Indeed, earworms are a whole other subject again!
Can’t think of a particular Pop song I admire as I have always hated what passed for Pop music in my lifetime of listening seriously. White Rabbit was Pop once upon a time and that might be one I’d pick. If I had to go more recent maybe something by Madonna, she had a burning desire to be a Pop Diva and succeeded. I admire anyone who achieves their goal
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“What The World Needs Now Is Love” by Jackie DeShannon. Released at a time when peace was an option. Great pop song and performance.
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They are almost all basically nursery rhyme level, and hence memorable and catchy to the vast majority of the population who are never educated to, or able to experience, enjoyable complex music.
Ina similar manner to they way they are not afforded the opportunity to hear live acoustic instruments on a daily basis, hence rarely appreciating that, or high fidelity that attempts to reproduce it.
{/Soapbox}.
Also, why no sideways triangle brackets in my Android touchscreen keyboard?
Me, I like a good nursery rhyme on occasion:)
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Good question. I don’t think I have one. My pop jukebox is a bit dusty.
Maybe Minute By Minute. (Doobie Bros)
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Sometimes, I just have to have me some Squeeze. But, I prefer “Tempted” if I had to pick just one of their quirky tunes. Not sure it’s my most “admired” favorite…anyway, thanks for “listening”.
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This is a great song!
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I’m going to cheat here, as I was thinking there was a Burt Bacharach tune or two that would fill the bill, then I got an email from Reverb. So - all of these due to cool time signatures:
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A song about pawning your coat for money? Steven, our man in the U.K., may be able to throw some light on this.
Side 1 (do I date myself by referring to the vinyl? Yup!) of “Living on the Fault Line” is Doobie genius.
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Nope, every album that I got to know via vinyl (or cassette of vinyl) I still refer to the sides, just seems natural 
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‘Help who you can’
Elvis Presley Hound Dog. Perfect sound; perfect take.
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The Beatles’ “This Boy,” for the emotional impact of its ascending bridge.
Perfect pop song - another suggestion as I really do admire the stomping rhythm and the perfect arrangement: The Stranglers - Peaches
Punky but once heard it’s never forgotten, even if it isn’t sweet!
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One that took a long time to penetrate for me, and perhaps wouldn’t have, but for the persistence of Terri Hemmert on WXRT in Chicago, is “Girl of My Dreams” by Bram Tchaikovsky.
A very crowded sounding track on the used LP I have, and so not one I would recommend from a sonic perspective. But…a pop gem.
Has often made me think, “Wow - if someone did a SOTA recording of that?” But hey - they already did it. May not stop me at some point.
Edit: Listening to it on Qobuz…yeah - so pretty sure the bad production was why it took so long for me to get what a great pop song it is. I’d say it is better on vinyl turned up to 11. You have to use your imagination.
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Take your pick of early Elton John.
Clever lyrics you can’t get out of your head. Check.
Influence on what came after. How many checks are allowed?
ABBA’s S.O.S. A slick production which handles a variety of tempo shifts very skillfully.
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Abba were skilled popmeisters, love 'em or not
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How do we define “pop” music?