Swedish DJ Avicii typically purveys utter gush, but on "Silhouettes" his prancing synth chords and euphoric builds are tauter than usual, and less over-the-top. Odd that Salem Al Fakir croons he's "never getting back to the new school" over circa-'98 trance-pop, though.

Listen to "Silhouettes":

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“The A Team”

This debut track from the then-20-year-old British singer-songwriter has a dark story behind it. Sheeran says he culls songwriting inspiration from "viewing other people's situations," which, for the heroine in "The A Team," involves drug addiction and prostitution that began as a teen. Sheeran paints the woman's trials with haunting imagery such as "But lately her face seems/Slowly sinking, wasting/Crumbling like pastries." "I did a gig at a homeless shelter, [and the song] is about one of the women there. It's her story," he said.