Intro | 100-91 | 90-81 | 80-71 | 70-61 | 60-51 | 50-41 | 40-31 | 30-21 | 20-11 | 10-1
60. Perfect - Ed Sheeran feat. Beyonce
Peak: 1 (December 23-30); Weeks on chart: 16; December 30 position: 1
I was excited when I read Billboard's write-up on the December 16 Hot 100's top 10 songs. It listed "Perfect" - the "Thinking Out Loud" of Ed Sheeran's 2017 album Divide - as the number three song of the week. More importantly, it discussed the two songs ahead of it both losing momentum, which suggested Ed might get his second Hot 100 number one as the year wound to a close. Surely enough, with the help of a second release featuring Beyonce, "Perfect" has been the top song in the country for two straight weeks. Incidentally, "Perfect" gave Beyonce her first Billboard number one song since "Single Ladies" nine years ago.
59. Castle On The Hill - Ed Sheeran*
Peak: 6 (January 28); Weeks on chart: 33; December 30 position: NR
Although it debuted inside the top 10 and spent more than half the year in the Hot 100, the second single released from Divide ranks surprisingly low on this list. "Castle On The Hill" is a solid nostalgia-invoking track, but is likely Ed Sheeran's least-poppy single. My guess is it spent all but its debut week on the chart ranked lower than number 20 for that reason, but lasted so long in the mid-range because of Ed Sheeran's recognizability (is that a word? If not, I'm making it one). If you haven't heard him perform this song acoustically, I highly recommend it.
58. Can't Stop the Feeling! - Justin Timberlake
Peak: 1 (one week in 2016); Weeks on chart: 52; December 30 position: NR
King of Pop Justin Timberlake earned an Oscar nomination for his hit from the DreamWorks movie Trolls, but lost out to La La Land (a common theme of this year's Oscar night, but La La got its due karma when...well, if you're on the internet now, you know what happened). Timberlake started his 2017 attending awards shows for which his first number one song in almost a decade was nominated, and ended it filming the new Woody Allen drama Wonder Wheel. It'll be weird to see Justin starring in a drama, especially in one which also includes comedy legend Jim Belushi.
57. Look What You Made Me Do - Taylor Swift*
Peak: 1 (September 16-30); Weeks on chart: 17; December 30 position: 70
In the sequel to "Blank Space," Taylor Swift no longer gives a you-know-what about her perception within the media. In an expertly-produced music video, "Look What You Made Me Do" lets Taylor take a self-deprecating look at all of her overemphasized minor flaws and announces "the old Taylor can't come to the phone right now...'cause she's dead!" The first Swift single in almost two years immediately set the tone for a new, bold era for the most recognizable pop star in the world. "LWYMMD" was so successful, it reached number 77 on the September 9 chart despite only being eligible for the Hot 100 for around an hour.
56. T-Shirt - Migos
Peak: 19 (February 18); Weeks on chart: 25; December 30 position: NR
Superstar trio Migos just grazed the top 20 with their first single released in 2017. "T-Shirt" is probably my least favorite song on this list by the group; I don't have a good reason for hating it, but I do remember not liking how easily the autotune-heavy hook got stuck in my brain when I updated the #Hot100of2017 when each week's top 100 songs were released. Thankfully, Migos didn't allow "T-Shirt" to be their best single released this year.
55. Havana - Camila Cabello feat. Young Thug
Peak: 2 (November 18-December 16); Weeks on chart: 18; December 30 position: 3
The least likable member of the least likable girl band of the decade, Camila Cabello struck out on her own and released this annoyingly earwormy track that has been in the top five for the last two months. "Havana" is almost enjoyable, until you stop paying attention to the beat and realize whose screeching vocals are bringing the track down. Camila proceeds to welcome a verse from the mumbliest of mumble rappers as Young Thug attempts to recite words. Of course, I could see this song having potential as a guilty pleasure for people who don't actually hate all things Fifth Harmony as much as they claim. But that's highly doubtful.
54. Black Beatles - Rae Sremmurd feat. Gucci Mane
Peak: 1 (six weeks in 2016; January 14); Weeks on chart: 27; December 30 position: NR
Mannequin Mania lasted through the beginning of the year, as the challenge allowed "Black Beatles" to remain in the Hot 100 for an additional 13 weeks. Rae Sremmurd eventually rocked their John Lennon lenses to the tune of a quadruple platinum certification while this real crowd-pleaser of a song continued to gain downloads and airplay throughout the winter. As I mentioned Saturday, be on the lookout for the duo's new album in 2018.
53. Praying - Kesha
Peak: 22 (September 2); Weeks on chart: 21; December 30 position: NR
KESHA IS BACK. My spirit animal and an overall inspiration to the world released a long-anticipated album after getting out of her Dr. Luke legal mess (which, I should emphasize, is ENTIRELY his fault). The lead single from Rainbow is a highly emotional ballad that I can barely listen to without crying. Kesha put her entire soul into the song, and it completely paid off. "Praying" only recently fell off the Hot 100. If you're looking for a more upbeat, but still empowering, song from the new Kesha project, I highly recommend giving "Woman" a listen.
52. Don't Wanna Know - Maroon 5 feat. Kendrick Lamar
Peak: 6 (February 18); Weeks on chart: 27; December 30 position: NR
Since my almost-scathing write-up of Maroon 5's new sound, I was stuck in a car with my brother, who has a crush on Adam Levine and insisted I listen to Red Pill Blues. While it's definitely more of a pop album than a rock album, I did enjoy the new album, so credit where credit is due. The catchy lead single features one of my favorite current rappers (in case you haven't caught the trend in my Kendrick Lamar write-ups). "Don't Wanna Know" was a top 10 hit as the calendar turned and remained so throughout the first two months of 2017.
51. Mercy - Shawn Mendes
Peak: 15 (March 25); Weeks on chart: 32; December 30 position: NR
My eardrums continually beg for mercy from the gratingly bad sounds coming out of Shawn Mendes' mouth. I still have nine lines left to write about this hack before I'm done with the countdown, and I'm starting to run out of ways to say how much he sucks at music. The most notable thing about "Mercy" is that it marks the halfway point of this year's top 100 list. And now I only need four or five more lines to express how distasteful this boy's sound is. See you again on Saturday, Shawn.
In the meantime, we reach perhaps the least exciting segment of the list tomorrow. Get excited!
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