"This Kiss" Carly Rae Jepsen

By far my favorite music trend of 2012 is the bubblegum pop revival. From the Backstreet Boys to Britney Spears, the genre was the soundtrack to my youth, and I can't help but smile hearing it blast again from the radio as One Direction tells me how beautiful I don't know I am. Leading the charge, at least in my book, is Canadian sensation Carly Rae Jepsen, who has brought so much joy to my ears this year with songs like "Call Me Maybe" and the appropriately-titled "Good Time." Her latest single, the cheery, chirpy "This Kiss," keeps the streak alive with an irresistible '80s mall-pop vibe that would make Tiffany proud. Its artificial sound—synthy keyboard hook, staccato drum machine claps, playful dashes of Vocoder—is the perfect driving music for a night out on the neon-lit town. B+