Adele: “Send My Love”

Adele’s album 25 had one giant hit, and that was “Hello”. To be honest, I personally don’t love that song. What’s nice about this song is that it’s one of very few bouncy and kinda happy songs that she sings, and it highlights her being in a mature headspace where she can finally move on from the man who broke her heart.

Christina Aguilera: “Ain’t No Other Man”

I’m one of very few fans who loved Christina’s foray into jazz on her album Back to Basics. That being said, I do agree with the review of the album from Rolling Stone which basically said if she had cut out half of the songs and brought it down from two discs to one it would’ve been as monumental as Amy Winehouse’s Back to Black (although Stripped is also two discs and is much more popular; Christina really needs to learn how to self-edit). I really love “Candyman” and considered choosing that for this list, but I think it’s the first song people think of when referring to this particular album. This song strikes the best balance between jazz and pop with its blaring horns combined with modern production and her signature R&B vocal styling. Honestly, this was the type of music I was hoping Gwen Stefani would do when she went solo.

Fiona Apple: “Never Is a Promise”

As a huge fan, there were many songs I could have picked for Fiona. A couple of years ago, I would’ve picked “Paper Bag”, but Rolling Stone named it one of the 500 best songs ever, so it must not be that obscure. Most of Fiona’s songs tend to be angry, but this song is just achingly gorgeous. The strings and piano are classically beautiful, and this is one of only a couple of songs where she uses her upper vocal range.

Sara Bareilles: “Armor”

Sara has had some great hits, but there are many others that are really clever or poignant that do not get as much recognition. Her album Amidst the Chaos was conceived in the wake of Donald Trump winning the presidency as a rallying cry to fight against his misogyny and a beacon of hope that reason will one day prevail. The centerpiece of the album and its lead single was written in support of the MeToo movement and was released early in light of Brett Kavanaugh’s confirmation to the Supreme Court. It starts with Sara asking, “How did Eve get all the damn blame?” for Original Sin and goes on to sing the praises of women who support other women in the face of oppression.

Barenaked Ladies: “Alcohol”

I didn’t even realize this song was released as a single; they did not even play it at the concert I went to recently. This witty song extols the virtues of alcoholism but in the process highlights the negative social and mental effects of the disease.

Courtney Barnett: “Three Packs a Day”

It may be a bit debatable whether Courtney’s a “popular” artist; she’s not top 40 material, but she seems to do well on the rock charts, and she was nominated at the Grammys for Best New Artist. This quaint but funny song is about a bad habit of hers, but it’s not what you think…

The Beatles: “The Fool on the Hill”

I remember once reading an article reviewing an American Idol episode which included the contestants singing a group medley of Beatles songs. When the singers got to this song (which is admittedly a weird choice for a group medley), the author of the article didn’t know it, and I felt sad for him. Written by Paul McCartney, it tells the story of an isolated and misunderstood man who thinks on a different level than everyone else. The message I get from the song is that people are afraid of anyone or anything they don’t understand.

Beyoncé: “Naughty Girl”

I remember hearing this song a decent amount on the radio when it first came out, but Beyoncé has had such an illustrious career that it has almost ended up forgotten. It’s a shame because the composition of the song is unique (I personally think it’s better conceived than “Run the World”. Yeah, the latter song may have a more empowering message (although its bridge kinda undermines it), but it’s repetitive as hell, bordering on annoying). Using an interpolation of (and improving upon) Donna Summer’s “Love to Love You Baby”, the arrangement is a mixture of R&B, funk, and Middle Eastern music. Beyoncé goes from whispery falsetto to playing with the seductive minor key, all the while singing backup for herself.

Kelly Clarkson: “Sober”

“Since You Been Gone” is deservedly Kelly’s biggest hit, but I just love this song. The album this song is from, My December, is also pretty underrated; after she left 19 Records, it gave her the freedom to experiment with different moods and genres. I understand a song like this (an almost 5-minute-long emotional ballad) isn’t exactly radio friendly, but other personal ballads of hers (“Because of You” and “Piece by Piece”) have been hugely successful and covered many times despite being specifically about Kelly’s childhood family issues. She has been more tightlipped about what “Sober” is about; despite the title, I tend to interpret it as experiencing a loss of some sort rather than addiction and the rough road of recovery: “Three months and it’s still harder now. Three months and I’ve been living here without you now”. As the song slowly builds from just acoustic guitar to a full orchestra, Kelly’s emotion crescendos as the strings swell leading to a cathartic outburst, which almost never fails to make me cry.

The Doobie Brothers: “Black Water”

I’m not sure how popular this song was when it was released, but the radio plays, covers, or karaoke I hear nowadays consist of “Takin’ It to the Streets”, “Long Train Runnin’”, “China Grove”, and “Listen to the Music”. What makes this song stand out from those hits is its classically soulful folk sound, and it’s not every day that you hear a song with an a cappella breakdown midway through.