The Gospel Coalition

Summer is for cotton candy. If you’re like me, you enjoy perusing your iTunes library for some fluffy pop music to go along with cotton candy. This summer, I put together a playlist of the ten greatest pop songs. These ten are my own picks, but I rigorously subjected each song to the following tests:

1. The song’s subject matter must be light-hearted and fun. Absolutely NO taking itself too seriously.
2. The melody must be catchy and have some sort of hook that sticks in your head.
3. The song must have a touch of the “annoying” factor (meaning that if you listen to it too many times, it gives you a headache, just as too much cotton candy bothers your stomach).
4. People either love the song or hate the song. There’s very little in-between for most people.

So here are my ten picks (in no particular order). Feel free to weigh in with your own “pop perfection” recommendations:

1. “Fireflies” – Owl City (2009)

This is the most recent addition to my playlist. Adam Young’s “Fireflies” is a family favorite around our house, especially when we’re watching lightning bugs fire up our backyard.

2. “Kokomo” – Beach Boys (1988)

The perfect song to listen to as you pull out of your driveway on your way to a vacation at the beach. Even if you’re not going to all the islands mentioned here, you’ll still get in the mood for rest and relaxation.

3. “Baby Baby” – Amy Grant (1991)

Admit it… just seeing the title has already got this song going off in the soundtrack of your mind. Apparently, Grant wrote this for her little baby, not the guy she danced with in the music video.

4. “Kiss Me” – Sixpence None the Richer (1999)

This song was very popular the week I graduated high school, which (for me at least) brings back the summer of ’99. It’s been called “the perfect pop song”, a description well-deserved in my opinion.

5. “ABC” – Jackson Five (1970)

I can’t listen to this song even once without it staying in my head for days. It’s not my favorite from the Jackson Five (“Never Can Say Goodbye” would be my pick), but it’s very popular with our kids.

6. “Mmmbop” – Hanson (1996)

The song (and band) everyone loves to hate. But you’ve got to give the homeschool boys their props. They took an incomprehensible song (yeah, you try to figure out the lyrics) to the top of Billboard.

7. “Please Mr. Postman” – Carpenters (1975)

This song has been a hit three different times. The Marvelettes took it to #1 in 1961. The Beatles covered it a few years later. Then, the Carpenters took it to #1 in 1975. We like all three versions of this song, but I think the Carpenters’ version best meets the criteria for this list.

8. “There She Goes” – Sixpence None the Richer (1999)

The follow-up to “Kiss Me”, this song was originally recorded by The La’s in the 1980′s. I have no idea what this song is all about, but the melody is light and easy.

9.  “Exhale (Shoop Shoop)” - Whitney Houston (1995)

This song came out when Whitney could still sing. Apparently, it’s about leaning on friends when going through a hard time. All I remember is the chorus “shoop shoop shooby-doo”, which sounds like it’s right out of the 1960′s.

10. “Dancin’ in the Moonlight” - Toploader (1999)

This song is from the 1970′s, but I’ve always liked Toploader’s version the best. This version was included in the popular film, A Walk to Remember. Out of all the songs on my playlist, this is the one that I can listen to most before getting annoyed.

So, what songs did I miss? Which songs would you say meet all the criteria?