My Favorite Song for Every Year, Part 3: 2000-2023

Here’s Part 3 of my favorite songs for each year from 2000 through 2023. In 2003, Coldplay became my favorite band, along with Green Day, Incubus and Weezer, and that lasted for about 10 years until they were replaced by Foster the People for a brief period. In 2015, twenty øne piløts became my favorite act, and in the years since, MISSIO, Foals, Lord Huron, Two Feet and, most recently, Beach Weather have been my favorites. I’ve written in varying detail about all of these songs in previous posts over my eight-plus years of blogging, so won’t write narratives about any of them here. Just the year, the song and the artist, and the best video I could find for each one.

2000 BENT – matchbox twenty

2001 FAMILY AFFAIR – Mary J. Blige

2002 LOSE YOURSELF – Eminem

2003 CLOCKS – Coldplay (my #1 song of the 2000s)

2004 THE REASON – Hoobastank

2005 BOULEVARD OF BROKEN DREAMS – Green Day

2006 SEXYBACK – Justin Timberlake featuring Timbaland

2007 THE PRETENDER – Foo Fighters

2008 VIVA LA VIDA – Coldplay

2009 LOVE HURTS – Incubus

2010 NEED YOU NOW – Lady Antebellum

2011 ROLLING IN THE DEEP – Adele (my #1 song of the 2010s)

2012 SOMEBODY THAT I USED TO KNOW –Gotye featuring Kimbra

2013 SWEATER WEATHER – The Neighbourhood

2014 LOVE ME AGAIN – John Newman

2015 TEAR IN MY HEART – twenty øne piløts

2016 STRESSED OUT – twenty øne piløts

2017 FEEL IT STILL – Portugal. The Man

2018 BROKEN – lovelytheband

2019 I SEE YOU – MISSIO

2020 BLINDING LIGHTS – The Weeknd

2021 FIRE – Two Feet

2022 AS IT WAS – Harry Styles

2023 TROUBLE WITH THIS BED – Beach Weather

100 Best Songs of the 2010s – #5: “Love Me Again” by John Newman

The song at #5 on my list of 100 Best Songs of the 2010s is the magnificent “Love Me Again” by British singer-songwriter and musician John Newman. I was literally stunned the first time I heard this electrifying song, and to this day it still has the power to blow me away. The song was first released in May 2013 as a digital download in Europe, but not until June 30 in the UK and the U.S. Written by Newman and Steve Booker, “Love Me Again” was the lead single from Newman’s debut album Tribute. It was a big hit in the UK and across Europe, reaching the top five in many countries and #1 in Britain, Scotland and Greece. But it had only moderate success in the U.S., where it peaked at #13 on the Billboard Adult Top 40 and only #30 on the Hot 100. The song strongly resonated with me, and spent 4 weeks at #1 on my Weekly Top 30 chart.

Newman has an arresting powerhouse voice, characterized by a raspy, soulful quality that gives him a distinct sound unlike any other singer I know of. With a raw, unbridled passion rarely heard in other vocalists, he laments over the hurt he’s caused his lover “Know I’ve done wrong / I left your heart torn / Is that what devils do? / Took you so low where only fools go / I shook the angel in you“, then fervently pleads for forgiveness as if his very survival depends upon it: “I need to know now, know now, can you love me again?

The song’s dramatic arrangement and instrumentation are spectacular, with a bold, almost angry piano riff, wailing organ, swirling strings, horns, and some of the fiercest drumbeats I’ve ever heard. After the adrenaline rush induced by the intense instrumentals and vocals, by song’s end I’m completely wiped out. Wow!

The official video produced for the song was directed by Vaughan Arnell, and is based on the classic love story of Romeo and Juliet. Newman is shown performing the song on stage in a club, while a woman, played by French actress Margaux Billard as the Juliet character and carefully watched over by her brother Tibalt, played by Joseph Steyne, flirts with the Romeo figure played by British model Tommy-Lee Winkworth. The video ends in a cliffhanger as they’re hit by a truck while running from the club, their fate unknown until Newman’s follow-up single “Cheating” reveals that they had indeed survived the hit-and-run accident. The violent and abrupt ending nearly ruins the video for me, unfortunately, as I hate violence. I suggest watching/listening to the audio video first – with the volume turned up – to fully appreciate the power and glory of this incredible song. Then watch the official video.