Song of the Day #1,314: ‘Countdown’ – Beyoncé

Regular readers of this blog know I am rather infatuated with Beyoncé. So I’m more than pleased to see her land at #2 on Village Voice’s 2011 Pazz & Jop poll.

In the top spot, as I’ve mentioned, is Adele with ‘Rolling in the Deep.’ Adele also placed a second track, ‘Someone Like You,’ in the top ten, making her one of only a handful of artists to do so in the history of the poll. At #3 was Nicki Minaj’s ‘Super Bass,’ a feat all the more impressive given that the song was never intended to be released as a single. It was a true word of mouth hit (buoyed by Taylor Swift, of all people).

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Song of the Day #1,264: ‘Love On Top (Live at the VMAs)’ – Beyoncé

When Beyoncé performed at MTV’s 2011 Video Music Awards shortly after announcing that she was pregnant, she turned a rousing R&B rave-up into the world’s biggest baby shower.

Watching her beam about the “love inside her” and command the stage with even more energy and star power than usual, then unbutton her jacket and run her hand over her baby bump with a wide smile… I wanted to strangle Jay-Z.

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