3. Stay With Me - Sam Smith

Radio 1 hailed Sam Smith as the sound of 2014 last year, and never has a prediction been more apposite. The British-born singer has had a string of top selling singles including 'Money on your mind' and 'I'm not the only one'. Smith's biggest selling single was 'Stay with Me', which went straight to number one in the UK and has sold over 3 million copies around the world. 'Stay With Me' has a gospel sound, and its lyrics challenge the accepted wisdom about casual sexual encounter.

Guess it's true, I'm not good at a one-night stand
But I still need love cause I'm just a man
These nights never seem to go to plan
I don't want you to leave, will you hold my hand?

The singer laments that this form of love isn't enough after the sex is over. What is wanted is commitment and permanency. It's not a particularly rock 'n' roll view of human sexuality but it does echo something of the biblical understanding of love, where sex is understood as a gift from God for the physical expression of love between committed partners. Remove the emotional and spiritual commitment of marriage, and sex is ultimately empty and unsatisfying:

Deep down I know this never works
But you can lay with me so it doesn't hurt

Smith's haunting voice and the song's authentic, transparent lyrics touched a nerve and it became one of the best-selling songs of 2014.