chun Li, despite how problematic she was this year

I didn't listen to Aly & AJ this year but maybe now is the time.

[Tsareena]

the three sings so far

[Legend E]

I Know is good!

I surprisingly liked Chun-Li

 

MMM is cute

[KasioKas]

12 hours ago, Reinvention said:

25. My My My!
- Troye Sivan

 

 

I've never really been into Troye so basically paid him dust until suddenly he pulled a "Cool for the Summer" and finally I was COMPELLED to get onboard with what he's serving and I've been using his bops frequently ever since. First of all, "My My My!" is simply so upbeat and happy. It makes me feel good and I love that in the video he is serving gay, carefree, camp realness. There's nothing I am less in the mood for in 2018 that a gay artist doing his darndest to come across as straight-acting or masculine - I want someone to embrace their queerness with enthusiasm and passion and to me, Troye just brings that.

 

I think if I was a teenager I would be EXTREMELY obsessed with Troye as he is living that dream popstar life - like collabing with the Britney Spears of 2018, Ariana Grande. What is cooler than that? Anyway I imagine he must be a shining queer light for young male gays these days to feel a little more comfortable if they are a little more feminine.

 

That being said - Troye is SO GORGEOUS and he and his boyfriend are cute twink couple GOALS!

You better stan for My My My!, an amazing pop track in 2018! MUCH higher on my list!

9 hours ago, Reinvention said:

 

24. Chun-Li
- Nicki Minaj

 

 

I'm not really here for Nicki (outside of "Va Va Voom" - a jam and a half) but then she served the 1-2 punch of "Barbie Tingz" and then "Chun-Li" and I was shook. Nicki came back with a vengeance and honestly, it was some of her best material and deserved better. Well TBH it didn't deserve better it was completely out-of-keeping with what was popular at the time, which I suppose makes it even more impressive considering both songs did well.

I completely agree 

[Tropical]

22. Sober
- Demi Lovato

 

I shaded Demi somewhat in the earlier Troye post but the truth is, even though I don't really like much of Demi's music, I support her and what she stands for. I think she works extremely hard and overcomes a lot of personal struggles to be the successful artist that she undeniably is.

 

"Sober" is a shockingly honest and frank song and it's one of those rare times when an artist is SO personal that it almost gives you shivers. The way she repeats multiple times "I'm lonely" is particularly heartbreaking given how beloved she is by her fans and by millions of people around the world. Hard to imagine how someone like her could feel this way, but then also not - I know I too have many friends and family that love me but am still prone to feeling lonely. I think that sentiment is what struck a chord with me.

 

It's sad that shortly after releasing this song Demi was found to have overdosed and very nearly lost her life - which would have left this as a very grim and upsetting swan song. Fortunately she seems to have made a full recovery and I hope she can better cope with her issues in future. The truth is there's almost certainly no worse career and social position to have for someone with such intense issues, but I hope from here on out she chooses the people around her more wisely and they support her the way she needs - perhaps with some tough love from time to time.

 

"Sober" is a nice reminder that Demi can not only sing with huge, long soaring notes, but she can also write a heart-breaking, personal diary-esque lyric and perform it with a gentle and emotional ,heart-string-tugging quality to her voice.

 

[TheWayWeWere]

I Know  their EP was amazing!

Sober serving some great vocals, but I don't really like the song otherwise

[worldwide angel]

all of these selections 

 

you better stan for Ariana 

[Tropical]

 

21. 21st Century Machine
- Catie Turner

 

There's only 2 songs on my top 25 that I suspect people won't be familiar with and this is the first one. Catie Turner was a contestant on the most recent season of American Idol, and I know - that show was cute 15 years ago but we're over it. HOWEVER - Catie really jumped out when she auditioned with this song, and finally in the past few weeks she finally released a studio version on Spotify.

 

It's simply such a well written song that it had Lionel Richie, Katy Perry and Luke Bryan collectively shook.

 

"People on the airwaves always preach who I should be,

how to dress, how to talk, baby how to breathe.

Wicked artists use their limber fingers to paint pictures of what young girls are to aspire to be.

I'm not alive if I'm not on illegal weed,

I'm not in love without man sitting next to me.

Someone tell me if this is all an illusion,

or if I'm just a cog in the 21st century machine."

 

For a young woman to write this is so phenomenal to me - it's just so catchy and she's such a quirky, typically kind of "uncool" girl who is clearly so self-aware and so painfully awake to the realities and unfairness that becomes most young people growing up. Especially those who don't fit into the "cool" or "good looking" mold. Plus all the other social rules we're supposed to follow.

 

I just love this song - and I love Catie, so check it out. (Catie and Katy also sang a stripped down rendition of "Part of Me" together and it was amazing.)