I'm not a religious person myself but I think this song is kinda sacrilegious? First of all, this song sounds horrible from the jump. The beginning sounds admittedly like the best Lewis Capaldi song to never exist. But then the switch up happened and all I can think of is Lukas Graham doing Christian Rock and the thought of that would sends shivers down your spine. But what this song as a whole reminded me of is late period Weezer after 2014. Tacky, lyrically inept, and just enough rock production to make it sounds like Green Album but with less groove than the TikTok Rizz Party. Oh by the way have I not talk about the lyrics yet because they're kinda bad. The religious trapping of the song about you have this affection for this girl is beyond childish. I might read too much into this, but he released Cry aka one of the worst songs based solely on the lyrics. And I think that really says it all really about this guy. Just because you pray god everyday, doesn't mean you can escape the asshole allegations.
19. The one thing that's kinda not good to see in 2024 thus far is the lack of latin hits on the chart right now. Sure we have some latin songs here but that has to do with Natanael Cano doing his promo for his new project of sort. Bad Bunny still on tour, Peso Pluma also still on tour, Karol G has just released her album last year. So what left of all this is just a backwash like this.
19. Gata Only by FloyyMenor & Cris MJ
I tried to like this one because some of the elements in the productions here are really good. The vibe is there, I love the ghostly synth, and even the percussion is textured and mixed properly for once. But I'm sorry all I heard from this song is Bad Bunny's C-side and nothing about the performers here intrigued me especially with a bargain barrel writing and content. The fact that this song might become one of the biggest latin hit at all is kinda sad really. Let's hope that Natanael Cano bring something to the table here (yes this is foreshadowing).
18. And that's it, these two songs are the only one that I don't like at all. Now I still have some problems with these songs but I won't be turning off the radio when they are playing at least. Anyways let's talk about LE SSERA- *gunshot* Oh this will be a disaster.
18. Smart by LE SSERAFIM
Now, since I am only a passive fan of K-Pop as a whole, I was amused by the animosity that LE SSERAFIM got in my circle of music twitter. That's because my first impression of them is Fearless which is an awesome song and after that they released one of my favorite songs of last year with Eve, Psyche, & The Bluebeard's Wife (yeah this group is already bold with their song titles shall we say). But seems like after Easy (which just barely missed the cut), the backlash seems to set in especially with some say that this group was the reason why GFriend disbanded. Now the whole GFriend disbanded saga missed me entirely (all I know is that Lil Uzi Vert is a fan and they weren't pleased by the announcement) but the gist of it is that LE SSERAFIM got all the resources that GFriend didn't have. Which...I'm gonna call bullshit especially with the situation that has been going on with HYBE and their subsidiary aka LE SSERAFIM label ADOR which is more likely the fault of ADOR CEO to be honest. Even though K-Pop was having its best year last year, between Fifty Fifty sudden disbanded and the power struggle between HYBE and ADOR as BTS members are still in the military, It's no wonder that some people are put off by the genre entirely this year.
And even with this song there's another controversy about how one of the members who are underage were dancing sexually in the music video. I'm not gonna touch that but what I do wanna touch on is that this song is inspired/lifting from afrobeats. I'm not African so I don't want to say that this is cultural appropriation or anything like that. But, what I can call this one is very limp pale imitation of the real deal. The melody is basic, the percussion is beyond stock, and the lyrics are just generic enough to get the vibe right which is why I don't hate this song as much. But yeah this song really reminded me of how there's cod reggae, I'm calling this type of limp afrobeats made by non African artists as tilapia afrobeats, yes this is just a name of common fish in West Africa plus afrobeats.
17. Well at least this one doesn't have any discourse...beside his label doing sales manipula-
17. Lose Control by Teddy Swims
I think we are in a big boy era for pop music. Jelly Roll opened the floodgates and then we have Teddy Swims. To be honest I don't have much to say about this song because this is the definition of a radio fodder that's also have a lot of passive listening...did you know that this song went to #1 in the US? Yeah me neither.
16. Luna by Feid ft. ATL Jacob
The quintessential reggaeton song that was produced by rap producer. I do wish rap producers make a reggaeton song though.
15. As I am writing this on May 11, 2024 I think I'll just gonna say a sentence or two with these songs
15. Deja Vu by TxT
I still think that TxT is very much overrated but this is fine I guess.
14. Madonna by Natanael Cano ft. Oscar Maydon
Can we please stop with naming your songs after a famous singer it has gotten tiring now.
13. SHEESH by Babymonster
We will get a kpop band titling their songs with brainrot word like Skibidi mark my word.
12. BZRP Music Session, Vol. 59 by Bizarrap ft. Natanael Cano
Look, these songs might grew on me and heck it might probably be on my best list. But with what happened on the chart after I picked the week I'm ranking in which we will get to, I think that these songs don't really add much that I can say and I don't wanna pretend that I care for these songs even if they are decent. It's really something that was hard for me while making this type of ranking even last year. Pop music is an ever changing genre of music and one popular thing could be dated or not cool anymore by the year's end. Again I started writing this when Taylor's album bomb hasn't happened yet and again there's one big elephant in the room that I will get to. It's just something that I need to pay attention to at least as a pop music critic.
11. While we are at it let's talk about song that lingered from earlier this year as well.
11. Stick Season by Noah Kahan
I do love the fact that this is probably the biggest song out of the indie folk revival, meanwhile the topic of the song you wouldn't hear it at that time. I mean there are few songs that became hit that tackle heartbreak by being a very deeply annoying prick. But most of them have this air of ironic detachment while simultaneously being sincere about it. But here, Noah basically just said that yes I'm a fuck up what you wanna do about it with a practically spare productions. It's something that's new about this trend now and I think I prefer this over stuff that are trying to play it coy.
10. I do feel bad for Ariana Grande to be honest with you. I do think the album is good and a decent dive into Ariana's personal life during 2021-2024. But sadly the singles has been a bit disappointed and this is probably her most forgettable #1 hit of her career.
10. We Can't Be Friends (Wait For Your Love) by Ariana Grande
Now I don't say that this song is bad or anything. If anything this song is like one of the best ones from Eternal Sunshine because it focused on more of the heartbreak and how she cope with that and I do resonate with some of the conceit of the song. How after a breakup you need to move on and you might move on, but you still get the lingering feelings that you can have that one single spark again and everything will be back. That's really something I can relate to without being too personal. My problem is that this song sounds like if Ariana did Midnights and succeeding 78 percent. The strings do add some glamour as does the synth, but everything else seems so muted and subdued to the point that it doesn't really match the content. And the percussion being this weak doesn't helped either. Overall I do think the song is good, it's might need some time to grew on me, that's all.
9. You know this year is stacked that Beyonce doing country music is like a footnote at this point.
9. TEXAS HOLD 'EM by Beyonce
I listened to Cowboy Carter and I think it did the job that Beyonce was trying to achieved here, mainly making a country album to say to the establishment in country that yes I can do this. I do think it's cool that Beyonce invited a lot of black country artists and basically gave them the spotlight they deserved. But also, I know that Beyonce and even myself included are tourists that do love country music and want to change the landscape of country music. But let's face facts especially with this lead off singles that this might be a one off. Like sure this is definitely one of the country song of all time. But unlike Renaissance where she took the genre of house and EDM as a whole and reclaim that title from those pesky Europeans, I do feel like she made this album because country music is the biggest thing in America right now. I don't know maybe I'm being cynical here and we'll see if my assessment is correct five years down the line. But, as of now I still think that Renaissance is the better album here.
8. If you do the fantasy music league that Todd and a lot of people did and put your money on Dua Lipa this year...I'm sorry.
8. Training Season by Dua Lipa
I feel like we are seeing the downfall of the Dua Lipa empire...if you live in America. Dua Lipa probably knows that her time in America might be numbered because her whole album is very much catered towards that side of worldwide pop scenes that made Ava Max, Bebe Rexha, and even Rita Ora. This song for example didn't really do well in America, but with using this chart you can tell that this has the same success as at least her previous singles before New Rules. The sound of the singles here is very much cater to more of a UK and worldwide audience with the rollicking guitar, some prominent bass, and that build up to the anti-drop is cool while gimmicky. I also love the lyrics talking about how Dua has experienced these heartbreak and calling it as her training season and it's all over now, it's time to face the real world. So yeah I don't expect Dua to be popular again on the main Hot 100 and for once I'm okay with that.
7. Remember when False Alarm got released and it doesn't do well because people are not really into darkwave yet? Well here's the diet version of the song.
7. i like the way you kiss me by Artemas
Purely on the production alone this is a 10/10. It's just so cool to hear this scrappy DIY darkwave sound with the chunky guitar riff, the dense synth, the atmosphere, and all of this wrapped under two and a half minutes. It's just a shame that this guy can't really sings? I don't know if it because of the higher register or his normal register that kinda bothered me. Especially when his vocals are drowned in reverb. Also the lyrics are not good. Basically this is the fuckboy rap but somehow more douchy. Those two hold it back for me. But, when that bridge hit oh man what a magical moment.
6. Houdini by Dua Lipa
This song has really grown on me so much so that I thought that this might be on the best list this year...well let's just say that this is at number seven for some reason. A lot has changed since even March that this song might even missed the honorable mention. Which kinda sucks because this is probably the best produced song of her career. Looking forward for this song to be in the next Just Dance btw.
5. One of the most peculiar thing that happened in pop music during the 70s is the prevalent of actors that's also have hit singles. John Travolta was the biggest example basically all of his movies have influenced mid to late 70s with disco and musical. Now we don't really have that kind of actors turned to musicians anymore now that Disney Channel machine has ruled that market, but sometimes with the right person and a right TikTok virality, it finally happened...even though the actor in question came from Strangers Things.
5. End of Beginning by Djo
Now for some spoilers but from this point on, we are going on the best list territories here so I might kept some of these brief (probably not). Now for those who don't know, Djo is a pet project from Joe Keery of Stranger Things fame. And just like Stranger Things, this song is a synth pop throwback to that era but not the ones that's very obvious. With the guitar, the bass, and that glimmering synth keys, this is definitely paying homage to the laid back 80s new wave that came from former post punk acts like The Cure. And just like those songs, the lyrics as well evoke some sort of elegance while also being somber enough to not being cheesy. This song is as tight as it can be and this song is the first sign of how 2024 is a great year for pop music.
4. Seems like Kpop are moving from the bombast of the rap and dubstep of the 2010s and Gen 3 as a whole to a more dance oriented genres that's more of a vibe than a banger. NewJeans continuing their 2000s nostalgia conquest while LE SSERAFIM is doing jersey club which I think still their best song. Heck the newcomers are also trying to take a stab at this, for example.
4. Magnetic by ILLIT
So remember Watch This? A demo by Lil Uzi Vert that got released unofficially with a pluggnb remix by a nobody? Well seems like HYBE really like that song and just pluggnb in general that they wanna capitalized on that success. Enter Illit with their breakthrough singles Magnetic. This song made me realized at how much pluggnb is very much perfect for bubblegum pop as a whole. the gleaming synth with the heavy 808s and trap snares sounds perfect with the cooing performance of the group. Nothing much else to say about this one because it's just a well put together pop singles.
3. You gotta love how your anime series got picked up for another season just because the anime opening went so hard that it broke streaming records.
3. Bling-Bang-Bang-Born by Creepy Nuts
I think after Just Wanna Rock, I became a sucker for jersey club. A lot of my most played songs on my 2023 Spotify Wrapped are in that sound. I think it's just the feral nature of the genre and the fact that you can do anything with the genre if there's that drum pattern. So yeah this is why it's so high on the ranking. But also like we need more anime opening like this one? I am grew tired of either moe anisong or generic j-rock song becoming the opening in these shonen anime. It's refreshing to hear rap songs that's actually good and made by competent rap group to become an opening for a shonen anime. It's still such a novel concept that I don't mind that this song has the Some Cut bed squeak samples. I haven' t watched Mashle but also you don't need to watch the anime to get this song. This is basically a brag rap song but with the elements of the anime that enhanced that bragging. This is that turn off your brain shit song and I couldn't be happier to hear it more and more.
2. We don't really know if it's gonna stay like this till the end of the decade, but I feel like the rock revival has lost it steam a bit. The fact that Olivia's rock songs from Obsessed are being thrown by radio promoters says a lot about how fickle the rock revival was. Because of that we need someone to bring rock back to the chart...Wait what do you mean Hozier finally got his #1 hi-
2. Too Sweet by Hozier
I'm still kinda baffled at how this song became so popular and Hozier would probably agree. This is a song from an EP that he released basically as a B-Side of the main album last year. And the fact that the EP might outstreamed the main album, but also that this song finally get Hozier his #1 spot before the Taylor's album bomb. It's probably one of the most satisfying pop story of the year.
It also helped that the song is great. The chunky bass, the liquid guitar, and that drum fill in with the church bells and Hozier's cleaner voice made this go over the top. And that's the point of the song, the fact that it's over the top while also having some cocky ass lyrics. For those who only listened to his big hits would say that this song is typical for him. A raunchy song with a lot of metaphor and all that jazz. Well if you follow the trajectory of Hozier especially the fandom, you know that this song is actually targeted at his newer listener that likes stuff from Wasteland, Baby! but a bit put off by his self titled. He knows that these people prefer the PG stuff, but when time comes at the right place, sometimes his new audience might prefer to be more...let's say heated conversation. The second verse really solidified it for me as she compared the mouth of this girl like Heaven's Gate and I think he got away with that because the nature of the song and even the nature of Hozier's pathos as an artist. Every time I listened to this, I found new ways that this song surprised me and that's a great thing.
1. It's a no surprise that 2023 was probably one of the most uneventful years for rap music rarely seen since probably early 2010s. It was so bad that one of the biggest rap songs of 2023 is from UK. Suffice to say that it was bleak. And then something happened this year and it all started with...Megan Thee Stallion. She released one of the best songs of the year with HISS and in that song she dissed a lot of people. A lot of people cared more about her jab at Nicki Minaj and it was a one sided beef in reality. But, outside of the Nicki beef, Megan also threw shots at Drake, the same shots that a certain someone will reiterated two months later, when Future and Metro Boomin dropped their album WE DON'T TRUST YOU.
1. Like That by Future & Metro Boomin ft. Kendrick Lamar
Talking about this song after...the whole month of May is like talking about what happened before October 7th. I will have a lot more to say at the end of the year, so I'll save that for December for now. But, I have one observation about this song. This song is literally raised the bar for pop songs this year. Because of this song, the cutoff number for the year end list has been raised more and more and making the chart stronger. This song and the event after the release of the song has made not only rap relevant again, but also pop music in general. TOTC did a great job at covering this so check out their twitter account about how this song raised the bar for pop music so much so that even songs that was previously locked got knocked out. That's really the power of rap beef to be honest and I hope to talk about this one in depth along with...other songs soon.
That was the ranking and yup I really love this year's popular music more than I was in between winter and spring. Let's hope it will keep up the pace till fall. Now before I leave you all, I'm gonna try and recommend some songs that just missed the ranking the week I'm charting that need some highlights.
1. Bansanka (Dinner Song) - tuki. (Pk 63 Tw 102) : My favorite part of looking at Global Excl US chart is that because of the absence of America, we got more J-Pop and K-Pop songs on the chart. J-Pop right now is in the middle of a transitional period between the streaming and the music buying public. Because of that the chart itself has became some sort of a wild west where any artists can breakthrough. The fact that a somber ballad made by a 15 year-old hit #1 in the country, but also that it's her first singles as well and yet seems to have more experience it's crazy. Do check out the acoustic version though because it legit sounds like Fast Car.
2. Type Shit - Future & Metro Boomin ft. Travis Scott & Playboi Carti (Pk 26 Tw 64): This is one of the best songs of the album just because of the controlled vibe it got. The bells carried this song definitely with that synth and the crunchy 808s. But also this song lightly dissed Drake as well especially with the Megan Thee Stallion line. Also Travis Scott will not be on another Drake album ever again huh?
3. Obsessed - Olivia Rodrigo (Pk 31 Tw 76): It's baffling how Olivia's team seems to just can't promote the rock side of her because I would bet that younger people want a woman rock star like P!nk or even Avril Lavigne. But I do get why they didn't market her as such because there's still universal or more broad topics that Olivia has hit before and worked. I don't think her sophomore album is a slump for her but I do believe especially with Obsessed that she really wants to be that rock star she really imagined to be.
Alright that's it for me, you can follow my twitter here if you need some pop updates from me and if you don't have twitter or have deleted yours, I have my Bluesky account as well. Till next time I will see you all the same place as usual.
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