As usual, I've worked on my Top 25 own singles chart for 2011 and this year's really been a good year I think, but more on the international side than on the french one. So here it comes :
01 David Guetta feat. Usher Without you
When I listened to David Guetta's Nothing but the beat album, this particular song grabbed me from the first listen, being for me the stand-out track and the When love takes over of 2011. In fact, it is the kind of dance/pop anthem I really like with pop melodic lines and calm intro, leading piano and vocals and an uplifting feelgood melody with hypnotising beats ; this song had all it takes to become a hit in my heart and although it wasn't released as a single early in the year, it finishes first in lines when I put it next to the other Top 3 songs as the one I still love better...
02 The Wanted Glad you came
So the big losers of my 2011 charts are the english lads of The Wanted whose summer club hit Glad you came made my days almost all through the year, makin' me sing along like crazy while driving to/from work. I know its lyrics by heart and am still mad about its intro/ending chorus sung in slow acoustic way by Max...
03 Will Young Jealousy
Once again a male vocal at #3 with Will Young's comeback single of 2011 from his wonderful album Echoes. As haunting as his 2010 #2 in my charts collaboration with Groove Armada History, Jealousy is a song that I will never get enough of, intemporal and atmospheric, warm and tender, sexy and with enough rhythm not to become a bore... but I'll talk more of Will in the album charts of 2011 ;)
04 The Saturdays All fired up
And at #4 come the first girls with The Saturdays and their Xenomania produced club banger All fired up. Although being very repetitive and with a very straightforward dance beat, this song has yet to bore me and I still can't help but repeat endlessly along the girls its chorus line "All fired up, I feel alive !" : the perfect kinda song to make you feel better in those gloomy days of worldwide economic crisis...
05 Leona Lewis Collide
I don't know why this song hasn't become the hit it deserved in the UK, maybe because of the Avicci instrumental affair, but I fell in love with it the first time I have heard it, and it wasn't only because of the very addictive instrumental with its beautiful piano lines, but the song's structure that had been written over it, with it's incredibly catchy chorus and Leona Lewis' powerful vocals have my heart melt each time I listen to Collide and fall under its hauntingand hypnotising spell...
06 Nicole Scherzinger Don't hold your breath
The same nearly applies to Don't hold your breath, in which I find the same inbelievable attraction as for Nicole's (when in the PussyCat Dolls) I hate this part. I really like the original version, as well as all remixes by Cahill, Bimbo Jones, Dave Audé or The Alias ; this song can't go wrong ! Maybe it is its rhythm, maybe it is its laidback though upbeat rhythm, with the catchy chorus and beautiful voices by Nicole... Who cares ? It's a killer tune !
07 Emeli Sandé Heaven
Another diva with a real good voice at #7, but this time with a retro drum'n'bass UK sound that I can't dissociate from Massive Attack's Unfinished sympathy from 1991 with Shara Nelson on vocals. Heaven has the same beat and the same song's structure, very laidback, an upbeat ballad with beautiful organic orchestration, soulful vocals and an hypnotic dance beat put over the top, with a chorus line that is repeated until our brains are washed up and we surrender to its power... Definitely a song that will stand the test of time !
08 Rihanna Only girl (in the world)
Although the year's international winner diva by her sales & media attention, Riri's only #8 in my heart : I am really gettin' bored of her and her annual album release with more than half fillers and mixed pack of singles, sometimes very good like this Only girl (in the world) given by StarGate & Sandy Vee, but sometimes utterly bad...
09 Kylie Minogue Put your hands up (if you feel love)
Either in its original mix with her ex PWL partner Pete Hammond on the remix, this 4th single off Kylie's Aphrodite 2010 album has always been a favourite of mine and a song that was to feature in my own year's charts. Maybe it was a little too retro or is it just that I have listened to it too much, but it only finishes at #9...
10 Taio Cruz feat. Kylie Minogue Higher
And she's at #10 too, but this time in a duet with Taio Cruz who did it great to re-record his solo album version with the australian lil' pop princess ! I have no doubt Mister Cruz knows how to write an addictive pop song and when he mixes his voice with some sexy guest, it is a winning combinaison...
11 Adele Rolling in the deep
Adele has been the #1 artist of 2011 in the world, selling over 14 million copies of her 21 second album and Rolling in the deep is the song that started it all, becoming a #1 hit in nearly every country in the world, I guess... Fact is it has an incredibly catchy melody and a chorus that you cannot escape from... And there are naturally Adele's vocals, strong and hurtful at the same time, giving powersoul to the soulpop song : can you imagine it not being a winner ? So why is it only at #11 for me ? Even though I like it a lot and think it is a beautiful song, it is not quite the kind of pop I really listen to so you should get that it is a great move for me to admit it in my charts : I surrendered to its power forgetting it was not the dance/pop I usually like...
12 Matthew Morrison Still got tonight
Another song that wasn't destined to feature here is Glee featured Matthew Morrison with this pop/rock song but it has a chorus I couldn't resist and even before I knew it was written by the same people, I thought Still got tonight had the same power on me that Kris Allen's Live like we're dying had in 2009... I guess if they duplicate the same formule endlessly, I'll become a pop/rock cowboy !
13 The Wanted Lightning
Another song by the UK boysband and I must say it is the remix by The Alias that I like (just a lil') more than the original version, but both are über-cathy and grant them this #13 place in my Top 25 of 2011 ! The rythm is good, the verses are very memorable and the chorus..., well, you can't help but sing along to it so this is a hit, and one I like very much !
14 Coldplay Paradise
Another UK band of boys but more on the pop/rock side this time, and one that I wasn't that fan of but this one song really grabbed me, with its haunting piano melody and orchestral arrangements combined with Chris Martin's nice verses & lyrics with the "para-para-paradise" addictive gimmick. Once again, it is the video that finally got me in and trapped : sometimes the image add something to a song and gives you the final push to make you pass the line and love it.
15 Matthew Raymond-Barker Trash (tout le monde jump sur le bar)
I must confess this song has been my wake up phonering since I bought it on iTunes and it must have helped it become a hit in my heart, but this electro pop song with french/english lyrics by this winner of the french X Factor is very addictive, and is a real party song, made for fun only and it is sometimes good to have a song that is just what it sounds like.
16 The Warblers (glee Cast) Teenage dream
Teenage dream has never been my preferred Katy Perry single from its mother album, but this version from TV show Glee with Darren Criss on lead vocals, had me re-discover the song and love it to death ! It was 2010's best Glee digital sales too so its appeal was universal it seems, so they did it again on season 3 with Darren gettin' back on Katy with Last friday night : nearly as good !
17 Adele Someone like you
Adele features once again in my charts, and this time with her killer ballad Someone like you, and and i am not very keen on beatless songs you can easily guess my love for this song has to do with its own strength and message : this song just gets you right to the core, making you think back of past heartaches and leaves you breathless, suspended to her vocals until the song finally ends and you have lost track of time : perfect magical moment !
18 Nightcrawlers feat. Taio Cruz Still cryin'
Taio Cruz comes back along John Reid and his 90's dance project for a club hit that had Cahill and Freemasons mixes for me to cherish and a chorus that is good enough to get me dancing along.
19 Darren Hayes Talk talk talk
Darren Hayes' comeback single of 2011 is the strongest song from his latest album but only was a minor hit in the charts. It is one of the highlights of the musical year in my book, though !
20 David Guetta feat. Sia Titanium
David Guetta's time for a double feature too, but with singer Sia this time with this other winner electro pop song that is laidback with slow uplifting melody on the verse and chorus and it is only the post-chorus instrumental that gets on full club rhythm, but I like it and its Police sounding guitar.
21 Pitbull feat. Marc Anthony Rain over me
I HATE Pitbull and the way his mouth moves only on one side when he's rappin' like he was a sex God for the girls... I'm not particular fond of Marc Anthony (he's J.LO's ex, isn't he ?), and I usually skip all rap songs... BUT Rain on me has an incredibly catchy chorus that reminds me of the best Eurodance of the 90's and I couldn't help loving it, and when it was time to find out which were the songs that I like more than the others, I surprised myself rating it over enough others to figure in the Top25 ! Its producer RedOne must be the only in cause...
22 Mylène Farmer Du temps
Mylène Farmer's surprise new comeback single of last month could have charted higher if only he had been released ahead in the year but its addictive beat and haunting chorus grabbed me enough to find its place here !
23 Rihanna feat. Calvin Harris We found love
The same could be said for Rihanna's second feature in my Top25, although I'd say it is more of a Calvin Harris song featuring the diva to me, as he wrote & produced the song, and it is ts Whigfield sound-a-like Eurodance inspired rhythm that makes me like it, not her nasal vocals...
24 Katy Perry Last friday night (T.G.I.F.)
Katy Perry's second feature (but first on vocals this time) is another good pop song that I fell deeper into after having seen its video, very reminiscent of both Glee and Ugly Betty. But it has a good beat and fine lyrics & catchy melody too !
25 Inna Modja French cancan (Monsieur Sainte Nitouche)
It must be 2011 french #1 hit as it stayed on french radios all through the summer and as I didn't really like it first, I must say I only surrendered to its pop catchiness on repeat... so I guess the last placing of my Top25 is fair enough !
Behind them, and out my Top25, there were Maroon 5 & Christina Aguilera with their funky jam Moves like Jagger, Determinate from the Disney film Lemonade Mouth, Britney Spears and her Till the world ends and I wanna go, Mika and Elle me dit, and Lady Gaga with Born this way. I have to say about her that even though when it was released I liked it a lot, it was overplayed and I got bored of it and off the album of the same name, I must admit no other single really stood out and deserved a place ahead of the previous hit singles... A shame for the one who claims to be the new Queen of Pop !
On the album side, there is no doubt in my mind the international album of the year is Will Young's Echoes. It is just too good to miss that #1 place and will stand the test of time. 
On the french side, the recently released Prismophonic by Christophe Willem takes it all from its potential contender Gilles Luka for his Ici ensemble electro french/english album, while others were Cds that were released at the end of 2010, Jenifer's Appelle-moi Jen and Ysa Ferrer's Ultra Ferrer.
Other strong international releases that have invaded my iPod and car mp3 player all through the year are Britney Spears's Femme Fatale, Same Difference's second album The rest is history (that has really lacked of singles !!) or the surprising danish duo Electric Lady Lab's Flash! Other highlights were released in 2010, like A1's Waiting for daylight, Kylie Minogue's Aphrodite and Katy Perry's Teenage dream along The Wanted's first album. Released just in time for Christmas rush in 2011 are their second album Battleground too along The Saturdays' On your radar. And I would like to mention Le Kid, Frankmusik and Sophie Ellis-Bextor CDs too, even though they've fallen out short of hit singles to durably last in my CD player.
So those were mine, now what were your best musical releases of 2011 ? Comment...
01 David Guetta feat. Usher Without you
When I listened to David Guetta's Nothing but the beat album, this particular song grabbed me from the first listen, being for me the stand-out track and the When love takes over of 2011. In fact, it is the kind of dance/pop anthem I really like with pop melodic lines and calm intro, leading piano and vocals and an uplifting feelgood melody with hypnotising beats ; this song had all it takes to become a hit in my heart and although it wasn't released as a single early in the year, it finishes first in lines when I put it next to the other Top 3 songs as the one I still love better...
02 The Wanted Glad you came
So the big losers of my 2011 charts are the english lads of The Wanted whose summer club hit Glad you came made my days almost all through the year, makin' me sing along like crazy while driving to/from work. I know its lyrics by heart and am still mad about its intro/ending chorus sung in slow acoustic way by Max...
03 Will Young Jealousy
Once again a male vocal at #3 with Will Young's comeback single of 2011 from his wonderful album Echoes. As haunting as his 2010 #2 in my charts collaboration with Groove Armada History, Jealousy is a song that I will never get enough of, intemporal and atmospheric, warm and tender, sexy and with enough rhythm not to become a bore... but I'll talk more of Will in the album charts of 2011 ;)
04 The Saturdays All fired up
And at #4 come the first girls with The Saturdays and their Xenomania produced club banger All fired up. Although being very repetitive and with a very straightforward dance beat, this song has yet to bore me and I still can't help but repeat endlessly along the girls its chorus line "All fired up, I feel alive !" : the perfect kinda song to make you feel better in those gloomy days of worldwide economic crisis...
05 Leona Lewis Collide
I don't know why this song hasn't become the hit it deserved in the UK, maybe because of the Avicci instrumental affair, but I fell in love with it the first time I have heard it, and it wasn't only because of the very addictive instrumental with its beautiful piano lines, but the song's structure that had been written over it, with it's incredibly catchy chorus and Leona Lewis' powerful vocals have my heart melt each time I listen to Collide and fall under its hauntingand hypnotising spell...
06 Nicole Scherzinger Don't hold your breath
The same nearly applies to Don't hold your breath, in which I find the same inbelievable attraction as for Nicole's (when in the PussyCat Dolls) I hate this part. I really like the original version, as well as all remixes by Cahill, Bimbo Jones, Dave Audé or The Alias ; this song can't go wrong ! Maybe it is its rhythm, maybe it is its laidback though upbeat rhythm, with the catchy chorus and beautiful voices by Nicole... Who cares ? It's a killer tune !
07 Emeli Sandé Heaven
Another diva with a real good voice at #7, but this time with a retro drum'n'bass UK sound that I can't dissociate from Massive Attack's Unfinished sympathy from 1991 with Shara Nelson on vocals. Heaven has the same beat and the same song's structure, very laidback, an upbeat ballad with beautiful organic orchestration, soulful vocals and an hypnotic dance beat put over the top, with a chorus line that is repeated until our brains are washed up and we surrender to its power... Definitely a song that will stand the test of time !
08 Rihanna Only girl (in the world)
Although the year's international winner diva by her sales & media attention, Riri's only #8 in my heart : I am really gettin' bored of her and her annual album release with more than half fillers and mixed pack of singles, sometimes very good like this Only girl (in the world) given by StarGate & Sandy Vee, but sometimes utterly bad...
09 Kylie Minogue Put your hands up (if you feel love)
Either in its original mix with her ex PWL partner Pete Hammond on the remix, this 4th single off Kylie's Aphrodite 2010 album has always been a favourite of mine and a song that was to feature in my own year's charts. Maybe it was a little too retro or is it just that I have listened to it too much, but it only finishes at #9...
10 Taio Cruz feat. Kylie Minogue Higher
And she's at #10 too, but this time in a duet with Taio Cruz who did it great to re-record his solo album version with the australian lil' pop princess ! I have no doubt Mister Cruz knows how to write an addictive pop song and when he mixes his voice with some sexy guest, it is a winning combinaison...
11 Adele Rolling in the deep
Adele has been the #1 artist of 2011 in the world, selling over 14 million copies of her 21 second album and Rolling in the deep is the song that started it all, becoming a #1 hit in nearly every country in the world, I guess... Fact is it has an incredibly catchy melody and a chorus that you cannot escape from... And there are naturally Adele's vocals, strong and hurtful at the same time, giving powersoul to the soulpop song : can you imagine it not being a winner ? So why is it only at #11 for me ? Even though I like it a lot and think it is a beautiful song, it is not quite the kind of pop I really listen to so you should get that it is a great move for me to admit it in my charts : I surrendered to its power forgetting it was not the dance/pop I usually like...
12 Matthew Morrison Still got tonight
Another song that wasn't destined to feature here is Glee featured Matthew Morrison with this pop/rock song but it has a chorus I couldn't resist and even before I knew it was written by the same people, I thought Still got tonight had the same power on me that Kris Allen's Live like we're dying had in 2009... I guess if they duplicate the same formule endlessly, I'll become a pop/rock cowboy !
13 The Wanted Lightning
Another song by the UK boysband and I must say it is the remix by The Alias that I like (just a lil') more than the original version, but both are über-cathy and grant them this #13 place in my Top 25 of 2011 ! The rythm is good, the verses are very memorable and the chorus..., well, you can't help but sing along to it so this is a hit, and one I like very much !
14 Coldplay Paradise
Another UK band of boys but more on the pop/rock side this time, and one that I wasn't that fan of but this one song really grabbed me, with its haunting piano melody and orchestral arrangements combined with Chris Martin's nice verses & lyrics with the "para-para-paradise" addictive gimmick. Once again, it is the video that finally got me in and trapped : sometimes the image add something to a song and gives you the final push to make you pass the line and love it.
15 Matthew Raymond-Barker Trash (tout le monde jump sur le bar)
I must confess this song has been my wake up phonering since I bought it on iTunes and it must have helped it become a hit in my heart, but this electro pop song with french/english lyrics by this winner of the french X Factor is very addictive, and is a real party song, made for fun only and it is sometimes good to have a song that is just what it sounds like.
16 The Warblers (glee Cast) Teenage dream
Teenage dream has never been my preferred Katy Perry single from its mother album, but this version from TV show Glee with Darren Criss on lead vocals, had me re-discover the song and love it to death ! It was 2010's best Glee digital sales too so its appeal was universal it seems, so they did it again on season 3 with Darren gettin' back on Katy with Last friday night : nearly as good !
17 Adele Someone like you
Adele features once again in my charts, and this time with her killer ballad Someone like you, and and i am not very keen on beatless songs you can easily guess my love for this song has to do with its own strength and message : this song just gets you right to the core, making you think back of past heartaches and leaves you breathless, suspended to her vocals until the song finally ends and you have lost track of time : perfect magical moment !
18 Nightcrawlers feat. Taio Cruz Still cryin'
Taio Cruz comes back along John Reid and his 90's dance project for a club hit that had Cahill and Freemasons mixes for me to cherish and a chorus that is good enough to get me dancing along.
19 Darren Hayes Talk talk talk
Darren Hayes' comeback single of 2011 is the strongest song from his latest album but only was a minor hit in the charts. It is one of the highlights of the musical year in my book, though !
20 David Guetta feat. Sia Titanium
David Guetta's time for a double feature too, but with singer Sia this time with this other winner electro pop song that is laidback with slow uplifting melody on the verse and chorus and it is only the post-chorus instrumental that gets on full club rhythm, but I like it and its Police sounding guitar.
21 Pitbull feat. Marc Anthony Rain over me
I HATE Pitbull and the way his mouth moves only on one side when he's rappin' like he was a sex God for the girls... I'm not particular fond of Marc Anthony (he's J.LO's ex, isn't he ?), and I usually skip all rap songs... BUT Rain on me has an incredibly catchy chorus that reminds me of the best Eurodance of the 90's and I couldn't help loving it, and when it was time to find out which were the songs that I like more than the others, I surprised myself rating it over enough others to figure in the Top25 ! Its producer RedOne must be the only in cause...
22 Mylène Farmer Du temps
Mylène Farmer's surprise new comeback single of last month could have charted higher if only he had been released ahead in the year but its addictive beat and haunting chorus grabbed me enough to find its place here !
23 Rihanna feat. Calvin Harris We found love
The same could be said for Rihanna's second feature in my Top25, although I'd say it is more of a Calvin Harris song featuring the diva to me, as he wrote & produced the song, and it is ts Whigfield sound-a-like Eurodance inspired rhythm that makes me like it, not her nasal vocals...
24 Katy Perry Last friday night (T.G.I.F.)
Katy Perry's second feature (but first on vocals this time) is another good pop song that I fell deeper into after having seen its video, very reminiscent of both Glee and Ugly Betty. But it has a good beat and fine lyrics & catchy melody too !
25 Inna Modja French cancan (Monsieur Sainte Nitouche)
It must be 2011 french #1 hit as it stayed on french radios all through the summer and as I didn't really like it first, I must say I only surrendered to its pop catchiness on repeat... so I guess the last placing of my Top25 is fair enough !
Behind them, and out my Top25, there were Maroon 5 & Christina Aguilera with their funky jam Moves like Jagger, Determinate from the Disney film Lemonade Mouth, Britney Spears and her Till the world ends and I wanna go, Mika and Elle me dit, and Lady Gaga with Born this way. I have to say about her that even though when it was released I liked it a lot, it was overplayed and I got bored of it and off the album of the same name, I must admit no other single really stood out and deserved a place ahead of the previous hit singles... A shame for the one who claims to be the new Queen of Pop !
On the album side, there is no doubt in my mind the international album of the year is Will Young's Echoes. It is just too good to miss that #1 place and will stand the test of time. 
On the french side, the recently released Prismophonic by Christophe Willem takes it all from its potential contender Gilles Luka for his Ici ensemble electro french/english album, while others were Cds that were released at the end of 2010, Jenifer's Appelle-moi Jen and Ysa Ferrer's Ultra Ferrer.Other strong international releases that have invaded my iPod and car mp3 player all through the year are Britney Spears's Femme Fatale, Same Difference's second album The rest is history (that has really lacked of singles !!) or the surprising danish duo Electric Lady Lab's Flash! Other highlights were released in 2010, like A1's Waiting for daylight, Kylie Minogue's Aphrodite and Katy Perry's Teenage dream along The Wanted's first album. Released just in time for Christmas rush in 2011 are their second album Battleground too along The Saturdays' On your radar. And I would like to mention Le Kid, Frankmusik and Sophie Ellis-Bextor CDs too, even though they've fallen out short of hit singles to durably last in my CD player.
So those were mine, now what were your best musical releases of 2011 ? Comment...
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