Now I don't want to say that the year is already bad for pop music because honestly these batch of songs are very good and very varied in terms of sounds and genres. But, the start of the year is usually the dead zone of new releases and it's definitely reflected on this top 20. Even with using songs that charted below 25 weeks, a lot of these entries are in their double digits weeks on the chart. Which means a lot of the songs has charted probably three months or more. This week is just a resetting after the Christmas songs all gone and also new years playlisting. But with the news of big artists like Lil Nas X and Ariana Grande releasing new singles and 21 Savage releasing his third solo album which may I remind you all that he hasn't released any solo album since 2018. I do look forward as 2024 has to offer definitely, but we need to take care of some glut from last year to start a new. I'm judging these songs by lyrics, production & instrumentation, the context behind the song, and how the artist performance in the song. With that out of the way let's start with the worst song on this ranking which actually it's not that awful, but here's my rebuttal.
20. Lovin' On Me by Jack Harlow
Remember when Jack Harlow was this new up and coming rapper that has the star power to be like the next big thing. Well he has now but why do I get the feeling that his fame might caught on to him. I like First Class fine enough but it should've been Nail Tech that became the big singles from that album. And everything since then is just kinda there. I still don't know why and how this song is as big as it is though. This is just First Class with worst beat, even overused samples, and even more corny lines. The opening lines of this song is him bragging about being vanilla and I'm sorry any sense of cool that you got turned to mush when you spelled missionary on the second verse. The old school percussion does reminded me of a song from that era of old school hip-hop that really captured the essence of the song perfectly. It's called I Got The Knack by Everlast, a flopped hip hop singles from 1990 in an era of Vanilla Ice. You might know Everlast because he was part of House of Pain. But yeah everything bad about this song is present in Lovin' On Me and that's all I wanna say about this song because frankly I'm already sick of this.
It's very funny how the image of The Weeknd got tarnished because of one show that even the music has lost its seal of quality just to give Sam Levinson the chance to make the most boring soundtrack.
19. One Of The Girls by The Weeknd, JENNIE, & Lily-Rose Depp
Is this song actually popular because Blinks are so starved of new content that JISOO's Flower isn't enough? Because it's certainly not because of the production which is probably Rihanna's ANTI's B-side with the spiky synth, the shimmering keys, and the trap percussion. It's certainly not the lyrical content which is just a boiler plate exploitation piece that even less hot than The Weeknd song from Fifty Shades of Grey. Definitely not the performance since The Weeknd sounds checked out, JENNIE sounds the best and she's only in the intro and outro, and Lily-Rose Depp's reverb turned up real high on this one. Legit why are we trying to extend the lifetime of The Idol even after critics have trashed this show. Let's just leave this behind and let's see to the future of what 2024 has to offer...what's next here?
18. Segun Quien by Maluma ft. Carin Leon
We'll probably gonna see more of this but it's gonna be time where the established act from reggaeton will try and take bite at the Regional Mexican music like corridos tumbados or cumbia. Karol G actually went a step further and make a Colombian variant of the cumbia sound reminiscing of Selena you should check that one out. What I love about the cumbia genre is how it towed the balance between scrappy and homegrown feeling that I actually can relate to. This song on the other hand seems to actively trying to scrub clean all of that feelings for accessibility and it just doesn't worked. Maluma here recruiting Carin Leon for this type of petty break up song could be interesting if the production didn't sound as wash as this. Like this song somehow sounds like every type of songs that uses the waltz beat but with the usual corridos sound. It's just stiff sounding which I don't wanna hear in these type of songs. Oh while we speaking on being shitty toward women
17. La Victima by Xavi
You know I thought at first that this guy is from Spain. Yes I know it's because his name is like the current manager/former player of Barcelona FC. Anyways seems like in the Billboard calendar here we already have the rising star in the making. I actually will root for this guy for a reason I will talked about later on. But for now let's talked about the less popular hit from this guy and why I don't really like it...oops. Well this is self explanatory as to why I don't really like it. He sounded obnoxious, less ambitious than his big hit that again we will talk later, and the lyrics which is just Lucid Dream but worse. I am still rooting for the guy but I hope he made that other hit instead of this y'know.
16. LUNA by Feid & ATL Jacob
The only interesting thing about this song is ATL Jacob produced and put his name out for this one which is kinda amusing it's like if Tay Keith made a reggaeton song with Ozuna. And this song is very much the expected outcome of rap & RnB producer making a reggaeton beat. Competently produced but nothing special about it in terms of reggaeton song. One thing I will say is that I hope this will make other producers trying to make other types of songs in different genres. Like can you imagine if Metro Boomin produced a song by Karol G that would be awesome. So yeah I don't care for this song but the implication for things to come make me excited.
15. Paint The Town Red by Doja Cat
No Doja, you can't just make the samey sounding RnB rap song with samples more interesting than the entire song itself and said it's revolutionary just because it has edgy lyrics. That doesn't make you visionary, that makes you insecure about your prospect. And that's really my issues with the song really and also the rest of the album. Scarlet is not a bad record but with each songs beside a few, the insecurities that Doja has in regards to fame is really tiring. Especially after the Sam Hyde shirt. I think the fact that she knew about Sam Hyde at all is one of the few reasons that she needs to get off the internet.
I can't believe I'm saying this but Peso Pluma might grew on me. Well just a bit.
14. BELLAKEO by Peso Pluma & Anitta
Feels like Peso Pluma has like a way where he sounded better and alive whenever he collaborated with women. No I'm serious here he's one of the reasons why Chanel by Becky G isn't as bad, the remix of Por Las Noches highlighted the range Peso Pluma has, and there's another reggaeton collab here that we'll get into that has a lot of chemistry to the girl he sings with. This one is no different because he found the perfect production for this which also as blaring as he is. So blaring in fact that it kinda drowned Anitta voice making her very anonymous here. And it does wear on its welcome by the outro. So yeah that's why ultimately it didn't clicked with me as much as his other collab with women.
Because of the Billboard stupid year end cutoff, this year started out with Bad Bunny album bomb. And you know you are in the Global Excl US chart where the biggest song on the album is the reggaeton one.
13. Perro Negro by Bad Bunny ft. Feid
Bad Bunny newest album is quite decent if I say so myself. It's definitely an ode to latin rap and a lot of the songs are very interesting to talk about (listen to Thunder y Lightning which is a drill rap). I still think this song is decent but it's definitely the least interesting song on the album. Oh hello Feid is here again. But yeah nothing to add here because well it's just a decent reggaeton song that might be Un Verano Sin Ti throwaway???
Oh yeah did I tell you that Peso Pluma works well with women?
12. Qlona by Karol G ft. Peso Pluma
Now we are into the stuff that I actually like and let's start off with a song where both Karol G and Peso Pluma sing about ass. Now for me I love both boobs and ass the same way but you know something about thick ass and thighs are very you know (in a queer way). And I'm glad that Karol G gave that queer voice that do like ass some representation. And the production is not half bad. The melody is solid, the percussion is more textured, and Peso Pluma's voice are mixed properly this time. Overall I'm glad that Peso Pluma ventured out to other sounds because I do believe he's gonna be the next big thing or has been that big thing. Let's hope that his collab with Kali Uchis stick around long enough to put on the best list.
11. Greedy by Tate McRae
I feel like I would be on board with the idea that Tate McRae is one of the pop girlies till you realized that her biggest hit has almost the same melody as Among Us theme. Once you hear it, you can't unhear it. By the way I'm all for the 2000s throwback but can we please not bring back the adult contemporary duds from bands like Daughtry or The Fray please thank you.
Sure I just put this song as my honorable mention on my best list but if we wanna judge it as a whole it's just decent
10. Prada by Casso ft. D-Block Europe & RAYE
Yeah even though I do like the song, the fact that this song became a hit kinda worried me. Not because it's just your run of the mill trance song that somehow became the global trance hit of 2023 and 2024, but it's just the marketing behind the song is kinda icky to me. The music video didn't helped if anything it made it worse because capitalism and yadda yadda stuff like that. I do like the extended version though.
9. Si No Estas by Inigo Quintero
I've been thinking a lot about the impact of TikTok in pop music as you do for being a music chart nerd. The thing about TikTok is I would say that the app might be mostly a force for good. Yeah sure some of the songs that became TikTok hits can be bad and even worse than a lot of the songs on the chart. But, one thing that I wouldn't say about these songs that they are not part of the norm. Like this one for example, a piano ballad in Spanish made by no name from Spain and it became the biggest hit for some weeks or two in this chart. How sick is that? Even in 2019 you wouldn't think that these type of songs will have enough streams and sales to be this popular. And the song being good really helped too.
There are so many trends going on in pop music but the one that really stood up to me is video games franchises recruiting big pop stars all over the world to make songs promoting or about the games itself. The start of this phenomena is definitely Enemy by Imagine Dragon ft. JID. Even though the song is tied with an animated series, that series also tied with League of Legends. And seems like after the success of that and Star Walkin, eventually the other game franchise will follow suit.
8. Perfect Night by LE SSERAFIM
LE SSERAFIM is unique to me because they're kinda the middle ground between the brash K-Pop stuff we associated with the genre plus the vibe from the newer girl group that appeared like NewJeans. This song is a prime example of that because you have these beautiful liquid guitar and then with strong trap percussion. I would dare to say that this song sounds like Ariana Grande circa Sweetener but more tuneful I guess. I should also mentioned that this song tied to Overwatch 2 and the success of this will set precedent to what's to come for pop music. So don't be surprised if Valorant recruited idk Halsey to make songs for them.
7. La Diabla by Xavi
I did say that we'll talk about Xavi again and yeah this is definitely better than the La Victima. And you can see why this song is miles better because well it's called La Diabla. That's just an awesome name in general. Also the production here is better too and more fuller, the lyrics are less douchy, and the outro is very ethereal which is something I don't say much with corridos tumbados song. So there's that too.
6. Standing Next To You by Jungkook
Seems like all the members of BTS have something going on with them. Jungkook seems to be pulling influence with 2000s trends. Seven is UK Garage, 3D is basically the Timbaland joint, and this song which is pure 2000s nu-disco. The fact that Jungkook is the one spearheading the 2000s throwback is something I need to be honest. Also listen to the Usher remix as well it's fantastic. I don't think I can add anything with this because it's a good song. Speaking of nu-disco...
5. Houdini by Dua Lipa
I'm so on board with this era of Dua Lipa immediately with this song. What most nu-disco hits that we have in 2020s lacked is the proper grooves. Even with Future Nostalgia sometimes the grooves can be clunky and even nonexistent. Here, the grooves are here to stay and it's no harm to recruit Danny L Harle. He's the producer behind the first wave of hyperpop and I'm kinda glad that the influence of that subgenres are still alive here even though the popularity of it weren't as big as it used to. At least I'm glad that the influence of SOPHIE will live on. Rest In Peace to her.
Anyways I'm kinda sick of these throwbacks now, can we see what will be the future of pop music?
4. My Love Mine All Mine by Mitski
Yup that will do it. One joke that Todd In The Shadow made that really stuck with me is with the Liz Phair Trainwreckords episode where he compared about her self titled album as if Marshmello producing a Mitski album. Especially with this year, the fact that Liz Phair have to sound like Avril to make it even marginally popular while in 2024 Mitski can get to like the top 20 of the chart because of course TikTok. I am wondering if the internet and TikTok were like this in the 90s. Could you imagine getting Bjork, Fiona Apple, Liz Phair, Garbage, Hole, or even Jeff Buckley could get even bigger as a popular artist rather than critical darling. I mean sure MTV got that covered but still they weren't as big. This is another TikTok win by the way with getting these women artists that have critical acclaimed to have their own spotlight in the popular music lexicon. It's still random but I believe that TikTok have more good than harm in my opinion at least on the streaming heavy chart.
Other things I love about TikTok is reviving genres that popular a decade ago. Prime example of that is the pop punk in the 2021 and last year with drum n bass.
3. Strangers by Kenya Grace
Feels like I wanna say less thing about these songs because I might wanna talk about it on the next post at the end of the year if you know you know. But it is still great nonetheless to see this song actually gaining traction in US because of TikTok. For a long time now America have this allergic reaction towards dance music since 2017. I guess I know why since Marshmello and The Chainsmokers have tarnished this genre in the US (even though people who knew the scenes are despising them). Which is a hard shame because 2023 is without a doubt the best year for EDM I've ever seen. You should check out the 2023 EDM chart Year End list (ignore the Odetari song) because the variety on display here are quite impeccable. It's another TikTok win definitely because in any other time beside early 2000s that these type of drum n bass would become a hit. That's all I want to say about this because I'll probably gonna praise it more at the end of the year so stay tune for that.
Let's get some misconception out of the way.
2. Water by Tyla
Some of you might say "oh this is the next big afrobeat hit". Well this is not afrobeat, it's like a subgenre of afrobeat called amapiano. This genre uses primarily on piano and basically have more in line with kwaito than the regular afrobeat. If you wanna know some example of kwaito in mainstream pop, listen to Come With Me Now by Kongos. Actually Tyla might be the first South African act to chart after Kongos. Anyways this song slap. I love the production especially the vocal harmony and the melody. It's so chill to listen to and definitely the song I can put on after even an easy day. This song is just vibe which is perfect with the lyrics as well. This is what people sees in Snooze but more vibey and catchy (Snooze is still good btw). But the best part of the song might be Tyla herself. Such a charismatic performer that bring the vibe even more and it's so sexy. The fact that she's just debuted last year and wasn't a veteran like SZA it's crazy to me and making me excited for more. Oh speaking of exciting...
My favorite song on this "Top 20" is kinda expected of me but I just wanna say this for the record that I can't believe Jax Jones made a hardbass remix of the song.
1. Show by Ado
Yes as a certified Ado enjoyer it's nice to see that Ado still got it. I thought that her peak would be the One Piece soundtrack but nope this might be her biggest song after the dust is settled. If it's not the biggest it's certainly the best singles since probably Ashura-chan. Yeah it sounds cluttered, it sounds gaudy, and that's why I love about this song. This and Odo strike me as the perfect songs for ballroom vogue. The fact that it's so cluttered is the point of the song. She's putting on a show here why would you be mad about it just enjoy the show. I will say that the song might need more bass but overall it's just the perfect little chaotic good song.
Overall, 2024 starts out pretty promising with more than half of the list here I can listen to everyday. Anyways that's it for me today and see you all in a while.
