20. The Weeknd - The Hills
Weeks At #1: 6 (10/13/15-11/7/15)
Year-End Position: #10
This was originally much lower, but with repeated listens I've moved it up. This is definitely The Weeknd's best song. I think that darker songs like this work much better for him. The bass is little too overpowering, but that's just a nit-pick. The Weeknd sounds great, and the production is great (aside from the above nit-pick). Like with his other tracks, the lyrics are interesting, as he explores the darker side of fame and fortune. I'm really surprised that this ever even hit #1, but I'm glad it did. Fun fact: this is one of the few times an artist replaced themselves at the top of the chart.
19. Justin Bieber - Sorry
Weeks At #1: 3 (1/23/16-2/6/16)
Year-End Position: #2
I'm frankly pretty surprised that this wasn't Billboard's #1 song of the year in 2016. Bieber sounds really great, and this proved that he was going in a better direction that his earlier stuff (Baby). I think that the production works well. A little story about this song: When this song was huge, a music producer came to our school to do a presentation. And he used this song to explain how songs are produced. I thought it was pretty cool as he seperated all the different elements. Anyways, I got a little side-tracked there, but it's a great song.
18. Drake/WizKid/Kyla - One Dance
Weeks At #1: 10 (5/21/16, 6/4/16-7/30/16)
Year-End Position: #3
I mentioned in the last blurb that I was surprised Sorry wasn't the #1 song of the year in 2016. I think that One Dance only being #3 is even more surprising. This was Drake's first #1 as lead artist. This song wasn't exactly received very well by critics, but I personally believe that this is great. I think that Drake sounds really good singing here, and the samples he picked are good also. The lyrics are pretty generic, but the production is something special. Once again, this song gets bonus points for being pure fun to listen to. Definitely a win for Drake here.
17. Pharrell Williams - Happy
Weeks At #1: 10 (3/8/14-5/10/14)
Year-End Position: #1
The lowest of our year-end #1s, Happy was quite the sensation back in Spring 2014. I'm glad to see that when Pharrell headlines a song he can still get a big hit. This was the theme song for Despicable Me 2, which I always find kind of funny. Anyways, Pharrell does a great job on the production as well, and the song was super fun back in the day. I don't have a story to tell about this, but it's a very solid song.
16. Bruno Mars - That's What I Like
Weeks At #1: 1 (5/13/17)
Year-End Position: #3
Bruno's only song on the list (though Finesse really should've hit #1), it had a very impressive chart run. It only exited at the start of this year. I don't think that this is his best song (it's not Finesse or 24K Magic), but it's up there. I personally like his new direction much more than his old stuff. The lyrics is pure bragging, but Bruno Mars has the charisma for it to come off as fun and not obnoxious. I like the throwback vibe he went for with 24K Magic, and I'm glad that this became a big hit.
15. Drake - Nice For What
Weeks At #1: 8 (4/21/18-5/12/18, 6/2/18-6/9/18, 6/23/18, 7/14/18)
Year-End Position: N/A
On first listen, I hated this song. I thought the sample was annoying, and Drake didn't sound good. Clearly, that all changed. I think that Drake does best when he has a good female sample and he rap-sings over it, like with this, In My Feelings, and One Dance. This is probably my favorite song from him. Everything about it just works so damn well. I just wish this had been a stronger #1 so a certain song *cough* Sad! *cough* didn't hit #1. Well, at least we got an easy #48 for the rankdown from it.
14. Camila Cabello/Young Thug - Havana
Weeks At #1: 1 (1/27/18)
Year-End Position: #96 ('17)
This song dethroned some big #1s in a couple different places. Here it dethroned Perfect, and on Spotify it beat out rockstar (the longest tenured #1 in Spotify history). Sadly, God's Plan debuted at #1 the next week so this didn't get a chance to last at the top spot any longer. This is by far the best song that Camila Cabello has released as a solo artist or as part of Fifth Harmony. The pianos sound great, and this is one of the few times that Camila sounds really good. My fun fact for this one is that this was the first song I listened to in 2018.
13. Taylor Swift - Blank Space
Weeks At #1: 7 (11/29/14-1/10/15)
Year-End Position: #7
This right here is the best song Taylor Swift has ever made. Everything about falls just short of being perfect. The production is fantastic, and Taylor gives one of her best ever vocal performances. Honestly, I don't really have all that much to say about this song. I believe that this was the most succsesful single off of 1989, and for very good reason.
12. Eminem/Rihanna - The Monster
Weeks At #1: 4 (12/21/13-1/11/14)
Year-End Position: #16
Eminem is commonly regarded as the best rapper of all time. While I don't necessarily buy into the hype, I can see where people are coming from. He was something different, injecting emotion and anger into his music. And now that his music has become awful, he has spawned quite a few wannabes (NF). But yeah I love this song. This is probably my favorite song from him. Rihanna sounds fantastic, and proves she does have a good voice, even if she doesn't use it anymore. Eminem delivers some of his best flows ever, and the lyrics are very well-written. This deserved every week at #1 it got.
11. The Chainsmokers/Halsey - Closer
Weeks At #1: 12 (9/3/16-11/19/16)
Year-End Position: #10
This song just barely missed out on the top 10. Though Roses and Don't Let Me Down were both hits in their own respect, this song was the one that really launched The Chainsmokers to level they were at last year. Then they messed it all up, but they're slowly recovering. But anyways, about the actual song, the production is one of their best. It doesn't quite top Roses, but it comes damn close. Taggart actually sounds good here, but I'm not sure what happened to this later on. Halsey sounds pretty good too. I wish I had room for this in my top 10, but it barely got bumped out.
Check back later today for the top 10!
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