Christine Aguilera — Ain't No Other Man

It hasn't been a banner year for Pop, has it? Smash Hits was the first to fall, although with Black Type long since having been consigned to the dumper, it wasn't a shadow of its '80s heyday. TOTP followed shortly afterwards; the changes to the UK chart, countless failed revamps, and the move to BBC2 each nailing the show's coffin shut. The Sugababes continued their campaign for Pop's Most Stalinist Band, while Girls Aloud limped back with an ace Greatest Hits but also with an abysmal version of I Think We're Alone Now that makes the Tiffany version sound like Martha Reeves and The Vandellas. Robbie Williams continued his downward spiral, and Mr. Timberlake's follow-up to Justified didn't come close (what is a SexyBack, anyway). And does anybody have sales figures for Paris?

So, almost by default, the Pop highlight of the year was Ms. Aguilera's Ain't No Other Man. This year's One Thing (last year's Dangerously In Love), the DJ Premier-produced track jumps from the go-go stylings of Amerie's and Beyoncé's songs to a more horn-based affair, but is no less fun on the dancefloor.

Just avoid her album, as it's one good track followed by two CDs worth of mush, as far as I can tell…