Intro | 100-91 | 90-81 | 80-71 | 70-61 | 60-51 | 50-41 | 40-31 | 30-21 | 20-11 | 10-1
50. I Get The Bag - Gucci Mane feat. Migos
Peak: 11 (November 4); Weeks on chart: 17; December 30 position: 15
In discussing this current Gucci Mane hit, I hearken back back to a song I discussed yesterday. When Taylor Swift released "Look What You Made Me Do," a primary complaint from her detractors is that she "ripped off" the song "I'm Too Sexy." Not only did Swift credit the members of Right Said Fred as co-writers for her song, but rhythms are made to be duplicated. Take, for instance, what I'm calling the "trap style triplet" (one-and-a, two-and-a, three-and-a, four), which is perfectly displayed in "I get the, I get the, I get the bag." No one is accusing Gucci of ripping of Fetty Wap or Migos of stealing from Yo Gotti, so I don't see what the issue is with Taylor's song.
49. What Lovers Do - Maroon 5 feat. SZA
Peak: 9 (November 25, December 16); Weeks on chart: 16; December 30 position: 13
America's favorite rock-turned-pop band enlisted the help of one of America's newest R&B starlets for the Maroon 5 hit that's currently in the Hot 100. "What Lovers Do" is typical of this era for Maroon 5; it relies heavily on pop tracks and repetitive vocal riffs. In fact, the song is so far removed from the band's old sound it even strays toward electronic dance. A CGI-heavy music video shows just how far the once-great band has come from being authentic music-makers to pop hit mass-producing machines.
48. Tunnel Vision - Kodak Black
Peak: 6 (March 25-April 8); Weeks on chart: 20; December 30 position: NR
I decided to include the video to this song early on in the #Top100of2017 process, when a short clip played on the Hot 100 videos I watched every week. It looked like it could be an incredibly important video discussing the nuanced but polarizing topic of race relations in the Trump era. When I finally watched the video through, it turns out I was wrong. All the "Tunnel Vision" video really contains is a kid mumble-singing with his buddies in front of burning crosses about how no one thought he would make it while some guy in a MAGA hat wrestles a black man. No conclusion, no constructive point about racism, just a front to gain video views.
47. Bad Things - Machine Gun Kelly feat. Camila Cabello
Peak: 4 (February 11-18); Weeks on chart: 23; December 30 position: NR
Hello again, Camila Cabello. Her first track to reach the top five realm this year was this collab with Machine Gun Kelly, a wannabe Eminem who really loves wearing metal. Cabello screeches the hook as MGK delivers a forgettable effort on the verses. As with yesterday's Camila song, "Bad Things" could be a guilty pleasure for someone who says he doesn't like the most abrasive former member of a pop band since NSYNC broke up. But again, that's just a possibility and I highly suspect whoever could write such bad things about such an artist will never claim in his blog to like one of her songs.
46. Starboy - The Weeknd feat. Daft Punk
Peak: 1 (January 7); Weeks on chart: 30; December 30 position: NR
The era of The Weeknd ended officially at some point in 2017. Not only was Starboy not as successful as Beauty Behind The Madness, but Abel couldn't decide whether he wanted to be with icon Selena Gomez or his Victoria's Secret model ex-girlfriend Bella Hadid. I don't think his girl troubles have any bearing on the commercial success of his new music; maybe it's the fact that he relied too heavily on collaborations with the Grammy-robbing Daft Punk. Regardless, the title track off The Weeknd's third studio album started 2017 as America's number one song, then lingered in the top 40 for another three and a half months.
45. Rockabye - Clean Bandit feat. Sean Paul & AnneMarie
Peak: 9 (March 25); Weeks on chart: 27; December 30 position: NR
"Rockabye" is an interesting one for me. As with a lot of EDM-type songs, the Clean Bandit track was incredibly popular in Europe before it found its footing on this side of the Atlantic. I discovered this song on Pandora during that time and really liked it. However, by the time it had gotten popular and ubiquitous in the United States, I was so far over it I got annoyed whenever I heard it. Long after "Rockabye" fell from the charts, I started enjoying it again when I heard it for the first time in a while late this fall. It's funny how music tastes revolve.
44. Thunder - Imagine Dragons
Peak: 4 (December 2-9); Weeks on chart: 33; December 30 position: 5
Apple had "Down" by Marian Hill, and Microsoft as of late has been using this Imagine Dragons track in its ads. As Imagine Dragon songs tend to do, "Thunder" had a long, slow climb on the Hot 100; it then spent nine straight weeks in the top five. Also typical of an Imagine Dragons track, this one is a good listen but not a song I'd ever claim as my favorite of all time. An otherwise solid track gets a small dose of cheesiness in the chorus, as a clap/stomp percussion combo bangs out a BOOM-BOOM-BOOM rhythm. It's fun. Some nifty electronic loops accentuate the unique sound that has made this song a mainstay in American pop over the last couple months.
43. Fake Love - Drake
Peak: 8 (February 18); Weeks on chart: 25; December 30 position: NR
"Fake Love" is possibly one of my favorite Drake tracks ever. I don't really know what makes it so high on my list other than it's catchy without being overbearing. It also has a slightly different vibe from most of Drake's music over the past two years. The lead single from More Life was a big success in the early half of the year. The fall saw less news concerning Drake's music and more about his courtside antics at a Raptors game.
42. Too Good At Goodbyes - Sam Smith
Peak: 4 (November 25); Weeks on chart: 14; December 30 position: 7
Sam Smith has tried really hard to get me to like him. From appearing on Carpool Karaoke to coming out as gender nonbinary, he's appealing to many of my interests and sympathies. The problem is, he's not changing his whining vocals and mournful music; that's the entire reason I still refer to him as The Vastly Overrated Sam Smith. His latest effort cried its way into the top five this November and captured the hearts of many masochistic Americans. Suffice it to say, 2018 may end up being a great year, but it will still predominantly feature Sam Smith so I'm not getting my hopes up.
41. Scars To Your Beautiful - Alessia Cara
Peak: 8 (February 25); Weeks on chart: 43; December 30 position: NR
One of my favorite young musical artists, Alessia Cara released the inspirational "Scars To Your Beautiful" at the end of 2016. One of the top songs of the winter, "Scars" encourages people to love themselves regardless of what the world thinks they should look like. This was Alessia's only Hot 100 entry as a primary artist this year, but she was far from absent from the music scene. Cara provided vocals for one of the 15 biggest songs of 2017, but will be back on the list tomorrow as well.
In addition to Alessia, Rihanna's only appearance of 2017 will happen on tomorrow's segment.
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