2018 Countdown — #101 through #62

Dear Poptastic Readers,

Happy Holidays! Welcome to our year-end countdown of our favourite poptastic songs of 2018!

In 2018, we had a record number of posts, as well as a record number of visitors (Thank you!). Compiling the list of songs was a bit hard for all of the contributors. All the contributors also had different favourites, so we have done our best to calculate the votes by contributors, how many visitors clicked on each post, and then bonus points were awarded if the artists acknowledged Poptastic Confessions for promoting their music, and in return promoted Poptastic Confessions. At the end of the day, Davearama and those closest to him help narrow down the songs into this list. A special thanks to Raoni, Sausi, Nick, Normski, Jason, Janice, and Arturo.

No matter what position the song lands in, they are all worthy. Our main goal at Poptastic Confessions is to bring you music that you might not have heard before. We hope you have enjoyed the songs, and that you will help support the artists by legally buying their music.

Now, on with the countdown! If you click on the name of the song, it will take you to our feature of the song this year. Enjoy!~


101. "Carry On" by Hanne Leland

100. "Untitled Love" by Solarstone & RABBII

99. "Golden" by Kylie Minogue

98. "Downtown Shutdown" by The Presets

97. "Made You Love Me" by Infernal

96. "Arcade Lover" by Lieza

95. "What Kind Of World" by Tom Bailey

94. "Used To You" by Dagny

93. "Getcha Ass Up" by Glass Slipper

92. "Getaway" by Roosevelt

91. "Birthday" by Kim Wilde

90. "Song 4 Me" by K3Y5HIFT3R featuring The 004

89. "Afraid Of The Dark" by RABBII

88. "Never See Me Cry" by Una Healy

87. "Busted" by Bowie Jane

86. "Eus Keus?" by Gwenno

85. "Runaway" by Oscar

84. "Golden Child" by Say Lou Lou

83. "Not Alone (All Elo Ele)" by Infernal

82. "Holly Would" by Daddy Deluxe featuring Deven Green

81. "I Own The Sky" by Jane Badler

80. "A Lifetime To Repair" by Kylie Minogue

79. "Storm" by SuRie

78. "The Only One" by Glass Slipper

77. "Shadows" by Little Boots

76. "Fever Vibe" by St. Humain

75. "That Feeling When" by Dagny

74. "Queen" by Tracey Thorn

73. "On My Own" by Claire Richards

72. "Slow Dance" by RABBII

71. "I Wouldn't Know" by Benjamin Ingrosso

70. "In The Name Of Love" by Alcazar

69. "Skibidi" by Little Big

68. "Rooftop" by Clara Mae

67. "Fire" by Ulrika

66. "Rocket" by En Vogue

65. "Kandy Krush" by Kim Wilde

64. "Slow Motion" by Magnus Carlsson

63. "Simply The Best" by Noah Reid

62. "Shadows" by Roosevelt

Check back tomorrow when we feature songs #61 through #22. You can also listen to these songs on our 2018 Poptastic Confessions Playlist on Spotify. Woo!

Cheers then,
—The Poptastic Confessions Collective

P.S. Poptastic Confessions has featured countdowns over the past 7 years, even before we had the name Poptastic Confessions.

P.S.S. See Poptastic Confessions Top Songs by year ...

2017, 2016, 2015, 2014, 2013, 2012, 2011, and 2010

Like A Holiday (Alex Di Ciò Remix) by Jody Watley

Dear Poptastic Readers,

Happy Holidays! Before we start our annual year-end countdown, we want to tell you about the new Alex Di Ciò Remix of "Like A Holiday" by The Queen of Cool Jody Watley.

Now you might remember that it was just last year that Jody released this song as we featured it last December. This is what we had to say then ...

"Like A Holiday" has a chill out RnB vibe that will have you nodding your head and tapping your feet in no time. 

The Alex Di Ciò Remix adds a soulful guitar adding to the ambient relaxed feeling to the original. Just have a quick listen here ...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WK1-8CNtKAg

And here the whole mix here ...

https://youtu.be/BF2ZoJMAIp0

The Alex Di Ciò Remix of "Like A Holiday" is available on digitial outlets everywhere. Buy your copy today! We've added the new remix to A Very Poptastic Christmas Playlist on Spotify. Enjoy!~

Cheers then,
—Davearama

P.S. Check out these links ...

Jody Watley
Facebook
Instagram
Twitter
Official Website

Poptastic Confessions
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Poptastic Confessions 7th Anniversary

Please like and share our links so that more people hear and buy the music!

Revisiting 2017

Dear Poptastic Readers,

Every year, we do a little countdown of our favourite songs of the year. Before we start it, let's take a look back at our top songs from last year. 

In our list below, if you click on the song title, it will take you to the blog entry where we wrote about the song and what it means to us. You can usually watch the official music video or a performance, if there was one.

Here are our Top 100 favorite songs of 2017. Enjoy!

#61-100

#22-60

Bonus: #21. "Thinking About..." by Slippry Feet

#20. "Beautiful Life" by The Sound Of Arrows

#19. "Go To Work" by Nadine Cole

#18. "Galaxy" by Dannii Minogue

#17. "Moonlight" by Dolly Style

#16. "All Men Must Die" by RABBII

#15. "Echoes" by Ulrika

#14. "My Boyfriend's Clothes" by Christie and the Dream Beats

#13. "Hair Down" by Mollie King

#12. "I'm Not Her" by Clara Mae

#11. "Warriors" by Tigertown

#10. "Bye Bye Bby Boo" by Dolly Style

#9. "Neon Blue" by Steps

#8. "Do You Think About Me" by Benjamin Ingrosso

#7. "Lucy (Sun Goes Up)" by Chris Tall featuring Maydar

#6. "Weightless" by Infernal

#5. "Dancing With A Broken Heart" by Steps

#4. "Taped Up Heart" by KREAM featuring Clara Mae

#3. "Wearing Nothing" by Dagny

#2. "Scared Of The Dark" by Steps

#1. "Electric Nights" by Parralox

We hope you enjoyed looking back on our Top 20 list from last year. You can watch the playlist on YouTube here ...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XufYO39gi2Y&list=PL8ch-6GbsSQ6we7n5VRLneEdBrNnnQeUx

This year's list starts tomorrow and will run all through the month of December. Be sure to check back every day. You can listen to our Top Songs of 2017 on Spotify. Enjoy!~

Cheers then,
—The Poptastic Confessions Collective

P.S. Please like our Facebook page and follow us on Instagram and Twitter!

Poptastic Confessions
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Instagram
Twitter
Poptastic Confessions 7th Anniversary

Please like and share our links so that more people hear and buy the music!


Poptastic Confessions has featured countdowns over the past 7 years, even before we had the name Poptastic Confessions. 

P.S.S. See Poptastic Confessions Top Songs by year ...

2016, 2015, 2014, 2013, 2012, 2011, and 2010

Mama Said by Alice D

Dear Poptastic Readers,

Alice D has released a new single called "Mama Said" off her brand new EP called Narcissus. Great news! Both single and EP are available today!

"Mama Said" is an infectious soulful jam that could almost be Part 2 of her song "I Don't Owe You" from last year. "Mama Said" is about heartbreak that Alice wrote. She proves time and time again that she has star power. She effortlessly takes the listener on a journey of self realization. So emotional. Just have a listen ...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8nCJs8f_Z74

"Mama Said" and Narcissus are available on digital outlets everywhere. Please support the artist by legally downloading the songs. You can also stream the EP on Spotify. We haven't had time to listen to the whole EP yet. But in the meantime, you should!

We will add "Mama Said" to our 2019 Poptastic Confessions Playlist on Spotify when we create it in January. It will also be available for our year-end countdown of 2019. However, watch for her song "More 2 U" to be featured on our 2018 year-end countdown starting on December 8!

Cheers then,
—Davearama

P.S. For more information, please check out these links ...

Alice D
Facebook
Instagram
Twitter
Poptastic Confessions' interview with Alice D in 2014

Poptastic Confessions
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Instagram
Twitter
Poptastic Confessions 7th Anniversary

Please like and share our links so that more people hear and buy the music!

Holiday '18 by Parralox

Dear Poptastic Readers,

Happy December! We are getting ready to start our annual year-end countdown of 2018. However, we have some great news to share first! Parralox has just released a new album! Holiday '18 is the 5th album in the group's Holiday series of albums. Hooray! It is released early this year, too!

What is exactly is the Holiday series? Here's your Pop History 101 lesson for the day: The Human League released a single/EP called Holiday '80 in, you guessed it, 1980. Now in the Holiday series by Parralox, most of the songs are cover versions, however, some are original. Most of the songs do not even have a seasonal holiday theme, but there are a few. Some albums are long. Some are short. You check out our reviews of the past 4 Holiday albums here ...

Holiday '14

Holiday '15

Holiday '16

Holiday '17

Here is our track-by-track review of Holiday '18:

1. Holiday '18 starts off with an interlude called "Daisy (Part 1)." This is a 41-second vocoder chorus of the classic song "Daisy Bell." However, more about that later on the last track (aka Part 2) ...

https://youtu.be/xbydLeGqy_Y

2. "Don't Change" 

This cover the INXS classic is one of the many highlights of the album. John takes the lead on this and does a wonderful job. Both INXS and Parralox are Australian so you can tell there is much love and care to get it right. This has the goosebumps factor! Have a listen ...

https://youtu.be/-V6NLzUUA8Y

3. "Be My Lover Now"

This was originally recorded by Phil Oakey (from The Human League) and Giorgio Moroder in 1985. This is called the "Dare Mix" with lots of elements from The Human League's Dare album. Again, John takes the lead and does a fantastic job of making this sound like a Human League track that never was. Glorious.

https://youtu.be/4nfTHIUmylc

4. "Flash In The Night" 

This song was originally recorded by the Swedish group Secret Service. We aren't familiar with the original, so we think that this is a lovely slice of synth pop. We think you will like it, too!

https://youtu.be/wtYAtif0Hf8

5. "The Black Hit of Space"

Originally a Human League song from 1980, which was the first track on the their second album Travelogue. It was pretty avant-garde then, and this is a faithful remake. Parralox loves those early Human League tracks!

https://youtu.be/mnMJXVKPgI8

6. "Sharp as a Knife" 

Do not be confused this with the Parralox song "Sharper Than A Knife." This was originally recorded in 1986 by Roxanne Shanté, who was the original Parralox lead singer. This is a very fun song and John is on lead vocals. We love it! It should get you up and dancing!

https://youtu.be/0ind61QOdu8

7. "Heart Of Glass" 

Yes! This is indeed a Blondie remake. This is the electronica chill version that you didn't know that you were missing in your life! Lead vocals are by the lovely Louise Love who sounds AMAZING here (as always). This is song that you want to hit repeat when it ends. So incredibly awesome.

https://youtu.be/AKYmFO5EZ8E

8. "Lullaby" 

"Lullably" is remake of the classic song by The Cure. This remake of the spooky classic is over 9 minutes long. Try not to get lost listening to it ...

https://youtu.be/8yj6eSHV9Es

9. "Time After Time" 

No, this is not the Cyndi Lauper classic, but a song originally by The Beloved. This is another one that we didn't know. No worries, with John on lead vocals, Parralox makes it mesmerizing. It is very good!

https://youtu.be/ta6PVTX9BuM

10. "Daisy (Part 2)" 

The last track was originally called "Daisy Bell" and it was written by British songwriter Harry Dacre in 1892. The connection to Parralox is that the song was featured in the movie 2001: A Space Odyssey where the computer HAL 9000 sings it while it is being deactivated. On Parralox's website, John says it was the death of actor Douglas Rain (who provided the voice for HAL 9000 in the movie) that inspired him to remake the song with vocoder. The song is even dedicated to Douglas Rain.

https://youtu.be/7RBEPy4BoQM

We encourage you to click on the links in this post, listen to the album on Spotify, and download the music so that we help support artists like Parralox who give us so much wonderful pop music. 

The songs on Holiday '18 will be put on our 2019 Poptastic Confessions Playlist on Spotify in January. They will also be eligible for the Poptastic Confessions year-end countdown for next year, too.

Cheers then,
—Davearama


P.S. Check out these fabulous links ...

Parralox
Facebook
Instagram
Twitter
Official Site
A Poptastic Confessions Interview with John von Ahlen of Parralox in 2015

Poptastic Confessions
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Poptastic Confessions 7th Anniversary

Please like and share our links so that more people hear and buy the music!

Blackbird by Henrikes

Dear Poptastic Readers,

We just found out about this remake of The Beatles' classic "Blackbird" by a new Swedish artists named Henrikes.

We don't know much about Henrikes, but look forward to hearing more about her. In the meantime, her remake of "Blackbird" is quite lovely. It was produced and mixed by former Le Kid member Märta. Have a listen ...

Wasn't that lovely? In January, when we create our 2019 Poptastic Confessions Playlist on Spotify, we will add this song. It will be eligible for our year-end countdown next year, but not this year.

Cheers then,
—Davearama

P.S. Check out these links ...

Henrikes
Instagram

Poptastic Confessions
Facebook
Instagram
Twitter
Poptastic Confessions 7th Anniversary

Please like and share our links so that more people hear the music!