Hey guys! So 2020 is now gone and even though it wasn't a great year, it came with a ton of great songs. So today, I present to you just a few of my favourite songs of the year. Here's the rules on which songs are eligible first though. I can add any song that was on either the Weekend Countdown or the top 40 of the Hot 100 (since I started doing that this year) for at least one week in 2020. However, I can't include any song that I added in last year's list that also spent a week in 2020. This includes:
- Beautiful People - Ed Sheeran/Khalid
- Circles - Post Malone
- I Don't Care - Ed Sheeran/Justin Bieber
- Memories - Maroon 5 (not that I'd want to add this though...)
- Old Town Road (Remix) - Lil Nas X/Billy Ray Cyrus
- Someone You Loved - Lewis Capaldi
- Sucker - Jonas Brothers
- The Hype - Twenty One Pilots
- Time - NF
- Trampoline - SHAED
- What Am I - Why Don't We
- You Need To Calm Down - Taylor Swift
Compared to this year, last year was a cake walk in making this list. I wasn't even 50% sure what my #1 of the year was going to be before going into this. There were so many songs that I unfortunately had to cut off of the list and it really sucks that I didn't get to add them, so I'm putting an honourable mentions list here:
- Be Kind - Marshmello/Halsey
- CITY OF ANGELS - 24kGoldn
- Cruel Summer - Taylor Swift
- Falling - Harry Styles
- Go Crazy - Chris Brown/Young Thug
- Holy - Justin Bieber/Chance the Rapper
- Kings & Queens - Ava Max
- Make You Mine - PUBLIC
- Maniac - Conan Gray
- Modern Loneliness - Lauv
- My Oh My - Camila Cabello/DaBaby
- One Of Them Girls - Lee Brice
- Panini - Lil Nas X
- Savage - Megan Thee Stallion
- South of the Border - Ed Sheeran/Camila Cabello/Cardi B
- Teeth - 5 Seconds of Summer
- The Bones - Maren Morris
- The Man - Taylor Swift
- the other girl - Kelsea Ballerini/Halsey
- THE SCOTTS - THE SCOTTS
- Walk Em Down - NLE Choppa/Roddy Ricch
- Watermelon Sugar - Harry Styles
- What If I Never Get Over You - Lady A
- X - Jonas Brothers/KAROL G
- You should be sad - Halsey
- 10/10 - Rex Orange County
So there was one more rule that kind of came into play here and it was that the song had to actually be released as a single. Because sometimes artists can chart entire albums on the Hot 100, some non-singles can hit the Top 40, which would technically make them eligible for this list, but they weren't actually singles. But, I still wanted to review a couple really good songs, so I added them as bonuses right here.
Bonus: #47: pov - Ariana Grande
So this was part of Ariana Grande's album from this year, Positions. It was my favourite song from the album, mostly because it's just a great ballad. Ariana sounds fantastic here and she can really work with the slower tempo and the production. That being said, the production can definitely hold up by itself. I also just think that the melody was really good. Great song.
Bonus: #46 - Scared To Live - The Weeknd
This was from The Weeknd's album After Hours. I really wish that this was released as a single. It was my second-favourite song from an... alright album. The Weeknd sounds fantastic here and although the song's a little slower, I actually kind of really love it. The Weeknd really works well with it, especially compared to Over Now with Calvin Harris and off the table with Ariana Grande. I'm still not entirely into the cut up vocals in the chorus, but other than that, this song's perfect.
Alright, let's get to the actual list now.
#45: RITMO - Black Eyed Peas/J Balvin
So I first heard this song back when the YouTube 15 was still a thing, in late(r) 2019, and if I'm being honest, I didn't love it. But since then, I decided that I really like it. I'm still not entirely a fan of the new spanish Black Eyed Peas, as MAMACITA was only good and their new song GIRL LIKE ME with Shakira isn't great. I much preferred their older stuff. But, I definitely like this song. They've somehow found a way to have a female artist in every song ever since they lost Fergie, which I definitely appreciate and this time around it came in the form of a sample from the song The Rhythm of the Night by Corona (an unfortunate name) anyways, I think the sample was really well-used here and the guys from BEP and J Balvin work really well with it. Also, somehow, J Balvin works with this song. Yeah, I'm not sure how either.
#44: High Fashion - Roddy Ricch/Mustard
Okay, so elephant in the room, this is the first of four Roddy Ricch songs on this list... consider me a pretty big fan, I guess. Especially since there were only seven songs from him eligible for this list. Anyways, this was definitely one of my favourites. I think Roddy Ricch sounds pretty good here and Mustard's production is great and just brings everything together really nicely. The chorus is also pretty catchy, which is always a good thing to have on a rap song.
#43: Breaking Me - Topic/A7S
Okay, quick sidetrack, but I'm pretty good at recommending songs for Hits 1. Out of the 28 songs that I recommended, 11 of them were picked up by Hits 1. That's a 39% success rate. Obviously, I'm mentioning this because I recommended this song back in the day. (A few other notable ones are Bang!, Lose Somebody, Harry's Falling, RITMO, Lemonade, The Box and Savage Love) Anyways, this was definitely one of my favourite EDM songs of the year. A7S sounds a bit like good old LewCap (Lewis Capaldi) and since I like LewCap's voice, this doesn't bother me in the slightest. Topic's production is also very reminiscent of Imanbek's production in Roses (Spoiler: this is definitely higher up on the list) so overall, just a really good song.
#42: I Hope - Gabby Barrett/Charlie Puth
Yeah, so I think that it's safe to say that Hits 1 gave this song its start when Charlie Puth remixed it and when they first started playing it, I loved it. But when it eventually went to radio everywhere else, radio just decided to murder it. That being said, I still do like this song and I think Charlie Puth works surprisingly well with a country song. Gabby Barrett also sounds pretty good here and overall, it's just a really solid song. But yeah, radio definitely killed its placement on this chart.
#41: Dynamite - BTS
Boy, did BTS surprise me with this one. I'm generally not a big fan of k-pop or BTS in particular (with the exception of Make It Right, but that was mostly because of Lauv) but BOY did they make a radio song with this one. It's extremely catchy and just a lot of fun to listen to. I think it helps that the entire song is sung in english and I can actually understand it, (no offense, but it's just easier to appreciate songs when I know what they're saying) but I was surprised nonetheless. Plus, somehow BTS just went ahead and did a key change? A key change automatically elevates a song to a whole new level, as they just sound really good and I think they did it really well here. A few more examples of how to properly do a key change come from Good Thing by Zedd and Kehlani, betty by Taylor Swift and The Woo by Pop Smoke. Personally, I think I got a little sick of this song and if I didn't, it'd probably be higher here, but this is still a pretty good placement for a BTS song.
#40: Whats Poppin - Jack Harlow
Yeah, so Hits 1 started more widely accepting rap and let a lot more rap songs on Hits 1 than the last few years combined. This was definitely one of the best and I was seriously considering whether I wanted this version, or the remix the was on the Hot 100. Ultimately, I went with the original, even though I really like Tory Lanez's verse. Literally the only reason that this is better is because Lil Wayne's verse in the remix is terrible. Anyways, Jack Harlow has some really great flow here and I think he's pretty promising as a rapper. The piano line also fits surprisingly well here. Good song.
#39: Intentions - Justin Bieber/Quavo
Yeah, so somehow, Justin Bieber ended up being my #1 artist of 2020 on Spotify and I think it was entirely due to me literally shuffling every Justin Bieber song for an entire day and listening to that for around 9 hours... maybe. That being said, there were still some Justin Bieber songs that I liked from this year, and although this was his only song to make the actual list, Holy was an honourable mention and is still eligible for next year. Anyways, I think the production was the best part in this song. It was only just pretty cool and I think it was pretty well put together. Justin Bieber sounds great here and Quavo's voice is alright. He doesn't really add much, but he doesn't make the song worse either, so he's kind of just there.
#38: What A Man Gotta Do - Jonas Brothers
Yeah, so the Jonas Brothers released three songs from an upcoming album this year, but the last one they released was in, like, May, so I'm not entirely sure what's up with that. Anyways, this was the lead single and it was really good. Definitely not as good as Sucker, but I'd say it's better than Only Human and Cool... okay, definitely Cool. All of the guys sound great here and the song is so much fun. They just sound like they're having a lot of fun doing this song, even in the production. Great song.
#37: Before You Go - Lewis Capaldi
Gosh, this would be so much higher if Hits 1 had've just let it go a bit earlier. This is still a great song though, even if I don't like it anywhere close to as much as I liked it when it was first released. I've always liked LewCap's voice and I think he sounds pretty good here too. The production's definitely more interesting in this one than in Someone You Loved and I think the writing's better here too. Overall, just a good song that was definitely killed by radio.
#36: Break My Heart - Dua Lipa
Dua Lipa was so snubbed this year on the Countdown. First, she released Don't Start Now, which jumped all the way up to #2, but was blocked by Harry Styles' Adore You. Right now, Levitating is peaking at #2, while being blocked by Harry Styles' Golden and this song was blocked by Harry Styles' Watermelon Sugar. Dang Harry Styles. I think this song was killed a bit by radio, but I definitely still really like it. Dua sounds great and the production's really groovy, but all that being said, I'd still consider it the worst single from Future Nostalgia. Don't Start Now, Physical and Levitating are all better than it. Still good though.
#35: The Other Side - SZA/Justin Timberlake
So, the second Trolls movie was released this year, but had to be released digitally for obvious reasons. Quick sidetrack, but I watched the first Trolls movie... gosh, it was really bad. Obviously, it was meant for kids, but I just found myself checking my watch constantly and not really watching it. Anyways, this song was released from the second movie and it's fantastic. I really like SZA when she strays away from R&B and does a more pop-ish song. Plus, Justin Timberlake's just really good. This song flopped and I honestly can't think of a single good reason why. It's fantastic and it deserved so much more success than it got.
#34: Savage Love (Laxed - Siren Beat) - Jawsh 685/Jason Derulo
So yeah, this again probably would've been much higher had it not been played on radio so much. That being said, it's still a very good song. Jason Derulo's already a fantastic artist, and this is what happens when he gets his hands on an instrumental Tik Tok song. Just a straight-up great song. Jawsh 685's production is already great, but then you just throw Jason Derulo's vocals into the mix and it's just honestly really really good. I'm glad this hit #1 on the Hot 100, even if it was the pretty bad BTS remix.
#33: Let There Be Love - Ananya Birla
This was 100% the best song to come out of the Ones to Watch thing that Hits 1 started doing this year. It was the only One to Watch that I'd actually consider great and only one of two that I'd consider good (the other one being Holding On by iann dior). I have absolutely no clue why this song did nothing on the Weekend Countdown, but I sure am glad that it was One to Watch, or else it probably never would've debuted the Countdown. But yeah, this song is great. Ananya sounds really really good here and that production is just really good. Especially the drop, I think it was really well-done, especially considering there was no DJ on this.
#32: In Your Eyes - The Weeknd
So The Weeknd had a really great year this year, scoring the #1 song of the year on Billboard with Blinding Lights (which definitely shows up on this list). However, this was a great song that definitely deserved to do better than it did on the charts. It has a similar vibe to Blinding Lights, but it's different enough that it didn't just seem like a carbon copy. The same can be said for Save Your Tears, even if I don't love that one. The disco vibe in this is great and Abel sounds amazing as always. By the way, there was a Doja Cat remix of this song and it's definitely not as good as the original. Yeah, a great song though and it definitely deserved better.
#31: Monsters - All Time Low/Demi Lovato/blackbear
Yeah, so All Time Low score a couple songs on my list this year, the first one being this. This has actually started to become a mainstream hit, not just on Hits 1, which is great. That's probably entirely because of Demi Lovato, but whatever. I would say that I like the original, but I'm not quite sure anymore. I've grown a newfound appreciation for the remix, as it just kind of makes it feel more fresh and although Demi doesn't fit in too well, she still fits in enough to not make it feel awkward. Other than that, I'm a sucker for pop-rock, so I was pretty much guaranteed to like this. All Time Low have a great sound and that really shines here and blackbear's verse is also great. Yeah, I hope this continues to get more weeks at #1 on the Weekend Countdown and I hope that it becomes a Top 40 hit on the Hot 100.
#30: Into the Unknown - Panic! At The Disco
Yeah, so this was the only Panic! At The Disco song to be on the Countdown this year and it was actually released in 2019. So yeah, I kind of miss Panic! At The Disco. They were kind of excessive on Hits 1 closer to the end of 2019, so I was getting a little sick of them, kind of like what they were doing with blackbear halfway through 2020, but I like Brendon Urie again. This song is for sure no exception. Brendon Urie sounds fantastic here and I think he works spectacularly with this song. The song itself is also just extremely cinematic and it's much better than the original. I wish that this was actually a hit and that it didn't flop on the Countdown and do nothing anywhere else.
#29: hot girl bummer - blackbear
So Hits 1 became hardcore blackbear fans this year for seemingly no reason, but I'm definitely not complaining. This was his first song this year and it was actually a pretty big hit. I really like this song. blackbear sounds great here and I really like what he did with the melody here. It's really simple and repetitive, but it works really well with the song. Aside from the inconsistent censoring in the chorus that I don't really feel like mentioning right now, this is a great song.
#28: Sunday Best - Surfaces
Wow, I had quite a journey with this song. I first heard it back when the YouTube 15 was a thing in August 2019 and I hated it. Like, really despised it. That was mostly because of his voice. Then, it became a Tik Tok song when that started making hits and it debuted Hits 1 and I still really hated it. But then I realized that it was actually just a lot of fun and the guy's voice could be easily overlooked. I really enjoy this song now, and I'm really happy that it became such a big hit.
#27: Wishing Well - Juice WRLD
So this song dropped out of Hit-Bound, but it hit the Top 40 on the Hot 100 and was released as a single, so it's still eligible for this list. I really enjoyed this song while it was a hit. I think Juice WRLD sounds good here. Not nearly as good as he sounds in songs such as Lucid Dreams or Come & Go, but good nonetheless. This song was pretty catchy too and I really like the production here. The writing's also good.
#26: Fallin' (Adrenaline) - Why Don't We
Yeah, so Why Don't We just recently released an album and this was the very first single from it. It quickly became their biggest hit just by debuted on the Hot 100 during its debut week and personally, I'm quite glad that it did. It's by far the best song that I've heard from them and I think that if they do more songs that sound like this, I could be very interested in what they have to bring to the table. I think the whole feel of the song was really well-done here. It feels like there's constant momentum through the song, but not too much to feel rushed. All the guys sound great here too and the build-up to the last chorus is easily the best part of the song.
#25: Don't Start Now - Dua Lipa
So this song was the lead single from Dua's new album, Future Nostalgia and it did a very good job of introducing what that album had to bring. Just a lot of retro-sounding greatness. This song went for a bit more of a disco vibe than can be heard in songs like Break My Heart or Levitating, but I really like it. I think her voice sounds great with the song too and even though this faded on me while it was here, it's been long enough now that I like it again. This was a great song it definitely deserved to hit #1 at least for a week while Adore You was on its #1 run.
#24: The Woo - Pop Smoke/50 Cent/Roddy Ricch
So Pop Smoke started to blow up this year after he sadly died earlier this year. I'm really glad that he got success this year, since I really like his stuff and it's really sad that he can't even see all of his success. Anyways, I think that this was definitely the best single from Shoot For The Stars Aim For The Moon. All of the artists here sound great. I love both Roddy Ricch and 50 Cent's verses and Pop Smoke's hook and verse are both great. I also love the key change for the final chorus. The guitar too sounds really good here. Overall, just a really solid song and I'm happy that it was a hit on the Hot 100.
#23: Nice To Meet Ya - Niall Horan
So this was a hit very early on in the year and I'm so glad that it was. This was easily the best Niall Horan single from this year, leagues better than anything else he released and it honestly kind of sucks that it wasn't a huge hit anywhere other than Hits 1. Niall sounds really good here and I like the structure for the song that he does here. It kind of just follows its own structure and I really like that. The production too here is really good and I think the instrumentation was near perfect. This was a really great song and I'm super happy that it logged eight weeks at #1 on the Weekend Countdown.
#22: Lose You To Love Me - Selena Gomez
So this song was released in October 2019 and it really became a big hit and for great reason. It's easily Selena Gomez's best song and I really like it, which is great coming from somebody who really doesn't generally like Selena Gomez and her music. Hands To Myself is probably one of my least-favourite songs of all time. Anyways, Selena sounds fantastic here and the instrumentation was really good and evolved enough to keep it pretty interesting. Overall, this is just a really fantastic song that definitely deserved all of the success that it got.
#21: Blueberry Faygo - Lil Mosey
So this song became a hit entirely because of Tik Tok and I'm super happy that it did. It's a really great song. For starters, it's just extremely catchy and the hook can easily get stuck in your head. On top of that, Lil Mosey sounds really good throughout the song. This song was just a ton of fun and I feel like it's actually kind of forgettable and a lot of people probably forgot that it existed. Which is a shame, because it was a very good song.
#20: Heartless - Diplo/Julia Michaels/Morgan Wallen
So Diplo's started a weird country project. Not sure what that's about, but whatever because this song's great. It only lasted two weeks on the Weekend Countdown, but that was enough to make it eligible for this list. In my opinion, the original version of this without Julia Michaels is just decent. Morgan sounds really bad in the first verse, which is the part that was edited out in the remix, so it just makes the song that much better. Julia Michaels sounds really good here and she works very well with the song. It's honestly just a fun song that I can never get sick of. I wish this was a bigger hit.
#19: Roses (Remix) - SAINt JHN/Imanbek
So this was actually a remix of a 2018 song by SAINt JHN and it only blew up because of (you guessed it) Tik Tok. It ended up becoming a huge hit on the Hot 100 and actually did pretty well on Hits 1, despite them not putting it high enough on the Countdown earlier on. It stayed long enough to rack up more than a few points though, don't you worry. I really like this song. Even though the high-pitched vocals are a bit weird and I would much prefer if the song was adjusted so that it didn't have to be so high, Imanbek's thumping production really just makes the song great and I love it a lot. Great song.
#18: Don't Let It Break Your Heart - Louis Tomlinson
I find it really funny when a song only lasts a week on the Countdown. It somehow makes the song much more memorable than if it had a three-to-four week run and sometimes those songs are really good, so it's nice that they're known for something. Last year, the one-weeker Power is Power by SZA, The Weeknd and Travis Scott cracked the top 10 on my list and this one winds up a bit lower, but still pretty high. Louis Tomlinson sounds really good here and the song overall is just really feel-good. I just really can't find anything wrong with this song.
#17: Some Kind of Disaster - All Time Low
So this is the second All Time Low song that I mentioned earlier when I was reviewing Monsters. I really love this song. As I said before, I love pretty much anything pop-rock, especially coming from bands such as Imagine Dragons, Fall Out Boy and Panic! At The Disco, but I think if All Time Low can score more hits, they could definitely end up in that list alongside those bigger bands. This song didn't do great anywhere else, but it had a pretty good run on Hits 1. I think the instrumentation in this song is fantastic and Alex Gaskarth sounds really good with it. This song was super fun while it was here and I really love it.
#16: Dance Monkey - Tones And I
Okay, so unpopular opinion kind of, but then again, not really because it was a huge hit. Anyways, I think Tones And I's voice actually has some charm to it and I don't really find it all that hard to listen to. Pair that with some cool production and a super catchy chorus and you have a great song. That's all I have to say.
#15: Levitating - Dua Lipa/DaBaby
Yeah, so this is my favourite single from Future Nostalgia and it's currently on its run everywhere and gaining too. It has all of that Future Nostalgia charm. Great production, great vocals, the chorus being very catchy. Then, pair that with a great verse from DaBaby and it just makes it feel really fresh and distinguishes it from Don't Start Now and Break My Heart. Yeah, that's really all I have to say about that except that I really hope that it manages to hit #1 on the Weekend Countdown and become Dua's first #1.
#14: Godzilla - Eminem/Juice WRLD
Yeah, so I've never actually had the privilege to review this song on my blog before, as it had its run on the Hot 100 before I did those reviews, but I listened to it and really enjoyed it while it was a hit. I've always had a deep respect for Eminem, because he's a great writer, then on top of that, he can really rap. Him and Kendrick Lamar are the most talented rappers in my opinion. Eminem really shows off his rapping skills in this song and obviously, he broke his own record for the fastest rap in a song. Pair that with a pretty solid chorus from Juice WRLD and then top that off with a great bassline and fantastic production... I have no words. It's just a great great song.
#13: The Box - Roddy Ricch
So this was a huge hit this year, racking up a whopping eleven weeks at #1 on the Hot 100. I'm so glad that it did too. I became a huge Roddy Ricch fan and this kicked it all off. The funny thing is though, I actually really didn't like this song when I first heard it. That was back when I really didn't like rap and hadn't really given it a chance. Nowadays, a song like this would immediately go to green here. It has fantastic production and a great beat. Roddy Ricch also sounds really good and I quite like his voice (if I haven't made that clear at all on this post). I wish this spent more than just two weeks on the Weekend Countdown.
#12: exile - Taylor Swift/Bon Iver
Yeah so despite this only logging a couple weeks in the Top 40 of the Hot 100 due to folklore's release, it was officially released as a single, thus making it eligible for this list. Plus, I just released that this is the only exclusive-Hot 100 song on this list that didn't make Year-End. Anyways, this song is fantastic. It's easily the best song from folklore (though some may disagree) and both Taylor and Justin Vernon have great voices and they work really well together. The production's simplistic, but with their voices and the writing, it hits in a way that still really gets me every time. I really love this song and I'm really sad that it didn't take off as an official single.
#11: ROCKSTAR - DaBaby/Roddy Ricch
So this song was actually really surprisingly a huge pop hit, despite being a song by two pretty well-known rappers. I think most of the reason for that was DaBaby's chorus, which he actually does really well on. In my opinion, I think he should sing more hooks, because if he did that more often, he could make more big mainstream songs like this. The beat is also really good and I like when the bassline drops out a bit near the end of DaBaby's verse. Roddy's verse is also really good. It's definitely not one of his best performances and I think the song would've been just fine without him, but he's definitely welcome. This is a fantastic song and it deserved to do much better on Hits 1.
#10: Rain On Me - Lady Gaga/Ariana Grande
I wasn't going into this song with high expectations at all because I thought that the song would be a really really weird combo. Boy, was I wrong. The first few times that I listened to it I didn't love it, but boy did that change (clearly). This song is just an absolute bop. I've liked what both Lady Gaga and Ariana Grande have had to offer before, but this just elevated both of them to a whole other level. I'm so glad that this hit #1 on the Hot 100, even if only for its debut week. It's just so much fun and it deserved all of its success.
#9: Hard To Forget - Sam Hunt
Boy, I did not see this one coming. Especially when I first heard it. My first thought was: "Wow, this is a really really strange song." Now, I just love it. I think everything just falls together really well even though I really wasn't expecting it too. The sample fits pretty well with the song, the trap beat also works pretty well and Sam Hunt's voice fits really well here too. Keep in mind that this is the guy that did Body Like A Back Road, one of, if not THE worst country hit ever. Yeah, I'm not sure why I really fell in love with this, but boy did I.
#8: ROXANNE - Arizona Zervas
(Silently ignores those first few weeks on Hit-Bound when I absolutely hated this song) Wow, this is a really great song. Especially coming from a pretty much nobody, this was a fantastic introduction from him to the world. I'd love to see him make another song like this. The main reason that I love this so much is that it's just so much fun. None of this should work, but it does and it works so well. The song's ridiculously catchy and Arizona Zervas honestly sounds pretty good here. I'm also just gonna pretend that the Swae Lee remix doesn't exist, because although it doesn't make the song bad, it makes it worse. Yeah, I'm really glad that this was a hit and I'm upset that it was snubbed of a #2 peak on the Hot 100 just because of Christmas songs.
#7: Lose Somebody - Kygo/OneRepublic
It's pretty much impossible for OneRepublic to make a bad song. They're pretty much just incapable. This song is DEFINITELY no exception to that, being one of my favourite songs from them, but Counting Stars, Loved Runs Out, I Lived and Apologize are all also great. Kygo really just pulls this song together and his production here is actually really good. Pair that with some great vocals from Ryan Tedder and great lyrics too and you just have a pretty solid song that's good enough to make top 10 on my Year-End list.
#6: Take What You Want - Post Malone/Ozzy Osbourne/Travis Scott
I'm pretty sad that this song didn't make the top 5, but all of the other songs are really fantastic and it would've been really hard to beat them. However, I will say that from here on out, all of the songs are better than my #2 from last year, I've Been Waiting. So that's saying something for the year in music. Post Malone had a fantastic album with Hollywood's Bleeding with nearly all of the singles from it being fantastic. I mean, come on, who could forget Sunflower or Circles? I can see this and Goodbye being a little more forgettable, this one especially, since it wasn't as big of a hit, but this should've been a bigger hit. Everything about it is great. Ozzy Osbourne delivers a great hook, Post Malone kills in his chorus and verses and Travis Scott has a fantastic verse too. Bring in the guitar solo too and it gives it enough momentum to hit #6 on my list this year. This deserved so much more than just three weeks on the Countdown.
#5: Mood - 24kGoldn/iann dior
When I first heard this song, I knew that it was fantastic, but I didn't think that it would blow up anywhere, especially considering that the first thing we got from him was CITY OF ANGELS, which flopped. But boy, was I wrong. This song's currently sitting at #2 on the Hot 100 and has 8 weeks at #1 logged already. Both artists here sound fantastic and the song's just so catchy. It's one of the most catchy songs of the year and yeah, I'd say the most catchy rap song of the year. I'm so glad that this was a huge hit and I'm really excited for what else both of these artists have to offer (Coco by 24kGoldn is pure perfection).
#4: Lemonade - Internet Money/Gunna/Don Toliver/NAV
So I was considering saving this song for next year, but it's actually losing quite a bit of momentum, which sucks. I'm not too sure it would've been that memorable to get as high on my list as it did this year. Anyways, all that being said, this song is just absolutely fantastic. The main thing that pulls you in at the start is that hook with the great production and Don Toliver just fitting fantastically where he is. Actually, everybody fits in super well with their parts and I think that's one of the reasons this song is so great. In fact, I think the remix with Roddy Ricch and Don Toliver just gave me a greater appreciation for this one, because although Roddy Ricch's verse was fantastic and if that was on this song, it probably would be at #2, they replaced both Gunna and NAV's verses with a Don Toliver verse and I hated that. Both Gunna and NAV had fantastic verses and Don Toliver's really only suited for the chorus. So yeah, this song is great and it sucks that it dropped out of Hit-Bound.
#3: Bang! - AJR
Ok so I have a lot to talk about here. I pretty much discovered this song and I take FULL credit for its success (not really, but I'm still gonna lay out some facts for ya). I first heard this song when it was first released, all the way back in February 2020, nearly a year ago. A solid three months before it was added to Hit-Bound and a solid five months before it hit the Hot 100. Now, it's a freaking TOP TEN hit on the Hot 100. Yeah, you heard that right. AJR sitting at #8 on the HOT 100. I've always really liked AJR and I think they're really good at what they do, but they just took this song and practically perfected their formula. They did some of the over-the-top stuff that's almost too prominent in songs like Burn the House Down and 100 Bad Days, which is probably why people don't love those songs, but they did it in a way so that it was still there, but it wasn't so in-your-face that it was a turn-off, which is exactly how they got a top 10 hit. If they keep doing songs like this, pushing the barriers of how loud and in-your-face they can be without going too far across the line, I think they'd have a few more hits and they should do that instead of being a little boring like what they've been doing with Bummerland and My Play.
#2: Come & Go - Juice WRLD/Marshmello
Ok so you've probably figure out by now what my #1 of the year is, and you were probably expecting it for a while. But guys, you have NO IDEA how close it was. Either one of the top 3 easily could've been at the #1 spot and there's really one main reason why I picked the next song, but I'll get to that later, we're talking about this song now. So this Juice WRLD and Marshmello both worked in the studio together, so this was probably finished already and wasn't just put together by Marshmello and I think that definitely shows here. For starters, Juice WRLD sounds fantastic here. His voice is right where it needs to be for it to sound fantastic. On top of that, Marshmello's production and drop is just so good. It's kind of a rock-EDM fusion but it just works so well. I'm not even kidding, I listened to this song, like, eight times on the day it was released and I still love it. I'm so glad that it hit #1 on the Countdown, if even only for a week.
So before I get to my #1 of the year, I'm just gonna flashback to my top 10 favourite songs from last year.
#10: Time - NF
#9: Sunflower - Post Malone/Swae Lee
#8: Power is Power - SZA/The Weeknd/Travis Scott
#7: Don't Give Up On Me - Andy Grammer
#6: Higher Love - Kygo/Whitney Houston
#5: Body Talks - The Struts/Kesha
#4: Trampoline - SHAED
#3: Be Alright - Dean Lewis
#2: I've Been Waiting - Lil Peep/ILOVEMAKONNEN/Fall Out Boy
#1: Bad Liar - Imagine Dragons
Here it is...
#1: Blinding Lights - The Weeknd
Man, what to say about this song that hasn't already been said? It's freaking ICONIC at this point. I honestly wouldn't really be surprised if it was the #1 song of the 2020s. You'd have to have a pretty big song to beat this one for that spot. I loved this from the very start, I recommended it for weeks on end before Hits 1 finally gave in and added it to Hit-Bound. It spent pretty much most of its run on the Countdown in purple for me, it's STILL in the top 5 on the Hot 100 and it broke that record for most weeks in the top 5. Honestly, the reason that it beat out Bang! and Come & Go is just because of how huge it is and how big of a staple it was for this year. It deserved all of the success that it got and I'm so happy that it was so huge. This song deserved so much better from the Grammys. If you asked be though if I prefer this song or my #1 from last year, Bad Liar by Imagine Dragons... oof. That's a really tough question. Bad Liar is one of my favourite songs of all time by my favourite band of all time, but Blinding Lights is honestly just a fantastic song. I think in the end, I'd pick Bad Liar, but so slightly.
Anyways, that's all for now guys. I apologize that I wasn't as on top of my list this year as I was last year, but it's out now. My next Year-End post will be the Top 30 of 2020 from Hits 1, then the Billboard Year-End Hot 100 of 2020 will be last. If you haven't yet, or you didn't know about it, I highly suggest you go do my brand new rankdown, the
2020 Countdown Extras Rankdown. Have a good day everybody! Kwaheri, and I'll see you all on Saturday.
