...Yeah I got nothing here.
I mean what else can I say about the chart right now that a lot of people have said? This chart is so stale and stagnant that even Japan Hot 100 looked more active (that's because they're doing ACR style streams downturning for their dinosaurs). It seems like people just doesn't want to listen to new music because why am I seeing Beautiful Things STILL IN THE TOP 10??? Yeah it has been a wasteland for the chart and honestly I don't have much hope for the Hot 100...the same can't really be said for Global Excl US chart. Even though global chart is having the same kinds of crisis of just pop music in general because this chart excluded America, well firstly there's only one Morgan Wallen song on the chart and it's buried six feet deep here, but also the fact that the most dominant countries here are Canada, Mexico, Colombia, and UK making a lot of global hits to be really good. They're very varied too surprisingly from dancehall, reggaeton, amapiano, regional mexican, and even some indie rock and music from Persian and Punjabi area. Yeah it seems like this chart is so interesting that I don't have anything to say. Now I'm gonna try and put the tier of the ranking from shit tier to great tier and scored it from 0-5 scale. Now there's no Shit tier here so we starting out with
BAD TIER
20. Yeah now I can't wait for BTS to comeback because what is this bottom of the barrell stuff?
20. Don't Say You Love Me - JIN
I think I'm done with these type of synthpop that only gotten big because of the name attached to it. It's slow, very trite, and the only thing that keeping this song from the shit tier is the bass is actually sounded really good. But yeah I think these type of songs I'm just done by the time "Left and Right" by Charlie Puth ft. Jung Kook (oh hey speaking of BTS) because it's usually a sign that this song will be popular anyways because BTS Army are starving and they need everything to survive the drought. BTS that I love always have flair and personality behind them and with some stuff from their solo outings, none of them really highlighted their strength and just show their weaknesses without them being together. I'm glad that BTS will have a comeback next year because this cow have already been emptied.
19. You know there's one time that I actually think this song is great...what was I thinking back then this song soured on me harder than those vinegars that the monks accidentally made.
19. Ordinary - Alex Warren
Look I get it that people are getting really sick of this song now that this is the only thing to a bonafide smash hit that we got this year, but I really get why this song became very popular. Heck I also have said that this song is great before. But why this song has soured on me so much that it wound up being here? Well when I first heard it I was really enchanted by the production with that string melody and the choir. But after repeated listened that barely registered drums and lack of robust foundation made this song very hollow and empty. And once I've read the lyrics it's evident that these type of sounds doesn't work...no actually it worked, but in a non descript way that just doesn't reflect in anything. It's like when you eat something like plain potato chips. You love potato chips but without the seasonings and even sauces, it became bland and just empty carb. This is what it feels like and just like any other potato chips it can caused blister in your mouth. This is how I feel about this song now and we desperately want new stuff here.
18. So y'all excited for F1 movie? I think the rise of motorsports movies are fascinating to me because sometimes they're either Oscar bait (a good Oscar bait but still) or they are just there to entertain. I think this movie is trying to do both because it has a soundtrack made by big artists...to diminished results
18. Just Keep Watching - Tate McRae
Is this because she made a song called Sports Car? Because I don't really know why is she here. Anyways Tate McRae has a weird 2025 so far. From her album actually having sort of critical acclaim to flushed all of that down the drain with her trying to get a #1 for working with Morgan Wallen (it's like if Ashanti has to get a #1 hit from collaborating with Toby Keith). And now this which is like a second Red Bull car having a spin. I don't what to say here other than this is just a formless mess of clashing percussion, nondescript melody, and annoying drop. Also it's kinda rich from Tate to say to "just keep watching" when I know that the Morgan Wallen stuff really hurt your chances for the audience to keep watching. This is the sort of movie soundtrack slog that always making the experience of the movie slightly worse by their presence alone and yeah not good for her prospect.
MEH TIER
17. Okay this song has become grating now.
17. Like JENNIE - JENNIE
Mantra is still a great song but I do believe that JENNIE having more of an impact than even Rose (well I'd go back and forth on that) is kinda baffling because she's not that good as a soloist. She doesn't bring anything to the table beside being genre chamillion and even then her guest stars have been shown her off the table. Mantra was a fluke because this song got worse overtime. It's just the overplay really that made the flaws even more glaring so the things I said before but more negative.
16. Manchild - Sabrina Carpenter
Now I have a lot of thoughts about this song some of it are good some of it are shit. I think that in terms of production the keys are great but that chorus is so overstuffed and I think Jack Anthonoff shouldn't really touch country production at all because that guitar is so plucky and out of place here. I do like Sabrina performance here but it's nothing really new especially with her another wink wink nudge nudge attitude. If this was came out in the 80s she would've been placed in the same pedastal as Paula Abdul and that isn't saying much. It's also detrimental to the lyrics which is once again is a kiss off anthem but like Please Please Please, she played it ironically and honestly that's the weaker part of the song. Now I'm a trans girl so I don't know much about how cishet women do in dating, but I think that this type of generalization of gender role is kinda backwards looking? I think the implication of "innocent woman" is really what irk me about this song in general. Sabrina despite thinking this ironically does sometimes believe it unironically. It's a mish mash of 80s kitsch with zoomer irony poisoning that really rubs me the wrong way. Honestly not looking forward to that album.
DECENT TIER
15. PASSO BEM SOLTO - ATLXS
Finally after what a full year of this series? I am able to review the weird, wacky, and sometimes really dodgy and AI invested phonk genre. For those who don't know phonk is a subset of EDM or dance music that came out of Funk carioca. The biggest characteristic of this sound is big booming bass with little low end (basically making dance music with the characteristic of lo-fi recording). This is dance music's equivalent of soundcloud rap at its infancy. Loud, blaring, and really doesn't care about what your feeling is as long as it's catchy enough. This is definitely different than Funk carioca which is more in tune and have influence in Miami bass. Phonk actually chose another different subgenre of hip-hop, Memphis style rap. Now most of these songs are honestly Tiktok bait but one has to caught on to the streaming at some point and here we are. Now this song is fine but that AI album cover...yeaaaah.
14. Tu Sancho - Fuerza Regida
Probably the most tuneful Fuerza Regida hit I've heard at least. They finally got the bass production and general corridos tumbados sound that doesn't sound like dying ass. Look even if it's passable, the frontman of Fuerza Regida is still sounds like a jackass even when his production has improved.
13. La Plena - W Sound, Ovy On The Drums & Beele
This song grew on me slightly but the bigger story here is Beele which have a breakout hit in the reggaeton scene. Oh speaking of Beele
12. No Tiene Sentindo - Beele
Internationally, Beele is probably the breakout star of the year. And even though his voice is kinda wishy washy, I can see his appeal. I really like how sandy the song is but the thing that bothered me is the reverb and the mixing. The vocals here are mixed at the back of the melody and it is jarring. Still I do think it's a matter of time Beele is cross over in the US but with the state of latin music right now...yeah.
11. Azizam - Ed Sheeran
Welp after his back to roots passion project album didn't really moved units, Ed is back in the pop game this time is a little bit interesting at least. The title of the song is a Persian word for "my beloved" and with this and another song that we will get into, I think he's gonna make an album equivalent of a travel vlog with 100k subs. And it certainly sounds like it because while the song is noble enough to try and capture the Persian music scenes (even had a songwriter who is Iranian), because it's Ed Sheeran pop star mode, the luster and the spark of what made Persian pop music or what it supposed to be got sucked out and what we left is a facsimile of the real deal. I do love the faster tempo and the acoustic accent. But other than that it's just another Ed Sheeran pop song with a hint of culture behind it.
10. Show Me Love - WizTheMc ft. bees & honey
There have been a rise in afrobeats/amapiano song with house or atmospheric flair to it on the chart right now. This is probably the biggest one from the amapiano side and I feel conflicted. For once the beautiful piano with that sandy percussion is perfect. And WizTheMc is really fine with his vocal delivery. I think my main issue is that it's too short and the reverb is being abused a bit much. Still I'm interested in how this turns out especially that both genres are now being relegated to European market.
GOOD TIER
9. Triple Lavada - Esau Ortiz
This one is interesting in that it's supposed to be in the umbrella of Regional Mexican sound but the only thing that could be the indictation is the trumpets and the guitar. Everything else sounded like a groovy sounding song that really harken back to the 1999 Latin boom. You are greeted with the heavy phat bass and then the pseudo rap delivery and then the drum fills and you hear more guitar, trumpets, and then the chorus becoming a bit atmospheric with the strings and the reverb and honestly if it wasn't for the short length it would actually in the Great tier. As it is, it's a certainly unique song that ended with Egyptian stereotypical melody??? Seriously what are you song!
8. Undressed - sombr
I think rock is back? Well this is more sounding like the indie pop that was really popular in Europe in the mid to late 2000s but since it has guitar and bass, yeah rock song. And I'm glad that these kinds of songs are getting popular because we need variety and honestly this song succeeded in the sound part. That bass with the plucky guitar, thick atmosphere, perfectly blended drum, and the vocal harmonies in the chorus is so dreamy and airy. The reason why this song isn't higher is that the lyrics is kinda pissy and he's so baby about it. Like dude she's already moved on why are you not doing the same with you complaining every time she's meeting you. Anyways you know what song that really shrunk on me?
7. Abracadabra - Lady Gaga
Yeah this song has shrunk on me in some ways. I think after listening to the album really soured my listening experience of this song. It's still good but the flaws just keep getting exposed here. Like Lady Gaga performance really kinda phoning in, to the production that isn't as creative nor as transgressive, and the lyrics which is just nonsense in a way that isn't interesting. It's more of a Gaga pastiche which could be the case if it wasn't for How Bad Do U Want Me and Zombieboy really evolved the sound to more a contemporary sound while also being transgressive.
GREAT TIER
6. Sapphire - Ed Sheeran
At the time I'm writing this part, there has been a video circulating around talking about Ed Sheeran and how his writing and style ruined pop music or something. It wasn't a good video and it's kinda ironic how they trying to compared Ed to Taylor when in reality both have been labeled as inaunthetic for years. Btw I don't believe that because the former has made songs that will make your bawls your eyes out especially his songs about losing family members that always tug my heart string. While the latter has made her mission it seems to be open as she wants sometimes too open. Anyways it's kinda disingenious talking about Ed Sheeran like that when this song exist. Like I said this album is probably gonna play more into his global influence and this time exploring Punjabi sound. He even bringing in Arjit Singh who's very big in Punjabi music scenes. Yes him singing in Punjab is very stilted at best. But when that ending where he got surrounded by this pop song inspired by Punjabi culture I just melt. This song is in the right heart and came from the right place and I can commend that.
5. Back To Friends - sombr
With the success of Arctic Monkeys, it's only a matter of time that someone made a song that sounds like indie rock of the 2000s and this is just a prime stake beef of it. I love that big piano accented with the guitar and drums and even though he got his vocal filter on, on the chorus the song sounds so lush with the added reverb talking about him not accepting that he can be friends with his ex. And in this one it's very understandable why he acts this way. The bridge is the star of the show yeah this song has a bridge...such an alien concept these days huh. But yeah this song is just something the chart needed and I hope he got more of this.
4. Shake It To The Max (FLY) - MOLIY, Silent Addy, Skillibeng, & Shenseea
Man remeber in 2014 we have new booty anthem every ten days or so? Well now we have a real deal ass anthem on the chart and honestly this is such a UK hit that I'm surprised it broke through the US chart. But I get it this song is an afrofusion between afrobeats with dancehall and you can hear it. That drum pattern, the flute I think, and the atmosphere screamed cookout. The remix here worked because both Shenseea and Skillibeng understood the assignment here. Again this is the most UK hit that I heard in American chart to date not because it has thick British accent, but it understood the multicultural aspect of UK right now. I'm glad this became a hit.
3. Love Me Not - Ravyn Lenae
There's always that one song that you don't have anything to say beside that it's great and this is one of them. Like I know why I love this song. The production is like a mix of indie pop and RnB which shouldn't worked but that bassline just make it work. It's just good pop music man go ahead and listen to it. But this place meant...
2. Baile Inovidable - Bad Bunny
1. DTMF - Bad Bunny
I still think that 2025 played out the same like 2022 but in backward. Honestly this summer wouldn't have been bleak if Bad Bunny released Debi Tirar Mas Fotos in the summer instead in the middle of Winter. But still what an album and I have to pick like two songs from the album for my best list and it's gonna be hard so stay tuned for that.
Before I go, I wanna bring back this section which is a recommendation of songs that fall below what's eligible for this ranking and that's also new as well. So let's go we have 5 songs here.
Capaz - Alleh & Yorghaki: The subtitle here is Merengueton and yeah that's very much an apt description of the song. This song really balance reggaeton and merengue really well to become my sleeper hit of the year.
Party 4 U - Charli XCX: With the success of Brat it's a matter of time that Charli's deep cut will become a tiktok hit but I wasn't expecting this to be honest. A deepcut from her pandemic album that's very much not mainstream sounding as she's doing more of what her hyperpop mixtape did and it created the most bonkers and yet most intimate album of her career. No wonder this caught on because people are longing for that intimacy that we just don't get anymore.
Bloodline - Alex Warren ft. Jelly Roll: By virtue of the guest star I should've hate this. But it's probably one of the few indie folk revival songs that resonate the most especially talking about breaking the expectation of your familial bloodline. Honestly Alex Warren's other singles are better especially Burning Down. It's just ashamed his biggest hit is the least interesting one.
Blessings - Calvin Harris ft. Clementine Douglas: Calvin Harris is finally back and deliver yet again a great piano house singles with a great vocal from Clementine Douglas. Sometimes a good beat and decent singers can carried a song in general and this is a prime example of that.
Mangu - Fourtwnty ft. Charita Utami: I don't even love this song but it's telling how dire the chart is that an Indonesian song can just barged in like that charted high on the Global chart. This and NIKI success is so bizarre and yet I'll welcomed it since y'know Indonesian pride...but also fuck Prabo-
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