Year-end post #2 My top 40 songs of 2021
Hello everyone and welcome to my top 40 songs of the year post. This is the first time I’m doing this and I’m so excited to be sharing my personal favorite picks of the year with y’all, and I hope y’all are excited to see them, as they’re all songs that other bloggers have had to review earlier in the year before I got here, so I’m guessing y’all wanna see my opinions on a lot of these. I’ll remind y’all again how my criteria works here, because it’s a bit wacky.
1 Songs from last years chart can’t be on this years chart.
2 If there is anything You have seen on my blog(and there are a few) it has to be either been highlighted in blue, green or purple.
3 If there’s any song that was released last year on here, it had to have been charting between October 2020-October 2021. The last week to be able to chart was if it debuted Hitbound or became a breakout on AT40 on after September,30th 2021 will be considered for next years list.
4 If there is any unreleased songs on here that didn’t chart anywhere(including Hits 1) that’s because I found them on my own and liked them enough personally.
5 I’ll include some Hitbound dropouts that I liked, because some of them I did really love and personally I streamed them a lot. Most of them that are here made AT40, although there’s only 2 that did not.
6 Any hits 1 to watch from October 2020-October 2021 is eligible to chart.
Another quick thing. Some of this is based on how much I stream these songs and some of it is based on how much I liked these. I used a chart where if I get a specific song stuck in My head for a week or would become my #1 song of the week. The music industry this year went downhill by a lot so there was only 14 songs that had at least a week at #1, of course I can’t get all of these stuck in my head at once, but for the ones that really did I kept track of them. Some of them are also based on longevity on the charts. For these reasons some of the dropouts might look like they’re skewed for my personal rankings on my Hitbound dropouts ranking for the 2021 rankdown, so to make this less confusing I’m gonna break down my opinions of all of these songs here before we get started. I also do this cuz I don’t want to have a chart with all 10/10 songs, I’d like my options to be somewhat different.
Rankings
#40-35 Good
#34-24 great
#23-15 undeniably awesome
For the songs that has a week or 2 at #1
#14-12 Good
#11-6 great
#5-1 undeniably awesome
Before we get into anything here’s a list of songs I liked that missed the cutoff date by debuting Hitbound, or being released after my cutoff date, these songs are the ones that will most likely carry over into 2021 and will probably be on my list next year.
Adele-Easy on Me
Adele-Oh My God
Avril Lavigne-Bite Me
Benson Boone-Ghost town
Chloe-Have Mercy
Ed Sheeran-Overpass Graffiti
GAYLE-abcdefu
Juice wrld-Already dead
Juice wrld/Justin Beiber-Wandered to L.A
Monsta X-One day
Monsta X-You problem
NEIKED/Mae Muller /Polo G-Better days
Pitbul/Anthony Watts/DJ White Shadow-I feel good
Post Malone/The Weeknd-One right now
Sadie Jean-WYD now?
Sean Paul/Sia-Dynamite
Shawn Mendes-It’ll be Okay
Swedish house Madia/The weeknd-Moth to a flame
Tate McRae-Feel like shit
Tiesto/Ava Max-The Motto
Alright with all of that out of the way let’s get into some honorable mentions.
BTS-Butter: overplayed and way too overrated to make the list. Solid song though.
BTS-Permission to dance: this was a really good jam but it was never big.
Coldplay/BTS-My universe: this one didn’t miss the cutoff date but it was only a week off so I’ll Count it as an honorable mention and it’ll probably be on next years list
Conan Gray-People watching: this was a good one, but something about it just didn’t say top 40 to Me.
Doja Cat/SZA-Kiss Me more: This is a great song but it got overplayed to death.
Doja Cat/The weekend-You right: This one came very close to but again it got too boring to fast.
Ed Sheeran-Bad habits: Copy and paste the last 2 things I just said and put em here.
Ed Sheeran-Visiting hours: This was a nice little song but it got overtaken by Shivers.
Jonas Brothers-Who’s in your head: Same thing that happened with My universe it took a while to get used to it so it missed the cutoff date.
Justin Beiber-Anyone: This was really good, but it kinda did underperform and didn’t stick with Me.
Justin Beiber-Ghost: I didn’t really like this one at first and by the time I did it was just too late in the year to consider it for this years list.
Justin Beiber/Daniel Ceaser/Giveon-Peavhes: I liked this but it was the most overplayed song I have ever heard all year.
Lil Nas X-Montero(call Me by your name): This one was great but I liked some of his other songs better.
Lil Nas X-That’s what I want: Cut it too close to the deadline
Machine Gun Kelly/Blackbear-My ex’s best friend: This was a great little jam, but after it left hits 1 I kinda didn’t hear it for a while and forgot it existed so it had to regrow on Me
Maneskin-Beggin: This had to grow on Me a bit to.
Saweetiw/Doja Cat-Best friend: This was so good, but it just didn’t make it unfortunately.
The Kid Laroi/Juice wrld-Reminds Me of You: This was a really good unreleased song, but it just wasn’t as good as the unreleased stuff I did put on here.
The Weeknd-Save Your tears: The remix really fucked with My decision to cut it off the list cuz I just couldn’t decide which version was better they were both so good.
Tiesto/Karol G-Don’t be shy: Great song, but it just wasn’t bound to be huge.
Yungblud/Machine gun Kelly-Acting like that: I loved this one when it was on Hitbound, but again it wasn’t supposed to be big so I had to cut it off.
Alright with all that info out the way let’s get into the list.
40 Jax-90s Kids
Alright so we’re kicking it off with a previous Hits 1 to watch from this year, and this is the first of 3 one to watch songs on the list. This is really great and I really wish this was a bigger hit elsewhere because it ended up sticking around for quite a while after being the one to watch. If you don’t know Jax she was a contestant who ended up placing 3rd place on Americans got talent back in 2015. She then started writing music after, but she was diagnosed with cancer in between. She’s since beat it though and is back recording music and this was one of the first songs from her that we got a taste of after it blew up on TikTok earlier this year. Jax sounds pretty good here, and the production sounds very well produced and fun. I also love the lyrics here with all of the 90s references, even though I wasn’t born in the 90s myself the lyrics just make me imagine how life was like for kids in the 90s. The thing I especially love though(and probably everyone else loves this to) is the,” You’re killing Me smalls.” Part it just makes me remember how much I love the movie The Sandlot and personally I love the meme that people made out of it. Overall the song is great, although it was a bit overplayed, it’s still one of my favorites to hear on Hits 1 though.
One of my favorite breakout artists this year was Tate McRae, in fact she was my most streamed artist of the year. This next song is her first on the chart and this one was a Hitbound dropout that I really would’ve loved to review for my Instagram actually but never got to unfortunately because another actually better song of hers ended up taking over on Hits 1.
39 Blackbear/Tate McRae-U love U
Although this never charted anywhere or made it to the countdown for that matter, it’s still a really great song and it’s one of my favorite dropouts of the year. I do still stream this one in fact. I started streaming it a lot once @ My worst debuted Hitbound back in August, but this one grew on Me way more than that one did. First off Blackbear sounds really good here, and he did a great job writing the lyrics, they’re all catchy and they just tell a great story of someone being heartbroken, and it really did make me feel like I had just been through a heartbreak when I listened to it fir the first time, even though I hadn’t. Tate sounds amazing here to, her verse is really good and her and Blackbear have some really good sounding chemistry in that second chorus. The production is nice to, it’s the type of heat I’d expect to hear in any of Blackbears songs and it’s very well produced and has a nice buildup to the chorus from the first verse. Overall great song wish it had been a bigger hit.
Alright next we have the king of TikTok partnering with the lead singer of one of my favorite bands.
38 Jason Derulo/Adam Levine-Lifestyle
It would’ve been nice to see this one do a bit better than it did on radio, but that’s alright cuz this almost made it into the top 20 on AT40. This one being one of the smaller hits of the year was actually good to. The production is really great here, and it just mixes together very nicely with both Jason and Adams vocals. The style of production that’s used here is very unique for both of them to, and it just proves that these two sound pretty much good over any type of production. The vocals from both Jason and Adam are really great especially Adams he sounds very great in his verse. Jason still sounds great though to. They also have some really great chemistry in the chorus and they sound amazing when their vocals are blended together. Overall pretty good song and also one that I kinda liked to stream.
This next one might not sit well with everyone here, but I certainly liked it and this is another one to watch song.
37 Lil Huddy-The eulogy of You and Me
Alright so a lot people might realize after reading my blog the past few months(or my Instagram reviews) that I like a lot of alternative and rock music. This was sparked when mostly when I was a kid cuz that’s mostly what my parents would listen to, so I just kinda came to embrace it and like it, and then later in my life I really got into classic rock as well as pop, so this song being one of the first of a more alternative/pop-punk genre I’ve heard this year on hits 1(Besides 2 other songs, 1 of which will Come way later on this list) this one kinda made me realize though how fun the genre is though and it really made me look deeper into it. The vibe of this sounds really good, and it’s a bit more mellow and Chill than some of the other alternative songs later on this list. Lil Huddy sounds very good here vocally, and the lyrics are just really creative and a bit catchy ro. Overall this was one of my favorite one to watch songs.
Of course a top 40 chart wouldn’t be complete without some Dua Lipa, I’m a huge fan of hers(of course who isn’t nowadays) and this is the first of 3 songs from her on the chart.
36 Dua Lipa-We’re good
This ones a good one from Dua. It’s not as half as good as Break My heart, Levitating or don’t start now are, but I did find it slightly more enjoyable than Love again, which is the main reason why it’s here. It’s also nice to know that this hit #1 on Hits 1 for 2 weeks. Dua sounds really good here as she always does, and I kinda like the changed up style of production here. It sounds good and Dua still doesn’t sound bad with it. The lyrics in this one are very catchy also, but I especially love the first verse the lyrics there In particular had Me going anytime I heard this. Overall it’s a good little tune and I’m glad Hits 1 made it a thing.
Alright more alternative music is coming next and special shout-out going to one of my friends for showing Me this one.
35 Nesa Barrett/Jxdn-La di die
Alright first off shout out to my high school friend Meera who tells Me she loves reading the blog every week and she tells Me she’s loves seeing opinions on all the songs here and she just thinks it’s interesting and nice how I color coat everything and lay out all of My opinions. She’s the one who showed Me this one and it was actually while I was on an Instagram Live stream with her. She told Me I had to hear this and how awesome it was and then she played it for Me and I thought it was really good so I started streaming it, and what do you know not long after it showed up on Hitbound. Nesa sounds really good here, she’s one of those artists who has a high pitched voice that I can actually stand(other than Tate McRae) and I think she does very good here vocally. Then we get to Jxdns verse(and if you don’t know already they’re dating) Jxdn does a really great job here vocally and his verse is my favorite part of the song. He actually reminds me of Juice wrld in a way(and I’ll get to that much more in one of his other songs later) they also have some pretty good chemistry here to. The production here is awesome to. The beat transition in Jxdns verse is perfect and the rest of the song sounds really good with the rock vibe. Lyrically it’s very catchy to and just sounds interesting to me with the melodies and lyrics. Overall not bad.
I’ve really liked Justin Beibers music over the last year or so, and I really wanted this next one to end up on last years list but unfortunately it debuted too late, but it carried over into this year.
34 Justin Beiber/Benny Blanco-Lonely
When I saw the name Benny Blanco on this I was thinking it’d be a huge EDM smasher or a trap song, but with the title of the song it didn’t surprise Me that this was a ballad. I was just a bit surprised that Benny and Even Finneas co-produced this. The instrumental here isn’t really anything special, but it’s existent to a point I think at least where I didn’t find it boring to listen to(unlike some other ballads like my worst song of 2021) Vocally Justin does a really good job here, although he is a bit scratchy when he says,” I’m so Loooonely, and I think even his voice may have cracked a bit, but for how much emotion he put into this vocally I just have to give him some credit for this as he really does bring the emotion here. Although he doesn’t sound as good as he did in songs like Stay or Wandered to L.A, it’s still better than what he sounded like on Peaches or Holy. Lyrically this really great writing to, this one kinda connected with Me personally because when I listened to it I thought back the days of when I had no friends and when I was pretty much a nobody so now when I listen to this and think oh wait I’m actually kinda popular now and I have a lot of friends and how everyone likes Me. It just makes Me Happy to think how I’ve met lots of people over the years and how happy and blessed I am to have them in my life, and it makes Me happy to know personally that I’m not lonely myself, so overall really great writing that at least I myself could relate to, and good song.
This chart wouldn’t be complete without at least 1 song from Lil Nas X.
33 Lil Nas X/Jack Harlow-Industry baby
Alright so this one was a bit weird at first. I ended up really liking it at first, then Hits 1 overplayed it and it kinda faded on Me, then right after I started this blog(I believe) I started realizing how great it really was and I started liking it a lot. First let’s talk Lil Nas X, he sounds awesome here and he’s got some really great flow in his verse. Then we have jack Harlow and he’s what I would call uhhhhhhhhhhhhh I won’t say the best rapper on the planet, but it’s pretty close to being him at least. His verse is nice, long and awesome. He’s got some really amazing flow, but not as good as Masked Wolfs or Eminem’s. He still does a great job though. All these lyrics are really catchy throughout the whole song, and production-wise it’s really good and upbeat, it also has some great bass for when I listen to do with my AirPods, so honestly this is a really great song and It very much deserved it’s spot on this list.
More alternative music (yay) and this time it’s by2 artists who I’ve really Come to like for their style of music.
32 Machine gun Kelly/Halsey-Forget Me to
Here’s yet another Pop-Punk/alt song that Hits 1 go this year(and they still play it a considerable amount also) This is just so awesome in so many ways. First off the production is awesome. I love the beginning where Kelly is just singing and then it suddenly turns into this awesome Rock vibe that sounds really good. Both Kelly and Halsey sound amazing here, and they blend together perfectly not only with the vibe, but also with their vocals. Lyrically this is very catchy and it fits in perfectly with the rock genre. Pretty good overall.
Next we have more Dua Lipa and this ones a very interesting team up.
31 Elton John/Dua Lipa/PNAU-Cold heart
This ones getting a hit overplayed right now by Hits 1, but that doesn’t mean it’s not good though. Lyrically I like what Elton John did here, which is take lyrics from his older songs and combine them, and he did a great job fitting them all in here. Him and Dua both do great jobs on vocals here, but I would’ve had Dua sing a different portion of the song other than the chorus cuz it’s kinda weird not hearing Elton being the to song Rocket Man honestly(as it’s one of his best songs) Dua sounds really amazing though here still. The production from PNAU is really good here to and I like it. Dua fits in nicely and even Elton John doesn’t sound bad here with it. Overall nice job done on this collab.
This next one wasn’t really a big hit, but it was on Hits 1 for a few weeks and I really did enjoy it while it was there. It gave me the perfect amount of summer vibes.
30 Nic D-Fine Apple
This one was kinda Vibey while it was on Hits and it’s up this high cuz I streamed it a lot when it was there. The writing in this is good, but I kinda find it a bit weird he wrote it about his wife cuz honestly If I were to write a song like this I’d probably write it about an Ex or maybe a dead relative cuz honestly that’s what I kinda thought it was about at first with the lyrics,” I’d like to try My hand at time travel so You could walk by me again,” but nope it was about the dudes wife. That being said I do still like what he went for lyrically here, and I think it’s kinda catchy. He doesn’t sound bad though either which really enhances how this sounds, he’s quite a good rapper in the first verse and he just sounds good in the rest of the song. The production is really nice to I like the trap beat, but the guitar in this really makes it sound 100% better. Overall it gave Me some major summer vibes to. Not bad for a miner song.
I first heard this one 2 years, never did I imagine it would come back and be a huge mainstream hit.
29 Duncan Laurence-Arcade
This one got overplayed at some point, but it was still pretty good. Duncan Laurence sounds amazing here, and I love the buildup in the production although it is a slow song. The writing here is the best part though. It’s about him moving to a new town, and feeling lonely and wanting to go back home to where he used to live. At first though I interpreted it as a breakup song, but with him writing about it in such a way that love is a game, I think that the writing on this was very good though despite it not being what I exactly thought it was and that’s the huge reason if why I like this. Great song. Next.
This next one is actually hitting its peak right now at pop radio, after a massive boost from TikTok. Although it hasn’t Re-entered Hits 1s countdown though I wouldn’t be too surprised if it did nor would I end up being surprised if it was in there top 5 songs of the year given how many weeks it had already been on the countdown for, and this is getting more AirPlay right now on there than my #1 song of the year(which for some damn reason they don’t play anymore) and with that in mind here’s a fun fact I’m pretty sure they’re tied with the amount of weeks they spent on the chart(unless I’m getting the top song confused with Stay) anyways let’s get on with it now.
28 Glass Animals-Heat Waves
This one kinda started off just as a decent song, but it grew on Me the more I decided to check it out and the more Hits 1 played it. I really dig the production used here cuz even though it’s alternative it kinda sounds more like a regular pop song, and the bass in this one just rocks, anytime I’d be listening to the countdown on my Alexa, the bass in this song would shake my whole house, so I’d always turn it up whenever it would come on. Dave Bayley sounds pretty good in this, and I find the lyrics very creative and catchy. Overall super vibey little tune and something I’ve really enjoyed listening to.
Alright next we have none other than Hits 1s king of 2020(with an actual decent song for once)
27 Harry Styles-Golden
I will say that I quite hate both Adore You and Watermelon sugar and that I would describe them as 2 overrated pieces of shit, that sounded awful and never should’ve been on radio for that matter. This on the other hand is a song I actually quite liked. The instrumental sounded really quite good and very chill. Harry sounded decent for once and I loved the repetition of the lyrics, this song is a great example of where repetition actually sounds great unlike dance songs like Do it to it. The lyrics also made Me think of California because personally that’s where I was born, and also cuz it’s called The Golden State. Overall very chill and good song from Harry for once.
I don’t usually find R&B appealing, but for some reason this next song I kinda did like.
26 Giveon-Heartbreak Anniversary
This was the song with the longest Hitbound run of the year, which totaled 17 weeks. plus additional time cuz it spent a few weeks in The Abyss. I really did enjoy this in fact I would stream it cuz Hits 1 would never play it when I did listen to them. At some point though I did realize that For Tonight is a lot better than this and a lot less slower, but I still thought this was great and I thought I’d include it here. First off the production is quite slow, but it fits the vibe of the song perfectly, and so by doing that it makes it sound better than it should. Giveon had a really shocking deep voice, which I find unique for R&B because I’ve never heard an R&B artist bringing as much emotion or power as he does in his music. He sounds amazing here, and he can really hit high notes well. Lyrically this is great to, and I personally can relate to it since I’ve gotten my heart broken before, even though it was a long time ago. Overall great slow song that really deserved a bit more from Hits 1
When it comes to non-house EDM music I don’t think You can really get any better than the upbeat style of this next song(unless we’re talking about a song I’ll review in a few)
25 Sigala/James Arthur-Lasting lover
This is probably one of the best non-house type EDM songs I’ve heard all year. It’s so good. James Arthur sounds great here vocally and I love the production that Sigala brings. The drop sounds great, and this overall is super upbeat and nice. The sound used in the background sometimes can get a bit annoying, but overall it really does enhance this beat to an extent that I just don’t care, in other words it sounds awesome and everything really blends together well here. Overall great song, but I do wish it was a bigger hit.
Of course It can’t be a 2021 year end list without Olivia Rodrigo.
24 Olivia Rodrigo-Drivers License
A lot of people will probably be giving me shit for not putting this higher, but let’s be honest Good 4 u is better. Plus I found some other new artists a bit more appealing than I did Olivia. That doesn’t mean this is horrible by any means though. First off Olivia sounds so good here, and this is probably the best written song out of all the songs on my list. It takes the story of heartbreak, and just puts it into a story that makes her emotion stand out so much, and captivate people. It’s very great and I can actually visualize the whole song in my head just by listening to this. The production here is really slow, and I thought it was a bit weird at first but I’ve gotten over that now, and I realize that it’s really great actually. The buildup is super nice and the pace of the song is perfect, and that’s what makes this really stand out. We’ll get to a song from her that really slaps in a few but first let’s get a few more good ones in.
If there’s anything that was unreleased this year that I would’ve liked Hits 1 to get this year, it would’ve been this next unreleased EDM song that I find to be quite good.
23 Clean Bandit/Iann Dior-Higher
If your a fan of Iann Dior or are just looking for a non-house type of EDM song to listen to I’d check this one out if I were You. Clean Bandit didn’t do a horrible job at producing this one actually. There is a few weird elements to it, but they fit into the song quite well actually, one of them being a really high-pitched line of the words,” I love You.” From I’m assuming one of the guys in Clean Bandit. That being said it really enhances the line a lot, escpecially when You hear the lyrics here. It’s about a person who feels really good when they’re around I’m assuming either their partner or their best friend. They’re well written and very catchy to say the least. Iann Dior sounds really good here both as a singer and a rapper. The production like is said has a few weird elements to it but overall it’s very great. The buildup and drop are very good, and the trumpets sound great in the Bridge. Overall if You didn’t listen to it this year, I would cuz it’s awesome.
Justin Beiber has really come around to me in the past year and I think this next song is personally none of the his best solo examples of why.
22 Justin Beiber-Hold on
This is one of the best songs I think that Beiber has created(when he’s not working with The Kid Laroi or Juice wrld of course) I used to hate his music(and I mean hate) a lot when he first started off, and I think he progressively got better over time. Some of his songs from 2015 and 16 I still don’t like though. I started realizing that his music really did change for the better though last year when he dropped Lonely, and even Holy(although that didn’t make this list) I even kinda liked intentions when it was big last year, but the only real reason I ever listened to it was cuz Quavo was featured on it and he’s one of my favorite rappers. Overall that song can’t even compare to anything he’s released off this newer album though, nor stay or Wandered to L.A, he’s just gonna keep improving I think and this song was a huge step up for him. Lyrically it’s probably the best he’s ever done. It’s very relatable and it’s something that I think a lot of people can relate to. Not everyone is perfect and that’s what this song is all about. It talks about not being a perfect person while keeping a Kinda catchy vibe and melody. The production is a bit bland but it’s upbeat, and I love whatever is playing in the beginning and how during the whole first verse it’s completely chill and then the beat comes in at the chorus. Justin sounds awesome here to, escpecially in the verse where he really bring his emotion and tries to connect with the audience, and I find this very weird enough since he’s already worked with him but he sounds so good in the last chorus(right after the bridge so before the beat picks up) when he says the lines,” we all know I should be the one to say we all make mistakes.” That if you turn it up all the way it sounds like Shawn Mendes is in the background backing him up on his vocals there. Even though Shawn isn’t there, Justin sounds so good there that it almost makes him sound more like Shawn in way, which is weird but I love Shawn and I think I know that If Beiber sounds just as good as he does in this song than it’s a awesome. Enough said this is one of the best solo songs Beiber has ever created.
If You like an angry and bitter Olivia Rodrigo then You know this next song slaps.
21 Olivia Rodrigo-Good 4 u
This is probably gonna be Hits 1s #1 song of 2021. It had 9 weeks at #1 and record breaking Jump over there reaching #1 on its 2nd week on the countdown replacing Deja Vu, and that I will be forever grateful for. There’s lots of reasons this slaps and Deja Vu does not. First off the production here while a bit overproduced sounding is quite awesome. It’s alternative sounding which I love, and it really does fit in with Olivias voice as she’s pretty angry and bitter sounding here. She sounds so good though here and her angry voice just fits in perfectly with the the production and vibe like I’ve already said. The lyrics are pretty much all about her ex and how she hates him, and they have a great and catchy little melody to them that makes them sound so good. Overall this is a fucking Bop. It could’ve been higher but there were a lot of breakout stars in the top 20 and a few really long charting songs. Let’s move on.
Alright so if I haven’t said it already y’all are gonna be seeing some more of Jxdn on this list, as he was one of my favorite breakout artists of the year(besides Olivia Rodrigo) and next we have him on a song that really should’ve made the countdown but didn’t.
20 Jxdn-Think about Me
I think there’s a huge difference in a song like this compared to la di die, and it really shows. Jxdns voice is fantastic here, I mean he really fits in with the production, and his voice just sounds like someone You’d expect to be singing on a punk-rock type song. I love the production here to, it’s very rock like and it just reminds me of a lot of older rock songs(which I can’t even remember to name) Lyrically this is very good to. I think it does a great job at highlighting some struggles that he may face. I’ll dive deeper into the lyrics on his other song In a few but this is super great for what it is and I’m sad it didn’t become a hit.
Next we have another one of my favorite breakout stars of the year.
19 24Kgoldn-Love or Lust
This is another unreleased one that I still love to this day. I first heard this on an episode of The Golden Hour on Hits 1, and thought that this was a pretty cool song. This is one his more pop like songs though then his rap song. I’ll get into a great example of one of his more Rap like songs in the top 5, but for now we have this. The pop vibe here is pretty good actually, although it’s a bit minimalistic it fits in with his voice very well. 24Kgoldn is such a great vocalist in general to, he does a really nice job at singing here in this song(and transitioning between singing and rapping in other songs) lyrically it’s very catchy to. He just never seems to fail when it comes to making catchy songs with great lyrics. Anyways great song. Next.
Remember I said I’d have more Jxdn in the top 20. Well here You go
20 Jxdn/Macbine gun Kelly-Wanna Be
This one was a previous one to watch song. It didn’t really do as good as I thought it would but that’s alright. Before we really get into this I just wanna give y’all some background on how Jxdn got started with music and how I think his musical inspiration kinda fits in to this song specifically. Jxdn started his music careers after attending a Juice wrld concert in 2019 before Juice passed away. Juice was one of his main inspirations and after that concert Jxdn realized that he could be a pretty talented musician himself and that he related to juice a lot. Now this is where Juice comes into play in this song. For 1 Jxdns voice here really reminds Me of Juice In a way because I think he sounds somehwhat similar to him, even though they have or has(for juice) 2 distinctive voices and they sang 2 different genres of music. The lyrics here I feel would fit in perfectly with a juice wrld song to, as they’re all about depression and anxiety, and this reminds me of 2 of his songs in particular just cuz of the vibe and the lyrics which are Empty(which I believe is the one that inspired Jxdn) and Come and Go. Overall though Jxdn really shows off his talent not only in rock music but also in trap which is another reason why I find him similar to juice and why Jxdn is so good. Anyways Jxdn sounds awesome here in the chorus and in his verse. Macbine gun Kelly does a great job here also, and they blend really well together. I especially love it when Kelly shouts Fuuuuuck at the end of his verse it just enhances his emotion even more. The production here is great also. I just love the rock vibe, and once again I kinda think it’s a chill vibe although it is faster than the production on Think about Me. I like faster production though anyways on any given genre so that being said it’s pretty good. Overall this was one of my favorite one to watch songs of the year and one that I just really enjoyed in general.
This next one is a house song, and no one really knows who the hell is singing on this one. I’ve tried to do research on it but I can just never seem to find who it is. I do have some info on the artists behind the song though so maybe I’ll share some more about them with y’all.
17 Riton/Nightcrawlers/Mufasa/Hypeman-Friday(Dopamine Re-edit)
This is something I listen to mostly on Thursday nights because you know the name is Friday. I’ll also listen to it whenever I feel good though. First off one quick thing because I saw it on the Hitbound dropouts rankdown(and don’t take my word for it cuz I’m not how accurate this is) but I realized that Beluga credited Dopamine as an artist on this track, but the problem is I can’t find anything about an artist with that name, so I’m assuming that Riton just named this Dopamine Re-edit when he created the title for the song. I couldn’t find too much on these guys themselves but I did find out that Riton did have a small hit in 2016 on the Billboard Damce charts and that he’s been producing songs the 80s or 90s so he’s an older producer, same thing goes for Nightcrawlers except for they haven’t had any recent hits. This song samples a few lines from their song Push the night on from 1996 and it does a great job at sampling by just putting the lines in the background rather than just having someone repeat them a million times over. The lyrics in this one that aren’t samples(and are actually written) are really great and they hype me up for Friday and just the weekend in general no matter what day it is. They’re also very catchy and sound great with the instrumental as this is meant to be a party song. Let’s be clear we have have no clue who the hell the vocalist is on this as there’s just not really a whole lotta info on who she is, so I’m assuming either it’s someone from The Nightcrawlers group or Riton just hired a singer and they’ve covered up her Identity. Whoever she is though she’s got a really good voice. Mufasa and Hypeman are internet sensations apparently and they just help with background vocals here so there’s not a whole to say about them, but they do blend together into this so that’s nice to see. Overall I don’t think this was meant to be a hit song just because of how unknown everyone is here but it turned out great.
Oh boy here comes the big one prepare for me to say a lot of words on this.
16 Dua Lipa/DaBaby-Levitating(remix)
Holy Shit where do I even begin on this legendary song? I don’t even know. I guess I’ll first explain that even though radio no longer plays the remix of this song I still listen to it(unless I’m on Hits 1) because I just like it slightly more than the original although after hearing the original I can say that it’s pretty good. Now there’s something about DaBaby here that just makes this really better. He just delivers in a way that’s amazing. He’s got a really insane flow here and the lyrics in his verse all rhyme and fit in nicely, so it really did piss Me off at first when radio started pulling the remix, but now I understand why it had to be done. With that on my mind it kinda hurts me to say that there’s 2 rappers in this world that will probably never have hits on pop radio ever again. DaBaby is one of them, and Travis Scott is the other one. Of course it’s not the songs fault that he won’t ever have another hit on radio though it’s his, and he fucked himself up so I guess good things have to come to an end at some point, and this was Dababys end on pop radio. That being said though while I condem the shit that he said that got this song into a mess in the first place, I’m still a fan of his music in general more so is older songs from 2018 and 19, and I still put them on repeat to this day. Anyways that’s my whole thing on DaBaby but we haven’t even gotten to the real star of the song yet and that’s Dua Lipa. She sounds so amazing here, and she did a really great job on writing these lyrics, they’re all catchy and amazing. The production here is nothing short of amazing also. The melodies fit right in with the lyrics and it just makes the song a whole lot better. It’s longevity on AT40 is awesome to as it’s still charting, so I’d expect it to easily be their #1 song of the year. For how many remixes it had it also should’ve hit #1 on the Hot 100 but never did(fuck You Billboard) anyways for all the stuff this has gone through with the radio switch the long run on AT40 and managing somehow not to hit #1 on Billboard. This thing is legendary right here and it’ll never be forgotten.
If there’s not a rapper with a more insane flow that’s relevant in 2021 it’s this next guy.
15 Masked Wolf-Astronaut in the ocean
Alright so one of my breakout stars this year was The Kid Laroi and here’s the song that got him started.
14 The Kid Laroi-So done
I love The Kid Laroi and I’ve enjoyed hearing his music over the past year, and this is the first of 3 songs of his on the chart(the other 2 are in the top 10) Overall he’s just an awesome singer, and when he does rap he sounds good to. I love the production in this, The ukulele is a nice addition to it and it actually makes it sound 100% better(unlike in songs like Billie Eilishes new song Male Fantasy) the nice chill beat is great to, it’s so relaxing and it’s something I can just chill to whenever I don’t wanna listen to an overly upbeat song. Laroi sounds great here with both his singing and his rapping as I already stated, and the writing here was really great, and whenever I’m just not I’m a good mood this relaxes Me by saying,” I’m done, so done.” It’s just very nice and has a chill little vibe to it. Very awesome although I do wish it had become a much bigger hit.
Well If y’all haven’t seen that Joshua Bassett just completely fucked up Hitbound with his new song Crisis, then at least your lucky your reading this next review cuz it’s a much better song by him.
13 Joshua Bassett-Lie Lie Lie
If You don’t know who Joshua Bassett is I believe he’s Olivia Rodrigos ex, and clearly I just stated that I don’t like his new song that’s on Hitbound at the moment. This on the other hand I love. I streamed this a lot throughout the year cuz it kept ending up on Mu Apple Music Favorites mix every once a while, and it’s really good. Joshua sounds awesome here, and the lyrics are really great. The personally make Me think about a few specific people in my life who have lied and betrayed Me, and that’s what this is all about. This is his side of the story in him and Olivias relationship I believe and it’s really great(although we’re not sure if it’s true cuz Olivia is ya know a bit bitter and angry sounding in every one of her songs about this guy) it’s also really catchy, and the production is great. Overall not a huge hit, but a really awesome song.
I know a lot of people in the community have been looking for the remix of this next song and y’all are lucky cuz I happened to find it.
12 Lil Tjay/6lack- Calling my phone(Devolve edit)
Alright so I hated this song when it first debuted Hitbound, but then Hits 1 switched to a remix of it and it really really grew on Me, it even made the original kinda more vibey to Me. I know a lot of people here in the community probably still can’t find this remix though, but luckily I did, so here’s what You wanna do if You wanna listen to this remix. First note that I could only find it on YouTube so it’s not available to stream on any big music platforms like Apple Music or Spotify. You have to use YouTube, so just go to YouTube and search Calling my phone Devolve edit or Devolve remix and it should be the first thing that pops up. The thumbnail should be the same cover art as seen in the image above but with a light blue color, and if You click on it, it should be the remix(I can also link it in the comments if y’all want Me to) anyways this remix is awesome. The remixes instrumental kept a trap vibe, but made it sound a lot better and fast paced than the original, which I love because the original is a bit too slow for a rap song. It also still kept that dark vibe that the original has I feel, and both Lil TJay and 6lack sound great in it. Both of them have really great flow here, and they just do a great job at keeping up with the pace of the song. Lyrically this is pretty good also, it’s about an Ex who won’t stop calling her Ex’s phone and it just makes it really interesting. Overall really great rap song.
Next we have more alternative and this ones bound to show up on Hits 1s year end list.
11 All time low/Blackbear/Demi Lovato-Monsters(remix)
Hits 1 started airing the original version of this way before it became a hit, but when it did start to become popular they switched to this remix, and that decision was a great on in my opinion. The production here is a bit more pop infused while keeping the rock vibe at the same time which is really cool. All time low sounds great here, and so do Blackbear and Demi Lovato, although Demi doesn’t have a proper verse she does a pretty good job blending in with Blackbears vocals and All time Lows, and she doesn’t sound bad with the rock vibe. The lyrics here are insanely catchy to and they’re just all great. Overall another certified Bop off the list.
Alright so we’re down to the top 10 and these ones while not all hits were very awesome songs. A lot of them certified BANGERS, and all but one of them is upbeat, so let’s get it started.
10 KSI/Yungblud/Polo G-Patience
I think this one is quite unique because I’m literally not sure what genre I’d put it in. If I had to choose though I’d put it in either pop or rap, because I think that’s what it most resembles. Youtuber KSI brings us this one and once again it’s a BANGER! This wasn’t a huge hit by any means but I’m kinda surprised to say that a lot of local businesses here in Florida started playing this when it did debut the countdown. I really do wish that radio had gotten this one though. KSI sounds great in his verse and the bridge of the song, Yungblud does an amazing job on the chorus and Polo Gs intro is awesome and he’s got some really great flow there. Lyrically it’s very good and catchy. Production wise this is so good also though, it’s nice and upbeat and it really sounds like an 80s disco beat to Me, which I love. Overall yeah not sure what genre this is but it’s awesome.
Sports reporters have been all over AJR over the last year including this next song.
9 AJR-Way less sad
AJR has become one of my favorite alternative band I’d say over the last year, and this is one of their best songs besides Bang! This is amazing, I really like more orchestral type of instrumental, and those horns sound amazing. The buildup to the Horns playing in the chorus is also really great sounding. Adam sounds really awesome here his vocals fit in more with this production than the production on some of their older songs. The lyrics are really great and catchy to, they just enhance how great this is. Overall awesome song and best alternative song on the list as this is the last of those.
Alright so I love The Kid Laroi has become one of my favorite superstars of the year, and here we’ve got another hit from him, and even though this one isn’t a particularly upbeat song I’ve learned to have a little fun with it, as I once made a sad edit out of it.
8 The Kid Laroi-Without You
This was the best downbeat song of the year. It’s so awesome. The kid Laroi sounds so good here, way better than how he sounded on So done, and he really brings the emotion here to, his voice even cracks a bit in the bridge of the song when he sings,” I really wish that we could’ve got this right.” Even though that happens though, it really makes it sound more emotionally great, and he has a great voice here to in general, so that’s pretty great. The production is just a simple guitar strum but it’s good for the type of song this is, and the lyrics are quite catchy and relatable, as it’s about heartbreak. Overall the only thing I would’ve changed in the original is that I would’ve added the,” Yeah Yeah Yeah,” at the beginning like he did in the Miley Cyrus remix of this cuz that’s the only part I liked about the remix. Overall it’s great that Hits 1 still has the original though and it’s an awesome song or a sad BANGRR!
Alright this song got a bit overplayed by Hits 1, but it’s by 2 of my favorite artists.
7 Marshmello/Jonas Brothers-Leave before You love Me
Alright so fun fact. I love Marshmellos music, and last year I dressed as him for a Halloween party. Yep I have a Marshmello mask and a really expensive jacket just like the one he wears, and I found it all at local Halloween store of mine. Marshmello actually did an amazing job producing this song to, as it’s probably his best one songs Happier in 2018. The production is nice and it fits in with something I think the Jonas Brothers would create themselves. Speaking of them, they do a great job here vocally, and Nick and Joe/Kevin blend really well together and have some amazing chemistry here. The lyrics are catchy to. The only thing I would’ve really changed would be to make it a bit longer, but the timing does really bring it down for me. Overall awesome song.
Alright next we’ve got more of Tate McRae my most streamed artist of 2021
6 Tate McRae/Khalid-Working
Where the Hell did this start out on streaming again? Oh yeah wait way below where it should’ve been. This one I felt wasn’t that popular, yet it was a radio hit for a short while. This is nothing short of amazing though honestly. Tate McRae sounds so amazing here, and Khalid doesn’t do bad either, but Tate is the real star in this one, she just sings on a whole new level here, and personally I think this is her best song vocally. The production here is out of this world to, it’s very unique and something I’ve never heard with all the snapping sounds in it. It sounds amazing. Lyrically this is a really good and emotional story to. There’s one more song with Tate McRae in the top 5, but where will it end up? You’ll just have to hang on to find out.
We’ve made it to the top 5. Next we have another one from The Kid Laroi, who I’ve already mentioned I love and this time he brings us one of the biggest stars in the world, and if it’s a song with great lyrics that I can’t appreciate hearing more of on the radio it’s this one.
5 The Kid Laroi/Justin Beiber-Stay
Alright so this was kinda bound to show up, as it’s a song everyone seems to love, and since I spoke very highly of it in my first few blog posts when it was #1 on the countdown. Now it’s at the bottom though, and I don’t really speak too much more about it. It’s still amazing though. The 80s production is nice here, and that melody in the beginning is really great and hooks Me in on every listen. The Kid Laroi sounds amazing here both in the chorus and in his verse more so, and I love when he says,” ohhhhhhhhhhhh ohhhhhhhhhhhhhh.” It just sounds so good. Beiber really brings it with his verse to, he sounds amazing, and he brings us some catchy lyrics there overall. Lyrics here as a whole are amazing to, and it’s just something that I really appreciate the songwriting on, because it’s all about love and change, and change is a hard thing to talk about, so I think it’s great that 2 of my favorite artists created a song about that. Overall I love this and still really do. That being said let’s move on.
Alright so another artist I love is 24Kgoldn and this one I first heard on Hits 1, and I really wish it was bigger because it’s one of my favorites.
4 24Kgoldn-3.2.1
This was so good to hear on Hits 1, although it left very shortly after I started listening to the countdown. I never ever stopped streaming it though because of how good it is. 24Kgoldn sounds amazing here, and he has some great flow in the verses. The lyrics here are all catchy from start to finish, and the production here is so awesome. I love the incorporation of the guitar in the chorus, it just makes it sound so good. The trap part of it is super cool to. The writing is also very unique here, I like the 3 sides, 2 lies, and 1 thing part of it, it Just makes it so unique and even more catchy and awesome.
I’ve always loved Maroon 5, and here they are with a big BANGER!
3 Maroon 5/Megan Thee Stallion-Beautiful mistakes
Talk about a true BANGER! Cuz now we have this. Maroon 5 has had a lot of different styles over the years and personally I haven’t really liked their music over the past few years, but this is a huge step up for them(I kinda liked lost to but it wasn’t half as good as this) the production here is really great, it’s upbeat, it’s different and it’s something unique for Maroon 5. Adam blend in nicely here, and sounds great. Megan is the real star though here, as she just crushes her verse, and her flow is absolutely amazing. The lyrics are all really catchy here to. The only thing I will say though is that I didn’t really like the radio edit for this, as it split Megan’s big long verse into 2 separate verses. It didn’t really bring it down for me too much though. Overall BANGER!!
Alright so we’ve made it down to the top 2, and oof Me cuz I’m gonna receive a hell of a lot of hate for this next one. This is basically my favorite dropout of the year as it never made it to the countdown, but I’ve been really streaming it a lot throughout the year and I’ve just come to really love this.
2 Tiesto-The business
Well Well Well. How awesome was this song. Damn this is just so good. The story behind this song if y’all don’t know is that it was written by Tiesto to hype people up and get them to go out more after being in quarantine for almost a year(at the time of its release) and he did a pretty awesome job delivering it. The title of this song alone just enticed Me to wanna listen to it, cuz I wouldn’t think a song would be called The business, I mean what a unique name to put on a song. Now when it comes to dance I’ve really loved house music, and particularly I know some house songs have very weird vocals, and this one would be one of them. I tend to like down-pinched vocals though compared to higher pitched because I feel as if the higher pitched just sound a bit too hmmmmmm how do I put this in words goo goo ga ga baby-ish or maybe more chipmunk style if that even makes sense. They also just are sung usually way to fast and often aren’t put over great production, so that’s another reason I hate them. Lower pitched though just sound better to Me and I think are more commonly used so it’s easy for Me to get used to them. Overall with that being said I just like the Down pitched vocals here a bit more. They were a bit weird to get used to at first, but once I listened to this a few times they just got better with every listen. The buildup here is amazing for this type of house beat to, and when it does drop it sounds amazing. The only part I would’ve edited out was the plain pause in the middle where there’s just some silent sound and Tiesto mumbling in the background in the 2nd verse. The lyrics here are really overly catchy to, and they hype me up for pretty much anything even if it’s just something like hanging out with friends. Overall amazing song.
Alright we’ve made it to my #1 song of 2021, and if You told Me that 2 of these artists who I went into 2021 barely even knowing anything about would have my #1 song of 2021 I’d call You crazy. This one is fucking amazing, and it’s been on repeat since spring. I think it’s time y’all. Virtual drumroll please.
Keep scrolling
1 Regard/Troye Sivan/Tate McRae-You
Where do I even start? I don’t know this is so amazing. I guess I’ll start with the production. Man someone call up this guys record label because he needs some more hits. Regard did a stunning job producing this. I love how much Bass it gives off, and how upbeat and happy sounding it is. It also gives off major spring/summer vibes and really feels like a song of the summer(which it is) I also just gotta mention how every single things in this instrumental just fits in perfectly including whoever sound he used in the drop/Breakout, it just sounds too good. I love the beginning to and how it builds up. Troye sounds amazing here, in fact this is probably his best vocal performance I’ve heard from him. Tate sounds awesome to, and while she sounds slightly better on working, I can’t say that it’s better than this, because this is overall more vibey than Working is and just better overall. The lyrics are all really catchy here, and they’re very well written and have some amazing melodies that just fit in with the production. Overall this is My favorite song of 2021, and it’ll be one I’ll never forget.
Well y’all those were My top 40 songs of 2021. I hope y’all enjoyed, and please feel free to leave y’all’s thoughts down below in the comments. As always though just be respectful of both My opinions and others though if You do comment as people don’t always agree with You. Of course keep it spam free to please.
Anyways I hope y’all enjoyed thanks for reading and I’ll see y’all in My next countdown review.
The singer in Friday is Samantha Harper. She's uncredited for some reason.
ReplyDeleteAwesome! How did You find her? I tried researching but it lead nowhere.
DeleteYour #1 is awesome, also 3,2,1 being so high on the list is great. I wish it had done better
ReplyDelete