We’re only 13 years in but already a pop song has been crowned as the best song of the millennium.
And hey, ya might be surprised by the results, trumping the likes of Daft Punk, Kanye West, Phoenix, The Killers, Gorrillaz, and Kings of Leon to the top spot, but first things’ first; who’s passed down the verdict on what the greatest song written between 2000 and today is?
Well, the people behind ESPN’s sports and pop culture website, Grantland. But before you start spitting chips about how jocks have no real judgement over musical tastes, you should know that more accurately it was the readers of Grantland that ultimately decided on the winner in a voter’s poll, as News Ltd reports.
The website put together a shortlist of the most popular songs of the last decade or so from some of the biggest names in contemporary music, then – in true sports fashion – pitted them against each other in a series of knock-out style tournament tiers, where readers where asked to vote on their favourites, leaving only one victor can be left standing.
Triumphing over all contenders? Outkast’s ‘Hey Ya!’, the 2003 mega-hit taken from Andre 3000’s side of the hip hop duo’s double concept album Speakerboxxx/The Love Below.
The pop-rap favourite not only came out on top, but severely trounced the song it was squared off against, Adele’s ‘Rolling In The Deep’, claiming 34,271 votes to the British songbird’s 13,450, winning the grand final by a landslide.
‘Hey Ya!’ also comfortably out-performed The Killers’ ‘Mr Brightside’ to reach the grand final, as well as beating out the likes of Nelly’s (sic)-baiting ‘Hot In Herre’, Beyoncé’s horntastic ‘Crazy In Love’, and Eminem’s Dido-featuring ‘Stan’ along the road to victory.
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Delving deeper into the Song of the Millennium tournament brackets also reveals some pretty interesting details along the way. Grantland readers prefer Jay Z to Lil’ Wayne, but then Mrs. Jay Z (re: Beyoncé) knocked her beau from the competition with ‘Single Ladies’. Kings Of Leon were considered better than Phoenix, while the combined might of Nile Rodgers’ slinky guitar and Pharrell Williams disco falsetto wasn’t enough for Daft Punk’s ‘Get Lucky’ to compete with Carly Rae Jepsen’s ‘Call Me Maybe’.
Back to the winner, Grantland’s Steve Hyden’s full recap about the final OutKome touches on many an interesting point – such as how the ‘bracket-makers’ confused ‘best’ to mean ‘favourite’ rather than ‘significant or whether The Beatles were overrated – (and well worth the read), but chiefly notes that: “‘Rolling in the Deep’ and ‘Hey Ya!’ were the right songs precisely because they don’t appeal just to the fans. They appeal to everybody. You might think you hate one or both of these songs, but you probably had to decide to hate them, and it likely had something to do with the fact that everybody else thinks they’re awesome. That’s on you, not Adele or OutKast.”
In any case, relive the magical mischief of the ‘Hey Ya!’ video, or peruse over the web of tournament brackets for the Battle Of The Song Of The Millennium below, while you prepare your own debates about what should (or shouldn’t) be counted as the Best Song of the Millennium.
(Click to enlarge. Image: Mike McGrath Jr. Source: Grantland)
