I feel very exhausted this year.
A lot of people are just want to be done with this year and for a good reason. This year felt like what happened in 2020 times ten. All the activism that happened for the past three years went down the drain with people feeling more and more isolated and cynical. Just scroll down social media and you can see how communities or just group of people are deterioating further into nihilism and hey I wouldn't blame them. We don't even get a good music from it either.
Okay I was just exaggerating but 2023 felt so uneven. What I can observed from chart watching this year especially in Global 200 chart is that every country are in some sort of transition. Latin American music found out about Mexican music and make it one of the biggest trend this year, in K-Pop the Gen 4 groups are forming their own sounds as J-Pop still in the middle of streaming boom, Europe and UK have a full on dance throwback to the late 90s to early 2000s sounds, and the US...well it's all about the country and regional Mexican sound. What we have here are a mismash of genres that competing with each other for their own supremacy. And that doesn't include Billboard suddenly ending the charting year in the middle of October.
Because of that I'm gonna put out some ground rules to the songs that's eligible for this list:
- I'm going to use a revised list that people from TOTC Discord server (Jade, Jerome, Snowe, Mikeramp, Leslie, Fanstar, and Mic) that used the projected Year End list and rearranged it according to Lydia Valentino's V30 chart, Spotify chart, TikTok chart, etc.
- Since the revised chart is still a bit too American centric for me I'm going to pick songs that debuted on Global 200 and Global Excluding US Year-End that didn't debuted on the revised chart or debuted in any other charts' YE in any other years (sorry Sure Thing)
- No Christmas Songs!
- I will allow old songs to be eligible if they didn't become a hit in any chart's top 40
Now that the rules are set let's ask to ourselves, how good was the pop hits from 2023? Honestly I would say that this year has the highest highs that I've ever seen this decade so far. But unlike say 2021, the quantity of those great songs are significantly less. Now this situation has benefited and hindered the chart because the quality of the good songs are more concentrated, but also the worst songs are some of the lowest lows that the chart has ever seen. What this means is that making this list was kinda difficult because these songs especially my top 5 can be just the best songs of 2023 and people will believe you. It's just how fantastic the great songs has to offered this year. Without further ado here are some honorable mentions that will be sprinkled in between the list just like how Spectrum Pulse did with his worst of the 2010s hits....but with best list y'know.
HM. 1 - Que Agonia by Yuridia & Angela Aguilar
We started out the list with one of the painful cuts of the list. Consider these four songs as like #11s on the list. This is probably one of the best regional Mexican songs this year. This is what I was looking forward to in regional Mexican sound before Peso Pluma entered. The live production with the trumpet, guitar, sandy drum, and just fullness of the production as if it being played in an orchestra. That strings just the perfect glue for these two singers just breeze the song with ease. I'm not Mexican and yet I felt patriotic to Mexico and AMLO at this point. The reason why this isn't on the list however is that the song is short and kinda underwritten with only one verse. But still this song is excellent and highly recommended if you are sick of farty horn.
HM. 2 - Super Shy by NewJeans
2023 might just be one of the biggest years for K-Pop that I've ever seen. With the absence of BTS as a whole (their members released bunch of solo hits as well), lt left a power vacuum for anything to take BTS' place. And what we get are Gen 4 trying out anything that will stick but stick to more of a dance influence rather than hip hop. This is one of the biggest example with NewJeans, another HYBE band (BTS labels). This song is probably gonna be the most influential to the Gen 4 sounds which is more dance oriented. In this case they are mashing up liquid drum n bass with Jersey club. The result is evident with the gleaming synth, the drum pattern, and NewJeans voice blending into the beat. Even though this is probably the most influential NewJeans song here, it's not my favorite but we'll get to that soon.
HM. 3 - Dial Drunk by Noah Kahan (Remix with Post Malone)
One thing about this year that I found interesting is how many of 2013 trends came back to this year. One of those trends is actually the folk revival. Last year we have some minor hits that using the "stomp clap" sound like Snap by Rosa Linn and some Zach Bryan songs, yes it's likely to be Americana, but that sound also overlapped with each other during 2012-14. Anyways this year we have our first truly big breakthrough from the genre with Noah Kahan with Dial Drunk that of course got a remix with Post Malone. Out of the folk revival we have I'd say this one is my favorite. This song does have the same lyrical conceit as Ho Hey, the poster child of the indie folk boom. But while Ho Hey felt so limp and pathetic, this one...well it's also pathetic but at least it has some smoulder. The guitar has some muscle to it to balance out the banjo and percussion making this drunk escapade and calling your ex at your absolute worst felt awesome at times. And Post Malone is actually perfect in this because this is basically what Beerbongs & Bentley was all about. I do think that the snare was a bit annoying and this song is indeed pathetic, but this is just as fun as say Mumford & Sons back in 2012.
HM. 4 - (It Goes Like) Nanana by Peggy Gou
Oh god this one is actually would be my #11 if I made a top 20 and the most painful cuts. Contrary to my age I actually grew up with a lot of electronic hits from late 90s to early 2000s. Basically every eurodance or trance or even UK Garage songs just felt nostalgic for me. So hearing that someone made a faithful recreation of that sound in this economy??? Yeah I'm sold. Which is basically why I had to cut this song from the list. Yeah I just love everything about the song with the vintage production, tight bass melody, the piano, and the sticky percussion. But, it also brings some of the things I don't really like which is the lyrics that are undercooked as hell. It's definitely something that I could just leave behind. Other than that this song is just amazing showcase of respect to the genre that it recreate. In any other weaker year this would've made the list that's how good it is.
Okay now that's out of the way let's get into the list starting with...
10. I still believe that TikTok is one of the best way to discover great songs that might be under the radar. That's why I'm using the revised Year End List for that reason. But I don't know some of the songs that TikTok have been sending recently are kinda awful? I mean it's true for any type of viral social media smash, but seems like just as the pandemic ended people who are either college students or working 9 to 5 jobs are not touching the app anymore leaving the younger generation to take over. I'm not bashing the younger generation here but between Ecstasy and the success of Odetari...yeah seems like it won't be the last to see this type of songs. Though as always not all TikTok hits are bad...sometime it's quite good.
10. See You Again by Tyler, The Creator ft. Kali Uchis
It is always funny to me that TikTok has the capability of either sending the worst music or songs that should've been a hit during the year that it was released but the radio programmer just don't know what's right in front of their eyes. There are a lot of examples of this on the list that we'll get into, but before that it's kinda crazy how Tyler, The Creator didn't have any Year-end hits before. Even if he's probably the second most popular members on OddFuture behind Frank Ocean, it's still baffling how radio just don't take on Tyler even after he reinvented himself multiple times with pop sensibility. Well at least TikTok knew that which is why this song became viral on that site.
See You Again held up well even if it was released in 2017. Flower Boy also held up well and maybe ahead of its time with the indie type production mixed in with hip hop elements. This formula exploded on TikTok with the biggest example of which is Heat Waves. What makes Tyler's formula different however is how he doesn't sacrified the groove. This song is controlled and composed which is perfect for the song's theme of longing for certain someone that you love but it's all in your dream. Couple with the Kali Uchis hook and the trumpets, it felt really close and intimate. But yeah this song is great and I don't have anything to add here beside do you know that this song was written for Zayn Malik? Yeah apparently Zayn bailed on him twice and because of that he kept the song to himself. God imagine 2017 Zayn Malik with these type of songs...
9. Afrobeat is probably one of the few shining lights to an otherwise unremarkable year for pop music. From one of the biggest hit of the entire genre with Calm Down by Rema with Selena Gomez remix, to the rise of amapiano with Water by Tyla, and even more new artists from the genre breaking through like Oxlade, Lu Kala, and the artist that appeared on this list...
9. People by Libianca
I'm really surprised that this song became kind of a sleeper hit in Indonesia because I don't really see anyone listening to afrobeat that much. But, People is just that good of a song that it transcended language barrier. This song has one of the most chill yet controlled afrobeat production I've heard all year. It created the sense of warmth and intimacy that felt more like you and your friends talking with eachother's feelings. The percussion and the melody hit the perfect spot of being languid and also close to you that you can sense the song's intimate vibe. Which unfortunately really captured the lyrics and the content of the song about depression. And look songs about depression has been done to death before, but none could capture how Libianca felt in this song. The picture that she painted is more like tiredness and dejection but it doesn't wallow in it. Instead, Libianca did try to make up for it and just...failed. And you just have to listen to the pain that she suffered as a friend and comfort her. That's how I felt listening to the song and while I do think that the song can use more of a proper bridge, I still love this song and I hope she gets another hit.
8. 2023 has a lot of scattershot trends but one that genuinely surprised me was how big K-Pop was this year. Like I have been listening to K-Pop since Gen 2 and most popular song in the genre at that time were all by PSY. But thanks to BTS and Blackpink even though they don't put out much this year, Their success carried over to the Gen 4 which is great because Gen 4 has been the most varied Gen in K-Pop history. Part of it is how Gen 4 acts are pulling influences from dance and rock. And all of this started by this little known group called NewJeans.
8. Ditto by NewJeans
Whoever idea was it to make NewJeans into late 90's and early 2000's dance pastiche group deserved a raise because this type of sounds are what has been missing in K-Pop. Most K-Pop songs even the one that I love tend to be more bombast with no substance and let's be real have more cringe rap verses that we realized. But the fact that Ditto became popular at all kinda set the tone of what's to come with this new generation. A Baltimore Club inspired track with 8/4 time signature that sounded more etherial and subdued with elaborate music videos and even ARG in a form of Ban Heesoo, this was unheard of just last year. However, NewJeans pulled it off to make probably one of the best K-Pop hits of the decade so far. I just love how the vocals just danced around the percussion, the bass, and the etherial synth. And for a song about young love it's perfectly captured how wholesome the song came across. This song has cemented itself as probably the best showcase of what Gen 4 is capable of and with the success of their Get Up EP later in the year, It leaves me optimistic about the genre itself.
Now after all of that good stuff, let's go through another batch of honorable mentions. This time however, it's about all the songs that some people are considered "bad". Consider this as my unpopular opinion picks...starting with
HM. 5 - Queencard by (G)I-DLE
Yup we are starting so strong here hehe. Look I know all the flaws this song has alright. The blown out production, the embarrassing lyrics (like seriously just one boob), and how obnoxious the performance can be. But, I dunno something about the fuzzy guitar, the strong bassline, and the fact that they don't take themselves seriously just gave the song that punk edge even though this song is about trying to be hot and cool and materialistic. It's just such a rebellious sounding song that also contributed in how varied Gen 4 can be and to that I can praise it for that. Yeah the song is dumb as hell and maybe even unfinished, but it's something that gave me the feral feeling this year.
HM. 6 - Tennesse Orange by Megan Moroney
Now I don't think this song is particularly hated but more like the subject matter is something that a lot of people don't care about. The song premise is that Megan Moroney love this guy so much that she ditched the royalty for her family's favorite team to supports her boyfriend's team...a rival team. Now maybe it's because of my ubringing, but I found the romance in a couple that bound by love for each other even if they are from rivaling teams' fans. I know that this song is about college football and the rivalry between Tennessee Volunteers and Georgia Bulldogs, But this could applied to any kinds of sports team rivarly. Like replace the lyrics to be about Merseyside derby and it would be just as impactful. So yeah I know this is just yet another competently produced country song, but the lyrical content just elevated it to be something specials.
HM. 7 - Just Wanna Rock by Lil Uzi Vert
Yes the song is fragmented and basically a demo. Yes this is probably the least engaging version of Lil Uzi I've heard. And yes they have better songs on the album this year. But, it has been so long since I've seen a dance genre that became popular while a year ago it was completely underground. Out of all my "guilty pleasure" this year, this one might be the most important. We will see more and more of Jersey Club sound outside of America while of course America itself won't take it. That's probably their lost to be honest.
HM. 8 - Prada by Casso ft. D-Block Europe & RAYE
This might be the most "embarrassing" song I love this year. Mainly because this song is basically a trance remix of an existing D-Block Europe song called Ferrari Horses with RAYE hooks that she probably don't want to be in since she was in Polydor Records. And I don't think the song is produced well with the bargain bin trance beat with the looping synth and backing beat. I guess it's because of how short the song is and that really struck me a bit. Some of the trance songs, as much as I love them, lose their ideas around three minute mark and it can overstay their welcome. But with Prada it's short, quick, and snappy. This is like STAY but for trance and I love STAY so I'll take this.
Alright now let's get back to the list.
7. I like Olivia Rodrigo but I don't think there's someone I was afraid of to have the slumpiest of sophomore slump quite like her. I do think her debut album SOUR is great but there were signs of the immature writing and some productions mishaps that I was really afraid that her second album will go with the direction of doing the same thing but worse. But now her second album GUTS has been out for awhile and I all can say is that yes this album doing the same thing...but better. And this is one of the reasons why.
7. Bad Idea Right? by Olivia Rodrigo
Now this is why I'm using the revised year end lists that people from TOTC because Billboard thinks it's a good idea to end the charting year around 49 weeks. This in turn has fucked songs that should've been a hit if the chart is 52/53 weeks. One of the songs that got screwed over is "Bad Idea Right?" which is handedly the best Olivia Rodrigo singles. I know that Olivia songs are just well written but this one is on another level. The balance between Olivia going back to her ex because he's very good in bed and juxtaposed it with the bitter mean delivery makes the song so righteous but also kinda hot? The thing is about the song is that if you compared it to other songs that Olivia pulled inspiration from, it's very much accurate because the apathy and ironic detachment just made the subject matter of having sex with your ex even better.
Speaking of influence, This instrument and production is just peak 90s rock. The drums, the tight bassline, scuzzy guitar, and that guitar solo created something that Alanis or even Hole could've made. The production really highlighted the attitude of the song which is complete and utter ironic detachment. Hell the whole album felt like that but Olivia is smart enough to not wallow in that type of behavior. But yeah this song is great and I highly recommend this album as well if you like SOUR.
6. ...So about TikTok
6. Cruel Summer by Taylor Swift
God the story of this song becoming number one is so ridiculously good. Before this year, the song has became a meme in Swifties/pop music community as the singles that never been from Lover. It would probably still be a cult classic deep cut from the album if it wasn't for The Eras Tour. The Eras Tour is probably one of the biggest story in music this year because of how much money it generated. Basically if your city appeared on The Eras Tour lineup, your economy will be revitalized. And because of the tour, a lot of old Taylor songs have second resurgence on the streaming chart. You can see it on Global 200 where Don't Blame Me, Style, Blank Space, and even August have a presence on the chart. But the biggest one is Cruel Summer. The success of the song became so huge that Taylor re-released it as a single and boom number one.
For a damn good reason too because this song is a pop classic. And the fact that we only on number six, strap in folks because after this is just all 10/10. Not to say that this song isn't as great, after all it wouldn't make the list now wouldn't it? Cruel Summer is a shot of adrenaline and serotonin that we needed this year. Even if the title said Cruel Summer, it is timeless at how the song conveyed unrequited love. It is shocking to me how much this song rock as hard but also gentle at the same time. The pulsating bass, the liquid guitar, and that bridge which just pure euphoria. That primal scream before the last chorus where the mic is actually turned off a bit is one of the best moments in pop music. Unbridled primal love is something that suit Taylor so well. I'm so glad that Swifties campaigned this song so hard because this song is something special.
5. ...So another thing about Taylor Swift
5. Anti-Hero by Taylor Swift
If we only strictly looking for the lyrics, then this song would be straight to the number one. I do think Taylor is a good songwriter even before Midnights. Speak Now and the two folk albums from 2020 really proved how effective Taylor is at songwriting. But, I do admit that she got some problem with over writing and making unnecessary details that threw some people off. Anti-Hero got that problem too but it used that problem to make a detail of how Taylor criticized herself. The meta-text of the song really showed how Taylor wrote this song as if someone who was critical of her going out with men after men in early 2010s. It's kinda insane how different the writing was from Reputation to Midnights because both albums dealt with Taylor's reputation. While the former felt like bombasting and very boasting, the latter is more vulnerable which I personally love more. Anti-Hero is just the perfect distillion of the album which is why it's the best song on the album. The only thing that keeping this song from the top three is yeah the production. Not that I'm saying it's bad but I do think that it could've been more brighter. But yeah other than that this is the best Taylor singles and if she can topped it, then we'll have something special in our hand.
Now because there's still a lot of songs that didn't became a hit this year, It's the perfect time to talk about songs that would've made this list if it became a hit.
HM. 9 - Rush by Troye Sivan
Did I tell you that dance music is on the rise? I always knew that Troye Sivan is a great artist but the productions of most of his singles didn't provide him with a lot of backbone for his range. But after five years, he finally found the best sound which is dance and house music. Rush is the best house track of the year hands down. the rollicking groove, the melody, and how feral the production in general. Terrific track and check out the album too.
HM. 10 - Kawaikute Gomen by Honeyworks ft. Capi
Every year there's always a few songs that have so much of that femininity energy that it gave me gender euphoria. We will get into one later one, but this one in particular caught me off guard. Honeyworks is a vocaloid music group that usually make anime songs and also vocaloid as well. This is one of the one off songs that they released that became viral on TikTok and the utaite scene (basically singers who cover vocaloid songs). This song is just oozing with feminine energy that it's always a delight listening to this whenever I'm feeling down. I love how the song has ska elements but also got that J-pop sheen to it like the sparkling melody, funky bass, and that guitar. The lyrics are great too basically telling yourself that you are so cute that you have to be sorry for being cute. Though beneath those confidence there's some insecurity creeping in on how people think about you. I know it doesn't have trans theme but in a way this is one of the best trans anthem. So there's that too.
HM. 11 - Self Love by Metro Boomin & Coi Leray
This is my favorite song on Spiderman: Across The Spiderverse and you can see why. I'll be honest I thought the Metro Boomin produced Spiderverse album while good, still irk me that it's not something special...beside this one. The best soundtrack hits are the ones that can worked outside the context of the movie, and I'd say that this is in that territory. Hands down the best performance by Coi Leray that isn't biting Playboi Carti. Her vulnerability is something that I don't see her doing since probably 2021 and it's a warm welcome with the subdued production comprised of the strings, the liquid guitar, supple bass, and probably the best percussion from Metro. This song has been one of the best motivators for me during my time before graduation and I can't praise this high enough
HM. 12 - Rumble by Skrillex ft. Fred Again.. & Flowdan
One of the best albums I listened to this year is Quest For Fire by Skrillex. A fantastic EDM album that sounds like what would happened if Dubstep were made in 2000s but modernized. It's just a great well composed album that's perfect for speakers and good headphones for better experience. The singles here Rumble really set the stage for the album with the pulsating bass, erratic bass, and the vocals became the melody of the song itself. It's a pure euphoria of a song that became Skrillex biggest hit as an artist since Bangarang. Check out the album btw it's awesome.
Alright let's continue with our list and we are actually gonna talk about a curveball here.
4. Out of all the big stars coming out from this decade, Ice Spice is the one I immediately get. She has the aesthetic, the image, and the connection that could make her a big star in the making. But the music hasn't really backed that up. Yeah drill is still one of the popular scenes in rap, however she seems to not get her foot in the mainstream despite the fact that she was talked about last year. But this year with a little help of PinkPantheress, She launched herself to the world in a big way
4. Boy's A Liar Pt. 2 by PinkPantheress ft. Ice Spice
Can we talk about how this song is called the part two of the song instead of just calling it a remix? I miss those days of calling your remixes as the second part of the song. Anyways yeah this PinkPatheress song is a springboard for Ice Spice to introduced herself in the pop scenes. I almost felt bad about PinkPantheress because she was primed to become the next pop girlies from the UK. Her sound of UK Garage or drum n bass is getting more and more popularity this year, but she's probably gonna be remembered as more of a pioneer than a real pop star. She did really good in this too with the gleaming synth, the soft percussion, and the femininity of the song that really gave me gender euphoria. Even though this song is about a guy cheating on both of them, I really felt that I'm in my room full of plushies and it's very comfy.
But again the main show here is Ice Spice. She could be one note yes especially when you listened to her EP this year. But I know deep down that she got something in her that could make a pop star. And her verse is definitely the reason as to why she's the rising star of the year. Yeah the majority of the verse is posturing about how he thinks about her in bed. However, the last few lines later the illusion broke and you can see how vulnerable she is in reality. That vulnerability really took the song up a notch for me because I felt the pain deep down and especially last year where she was lambasted while other men that should not be named are getting less of that. This is why this song became the most played song of the year for me because I need something like this when I was doing my thesis just to keep me sane (I have graduated btw). But yeah I hope Ice Spice have a great 2024 and y'all need to check PinkPantheress new album this year, it's good.
3. Even though 2023 was such an uneventful year for the chart, anime has been the opposite of that. 2023 is probably the peak anime year in that the industry is about to implode, instability made for chaotic and busy year where anime got churned out more and more without tact or quality control, but also this is the year where the great stuff are just humongusly massive. One of the biggest anime of the year is Oshi no Ko. Oshi no Ko as a whole seems to be Japan's answers to Black Mirror with thought provoking ideas about the Japanese entertainment industry with some mystic elements to it and also anime shenanigans. But that pale in comparison to its first episode which is an hour long masterpiece. I won't spoiled it much here but safe to say that episode just propelled the anime to legend status. Oh by the way there's a theme song accompanied this and it's one of the few songs that I actually almost bring me to tears.
3. IDOL by Yoasobi
First off, Yoasobi is having their most successful year of their career. I've always knew that they will have successful year since they are making more and more anisongs, but I've never seen the success they have with Idol. Easily their biggest hit ever with this song becoming the longest charting song of all time in Japan Hot 100 with 21 weeks in a row (to be fair this happened because Japan Hot 100 has nerved sales so hard and also discontinuing counting twitter mentioned and how many times a CDs was inserted to PC) while also becoming the first J-Pop song to hit #1 in Global 200 Excluding US. So basically for three weeks, this song was the most popular song in the world if you discounted US.
Again I highly everyone to watch the first episode of Oshi no Ko it's on HIDIVE or in Indonesia at least on Netflix, because I'll be talking about spoilers from the first episode. Okay now that you have watched the first episode, this song is basically the reason as to why visual media is still important in music. YOASOBI is really clever at making songs from written media and this song is no exceptions. This song is from the perspective of Ai Hoshino, the idol protagonist of the first episode. You can see her life as an idol and also putting up facade as the bright production followed by more denser trap rap productions. The bridge however is where the song really put it up a notch as she mentioning her two kids, Ruby and Aquamarine with almost marching band like production and with that the illusion shattered. As the key changes to major, Ai dropped all the pretense and really grateful for both of her kids. The last line really just cemented itself as she said "I love you" to her kids as she...died being stabbed by her stalkers. I legit cried when watching the music video and it evoked such a strong message about the entertainment industry where really we don't know much about the person behind all of our favorite songs. And when they gone, it's too late and we can only just watch in agony. Again I highly recommend the anime certainly better take on the entertainment industry than The Idol.
2. 2023 is hands down one of the worst year to talk about country music. From Morgan Wallen breaking records and becoming the most popular male act of the year, to Jason Aldean's sundown town anthem, and Oliver Anthony broke the minds of the more fracturing America. Safe to say it has been exhausting to see a lot of people mishandling the situation. If y'all want my opinion on it, Mark from Spectrum Pulse have done a great job on it from his Billboard Breakdown episode and his worst list. But just as the country as a genre kept disappointed me, one man decided to try and salvaged the rest of the genre. I'd say that it worked.
2. I Remember Everything by Zach Bryan & Kacey Musgrave
Lux 99 said in his recent video that 2023 sometimes can be chart watchers' dream came true. And he highlighted this song in particular and yeah he's right. I've been a fan of Zach Bryan for some time now and I'm still bewildered that he became a popular name. He's not part of the Music Row, his style of music can be ragged and not easy to get into sometime, and yet he's probably the leading voices in the indie country scenes. Bringing in Kacey Musgraves for the collab, a woman who have been lambasted by Nashville higher ups for not playing up to their standard back in 2013 and made Follow Your Arrow, is such a brilliant move that I've seen. Now, the song must be good then where you put this so high on the list. And you'll be correct because this song is just excellent.
From the ragged production to the strings and that muted percussion, We already know that we are in for a ride. Then Zach Bryan talked about how much of a loser he is reminiscing his ex with the whiskey. But then Kacey gave him the rebuttal where she has a lot of baggage of the relationship in which she also joined in with the same chorus that yeah she also fucked up in this situation. This is probably one of the most mature break up songs of the year and it's definitely a breath of fresh air to hear especially with the deluge of ass and immature break up songs. I'm so glad that this song has become popular outside the states too like I heard this song in one of the mall I frequent to and I'm Indonesian. I do hope that Zach will bringing more and more people that deserved to have their time in a spotlight like he did with The War and Treaty. In any other year this song should top the year and yet it didn't and before the reveal of the best hit song of 2023, here are rapid fire honorable mentioned that I at least gave it a 10/10 rating.
HM. 13 - In Your Love by Tyler Childers
Hey the guy who made that Feathered Indian made a love song with a music video about gay coal miners couple, neat I would say.
HM. 14 - Dawns by Zach Bryan ft. Maggie Rogers
A country/folk song with changing time signatures about fracturing relationship that recruited one of the indie girl darling? And it didn't made into my best list???
HM. 15 - WHERE SHE GOES by Bad Bunny
The final evolution of Jersey Club song before Super Shy came in and it's a great song to boot. I love the sirens in this one.
HM. 16 - Low by SZA
I would be crucified if I didn't put any SZA song from SOS here and this is the best one from the album. It's basically a good Travis Scott song but with SZA, so a big improvement.
HM. 17 - Johnny Dang by That Mexican OT, Drodii & Paul Wall
It's been too long since the Texas rap scenes got any traction whatsoever, but this is a great return. I am putting my bet that That Mexican OT is gonna be the next big thing. He's like Dababy but better.
HM. 18 - Classy 101 by Feid & Young Miko
There has been a rise of sapphic tendencies in reggaeton this year, and I love every second of it. This song is basically for the bisexuals all around the world. Watch out for Young Miko she's gonna be huge as well.
HM. 19 - METAMORPHOSIS by INTERWORLD
This is the final evolution of phonk genre. For those who don't know what phonk is, well it's basically the soundtrack for your late night driving or how gigachad you are. So that's something for you millennials to know.
HM. 20 - STAR WALKIN by Lil Nas X
The fact that last year's League of Legends soundtrack for their world championship has the lyrics where Lil Nas was grateful that his dad didn't used condom is still amusing to me. Even unintentionally he's still caused rawkus, legend move there.
Now I can't list all of the songs I love this year because there are so many of them, so I'll make a playlist of all the songs that I at least gave a 10/10 ratings here. Let's end this wonderful list with probably one of the best underdog stories of the year.
1. Music industry is not your friends. I feel like that's really obvious to say but in practice if you want your music to be heard for the general public, you have to sign to at least a modest record label. Unless you want to struggle it out by being independent, in a capitalistic society your art don't mean shit unless it catches the masses' attention. Commodifying art has always been a debate for a long time since art got commercialized. It's also why there has been a lot of debate whether or not a song became successful due to their own merit or not. The optimist in me would say that yeah a song has to be so good to be liked by people of all different background. But the cynic in me also believe that there's a lot of ways of a song became popular not because they have the quality, moreso they have the clout and the sounds that's trendy enough that the record label will promote the shit out of that song sometimes at the cost of the artist's creativity. So what would happened when you are a girl who want to making it big in pop music, got signed by a relatively major music label. Only to be told that they would hold your debut album however they can, reduced you to anonymous singers so that a lot of male DJs exploited you, and also being abused for not complying. You want to quit right? And you should quit, but sadly we still live in a very misogynistic society and you'll be hit hard and uncharted territory and that can be scary. But, what would happened if you quit and you see the biggest success of your career after you did that? Could that even happened? The answer is probably no...I said probably because someone just did that by the name of RAYE.
1. Escapism by RAYE ft. 070 Shake
2023 is really the year of the underdogs or the year of redemption and this is probably the biggest redemption of them all. From what I know from RAYE before late 2022 is that she's one of those singers from UK that seems to be everywhere but you really don't know her. She was in the same camp as acts like Becky Hill or Ella Henderson post 2015. But man what happened to her during her stint in Polydor Records was just inexcusable. Between this and also Belters Only (one of their acts) plagiarized a work of a black woman and basically whitewashed it without her consent and permission, plus they also blocked her on social media, and made it one of the biggest hits in UK last year (The Mode Reviews has talked about this in depth in his worst hit of 2022 list) Polydor Records might be one of the worst record labels of the decade so far. Anyways RAYE fed up with what's happening took to social media basically made it public about the abuse she has to endured during her time in Polydor. And for that brief moment, we are all behind RAYE's back and stream the shit out of Escapism until it became one of the biggest global hit of the year, and for a damn good reason because this song is excellent.
With the 90's throwback is still in the full effect with trance revival and also GUTS pay homage to the alternative rock of that time, I'm delighted that this song is basically a trip hop revival. If there's one genre that aged better than you might expect from the 90's, then I would say trip hop. Songs like Missing, Your Woman, and maybe the remix of Tom's Diner are all classic in its genre (Your Woman is more like mono genre but definitely have some trip hop elements in it). Not to mentioned Portishead and Sneakerpimps are still beloved till this day. While I'd say that this instrument and production is more unconventional with the ominous synths and the added of trumpets and the big band-esque aesthetic in it, the percussion is definitely trip hop. The fact that this song is big on the radio was kinda amusing since it has unconventional song structures and with the subject matter as bleak as this one. Where RAYE is in the spree of bad habits of drinking, doing drugs, and just general hedonism after break up. Now with her verse there's still hesitancy to embrace it all, but 070 Shake came in and provided the devil's advocate to this lifestyle. The title itself is called Escapism for a reason.
But what I found so intriguing is the meta text or the implication of the song itself. Yeah this song is about a break up and how you cope with it, but in the first verse with the lyrics "A little context if you care to listen". The implication of that especially with how she was abused by her "ex" aka her former record label made this all the more sad that women need to tell the context as to why they are abused in order to appeared to be believable even when you can see the bruises and the scars. It's a harrowing tale really about being a woman in general but especially in the music industry. People talked about how we already in a society with gender equality, but in reality we still aren't. I mean when some people are still defending Tory Lanez or Jonathan Majors after they found guilty of assaulting women, one of which has 2 #1 hits mind you, we are still living in a patriarchy society. So while it's fantastic that RAYE became successful after she left Polydor, others might not be so lucky. So count this as a warning for musicians or just people in the creative industry. Demand better change for the future of other creatives so that her story isn't repeated again.
Thank you everyone who have read this far enough. This has been fun and I'm glad I can back writing again after so long. I don't know what type of project I will try to make, but I do have a Tumblr account where I used to talked about all the new entries on Global Excl US chart. I'm gonna continue that for the week of January 13th, 2024 so follow me there and have fun. Hopefully we'll meet again next time.
