20+12 = My 32 favorite songs of 2012.

32.  Madonna "Girl Gone Wild" - First single ("Give Me All Your Luvin'") from "MDNA" should have never been released as a single but helped Madonna pad her lead on the Billboard Hot 100 with the most top ten singles (38) thanks to her record breaking SuperBowl performance. The album's third single, "Turn Up the Radio" should have been single #1 giving this song ("Girls Gone Wild") a better chance at being a hit. Nevertheless Madonna, Guy Oseary, and/or Interscope Records have handily brought Madonna's chances at ever having another bonafide hit single to an end, as the wrong songs are picked as singles and the pre album promotion has been minimal. "Girl Gone Wild" was a catchy dance floor jam that was reminiscent of her "Vogue" and "Deeper & Deeper" days.

31.  P!nk "Try" - P!nk's first single ("Blow Me (One Last Kiss)") from her 6th studio album was a let down to me.  However this second single instantly became the highlight of the album for me and I feel will become a bigger radio hit in 2013.

30.  Adele "Skyfall" - As an Adele track this song is a bit on the lackluster side, but as a Bond Theme song, this is aces above the last few Bond themes and almost erases the dirty taste Madonna's "Die Another Day" left in our mouths. 

29. Gotye "Somebody That I Used to Know"

28.  Grace Potter & the Nocturnals "Stars" - Thank you, "The Voice" for bringing this unknown gem to the masses, when Amanda Brown performed a version of it on the live shows.  I immediately fell in love and have played it at least once a day since then.

27.  Jennifer Lopez "Dance Again" - Take away Pitbull's rap and this is almost as good as J.Lo's best single ever, "Waiting For Tonight".

26.  Karmin "Brokenhearted"

25.  Adam Lambert "Better Than I Know Myself"

24.  One Direction "What Makes You Beautiful"

23.  Norah Jones "Happy Pills" - Loving the lo-fi indie sound Norah adopted on her new album "...Little Broken Hearts".  

22.  Paloma Faith "Pickin' Up The Pieces" - An artist to watch for in 2013.  Hopefully like Adele before her, Paloma will break America and become just as played and adored.

21.  Rebecca Ferguson "Nothing's Real But Love" - Shame America did not pick up on Rebecca as she truly is one of the best things from a reality show competition ("The X-Factor" UK). Soulful, raw, and vocally stunning, this ballad is gorgeous, haunting and amazing.

20.  Kelly Clarkson "Catch My Breath"

19.  Kylie Minogue "Timebomb" - Admittedly, it took my a few listens to warm up to this, but once I did there was no going back. One of the slyest catchiest tunes of 2012.

18.  Owl City with Carly Rae Jepsen "Good Time"

17.  Little Big Town "Pontoon" - It's great seeing this underrated band finally get their acclaim.  Always consistent in the quality of their output, this song was a summer time staple and launched Little Big Town into the big leagues of country music. 

16.  One Direction "Live While We're Young" Yes, boyband fever struck the US again.  Yes, I was suckered into it. And, yes, I have no shame.  This guilty pleasure song was all about the sing along chorus and playful video.

15.  Florence + the Machine "Spectrum" - The song that cemented my love for all things Florence. 

14.  Keane - "Sovereign Light Café"

13. David Guetta feat. Sia "Titanium" - I'm not a Guetta fan by any means, as I think he is dance music for frat boys and sorority girls, but this song was elevated to a higher level due to Sia's powerful vocals.

12.  Imagine Dragons "It's Time"

11.  Train "Drive By"

10.  Carrie Underwood "Blown Away" - Carrie's talents really shine through on the title track of her 4th album. This epic anthem was unlike anything on the radio (country or pop) and deserved to be a #1 hit, but stalled out at #2.

9.  Hunter Hayes "Wanted" - Carrie's opening act broke through in 2012 in a big way with his first #1 hit and a Best New Artist Grammy nomination.  This plaintive ballad showcased his songwriting and piano playing skills.  I expect him to take the Grammy home.

8.  Maroon 5 "Payphone" - I prefer the non-rap version that plays on Adult Contemporary radio as it incorporates a great Adam Levine ad libbing section in its place. I still don't understand how this only made it to #2 but the horrible follow up "One More Night" spent 9 weeks at #1.

7.  Katy Perry "Wide Awake" - Closing out the "Teenage Dream" chapter of her career, Katy released this reflective song and left her fans salivating for her next step in what has proven to be an illustrious career. (Let's face it, if you own "Teenage Dream" you already have a version of the inevitable "Greatest Hits" package that's bound to come out eventually.)

6.  Taylor Swift "We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together" - Say what you will about her dating habits and the trail of broken hearted men left in the dirt, but no one does a break up song quite like T. Swizzle.  This perfectly crafted pop jam is no exception and soared to #1 immediately upon release.  Parent album "RED" soon followed and spent 6 (and counting) weeks atop the Billboard 200.

5.  Anne Hathaway "I Dreamed A Dream" - Technically not a single, but Ms. Hathaway's emotional, gut wrenching performance of this in the musical movie adaptation of Broadway's "Les Misérables" have pundits screaming Oscar in the same way they did for Jennifer Hudson in "Dreamgirls" (and she had TWO big belters in that movie).  I would've placed Samantha Bark's version of "On My Own" on here too, if they hadn't omitted the first verse of the song in the movie.

4. Fun. "Some Nights" - I prefer this, their follow up to "We Are Young", as this just had a certain something to it that made it irresistible. 

3.  Carly Rae Jepsen "Call Me Maybe" - Inescapable all summer/year long. Every year we get a song that saturates all forms of media and becomes a pop culture phenomenon. Sorry, PSY, but this year it was "Call Me Maybe".  

2.  Demi Lovato "Give Your Heart A Break" - Prior to 2012 Demi Lovato was just that other Disney starlet that punched a back up dancer and got sent to rehab.  Flash forward to 2012 and she not only landed a coveted seat on "The X-Factor" but also scored a proper hit song with this little slice of pop heaven.  Whether or not her success continues into 2013 remains to be seen but we'll always have this and "Skyscraper" to reflect on.

1. Kelly Clarkson "Stronger (What Doesn't Kill You)" - The Original Idol returned in a big way in 2012 with this rousing, hands in the air anthem.  Not only did this go on to hit #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 for three weeks, it  also topped the Hot Dance Club Songs, Adult Pop Songs, Pop Songs, and Adult Contemporary charts, making her the first artist ever to have topped the Hot 100 and each of Billboard's Dance/Club Play Songs, Country Songs, Adult Contemporary, Pop Songs, and Adult Pop Songs charts.   And the song garnered Grammy nominations for "Record of the Year" and "Song of the Year" (a songwriter's award).  Kelly capped off an amazing first ten years in the business with an amazing tour (which I saw three times in 2012) and a Greatest Hits album.

I Will Always Love You, Whitney Houston

Celebrity deaths normally don't affect me, as 1. I know I am not personally associated with the celebrity and 2. I don't view death as something sad and heartbreaking, more as the end of a cycle and a fact of life. Everyone will die eventually and "yes" I may miss passed loved ones, I just don't get overtly emotional about it. I never have, and probably never will. When Michael Jackson, the King of Pop, died in 2009, I like millions of other fans was sad that we lost an immensely talented man. I however, didn't have an emotional connection to MJ, although I will never deny the fact that he paved the way for many a pop star after him.

The news of Whitney Houston's (non?) shocking death last night however shook me to the core for reasons explainable and unexplainable. Anyone who knows me, knows that pop music is practically my reason for living and breathing. Ever since I bought my first record at the age of 12, I've had a relationship with music unlike any other relationship I've ever had in my life. Family, friends, and "love" interests have come and gone, but music has always been the one constant in my life.

Growing up gay in the '80s there were four pop stars that to this day have defined and made me who I am today. Cyndi Lauper, who showed me it's okay to be "unusual" with her candy colored outfits, sense of humor, and quirkiness; Madonna who beckoned me to "express myself" with her brash, brazen larger than life persona; Janet Jackson who taught me it was all about "control" both on and off of the dance floor; and Whitney Houston who had the "greatest" gift "of all", that VOICE.

When Whitney opened her mouth and sang, it was otherworldly. She was the first singer for my generation that had the talent and power to move people by simply standing there and singing. She wasn't a dancer by any means, but by god that VOICE was unlike anything I had ever heard in my young life. Whitney is the gold standard by which all other pop star's voices are measured. Turn on any season of "American Idol" and I guarantee you that there is a (most likely subpar) auditionee belting out "I Have Nothing", "I Will Always Love You" or "I'm Every Woman". The last two tracks weren't even Whitney originals, but she has become so associated with them, that I don't think even Dolly Parton or Chaka Khan even remember that they recorded them first, decades earlier.

Whitney was a record and trend setter, on both MTV and the Billboard charts. She (along with Michael and Janet Jackson) became the one of the first black artists whose videos were regularly played in rotation on MTV (back when the "M" stood for music). Her second album "Whitney" became the first album by a female artist to debut at #1. She is the only woman to have tallied reigns of more than 10 weeks at #1 with multiple albums. While no other woman has more than one such set, Houston has three: "The Bodyguard" (20 weeks), "Whitney Houston"(14) and "Whitney" (11). She strung together 7 consecutive #1 singles from 1985 -1988, a feat that still remains unmatched. When "I Will Always Love You" wrapped its 14-week run atop the Hot 100 in 1993, the song stood as the longest-leading title since the chart's inception in 1958. To-date, only Mariah Carey and Boyz II Men's "One Sweet Day" (16 weeks, 1995-96) has surpassed the reign (also matched by five other songs). Her success in music as well as movies ("The Bodyguard", "Waiting To Exhale" and "The Preacher's WIfe") proved she was a force in both areas, something that eluded both Cyndi Lauper and Madonna (to varying degree). Her subsequent music releases were met with critical and commercial success and she rode high on the charts until the 2000s.

We all know the rest of the story; tabloid headlines reporting of suspected drug usage ("Houston, She Has A Problem" and "Crack is Whack"), a volatile marriage and divorce to Bobby Brown, shocking appearances where her weight loss was obvious signs of substance abuse. She tried to relaunch her musical career, but it seemed to be too late. Her last studio albums, 2002's "Just Whitney" and 2009's "I Look To You" were practically ignored and after a few headline making appearances to promote them, Whitney faded back into obscurity.

I've always held out hope that she would return to reclaim her glory, but now she's gone. Whether it was substance abuse problems or natural causes that she succumbed to, the world has lost a legend, one of whose impact on music has been monumental. Whitney in her prime was classy, remarkable, and stunningly gorgeous. To see all that ravaged by drug/alcohol abuse is a nothing but a depressing cautionary tale. It's sad seeing your childhood icons fall and leave the world a such a young age. I always imagined that celebrities like Michael Jackson and Whitney Houston would just grow old and frail then die. The world would acknowledge them in a brief bow of the head and moment of silence (similar to Etta James' passing earlier this year). To see two of the biggest, most talented influences in music die before they had a chance to reform their public images is heartbreaking.

Whitney was the Queen of the Night with the VOICE of an angel. May she find the comfort and happiness she was apparently missing here on earth.

"...I thought that was enough for me. I had the money. I had the cars. I had the house. Had the husband. Had the kid. And none of it was really that fulfilling. For a time, I was happy. I was happy, but I needed that joy. I needed my joy back. I needed that peace that passes all understanding." Whitney Houston to Oprah Winfrey in 2009.