No. 5: “Just the Way You Are,” Bruno Mars
Bruno Mars (born Peter Hernandez) took his initial turns in the pop spotlight singing the sweetly melodic, breezy vocal hooks on B.o.B.’s “Nothing on You” and Travie McCoy’s “Billionaire,” both songs he co-wrote and co-produced. In his first major hit, “Just the Way You Are,” he went a less doo-wop…
No. 4: “Pyramid,” Charice
As Sunshine Corazon on “Glee,” Charice (born Charmaine Clarice Relucio Pempengco) shines like a fiery orb — if the sun were a petite Filipina singer emitting flame-throwing powerhouse vocals. With “Pyramid,” the singer takes her homegrown yet polished breed of gospel-tinged pop-R&B out to play, gaining mainstream radio airplay and…
No. 3: “Bad Romance,” Lady Gaga
A standout among 2010’s Most Irresistible Lyrics for its negative hook about the perverse turns that love can take, “Bad Romance,” the lead single from 2009’s “The Fame Monster,” summons the synth-driven polished pop of “Vogue”-era Madonna, as well as Lady Gaga‘s own unique sonic fingerprint. Witness the rave-friendly dance-floor…
No. 2: “Love the Way You Lie,” Eminem
Few would have suspected that the hot-headed, brilliant rapper who lyrically lacerated his twice-divorced ex-wife Kim would find chart-topping satisfaction with this eloquent hit single, one of the most accessible, albeit troubled, romantic numbers in his career. From Eminem‘s seventh full-length album, “Recovery,” “Love the Way You Lie” is fictional,…
No. 1: “Baby,” Justin Bieber
It’s no surprise that this lead single off Justin Bieber’s debut album, “My World 2.0,” is No. 1 on the most searched lyric chart. The up-tempo R&B number with doo-wop elements has become a worldwide Top 10 hit — and the Canadian-born teen pop idol’s highest-charting single in the United…
Most Irresistible Lyrics
“The ants are my friends, they’re blowin’ in the wind.” “‘Scuse me while I kiss this guy.” We all love a tight sing-along, baby, baby, baby, and we especially like to look bright and get the words right. But it’s more than just a fear of mondegreens, or mishearings of…
No. 9: Stanley McChrystal
U.S. military officials talk about fighting wars on two fronts, but there’s also a third front: the war for public opinion. To win those hearts and minds, the Pentagon initiated a program just before the invasion of Iraq in 2003 to “embed” journalists within military units, giving the media close-up…
No. 8: Mark Hurd
Mark Hurd‘s ouster from Hewlett-Packard shows that even a disgraced Wall Street darling is almost certain to have a soft landing. When it was first reported that former actress Jodie Fisher had filed a sexual harassment lawsuit against Hurd, Fisher experienced a spike of interest in her film and TV…
No. 10: Kenneth Kratz
Of all people who should know the dangers of leaving an electronic trail of naughty behavior, a district attorney who has championed victim’s rights really ought to know better. But 30 text messages earned Kenneth Kratz of Calumet County, Wisconsin, the moniker of “the sexting D.A.” The target of his…
No. 7: Michelle Rhee
Michelle Rhee had never run a school when she was tapped by newly elected District of Columbia Mayor Adrian Fenty in 2007 to run the Washington, D.C., school system, ranked one of the worst in the nation. A veteran of Teach for America, Rhee had gone on to found the…