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Like most things in pop culture, music videos go through trends. In 2012, the lyric video became the hot new thing in music videos, but we’re hoping it’s not a quick fad. Artists are finding new ways to be creative, giving their lyrics centre stage and coming up with alternate views of their songs. After watching a year of lyric videos, we’ve narrowed the list down to the Top 30.

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30. The Oath, Cher Lloyd feat. Becky G

29. Good Time, Owl City and Carly Rae Jepsen

28. You and I, Anjulie

27. Honestly, Hot Chelle Rae

26. Brokenhearted, Karmin

25. Don’t Stop The Party, Pitbull

24. Try, Pink

23. Follow Me, Muse

22. This Kiss, Carly Rae Jepsen

21. Let Us Move On, Dido feat. Kendrick Lamar

20. True Love, Pink feat. Lily Allen

19. Diamonds, Rihanna

18. Little Things, One Direction

17. We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together, Taylor Swift

16. Freedom, Nicki Minaj

15. Ready or Not, Bridgit Mendler

14. The Fight of My Life, Colin Munroe

13. Closer, Tegan and Sara

12. C’Mon Let Me Ride, Skylar Grey and Eminem

11. C’Mon, Ke$ha

10. She’s So Mean, Matchbox Twenty

Matchbox Twenty found not just one mean girl for their official video, but a second mottie (mean-hottie) for their lyric video, which also involves the trashing of records. It pains my ears and my eyes.

9. Not Even The King, Alicia Keys

Alicia Keys turns the beautiful ballad from her album Girl On Fire into a beautiful art project. A+

8. Be The One, Cody Simpson

Cody Simpson gets animated in his lyric video for Be The One, which acts out the song in its entirety. Spoiler alert – Cody gets the girl in the end.

7. Vegas Girl, Conor Maynard

Everyone wants to be Conor Maynard’s Vegas Girl, especially if it means hanging out in Vegas.

6. Ass Back Home, Gym Class Heroes feat. Neon Hitch

While Gym Class Heroes lyric video is like a watered down version of the band’s official video for Ass Back Home, the storyline line of ‘will they/won’t they stay together’ keeps the viewer intrigued until the end.

5. Say Somethin’, Austin Mahone

Austin Mahone is one of a very few handful of artists to appear in his lyric video, which I’m sure his legions of screaming fans don’t mind one bit.

4. Anything Could Happen, Ellie Goudling

Ellie Goulding enlisted the help of her fans with the lyric video for Anything Could Happen, pasting the song’s lyrics over fan-generated Instragram pics. #sweet

3. Payphone, Maroon 5 feat. Wiz Khalifa

As if Maroon 5 and Wiz Khalifa’s action-movie music video didn’t make a big enough splash for the hit song, the band also released a full version of the video in animation.

2. Spirit Indestructible, Nelly Furtado

Nelly Furtado teamed up with Free The Children and Spencer West to document the motivational speaker’s inspiring climb up Kilimanjaro, a story that truly captures Furtado’s message.

1. Wide Awake, Katy Perry

Can Katy Perry fit an entire year of achievements into one song? Nope. But she can sure try.

Tags: holiday wrap, lyric video, Music Video

Posted on Monday, December 24th, 2012 at 2:00 pm by Allison and is filed under Blog, Featured, Holiday Wrap.