Dance
The "King of Pop" wrote many of his hit song by himself, including "Billie Jean" and "Beat It." This is another example one he wrote, although it's not nearly as personal as many of his compositions. He wrote this song after his mother Katherine asked him to write a song with "a shuffling kind of rhythm."
"The Way You Make Me Feel" by Michael Jackson
"I love being a mountain girl, a country girl. And I've written so many songs about it. 'My ______ Mountain Home' really talks about sitting on a front porch, leaning back like we used to, singing, and having peaceful times. There were hard times, too. But when you grow up in the mountains, you're not working every second."
This singer is the fourth oldest of 12 kids: Stella, Larry, Randy, Rachel, Willadeene, David, Coy, Robert Lee, Floyd, Cassie, and Freida. She is also godmother to Miley Cyrus.
"My Tennessee Mountain Home" by Dolly Parton
Maybe the greatest striver's anthem of our modern era was written in half an hour by a 15-year-old in Auckland, New Zealand.
"I'm really drawn to beautiful words and perfect turns of phrase," she explained during an interview. "I'd been thinking about the concept of the song for a long time, and then I cut this picture out of National Geographic, which was a member of a baseball team [wearing a jersey] that said Royals. He was just signing baseballs, but I was like, 'That is so cool.' That word is so beautiful and I was just wondering how I could incorporate it into something."
"Royals" by Lorde at 15 years old
To this day, this band’s debut album ‘Whatever People Say I Am, That’s What I’m Not’ is still the fastest selling record by a group of all time (fastest, not biggest). It sold 363,735 copies in its first week.
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"Do I Wanna Know?" by the Arctic Monkeys
I don't wanna talk right now
I just wanna watch TV
I'll stay in the pool and drown
So I don't have to watch you leave
I ______________
Maybe I should get some sleep
Sinking in the sofa while they all betray each other
What's the point of anything?
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"put on Survivor just to watch somebody suffer"
"TV" by Billie Eilish
This French electronic duo have been nominated for the Grammy awards 12 times and have won six times. The Parisian producers elevated dance music with a trademark sound that blended pop, funk, synthpop, hip-hop, house, and techno with indie rock overtones.
This track was voted by Mixmag readers in February 2013 as their Greatest Dance Track Of All Time. The magazine said the extended breakdown is "so soon into the track that it's almost the track itself, a confident inversion of the usual template that contributes to 'One More Time' being one of the single most suspenseful, dramatic slices of dance music ever made."
"One More Time" by Daft Punk
"My father was a true patriot, and Tennessee exhibits this. He really did love the state he lived in. Tennessee meant a lot to my dad and through his years here he stayed true. Lived in Hendersonville, Tennessee, from 1967 to the end of his life."
one of country music’s most influential singers grew up being J.R. Cash in Arkansas. He is known as the "Man in Black."
"Tennessee Stud" by Johnny Cash
"It was actually the first song I ever wrote from start to finish," this artist said in a 2008 interview with Blues & Soul.
"It was kind of about me and my mum not agreeing on where I should go to university. Because, though at first I'd wanted to go to Liverpool, later I changed my mind and wanted to go to university in London. But, because I love being at home and I'm really dependent on my mum, she still wanted me to go to Liverpool," she explained. "So in that way it was a kind of protest song about cherishing the memories — whether good or bad — of your hometown."
"Hometown Glory" by 16 year old Adele
This song is about maintaining the manly image and hiding your tears behind your eyes. Tough guys don't always get the girl.
The song grew out of Robert Smith's frustration over being expected to conform to an outdated view of masculinity. "When I was growing up, there was peer pressure on you to conform to be a certain way, and as an English boy at the time, you're encouraged not to show your emotion to any degree. And I couldn't help but show my emotions when I was younger. I never found it awkward showing my emotions. I couldn't really continue without showing my emotions - you'd have to be a pretty boring singer to do that. So I kind of made a big thing about it. I thought, 'Well, it's part of my nature to rail against being told not to do something.'"
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"Boys Don't Cry" by the Cure
She'd take the world off my shoulders
If it was ever hard to move
She'd turn the rain to a rainbow
When I was living in the blue
Why then, if she is so perfect
Do I still wish that it was you?
__________________
So what can I do?
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"Perfect don't mean that it's working"
"Glimpse of Us" by Joji
The group got their name from a Cole Porter song called "It's De-Lovely," which is about falling madly in love. They mention that song in the line, "Just de-lovely and delicious."
This track was a hit in New York clubs before it went mainstream. Like Madonna's "Vogue," which came out the same year, it was very popular in gay clubs.
"Groove is in the Heart" by Deee-Lite
This American country music singer and songwriter was the first female star of the genre. She sang gospel music in church as a child, and took her stage name, 🐈 🚰 from a Carter Family song.
"I Heard the Jukebox Playing" by Kitty Wells
This artist was just 14 years old when she was discovered. She is credited as the lead cowriter for every song on her Grammy-nominated debut album, including iconic bops like "Complicated" and "Sk8er Boi." But she said that this song was her favorite track. She wrote the punk-rock anthem about an ex-boyfriend who didn't value her enough.
"I was this guy's girlfriend, and he didn't even treat me like it," she said. "If he sat there with his arm around me, it was just because I was his chick. It wasn't like, 'Oh, baby. I love you.'"
"Songwriting is like that for me," she added, snapping her fingers. "Someone can say, 'Go write a song,' and I can do it. I can write a song a day."
She grew up in the small town of Napanee, Ontario, Canada. (Her name is pronounced AH-vreel la-VEEN. It's French).
"Losing Grip" by Avril Lavigne
This song was written in reaction to an incident where the BBC DJ, Steve Wright, played the trite and spunky Wham! track, "I'm Your Man," following a news report about the Chernobyl disaster – a devastating nuclear accident that occurred on April 26, 1986 at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant in Ukraine.
Guitarist, Johnny Marr, recalled to NME in 1987: "'___' came about at the time of Chernobyl. Morrissey and myself were listening to a radio report about it. The stories of this shocking disaster comes to an end and then immediately we're off into Wham's 'I'm Your Man.' I remember actually saying, 'What the f*ck has this got to do with people's lives?' And so, 'Hang the blessed DJ.' I think it was a great lyric, important and applicable to anyone who lives in England."
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"Panic" by the Smiths
You were holdin' out your hands, hopin' I'd be there to hold to
I went out to _____ just so I could_______
But I kept openin' my door just to see if you would walk through
But now I'm paintin' all my walls just to see if you like the shade
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"I went out to Amsterdam just so I could give you some space"
"THE SHADE" by Rex Orange County
This track by Queen B also includes legendary artist Grace Jones and Nigerian singer Tems.
This artist dedicated the RENAISSANCE album to the "fallen angels" of club culture, after being influenced by Black artists who popularized various genres of dance music in the '70s, '80s, and '90s.
"MOVE" by Beyonce
This track shows Nashville artist embracing the power of vulnerability and honesty, taking us closer than ever to her, and coating it all in nostalgia.
Her real name is Sophie Allison. ⚽🤱
"Circle the Drain" by Soccer Mommy
This singer was 18 when she wrote "Wuthering Heights," inspired by the Emily Brontë novel of the same name. "Legend has it," according to Pitchfork, "she wrote 'Wuthering Heights' in a matter of hours after viewing a BBC miniseries adaptation that was popular that year."
She was adamant that it would become her debut single, despite protests from her record label. When she eventually won out, the song rose to No. 1 and cemented her reputation as one of the era's greatest lyricists.
This made her the first female artist to have a No. 1 hit in the UK with a self-written song.
"Wuthering Heights" by Kate Bush at 18.
When "______" entered the UK Top 10 in September 2021, "Rocketman" singer became the first artist to rack up a Top 10 song in the UK in six different decades. He overtook Cher, Cliff Richard, Elvis Presley, Michael Jackson and David Bowie, who each scored at least one Top 10 single in five different decades.
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The female Brit singer in this track achieved her third UK #1 with this song. Her previous two chart-toppers were her 2017 solo single "New Rules" and her 2018 collaboration with Calvin Harris, "One Kiss."
"Cold Heart" by Elton John and Dua Lipa
En la guagua se quedó el olor
De tu perfume
Tú ere' una bellaca, yo soy un bellaco
Eso e' lo que no' une
Ella sabe que está buenota
Y no la presumen
Si yo fuera tu_______
Subiera una foto los vierne' y los lune'
"gato" 🐈
"Me Porto Bonito" by Bad Bunny and Chencho
"I pictured somebody single wishing that they could find that special person for themselves."
"I Wanna Dance with Somebody" by Whitney Houston.
This artist scored near a near-perfect 1500 on her SATs and has a reported IQ of over 140, which puts her near genius level. She turned down the offer of a full scholarship at Barnard College, choosing her music career instead.
In October 2014, she filed a civil suit against her longtime producer Dr. Luke, accusing him of professional misconduct, along with emotional and sexual abuse. It was the beginning of a lengthy court battle.
"Tik Tok" by Ke$ha
When she was 15, this singer landed a starring role as Nini Salazar-Roberts on "High School Musical: The Musical: The Series."
She said her debut album explores her perils and discoveries as a 17-year-old, with its title referring to the "sour" emotions young people experience but are often criticized for, such as anger, jealousy, and unhappiness.
She is proud to be a biracial Filipino American but has confessed she didn't always feel that way. "Me and my other more ethnic friends grew up in this world where we thought that being a white girl would be better, and you'd be happier, and people would like you more." She hopes her music will speak to young girls with similar insecurities.
"brtual" by Olivia Rodrigo at 17.
This British singer-songwriter who skyrocketed to fame as a result of the critically acclaimed multiple Grammy Award-winning album Back to Black (2006) but whose tempestuous love life, erratic behaviour, and substance-abuse problems stalled her recording career even as they made her a favourite subject of tabloid journalism.
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"Love is a Losing Game" by Amy Winehouse
You can't surprise a _______
I'm everywhere, I'm cross-eyed, and
Now that you're back, I can't decide
If I decide if you're invited
"Gemini" ♊
"Bad Habit" by Steve Lacy