20 Best Songs Of 2012

20 Best Songs Of 2012
          A year of singles has come and gone, but when it came time for the Billboard.com staff to choose our 20 favorites we thought, fought and lobbied -- and most of all we listened. These 20 tunes cover the gamut from hip-hop and pop to country and rock, but we all agree they're 2012's best.

1."Climax"  - Usher 

           Teaming up with Diplo freed Usher's mind and falsetto, as "Climax" reminded the pop universe just how adept Mr. Raymond is at concocting slow jams. "Climax" is about a breakup, of course, but its immaculate production and tender vocal performance washed away any sadness from listeners.

2."Call Me Maybe"  - Carly Rae Jepsen

          What, you've never heard of this one? Well, it's a charming pop ditty from Canada that imagines a world where people still use telephones and strings should be included in every Top 40 refrain. "Call Me Maybe" took over everything in the summer of 2012, and it deserved to.
         
3."Mercy"  - G.O.O.D. Music

      

          The summer's biggest hip-hop beat is a bull in a china shop, smashing through Big Sean ass puns, seething Kanye rants and the Michael Jordan similes of Mr. 2 Chainz. This hip-hop summit still knocks. Mercy G.O.O.D. Music.

4."Some Nights" - fun. 

          A song that unfolds like "We Are Young" on steroids, "Some Nights" legitimized fun. as fearless, with absolutely absurd lyrics, no real chorus and an Auto-tuned breakdown. Somehow, it all works.

5."Adorn" - Miguel 

           "Fresh" is the word best used to describe "Adorn," a song that was originally released in Miguel's "Art Dealer Chic" series and elongated for maximum radio enjoyment. The sound is wildly original for R&B, but the romantic sentiments are strictly old-school.

6."Begin Again"  Taylor Swift 

       "We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together" was the Max Martin-helmed pop celebration, but the quiet moments of this follow-up single -- from the restrained chorus to the James Taylor shout-out -- allowed Swift to reach a heretofore unheard level of maturity.
"Begin Again"  Taylor Swift 

7."Somebody That I Used To Know"  - Gotye feat. Kimbra

          Sure, the words "Peter" and "Gabriel" will always be cynically tied to this unexpected No. 1, but Gotye and Kimbra synthesized forgotten styles and turned them into something fresh and unforgetta -- sorry, didn't mean to cut you off."Somebody That I Used To Know"


8."Thinkin Bout You"  - Frank Ocean

          Mr. Ocean landed on this list last year with "Novacane," but the first song on "Channel Orange" switched up the tempo by featuring soaring falsetto in between white lies told to an object of his affection."Thinkin Bout You"  - Frank Ocean

 9."Everything Is Embarrassing"   - Sky Ferreira

          An out-of-nowhere sensation stuffed as the last song on an EP, "Everything Is Embarrassing" captures the sensitivity of flirtation through unabashedly warm hooks. Look out for Sky Ferreira.

10."What Makes You Beautiful"  - One Direction

          The boy band resurgence of 2012 would not have been half as fun if its crown jewel, 1D's "What Makes You Beautiful," hadn't been so delectable. And yes, hair flips get us overwhelmed, too.

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