Year-End Post #3: The Top 10 Best Hit Songs of 2018

Hi everyone. 2018 was overall pretty bad. But there were quite a few stand out hits. These are my top 10 favorite songs that made it onto to Billboard's Year-End Hot 100.

There's a legitimate debate as to who the king of rap is these days. Is it Drake for being the most successful these days (answer: no)? Is it Eminem, for his large and diverse discography, despite disappointing recent releases? Is it Jay-Z, who has been making successful tracks for years? No, I think one man has taken the crown in the past couple years. 

10. Kendrick Lamar/Zacari - LOVE.

Let's get the obvious out of the way: this is not Kendrick's best song. Not by a long shot. But with Kendrick, that's far from an insult to a song. I really like the beat here. The word that first comes to mind when I think of it is floaty. It feels very light, but still follows a very nice rhythm. Kendrick himself is very good on this track. His flow is slower, but still really tight. Probably my favorite part of the song is the featured artist, Zacari. He has a very nice voice and elevates the song quite a bit. I like how in the chorus, he finishes Kendrick's lines. I think they sound quite good together. When he sings by himself he still sounds great. Also the lyrics are really sweet. I'm glad this finally got big this year.

So if you know my music taste, you probably know that most of the music I enjoy tends to be pop and rap. However, I do have one song that it technically country on here. And why do I have a country song on my best list? Well, because aside from label this is a pop song.

9. Thomas Rhett - Marry Me

Ok I'll make this first part quick: I like Thomas Rhett's voice and the production here is nice and fits the tone of the song. Now onto the important part: I love it when songs tell a story. And by a story, I mean a legitimate fully written out narrative, not just a story like "I do sex and drugs very well". Marry Me certainly has quite the story to it. Honestly, this is probably the most interesting narrative of the year. Basically Thomas Rhett spends the entire first verse talking about how this girl wants to get married. Upon first listen to just the first verse, I thought the song was weirdly downbeat for a song about getting married but I didn't pay too much attention to it. But then the chorus starts. Rhett sings about how he'll wear all black, sit in the back of the wedding and try not to cry. And then the line "She wants to get married, but she don't wanna marry me" hits and it completely changes the tone of the song. The bridge is also really great, as he debates going to tell this girl how he feels but ultimately decides against it, as he doesn't want to ruin her big day. I do hope Thomas Rhett can get another hit in Sixteen (his current single).

I actually didn't have this song on this list for a while, as I wasn't sure it wasn't going to be on the Year-End list. But since it was:

8. Dua Lipa - IDGAF

If you asked me back in April what would be #1 on this list, I probably would've said this song. And the reason it's this low isn't that its faded on me, more that as the year went on I found songs I liked more. I've seen this song get some hate for being underwhelming, and frankly I don't see it. The more low-key production fits Dua better than the more fast paced production of New Rules did. The minimalist beat in the verses sounds great, and the pay off in the chorus is fantastic. And in the chorus right before the bridge, I quite like the piano that is added in. Dua herself kills it with her vocal performance here. She stays more in her lower register, which just clicks with me for some reason. I also think the lyrics here are really good. Its basically about trying to cut a shitty person out of your life. I discovered this song right when I was trying to do just that, so I guess I have a bit of a personal connection with it as well. I'm still shocked this made the year-end list, but I'm also very happy it did. 

This song easily could've made my top 3. But the more I thought about it, I preferred six other songs to it. That's not to say that this song isn't fantastic, though.

7. Selena Gomez - Back To You

Why do I like this song so much? I've asked myself that question many times over the past couple months. I guess it's mostly thanks to Selena Gomez herself. I absolutely love her vocals on this track. I actually like when she whispers so I like her doing that in the verses. I think she is a better whisperer than a singer. But she... actually sounds go singing here? Yeah, I'm as shocked as anyone else, but I adore that pre-chorus. One of the highlights of 2018 pop music for me. The drop also connects really well, and is very catchy. I suppose one of the main reasons I like this so much is it's essentially a combo of two great Selena songs from last year: Bad Liar and It Ain't Me. It puts Selena on a track with a drop in it like in It Ain't Me, which suits her very well, and it takes her solid vocal performance and odd catchiness of Bad Liar to create a legitimately great pop song. I hope Selena's album can live up to the standards of this, because I've got some pretty high expectations.

You know who I really like? Cardi B. She seems to elevate almost every song she's on. Case in point:

6. Bruno Mars/Cardi B - Finesse (Remix)

If Bruno and his team had pushed the original Finesse as the next single, I probably would've never even considered it for this list. But since his team is smart, they got Cardi B to hop on a remix of the song that not only has her delivering a great guest verse but also has much better production. This is one of those songs where it's just pure fun. Bruno's vocals are good, as he actually does quite a bit of singing here unlike in 24K Magic (which I adore by the way). Yeah, the lyrics are kinda nonsense. Well, complete nonsense. But I really don't care. Because, even after all I've said praising this song, I've barely touched on the best part of the song: Cardi B. She has so much charisma its insane. She absolutely kills her intro. Like the first time I heard the song, I obviously heard her intro first, and I was just hooked from then on. And then when she comes back at the end to do backup rapping its just so great. I'm still a little annoyed this was stuck at #3 for 8 weeks, but hey at least it got big.

Let's talk about Drake. He had a great year. As mentioned in my list of the worst hit songs of 2018, his team had very good single choice. And no single was better than...

5. Drake - Nice For What

Do I even need to explain this one? I feel like everyone has already put this on their best lists, and it has a good shot at winning the 2018 YE Rankdown on Pulse. So what is it that makes Nice For What such a great song? Well, first it has Drake using samples well (unlike in In My Feelings), and he has the beat based around a sample of Ms. Lauren Hill of all people. I never thought I would see the day Drake and Ms. Lauren Hill collabed, but here we are. Also Drake is awesome on this song in more ways than one. First of all his flow is the best it's been in years. He legitimately sounds like he's having a great time with this, which in 2018 was a rarity. The lyrics here are actually.... really good and not empty flexing/casual douchbagery? Like are we sure this Drake? Anyways, he basically sings about the struggle of women working dead end jobs and going out to party on the weekends, which is honestly just a good song concept. Take a hint, basically every other rapper out there.

Back when I was making my list of the best hit songs of 2017, I purposely did not include this song, as it feel it fits much better into this year's list as it was bigger. And I'm not talking about Havana.

4. Maroon 5/SZA - What Lovers Do

It's almost crazy how much this just never faded on me. This song was amongst my top 10 most streamed songs of the year, and I still love listening to it. I like the beat at the beginning with Adam Levine singing more in his lower register. But then the song just goes onto a whole different level when we get to that chorus. The bassline is legitimately amazing, and I actually quite like Adam's falsetto. Now for as much praise as I've given Adam, SZA is clearly the better vocalist on the track. Her verse... just sounds good. I don't really know how else to explain it. I also think that Adam and SZA have legitimately amazing vocal chemistry. Like seriously Maroon 5, collaborate with SZA more. She and Adam need to sing together as much as possible. I guess this song is the one of the few songs I could to go this year no matter what mood I was in and enjoy it. This really should've been a bigger hit than it was, but I'll take what I can get.

I think some of you expected this to be my #1. And when I made the first draft of this list, it was. But in the end, it finished at #3:

3. Taylor Swift - Delicate

I like Taylor Swift quite a bit. I did not like reputation. I thought most of the album was overproduced and overly-emo, as she was trying to lean into the "New Taylor" image. So color me surprised when she releases the most "Old-Taylor" song on reputation. Doesn't hurt that it's the best song there, and one of her best ever songs. Taylor herself sounds really great here. There is just enough vocal effect and autotune on her voice to create the distance the song is going for in the lyrics while still showing off Taylor's vocals. Speaking of the lyrics, they are very great. This is the most honest Taylor has been since.... well maybe ever. She sings about her insecurities and troubles in this new relationship, but instead of dissing the guy like she does in other songs, she starts questioning herself? Surprising move, but what's even more surprising is how well it works. I never expected this to get big, but I'm certainly not complaining that it did.

You know how I said I really liked Cardi B? 

2. Cardi B/Bad Bunny/J Balvin - I Like It

I don't get how someone can hate this song. It's literally the definition of fun. Let's start with our three performers here. First up is Cardi B, who handles the first verse as well as the chorus. I do love her verse. I think she has a very good flow and just oozes personality. The horns throughout the song, but especially in her verse are done very well. The chorus is just so damn enjoyable to listen to. Like that's the only way I can really describe it. Great integration of a sample crossed with great vocals from Cardi. Bad Bunny is probably my least favorite part of the song, but I still like his verse quite a bit. I really enjoy the parts where he's rapping fast, though his slower parts aren't bad by mean. Lastly J Balvin delivers a very smooth verse with a very odd reference to Lady Gaga, but whatever the rest of his verse is great. But arguably the best part of the song is Cardi and Balvin's bridge where they sing over a light piano melody, that leads to an explosive and satisfying final chorus. A truly fantastic song, I'm still very glad this went to #1.

My top 2 were extremely close. Like I almost made I Like It my #1. But in the end, it kinda had to be this:

1. benny blanco/Halsey/Khalid - Eastside

So yeah this was predictable. But can you blame me? Eastside is pop perfection in ever sense of the word. blanco's production here is frankly fantastic. The melody is simple, however coupled with the rest of his production choices it fits really well. Both of our performers deliver their best performances to date here as well. Khalid opens up the song, and he just sounds really damn great here. He has a great voice and certainly shows it off here. Then Halsey completely nails her verse, as she plays into her lower register which sounds a hell of a lot better than what she's doing with her current. The lyrics also are amazing here. This is basically about how Khalid and Halsey are adults now, but they still fondly remember the days when they were falling in love on the eastside of New York. As I was born in New York, dated someone who lived there last year, and now visit the city every couple of weeks I can definitely relate to this sentiment. This song is still gaining, and it may be a bigger hit next year, but this will always be my favorite hit song of 2018.

I hope you all enjoyed reading this. Next up will be a post about my favorite/least favorite singles that never got bit so stay tuned for that.