15 best totally overplayed songs of the past year

Hozier sold out Tempe's Marquee Theatre well in advance of Sunday's show. And he's touring a perfectly brilliant self-titled debut, but there can be no doubt that no song Hozier plays at Sunday's concert will be greeted as enthusiastically as the gospel-flavored chorus of "Take Me to Church."

It's not just Hozier's biggest single, the quadruple-platinum triumph he performed with Annie Lennox at the Grammys. It's among the most-played singles of the past year.

And as anyone who's ever burned out on a song can tell you, it doesn't take that many spins to go from often played to overplayed. But the good news for Hozier is this: Not all overplayed singles are created equal. Some retain their charm after being added to ad nauseum rotation.

It's with that in mind that we present our list of the 15 best totally overplayed songs of the past 12 months.

15. Pharrell, "Happy"

This is not his finest hour. But it is his most successful single. And there's something to said for that. A soundtrack hit from "Despicable Me 2," "Happy" topped the Billboard year-end Hot 100 for 2014, having spent a 10-week stint at No. 1 in the course of its 22 weeks in Billboard's Top 10. The vibe is old-school '60s soul with a singalong chorus in which he urges you to "clap along if you feel like a room without a roof." And the handclaps definitely make you want to feel like something. But as retro-tastic soul jams go, it can't touch "Uptown Funk."

14. Fall Out Boy "Centuries"

The lead single from this year's "American Beauty / American Psycho" is built on a well-chosen sample of the vocal hook to Suzanne Vega's "Tom Diner," re-recorded for the task at hand by Lolo. There's also a slight hint of Queen in the quasi-operatic vocal flourishes and an underlying sense of drama to the whole track, which features some excellent turns of phrase. It peaked at No. 10 on Billboard's Hot 100 on its way to going double platinum.

13. Iggy Azalea featuring Charli XCX, "Fancy"

This song spent seven weeks at No. 1 on Billboard's Hot 100, 17 weeks in the top 10. Rap purists may not like her, but she definitely brings her own peculiar swagger to bear on the opening line: "First things first / I'm the realest / Drop this and let the whole world feel it." The minimalist production definitely helped the whole world feel it and the hook by Charli XCX took it over the top.

12. Taylor Swift, "Shake It Off"

This was the first song America heard from Swift's "first documented official pop album," as "1989" was being hyped. And to be fair, it is a fairly poppy song, if no more poppy than "We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together," the chart-topping triumph that served as lead single for "Red." This one is driven by a bigger beat, though, Swift setting the lyrical tone with a coy delivery of "I stay out too late / Got nothin' in my brain / That's what people say / Mmm hmm / That's what people say." The production is sparse and surprisingly edgy at first, almost suggesting a cross between St. Vincent and the Neptunes. And even when they fill those empty spaces in a little on the chorus, adding horns the second time the chorus hits, the song retains its edge and then reverses to the strippped-down production on the verse coming out of the chorus hook. She does some rapping, too, which may not count as playing to her strengths. It spent four non-consecutive weeks at No. 1 and 24 weeks in the Top 10 (which is seven weeks longer than "Blank Space").

11. Ed Sheeran, "Thinking Out Loud"

This song won't quit. It peaked at No. 2 and after 17 weeks in the Top 10, it's still hanging strong at No. 5. It's an old-school soul ballad, cut from the same cloth that resulted in the recent Bruno Mars hit, "When I Was Your Man." It feels like something someone would have pitched to Otis Redding had he lived to cut a followup to the bittersweet acoustic soul of "(Sittin' on) The Dock of the Bay."

10. Rihanna, Kanye West & Paul McCartney, "FourFiveSeconds"

You may have seen this power trio do this on the Grammys. And by power trio, I mean a trio of powerful figures, including an actual Beatle (still bigger than Yeezus). McCartney's contributions here are kept to strumming an acoustic guitar and possibly contributing some harmony. The lead vocals are by Rihanna, who brings soulful grit to the proceeding after starting the song with an endearing squeak, and West brings his requisite swagger to slang-heavy lyrics that are, frankly, on the hit-or-miss side. Hold me back, I'm 'bout to spaz?! That's all you had?! The good news is the hook is undeniable enough to make the weaker lines worthwhile. It just ended a nine-week stint inside the Top 10 but its far greater cultural significance is having touched off all those Boomer-baiting "Who is Paul McCartney" jokes on Twitter.

9. Flo Rida, "G.D.F.R."

After 22 weeks on the charts, this song is in its second week at No. 8. It's been a while now since this rapper last big smash ("I Cry" in 2012), but this feels like the sort of record that could put him back on top. It's just taking its time. That instrumental hook is undeniable -- as quirky as it is hypnotic. And the vocal hook by Sage the Gemini is almost as infectious. Those initials are for "goin' down for real" and the sexual innuendo is what you'd expect from a Flo Rida single. And he knows you expect it, too, resulting in a playful chant of "Double entendre, double entendre / While you're hating I get money / Then I double up tonkers." That's apparently another word for breasts. So there you go. It's educational.

8. Sam Smith, "Stay With Me"

This multi-platinum gospel-flavored single peaked at No. 2 and spent 21 weeks inside the Top 10, which gave Tom Petty and his lawyers ample time to argue that it sure does sound a lot like Petty's own "I Won't Back Down." And it's practically a carbon copy of the melody. But that's not what "Stay With Me" a massive hit single. No, that was more down to the vulnerability Smith oozes on the vocal mikes, trembling his way into a strong contender for the title of his generation's answer to the great Boy George. "This ain't love, it's clear to see," he admits in a tear-stained falsetto. "But darling, stay with me." And the programmers did.

7. Lorde, "Royals"

Lorde was all of 17 when "Royals," spent nine weeks at No. 1 on Billboard's Hot 100, selling 7.5 million copies worldwide. The arrangement is brilliant, all kick drum and finger pops for the first 10 seconds. Then, Lorde grabs the mike and the spotlight to tremble her way through the scene-setting opening line: "I've never seen a diamond in the flesh / I cut my teeth on wedding rings in the movies / And I'm not proud of my address / In a torn-up town, no postcode envy." I know I put Taylor Swift at No. 1 here but compare those lyrics what Swift was writing in her teens when everyone was calling her a prodigy and Lorde starts sounding like the Dylan of her high school's prom.

6. Ellie Goulding, "Love Me Like You Do"

I didn't realize this had anything to do with "Fifty Shades of Grey" until long after Goulding's melody had wedged itself inside my mind. So please do not mistake this for a "Fifty Shades of Grey" endorsement. This is exactly the sort of electro-pop anthem Goulding was custom-made to put across, from the vulnerability with which she underscores her yearning on the verses to those wispy high notes on the bridge. And when she pulls out of the second bridge with that climactic final chorus? That's the kind of user-friendly mainstream pop move you'd expect from Max Martin, who co-wrote and produced the track. Having peaked at No. 3, it's in its 10th week in the Top 10.

5. Hozier, "Take Me to Church"

Hozier peaked at No. 2 on Billboard's Hot 100 with this breakthrough single, spending 20 weeks inside the Top 10. And at last count? It was No. 23 after 35 weeks on the charts. It's a powerful song that definitely lives up to the title by taking the listener to church. But in this church, the choir is being led by Elton John. Young Elton John, so it's a good thing. It helps that the lyrics grab you by the collar with the first line out of Hozier's mouth: "My lover's got humor / She's a giggle at a funeral." Dude knows how to pick a lover.

4. Meghan Trainor, "Lips Are Movin"

It's not about that bass on Trainor's followup to "All About That Bass." But in a throwback to the golden age of letting that which ain't broke stay unfixed, the bass does get a mention, as Trainor takes her lying man to task with "Boy, look at me in my face / Tell me that you're not just about this bass / You really think I could be replaced? / Nah, I come from outer space." The handclap-driven chorus hook -- on which she tells him "If your lips are moving / Then you're lyin', lyin', lyin', baby" -- is as catchy and as timely as the one on "Al About That Bass." And like that song, it filtered the pop sensibilities of early rock and roll through just enough hip-hop to feel right at home on the radio in 2014, even with all that banging piano and proper horns.She did not top the charts with this one but she did spend 12 weeks in the Top 10 and at last count it was No. 33 after 25 weeks on the chart.

3. Meghan Trainor, "All About That Bass"

Trainor spent eight weeks at No. 1 with spirited, sexually assertive female-empowerment anthem for women who don't subscribe to the emaciated-fashion-model school of booty management, set to music that could pass for Duffy covering a song from "Hairspray." And... it's really cute. She sets the tone with "Yeah, it's pretty clear, I ain't no Size 2 / But I can shake it, shake it like I'm supposed to do" and works her way around to "Yeah, my mama she told me, 'Don't worry about your size' / She said, 'Boys like a little more booty to hold at night.'"

2. Mark Ronson featuring Bruno Mars, "Uptown Funk"

For a minute there, it felt like "Uptown Funk" would never leave the top of Billboard's Hot 100. But it's No. 2 now after 14 weeks at No. 1. That's 14 weeks, the longest any song has stayed at No. 1 so far this decade. And that's not all. There's only one song in the history of the Hot 100 to have spent more weeks at No. 1. Mariah Carey teaming up with Boyz II Men on "One Sweet Day." And this is a much better single. Given the retro leanings of their individual catalogs, one didn't need to drop a needle on this single before ruling out such adjectives as "groundbreaking" and "revolutionary." But it sure is fun with its handclaps that go to 11, its doo-wop bass vocal intro, its slinky funk guitar and a direct steal from (or tribute to) the Gap Band's "Oops Upside Your Head." The horn chart is perfect, the lyrics just funny enough, Mars singing, "Gotta kiss myself, I'm so pretty" and ordering Julio to "get the stretch (by which he clearly means a limo)." Genius. Of a sort.

1. Taylor Swift, "Blank Space"

Swift spent seven weeks at No. 1 on Billboard's Hot 100 with the second single from her latest album, "1989," displacing the previous single, "Shake It Off," at No. 1. The lyrical content, as expected, concerns a doomed relationship. "Oh my God / Look at that face / You look like my next mistake," she sings. But there's real pathos in the chorus hook, when Swift sings, "So it's gonna be forever or it's gonna go down in flames / You can tell me when it's over if the high was worth the pain." The answer, of course, is it was never worth the other person's pain.