“Burnin’ Up” : 2008

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Time described “Burnin’ Up” as the sixth best song of 2008, in front of Beyonce’s “Single Ladies,” and that isn’t an inaccurate placement. Here, the Jonas Brothers take their status as pop stars and use it to produce a song that is timeless, despite its distinctly late-2000s feel. Pop music as a whole didn’t have the problem with bland backing tracks that modern Top 40 has, and the guitar hook of “Burnin’ Up” is a much more confident earworm than “Sucker’s” whistle. This kind of success continues throughout the song: the lyrics are cheesy, but sincere enough to be strong, and it even includes a good rap verse (given that it’s a pop song released in 2008) by one of the Jonas Brothers’ bodyguards, Big Rob. All of this creates a fun atmosphere, one that mirrors the attitudes of other Top 40 hits at the time, but still adds some character of its own. In any pop song, these are important traits, and the presentation of “Burnin’ Up” takes these and makes it its own incredible song.