The Taylor Top 40 Songs Of 2011

At last, cool cats... the year 2011 in music. Since 1980—geez, more than 30 years—I've conjured the Taylor Top 100 each passing year, though admittedly in the past few years as I've discovered fewer and fewer new songs that tickle my audio fancy, I've downsized to a crisp Top 40.

In the past, I've also come up with exhaustive lists of the Top Albums, Artists, etc. Again, not so much anymore. All the same, the good in 2011 was absolutely superlative. And so...

Top Singles Artist: Much like the rest of the world, Adele was my year's chieftain goddess, manning the No. 1 TTT song of the year, "Set Fire To The Rain." Originally, the Moto Blanco Edit ruled, but by year end, the single edit and April's live performance on the U.K. Graham Norton Show were equally beloved, so I stripped off any specific version. Adele also delivered the No. 3 song, the heartbreaking "Someone Like You," which I remain convinced she wrote just for me; as well as No. 11's Lenny B Remix of Billboard's 2011 No. 1 song, "Rolling in the Deep."

Top Singles Artist, Runner-Up: Lady Gaga made a stellar showing this past year, with the most entries of any artist in the year-end countdown, at five: No. 5 "Born This Way," No. 12 "The Edge Of Glory (Sunshine Radio Edit," No. 19's playful "The Lady Is A Tramp" with Tony Bennett (his first appearance ever on a year-end tally), No. 22's "Judas" and "Eh Eh (Nothing Else I Can Say)," a sweet pop song obviously recorded before Gaga found her true grit.

Top Male Artist: While Darren Hayes made his best showing ever on the TTT at No. 2 with the maudlin "Black Out The Sun," Matt Zarley's three singles propelled him to masculine glory on this year's countdown: No. 9 with "WTF," No. 17's "Forgive Me (For Not Forgiving You)" and "Change Begins With Me" at No. 26.

Best New Artist: 4Q entry Christina Perri's haunting break-up songs hit me upside the head (thanks to Donna Mae intro'ing), with oh-so-dark "The Lonely" at No. 6 and equally commiserative "Jar of Hearts" at No. 15. Already in 2012, her "A Thousand Years" is scoring points.

Sheena Easton made a profound impact on the year's top 40 with vintage hits "You've Learned To Live Without Me" and "To Anyone," both top entries on my fall post-breakup playlist "Cry Baby." "You've Learned To Live Without Me" improved its original showing as 1995's No. 53, catapulting to No. 7 for the year; while 1991's No. 22 "To Anyone" encored this year at No. 38. Sheena also gets props via the No. 24 kitschy "beautiful music" version of "Morning Train" from Paul Mauriat.

While Celine Dion has not recorded anything new in years (new English and French projects are due in 2012), she scores a top 10 appearance with her stunning encore performance of "The Prayer" Live in Central Park with Andrea Bocelli.

Best Album: Sorry, there's really no such thing anymore... In good faith, I cannot claim that a single long-play project worked me in 2011.

Worst Singles of the Year: Much easier: "Just Can't Get Enough," a typical piece of horse dung from Black Eyed Peas; "Super Bass" from no-talent harlot Nicki Minaj; and "Party Rock Anthem" from LMFAO. Sadly, the latter novelty act had the last laugh, with this gruesome dance-crap loop finishing for 2011 at No. 2 on Billboard. I deem it the year's "Macarena," a song that fans will be ashamed of liking a year from now. *

And now... the 2011 Taylor Top 40
 1. Set Fire To The Rain—Adele
 2. Black Out The Sun—Darren Hayes
 3. Someone Like You—Adele
 4. Price Tag—Jessie J f/B.o.B.
 5. Born This Way—Lady Gaga
 6. The Lonely—Christina Perri
 7. You've Learned To Live Without Me—Sheena Easton
 8. Daze—Beu Sisters
 9. WTF—Matt Zarley
10. The Prayer (Live in Central Park)—Andrea Bocelli & Celine Dion
11. Rolling In The Deep (Lenny B Remix)—Adele
12. The Edge Of Glory (Sunshine Radio Edit)—Lady Gaga
13. I'm Into You—Jennifer Lopez w/William Levy
14. Summer Rain (Almighty Radio Edit)—Matthew Morrison
15. Jar of Hearts—Christina Perri
16. Last Friday Night (DJ Mike Bass Mix)—Katy Perry
17. Forgive Me (For Not Forgiving You)—Matt Zarley
18. My Heart Is Broken—Evanescence
19. The Lady is a Tramp—Tony Bennett & Lady Gaga
20. Love Is A Losing Game—Amy Winehouse
21. Moves Like Jagger—Maroon 5 f/ Christina Aguilera
22. Judas—Lady GaGa
23. Grenade—Bruno Mars
24. Morning Train—Paul Mauriat f/Sheena Easton
25. Eh Eh (Nothing Else I Can Say)—Lady Gaga
26. Change Begins With Me—Matt Zarley
27. It's Not Goodbye—Laura Pausini
28. World Keeps Turning—Sylvia Tosun
29. I'm Not Ready—Michael Bolton & Delta Goodrem
30. Best Thing I Never Had (Mike Dre mix)—Beyonce
31. Sleeping Satellite—Kim Wilde
32. Please Stay—Westlife
33. Above All—Sylvia Tosun
34. Try Sleeping With a Broken Heart—Alicia Keys
35. Say Hello To Goodbye—Shontelle
36. Goodbye Girl—Rumer
37. California King Bed (Goon Rock Remix) Edit—Rihanna
38. To Anyone—Sheena Easton
39. Boys Do Fall In Love (Long Version)—Robin Gibb
40. Heartache All Over The World (Megamix)—Elton John

Smoking Nun August 2011 Daily Feature Poll: And The Results Are...

Last month, we posted a poll on The Smoking Nun in the interest of evolution.

For the past several months, I've enjoyed posting a morning NYC Vintage Image of the Day, along with our weekend Model Perfect hot guy feature, the usual photo journal, occasional features about music and rants & raves about pop culture, politics, the dismal economy and so on...

In our poll, we queried about whether there was any particular interest in one of three daily features: NYC Vintage Image, Hot Guys or a Smoking Nun take on Radio & Records. There wasn't. At all. Over the course of three weeks, 26 unique votes were cast.

Radio & Records garnered 17 votes (65%), NYC Vintage 12 votes (46%), and Model Perfect: Hot Men tied with the riveting option of "Other," with 2 votes each. A combo of all fostered 4 votes (15%).

And so the results are... fuck it. As you can see below, the most popular posts on The Smoking Nun over the past month—aside from a legitimate review of Darren Hayes' new single "Black Out the Sun"—are about Rodiney Santiago and William Levy. I'll be taking a moment now. What the hell am I doing here?

Good God, Darren Does It Again: Traffic Spikes To 2,400+ In Two Days

Damn, are there any more dedicated fans than those following Darren Hayes? On Monday, we posted a loving review of his best new single in years, "Black Out the Sun," which Darren was kind enough to tweet to his 46,741 Twitter followers... Instantaneous combustion: On Tuesday, The Smoking Nun spiked from its customary 400-500 hits to 1,400. Today, we're approaching another 1,000 before 10 p.m.

As one fan posted on The Smoking Nun last time around, call it "The Darren Effect." And how. Last November, we posted details about a wondrous face-to-face visit I had with Darren when he was in New York. Within a day, hits spiked to the same range... just as they did in May 2010 when I simply wished him a happy birthday.

Have I mentioned that in my Billboard days, Savage Garden was not only one of my fave acts (after I wrote a third column as Radio Editor about the duo for each successive hit single in the 1990s, my managing editor told me that I was approaching ad nauseum and to lay off for a while), but he has persistently been one of the most genuine artists I've known?

Darren Hayes Returns To Pop Glory With 'Black Out The Sun' Single

Darren Hayes' new single "Black Out The Sun," which hits retail Oct. 2, serves up a quintessential performance from one of our enduring fave singer/songwriters—whose creativity simply never ebbs.

With upcoming fourth solo album Secret Codes and Battleships, due Oct. 17, he again hearkens the beloved pure pop template—after 2007's more experimental This Delicate Thing We Made and 2004's The Tension and the Spark—that made Hayes a global superstar during his 1990s' run as lead of duo Savage Garden. In fact, their 1997 No. 1 "Truly Madly Deeply" is the most played song in the history of the Billboard AC survey.

The percussion-fueled ballad, driven by Hayes' haunting falsetto, follows peppy dance-driven single "Talk Talk Talk" and its strikingly clever "Out of Touch" remix and B-side cover of Madonna's "Angel." "Sun," however, dims the lights, with a lament to lost love, as strings swirl and swoop like a chorus of orchestral angels trying to make all right with the world again. Hayes sings, "There's nobody else who can hurt like you hurt me/Now all the love's gone, and nothing grows here and I just feel wrong, so just black out the sun."

Fortunately, "Sun" is not reflective of Hayes' relationship with hubby Richard Cullen. It was written with & produced by Carl Falk in Sweden (and recorded the day Michael Jackson died).

Secret Codes, meanwhile, returns Hayes to a major record label, hopefully giving his career the promotional muscle it deserves from Mercury/Universal in Australia and Europe.

The dark, moody video clip (below), directed by Grant Marshall and featuring choreography by Hayes' sister Claire Marshall, utilizes a full soundstage and a major-league cinematic projector that employs a vintage anamorphic lenses from the 1970s. And it's fun to see our Darren with free-flowing longer hair again, too. Man, this is one of the best tracks I've heard this year, bar none.

Happy Birthday Darren Hayes!

A couple months ago, I retired the Smoking Nun's regimen of Happy Birthday starfucker posts, displaying meese in self-gratifying grab-and-grin shots with notables I had the pleasure of interviewing during my career at Billboard magazine. But this is a special occasion for a very rare individual. Darren Hayes is one of a handful of artists I believe I've gotten to know over the past 15+ years. I feel I can call him a friend.

Last November, Darren was in New York and made time to meet after reading a confessional Nun post, "Life On the 'D' List." We spent two hours on a comfy couch at his Soho hotel, sipping coffee and talking about parallel experiences, albeit in different leagues: from the rise and peak of our chosen careers to having the rug unceremoniously pulled out... mourning and subsequently, with time and effort, ultimately moving forward.

For the third year in a row, I wish dear Darren... a birthday filled with all the joy he deserves.

Click below to read (a rehash of) the tale of how Darren proved what a gracious gentleman he is, amid a journalist's worst nightmare... and what remains the most embarrassing moment of my career!

Darren Does It Again: Smokes Nun Hits!

Man, it never fails. Every time The Smoking Nun mentions the two words "Darren Hayes"—I offer with the utmost respect—it's as if I've announced the invention of the wheel. My lovely Monday meet-up with our wonderful friend, who was in New York earlier this week, not only fostered 68 out of 100 visits to the Nun today, but, as you can see here, drew visitors from all over the world—and increased traffic from an average of 400 hits a day to more than 1,400 Monday... and still counting Tuesday!

I told Darren that I should start a Darren-A-Day post... "Today Darren belched, and it kind of smelled like rice..."

You cool cats recognize that I say all of this with a wink. You know as do I that Darren is a true gentleman, a stellar singer/songwriter and one of the warmest, most sincere artists I have had the pleasure of knowing. I share the love.Click to see details!

Café Con Darren Hayes

Late this morning I had the pleasure of meeting with longtime ally Darren Hayes at a lovely NYC hotel in Soho. The two of us spent more than two hours on a big comfy couch, sipping coffee, catching up and talking about surprisingly parallel lives, albeit in obviously different leagues: from the rise and peak in our chosen careers to having the rug unceremoniously pulled out... mourning and subsequently, with time and effort, making peace and ultimately moving forward (I'm not convinced I've fully accomplished the latter step... yet).

Darren had read my blog entry from a month ago, "Life On the 'D' List" and shared with me that he felt its universality. He offered much support, many words of wisdom and his perspective on similar personal trials. It was most comforting. The time simply flew by. What a gift: In this mad business, Darren is not just a famous guy that I covered for a decade at Billboard. He's a friend.

The 2010 'Out 100'

Ricky Martin flanks the cover of the 16th-annual "Out 100" as Entertainer of the Year—quite a stretch, meese thinks, since he hasn't had an English-language hit in 10 years (yeah, yeah, he came out this year. And?).

Others: my new fave, talk show host Nate Berkus as Stylemaker of the Year (that hair!); Scissor Sisters, Rufus Wainwright and Michael Stipe(??) among Musicians; HGTV's lovable David Bromstad; "Glee's" Chris Colfer; author Armisted Maupin; NYC City Councilwoman Christine Quinn; CNBC's Rachel Maddow; and newly out actress Meredith Baxter and country singer Shely Wright.

But where the hell is Jane Lynch?!! It appears the magazine is rolling out its list one by one. Surely, she deserves top billing.

My biggest bid for the list, Savage Garden frontman Darren Hayes, is profiled as a "Where are they now?" after making the Out 100 in 2006. Hmm, not liking that so much.

See the list, so far, here.

EXCLUSIVE: Darren Hayes On Kagan Debate

Many thanks to singer/songwriter Darren Hayes for his thoughtful response to Wednesday's post framed as a "conversation" with my friend Cheryl, that began on Facebook about the hope that gays will one day share an equal playing field—first fueled by the debate surrounding Supreme Court nominee Elena Kagan's sexuality.

He writes: I met my future husband on an extended working trip to the U.K. At that time I held a U.S green card, something I fought hard for and cherished. But I cherished Richard more—and consequently I surrendered my U.S status to be with him in England. It was legally impossible to be together in the U.S.

Six years later we are married (a Civil Partnership in the United Kingdom), where I was afforded, amongst other things, British Citizenship and all of the rights that apparently “normal” heterosexual couples inherit when they marry someone from another country. We enjoy exactly the same civil and social respect that heterosexual couples enjoy in the culture that I live in. In short: I feel legitimate and respected.

I could never have considered bringing Richard to the U.S as my partner. It wasn't a possibility. Even with my Civil Partnership he doesn't exist or hold any title in my life according to every other country in the world.

As a gay person sometimes you feel like Rosa Parks being told you should be grateful to just have a damned seat. Well I'm not grateful. I'm furious. And one day we will look back on this period and be ashamed for how we treated other human beings.

Sincerely,
Darren Hayes

Look What Darren Did!

A simple Happy Birthday salutation to Darren Hayes Saturday was linked to one of his fan forums, which fostered the highest one-day traffic in The Smoking Nun's history: 1,400 page views on Sunday. Truly, Madly, Deeply, indeed! I love that Darren has such a dedicated following. Y'all come back now, you hear?ADDENDUM: Tuesday, 7:30 a.m. Madness! Are they still coming... or are they coming back? Another new peak on Monday. Either way, thanks, all ye cool cats!Here's a good sign... Thanks again!

Happy Birthday Darren Hayes

The wonderfully warm and titanically talented Darren Hayes, solo singer/songwriter and founding member of duo Savage Garden, turns a graceful 38 today.

Happy Birthday, Darren Hayes

It was the quintessential journalist's worst nightmare. I was at Sony Studios in midtown interviewing Darren Hayes—and after a good 45 minutes, I discovered that the batteries on my hand-held recorder had about as much juice as a 10-year-old orange. There was simply nothing there but an undetectable blur of conversation. In one of the most gracious displays of pure professionalism I ever experienced, Darren smiled and said, "Well, I guess we're starting over." He had an engineer at the facility hook up a mic and tape and we re-recorded the entire damn interview.

The experience was horrifying and embarrassing, for sure, but Darren waved it off and we got the job done. I never forgot it. Beginning with his first hit with Savage Garden, "I Want You," in 1996, I wrote numerous columns for Billboard on the group as the hits kept coming: "To the Moon and Back," "The Animal Song" and of course, "Truly Madly Deeply" and "I Knew I Loved You." In fact, in those first couple years, I tallied that I had written more about the Aussie duo than any other act.

When Darren went solo in 2002, I maintained a relationship with him and had the opportunity to see him live countless times (also forging a friendship with his one-time background singer Anna Maria La Spina, a stunningly talented solo artist now). By the time he performed to a sold-out crowd at Joe's Pub last year, Darren had come out of the closet and married his partner Richard (pictured below).

Happy 37th birthday, Mr. Hayes. Congrats on so many accomplishments, both professionally and personally.

Diary Of A Layoff/Post One

The Holmes and Rahe stress scale lists some three-dozen major traumatic life events. Thank god I am not dealing with the death of a spouse, jail term or personal injury. Shucks, I merely rank at No. 7, with “loss of a job.”

On Wednesday, after 14 years with Billboard, I was one of around 10 staffers laid off at Nielsen. I’m actually on the payroll for sister Radio & Records, the pub that did the dirty deed, so all of my duties for Billboard—as senior correspondent/pop and single reviews editor—were more or less delivered gratis... and willingly so.

So here’s what came down last week: R&R staffers were informed of a mandatory “Town Hall” on Wednesday. There was little doubt that the ultimate result would be layoffs. Like most trade publications, the weekly print model has suffered over the past year from a lack of ad support—not to mention its reporting of an industry—terrestrial radio—that has done everything in its power to demonize itself among consumers, advertisers and Wall Street.

At 4 p.m. Wednesday, the publisher of Billboard/R&R led a phone call, informing staff that the business model has been challenged, times are tough and “today is going to be a very difficult day for R&R” and—ready for this?—please return to your desk and wait for the phone to ring to discover your fate. Did I think I would be among the sacrificed? Based on what I competently deliver on a weekly basis to the magazine, no. Based upon R&R's hierarchy, which is based on the West Coast, I was not as confident.

Ring! It was my editor Paul on the phone, asking me to join him with a human resources rep. My fate was obvious before I even entered the room. “Your position has been eliminated. Just know that this has nothing to do with your performance.” My first thought is, “Damn straight.” The HR rep starts her routine and at one point, I said, “Is all this written down somewhere, because I’m hearing about half of what you’re saying to me.” She's saying things like "reduction, salary continuation, transition, Cobra," and I'm hearing, "layoff, layoff, layoff, layoff."

At this point, Nielsen has its layoffs down with a genuine sense of elegance. I was axed as of Feb. 25, and remain on payroll through March 25. No security guard standing by my desk to escort me out, my e-mail remains active, allowing me the opportunity to contact my allies. I have time to (toss out and) pack up so many years of crap. And because I have been with the company as long, I have severance.

Okay, at last, let's address the stuff I really want to talk about: the emotions behind all of this.

• First, I hated walking out of the HR rep's office, knowing my co-workers were eyeing each of us as that door cracked open. It’s like a cancer: the fear that being laid off might be contagious. But I was greeted with so much love, gracious spirit, true generosity… I am so fond of my co-workers and they would come out of our hugs with tears in their eyes! I was the one reassuring them that I am okay.

• More than anything else I feel, I’ve had a wild, wonderful ride here and truly have no regrets. After 14 years, it’s appropriate for me to turn the page. Let the new kids live their dream now. I could ask for nothing more from this experience.

• Billboard has given me the best, always. I discovered the magazine in the student union during my freshman year at college and from that moment on, dreamed of one day working here. More than a decade later, in 1995, I received a call from managing editor Ken Schlager inviting me to interview for the position of radio editor. Since I was hired and moved from D.C. to NYC in October 1995, I’ve lived every imaginable dream in larger-than-life living color. At Billboard in the mid-1990s I covered the consummate teen pop era that was just ahead. As radio editor, I founded my own column, where I interviewed a hit artist of my choice every week. In its day, mine was the third-best-read column in the magazine.

• In my time here, I did more than interview my idols: I dined with and spent quality time with Sheena Easton, Celine Dion, Olivia Newton-John, Jon Secada, Darren Hayes, Delta Goodrem, Jim Brickman, Debbie Gibson, Jessica Simpson, Darren Hayes and Clint Black. I curled up on a sofa with Jewel. I spoke with Britney, Justin and Hanson, know the Backstreet Boys and BBMak, had a blast with about every ‘80’s star I admired previous to arriving at Billboard: Human League, Air Supply, Toto, Lionel Richie, Roxette, Belinda Carlisle, Erasure, Phil Collins, Bette Midler, Barry Manilow. I met Mary Tyler Moore, Meryl Streep, Tony Bennett, Elvis Costello. In all, I interviewed more than 300 artists. What more could I ask for?

• The last two years as senior editor at R&R have been like coasting on a bike with worn-out brakes—working for a pub that I am certain will retreat to an online-only model by year end, if it survives at all. The majority of the staff, from the top down, are challenged to put two sentences together with words in order… But the point of that mag was never about editorial integrity—to the point that there is literally a mandate that forbids editing the columnists. It's simply about filling pages with words to sell ads against. What could I miss about that?

• Ironically, about a month ago, I wrote a major feature for R&R about “surviving a layoff.” Boy, I learned a lot. I am certainly Everyman, so am prepared for all stages ahead: numbness, a little anger, acceptance, the future, and then actively moving forward…

• My fellow co-worker A who was laid off alongside me said that the night of our exit, she was updating her resume and looking for jobs online. I told her to stop it: Exhale, take a breath, panicking is not the proper first reaction. Take time to accept before even considering what’s next. I truly believe it’s essential to take a moment to chill.

• My friend E, who was laid off years ago, offered the best advice I’ve heard. She said, “Enjoy the silence.” Look at your future as an empty box, not an obligation to rush back to the first job that comes along. She wrote a novel in her time off, which was not only published (and is a fucking marvel), but it provided her income long past her months of unemployment. And you know what? I am a master storyteller. I’m not a fiction writer, but boy, I could sit down with someone for three months, collect their history and write a brilliant biography. Hello, words neatly arranged! Next stop: New York Times best-seller. Pulitzer? Oh, stop it, you're embarrassing me.

• I am thankful that I don’t work for General Motors, where, when the assembly line shuts down, I am helpless with the tools I need to do my job. I don’t sell medical supplies, I don’t work at retail. I am fortunate that my life’s work is “talent.” All I need is a pen in hand. A blessing.

• After so many hugs at work, one of my co-workers said Friday, “The fact you seem so positive is making us feel better.” Honestly, I feel right good. More than anything, I will miss daily contact with so many co-workers who are persistently amusing and inspiring… and god knows I love the East Village—but it’s all just a train ride away. I can still hop the subway and buy my toothpaste at Kmart, you know. And then... there's Lunasa every Friday. Yeah, man, my rock.

• I am surprised that being laid off is as all-consuming in my head as it is. Every other thought seems to have something to do with this evolution, whether considering health insurance, direct deposit, my pre-tax subway card… All of the logistical factors are beginning to sink in alongside the emotional revelations. I was walking down the street Sunday realizing that it’s on the verge of exhausting. But I suppose, all part of the process.

• And that, cool cats, is where I am five days in. Stay tuned for weekly updates.