Jasper's Best, and Worst Hit Songs of 2023

[jasper0102]

Y'know, if i thought 2022 was a weird year for the charts, 2023 might as well be a different league compared to it. And like last year, even if there have been people saying this year was bad (arguably more than last year) i don't exactly agree. Hell i'd argue this year was better than last year for the charts, atleast quality wise. And while there might be a bit of bias on my paint in saying this year was better - this was the year i fully got into the game of chart watching and i paid more attention to the Hot 100 than last year - and there were definitely some bad moments (iykyk), and unlike last year i do actually have material this time to make a proper worst list unlike last year, i am still not abandoning my belief that this year was pretty good.

So how were the charts this year? Like i said, this was a very weird year for the charts. Hip-hop took a pretty heavy downswing in popularity, largely due to a lack of real big releases outside of Travis Scott and Drake and a lack of long lasting hits from the genre. Pop and R&B had weird years, where you can't really say they were really a non-presence this year (mostly due to acts like Taylor Swift and SZA having great years) but you can't also say they were the dominant forces in pop music this year. Latin music had another pretty good year, with Bad Bunny's success being more or less replaced by the Regional Mexican boom (which he also got himself involved in) led by Grupo Frontera and Peso Pluma, with Karol G also having another pretty good year. Rock practically dissapeared from the charts yet again besides Olivia Rodrigo pop-rock (who really deserved to have a better year than she got). And the older songs re-charting trend that started last year really exploded this year, with not only the songs that i already mentioned last time i did this (Under The Influence, Die For You, Unstoppable) having chart presence into this year, but with new revivals for songs like Sure Thing and Cruel Summer, with one of them even going to #1 later than it probably should've.

But that's all avoiding the elephant in the room, the genre that not only did the best this year, but also arguably had it's best year in decades: country music. I mean between the 2 instances we had of a all-country top 3, not to mention the weeks on end we had a all-country top 2 or we had 4 to 5 country songs in the top 10, alongside the presence it had on the year-end (the #1, 2 songs in the top 10, 6 in the top 20, and 30 OVERALL), it's pretty hard to argue against country having a unprecentedly dominant year on the Hot 100. Some of them is for better or worse obviously, we'll be getting into a lot of country in both of these lists, but the point still stands.

So before we start, lemme clarify one thing, compared to last year's list, where i picked exclusively off the year-end and just the year-end, this time (due to Billboard's idiotic decision to end the tracking year early, one you should all know by this point) i'm not gonna be picking off the year-end, but instead the song list from the Billboard 2023 Year-End Rankdown, where there are a extra 4 songs included in replacement of the Christmas songs (well most of them that is(. That way i can maybe get a song set that is more representative and also make filling the best list easier, the worst list would be mostly the same with or without the 4 extra songs.

Got that, good, cause we have a lot to get through, so let's start with the best list and...

[jasper0102]

HM: Tennessee Orange by Megan Moroney

One thing that the country dominance this year did was give a good number of acts their first year-end hit, which did make a sizable minority of the country hits this year, even if half of them came from the same 3 artists. And while Corey Kent and Jelly Roll didn't impress me with their songs (and the latter should've made the year-end last year anyways, with a better song too) and i liked Parker McCollum's Handle On You, this was the one that i really did like. Megan Moroney has a sort of sweet, gentle delivery that sells this sort of love story - where she's so enamored with this guy she'd cheer for his team against hers for him - really well. It kind of reminds me a bit of the lovestruck songs of early Taylor Swift, which is a pretty high compliemnt once you consider she arguably has better production, that while basic fits very well for the type of song this is. And while this is not her best song - Lucky is a utter jam that really should've been the next single instead of I'm Not Pretty, though that's still solid - and i don't exactly have high hopes she'll be able to get another hit. If she winds up another country one hit wonder, atleast she did so with a great song.

[jasper0102]

HM: Next Thing You Know by Jordan Davis

And y'know, staying in country music, i was kinda surprised by how much i liked this. Compared to Megan, who i decided to do a discography deep dive for earlier this year, i'm not all too familiar with Jordan Davis. Before this year the only song i heard from him is Buy Dirt, a not great country song that while was a far cry from the worst country had to offer that year, wasn't really that good. And while we'll get to his other song later on, this was a single from him that was really good surprisingly. A relatively stripped back cut where Davis chronicles a story of a man (where with some of the framing it almost feels like he's talking the man himself) slowly falling in love with a woman, and then getting married and everything that happens after, right until they're old age, where by the end of the chorus the man is now a grandfather. And Davis sells it surprisingly well, where while his vocals aren't all that distinct they are effective in selling this sort of storytelling. But i can admit that the highlight of the song is the production. It sells the suspense and the sweep as the story goes on, which adds a lot to the song, like the part where he gets called a dad for the first time or the pause in the bridge. Yes, i doubt i'm gonna like another Jordan Davis song as much as i like this, this is absolutely lightning in a bottle, but it's welcome all the same.

[jasper0102]

HM: I KNOW? by Travis Scott

When i said Travis Scott was one of the few big releases mainstream rap had this year, i really did mean that. Given he got one of the biggest album bombs of the year and Utopia did pretty well overall, even making the Billboard 200 year-end top 10 despite coming out in late July. And the album itself was really good too, and while I Know? is far from the best track on it, we'll get to that later, it is still pretty solid with arguably some of the best production on the album. The creaking synths balancing off the pianos and the trap percussion, it balances pretty well and allows for a really strong beat to balance out against Travis's cruning and rapping. Yeah the content isn't much to write home about, asides from ofc, the "20 bitches sucking like bisons" line, and Travis did again have better songs scattered around Utopia - again we'll get to one of them later - this is still really good all the same. Not exactly mad this will likely wind up as the biggest hit off of the album.

[jasper0102]

HM: Vampire by Olivia Rodrigo

Speaking of artists who had comebacks this year, ik i said this in the intro but Olivia really deserved to have a better year on the charts than she got. It's not just the fact that GUTS's singles deserved to have a Hot 100 performance closer to SOUR (even if their album bombs were fairly similar) and the fact it was a geniunely better album, but Olivia is one of the few pop acts as of late that is actually trying and has more to offer compared to the rest of the pop scene. So her not having as much success as she should've is fairly disheartening to see, cause she really does deserve better. And while Vampire is far from the best on GUTS for me - like last segment, we'll get to that later - it is still a really good song. Yeah there some things holding it back: the melodrama can be a tad oversold, even coming from Olivia, and the production really feels it should go harder than it does, but even with all of that this sort of melodrama is still something Olivia can sell really well, as she claps back against a guy that did her wrong even after the relationship has ended and he has (arguably) moved on. And the production does drive that melodramatic bombast well, even if again they could've afforded to go a little bit harder. So again, while Olivia did deserve to have a better year than she got, she will still be showing up later, and this is really good all the same.

[jasper0102]

HMM: Just Wanna Rock by Lil Uzi Vert, and Where She Goes by Bad Bunny
 
Now we have a tie (spoilers: we'll be getting a couple more as the list goes on) between 2 songs that are pretty similar and are largely of the same hip hop subgenre: Jersey Club. Which i'm not all that familiar with but did see a major explosion in popularity this year. And based on these 2 songs, i am mostly onboard with this subgenre, as the faster percussion does drive into a groove that can go surprisingly hard, and these 2 do go very hard. And while out of these i prefer Where She Goes: it's a more fully fleshed out song with a more defined darker athmosphere, and Benito is a better rapper though it doesn't remotely top Titi Me Pregunto, that is not to put Uzi down. Just Wanna Rock was one of the songs i had the most fun with this year, where the shorter runtime might actually be a hidden benefit that drives the adrenaline rush further, and Uzi can just ride this beat into the sun. Yeah neither of these guys had the best year, with their albums having relatively mixed critical reception and not doing as well as their previous, atleast they were able to find some bright spots, and these were it.

[jasper0102]

HM: What Was I Made For? by Billie Eilish

Another thing i forgot to mention in the opening that carried over from last year was the presence of movie soundtracks on the charts. Where while there wasn't another WDTAB level smash that got to #1, that didn't mean there weren't smaler hits, mostly from the Barbie movie, which i still haven't watched. But the soundtrack as a whole is pretty solid and this was one of the best cuts on it. Yeah it is very standard for someone like Billie, a piano ballad relying heavily on the larger athmosphere and her vocals, she's done this before. But this formula has produced some of her best ever hits, and while this isn't as good as a when the party's over or everything i wanted, this is still really good. As it pictures someone in a crisis where they don't know where the hell they are in life, and are left questioning everything they've ever believed previously in the desperate hope they can claw out of this. And it's no secret that Billie can sell this in her sleep, or that the production makes this have all the power and weight it needs to crush your heart and soul. It's only not higher because there were better songs, both previously from Billie herself or from the soundtrack, we'll get to one of those songs soon. But y'know speaking of songs with heavy introspection...

[jasper0102]

HM: Anti-Hero by Taylor Swift

Y'know it's funny, having a song that you expected to make your list early on the year but eventually it winds up as just a HM. And there are reasons that this did shrink on me, mostly cause there was just better Taylor Swift i discovered as i did my deep dive through her discography during this year, i wouldn't even call this my favorite song on Midnights anymore. Alongside the fact there were just better hits that came on in the latter part of the year that pushed this down. Now that doesn't take away from the fact this is still really good: the production is really solid, the strain on Taylor's voice accents the late night vibe that permeates the whole album, and the lyrics also accent the feeling that everyone hates you, and you know exactly why, hell, you don't even like yourself. So yeah, while some luster has definitely been lost with this song due to just better Taylor Swift songs across her back catolog (alongside a certain song that would become a hit later this year), alongside the song itself shrinking on me a little, this is still great, just not as much as it was a year ago.

[jasper0102]

HM: Dance The Night by Dua Lipa

Back to the Barbie soundtrack, and honestly this does have some similarities with What Was I Made For?: a song that is a retread of a previous formula that worked for both artists that while not better than done previously, but is still really good. Oh and yeah they're both part of the Barbie soundtrack obviously. I think the difference that makes this slightly better for me is that while this is a formula Dua has done more, hell she even made a full album on this sound. This is also a formula that i do like more. And while i don't think this matches Future Nostalgia's singles, this is still really solid. I don't have to point out how Dua can sell this sort of song of dancing in the party in her sleep even in the midst of heartbreak, so what i'm gonna highlight instead is the production. While it doesn't pop as hard as the best of Future Nostalgia, it's arguably more lush than a majority of the album, with a heavier emphasis on the strings to supplement the bass thanks to Mark Ronson on production. And this is a distinct enough twist to differentiate it from the rest of Future Nostalgia. So overall, another great slice of throwback pop from Dua. And with Houdini arguably being even better and showing that sticking in this throwback pop lane while differentiating or expanding the sound fron Future Nostalgia is the way she's going, i'm all onboard!

[jasper0102]

HM: Superhero (Heroes and Villains) by Metro Boomin and Future

And here we get to the more "controversial" or "hotter" takes. Of which i think there's atleast 2 songs on this list that while i really like, i haven't seen that many people really defend them or like them as much as i do. This is arguably the first of those picks, and look, call it boring or bland or weak all you want, this goes! Metro's production is haunting and epic while also keeping just enough energy to go off surprisingly well. And while Future is mostly in his comfort zone of flexing, here the beat is strong enough to complement him, his own grab bag of punchlines and flexes are better too, and his flow just fits perfectly opposite the beat. "Bitch get graphic, fuck me in a car" in particular is a line i liked suprisingly well, alongside that little production switchup in between the verses. So yeah, this deserved to have been as big as Creepin (though there was no universe where this would've been as big a hit as that, and Creepin is good even if it did cool on me) and was another bright spot in rap this year. But speaking of rap...

[jasper0102]

HM: Princess Diana by Ice Spice and Nicki Minaj

This might be my favorite Ice Spice song thus far. But i'll admit that while i am onboard with this woman, i do completely get not liking her or at the very least calling her derivative or a one trick pony. Given most of her songs are basically the same: heavy bass mashed with drill percussion with Ice Spice rapping over it. And while that is mostly true, i deep dived her discography this year, which really didn't take that long given most of her songs also are very short. There is also something that distinguishes this from most of that discography: it just goes off way harder. The beat is more abrasive and heavier, Ice Spice's flow still has the bored delivery but is faster, which connects with her more developed bars. And ofc: Nicki Minaj. Where while she mostly plays into Ice's formula, her more aggresive delivery is a pretty good contrast to Ice's bored confidence, and she is a suprisingly good fit on this beat as she drops a really strong verse. So again, Ice's best song thus far. If only she'd push How High? as the next single so her 2 best songs are among her hits.

[jasper0102]

HM: Luke Combs, yes literally
Yes i am not kidding, this is a tie between all 3 Luke Combs hits we had this year. Speaking of which the guy had a really good year. Starting off with a really good late album single and then dropping a arguably even better sister album, that also gave him the biggest hit of his career. And it speaks volumes that all 3 of the singles he had this year were all really good if not great country songs. That while not exactly groundbreaking in many ways and very similar production wise, they all also have distinct reasons to why they're all really good. And unlike the last tie i'm gonna go through all 3 of these individually, cause i do have a order of these songs from worst to best, even if that isn't saying given the gap between these 3 songs is very small. But let's start with.

Fast Car: Yes, we're starting with the Fast Car cover. As for why this is the weakest, again that isn't too much of a knock against it. All 3 of these songs are very close quality wise, and it is a really good cover. But that is more or less the reason why i think it's the weakest. Yeah it's a really good and faithful cover that doesn't change much, but that is it's own worst enemy. Why would i listen to this when i could listen to the original that has worse production but better delivery that matches the content better? But i mean, even with that argument in mind, that doesn't make this cover any worse, but it is enough of a nag  against it to knock it below the rest of Luke Combs' hits this year.

Love You Anyway: You can argue this is arguably the most "basic" or "standard" of Luke's hits this year and i do get why. it plays to a lot of the love song territory that has been Luke's bread and butter for years now. But there is a lot more to this than just being a simple love song. Where even if Luke is definitely in love with this woman - look at that first verse and tell me otherwhise - he knows just by even writing a song he could get it wrong. But even if he did, and she walks away, his love is still unchanged, even if the loss could break him in ways he never knew he could. And i love how the rich and incredibly warm production accent that vibe of wistful sorrow and hope, and i don't even have to say how this is the sort of neotraditional country that Luke could sell in his sleep, you already know that! But i feel there's still a way we can make this better...

Going Going Gone - This becoming my favorite Luke hit over the other 2 came fairly late into the year. And while i can say there are a fair bit of personal reasons as to why this is the highest, i will say those personal reasons did make it click with me to the point where it surpassed the other 2. And the reason why is the reason why it's so different compared to a lot of Luke's other hits: it's not a love song. Instead it's a very stripped back cut where Luke laments over a former relationship with a lover who has now taken off, where instead of drinking the pain away or clapping back, he accepts the fact his ex is gone, a note of maturity that i do like. And while the verses do feel a tad short, and the list driven writing on the hook isn't the best, they do still work. And the production just gives more weight to the melancholic acceptance of the song, especially during the bridge.

So again, Luke Combs had a amazing year, both on the charts and quality wise, and here's hoping Where The Wild Things Are becomes a hit next year! So that's it with the Honourable Mentions, and because it's getting late over here, i'll get to the list proper tomorrow. See you then!

[jasper0102]

Alr i'm back, so let's get the list proper started with...
#10 - Y'know it feels a little odd that nostalgia for this type of sound, a sound that only became big on the charts a little over a decade ago, has already begun manifesting to the point that songs are becoming hits based on throwbacks to that sound. And while i'll admit this took a while to grow on me completely, though i've already gotten used to that given a certain Eurovision song that charted late last year, once it did, well...

Dial Drunk by Noah Kahan and Post Malone
There's still a part of me that's a little stunned by how much i love this. And no it doesn't really have anything to do with rooting for this guy - i literraly had not heard of him once until this had a really strong debut on the Spotify charts. And this does not match the peak of the early 2010s indie folk hits - this is no Little Talks, even if both songs frankly have more similarities than you might expect. But there is still a suprising amount to this that really does work. The gentle padder of the drums balancing about the banjo and the faint hints of electric guitar ahd harmonies in the background that careens into one of the best hooks of the year - yes i'm serious. The sharp contrast between Noah Kahan trying his best to stay on the rails in the midst of a downward spiral while Post Malone is just revelling in all of it. The remarkably strong interplay they both have on the hook that just makes it go off all the harder. And ofc, that bridge. I'm sorry, but even as Kahan continues to beg for the cops to let him call his ex to the point where even his dad is questioning his sanity, "Fuck that sir just let me call" is one of the best moments in a chart hit i've heard all year, which then careens into one final play of the hook until it all ends. Yeah i'm not sure if Noah Kahan will be able to pull another one of these off - though he is definitely trying given the amount of song collabs he released after this. But even if he never does and he still sticks around, i'm ok with that cause atleast his chart break out is one of a kind. Now let me just hope Stick Season becomes a hit next year, cause that one's great too.

[jasper0102]

#9 - So remember when i talked about Superhero that there were songs here that while i did love, i don't think a lot of people did either? Well here's the other one, and look, while i don't think it's that surprising that i love this if you know. This is sonically close enough to a certain artist that i was bound to be a sucker for it, and this guy did make my best list last year with a similar song. But for those of you who aren't...

Bury Me In Georgia by Kane Brown
This might be the most out of left field pick on this entire list besides maybe my #1 (we'll get to it) or the aforementioned Superhero HM. And i do get it: Kane Brown country-rock isn't exactly the most acclaimed thing in the world. But this works for all the same reasons Like I Love Country Music did. Whereas while that song was a song full with old country references to express his love for a girl, this takes a slightly darker tone, largely focusing on how Kane Brown wants his funeral to be. And while that definitely is a bit offputting - that is largely a similar idea that The Band Perry used for If I Die Young, and Kane is arguably playing to that with less glorification and teenage energy. The difference is while they played to the most saccarine of country tones, Kane opts for a more country rock approach that is the main reason why this works for me. The heavy drums and handclaps, the banjo, the electric guitar that sizzles into a similar minute long outro as LILCM, the lighter switchup after the bridge. Yeah the song is far from the best mixed thing in the world, but again, so was LILCM, and this is arguably even better! Yes this is playing to a formula that i am a sucker for, and definitely isn't something that someone like say, Hozier doesn't already do better. But compared to the other song this year that tried ripping him off, i'll take what i can get.

[jasper0102]

#8 - Y'know, it feels a little shocking to me that out of all artists that wind up with 2 spots on this list, that this guy is among them, especially after his 2022. And while like his other hit on here this took a while to grow on me, hell 2 months ago i didn't even think it was gonna make this list. Once i revisited it and it clicked fully...

Chemical by Post Malone
Y'know i didn't think Post Malone was gonna be responsible for bringing Neon Trees back to the Hot 100, but it's welcome all the same! Jokes aside, even without the obvious comparison that this song does sound like something the Neon Trees would've rejected off their last album for not being energetic enough, that still means they rejected a amazing song. The low-end synths, the pop-rock guitars, the driving drums, the twinkly piano that accents the bridge, it all meshes into a surprisingly strong mix that Posty fits surprisingly well over. And given i've never been all that annoyed by his warbling, that does help over this relationship where even if there are bad moments here and there, he does still want to stay with this woman and will do everything he can to pull it off. It's a really sweet sentiment that while not the best fit, it does still work for what it is. And honestly Posty deserved to have a better year than he got - Mourning deserved to have been a proper hit damn it. But if this is what we're gonna get from Posty from here on out, as the days of his prime fall past him, i'm not gonna complain, cause this is fantastic!

[312999]

So far most of the songs you have had on honorable mentions and the ones revealing now I have ranked pretty high too. I think only 3 of them were not in my top half of the 2023 Rankdown., and one of them is barely not in it.

[jasper0102]

#7 - But speaking of fantastic pop songs... yeah once it got revived there was no way this wasn't making this list.

Cruel Summer by Taylor Swift
The funny thing about this being this low - beyond the fact that this year at it's best was so good that THIS is only number 7 - is the fact that this isn't even my favorite Taylor song. Hell it's not even my favorite Taylor Swift pop song - that goes to Out Of The Woods (TV), a song that's close to it even just judging off of the 2014 version. And that's before we mention Exile, a song i still hold as Taylor's absolute best song, and if that had been the Taylor Swift song revived it might have even been my #1! But Cruel Summer did become a fan favorite that with the advent of the Eras Tour they revived to the point it got pushed to radio and became a smash hit, and it's not hard to see why. Even beyond the fact it would've made a much better single than most of the others that got pushed from Lover, it's just a great pop song on it's own. The pulsating synths that ebb and wirr across the track against Taylor at arguably her most energetic and expressive. Which fits incredibly opposite the lovestruck content that while might not be new for Taylor but certainly is unique. And ofc, i don't have to repeat what so many Swifites have said in saying this has one of her best ever bridges, one that's a joy to yell out every word to! So again, not my favorite Taylor Swift song, but certainly among her best, and while this is definitely 4 years too late, it was worth the wait!

[jasper0102]

#6 - Something that this year did lack in comparison to previous years was big party jams. Yeah they weren't a non-presence on the charts this year - look at my HMs, and a lot of them were good. But nothing that really bopped as hard as the best of last year or 2021... with one exception.

Cuff It by Beyonce
This blows Break My Soul out of the water so hard it's not even funny. And while that isn't etnirely an indictment against that song, it is really good if a tad overlong.  But what happens when you simultaneously tighten and loosen up the song a little, make it shorter, get a better performance from Bey, and the best bass line any hit had this year, you get Cuff It! And it's kinda self-evident as to why it's amazing. Beyonce can ride this sort of party jam in her sleep, ntm when she's doing it with full energy. And the many little tidbits in the production - the horns, the aforemnetioned phenomenal bass groove, the guitars, etc - just blend in perfectly into a mix that she can ride incredibly well! And the lyrics fuse general party tropes with this sort of motivationl, inclusive vibe, to the point where it feels oddly uplifting for a song that isn't trying that hard to be one, a note that i do think surprisingly works. But really, what else can i say about this song that hasn't already been said? There's a reason it wound up as the second single and a fan favorite, it's a insanely fun jam that 2023 was sorely lacking, and i can only hope Bey will push more singles like this in the future (if we get them)

[jasper0102]

#5 - It's kinda surprising that this of all artists is the one in the list proper who has a tie, cause if you told me before this year that she would have it, i'd be surprised. But i guess that's what happens when you have a great year on your own, and you get yourself a new fan along the way! And if any of you paid any attention to popular music this year, you already know who i'm talking about.


SZA (Nobody Gets Me and Low)
2023 was a banner year for SZA, and also the year where i became a fan of hers. Now truth be told, i wasn't all too familiar with hwe before this year. I didn't really like I Hate U, but i did like Shirt, and Good Days was really solid. And as she had her comeback and dominated the charts throughout the first few months of 2023, i eventually got around to listening to SOS in full... and it was a pretty good album! A tad overlong yeah but the highs on that project were really strong. And imma be honest, Kill Bill was literally a extra away from making my Honourable Mentions, a surprisingly snarky and funny little cut that while wouldn't have been my choice to have been the big hit off the album, atleast deserved the year-end #1 over the pair of mid songs that overtook it. And Snooze was a really nice sleeper single that was the definition of a grower.

But imma be honest neither of those songs could hold a candle to these 2. The worst-performing single off the album and the best performing deep cut (atleast if you exclude Snooze's early run) and among the 2 best songs on the album (or atleast close, this album has Gone Girl, F2F, and Ghost In The Machine after all). And what i love is that both of these songs are great for 2 very different, yet obvious reasons. Nobody Gets Me is a ballad where SZA expresses through her pain of ending a relationship with someone who proposed to her. Where even if that proposal failed, there's just too much history between the both of them for her to forget fully. Where any man she stays with afterwards will have to live in his shadow, where any thought of him makes her cry. And all of that is expressed through a chorus that while not the best of this year, very well might be the most soul crushing (which says a lot given our next 2 songs and some songs in the HMs). And while the acoustic stripped down nature might be a formula that's been done to death in the past, SZA's top tier performance is just good enough to both make it distinct, and give the lyrics all the weight that they need to crush your heart.

Low on the other hand might be even better in ways that are less complicated and more low-key. For one, i'm not gonna dwell to hard on the lyrical content here: it's mostly SZA clapping back against a man she no longer has much of a use for given she's done with him, while also giving him tips on how to properly deal with her, both in public and private. But really that is not remotely the reason why i love this. No that goes to the production. The eerie synths balancing against the bass and trap percussion and the Travis Scott backing vocals that coalesce into a remarkably dark and grim athmosphere against SZA on her provocative or aggresive side, which does suit the vibe she's trying to give here. Which makes for a incredibly fun banger where really the only thing missing is a full Travis Scott verse.

So again, SZA had a remarkably strong year both on the charts and quality wise! Now lemme just hope she actually drops LANA and that album is actually pretty good.

[jasper0102]

#4 - Part of me wants to brag about this, since i can say this guy won me over really quickly with a song that's only grown on me since (and would easily top a revised best of 2022 list from me). But really i'm more happy that he was able to pull it off, able to break out of the one hit wonder mold and show the world that he's gonna be sticking around for a good long while.

I Remember Everything by Zach Bryan and Kacey Musgraves
I wouldn't call this the best song Zach Bryan released this year. Hell even just off the self titled album it isn't among the 3 best songs on there (not when Hey Driver, El Dorado, and East Side Of Sorrow exist). And if Dawns had been a proper hit, it would've RAN away with the top spot on this list and then some. But that doesn't make this going to #1 any more historic or euphoric given the string of country #1s just before, ntm the album bomb Zach Bryan got along with it. And while this song did take awhile to properly grow on me, it eventually did. The fragile but still warm acoustics balancing off the gentle drums and strings on the chorus that do a lot to cultivate the melancholic athmosphere. Painting a relationship between 2 partners where while it is clear who is the more mature one (effortlessly shown by Zach's more tired and messy delivery in contrast to Kacey's calmer, more sorrowful tone) and it feels increasingly fragile against all the whiskey. Even if the relationship eventually goes south, it still made memories that, neither of them are ever gonna forget. So yeah, this was definitely a breath of fresh air in the huge but turbulent environment of country this year. And i can only hope it sticks around well into 2024, and that both these acts keep making music, they're great at it!

[jasper0102]

#3 - I feel this song only being this low and not at the very top or at least #2 will be surprising to some of you, especially because i fully expect this song to top a lot of best lists this year. And i do get it, hell if i was ranking this list completely objectively this might have been the #1, or atleast had gotten closer! And again, while i do get it, there are reasons as to why this is only here...

Escapism by RAYE. and 070 Shake
Seeing this breakthrough and eventually become a hit despite never becoming quite as big as some predicted or hoped was another moment in chart watching this year i find utterly fascinating, especially given the type of song this was. I'm not sure if we've seen a song like this chart on the Hot 100 since Party Monster, and this is arguably much better than that song! The creepier synths that open and then are left to the background as the heavy drums drive through against the bombastic and bleaker moments that pepper the track, as the narrator expresses her situation. The pauses on the post-chorus that drive the creaking numbness and desire for any escape of what she's feeling, before 070 Shake comes in as the haunted voice telling her you can never escape, and then we get one final moment of the narrator fighting her demons one last time, until the pass out happens, and the narrator is stuck with strangers and not knowing what the hell happened as the cycle repeats. The song feels haunting and forboding, which matches the athmosphere and the content as the song ebbs and switches, with RAYE's weary and half-numb vocals being the glue that sticks it all together, it's a musical expirement that works incredibly well even amidst all of it's disparate parts!

So as to why this isn't topping the list... tough to say, but i think it's because while the song is incredible, it's the sort of incredible that's a lot to take in and swallow. And while i doubt (and hope) that i never have circumstances that align with this song's narrator, i do feel that the song might hit harder if you have lived the lyrics and know exactly what RAYE is depicting here: you've been down that hole yourself. And while i can still appreciate this on many levels, i will admit i wanted something more replayable and easy to swallow. And i feel that extra bit of replayability is what pushed this below my top 2 at the end of the day. Still, this song is still incredible, and it becoming a hit even more so. But as for why it isn't topping this list, yeah that's why. Also 21st Century Blues was a amazing album, why The Thrill Is Gone wasn't a hit after this i will never get.

[jasper0102]

#2 - Well that was a heavy moment, let's move to something more agreeable, like Olivia Rodrigo pop-rock! One of my favorite genres!

Bad Idea Right? by Olivia Rodrigo
If Olivia Rodrigo deserved to have a better 2023 than she got, that mostly means Bad Idea Right? deserved to have been a far, FAR bigger hit than it was. Like y'all didn't think this was good enough to make a smash to rival Good 4 U?? And this is arguably even better, with all the teenage energy, but instead of a half-angry half-bewildered scream about how her ex moved on as quickly as he did, we instead get a song where Olivia decides to go back and screw her ex one more time, where even if she knows it's a bad idea, why not do it? It's not like either of them are over it, otherwhise he wouldn't have called her to begin with! And all of that is juxtaposed with the catchiest melody and vocal cadence i've heard all year - anyone's who has heard the verses know what i mean here. Coupled with one of Olivia's best ever choruses, the guitar solo that roars at the end that is just a delight, and Olivia playing along with all the shrugging "i know what i'm doing" energy a song like this needs to work, and the drums that hit just hard enough to keep it all together. The fact this isn't even the best song on GUTS is mind-boggling, but she pulled it off. And i can only hope Get Him Back! becomes a proper hit next year and Love Is Embarrasing is pushed next, so that GUTS' best songs all become hits. But as for what can be better...

[jasper0102]

#1 - Ok, lemme first say the fact that THIS is #1 over literally anything else on this list, doesn't exactly make a lot of sense. And i know that, hell i knew from the moment that i decided this was gonna be my #1 that i'd have to cut out all pretense of this having impact on my life, or being a big statement that made the world better, or a obvious pick everyone can agree with. That was out the window the moment i picked it. That being said, i will be lying by saying this wasn't a song that i loved this year, or the fact that i didn't play it every few days for weeks on end, and given i don't think anyone else will give this their #1... here we go.

Meltdown by Travis Scott and Drake
Now that that's out the chest, can i just say this is my favorite song on a great album? Like seriously, on a album that has tracks like Skitzo, or Looove, or Modern Jam, or Hyaena on it, the fact i picked the Drake feature as my favorite might make me look a little basic, and it would if Drake's verse wasn't legit really good. The whispering is definitely something out of left field for him, but it does work against the darker production. To the point where it actually gives him some menace behind his delivery, something he's rarely ever had. Sure he ofc has his fair share of wack lines: "i only fuck regular bitches" and "my d just got hard cause a wire just hit" just to name a few. But that is a given on Drake verses these days. But he is very quickly overshadowed by what is, probably my favorite moment in pop music this year and on the album: Travis's 1st verse.

Idk, something about the intensifying athmosphere as it grows into something more operatic as the tie fighters and adlibs echo in the background, as Travis jumps in and just submerges himself entirely in the beat just feels, idk how to properly describe it: massive. The suffocating soundscape is infecting in a way i can't properly describe, but i am sure that from beginning to end, everything i heard was incredible, even in the midst of Travis' wack bars (The 7-11 and Willy Wonka references in particular). And even as the beat switches one more time into a more standard but surprisingly fast trap beat as Travis drops another verse where Dababy and Walmart are dropped in the same line, that verse still lingers for going way harder than it should've.

Now there is still the question about whether this is better than Sicko Mode, a conversation that i don't wanna get into given there was a reason that wound up becoming a much bigger hit than this was. But even with that in mind, even with the fact that this wound up beating songs that probably deserved to be #1 more. I'm gonna say it: Meltdown by Travis Scott and Drake, the best (or my favorite) hit song of 2023.

Well this was a chore to get through cause my computer kept dying while i was writing segments. Tune in tomorrow for my worst list (which won't have Dishonourable Mentions btw)

[jasper0102]

Alr i'm back, so let's get the worst list started with...
#10 - I feel a little bad putting this here, given the lingering feeling i have that his might be his last ever hit on the Hot 100, alongside the fact i like more of his music than a lot of other people. Ntm the fact there weren't that many hits this year i really did hate, so you could blame it on a lack of competition. And i do get the appeal of this song too, it really should work. But the dissapointment that it doesn't work as much as it easily could've or should've, might be the reason it made the list proper.

Eyes Closed by Ed Sheeran
Man it's exasparating that this does not work. Cause again, this is Ed Sheeran. Say what you will about the guy, ballads like these are his bread and butter. And the content is really strong too. Focusing on Ed returning to the bar and dancing alone with his eyes closed to commemorate the loss of his friend, where everything in the bar, even the songs, remind him of that friend. A sentiment that can carry a lot of songs to greatness, look at Ghost by Justin Bieber just last year, or a lot of Ed's own songs. The problems, they come with the production. Cause my god, the brittle clanking percussion that overwhelms everything else in the empty mix against Ed's vocal inflections which can get oddly grating at points. Yeah it might sell the lonely emptiness he's trying to convey, but it doesn't remotely make for a sound that's pleasant or can drive for larger bombast or a deeper athmosphere to make it work. If he played it more acoustic, closer to something like say, Photograph, it might've worked. And yeah, that might not be what Ed is trying to do with this, which if that's true that makes all of my complaints null and void. But that doesn't make the song any better, which again is exasparating cause i really should like this, and the fact it doesn't just makes me feel bad. Still, if you find emotional resonance with this, i won't take that away from you, hell even i can find that emotional resonance in this song myself. I just wish the production was better to put this among Ed's best ballads, that's all.

[jasper0102]

#9 - Well that was a heavy moment, but if you want the previous song without any of the emotional resonance and somehow even more boring...

Favorite Song by Toosii
Yeah, compared to Ed who atleast has ballads previously that work that makes the fact Eyes Closed not work all the more exasparating, none of that applies here. Meaning all we have left is the clanking percussion that echoes throughout a somehow even more empty sounding mix and is also somehow even more clunky, against Toosii who sounds like a budget Rod Wave without any of the soul or emotion he can bring, all against 1 verse and the repeating choruses that exude the blandest "You want a guy who can do ___, well i can do that for you!" platititudes imaginable... what else do you want me to say about this? It's just a boring song without any of the emotional  power to make this type of song work. Let's hope this guy just remains a one hit-wonder and never gets another hit, next!

[jasper0102]

#8 - Oh god... this has been a song i've been dreading talking about since it dropped and looked like it'd be a hit. And then eventually got to the realization that i don't hate this as much as some do, nor do i hate it as much as the other song similar to it that became a hit a month before. And even as i eventually grasped the reasons as to why, that still didn't make me want to talk about this any more... so let's deal with it now, shall we?

Rich Men North of Richmond by Oliver Anthony
I'm not gonna insert myself into all of the political discourse around this: it's already been analyzed to hell and back by so many people, and i'm just a dumb 14 year-old on the Internet, there's no reason to think i'll do well at all in trying to analyze it. But i will try to disect the reasons as to why this isn't higher, or why i don't hate this more. For one: the first verse is actually fine. Lamenting the state of his current life and his bad situation, and then using it to lament the state of workers all across the US. That's a sentiment that could work, hell if the song was just that first verse, i would consider it to be an amatuerish attempt at a political statement that's too broad for it's own good, but one whose heart is atleast in the right place. Which probably means it wouldn't have made the list at all. And even if you bring in the chorus where he pins all the blame for the situation on the politicians and asks the audience what they'd do and implies the government doesn't know, that would still stand...

And then the second verse happens and the song just falls apart. The bad lines are already well known to anyone who's listened and tried to dissect this song: the miners over minors on some island line, the obese milking welfare, the fudge rounds line, i could go on. But this was effectively the moment where everyone realized this dude has no clue wth he's talking about and tuned out. And that's before i mention Oliver giving us one of the worst vocal performances of the year, and production that is literally just him strumming a guitar and nothing else!

So again, why isn't this higher? Well, besides the aforementioned reason that if you strip the song of everything after the 2nd verse the song would be fine: i also just feel bad for Oliver Anthony. He pretty clearly made this with the intent of trying to relate to an audience without any malicious intent, which makes the fact that THIS was the end product make it seem more pitiful if anything. Alongside the fact i do geniunely believe he is just a dumbass without any geniune political leaning - which makes him saying it's funny that the republicans used this in their debate even funnier - which makes hating the song for being "right-wing" moot. Plus the fact that the other political song is just so much worse on every level, but we'll get to that song later. So overall, look, i completely get if you put this song higher, hell i get the feeling this will be one of the kindest reviews this will get, even while still being on a worst list. But i've also felt that i don't hate this as much as i should since it first became a hit, and i just needed a way to get all of those reasons that have been nagging at me off of my chest.

Overall, this is still a bad song, it's sloppy, amateurish, does not know what it's talking about, etc. But do i see a alternate universe where this could've worked? Yes, and that's more than i can say for some other songs on this list.

[jasper0102]

#7 - Well that was a heavy moment, let me go to something that should be a tad more agreeable.

Search and Rescue by Drake
Ngl i get the feeling i like Drake more than i probably should. Yeah the guy is far from my favorite rapper, but he does have more bangers than he probably should. Hell, just this year he had his verse on Meltdown, First Person Shooter (which will definitely make my best list for next year, even if Cole does better), and Virginia Beach. And that's not counting last year where i still hold Knife Talk as a great song and Jimmy Cooks did grow on me. And while i didn't like any of the singles from Her Loss - if i had DHMs they would have probably made it - this was the Drake song this year that i really didn't like. And the reasons why are kinda too easy to explain? It just sounds like shit. The eternally looping trap percussion sounds cheap af against the beeping bass that has no consistent tune, that never tries to go for darker athmosphere until the 3 minute mark (on this 4 and a half minute long song mind you!). Which creates a vibe of sluggishness that is already unpleasent until we get what is arguably Drake's worst ever singing! Istg, the fact this guy can sing like this and then make Virginia Beach a few months later that shows that he can still sing halfway decently is insane to me. And while the content is, fine, mostly just Drake trying to find a girl who can match him, someone he can truly love. A sentiment that how much you believe it depends on how much you can buy that Drake is actually sincere here. But i'll admit that is basically perfunctory when he sounds as bad as he does here. Ultimately it's a bad song that atp might as well just be remembered as a throwaway given it got left off of For All The Dogs this year. And honestly, the sooner we do that, the better!

[jasper0102]

#6 - This was a song i was trying so damn hard to like or give the benefit of the doubt to. Cause hey, it's a song that's ripping off my favorite artist, i've liked most songs that have tried that before, why wouldn't it work here???? Then at some point this song soured on me enough where i realized that just because you're doing that doesn't automatically mean i like the song. Especially when you do it badly...

Daylight by David Kushner
When i first heard this, and realized really quickly who this guy was clearly influenced by, i was willing to give this song a chance. And i would keep trying to like this for months on end, almost getting there but never fully. Until now where i have finally made up my mind: this song sucks. And the reasons are a little more complicated than just being a bad ripoff of my favorite artist. I am actually willing to say there is something about this song i do like: the production. The haunted pianos against the building backing vocals that swell across the pre-chorus before the guitar solo and handclaps rip open during the final chorus. It reminds me a lot of Hozier at his darkest: the closest comparison being Arsonist's Lullabye or Take Me To Church, and that would be a high compliment... if everything else about the song didn't suck.

For one, the vocals on this are garbage. Yeah i can buy that Kushner is trying his best and his lower tone does fit the haunted tone on the first verse... before the vocal processing and reverb dump in during the chorus and he sounds like he is literally screaming for mercy (we'll get to that). And then the second verse comes in and i'm sorry this guy cannot hit these notes to save his life. The agony and strain on his voice is palpable, and while that might work in the context of the song, it also produces one of the most unpleasantly screechy vocal moments i have ever heard!

And remember that whole begging for mercy bit? Well i was not kidding with that, given the subtext implying he did something bad with someone else during the 1st verse and chorus, to him literally begging God for mercy during the second, you can interpret this song as just that: begging for mercy. Oh, and that's before i bring up the very obvious religious undertones that aren't subtle at all: you can't just mention lust, pride, and guilt, and the aforementioned begging for mercy and namedropping of Lord in your song and expect us to not notice! And all of that just adds another layer of ick to the song that just makes it sound like he's pandering to Christians (which leaving what he did with his partner vague and in subtext only further proves), and that just makes me want to revisit this even less.

Look, while a part of me does feel bad for this guy, given he could very easily wind up as just another one hit wonder, and again: ripping off my favorite artist. None of that is completely excuses doing it badly. And the fact this became a hit over Eat Your Young (or really anything from Unreal Unearth, Francesca in particular) just adds more fuel to the fire. Next!

[jasper0102]

#5 - Look, i don't have much to say about this one. So let's get this over with.

La Bebe by Yvng Lvcas and Peso Pluma
Again, what do you want me to say about this? Other than the fact this is basically every reason why people hate reggaeton coalesced into one song. The stale looping reggaeton beat that never changes, barely stops, and has no sense of groove, momentum, or flair to it over a song that's 4 minutes long. Paired with 2 performers who sound like they're half asleep and are barely trying over lyrics (translated) about some wild girl they're hanging with, who apparently already has a boyfriend yet is still screwing him, or both of them? Who knows? All i know is that this is a boring af song that is mostly this low just out of sheer boredom, lack of effort, and how tired this formula is and has been for years. Atleast Karol G and Bad Bunny try harder with their reggaeton hits!

[jasper0102]

#4 - And to think i didn't hate this when it first blew up and looked like it'd become a hit. But now a year later... idk why i ever was kind to this.

Made You Look by Meghan Trainor
The fact Meghan Trainor of all people got another in 2023 is baffling on so many levels. And i say that as someone who doesn't hate her as much as some do, there were worst things in pop music during the mid 2010s. And while none of her songs were truly great and most of them were bad, i will admit she has some songs i like - Like I'm Gonna Lose You is a solid ballad and Better When I'm Dancin was basically a better version of her 2014-2015 hits! And even when this blew up and looked like it'd become a hit i wasn't inclined to hate this, until i heard it a few too many times on public and the radio to the point where it really soured on me. And it's bad for the same reason a lot of other Meghan's hits were bad: tubthumping doo-wop production that's too upbeat, chipper, and cheap for it's own good, and Meghan just isn't a good enough performer to sell all of the confidence she's trying to present. Alongside a lot of annoying and cringy little bits, like the horns and some of the vocal inflections that just makes it more irritating. And all of that would just make this the second coming of Lips Are Movin, except it's paired with coming years after her peak and giving it a stain of desperation and datedness that just makes the lines of her making you look and turning the heat up feel all the more, let's say paper tiger-ish. Look y'all, we already tried this before, and bringing it back will not do us any favors. And i guess everyone realized that given any attempt Meghan has tried for a second hit after this has failed pretty hard. Hopefully it stays that way.