Editor’s note: Ross On Radio reader Tom Smith responded to a call in last year’s final column for feedback on influential songs of 2011. Instead of a few titles, I got the sort of comprehensive and thought-provoking essay that deserved to be read on its own.—Sean Ross

“We Found Love,” Rihanna featuring Calvin Harris – By now it is pretty obvious that 2011 was the year the pop music world turned day-glo. It was also the year that Rihanna’s career went into warp mode, releasing albums and singles and guest appearances in such quick succession that there was barely room on the planet for them all. How does Rihanna avoid burning out her audience? Perhaps by keeping things interesting with stylistic exploration and brief glimpses into her “dark side.” “We Found Love” succeeds on both fronts by being both her deepest foray into European-style club music as well as perhaps the most deeply enigmatic record of her career so far.

“Mr. Saxobeat,” Alexandra Stan; “In The Dark,” Dev; “Last Friday Night (T.G.I.F.),” Katy Perry; “The Edge Of Glory,” Lady Gaga; “Midnight City,” M83 – 2011 was saxy and you know it.

“Rolling In The Deep,” Adele – This year’s version of “Hey Ya:” a genre bending record that at first doesn’t seem to fit anywhere…until it fits everywhere.

“Someone Like You,” Adele – After already scoring one left-field hit, Adele then not only managed to score another, but performed the superhuman feat of bringing Top 40’s tempo tantrum to a screeching halt (for a few minutes at least). A record like this probably hasn’t been seen since “Nothing Compares 2 U.”

“Last Friday Night (T.G.I.F.),” Katy Perry – Five number ones from one album—isn’t that, like, so ’80s? Katy Perry undoubtedly knows it—just like she undoubtedly knows why she is so popular among 40-somethings. Moreover, the fact that she can fill her video with the likes of Rebecca Black, Debbie Gibson and Kenny G shows that she is perfectly aware of her position in pop music’s solar system, and isn’t afraid to poke some fun at it.

“Born This Way,” Lady Gaga – "Solar system? Meta-Queen of the Ultra-verse is more like it, even though Lady Gaga’s recent hits are just as much of an 80’s-era rehash as Perry’s: “Express Yourself,” sax solos, Catholic images, Mutt-produced rock ballads, drag performances a-la Annie Lennox. There were good moments: the title track had a positive message, and “The Edge of Glory” offered Clarence Clemons one last, well-deserved chance to connect to a contemporary audience; still, this self-importance combined with the lack of originality could eventually be dangerous to her career.

“Sexy and I Know It,” LMFAO – The second coming of Right Said Fred. Should we be worried?

“Pumped Up Kicks,” Foster The People – The somewhat dated lyrics regarding school shootings was probably instrumental in getting this record airplay at Alternative, which is still stuck in an aggressive 90’s-era rock paradigm. It was the indelibly hooky sunshine-pop harmonies, however, that made pop audiences take notice. Has FTP opened the door to similar-sounding records? Of at least four likely candidates for FTP’s follow-up single, none have yet gained much traction at pop radio. “Tongue Tied” by Grouplove, however, bears watching. (I can’t help pointing out that in your list of 2010’s most influential songs, in referring to potential indie-rock crossovers [Sean Ross] said “I fully expect to be writing about a song like these as next year’s surprise CHR hit.” Bingo.)

“Countdown,” “1+1,” Beyonce; “Monster,” “All Of The Lights,” Kanye West – On the topic of great singles that slowed an act’s chart momentum: both Beyonce and Kayne have received only a tepid radio reaction to their most recent solo sets, largely due to adventurous singles such as these. From a chart standpoint, this may look like a failure, but artistically, both albums were deemed to be major successes, again largely due to adventurous singles such as these. Whether or not this is a good career strategy is debatable—on one hand, core fans were undoubtedly intrigued and non-fans may have been tempted to expand their horizons; on the other hand, passive listeners probably never were exposed to these records, and one should not discount the effect of massive radio airplay on maintaining one’s cultural footprint (see Rihanna).

“Super Bass,” Nicki Minaj – But this proves that being adventurous and being radio-friendly are not necessarily exclusive. Radio gave a lukewarm response to Nicki’s first few low-key ballad singles, but it wasn’t until she got her monster back on that she finally earned the massive radio hit she deserved.

“Pumped Up Kicks,” Foster the People; “Rolling in the Deep,” Adele; “Moves Like Jagger,” Maroon 5 – A comparison of Billboard’s year end list of the Top 75 all-format airplay hits with the Top 75 digital songs shows that there are 63 songs on both lists, or an overlap of 84%. Is this remarkable amount of correspondence due to the fact that radio is (still) the dominant vehicle driving digital sales? Probably, although these three songs are proof that radio is also doing a good job of being driven by digital sales: each of these three CHR smashes reached the national Top 10 long before becoming major pop radio hits.

“Dirt Road Anthem,” Jason Aldean; “Homeboy,” Eric Church – Countrified hip-hop acts like Colt Ford may have been considered somewhat oxymoronic curiosities until a cover of one of Colt’s raps unexpectedly became the biggest Country reaction record of the year, as well as part of the biggest-selling album of the year. Eric Church’s hit, despite the title, wasn’t a rap record, but likewise showed a surprising edginess that helped to liven up the format. He, too, was rewarded with enviable album sales. While I doubt that country-rap is about to become a fixture at Country radio, it still proves that a little bit of edge can go a long way.

“One More Drinkin’ Song,” Jerrod Niemann; “You and Tequila,” Kenny Chesney featuring Grace Potter; “Red Solo Cup,” Toby Keith; “Drink In My Hand,” Eric Church – With all of the songs about drunken carousing cluttering up CHR playlists, it was comforting to know that more temperate types were able to take shelter at Country radio. Not.

“On The Floor,” Jennifer Lopez featuring Pitbull; “Moves Like Jagger,” Maroon 5 featuring Christina Aguilera – Is the purpose behind all of these TV talent competitions to launch the careers of the contestants, or to re-launch the careers of the judges? In other words: Javier who? Interestingly, one of the judges whose pop attempt failed was the singer who’s been moving like Jagger for 40 years.

“When We Stand Together,” Nickelback – It is interesting, with the pop universe being so overly saturated with dance music, that one of the most publicized instances of musical backlash concerned one of the most meat-and-potatoesy rock bands. While the Thanksgiving Detroit Lions petition debacle might not be as important as Comiskey Park in 1979, it shows where some of the fuel for the electronica boom may be coming from. Nickelback obviously knew beforehand which way the wind was blowing, and that explains this dodgy attempt to go turbo.

“Every Teardrop Is A Waterfall,” Coldplay – Coldplay went turbo too, but they have always been a bit more rhythm-friendly than most rock bands. “Teardrop” also evokes 80’s-era U2, fitting in well with the current 80’s-influenced music scene. (While Coldplay’s recent hits may not have charted well at pop radio, one must keep in mind that aside from “Viva La Vida” Coldplay records have never been a sure thing at CHR.)

“Pumped Up Kicks,” Foster The People; “I Wanna Go,” Britney Spears; “Moves Like Jagger,” Maroon 5; “The Lazy Song,” Bruno Mars; “It Girl,” Jason Derulo; “Tighten Up,” Black Keys – What do Foster The People and Peter, Bjorn and John have in common? Yes, but besides all of that, both have been accused of whistle-syncing. Not a Milli Vanilli/Ashlee Simpson type scandal, to be sure, but still…

“Tonight Tonight,” Hot Chelle Rae – I couldn’t have been the only one who noticed that, aside from a slight rhythmic difference, the hook here is the same as that in “Little Bit O’Soul” by Music Explosion. It would be tempting to claim that HCR occupies the same stylistic niche as ME, except for the fact that they are much closer to the Cowsills than to Love.

“Calling All The Monsters,” China Anne McClain – Okay, this stiffed, but I’m surprised there hasn’t yet emerged a micro-trend of artists releasing Halloween-themed singles during the month of October. While Top 40 radio isn’t very hospitable to holiday records, could they in some cases generate a bit of a promotional buzz?

“Scary Monsters and Nice Sprites,” Skrillex – This dubstep sleeper hit, a key component of the current electronica boom, has been slowly building over the past year—and major Grammy hype is less than two months away. Will radio be able to find a place for it? And what about deadmau5, Avicii, Swedish House Mafia, Tiesto, Robyn, etc.?

“Midnight City,” M83; “Amor Fati,” Washed Out; “Polish Girl,” Neon Indian; “Need You Now,” Cut Copy – In conjunction with the rise of electronica, a full-fledged 80’s-esque synth-pop revival has taken over much of the indie-pop blog world. Alternative radio, which once thrived on such synthy acts as New Order, Depeche Mode, and Erasure, is still too wedged into 90’s-era guitar-grunge to be able to exploit it. The M83 track, however, is at present starting to force the door open. Will 2012 be the year that Alternative finally reinvents itself?

“Helplessness Blues,” Fleet Foxes; “Barton Hollow,” The Civil Wars; “The Cave,” Mumford and Sons; “Holocene,” Bon Iver; “Green Aisles,” Real Estate – As if intentionally to provide a much-needed respite from all of the beeping and blooping, a distinct genre of nostalgic, dream-like, rustic, folksy cabinessence has emerged as a significant trend in the music blogosphere. Not necessarily a backlash, but perhaps insurance against an overdose of artificiality?

“The Walk,” Mayer Hawthorne; “Stone Rollin’,” Raphael Saadiq; “Progress,” Booker T. Jones; “Love On Top,” Beyonce – Joining the revival of 80’s-era synthpop and early 70’s-style prog-folk is a notable revival of retro-soul, even if most of it sadly never extends beyond the realm of Triple-A. (Mayer Hawthorne is even able to uncannily reproduce the sound of a ’60s soul record, until one is shocked back to the present by the realization that Curtis Mayfield would never have dropped the F-bomb.)

Here’s the Ross On Radio look at “Songs That Changed Radio In 2011.”