Intro | 100-91 | 90-81 | 80-71 | 70-61 | 60-51 | 50-41 | 40-31 | 30-21 | 20-11 | 10-1
90. Slide - Calvin Harris feat. Frank Ocean & Migos
Peak: 25 (June 3); Weeks on chart: 20; December 30 position: NR
Calvin Harris went into 2017 marred by the "This Is What You Came For" fiasco, which is perhaps why neither of his 2017 singles performed as well as the 2016 smash hit. The better of the two is "Slide," a collaboration with underrated R&B crooner Frank Ocean and hot newcomers Migos. This song spent a significant chunk of the summer in the charts, finally falling out of the Hot 100 at the end of July.
89. Starving - Hailee Steinfeld feat. Grey & Zedd*
Peak: 12 (one week in 2016); Weeks on chart: 29; December 30 position: NR
The 55th-ranked song last year, this collaboration between Pitch Perfect alum Hailee Steinfeld and superstar DJ Zedd was one of the winter's hottest songs. The rest of 2017 was quiet for Hailee from a music perspective, perhaps because she was busy filming the conclusion to the Pitch Perfect trilogy (that shouldn't be a trilogy in the first place, but money is a fascinating creature. Anyway, that's a different story altogether; back to music). I listened to this jam enough to crack my personal year-end most-played playlist on Spotify, although I think I tired of it some by the middle of the year.
88. Juju On That Beat (TZ Anthem) - Zay Hilfigerrr & Zayion McCall
Peak: 5 (one week in 2016, January 7); Weeks on chart: 21; December 30 position: NR
Zay & Zayion were responsible for the biggest dance craze of the winter months. "Juju's" two-week top five tenure endured into the start of 2017; like "Starving," its staying power was enough to earn the song a low spot on the #Top100of2017 but not much better. The fun dance inspired and named after this song even found its way into the Boston Red Sox outfield this baseball season. The most tight-knit unit in sports incorporated the Juju into their victory celebration every time the Sox won a game, which was often (at least in the regular season).
87. Motorsport - Migos feat. Nicki Minaj & Cardi B
Peak: 6 (December 30); Weeks on chart: 7; December 30 position: 6
Yesterday, I introduced you to the dynamic trio Migos. Their latest hit just skyrocketed into the top 10 after a previous high chart position of 15. The trio added the two hottest female rappers to "Motorsport," and so far the inclusion of Nicki Minaj and Cardi B has paid off for Quavo, Offset and Takeoff. I sometimes predict what songs will be higher on the next year's list, and I don't think it's a far fetch to believe the latest Migos single will be one of those songs. The best is yet to come for this super-collab.
86. Broccoli - D.R.A.M. feat. Lil Yachty
Peak: 5 (three weeks in 2016); Weeks on chart: 37; December 30 position: NR
Yet another song with holdover success from 2016 was this catchy tune from a rapper whose name even says he Does Real Ass Music. You may have recently seen D.R.A.M. in claymation form in a Sprite ad with Lebron James, but if you don't watch sports channels you definitely haven't heard from him since the start of 2017. DRAM's collaborator on "Broccoli," Lil Yachty, was relatively quiet as well. Yachty does have one other feature credit on the #Top100of2017, but I literally had to look it up just now to make sure. By the way, in case you missed it somehow "Broccoli" is just a euphemism for marijuana.
85. Down - Marian Hill*
Peak: 21 (March 18); Weeks on chart: 17; December 30 position: NR
If you don't recognize D.R.A.M. from his recent Sprite commercial, I know you recognize this ditty as "that song from the Apple ads" at the start of the year. It took a while for America to latch on to the minimalist electropop track by the duo whose name is derived from the Meredith Wilson musical The Music Man. If you know my music tastes, it should come to no surprise that "Down" ended up as one of my most-played songs of the year. It is therefore to my great delight that I get to write about one of my favorite songs of the year.
84. I Fall Apart - Post Malone
Peak: 19 (December 16, December 30); Weeks on chart: 12; December 30 position: 19
2017 was a big year for Syracuse-based rapper Post Malone. He scored his first Billboard number one (more on that later); while his biggest hit yet was still atop the Hot 100, this single began its chart ascent. "I Fall Apart" has not yet had the success of most of Post's other charting singles; of his four top-50 singles to date, it is the lowest-peaking. I could foresee this song either climbing higher than 19 and sticking around for a while in 2018, or quickly fizzling out. Either way, "I Fall" will definitely not be the last we hear of Post Malone.
83. ...Ready For It? - Taylor Swift*
Peak: 4 (September 23); Weeks on chart: 15; December 30 position: 37
The opening track off Taylor Swift's best-selling sixth studio album Reputation was being used in ABC and ESPN promotions before it even came out. As such "...Ready For It?" was one of the highest-debuting Hot 100 singles of the year. This song is the opening chapter of a 15-track story that introduces Taylor's revamped sound and public personality. It works so well as an opening song, I immediately began starting my Live Trivia playlists by using it. We'll talk more about Swift in a couple of days, but like Post Malone she won't be going away for a long time.
82. New Rules - Dua Lipa
Peak: 14 (December 30); Weeks on chart: 20; December 30 position: 14
Unlike several of my friends, I've had a hard time getting into Dua Lipa's music. I enjoy the backing tracks, but I'm not the biggest fan of her voice. I think part of my hesitation is that the first time I heard her music was as a paid promotion; that fundamentally turns me off from artists usually. I do like the message of this song, Lipa's first Hot 100 entry. She did a fantastic job in her eponymous debut album of creating breakup songs with inspirational, self-confident messages. That's not necessarily a unique or original concept, but it's important.
81. Swang - Rae Sreummurd
Peak: 26 (May 13); Weeks on chart: 26; December 30 position: NR
Hip hop duo Rae Sremmurd followed their first Hot 100 hit with their best-performing 2017 single, "Swang." The chorus of the song is just the line "Know some young n*****s like to swang" repeated over and over again, which is about all you need to know. "Swang" was an underwhelming follow-up to "Black Beatles" with a fittingly underwhelming Hot 100 run. The duo's new studio album SremmLife 3 will be coming out next month, which means 2018 will likely be the fourth straight year with Rae Sremmurd on my #Top100 list. Hopefully the songs I include next year will be a massive improvement.
Tomorrow, the rock star of One Direction makes his debut solo appearance on CU:BS.
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