Well, 2016 is just about in the books, and what an eventful year it turned out to be. Many of you may be thinking that 2016 is a year you’d like to just forget about and turn the page on, but wait! There’s some great music to listen to first!
While 2016 may be officially over tomorrow, for the folks
over at Billboard it ended back on December 14, when they released their list
of the top 100 biggest songs of the year, topped inexplicably by Justin
Bieber’s “Love Yourself.” As always, I’ve picked my favorite 20 songs from
their list and have ranked them from 20 down to number 1.
In a bit of a surprise, 2016 was actually a serious rebound
year for pop music, and I would say these 20 songs are as good a crop of hits
as we’ve had in quite a while. So sit back, turn the speakers up, and enjoy!
Note: Youtube doesn't allow embedding of music videos anymore so you'll have to click the links to hear the songs. There’s also a bonus Spotify playlist at the bottom if you just want to skip
ahead to the music...
We’re only one song into the countdown and I think we’ve
already found the most laughable video of the year. I have so many questions.
Did they find an existing construction site to film on or did they...construct
one just for the video? Did they think it would be sexy to show guys measuring
blueprints and girls operating heavy machinery and welding flames? And Ty Dolla
Sign’s “I put in work like a timesheet” line has to win line of the year as
well. Overall this is a great party song if you just focus on the beat and close
your ears to, well, pretty much everything else about it. A real winner.
Once again I have more to say about this song than I can
reasonably fit into one paragraph. Obviously this was the song of the summer and
I can’t really argue with that, but I always felt like there was some sort of
joke I wasn’t in on. I mean...no one knows what Desiigner’s actually saying at
pretty much any point in this song, right? We all just laugh along and pretend
he’s speaking English? Again, not a problem, but I just want to make sure no
one actually appreciates this song for any more than a dope beat and a million
opportunities to make up your own version of the lyrics.
18. Drake featuring Wizkid and Kyla- "One Dance":
How the third-biggest hit of 2016 (according to Billboard)
and the other main contender for Song of the Summer doesn’t have an accompanying
music video on Youtube is maybe the biggest mystery of the year in music. Apparently it's included in some sort of Apple Music-exclusive short film. Guess I'll never see it then. Either way, it’s
certainly not the best song of the year but considering its ubiquity, it’s
fairly impressive that I never got tired of it. And, it marks the first of many
songs in this list which took its inspiration from Caribbean and reggae beats,
which may be the other story of the year in music this year.
No newcomer burst on the scene quite as prolifically in 2016
as G-Eazy, who carried on a rich tradition of being compared to other white
rappers like Asher Roth, Hoodie Allen, and even Eminem. This was his big hit,
though, and interestingly its video seems to already be reflecting on his
newfound fame. My advice for G is to enjoy the ride and let his talents take
him wherever he can go, and definitely to keep working with Bebe Rexha, whose
vocals are the only reason this song makes my top 20.
I was so excited to see Flume on the Billboard charts this
year. It was about time he broke through in the US market after putting out so
many solid songs that charted everywhere else but here. I do wish he could have
maybe broken through with something else but this is still one of his better
tracks, so I’ll have to settle for it. Sometimes in life, you have to settle
and stop hoping for perfection. Wait, what were we talking about again? Oh
yeah, if it gets more Flume onto the radio, it can only be a good thing.
I have a lot less to say about this song and video than I
had to say about Fifth Harmony’s other entry in this list. It’s just a great
catchy pop song, and the video is pretty much exactly what you might expect. I
suppose you could call it flexin’. We’ll see if we hear from them in 2017- I’m
certainly hoping we do. Girl groups FTW.
Remember that song “100 Years” by Five For Fighting? You
still hear it at Walgreens pretty much every time you’re in there. Well, it’s
gotten an update from a Danish band that has a very firm grasp of the concept
of the passage of time, and a slightly less firm (but still impressive) grasp
of the English language. Much like the Five for Fighting song, it’s a little
bit silly but I found it pretty easy to get into, and I’m sure we’ll be hearing
it at Walgreens for the next 20 years. By that time, Lukas will be almost 60!
Welcome to the 2016 countdown, Justin! In Hollywood, they
say you haven’t really “made it” until you show up in this space. If there was
a consolation prize, I’d say it was having the #1 AND #2 songs on the Billboard
Year-End chart, which Justin did this year with this and “Love Yourself.” As
for this song, notice the reggae riddim present here, and also notice that
Justin himself does not even appear in the video, but it still winds up being
incredibly cocky since all the ladies present him with a “WE <3 JB” sign at
the end, as if dedicating their tireless performance to their generous
benefactor. Hard to think of anyone with a better life than Biebs at the
present moment.
If you wanted to say this was the best pure pop song of
2016, I wouldn’t argue with you. If you wanted to argue it was the best song of
Justin Timberlake’s career, I wouldn’t argue with that either. if you wanted to
point out that it was only released as the soundtrack to a stupid Dreamworks
animated troll movie, I would tell you to shut up and just enjoy the music. I
doubt I’ll ever love another JT song as much as I loved “Can’t Stop The
Feeling,” so let me just have this one, OK?
You can feel free to disagree, but to me, 2016 was the year
of the Chainsmokers in the music world. They had three entries in the year-end
top 30, after basically only being known for a joke-hit (“Selfie”) before this
year. “Roses” was the second-best of these three, even if it was a little silly
that it seems to have been named after its guest vocalist. And, as with their
other videos, I have to say I’m coming up empty on what’s going on in this one.
Never mind, though, it’s a great song that will hopefully stand the test of
time.
Look at Nick Jonas being all grown up! And recording sultry
duets with Sweden’s #1 bad girl Tove Lo! Seriously, his rebirth into a
fully-grown pop star has been overshadowed a bit by Justin Bieber, but Nick
deserves some recognition of his own, and doing a song (and video) like
this absolutely helped me see him
in a new light. If you had told me last year that a dude whose previous claim
to fame was wearing a purity ring would have the sexiest song of 2016 I would
have never believed you.
I wonder if applications to be on Ariana Grande’s security
team spiked after this video came out. Looks like the gig can sometimes come
with perks. Ariana had a huge 2016 with her album Dangerous Woman, and it
looked like “Into You,” which marks the album’s frenetic high point, would be
her highlight for the year, but another song came breaking onto the scene late
in the year and changed the storyline. You’ll have to keep reading to find out
what it is...
Somehow despite being a huge fan of Coldplay’s music and
videos, I’d never seen this one until I wrote this writeup. I’m not sure
whether I find the CGI Coldplay dancing gorillas awesome or a little bit
creepy, or maybe both. I think it’s awesome until they look you in the eye with
their blue eyes. That part is extremely unnerving. As for the song, well, I’m
not sure what more there is to say about Coldplay- it’s like they have a
permanent lock on my top 10 every year as long as they keep putting out
beautiful, uplifting, catchy songs like this one.
More Bieber, as a guest vocalist this time. What can I say,
the dude was everywhere this year. Major Lazer and MØ topped last year’s chart
with “Lean On,” but this year the competition was a little tougher so they
settle for #7. As great as this song is, it just doesn’t quite have the extra
oomph that it takes to crack the top 5, let alone the top 5. Bonus points for
using natural beauty to accentuate the video, though. Oh come on, you know what
I meant.
Calvin and Rihanna had one of the biggest songs of the
decade when they last teamed up on “We Found Love.” Calvin knew he needed to follow
that up with something equally awesome, so he turned to the best lyric-writer
he knew, Nils Sjoberg, to come with something catchy. You may know Nils from
some of his prior work on songs like “You Belong With Me,” “Our Song,” and
“22.” Nils’ lyrics may be the most forgettable part of this song, however.
Rihanna’s vocals and Calvin’s unmistakable beats make this a worthy follow-up
(indeed, an update) of “We Found Love,” and it finds itself in a similar spot
on my year-end chart. Viva la Calvin. Sorry, Taylor.
OK, gripe time. And no, I’m not referring to how confusing
the music video is (why would they let Halsey change hairstyles in between
shoots, to the point of making her almost unrecognizable?) Here’s my gripe:
this song was #1 for 12 weeks this year, more than any other song. It sure
seemed to me like the most ubiquitous song of the year. (And yes, I happened to
really like it). Yet somehow, it only clocked in at #10 on Billboard’s year-end
chart. It should have been #2 at the lowest. Clearly Billboard needs to fix
their formula. Let’s also note that “Closer” had 2016’s most memorable lyrics-
almost too many different standout lines to count. The key? Specificity. Give
people something that stands out (and it helps if it tugs at the heartstrings a
little) and you too can top the charts for 3 months straight and then get
screwed at the end of the year! OK, let’s move on.
Last Bieber appearance of 2016, I promise. Also, second year
in a row that DJ Snake hits the top 5. He contributed to last year’s #1 “Lean
On,” and he carries a similar sound to great success here. This is one of those
songs that stands up incredibly well to repeated listening. It may never be my
first choice but it’s never far from the top either. That’s a true
accomplishment, and it’s part of what makes this the perfect #4. Nothing wrong
with it, but just underneath the true heavyweight of 2016. Also, love the
video-game angle of the music video- it’s the only way that level of violence
and crime is acceptable to glorify.
As I said back in my “Into You” writeup, I absolutely didn’t
see this song coming. There’s no valid explanation for why I loved it so much.
But from the first time I heard it, I was absolutely hooked. Something about
the heavy bass coming in at the end of the first chorus just got me so amped
every time I hear it. The reggae beat was perhaps 2016’s hottest. I always
ended the song at a much higher volume than I started it. Always. It’s pure
pop/hip-hop/dancehall perfection. But in a year as strong as 2016, it only
comes in third.
It’s a little bit cheap that I’m allowed to include this
song, because it came out in September 2015. But close readers will remember
that I included it in my Personal Favorites column at the end of last year and
pegged it for success in 2016. Well, score a point for me on that prediction.
It qualified for this year’s chart and I was very close to putting it at #1
because there may not have been a song this year that I loved more intensely
than this one. Ultimately, though, when I considered all the angles it came up
just short.
Others may disagree, but to me 2016 was The Year of Seeb
more so than anything else. They took a quiet acoustic Mike Posner song and not
only turned it into the best song of the year, but also resurrected Posner’s career,
even as the song’s lyrics, somewhat ironically, introspectively discuss his
same career’s downfall. Seeb also had several other standout remixes and
originals in 2016 that helped define the year musically, but none rose above
quite like this one. I know I’m thankful for Seeb’s breakthrough this year, and
I hope Mike Posner is too. Something tells me he might be a little more
conflicted than I am given his ambivalence about his own success.
Well there you have it, people. A bounce-back year for pop music,
and a countdown that hopefully has you feeling some optimism for 2017. Let’s
hope we see a continued resurgence in the new year, and in the meantime, I’ll
be back shortly with my Personal Favorites of 2016 blog, so stay tuned for
that. Happy New Year! As always, here’s the United State of Pop 2016 video to
tide you over. It went heavy on the Calvin Harris and Rihanna this year...
Spotify Playlist:
