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NSYNC - It's Gonna Be Me 2000

"It's Gonna Be Me" is a song by American boyband NSYNC. It was released as the second single from their third studio album No Strings Attached (2000). The song was written by Max Martin, Andreas Carlsson, and Rami Yacoub, and produced by the latter. During recording, Martin consciously wanted the lyrics to be sung in a specific way, NSYNC member JC Chasez told Billboard: "ET'S GONNA BAY MAY!" instead of "It's gonna be ME".

"It's Gonna Be Me" peaked at number one for two consecutive weeks on the US Billboard Hot 100. The song was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) one month after its retail release, and was certified platinum in Australia and Canada. "It's Gonna Be Me" also peaked at number one in Canada, and charted in the top 10 on the UK Singles Chart, New Zealand, and Sweden music charts. The music video won Best Makeup in a Music Video at the 10th Annual Music Video Production Association (MVPA) Music Video Awards on May 16, 2001, which was attributed to makeup artists Screaming Mad George and Elan Bonglorno. In addition, it received the awards for Choice Music Video and Choice Summer Song at the 2000 Teen Choice Awards.

On March 15th, 2012, the Nairobi-blue blog on Tumblr posted a photograph of a calendar turned to April with a picture of Justin Timberlake captioned "It's gonna be May" taped over the final day. The following day, BuzzFeed reposted the image. The meme eventually caught on across the internet, which became an annually recurring joke throughout the month of April. As a more subtle way of referencing the meme, many people post the phrase "So About Tomorrow" alongside images of Timberlake.

"It's Gonna Be Me" received a total of 80% yes votes! Previous NSYNC/Justin Timberlake polls: #52 "Bye Bye Bye", #310 "Give It to Me".

Bastille - Pompeii 2013

"Pompeii" is a song by British indie pop band Bastille. It is the fourth single from their debut studio album Bad Blood and was released on 11 January 2013. The song's title and lyrics refer to the Roman town of the same name that was destroyed and buried in the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in AD 79. "Pompeii" became the band's breakthrough hit, peaking at number two on the UK Singles Chart and became the eleventh best-selling song that year and, until June 2014, was the country's most streamed single of all time. It was also successful worldwide, reaching the top ten in fifteen countries, including number one in Scotland and Ireland, number two in Italy, and number five on the US Billboard Hot 100. It was nominated for British Single of the Year at the 2014 BRIT Awards.

According to lead singer Dan Smith, the song is written as a conversation between two victims of the eruption of Mount Vesuvius, stating in an interview, "I was reading a book that had some picture of the people who got caught up in the volcanic eruption. And it's just such a kind of dark powerful image, and it got me thinking about how boring it must have been emotionally after the event. To be sort of stuck in that same position for hundreds and hundreds of years. So, the song is sort of an imaginary conversation between these two people who are stuck next to each other in their sort of tragic death pose."

Belgian singer Heleen Uytterhoeven recorded a cover version in Latin. Bustle magazine noted that the Youtube video contained commenters arguing in Latin over the accuracy of her translation. The "eheu" chanted throughout the song is a Latin interjection commonly used by ancient Roman authors to express sorrow, grief, pain, or fear. It translates to "alas" or "oh no", or in the words of the Youtube commenters, "oh shit".

The lyrics are referenced in an in-game achievement for the video game Civilization VI, as part of the Gathering Storm DLC. The achievement requires the player to lose a city's population from Vesuvius' eruption while playing as the Romans. In August 2020, the song's chorus became an Internet meme involving a before and after shot of countries, states or provinces viewed on a map, usually disappearing or changing after the line "But if you close your eyes" is sung, as well as a major meme in the NASCAR and Formula One community over similar events that look almost exactly the same, such as finishes or crashes. The cast of Glee performs "Pompeii" as the closing number of the season 5 finale.

"Pompeii" received a total of 84,7% yes votes!

They Might Be Giants - Istanbul (Not Constantinople) 1990

"Istanbul (Not Constantinople)" is a 1953 novelty song, with lyrics by Jimmy Kennedy and music by Nat Simon. It was written on the 500th anniversary of the fall of Constantinople to the Ottomans. The lyrics humorously refer to the official renaming of the city of Constantinople to Istanbul. The song was originally recorded by Canadian vocal quartet The Four Lads in 1953. (Listen to it here!) It peaked at number 10 on the Billboard magazine charts, and was certified as a gold record.

Numerous cover versions have been recorded over the years, including by Bing Crosby, Ella Fitzgerald, and Bette Midler. One of the best-known versions of "Istanbul (Not Constantinople)" is the cover by American alternative rockband They Might Be Giants, who released it as the second single on their album Flood in 1990. The single reached number 61 on the UK Singles Chart in 1990. They Might Be Giants later recorded an electronic version of the song for their 2011 compilation album, Album Raises New and Troubling Questions.

The song is prominently featured in the 1991 episode "Tiny Toon Music Television", of Tiny Toon Adventures, for a music video segment featuring Plucky Duck trying to find a missing statue. It was used as the theme in the 1992 TV movie Black Magic. It plays as an ending to the 2005 episode "Mobile Homer", of The Simpsons, and it plays during a donut shop fight scene in the 2019 series premiere, "We Only See Each Other at Weddings and Funerals", of The Umbrella Academy.

"Istanbul (Not Constantinople)" received a total of 93,1% yes votes!

The Bangles - Walk Like an Egyptian 1986

"Walk Like an Egyptian" is a song by the American pop rock band the Bangles. It was released in September 1986 as the third single from the band's second album, Different Light (1986). It was the band's first number-one single in the US, being certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), and Billboard ranked it the top song of 1987 in the US. It was also successful internationally, reaching number one in seven other countries and peaking at number three on the UK Singles Chart.

Liam Sternberg said he was inspired to create the song while on a ferry crossing the English Channel. When the vessel hit choppy water, passengers stepped carefully and moved their arms awkwardly while struggling to maintain their balance, and that reminded Sternberg of the depiction of human figures in ancient Egyptian tomb paintings. He wrote the words "Walk like an Egyptian" in a notebook. Later, Sternberg looked back in the notebook and, composing the melody with a guitar, he put together an up-tempo song with lyrics about Egyptian hieroglyphs, the Nile River, crocodiles, desert sand, bazaars and hookah pipes and then segued into modern scenes of blonde waitresses, school children and police officers.

"Walk Like an Egyptian" received a total of 91,7% yes votes!

Boney M. - Rasputin 1978

"Rasputin" is a song by Germany-based Afro Caribbean pop and Eurodisco group Boney M. It was released as the second single from their third studio album Nightflight to Venus. The core of the song tells of Grigori Rasputin's rise to prominence in the court of Tsar Nicholas II during the early 1900s, referencing the hope held by Tsarina Alexandra Fyodorovna that Rasputin would heal her hemophiliac son, Tsarevich Alexei of Russia, and as such his appointment as Alexei's personal healer.

The song claims that Rasputin was Alexandra's paramour, a widespread rumour in Rasputin's time, with which his political enemies intended to discredit him. It accurately states that the conspirators asked him "Come to visit us", and then recounts a widely popular account of the assassination in Yusupov's estate: that Rasputin's assassins fatally shot him after he survived the poisoning of his wine.

"Rasputin" rose to the top of the charts in Germany, Austria, Belgium and Australia, and went to No. 2 in the UK, Argentina, Finland, Spain and Switzerland. It enjoyed great popularity in the Soviet Union, however it was omitted from the Soviet pressing of the album and Boney M. were barred from performing the song during their ten performances in Moscow.

It's pretty safe to say this song put a impressive and unbeatable record in the amounts of votes and reblogs! 💖 This is currently the most liked song on this poll blog with a whooping 94,8% total yes votes.

Eurythmics - Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This) 1983

"Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)" is a song by British synth-pop duo Eurythmics. It was released in January 1983 as the fourth and final single from their second album of the same name. It was their breakthrough hit, establishing the duo worldwide. It reached number two on the UK Singles Chart in March 1983, and number one on the US Billboard Hot 100 six months later; it was their first single released in the US. According to Dave Stewart, their record label RCA Records did not think the song was suitable as a single in the US as it lacked a chorus. After a radio DJ in Cleveland kept playing the song from the album, and it generated a strong local response, RCA decided to release it in the US. The song also peaked at number one in Canada, and reached the top ten in a number of countries including Australia, West Germany, Spain, and South Africa.

With Annie Lennox appearing with orange cropped hair and wearing a man's business suit in the accompanying music video, the BBC stated Lennox's "powerful androgynous look" was the music video that "broke the mould for female pop stars". In 2020, the song was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame. In 2023, it was selected by the US Library of Congress for preservation in the National Recording Registry.

Annie Lennox and Dave Stewart wrote the song after the Tourists had broken up and they formed Eurythmics. Although the two of them also broke up as a couple, they continued to work together. They became interested in electronic music and bought new synthesizers to play around with. According to Stewart, he managed to produce the beat and riff of the song on one of their new synthesizers, and Lennox, on hearing it, said: "What the hell is that?" and started playing on another synthesizer, and beginnings of the song came out of the two dueling synths.

According to Lennox, the lyrics reflected the unhappy time after the breakup of the Tourists, when she felt that they were "in a dream world" and that whatever they were chasing was never going to happen. She described the song as saying: "Look at the state of us. How can it get worse?" adding "I was feeling very vulnerable. The song was an expression of how I felt: hopeless and nihilistic." Stewart thought the lyrics too depressing and added the "hold your head up, moving on" line to make it more uplifting.

"Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)" received a total of 96,7% yes votes and is the new most liked song on this poll blog, beating A-ha's long reign! 🥳

Lady Gaga featuring Beyoncé - Telephone 2010

"Telephone" is a song by American singer Lady Gaga from her third extended play (EP), The Fame Monster (2009) — the reissue of her debut studio album, The Fame (2008). Featuring American singer Beyoncé, it was released as the EP's second single on January 26, 2010. Gaga and Beyoncé wrote "Telephone" with Rodney Jerkins, LaShawn Daniels, and Lazonate Franklin. Jerkins was responsible for the production, with Gaga co-producing with him. Gaga originally wrote the song for Britney Spears. "Telephone" conveys Gaga's fear of not finding time for fun given the increasing pressure for her to work harder as an artist.

"Telephone" received positive reviews from critics who called it a stand-out track from The Fame Monster and praised Gaga's chemistry with Beyoncé. Several critics included it in their best-of list of 2010. It was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals, and it won a ASCAP Pop Music Award and a BMI Award. Peaking at number three in the US, it was particularly successful in Europe where it topped the charts in Belgium, Croatia, Denmark, Ireland, Norway, and the UK. The song sold 7.4 million digital copies worldwide in 2010, making it the year's fourth-best-selling single.

The accompanying music video for "Telephone", shot as a short film, is a continuation of the video for "Paparazzi" (2009), the fifth single from The Fame. It follows Beyoncé as she bails Gaga out of prison for killing her boyfriend; they go to a diner and poison the customers' breakfast. The video ends as they attempt to escape a high-speed police chase. It references Quentin Tarantino and his films Pulp Fiction (1994) and Kill Bill: Volume 1 (2003). In January 2015, Billboard named it the best video of the first half of the decade. NME listed it as one of the 100 greatest music videos of all time. Retrospective reviewers analyzed the video's themes, including feminism, lesbianism, and commentary on fame and celebrity culture.

"Telephone" received a total of 90,1% yes votes! Previous Lady Gaga polls: #497 "Poker Face". Previous Beyoncé polls: #51 "Jumpin', Jumpin'", #198 "With Me", #234 "Hymn for the Weekend", #340 "Work It Out".

TLC - No Scrubs 1999

"No Scrubs" is a song recorded by American girl group TLC as the lead single from their third studio album, FanMail, released on February 2, 1999. The song was written by producer Kevin "She'kspere" Briggs and former Xscape members Kandi Burruss and Tameka "Tiny" Cottle, with TLC member Lisa "Left Eye" Lopes contributing lyrics to the rap version. The word "scrub" was used in Atlanta as a slang term for an unsuccessful person of low social status, and the song popularized the term worldwide.

"No Scrubs" became TLC's third number-one single and eighth top 10 single on the US Billboard Hot 100, where it peaked for four consecutive weeks. It was ranked number two on Billboard's year-end Hot 100 singles chart of 1999, behind Cher's "Believe" (1998). The song won Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group With Vocal and Best R&B Song at 42nd Annual Grammy Awards. In Australia, "No Scrubs" spent seven consecutive weeks at the summit of the ARIA Charts. It peaked at number three on the UK Singles Chart, becoming TLC's highest-charting single. In Europe also, the track was a massive hit, topping the Polish Singles Chart and reached the top five in Belgium, Greece the Netherlands, Denmark, France, and Sweden. The futuristic music video directed by Hype Williams allowed TLC to win the MTV Video Music Award for Best Group Video at the 1999 MTV Video Music Awards over all-male nominees.

"No Scrubs" received a total of 88% yes votes! Previous TLC polls: #594 "Waterfalls".