#50 Elin, "Better With You"

Before you I just found myself in darkness
Know it's crazy
But I know you know the way I feel is true
It's better with you

I think of this as the year's lost teen-pop single. As far as I know, it was never released anywhere beyond Germany, and even there it didn't exactly set the charts on fire, peaking at #74 on the singles chart. That's such a waste, though, as thirteen-year-old Elin released a song that any of your typical Radio Disney popstars would probably score an easy hit (amongst the Disney audience) with; it's a little JoJo-esque as well (maybe a little Stacie Orrico's singles-esque as well?). Maybe the time for this sort of music has just passed, chartwise, but that's a shame. Somehow (and despite the Avril-knockoff clothing style Elin sports in the video), "Better With You" manages to seem fairly classy, despite also being obviously designed for a young singer (though luckily Elin doesn't sound like a "kid" singing). It's got a truly great catchy chorus that I can't believe didn't help the song soar to at least half-decent heights on the charts. Really a great song, and probably deserving of being much higher up in this countdown.

Find it on: Girl Talk

No more rain and lonely nights without you

Avril Lavigne's old stylist is clearly working for German singer Elin, even if he or she has been forced to tone down the "edginess" a little bit. Heck, the video for Elin's debut single even shows her on a skateboard. I've never listened to a full Avril album, but Elin has less snarl in her voice and her guitar hooks are less in-your-face, but with that style, she really shouldn't expect to avoid the Avril comparisons. At only 13, she's also likely to draw some JoJo comparisons (and, with that age, I somehow find the "one year wiser, so much older" line sort of funny).

Better With You (Radio Edit)--the first time I heard this song I was ready to brush it off--aren't there loads of people doing this sort of thing, and probably better? A few times later, though, and I found myself really liking it...plus, it passed the miming along in your room test, so it can't be that bad. I'm still not completely convinced it's not fairly generic, but even if it is, I still think I like it. It's another song that I wouldn't be surprised to find out was a cover, but it might not be. I guess it's teen-pop, a catchy mid-tempo song that breaks no boundaries lyrically or melodically and that, despite hinting at the chorus at the beginning, takes 55 seconds to get going, but that I still find myself singing along with every time it comes on. Speaking of the lyrics, though, I'm sort of worried about Elin--look at the following lines:

"You never gave me the time of day
But I never gave up and walked away
And now you're wanting it all
You never wanted me to be with you
You always had better things to do
But I never gave up on your love"

1.) I don't think this is going to be a very healthy relationship, and 2.) I'd be worried about his intentions, Elin!

To buy Elin's debut album Girl Talk, go here (physical). As a warning, though, her official site has clips of all the songs on the album and it doesn't sound very good. You can buy her debut single "Better With You" here (physical), here (digital; you'll have to search for "Elin"), or on iTunes.

Next up: maybe an American group.