Intro | 100-91 | 90-81 | 80-71 | 70-61 | 60-51 | 50-41 | 40-31 | 30-21 | 20-11 | 10-1
40. Low Life - Future feat. The Weeknd
Peak: 18 (May 7); Weeks on chart: 35; December 31 position: NR
Future is one of the few artists on this list about whom I can't find anything praiseworthy. The man's voice essentially reminds me of a computer who doesn't enunciate. As far as the song itself goes, "Low Life" has a haunting beat that I appreciate, but couldn't fall in love with. The Weeknd provided a solid but not exceptional vocal track to almost salvage this song from whatever it is Future does.
39. Jumpman - Drake feat. Future
Peak: 12 (one week in 2015, January 9, 23-30); Weeks on chart: 32; December 31 position: NR
Similarly, Future brings down an otherwise solid-enough Drake track in one of the year's first hits. "Jumpman" began a 2016 union of the two stars that featured a co-headlining tour this summer. There was an article I read at some point during the time the two were touring that recounts the author - himself a rap purist, so to speak - growing an appreciation for the "trap" style represented by Future. While I appreciated his willingness to accept new forms and can tolerate certain other trap artists, I still don't find Future specifically enjoyable.
38. Never Forget You - Zara Larsson feat. MNEK*
Peak: 13 (June 4-11); Weeks on chart: 23; December 31 position: NR
One of my favorite tracks of 2016 was this collaboration between 19-year-old Swedish songstress Zara Larsson and 22-year-old British producer MNEK. Complete with a music video ripped straight out of the mind of Maurice Sendak, "Never Forget You" was an earworm for me throughout the summer and into the fall. This is just the second Hot 100 single for Larsson - who's been on the scene in Europe for already nearly a decade, and MNEK's first song to chart in the United States.
37. Starboy - The Weeknd feat. Daft Punk
Peak: 2 (October 22-November 19, December 17-31); Weeks on chart: 13; December 31 position: 2
The title track from The Weekend's third studio album has spent practically the entire last quarter of 2016 in the top three and finally hit the coveted top spot on the Hot 100 for the January 7, 2017 chart. Daft Punk produced the infectious beat for the profanity-laden "Starboy," which all but ensures The Weeknd's spot in the discussion of this decade's most prosperous artists.
36. Don't - Bryson Tiller
Peak: 13 (January 30); Weeks on chart: 34; December 31 position: NR
As I mentioned earlier this week, Tiller is an artist I haven't quite grown to enjoy yet. Of the two songs by him on this list I probably like "Don't" slightly better, if only because I can presently remember how it sounds. Perhaps with time and a few more Hot 100 hits I will grow to appreciate Bryson Tiller more, but for now he is a mostly forgettable rap artist.
35. Controlla - Drake
Peak: 16 (July 30); Weeks on chart: 26; December 31 position: NR
"Controlla" is the first of three Views songs on the #Top100of2016 that were all popular during the summer and fall and all sounded exceptionally similar. This is the only of the three to not include a featured artist, perhaps the reason it finished as the lowest of the trio. I didn't mind this song because I don't mind Drake, but I didn't love it because of its similarity to his two more successful singles from the album.
34. Just Like Fire - P!nk
Peak: 10 (June 18-25); Weeks on chart: 26; December 31 position: NR
I liked the newest P!nk single for a while, but never fell in love with it. After a couple of months I found "Fire" to be overplayed and really too average of a song to be worthy of the top 10. The fact that it was used to promote a sequel to the live-action Alice In Wonderland movie that I don't think many people were that excited to see in the first place likely added to my annoyance with the song.
33. Side To Side - Ariana Grande feat. Nicki Minaj
Peak: 4 (December 3, December 17); Weeks on chart: 16; December 31 position: 5
The second-most successful single from the Dangerous Woman era is probably my least-favorite song released from the album. The collaboration between two of the most recognizable women in their respective genres spent all of December in the top five, but never caught on with me like "Focus," "Dangerous Woman" or "Into You" did. Nicki Minaj, though tolerable in this track, nonetheless brings it down for me.
32. Dangerous Woman - Ariana Grande*
Peak: 8 (June 11); Weeks on chart: 21; December 31 position: NR
I am completely and utterly obsessed with the title track from Ariana's third studio album; "Dangerous Woman" was my third most-played song of the entire year and for good reason. The sultry song is one of the more unique tracks of 2016 from a chord structure perspective. Matched with Grande's powerful vocals (she still can't enunciate, but whatever), the song kind of makes me want #Clariana to be a thing again.
31. Roses - The Chainsmokers feat. Rozes
Peak: 6 (February 13); Weeks on chart: 31; December 31 position: NR
Remember the viral trend that was "let me take a selfie?" Well, those guys were back in 2016, in an absolutely yuuuge way (yuuuge, by the way, is my pick for word of the year). The Chainsmokers started off this year with this track, by no means the greatest song ever recorded, but certainly with far more musicality than the band's previous hit. It was a sign of things to come for the DJ duo, who you'll be seeing much more from in the coming days.
Tomorrow, I'll reveal the highest-ranking #Top100of2016 song to peak outside the top 10 (Spoiler alert: it's from a guy you've seen a lot of already).
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