Intro | 100-91 | 90-81 | 80-71 | 70-61 | 60-51 | 50-41 | 40-31 | 30-21 | 20-11 | 10-1
50. Same Old Love - Selena Gomez
Peak: 5 (January 30); Weeks on chart: 28; December 31 position: NR
Selena Gomez spent most of 2016 disappearing from the public eye then reappearing, but started the year with two of the hottest songs in the United States. "Same Old Love" was Selena's second straight single to reach number five on the Hot 100; it met its peak as her third single from Revival was beginning to climb the charts. Said third single makes its #Top100of2016 appearance today as well; keep reading to see where it wound up on the list.
49. Don't Mind - Kent Jones
Peak: 8 (July 16, August 8); Weeks on chart: 20; December 31 position: NR
Hip-hop newcomer Kent Jones reached the top 10 with his debut solo single during the middle of the summer. "Don't Mind" was one of the more enjoyable rap songs of the summer for me; its melody was catchy and the lyrics, though simplistic and unoriginal, were unique to this year. In fact, the most recent "I don't care what language you speak" song I can remember on the radio was Derulo's "Talk Dirty" two years ago. In pop music, two years is an awfully long time to recycle a lyrical concept.
48. For Free - DJ Khaled feat. Drake
Peak: 13 (August 20); Weeks on chart: 20; December 31 position: NR
The king of Snapchat and creator of our generation's victory anthem had a musical resurgence in 2016. The Miami-based hip-hop producer charted four singles in the same year for the first time in his decade-long career. So far the most successful single from his first-ever gold-certified album, Major Key, is this collaboration with Drake; Khaled also reached the top 30 this year with the Jay-Z/Future-featured "I Got The Keys" and "Do You Mind," a track featuring Nicki Minaj and Chris Brown.
47. The Hills - The Weeknd
Peak: 1 (six weeks in 2015); Weeks on chart: 48; December 31 position: NR
The Weeknd's most successful 2015 single was the third-longest tenured song to appear in the Hot 100 this year, sticking around through May's first issue of Billboard. After the song had been off the chart for a few months, I remember hearing "The Hills" again and remarkably enjoying it. Check back tomorrow for even more of the crazy-haired Canadian.
46. Gold - Kiiara*
Peak: 13 (October 22); Weeks on chart: 27; December 31 position: NR
After initially not knowing how I felt about this song, there came a point when I suddenly and irreversibly fell in love with "Gold." It has remained in the heaviest of rotations in my personal soundtrack ever since, and wound up among my 50 most-played songs of the entire year. I'm excited to see how 21-year-old Kiiara's career continues.
45. Hands To Myself - Selena Gomez
Peak: 7 (February 13); Weeks on chart: 20; December 31 position: NR
Spending one week in the top 10 (Gomez was one of two artists with multiple singles in the top 10 that week as "Same Old Love" was in the eight-spot), "Hands" quickly fell off the chart. Of Selena's recent singles, I found this one least enjoyable. I never could fall in love with her whisper-singing in the verses.
44. Hotline Bling - Drake
Peak: 2 (5 weeks in 2015); Weeks on chart: 36; December 31 position: NR
"Hotline" was one of America's hottest songs at the end of 2015. It remained a top 20 hit through February and fell off the Hot 100 altogether shortly before Drake released Views. I don't hate this song; however, unlike "The Hills" I never found it exceptionally enjoyable months after its chart departure.
43. One Call Away - Charlie Puth
Peak: 12 (March 5); Weeks on chart: 26; December 31 position: NR
The man behind the chorus of last year's "See You Again" is perhaps the most underrated male vocalist in pop music. Charlie Puth never got anywhere near the Hot 100 recognition he deserved for his sophomore solo single; the song did peak higher than his first effort, a collaboration with Meghan Trainor. To date, "One Call" is the Nine Track Mind crooner's second-most successful Hot 100 appearance.
42. We Don't Talk Anymore - Charlie Puth feat. Selena Gomez
Peak: 9 (October 8); Weeks on chart: 24; December 31 position: NR
The highest-peaking Puth single of all time comes next on this list. A collaboration with the most familiar face in today's segment reached number nine to become Charlie's first top 10 hit ever, and the third top 10 single to feature Selena this year. A ballad of love lost, "We Don't Talk" was out of the Hot 100 by year's end despite only peaking in October.
41. H.O.L.Y. - Florida Georgia Line
Peak: 14 (July 16-30); Weeks on chart: 22; December 31 position: NR
Duo Florida Georgia Line continues to be the most successful country-pop group of the decade. I've yet to meet a country music fan who speaks highly of this band, but they find chart success nonetheless. "H.O.L.Y." (stands for "High On Loving You") is by far a departure from previous FGL hits such as "Cruise" and "This Is How We Roll." Still, the ballad wound up the highest-ranking country song (again, my country music friends will tell you it's not actually country music) on the #Hot100of2016.
Tomorrow, the makers of 2014's biggest joke song return to pop music as serious artists. More Ariana, Drake and The Weeknd songs show up as well!
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