Intro | 100-91 | 90-81 | 80-71 | 70-61 | 60-51 | 50-41 | 40-31 | 30-21 | 20-11 | 10-1
30. Feel It Still - Portugal. The Man
Peak: 4 (November 4-11); Weeks on chart: 26; December 30 position: 17
My first encounter with Portugal. The Man was when I was doing my first trivia hosting gig, way back at the Tilted Kilt in Hendersonville. I was begging people for good music suggestions to play between questions (or rather having my own music tastes taken to the woodshed), and someone recommended a song by this group I'd never heard before. I added it to my trivia playlist, but it wasn't anything special. Flash forward to this year: I'm adding stats from a Hot 100 chart and I see the name Portugal. The Man. Mind you, I didn't even know if this was a band that still existed so I was pleasantly surprised to see them start to climb the charts with "Feel It Still." The song itself is a certified jam that deserved to be in the top five.
29. Bank Account - 21 Savage
Peak: 12 (August 26-September 23); Weeks on chart: 23; December 30 position: 28
Some kid with more ink on his skin than actual skin mumbled his way over a mildly decent beat, and it ended up as one of the biggest songs of the year. "Bank Account" proves to the world that 21 Savage passed the first week of kindergarten and can indeed count to eight. Anyone who helped raise this young star should be so proud of him. Is my critique of this song too harsh? Maybe. Then again, maybe 21 Savage could make better music.
28. 24K Magic - Bruno Mars*
Peak: 4 (three weeks in 2016, January 7); Weeks on chart: 41; December 30 position: NR
Speaking of better music, try not to stare into Bruno Mars's eyes in the above picture or I guarantee you you'll fall in love in five seconds flat. Then again, if you're one of the three people in the world who aren't already in love with Bruno, maybe his beautiful brown peepers won't affect you. Anyway, where was I? I got distracted. Oh, yes, the title track from Bruno's double platinum 2016 album. "24K Magic" follows in the vein of "Uptown Funk," 2015's biggest song, in that Mars mixes his sultry singing voice with a quasi-rap chorus and epic use of instrumentals. I hold by what I said when discussing this track last year, Bruno Mars can do no wrong.
27. Slow Hands - Niall Horan*
Peak: 11 (September 30-October 7); Weeks on chart: 31; December 30 position: NR
Hello again, Niall. My favorite member of One Direction (did I mention that during my write-up on "This Town?") had his biggest hit of the year with his second solo single. "Slow Hands" was the song Niall performed frequently while doing press for his new album Flicker, and it was obvious that America loved it. I did too, as the asterisk next to this song's header may suggest. Horan's authentic sound proves just how musically talented he was even before he was a member of this generation's biggest boy band.
26. I Don't Wanna Live Forever (Fifty Shades Darker) - Zayn feat. Taylor Swift*
Peak: 2 (March 4); Weeks on chart: 23; December 30 position: NR
Last but not least in the saga of One Direction's Five Directions comes the band's former member, Zayn Malik. You may remember his highly publicized split from the band in 2015, or his lesser-publicized divorce with his last name and accompanying number one debut with Pillowtalk last year. Zayn teamed up with the biggest pop star in the world to record a promotional single for the most recent Fifty Shades film, and the collaboration didn't disappoint. An incredibly sultry video pushed this song into the top two and foreshadowed Taylor's dark, fantastic new sound.
25. Issues - Julia Michaels
Peak: 11 (June 10-17); Weeks on chart: 29; December 30 position: NR
Julia Michaels has an extensive pop songwriting resume; among her biggest hits are Bieber's "Sorry," Hailee Steinfeld's "Love Myself," and the Nick Jonas/Tove Lo collab "Close." One listen to Julia's first effort as a recording artist in her own right may prove why she's had so much more success as a writer than she has as a singer. "Issues" is a fine song, no doubt, but Michaels' voice distracts from the otherwise-good lyrics. At just 24, Julia Michaels is already one of the biggest behind-the-scenes names; perhaps a few more vocal lessons and before long she'll be an equally-respected pop star.
24. Sorry Not Sorry - Demi Lovato*
Peak: 6 (November 11); Weeks on chart: 23; December 30 position: 18
Speaking of singers improving with time (I am KILLING IT with the segues today!), I've not hidden my past disdain for Demi Lovato's voice (and appearance, sorry about that Demi). But over the past couple of years she's grown on me and I've become a big fan. Her latest single is the self-assertive "Sorry Not Sorry," which would be my life motto if I didn't have a psychological need to please literally everyone. The former Disney starlet shows off an incredible vocal range and some not-so-Disney-appropriate lyrics in one of the best pop songs of the year.
23. Wild Thoughts - DJ Khaled feat. Rihanna & Bryson Tiller
Peak: 2 (July 29-September 9); Weeks on chart: 21; December 30 position: NR
Demi is about to embark on a world tour with the man responsible for this next hit. DJ Khaled did a fine job of ripping off Santana's "Maria Maria" with one of the longest-running number two songs of the year. Island queen Rihanna sings the vocal in "Wild Thoughts" while Bryson Tiller (he had a couple of mid-level hits last year, remember?) spits a verse. Through it all the most happy man in music shouts gleeful slogans about how great life is and selected lines from the song. This is not my favorite Khaled song of the year; more on that in a minute.
22. Location - Khalid
Peak: 16 (May 13); Weeks on chart: 43; December 30 position: NR
CU:BS Best New Artist Khalid is responsible for the only song in the top half of this year's list to peak outside of the top 15. "Location" was definitely not a conventional pop track by any means, but the slow soulful song demonstrated Khalid's incredible vocal talent and spent quite a lot of time in the Hot 100 in 2017. I've determined Khalid to be the Best New Artist of the year; there are other new artists whose music performed a lot better as far as the Hot 100 is concerned, but Khalid's sound is so fresh and unique I'd have trouble bestowing the honor upon anyone else.
21. I'm The One - DJ Khaled feat. Justin Bieber, Quavo, Chance The Rapper & Lil Wayne*
Peak: 1 (May 20); Weeks on chart: 22; December 30 position: NR
Here's anotha one from the great DJ Khaled. "I'm The One" is a mega-collaboration that gave a producer known for mega-collaborations ("All I Do Is Win" is more than the chorus, in case you forgot) his first Billboard chart-topper. In my opinion, this was one of the most fun songs to come out this year. People will try to talk badly about DJ Khaled slapping his name - and randomly shouting out things like "We da best music" - on the track, but I personally think it's great that he's still so excited about producing music. Fun fact: Khaled's son Asahd is listed as an executive producer on the song; as such at the age of 209 days he became the youngest ever producer of a number one song in America.
I will crown CU:BS Artist of the Year tomorrow. Come back and find out who it is!
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