“Raise Your Glass” is a song by American singer Pink from her first great hits compilation Greatest Hits…So Far!!! (2010). The song was written by Pink, Max Martin and Karl “Shellback” Schuster, and produced by the latter two, who are responsible for many of Pink’s hits. The song celebrates the first decade since Pink’s debut in 2000, and is dedicated to her fans who have been supporting her over the years. The song was released as the album’s lead single in October 2010, by Jive Records gaining both critical and commercial success, being acclaimed by most music critics and described as a party anthem, and reaching the top-ten in several countries, including the United States, where it became her third number-one single. In 2011, “Raise Your Glass” was ranked at number thirteen on the “Top 40 Year End Chart” based on Mediabase.
“Chandelier” is a song by Australian singer and songwriter Sia, from her sixth studio album, 1000 Forms of Fear (2014). Written by Sia and Jesse Shatkin. It was released in March 2014 as the lead single from the album. Lyrically, the song has a melancholic theme, detailing the demoralisation and rationalisation of alcoholism through the thought process of a “party girl”. More broadly, the song speaks to the fleeting feelings of release and abandon that come with intoxication, as well as the pain, guilt and emptiness that accompany addiction, alcoholism and hedonistic excess. The single received critical acclaim and reached the top 5 on the charts in 20 countries including France, Italy, Poland, Norway, Australia and New Zealand. In the United States, the single peaked at No. 8 on the Billboard. A music video for the song, directed by Sia and Daniel Askill, and choreographed by Ryan Heffington, features US dancer Maddie Ziegler.
“Master Hunter” is song by British singer-songwriter Laura Marling from her album Once I Was An Eagle. “Master Hunter” was the lead single and was premiered on Zane Lowe’s BBC Radio 1 show in April 2013 priorto the album’s release in May. It is riddled with lyrical and sonic Dylan references, but Marling’s possessed vocals and frenzied strumming keeps this linear track feeling as alive and fresh as you could ever hope folk to sound. Showcasing what sounds like an entire set of Lakeland pots and pans as percussion and featuring a vocal performance that harnesses a very Marling trope of sounding simultaneously calm and royally pissed off, it also features strange lyrical couplets (“I don’t stare at water anymore, water doesn’t do what it did before”), but hinges on a fairly direct chorus of “you want a woman who will call your name? It ain’t me, babe”.
“Reflektor” is a song by the Canadian band Arcade Fire. It was released in September 2013, as the first single from and the title track to the band’s fourth studio album. Produced by James Murphy, Markus Dravs and the band itself, the song features a guest vocal appearance by David Bowie and was released on a limited edition 12″ vinyl credited to the fictional band The Reflektors. Two music videos were made for the song, one regular and one interactive, both being released on the day of the song’s release. “Reflektor” was met with positive reviews, with critics often complimenting its musical approach. It also came second in NME’s list of best singles of 2013. The song had a positive commercial performance, charting in several countries.
“I Will Wait” is a song by British rock band Mumford & Sons. The track was first released in the US in August 2012 as the lead single from the band’s second studio album, Babel (2012). The song sold 153,000 copies in the United States in its first week of release and became their highest-charting song both in the US and the UK to date, peaking at number 12 in both countries. It also reached the top ten in the New Zealand, Irish, Canadian and Scottish national charts, and was voted into fifth place in Australian radio station Triple J’s Hottest 100 of 2012. Grady Smith of Entertainment Weekly gave the song a positive review, saying how the song “hearkens back to their Grammy-nomination-festooned single “The Cave” with its shouted refrain, triumphant horns, a driving kick drum, and an earnest lyric about a relationship so perfect it has Marcus Mumford kneeling down in reverence, raising his hands, and wishing for his mind to be “freed from the lies“.
