#THETENX5 🚨12 points🚨 25. Frank Ocean - Pyramids (2012) Genuinely baffled that this is only the second pick (publicly at least) to date for this. Perhaps those who are ranking have it coming up. The audacious, sprawling centrepiece of one of my favourite albums. www.youtube.com/watch?v=dMV3...

#THETENX5 21. Taylor Swift - Blank Space (2014) Self-deprecation suited her very well indeed. Has her star now started to wane? Very possibly but this is and its parent album are bona fide masterpieces. www.youtube.com/watch?v=e-OR...

#THETENX5 20. Demi Lovato - Cool for the Summer (2015) Katy Perry was rather coy about kissing a girl; Demi definitely isn't. www.youtube.com/watch?v=il9n...

#THETENX5 19. Lady Gaga and Beyoncé - Telephone (2010) The ultimate pop power couple. Wonder if that much-speculated sequel will ever see the light of day? www.youtube.com/watch?v=EVBs...

#THETENX5 🚨11 points🚨 18. Carly Rae Jepsen - Cut To The Feeling (2016) Pure joy distilled. This is the CRJ song that hits the sweet spot for me. www.youtube.com/watch?v=dD4k...

#THETENX5 17. Nicki Minaj - Superbass (2011) Feeling incredibly conflicted about this one but I'm going to hold my nose and separate the art from the artist. www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Jip...

#THETENX5 16. Rita Ora - Anywhere (2017) I know it looks like I'm simply mining winners of the Popjustice Twenty Quid Music Prize for my list but what can I say? The heart wants what the heart wants. Irresistible. youtu.be/ksdAs4LBRq8?...

#THETENX5 15. Kelly Clarkson - Underneath the Tree (2013) Sorry (not sorry). Probably doomed to be a sole pick but if this isn't the greatest festive banger since AIWFCIY, I don't know what is. youtu.be/EM2Fnp_qnE8?...

#THETENX5 🚨11 points🚨 14. Ariana Grande - Into You (2016) Well, it is Valentine's Day 😉 www.youtube.com/watch?v=1ekZ...

#THETENX5 13. Rihanna - Only Girl (In The World) (2010) Now this is what you call a statement of intent for a new decade. www.youtube.com/watch?v=pa14...

#THETENX5 12. Foxes - Let Go For Tonight (2014) It's a shame Foxes just seemed to fall off the radar. This is a great pop song. www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pecj...

#THETENX5 11. Charli xcx and Troye Sivan - 1999 (2018) 1999 may play fast and loose with musical history but I'm willing to forgive them because the song undoubtedly slaps. www.youtube.com/watch?v=6-v1...

#THETENX5 10. Marina and the Diamonds - Primadonna (2012) Impossible to deny Marina Diamandis at her most playful and OTT. The Electra Heart alter-ego didn't last long but it was fun while it lasted. And, again, fuck Dr. Luke. www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gj5L...

#FilmSky LITTLE TROUBLE GIRLS (2025) Excellent coming-of-age film from Slovenian director Urška Djukić. A very impressive debut. Available on BFI Player.

#THETENX5 🚨11 points🚨 9. Christine and the Queens feat. DāM FunK - Girlfriend (2018) For probably the first time in my life, I'm on the COOL LIST (thanks, Arron!). Using my double bonus points for this part so this irresistible slice of Gallic funk gets my first one. youtu.be/S0NMTuz9Duo?...

#THETENX5 8. Normani - Motivation (2019) The best single from the Fifth Harmony alumni (sorry Camila). This peaked at 27 in the UK charts. People are stupid. www.youtube.com/watch?v=FKXS...

#THETENX5 7. Example - Kickstarts (2010) www.youtube.com/watch?v=T9yG...

#THETENX5 6. Billie Eilish - bad guy (2019) Q: Was there any doubt that this pick from my @FearofMu21C roster would not be returning again? A: Duh! www.youtube.com/watch?v=DyDf...

#THETENX5 5. Drake feat. Majid Jordan - Hold On, We're Going Home (2013) Benefitting massively from not really sounding like a Drake track, he channels his inner Quincy Jones to great effect on this smooth as silk collaboration. www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gxgq...

#THETENX5 4. Katy Perry - The One That Got Away (2011) There are definitely cooler Katy Perry singles (and it's a pity Dr. Luke has a hand in it) but this mid-tempo stomper with its lyrical references to Radiohead and Johnny Cash is my favourite of hers. www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ahha...

#THETENX5 3. Little Mix - Black Magic (2015) Another Popjustice Twenty Quid Music Prize winner. Like Sugababes and Girls Aloud before them, they continued the lineage of brilliant British girl groups with an impressive strike rate of killer singles. www.youtube.com/watch?v=MkEl...

#THETENX5 2. Will Young - Jealousy (2011) The deserved winner of the 2012 Popjustice Twenty Quid Music Prize. Proving that Leave Right Now wasn't a fluke, this is another superlative sad banger from the first X Factor winner. youtu.be/9MHtrM-jf9o?...

#THETENX5 1. Dua Lipa - New Rules (2017) My 50 favourite songs from the 2010s? I count em'. Kicking off with Dua's sassy manifesto for female empowerment. www.youtube.com/watch?v=k2qg...

I've written 800 words on the failure of Blackburn Rovers' transfer strategy - planning and contracts. Retweets appreciated: open.substack.com/pub/fmrover/...

Dirty Rotten Scoundrels

#TheTwen2ie5 🚨12 points🚨 50. Chappell Roan - Good Luck, Babe (2024) Of course it is. There's nothing really I can add to the words of others who are far more eloquent than me. It might even now be my favourite ever song. Perfection. Thanks as always Arron. www.youtube.com/watch?v=1RKq...

#TheTwen2ie5 49. Amaarae - S.M.O. (2025) www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ngee...

#TheTwen2ie5 48. Charli xcx - Sympathy is a knife (2024) I'm a Taylor Swift fan but she went down massively in my estimation with her mean-spirited response to this on TLoaS. www.youtube.com/watch?v=S9s4...

#TheTwen2ie5 47. Billie Eilish - What Was I Made For? (2023) Apologies to I'm Just Ken fans for splitting the Barbie OST vote. youtu.be/cW8VLC9nnTo?...

#TheTwen2ie5 46. CMAT - The Jamie Oliver Petrol Station (2025) I'm definitely here for more songs about pop stars' slightly baseless antipathy towards other famous people. We all have one don't we? Mine would be about Vernon Kay. www.youtube.com/watch?v=BTWg...

#TheTwen2ie5 45. Little Simz feat. Obongjayar - Point And Kill (2021) youtu.be/tvY31eN3gtE?...

#TheTwen2ie5 44. Olivia Rodrigo - good 4 u (2021) www.youtube.com/watch?v=gNi_...

#TheTwen2ie5 43. Camilla Cabello feat. Playboi Carti - I LUV IT (2024) youtu.be/rDG-6Ue_Qbw?...

#TheTwen2ie5 42. Dua Lipa - Levitating (2020) www.youtube.com/watch?v=TUVc...

#TheTwen2ie5 41. Rema feat. Selena Gomez - Calm Down (2022) www.youtube.com/watch?v=WcIc...

#TheTwen2ie5 🚨11 points🚨 40. Charli XCX feat. Lorde - Girl, so confusing (2024) Let's normalise this sort of conflict resolution. www.youtube.com/watch?v=0q3K...

#TheTwen2ie5 39. Ariana Grande - yes, and? (2024) Another lower case fave. Everyone's favourite relationship wrecker giving zero shits. youtu.be/eB6txyhHFG4?...

#TheTwen2ie5 38. Olivia Rodrigo - bad idea right? (2023) Is picking two songs from Guts a little bit extravagant? Fuck it, it's fine. youtu.be/Dj9qJsJTsjQ?...

#TheTwen2ie5 37. Taylor Swift - So Long, London (2024) The Tortured Poet's Department is my favourite post-Folklore album. Unhappiness suits her very well, especially on this aching post-mortem of the end of her relationship with Joe Alwyn. youtu.be/CCUr2pNJft4?...

#TheTwen2ie5 36. Beyoncé - BREAK MY SOUL (2022) youtu.be/yjki-9Pthh0?...

#TheTwen2ie5 35. ROSÉ & Bruno Mars - APT. (2024) Dumb pop with a big stupid grin on its face (compliment). www.youtube.com/watch?v=ekr2...

#TheTwen2ie5 34. Jessie Ware - Free Yourself (2022) youtu.be/aD7F6M9fsms?...

#TheTwen2ie5 33. The Weeknd & Ariana Grande - Save Your Tears (Remix) (2021) The original is great in its own right but the addition of Ari takes it to another level. www.youtube.com/watch?v=LIID...

#TheTwen2ie5 32. Lana Del Rey - White Dress (2021) Love Lana's breathy delivery on this and who can't relate to her heartfelt sentiment of wishing to live a simpler life? www.youtube.com/watch?v=yJuV...

#TheTwen2ie5 31. Lorde - Shapeshifter (2025) I could tactically vote for What Was That as it seems to be the one picking up votes but this is my favourite track from the excellent Virgin. www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bkv-...

#TheTwen2ie5 🚨11 points🚨 30. Kendrick Lamar - Not Like Us (2024) When a diss track goes stratospheric. www.youtube.com/watch?v=H58v...

#TheTwen2ie5 29. Suede - She Still Leads Me On (2022) Three years to the day our then 16 year old son was rushed into intensive care with meningitis. He luckily made a full recovery but Autofiction soundtracked weeks of trips back and forth from the hospital. www.youtube.com/watch?v=dIcl...

#TheTwen2ie5 28. Beyoncé - BODYGUARD (2024) youtu.be/7HV_Rv858YM?...

#TheTwen2ie5 27. Jockstrap - Greatest Hits (2022) www.youtube.com/watch?v=_1-x...

#TheTwen2ie5 26. Sabrina Carpenter - Please Please Please (2024) www.youtube.com/watch?v=cF1N...