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Posted by: JosephAvery 1st December 2018, 04:09 PM

I can't believe we're here already, but 2018 is almost over and it's time to reflect on another 12 months of great music. 2018 as a whole has been one of the most consistent years I've had in ages. Why am I reflecting now? December's only just started, I hear you saying. The answer is that if I started my countdown at the end of December, it wouldn't be completed until March lmao and nobody would care to comment for most of it. Strike while the iron's hot x

2018's been business as usual for my personal chart. As always, most #1 singles over the year spent only a sole week at the top, and although nothing achieved the huge 6-week stint that Rita Ora managed in 2017 with Anywhere, we did see two 4-weekers from Why Don't We and Matteo Markus Bok, as well as 5 non-consecutive weeks from Froy. 2018's been groundbreaking for my chart in a few ways though. Many artists achieved their very first #1, most notably Isac Elliot, 5 Seconds of Summer and Kate Nash after many years of trying. Artists including Troye Sivan, Ariana Grande and Avril Lavigne achieved huge #1s with their comebacks, and Lil Xan became the first lead male rapper to get a #1 single since Devlin in 2013. Furthermore, both Why Don't We and Rita Ora scored four #1s each this year, matching a feat managed by only three other artists in my chart's history.

As always, my EOY is based on personal opinion. I compile a points EOY chart too based on my weekly personal chart (for the record, my EOY covers from week 311 to week 363) and we'll be taking a look at that too, but I never find it truly reflective of my taste over the year so I prefer not to class it as my official EOY. This means I've set myself the task of ranking 300 songs (yes, 50 more than last year...!). I've not actually started yet but I've got time to do all of that as we'll be looking at EPs, mixtapes and albums first, followed by the points chart, before we start on the official 300. I will also intertwine my top 10 artists of the year, based on singles, albums, concerts and all-round stanning.

Some tidbits of info:

- One song in my top 300 failed to make my weekly top 40, while another spent a sole week at #40 and never returned.
- The most songs by any artist is eight.
- Every top 20 hit from the past year features somewhere in this top 300.

The #1 singles from the eligibility period are below. Please feel free to predict who and what will do well in this year's EOY, and reminisce on last year by checking post 2 for 2017's full recap.

200 09/12/2017 - Louis Tomlinson - Miss You (1 week)
201 16/12/2017 - Lily Allen feat. Giggs - Trigger Bang (1 week)
202 23/12/2017 - Anne-Marie - Then (1 week)
203 30/12/2017 - Dylan Schneider - No Problem (1 week)
204 06/01/2018 - Isac Elliot - Mouth to Mouth (1 week)
205 13/01/2018 - Liam Payne & Rita Ora - For You (1 week)
206 20/01/2018 - Troye Sivan - My My My! (3 weeks)
207 10/02/2018 - Zedd, Maren Morris & Grey - The Middle (1 week)
208 17/02/2018 - Marshmello & Anne-Marie - FRIENDS (1 week)
209 24/02/2018 - Delta Goodrem - Think About You (1 week)
210 03/03/2018 - 5 Seconds of Summer - Want You Back (1 week)
211 10/03/2018 - Why Don't We - Trust Fund Baby (2 weeks)
212 24/03/2018 - Louisa feat. 2 Chainz - YES (1 week)
213 31/03/2018 - Shawn Mendes - In My Blood (1 week)
214 07/04/2018 - Kate Nash - Karaoke Kiss (2 weeks)
215 21/04/2018 - CNCO - Sólo Yo (1 week)
216 28/04/2018 - Ariana Grande - no tears left to cry (1 week)
217 05/05/2018 - HRVY & Malu Trevejo - Hasta Luego (1 week)
218 12/05/2018 - Troye Sivan - Bloom (1 week)
219 19/05/2018 - Rita Ora feat. Cardi B, Bebe Rexha & Charli XCX - Girls (2 weeks)
220 02/06/2018 - Alec Benjamin - Let Me Down Slowly (1 week)
221 09/06/2018 - Why Don't We - Hooked (4 weeks)
222 07/07/2018 - Jonas Blue feat. Jack & Jack - Rise (1 week)
223 14/07/2018 - Why Don't We - Talk (1 week)
224 21/07/2018 - Lil Xan & Charli XCX - Moonlight (1 week)
225 28/07/2018 - Zedd & Elley Duhé - Happy Now (1 week)
226 04/08/2018 - froy - sideswipe (2 weeks)
227 18/08/2018 - Why Don't We - 8 Letters (1 week)
228 25/08/2018 - Noah Cyrus & Lil Xan - Live or Die (2 weeks)
229 08/09/2018 - Matteo Markus Bok - El Ritmo (AHI AHI AHI) (1 week)
... .. 15/09/2018 - froy - sideswipe (1 week) [3 weeks total]
230 22/09/2018 - Avril Lavigne - Head Above Water (1 week)
231 29/09/2018 - Rita Ora - Let You Love Me (1 week)
232 06/10/2018 - Casey Lowry - Me & You (1 week)
... .. 13/10/2018 - froy - sideswipe (2 weeks) [5 weeks total]
233 27/10/2018 - Dua Lipa & BLACKPINK - Kiss and Make Up (1 week)
234 03/11/2018 - Matteo Markus Bok - In the Middle (4 weeks)
235 01/12/2018 - Rita Ora - Only Want You (1 week so far)

Posted by: JosephAvery 1st December 2018, 04:09 PM

Posted by: PeteLeftLeeds 1st December 2018, 04:15 PM

Guess the EOYs are coming thick and fast now! Really looking forward to getting mine started.

I feel like our tastes aren't as aligned this year as they usually are but I'm rooting for Me & You and Kiss and Make Up out of your #1s!

Posted by: dancember 1st December 2018, 04:24 PM

Top 300! Guess I'll have to extend my EOY to make it even again.

Looking forward to this anyway!

Posted by: JosephCarey 1st December 2018, 10:45 PM

QUOTE(PeteLeftLeeds @ Dec 1 2018, 04:15 PM)

QUOTE(dancember @ Dec 1 2018, 04:24 PM)

Top 300! Guess I'll have to extend my EOY to make it even again.

Looking forward to this anyway!

Posted by: DalekTurret32 2nd December 2018, 12:16 AM

Yay at Declan appreciation

Posted by: sergejdordij98 2nd December 2018, 04:10 AM

A Top 300, alright now I'm really excited for Your Year-End List!
I might do a Top 300 Year-End list as well, if you don't mind!

Posted by: JosephCarey 2nd December 2018, 12:20 PM

QUOTE(sergejdordij98 @ Dec 2 2018, 04:10 AM)

Posted by: JosephCarey 2nd December 2018, 10:19 PM

Compilations



1 Various Artists - Love, Simon (OST) | 4-3-7-11-x (4 weeks)

So before we spring ourselves into anything else, I'm going to briefly touch on this compilation. I rarely listen to compilations and in fact, this is the only one I've bought in years...! Love, Simon is easily my favourite film of 2018, a beautiful and relatable story for me and so many other people. I bought the soundtrack after, and it features new songs from Bleachers, Khalid and MØ, the latter of which made my chart's top 10, as well as Whitney Houston's all-time classic I Wanna Dance With Somebody (Who Loves Me), and ultimately just reminded me of the great time I had watching the film.

Top 40 Hits
08 Never Fall in Love (Jack Antonoff & MØ)
13 Alfie's Song (Not So Typical Love Song) (Bleachers)
22 Love Lies (Khalid & Normani)

Posted by: JosephCarey 3rd December 2018, 10:10 PM

Mixtapes



1 Lil Xan - Heartbreak Soldiers | 2-2-1-2-2-3-3-8-5-5-8-9-11-11-12-14-15-15-12-x (19 weeks)
2 Lil Xan - XANARCHY MILITIA | 4-6-… (2+ weeks)

And another minor achievement here for the two mixtapes I've enjoyed this year. Both of them are by American rapper Lil Xan (aka Diego Leanos), who you'll be hearing quite a bit from over the course of my EOY. The quality between these two drastically varies but both deserve some level of recognition here. Heartbreak Soldiers was a notable step up from his debut album TOTAL XANARCHY, maturing in his lyrics. Though he'll never be the greatest lyricist of all-time, Diego proved he could talk about problems he's faced in his life in a more mature manner. Suicidal thoughts were touched on in Lies, with Emotions dealing with the break-up of a relationship and the scepticism you feel going forward in the world of love. Things took a step back with XANARCHY MILITIA, with the mature lyrics mostly vanishing in favour of slightly lazy but catchy hooks. I don't enjoy the EP as much but it's not without merit, and as always, Diego delivers with catchy hooks. That said, none of the songs on it have made my top 40 yet.

Top 40 Hits (Heartbreak Soldiers)
04 Lies (feat. Lil Skies)
18 Emotions

Posted by: JosephCarey 7th December 2018, 08:07 PM

EPs



5 Ulrik Munther - Are You Alright? | 4-9-12-15-x (4 weeks)

The EPs are a less narrow field, although we kick off with one that disappointed me this year. Ulrik Munther is one of my all-time favourite artists. The Swedish singer/songwriter won my heart with his debut album, with one of my top 10 all-time favourites Heroes In Defeat (Change Your Mind). He has a total of five #1 singles in my chart, and narrowly missed out with this EP's lead track, Before, which added to his hit streak. However, the second track Say Goodbye set the tone of the EP better and unfortunately the rest of the EP didn't grab me anywhere near as much as his three albums.

Top 40 Hits
02 Before
30 Say Goodbye

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4 PRETTYMUCH - PRETTYMUCH an EP | 6-2-5-6-7-10-x (6 weeks)

Finally offering something more substantial than single after single, American boyband PRETTYMUCH offered an EP of four tracks this year, including the singles 10,000 Hours and Healthy. Both the singles managed to be long-running top 10 hits in my chart, and while the two other tracks didn't chart, they still went down well enough for the EP to place at #2 in my album chart. Now can they finally get a hit so we can have an album please?

Top 40 Hits
07 10,000 Hours
10 Healthy

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3 Maty Noyes - Love Songs from a Lolita | 4-9-x (2 weeks)

I look back at the chart run for this EP and feel quite disappointed. Two weeks top 15 is a poor showing, and it's made baffling by the fact that it's actually a great EP. Maty's second mini-collection was more focused than the first, finding her place in the pop world while offering plenty of creativity and a unique take on tracks (especially with a song titled Porn Star lol). Lead single Spiraling Down became her biggest hit since In My Mind, her debut solo single (a #1 in 2016), and the EP matched the peak of the debut. Another artist I'd love an album from!

Top 40 Hits
03 Spiraling Down
28 Porn Star

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2 Why Don't We - Invitation | 2-2-1-2-3-4-7-10-11-13-15-11-12-14-2-4-7-10-12-14-x-10-x (21 non-consecutive weeks)

When I discovered Why Don't We, I found they had already released five EPs. That's pretty impressive for an act that had been together for just over a year at the time...! The Christmas one was saved until a few weeks ago, while the other three before Invitation were left until May this year when I saw them live. However, I jumped straight in with Invitation, their newest offering at the time. Though only one song has charted from it (it impacted while Trust Fund Baby was #1 and These Girls also made the top 10, but neither song was on the EP), Invitation is a great listen and brings their independent releases to a solid close,

Top 40 Hits
13 Boomerang

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1 Ruel - Ready | 4-8-9-10-13-4-6-3-1-2-7-9-7-9-11-13-12-13-15-3-1-3-9-9-... (24+ weeks)

One of my breakout stars of the year, Australian up-and-coming singer/songwriter Ruel Van Dijk, known mononymously as Ruel, scored a top 5 hit with Dazed & Confused, the first song of his that I'd heard. It proved to be a long-runner in my chart, and I became excited at the prospect of his debut EP, Ready. It impressed on first listen, although its climb to #1 occurred several weeks later when the following single Younger impacted. Interestingly, the EP hasn't spent more than one week consecutively in the same position until the final chart of the eligibility period, but it's had a very impressive run so far and returned to #1 after I saw Ruel live. The future is bright for Ruel if this EP is an indicator of what's to come!

Top 40 Hits
02 Younger
04 Dazed & Confused
28 Not Thinkin' Bout You

Posted by: PeteLeftLeeds 8th December 2018, 12:04 PM

Not heard any of your EPs but they certainly sound like your type of thing! My YouTube says I've listened to Ruel - Younger before but I'll listen to it again - sounding quite nice, the chorus is fairly memorable I think!

Posted by: JosephCarey 9th December 2018, 03:17 PM

QUOTE(PeteLeftLeeds @ Dec 8 2018, 12:04 PM)

Posted by: JosephCarey 9th December 2018, 03:30 PM

Albums



40 Lucie Silvas - E.G.O. | 4-7-8-13-x (4 weeks)

Kicking off the album countdown is one of my all-time favourite artists. Lucie Silvas released her fourth album E.G.O. this year, following Letters to Ghosts up after only three years - quite the improvement on the 8 year gap between The Same Side and Letters to Ghosts...! E.G.O. is unfortunately not my favourite Lucie album - it sees her delve further into country music, which is by no means a bad thing, but unfortunately I find it doesn't make for the most interesting album. Nevertheless, it's a solid listen and the double a-side of lead singles are both pretty damn great.

Top 40 Hits
06 My Old Habits
07 Just For the Record

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39 James Bay - Electric Light | 5-7-11-13-x (4 weeks)

Another disappointing album this year, James Bay's follow-up to Chaos and the Calm is one of the biggest declines between debut and sophomore I've seen. None of it is bad, I enjoyed the sole listen I had, but equally very little stood out to me and ultimately it blended into one. It's a shame because although lead single Wild Love got off to a shaky start for me, I really grew to love it.

Top 40 Hits
05 Wild Love
38 Us

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38 Catherine McGrath - Talk of This Town | 3-6-10-x (3 weeks)

I checked this album out off the back of one song only - Don't Let Me Forget, a song that caught my attention due to being a collaboration with Hunter Hayes. Hunter actually takes quite a back seat on the song, allowing Catherine's brilliant voice to shine on a great country track. The rest of the album is really enjoyable, and whilst I've only given it the one play, it's a great example of good country music, especially considering it's Catherine's debut release.

Top 40 Hits
05 Don't Let Me Forget (feat. Hunter Hayes)

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37 Nemo Schiffman - Omen | 3-2-6-13-15-x (5 weeks)

This is one of the most confusing releases of the year, because I'm not actually convinced Nemo knows it exists :') French popstar Nemo Schiffman caught my attention two years ago with I Don't Mind, a stormer of a pop song that finished at #2 in my EOY chart last year. Nemo's debut album Omen came out earlier this year, although it's not mentioned even once on any of Nemo's social media platforms. Aside from the singles Will and I Don't Mind, the other tracks sound relatively unfinished. Not quite what I was hoping from a Nemo album but it's not bad either, it's just quite unpolished.

Top 40 Hits
01 I Don't Mind
10 Will

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36 Christina Aguilera - Liberation | 5-6-11-12-x (4 weeks)

I'm not familiar with every Christina Aguilera album, but the ones I have heard have been varied in quality. Stripped is an excellent pop album, while Lotus is pretty weak and dull. Lotus was of course her most recent album for many years, so my hype for a new album wasn't especially high. Liberation proved to be a solid and much more varied listen though, the clear highlight being the album's lead single Fall In Line, while Twice is another favourite.

Top 40 Hits
07 Fall In Line (feat. Demi Lovato)

Posted by: Calum 9th December 2018, 05:10 PM

James flopping Electric Light definitely isn't as memorable as the début, but still decent enough and enjoyable to listen to!

And we've already encountered Lil Xan...

Posted by: Liаm 9th December 2018, 05:48 PM

"Including Anne-Marie" you lost me soz xx

I need to listen to Catherine McGrath more, always enjoy her when I do but I haven't gone back to the album as a whole more than once either

Posted by: JosephCarey 9th December 2018, 06:03 PM

QUOTE(Calum @ Dec 9 2018, 05:10 PM)

James flopping Electric Light definitely isn't as memorable as the début, but still decent enough and enjoyable to listen to!

And we've already encountered Lil Xan...

QUOTE(Liаm @ Dec 9 2018, 05:48 PM)

"Including Anne-Marie" you lost me soz xx

I need to listen to Catherine McGrath more, always enjoy her when I do but I haven't gone back to the album as a whole more than once either

Posted by: JosephCarey 9th December 2018, 06:18 PM

Albums



35 Jonas Blue - Blue | 5-12-14-… (3+ weeks)

I wasn't really sure what a Jonas Blue album would be like, and I had little expectations as I've found all of his singles very hit and miss. Rise was his best song to date, then Polaroid didn't make much of an impact on me at all. I rather enjoyed his debut effort though, I listened in my free period at work and found it a solid effort even if there's not many other options for hit singles.

Top 40 Hits
01 Rise (feat. Jack & Jack)
05 Mama (feat. William Singe)
10 Fast Car (feat. Dakota)
36 By Your Side (feat. RAYE)
37 Perfect Strangers (feat. JP Cooper)
37 Polaroid (Jonas Blue, Liam Payne & Lennon Stella)

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34 Sigala - Brighter Days | 5-7-10-x (3 weeks)

I have similar opinions on both the Sigala and Jonas Blue albums actually. Singles were hit and miss, although I don't believe that Sigala had quite as strong a track record as Jonas Blue pre-album. The album tracks actually push it ahead as a full effort, with Somebody being my favourite non-single, but there's not many potential hits left I'd say. Either way, I enjoyed it more than I expected, particularly from the early Sigala singles!

Top 40 Hits
04 We Don't Care (Sigala & The Vamps)
09 Say You Do (feat. Imani & DJ Fresh)
10 Lullaby (Sigala & Paloma Faith)
24 Came Here For Love (Sigala & Ella Eyre)
36 Just Got Paid (Sigala, Ella Eyre & Meghan Trainor feat. French Montana)
37 Easy Love
37 Feels Like Home (Sigala, Fuse ODG & Sean Paul feat. Kent Jones)

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33 David Guetta - 7 | 5-6-12-15-x (4 weeks)

And a third dance album in a row. David Guetta's album impressed me the most, perhaps helped by it being a little more pop than dance in places. I'm in the minority that wasn't so keen on Guetta in the Nothing But the Beat era, I found his singles very overplayed and borderline annoying for the most part then, but I've enjoyed him more since, and more than ever in his current era. I enjoy the mix of more current-sounding tracks like Don't Leave Me Alone and Say My Name, as well as dancier tracks like Like I Do, which is a song I enjoyed way more than I expected.

Top 40 Hits
03 Goodbye (Jason Derulo & David Guetta feat. Nicki Minaj & Willy William)
08 Mad Love (Sean Paul & David Guetta feat. Becky G)
08 Say My Name (David Guetta, Bebe Rexha & J Balvin)
09 Don't Leave Me Alone (feat. Anne-Marie)
10 2U (feat. Justin Bieber)
13 Like I Do (David Guetta, Martin Garrix & Brooks)
30 Dirty Sexy Money (David Guetta & Afrojack feat. Charli XCX & French Montana)

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32 Saara Aalto - Wild Wild Wonderland | 4-5-6-8-13-15-x (6 weeks)

I didn't always love Saara on The X Factor but she intrigued me, and nobody could deny her killer set of lungs. Her new album would probably have passed me by without the ties to Eurovision, and the impressive Monsters, which I'm thrilled was selected to be the song she sang at Eurovision. The album provides some great pop moments, my other higlight being My Touch, which could easily have been a lost Girls Aloud album track. She's not had a top 10 hit in my chart yet, but if she keeps the quality up, I'm expecting one in the future.

Top 40 Hits
12 Monsters
28 My Touch

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31 Mariah Carey - Caution | 3-5-… (2+ weeks)

One of the newer albums in the countdown, the Queen of Christmas unleashed her first new album in four years. Caution was a shorter effort than any Mariah album this side of the millennium, and was all the better for it. Compared to Me. I Am Mariah...The Elusive Chanteuse (which I still enjoyed), Caution is a much more focused effort with some really solid moments. GTFO was particularly great - still undeniably Mariah, but with a keen eye on current trends and the potential memes that come from it.

Top 40 Hits
14 GTFO
26 With You

Posted by: CodySleighBell-y 9th December 2018, 06:34 PM

I actually like A No No better than the two singles Mariah did release from that album! GTFO just resonates with me bc of the Porter Robinson sample

Posted by: sergejdordij98 9th December 2018, 07:15 PM

From the albums I like the James Bay, Jonas Blue and Sigala albums!
It had many songs on there that I really like!
David Guetta's and Mariah Carey's albums had a couple songs that I enjoy as well.
Need to listen to the other albums soon.

Posted by: JosephCarey 9th December 2018, 08:03 PM

QUOTE(sergejdordij98 @ Dec 9 2018, 07:15 PM)

Posted by: Jamie Barkley 9th December 2018, 08:10 PM

James Bay, Christina Aguilera and Mariah Carey are the only albums I've listened to fully out of those so far. A very mixed bunch. I mostly enjoyed Mariah's and Christina's but James's was a bit of let down (and I'm one of the 3 people who actually liked Wild Love!)

Posted by: JosephCarey 9th December 2018, 08:14 PM

QUOTE(Jamie Barkley @ Dec 9 2018, 08:10 PM)

Posted by: Calum 9th December 2018, 08:18 PM

Not here for Blue being lower than Brighter Days and Guetta xx

Posted by: JosephCarey 9th December 2018, 08:21 PM

QUOTE(Calum @ Dec 9 2018, 08:18 PM)

Posted by: JosephCarey 9th December 2018, 08:22 PM

Albums



30 Kacey Musgraves - Golden Hour | 2-7-8-10-12-13-13-15-x (8 weeks)

Another country album now, and interestingly, the only album in my top 40 EOY that didn't produce any singles top 40 hits. That's not to belittle Kacey Musgraves though, who achieved her highest charting album to date with Golden Hour, losing out on #1 to Kate Nash's Yesterday Was Forever (which is still to come). It's also her best album to date, with Kacey continuing to trailblaze in country music, crafting her own style and sound while singing about modern topics. It's not difficult to see why her music is so critically acclaimed and accessible for people who may not be here for the traditional style of country music. A great album, and I hope it cleans up during awards season!

Top 40 Hits
None.

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29 Cardi B - Invasion of Privacy | 5-7-9-10-10-10-13-x-15-x (8 non-consecutive weeks)

One of the biggest names of the year, Cardi B's debut album is the second highest album in my countdown not make the top 2. Invasion of Privacy lived up to its preceding singles - it's bold, brashy and introduces Cardi perfectly. I Like It was my instant highlight and I'm so pleased it blossomed into such a massive hit. The album as a whole is one I've returned to in bits and pieces over time - mostly the singles, but songs like Get Up 10 and Ring are excellent too. Cardi also has the highest female rap album in the EOY countdown x

Top 40 Hits
03 I Like It (Cardi B, Bad Bunny & J Balvin)
12 Ring (feat. Kehlani)
13 Bartier Cardi (feat. 21 Savage)
27 Bodak Yellow
36 Money

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28 Years & Years - Palo Santo | 1-4-5-8-9-11-12-x (7 weeks)

Now for the lowest #1 album in the countdown. Years & Years' debut album Communion was my second favourite album of 2015, so quite a drop for the second album, but Palo Santo isn't by any means bad. It's a solid album in fact, and I saw them live on Wednesday (5th Dec) too - it was brilliant, so much fun and even the least familiar album tracks were good to my ears. However, for whatever reason, I've not been drawn back to anything much. A shoutout to All For You, which I underrated way too much as a single - its peak is deceiving! In fact, I think I'd rank the singles in reverse order to their positions

Top 40 Hits
06 Sanctify
13 If You're Over Me
25 All For You

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27 Charlie Puth - Voicenotes | 1-3-5-6-10-11-13-13-14-15-x (10 weeks)

Another underwhelming second album, Charlie Puth's Voicenotes is another #1 album to drop out. The album actually grew on me after I was underwhelmed on one listen, and managed a decent chart run in the end, but it's a far cry from the surprise success of Nine Track Mind, which is far superior. The upsetting thing is that Voicenotes actually has a far superior collection of singles - all four are brilliant, even The Way I Am (his first single to miss my top 10 since Marvin Gaye, but it's a deceiving peak). Hopefully a little more quality control for Charlie's next album!

Top 40 Hits
01 How Long
02 Done For Me (feat. Kehlani)
03 Attention
17 The Way I Am

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26 Carrie Underwood - Cry Pretty | 2-4-7-8-9-11-13-x (7 weeks)

The highest country album, Carrie Underwood delivered another strong collection. It had a disappointingly short run - I actually thought it had done better, obviously I've not paid anywhere near as much attention as I should have. It's actually the freshest Carrie album in a little while for me. The previous album, Storyteller, was good but felt quite Carrie-by-numbers. However, she takes on refreshing themes on Cry Pretty - speaking up for equality in Love Wins, and singing about gun crime in the gut-wrenching The Bullet.

Top 40 Hits
05 Love Wins
07 Cry Pretty

Posted by: PeteLeftLeeds 10th December 2018, 10:08 AM

I've heard quite a few songs from the Catherine McGrath album, Talk of the Town is definitely the standout although I liked Good Goodbyes as well! Brighter Days is a great album also but had a few too many singles on it for me! Easy Love and Sweet Lovin' were the absolute standouts but Brighter Days and All For Love were great album tracks.

Posted by: SantaDalek32 10th December 2018, 11:46 AM

Invasion Of Privacy is pretty good.
Palo Santo is a great album from Y&Y.

Posted by: JosephCarey 10th December 2018, 06:59 PM

QUOTE(PeteLeftLeeds @ Dec 10 2018, 10:08 AM)

QUOTE(SantaDalek32 @ Dec 10 2018, 11:46 AM)

Posted by: JosephCarey 10th December 2018, 07:11 PM

Albums



25 FELIX SANDMAN - EMOTIONS | 4-5-8-5-6-8-12-12-15-x (9 weeks)

Former FO&O member Felix Sandman, stylised in capitals, made his solo debut at Melodifestivalen in February, where he went on to finish second with EVERY SINGLE DAY, his very first single. It was an instant top 3 hit in my chart, while follow-up IMPRINT made the top 10 also. The album doesn't quite live up to the high standard of these two, but third single PART OF ME and also LOVISA are among the highlights on what's definitely a cohesive effort. It's the highest album that failed to reach my weekly top 2 as well, so not bad going!

Top 40 Hits
03 EVERY SINGLE DAY
07 IMPRINT
20 PART OF ME

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24 Little Mix - LM5 | 2-3-… (2+ weeks)

Another relatively new album here, Little Mix didn't quite make the #1 high of previous album Glory Days thanks to Alec Benjamin's Narrated for You (still to come), but their most consistent effort yet still debuted at an impressive #2. Woman Like Me is not their stongest single, but thankfully it wasn't indicative of the album's quality. Monster In Me and The Cure are brilliant, powerful tracks, while Joan of Arc is a great indicator of the bops included too.

Top 40 Hits
04 Only You (Cheat Codes & Little Mix)
08 Woman Like Me (feat. Nicki Minaj)

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23 George Ezra - Staying At Tamara's | 1-3-8-10-11-13-14-14-x (8 weeks)

Although it's far from being the biggest #1 album of my chart this year, George Ezra probably has one of the most surprising. Staying At Tamara's followed up his first #1 single in my chart (Don't Matter Now last year), but it didn't have much longevity and follow-up Paradise only made #28. The album is very strong though, a lot stronger than Wanted On Voyage, which only ever made it as high as #10 for me. Shotgun was the instant highlight on first listen, and I'm so glad it went on to become the big hit it was destined to be.

Top 40 Hits
01 Don't Matter Now
09 Shotgun
28 Paradise

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22 Jagwar Twin - Subject to Flooding | 1-2-4-5-7-11-13-x (7 weeks)

Also perhaps a surprising #1 album, Jagwar Twin is the project of Roy English, a singer/songwriter best known for his feature on Alesso's top 10 hit Cool. The Jagwar Twin album showcased Roy's songwriting and vocals brilliantly, and it totally dominated my listening habits for a week. It tailed off rather quickly though, way quicker than I expected, but lead single Loser is an excellent anthem for the outcasts of society, while Move to You is a gorgeous ballad, Long Time Coming is a superb opener and Hell of a Night Pts 1 and 2 close the album in style.

Top 40 Hits
04 Loser
26 Long Time Coming
28 Move to You

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21 Bebe Rexha - Expectations | 1-1-3-6-7-12-12-13-13-x (9 weeks)

Bebe's own material has been up and down like crazy in my expectations (no pun intended). Her first EP, I Don't Wanna Grow Up, is often seen as her best material but it's not my favourite. I actually prefer All Your Fault: Pt. 1, which is an excellent short body of work and unfortunately not especially indicative of what was to come. All Your Fault: Pt. 2 was messier and I only really took Meant to Be from it in the end. The album ends up somewhere between those two EPs for me - it's good and left a brilliant first impression, but the tracks ended up merging into one. Shout out to promo singles Ferrari and 2 Souls on Fire, which ended up among the best on the album.

Top 40 Hits
02 Self Control
03 I'm a Mess
10 Meant to Be (Bebe Rexha & Florida Georgia Line)
17 I Got You

Posted by: PeteLeftLeeds 11th December 2018, 10:19 AM

Well I've probably heard most of the George album just from his singles Shotgun is amazing obviously, and Pretty Shining People is great as well!

Posted by: SantaDalek32 11th December 2018, 04:05 PM

Staying At Tamara's is a good one

Posted by: sergejdordij98 11th December 2018, 07:20 PM

Really like the albums of Cardi B, Years & Years, Charlie Puth, Little Mix and George Ezra!
All of those 5 albums are really great!

Posted by: JosephCarey 11th December 2018, 08:17 PM

QUOTE(PeteLeftLeeds @ Dec 11 2018, 10:19 AM)

Well I've probably heard most of the George album just from his singles Shotgun is amazing obviously, and Pretty Shining People is great as well!

QUOTE(SantaDalek32 @ Dec 11 2018, 04:05 PM)

QUOTE(sergejdordij98 @ Dec 11 2018, 07:20 PM)

Posted by: JosephCarey 11th December 2018, 08:44 PM

Albums



20 All Saints - Testament | 1-1-2-5-10-10-9-10-13-14-14-15-x (12 weeks)

This album's been boosted a little by their concert on last Thursday - it made me realise I'd placed it a bit too low! All Saints continued the high quality of their comeback with Testament, their second #1 album in my chart. While it's not quite as good as Red Flag for me, it's still a high quality album and probably their most consistent too. Highlights include both singles, as well as Glorious which sounded absolutely incredible live"

Top 40 Hits
08 Love Lasts Forever
24 After All

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19 Lily Allen - No Shame | 3-1-3-4-4-6-8-9-14-14-15-15-x (12 weeks)

Lily Allen's always produced high quality albums, and No Shame was no different to me. However, it was pretty different to Sheezus and much more comparable to the first two, with Lily's observations taking centre stage. Lily speaks candidly about her private life, honestly confessing about her marriage and her kids, and we see a vulnerability to Lily Allen that we've never seen before. I'm seeing Lily live next Monday and I'm really excited, she was amazing before so I'm hoping she will be again!

Top 40 Hits
01 Trigger Bang (feat. Giggs)
10 Lost My Mind
40 Family Man
40 Three

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18 5 Seconds of Summer - Youngblood | 4-1-2-3-5-7-8-13-13-14-14-x-4-5-7-13-x (15 non-consecutive weeks)

Another album that benefited from a live concert recently, I wasn't actually very familiar with Youngblood when I saw 5SOS live at Hammersmith Apollo in October. While I enjoyed the shake-up in sound, it didn't grab me like the previous two 5SOS albums. However, the live show proved to me just how many highlights the album has - the singles of course, as well as Talk Fast, Moving Along and Ghost of You.

Top 40 Hits
01 Want You Back
08 Youngblood
36 Valentine

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17 Kylie Minogue - Golden | 2-2-5-7-8-9-11-14-13-15-x-10-6-6-7-12-x (15 non-consecutive weeks)

Missing out on the #1 spot to CNCO's self-titled album (still to come), Kylie nevertheless managed her longest-running album to date with Golden. It's a brilliant album which sees Kylie find her feet with her most cohesive album in quite a while. The country-pop style suits her brilliantly, and lead single Dancing really sets the tone. Her tour was incredible too, and it's really put the album comfortably high in my affections, winning Kylie the highest non-#1 album in my EOY.

Top 40 Hits
02 Dancing
10 A Lifetime to Repair
17 Lost Without You
20 Stop Me From Falling
31 Raining Glitter
38 Music's Too Sad Without You (Kylie Minogue & Jack Savoretti)
40 Golden

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16 Ariana Grande - Sweetener | 1-3-3-3-6-7-9-9-8-9-7-9-11-15-15-… (15+ weeks)

I didn't love Ariana Grande's Sweetener album quite as much as I'd expected. Dangerous Woman was in my top 3 albums of 2016, and following all of the hype, Sweetener missed the mark a little for me. That's not to say it's bad - I actually think it's a great listen, but the highs aren't as high as Dangerous Woman and I've not returned to it as much. Nevertheless, the singles, especially no tears left to cry, all remain incredible!

Top 40 Hits
01 no tears left to cry
05 God is a woman
19 breathin

Posted by: SantaDalek32 12th December 2018, 12:23 PM

No Shame and Sweetener are great pop albums, and Golden is a pretty good fusion of pop and country.

Posted by: PeteLeftLeeds 12th December 2018, 04:59 PM

Some more albums there I've heard some of, Lily Allen had some nice tracks this year as did Kylie, but her Jack collab was a bit of a damp squib for me.

Posted by: Calum 12th December 2018, 05:59 PM

Golden a lot higher than I thought it'd be in here *.* On the flip side, there's a few I thought would be higher than they are, i.e. Ariana, LM.

Posted by: LewisGT 12th December 2018, 10:03 PM

Shame to see that LM5 & Sweetener are out already. Both easily two of my favourite albums of the year although admittedly LM5 is a little bit weaker than Glory Days.

Posted by: dobbo 13th December 2018, 07:08 PM

Sigala & Jonas Blue's albums were quite disappointing aside from the singles but I'm glad we got them at all!

Posted by: JosephCarey 13th December 2018, 09:04 PM

QUOTE(SantaDalek32 @ Dec 12 2018, 12:23 PM)

QUOTE(PeteLeftLeeds @ Dec 12 2018, 04:59 PM)

QUOTE(Calum @ Dec 12 2018, 05:59 PM)

Golden a lot higher than I thought it'd be in here *.* On the flip side, there's a few I thought would be higher than they are, i.e. Ariana, LM.

QUOTE(LewisGT @ Dec 12 2018, 10:03 PM)

QUOTE(dobbo @ Dec 13 2018, 07:08 PM)

Posted by: JosephCarey 13th December 2018, 09:25 PM

Albums



15 Tom Odell - Jubilee Road | 2-1-2-2-5-7-… (6+ weeks)

Tom Odell has been one of the most successful artists in my chart's history. His debut album Long Way Down was #2 in my EOY album chart 2013 and boasts the second longest tally for weeks on my top 15 album chart. Wrong Crowd was in my EOY top 5 2016 too. Jubilee Road doesn't make it so high, but it's another triumph for Tom, and one that would perhaps have been higher with more time. The songwriting feels much more like Tom at its core than anything he's done to date, and sees him growing up and starting to settle down on Jubilee Road. Highlights other than the singles include You're Gonna Break My Heart Tonight and the title track.

Top 40 Hits
02 Half As Good As You (feat. Alice Merton)
02 If You Wanna Love Somebody
40 Piano Man

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14 Benjamin Ingrosso - Identification | 1-2-2-3-5-7-8-11-12-… (9+ weeks)

After a run of standalone singles, the success at Melodifestivalen of Dance You Off finally persuaded Benjamin Ingrosso to release his debut studio album, Identification. The outcome was solid - nothing was quite as good as the Swedish star's Eurovision entry, but nevertheless it's an enjoyable pop album. The singles all stand out positively, while songs like So Good So Fine When You're Messing With My Mind bring the fun side while I'll Be Fine Somehow sets the tone for the more mellow tracks. A really good album, one that puts Benjamin alongside the top players in the male pop music scene for sure.

Top 40 Hits
02 Dance You Off
02 I Wouldn't Know
28 Behave

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13 Marcus & Martinus - Moments | 3-4-1-2-2-5-6-7-8-11-12-12-12-13-x-15-x-15-14-x (17 non-consecutive weeks)

Charting for the first time in the very first chart week of the year, Marcus & Martinus made their album chart debut with their third studio album Moments. The album came preceded by a number of singles, but it was Make You Believe in Love that finally made me sit up and take notice of the Finnish twins. It's a pop triumph and finished 50th in my EOY singles chart last year, but despite it only charting for one year in my top 40 this year, it's in my top 15 most played since January. The album is solid from start to finish, with well-produced pop songs being the name of the game. Dance With You is a great arena-ready yet more mellow track, while Like It Like It brings the fun to close the album (although Remind Me's late release saw it tagged onto the end, providing an even better finish...!)

Top 40 Hits
03 Make You Believe in Love
03 Remind Me
15 Like It Like It (feat. Silentó)

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12 Isac Elliot - FAITH | 1-1-3-4-5-3-6-8-8-9-9-11-12-15-x (14 weeks)

For a while it felt like Isac Elliot's third studio album might never come. Singles Lipstick and No One Else in 2015 didn't lead anywhere, and although an EP followed in 2016 (a very good one at that), it seemed to be followed up by yet more standalone releases. However, Isac ultimately released his new album with less than a week's notice at the very end of 2017. It included all of his singles from 2015 onwards, even those included on the EP, and one new song: Uncover Me. Though it's more like a greatest hits album, Isac proves why he is one of pop's most consistent stars. He delivers catchy tracks so effortlessly, varying the tone of the album from uptempo floor-fillers (Mouth to Mouth, Lipstick) to more reflective ballads (I Wrote a Song for You, No One Else, What About Me). His best effort to date!

Top 40 Hits
01 Mouth to Mouth
05 Worth Something
06 Lipstick (feat. Tyga)
09 SHE
20 Beast (Tungevaag & Raaban & Isac Elliot)
23 AYO
23 What About Me
36 EYES SHUT

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11 Kate Nash - Yesterday Was Forever | 1-3-4-6-8-7-8-9-10-12-14-x (11 weeks)

Just missing out on a top 10 spot is a huge return to form for Kate Nash. Her debut album Made of Bricks, released in 2007, is my all-time favourite album and is incredible from start to finish. 2010's My Best Friend is You ranks highly too, another strong collection. However, 2013's Girl Talk missed the mark quite a bit for me. Not a bad album, and still made #1 in my chart, but way off her usual quality and much more filler. Yesterday Was Forever doesn't top the first two albums, but it feels much more cohesive an effort from Kate after five years away. She doesn't lose her quirkiness on songs like My Little Alien, or her feistiness on songs like Hate You, but she cranks out quality pop music. Karaoke Kiss is my easy highlight - her best song in a long time, and her first #1 on my chart, and it sounds like it could be a lost Carly Rae Jepsen song. Superb effort and a welcome return!

Top 40 Hits
01 Karaoke Kiss
04 Hate You
08 Call Me
18 My Little Alien
20 Drink About You
20 Life in Pink

Posted by: PeteLeftLeeds 14th December 2018, 02:18 PM

Marcus & Martinus

Tom Odell on the other hand is amazing, his singles so far haven't been as great as the last album but IYWTLS is a proper masterpiece!

Posted by: JosephCarey 14th December 2018, 08:47 PM

QUOTE(PeteLeftLeeds @ Dec 14 2018, 02:18 PM)

Marcus & Martinus

Tom Odell on the other hand is amazing, his singles so far haven't been as great as the last album but IYWTLS is a proper masterpiece!

Posted by: JosephCarey 14th December 2018, 08:51 PM

Albums



10 The Vamps - Night & Day (Day Edition) | 1-2-4-4-6-8-11-11-10-11-14-15-13-14-x (14 weeks)

The Vamps released the Day Edition of the Night & Day double album this year, and it became their fourth #1 album, tying the record with One Direction and Taylor Swift for most #1 albums. Overall, it became their shortest-running #1 album to date, but it's still a high quality dance/pop album and the bonus tracks from their individual editions are of a notably higher quality than the Night Edition. What Your Father Says and Cheap Wine stand out as non-single highlights, and dare I say they'd have been better singles than Hair Too Long and Just My Type.

Top 40 Hits
01 Personal (feat. Maggie Lindemann)
03 Hair Too Long
03 Too Good to Be True (Danny Avila & The Vamps feat. Machine Gun Kelly)
06 Just My Type

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9 Shawn Mendes - Shawn Mendes | 1-1-2-3-5-6-5-7-5-6-9-7-8-10-14-13-12-14-15-x (19 weeks)

2018 saw Shawn Mendes releasing his third studio album, and it was his most mature effort yet. Lead single In My Blood immediately set the tone, seeing a more reflective and downbeat Shawn compared to his other hit singles. Despite the notable step up in maturity, In My Blood still feels very much Shawn, looking back to the album tracks across both Handwritten and Illuminate. The rest of the album saw him shake things up though, with Nervous and Lost In Japan both feeling quite JT-inspired, while he sings about the recent rise in school shooting and terrorist attacks in Youth. His Julia Michaels collaboration is great too, as well as album tracks like Perfectly Wrong and Where Were You in the Morning. His best album to date!

Top 40 Hits
01 In My Blood
06 Lost In Japan (Shawn Mendes & Zedd)
09 Nervous

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8 Camila Cabello - Camila | 1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-2-4-4-7-9-14-14-14-x-8-12-10-11-11-12-14-x (23 non-consecutive weeks)

The longest running #1 album in my chart this year, Camila took advantage of a quiet time in the year by releasing her debut album in January. Not to belittle the achievement though, because she would have won those weeks hands down even with stronger competition too. Camila's album disppointed me a little on one listen, being way more ballad heavy than I expected. However, it feels way more authentic than an album full of bops would have felt. It's Camila through and through, and each of the ballads stood out to me in various ways with repeated listens. All These Years and Real Friends are brilliantly written, and Consequences is heartbreaking. The bops bring a lot to the album too - of course Havana is great, and She Loves Control is such a missed single opportunity.

Top 40 Hits
02 Havana (feat. Young Thug)
05 Never Be the Same
17 She Loves Control
27 Real Friends
36 Consequences
39 Inside Out
40 Into It

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7 CNCO - CNCO | 1-1-1-3-4-4-6-8-8-11-15-14-15-13-14-12-15-15-x (18 weeks)

This album is one of my favourite surprises of the year. I was intrigued by CNCO's second album after I quite enjoyed their debut, and really loved the Reggaetón Lento remix with Little Mix. I didn't, however, expect to love it quite this much. The self-titled album from the Latin pop boyband debuted at #1 comfortably ahead of Kylie's Golden, and went on to dominate my singles chart, with eight songs in my top 40 in a single week. With Latin pop, you know what you're getting when you listen to it, and CNCO don't deviate far from the confines of the genre, but they sell it so well with catchy hooks even to me, who speaks only a limited amount of Spanish. I've got a ticket to see them in London next year and I am so excited, think it will be a really fun night!

Top 40 Hits
01 Sólo Yo
02 Mi Medicina
02 Reggaetón Lento (CNCO & Little Mix)
04 Hey DJ (CNCO with Yandel or Meghan Trainor & Sean Paul)
05 Se Vuelve Loca
12 Mala Actitud
19 Mamita
39 Fiesta en Mi Casa

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6 Anne-Marie - Speak Your Mind | 3-1-2-3-4-4-5-6-8-9-7-8-9-10-11-8-9-11-15-14-13-15-x-4-6-9-11-14-8-4-... (29+ non-consecutive weeks)

Things are getting really tight at the top end of the countdown, as Anne-Marie's debut unfortunately misses out on my top 5. Speak Your Mind was highly anticipated, and it soared to #1 in its first full week of availability. All of the pre-album singles had me very hyped, and the album didn't miss the mark either. Across the entire deluxe album, I'd say only Machine and Some People are lowlights. The rest of the album is brilliant and a very assured debut from one of the most exciting names in pop music currently. It's a shame Anne-Marie seems to have garnered a lot of hate across Buzzjack, because this deserves a whole load more recognition on here!

Top 40 Hits
01 FRIENDS (Marshmello & Anne-Marie)
01 Heavy
01 Rockabye (Clean Bandit feat. Sean Paul & Anne-Marie)
01 Then
02 2002
02 Ciao Adios
03 Alarm
06 Perfect to Me
09 Don't Leave Me Alone (David Guetta feat. Anne-Marie)

Posted by: JosephCarey 14th December 2018, 08:51 PM

Top 5

Alec Benjamin - Narrated for You
Lil Xan - TOTAL XANARCHY
Rita Ora - Phoenix
Troye Sivan - Bloom
Why Don't We - 8 Letters

Any predictions?

Posted by: Calum 14th December 2018, 10:13 PM

Shawn only #9? This EOY is cancelled x

Posted by: JosephCarey 14th December 2018, 10:15 PM

QUOTE(Calum @ Dec 14 2018, 10:13 PM)

Posted by: UltraReputation 15th December 2018, 12:04 AM

Hey Joseph, so much catching up to do as I've missed this all! <3

Oops not the best start for me Anything other than TGS at #1 in compilations makes the list invalid x Ew down with Lil Xan x Maty Noyes EP was so disappointing for me after she delivered bops like In My Mind & London. Yasss at the kings WDW tho *.*

Time to get onto the albums *.*
Lucie's album disappointed me & I've barely returned to it at all
Talk Of The Town is SO good and one of my fave albums of the year <3 It really took me by surprise how good it was as I've been interested in Catherine since last 2016 but it wasn't until Wild that I absolutely loved a song by her and the album slays. My fave album track is Good Goodbyes <3
Liberation is diabolical x That's all on that x
Blue is quite a solid album acc, Desperate & Purpose are such bops and def my faves of the non singles <3
I'm the same with having similar opinions on Jonas/Sigala albums *.* Just Got Paid is such a bop tho *.* Once again Nina is my album track highlight with Somebody *.*
Same with 7 haha x Christ at Goodbye going top 3 here tho, lemme pray for you xx Queen Ava Max's Let It Be Me>>>>>>>
Saara's album is SO good Monsters, Dance, Dance While Nobody's Watching & Domino are my faves, all faves of mine this year <3
Caution was ok but not horrendous haha so idm it being here x
Golden Hour is really good, idk if I love it as much as others but High Horse + Slow Burn deserve all the acclaim they get <3
Cardi's album is full of bops from the singles to album tracks so yasss at that making it here *.*
Palo Santo is solid and All For You is def the highlight so yasss at us agreeing on that <3
Voicenotes is SHITE. Soz x Ik you've been bringing up 1st to 2nd album quality drops quite a lot so far but Charlie's is potentially the biggest ever for me. I loved him so much during the OTM era but now he irritates me so much and his music (bar Attention) has become SO bad His album drop in my chart was like 1.5m sold for OTM to under 50k for Voicenotes
Cry Pretty <3 <3 The titular track, Love Wins, The Bullet & Southbound are my highlights <3 Another beyond strong album from Carrie tho <3
LM5 slays and I agree with all your individual comments of the tracks bar Joan of Arc x The Cure & MIM are both such highlights <3
Bebe's expectations is so good, it deserved better
Testament is so good and the two charted singles from you are by far my faves on the album <3
No Shame is also fab, even if it's probs my least fave Lily album ngl.
Youngblood is solid and Sweetener is underwhelming but the highs (NTLTC, Breathin) are up there with the best of the year
Love Golden, so many highlights and I'm shocked how much I've gone back to it this year!
Shawn was also pretty underwhelming bar Nervous, I need him to serve more bops
Camila is fab, even if she completely f***ed up the single choices haha
CNCO *.* Ahora Lloras Tu with Ana and Hey DJ with Meghan and Reggaeton Lento with LM>>>>>>>>>anything else they've done tho x
Anne's album is honestly so good (bar perfect) and full of bops so yasss it slaying here <3

Phoenix & 8 Letters better be the top 2 or I'm getting this thread deleted xxx

And I'm out x fab countdown so far <3

Posted by: dobbo 15th December 2018, 01:29 PM

Hooray for being one of about four people on this forum who like 'Make You Believe In Love'

Anne-Marie definitely gets way too much unwarranted hate, looking at that list on your chart they are mostly good songs! Plus she's always come across well in interviews etc. imo

Posted by: dancember 15th December 2018, 01:45 PM

Out of that top five I'd go for Rita Ora though I expect it'll be a Why Don't We victory.

Posted by: JosephCarey 15th December 2018, 02:19 PM

QUOTE(UltraReputation @ Dec 15 2018, 12:04 AM)

Hey Joseph, so much catching up to do as I've missed this all! <3

Oops not the best start for me Anything other than TGS at #1 in compilations makes the list invalid x Ew down with Lil Xan x Maty Noyes EP was so disappointing for me after she delivered bops like In My Mind & London. Yasss at the kings WDW tho *.*

Time to get onto the albums *.*
Lucie's album disappointed me & I've barely returned to it at all
Talk Of The Town is SO good and one of my fave albums of the year <3 It really took me by surprise how good it was as I've been interested in Catherine since last 2016 but it wasn't until Wild that I absolutely loved a song by her and the album slays. My fave album track is Good Goodbyes <3
Liberation is diabolical x That's all on that x
Blue is quite a solid album acc, Desperate & Purpose are such bops and def my faves of the non singles <3
I'm the same with having similar opinions on Jonas/Sigala albums *.* Just Got Paid is such a bop tho *.* Once again Nina is my album track highlight with Somebody *.*
Same with 7 haha x Christ at Goodbye going top 3 here tho, lemme pray for you xx Queen Ava Max's Let It Be Me>>>>>>>
Saara's album is SO good Monsters, Dance, Dance While Nobody's Watching & Domino are my faves, all faves of mine this year <3
Caution was ok but not horrendous haha so idm it being here x
Golden Hour is really good, idk if I love it as much as others but High Horse + Slow Burn deserve all the acclaim they get <3
Cardi's album is full of bops from the singles to album tracks so yasss at that making it here *.*
Palo Santo is solid and All For You is def the highlight so yasss at us agreeing on that <3
Voicenotes is SHITE. Soz x Ik you've been bringing up 1st to 2nd album quality drops quite a lot so far but Charlie's is potentially the biggest ever for me. I loved him so much during the OTM era but now he irritates me so much and his music (bar Attention) has become SO bad His album drop in my chart was like 1.5m sold for OTM to under 50k for Voicenotes
Cry Pretty <3 <3 The titular track, Love Wins, The Bullet & Southbound are my highlights <3 Another beyond strong album from Carrie tho <3
LM5 slays and I agree with all your individual comments of the tracks bar Joan of Arc x The Cure & MIM are both such highlights <3
Bebe's expectations is so good, it deserved better
Testament is so good and the two charted singles from you are by far my faves on the album <3
No Shame is also fab, even if it's probs my least fave Lily album ngl.
Youngblood is solid and Sweetener is underwhelming but the highs (NTLTC, Breathin) are up there with the best of the year
Love Golden, so many highlights and I'm shocked how much I've gone back to it this year!
Shawn was also pretty underwhelming bar Nervous, I need him to serve more bops
Camila is fab, even if she completely f***ed up the single choices haha
CNCO *.* Ahora Lloras Tu with Ana and Hey DJ with Meghan and Reggaeton Lento with LM>>>>>>>>>anything else they've done tho x
Anne's album is honestly so good (bar perfect) and full of bops so yasss it slaying here <3

Phoenix & 8 Letters better be the top 2 or I'm getting this thread deleted xxx

And I'm out x fab countdown so far <3

QUOTE(dobbo @ Dec 15 2018, 01:29 PM)

QUOTE(dancember @ Dec 15 2018, 01:45 PM)

Out of that top five I'd go for Rita Ora though I expect it'll be a Why Don't We victory.

Posted by: JosephCarey 15th December 2018, 02:46 PM

Albums



5 Lil Xan - TOTAL XANARCHY | 2-1-2-2-3-1-2-2-3-2-4-3-3-5-5-5-4-9-6-4-7-8-10-10-11-13-14-14-10-14-13-... (31+ weeks)

I'm going to be talking quite a lot about Lil Xan over this countdown but honestly I'm still not really sure what it is I like about his music. I guess he's good at creating a catchy chorus and a memorable melody, but actually his lyrics are pretty bad and it's so far removed from what I usually like. Maybe that's why I was so drawn to TOTAL XANARCHY. It's the biggest album of the year if we look at chart runs alone, but I have to take quality into account and it's definitely not a perfect album. Diamonds is kinda painful to listen to and Tick Tock is really not brilliant either, but there's plenty to enjoy too. Who I Am serves as a great opener (aside from a questionable word I'd rather he didn't use), and the run of Saved By the Bell and Moonlight is so good. Betrayed is a worthy song to be his signature track - it didn't get to make much of an impact in my singles chart but it's without a doubt his most "iconic" track. I always say I love a surprise in music and this album surprised me in ways I certainly didn't expect.

Top 40 Hits
01 Moonlight (Lil Xan & Charli XCX)
04 Color Blind (Diplo & Lil Xan)
10 Saved By the Bell
28 Betrayed
40 Slingshot

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4 Alec Benjamin - Narrated for You | 1-1-2-… (3+ weeks)

It's always a risk to put new albums so high in this countdown as there's every chance they won't last in my affections, but the instant impact of this one is pretty undeniable. American singer/songwriter Alec Benjamin has been drip-feeding singles for a while now, but finally released his full body of work, described as a mixtape but I've opted to include it here rather than in my mixtapes post. It's a shining beacon displaying one of the best songwriters in pop music right now. Alec has a knack for writing catchy, accessible tracks about a variety of subject matters around love and life that I've not really heard others talk about. Water Fountain is an imaginative and heartfelt song about falling in love with someone who chooses a different guy over you, while Annabelle's Homework could be taken both literally and metaphorically - working hard for somebody who doesn't notice you. Let Me Down Slowly is the shining star of the album, with current production meeting Alec's heartbreaking lyrics about a relationship ending. I couldn't recommend this enough, and I think if this doesn't assure you of just how much I love this album, the fact that 11 of the 12 songs have charted in my top 40 at some point might...

Top 40 Hits
01 Let Me Down Slowly
03 1994
03 Steve
05 Outrunning Karma
06 Annabelle's Homework
07 Water Fountain
08 If We Have Each Other
33 Boy in the Bubble
35 Swim
38 Death of a Hero
38 If I Killed Someone for You

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3 Rita Ora - Phoenix | 7-1-… (2+ weeks)

An even newer album, Phoenix was less of a surprise and more one of the most anticipated albums of 2018 for me. As every Rita fan knows, it's been a long journey to get to her second album, taking over 6 years from when ORA came out in 2012. Every single she released for this album was brilliant, and my expectations were high. That said, even if the album tracks were weak, the singles could quite easily carry the album. Thankfully, they don't have to, as there's loads to enjoy away from the six tracks we'd heard already. Only Want You presented itself as the clear next single, and First Time High is the Clean Bandit collaboration we never got in favour of Nowhere. Keep Talking is one of the biggest growers of the album, and the deluxe tracks all bring something different too. I love how we hear Rita singing songs we wouldn't expect her to, thanks to her eyes being mainly on the singles market. Songs like Falling to Pieces and Hell of a Life aren't chart-ready, but they serve as a brilliant display of Rita's versatility on this body of work. Rita is absolutely dominating the female pop scene right now, but please don't leave it so long til the next album x

Top 40 Hits
01 Anywhere
01 For You (Liam Payne & Rita Ora)
01 Girls (feat. Cardi B, Bebe Rexha & Charli XCX)
01 Let You Love Me
01 Lonely Together (Avicii feat. Rita Ora)
01 Only Want You
07 Your Song

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2 Troye Sivan - Bloom | 1-2-2-3-3-4-3-3-4-6-6-6-10-10-… (14+ weeks)

Here we are at last. Just missing out on achieving a second EOY album #1, Troye Sivan's Bloom doesn't manage to follow Blue Neighbourhood to the top, but it nevertheless puts up a brilliant fight. What's interesting is that both of these top 2 albums actually came out on the same day! Bloom was THE most anticipated album of the year for me. Following Blue Neighbourhood was an impossible task, and I never expected it to top what's become my second all-time favourite album. That said, Bloom does a damn good job regardless. We see a more comfortable Troye, feeling more than happy in his own skin in songs like My My My!, Bloom and Plum, and the opener Seventeen sets the scene superbly. Lucky Strike is my personal favourite non-single, an ode to falling in love with somebody. It gives me that exciting warm feeling inside and became a huge hit in my chart even without the single treatment. Troye joins forces with Ariana on the smooth and silky Dance to This, and he excels on tracks like What a Heavenly Way to Die and Animal too, both of which could easily have slotted into Blue Neighbourhood's tracklist. It's an evolution in the best way. Troye knows how to make excellent pop music with plenty of personality, and always with the message to be who you want to be. It always makes me sad to see his lack of commercial success, but nevertheless the critical reaction definitely makes up for it.

Top 40 Hits
01 Bloom
01 My My My!
02 Lucky Strike
05 Dance to This (feat. Ariana Grande)
13 The Good Side
21 Animal
26 Plum
30 Seventeen

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1 Why Don't We - 8 Letters | 6-1-1-1-2-3-1-1-1-2-3-4-6-8-... (14+ weeks)

And finally, my favourite album of the year. It's probably no surprise to see American boyband Why Don't We at #1 with their debut release, because they've truly dominated my year from start to finish. It's quite impressive, considering the album contains only 8 songs, 3 of which I'd heard already as singles. However, that didn't hinder my first listen whatsoever. The singles are spread out and the new songs interweave brilliantly. Why Don't We have mastered the art of excellent pop music - the album is varied, switching between uptempo, radio-friendly bops like Talk and Friends, while they manage to delve deeper into their emotions with the remarkably mature 8 Letters, In Too Deep and Hard. Although I'd have enjoyed a few more songs, that's my only criticism. Ultimately, I'd rather quality over quantity, and there's not a single weak link among all eight tracks. Each band member gets a moment to shine - Jack takes the lead on several songs and for me is the shining star, with his choruses on Hooked and 8 Letters being superb as well as his adlibs on Hard, but nobody is left by the wayside as can often happen in boybands. The future is bright for Why Don't We, and I think things will only get better. Now for the UK to sit up and take notice...!

Top 40 Hits
01 8 Letters
01 Hooked
01 Talk
01 Trust Fund Baby [Japanese bonus track]
10 These Girls [Japanese bonus track]
31 Hard
31 Something Different [Japanese bonus track]
39 Choose
40 Friends

Posted by: JosephCarey 15th December 2018, 03:09 PM

Albums




1 Why Don't We - 8 Letters
2 Troye Sivan - Bloom
3 Rita Ora - Phoenix
4 Alec Benjamin - Narrated for You
5 Lil Xan - TOTAL XANARCHY
6 Anne-Marie - Speak Your Mind
7 CNCO - CNCO
8 Camila Cabello - Camila
9 Shawn Mendes - Shawn Mendes
10 The Vamps - Night & Day (Day Edition)

11 Kate Nash - Yesterday Was Forever
12 Isac Elliot - FAITH
13 Marcus & Martinus - Moments
14 Benjamin Ingrosso - Identification
15 Tom Odell - Jubilee Road
16 Ariana Grande - Sweetener
17 Kylie Minogue - Golden
18 5 Seconds of Summer - Youngblood
19 Lily Allen - No Shame
20 All Saints - Testament

21 Bebe Rexha - Expectations
22 Jagwar Twin - Subject to Flooding
23 George Ezra - Staying At Tamara's
24 Little Mix - LM5
25 FELIX SANDMAN - EMOTIONS
26 Carrie Underwood - Cry Pretty
27 Charlie Puth - Voicenotes
28 Years & Years - Palo Santo
29 Cardi B - Invasion of Privacy
30 Kacey Musgraves - Golden Hour

31 Mariah Carey - Caution
32 Saara Aalto - Wild Wild Wonderland
33 David Guetta - 7
34 Sigala - Brighter Days
35 Jonas Blue - Blue
36 Christina Aguilera - Liberation
37 Nemo Schiffman - Omen
38 Catherine McGrath - Talk of This Town
39 James Bay - Electric Light
40 Lucie Silvas - E.G.O.

Posted by: PeteLeftLeeds 15th December 2018, 07:07 PM

Interesting (but semi-expected) choice of #1 - I've not heard much Why Don't We but they've sounded alright from what I've heard, I recognise a former avatar of yours in the album cover as well

Posted by: CodySleighBell-y 16th December 2018, 12:45 AM

*pretends to be shocked*

Posted by: JosephCarey 16th December 2018, 01:20 PM

QUOTE(PeteLeftLeeds @ Dec 15 2018, 07:07 PM)

Interesting (but semi-expected) choice of #1 - I've not heard much Why Don't We but they've sounded alright from what I've heard, I recognise a former avatar of yours in the album cover as well

QUOTE(CodySleighBell-y @ Dec 16 2018, 12:45 AM)

Posted by: JosephCarey 16th December 2018, 01:26 PM

Points Charts

A quick interlude before the main countdown where we take a look at what did well in my personal chart this year. As explained before, I compile a points chart using my weekly top 40 but I don't class it as my official EOY because I don't find it especially representative, particularly as newer tracks are at an immediate disadvantage.

Singles

1 728 Why Don't We - Hooked [01]
2 685 froy - sideswipe [01]
3 632 Why Don't We - Trust Fund Baby [01]
4 596 Lil Xan & Charli XCX - Moonlight [01]
5 545 Why Don't We - 8 Letters [01]
6 457 Why Don't We - Talk [01]
7 456 Marshmello & Anne-Marie - FRIENDS [01]
8 455 Rita Ora - Anywhere [01]
9 449 Troye Sivan - My My My! [01]
10 435 Cardi B, Bad Bunny & J Balvin - I Like It [03]

11 425 Rita Ora feat. Cardi B, Bebe Rexha & Charli XCX - Girls [01]
12 386 Jonas Blue feat. Jack & Jack - Rise [01]
13 386 Alec Benjamin - Let Me Down Slowly [01]
14 363 Ruel - Younger [02]
15 351 Liam Payne & Rita Ora - For You [01]
16 344 Benjamin Ingrosso - Dance You Off [02]
17 329 Isac Elliot - Mouth to Mouth [01]
18 311 Rita Ora - Let You Love Me [01]
19 307 Shawn Mendes - In My Blood [01]
20 307 PRETTYMUCH - Summer On You [05]

21 285 Zedd, Maren Morris & Grey - The Middle [01]
22 284 Diplo & Lil Xan - Color Blind [04]
23 280 HRVY & Malu Trevejo - Hasta Luego [01]
24 277 Zedd & Elley Duhé - Happy Now [01]
25 276 Ulrik Munther - Before [02]
26 267 CNCO - Se Vuelve Loca [05]
27 266 Ariana Grande - no tears left to cry [01]
28 266 Dua Lipa & BLACKPINK - Kiss and Make Up [01]
29 265 Zak Abel - Still Want UUU [04]
30 261 Noah Cyrus & Lil Xan - Live or Die [01]

31 257 Clean Bandit feat. Demi Lovato - Solo [03]
32 256 Freya Ridings - Lost Without You [05]
33 255 Alec Benjamin - Outrunning Karma [05]
34 253 Camila Cabello - Never Be the Same [05]
35 253 FELIX SANDMAN - EVERY SINGLE DAY [03]
36 252 Louisa feat. 2 Chainz - YES [01]
37 248 Clean Bandit feat. Julia Michaels - I Miss You [02]
38 247 Mariah Carey - All I Want For Christmas Is You [03]
39 246 5 Seconds of Summer - Want You Back [01]
40 244 Tom Odell feat. Alice Merton - Half As Good As You [02]

Perhaps a little indicator of what's to come, but of course you'll spot a few older tracks in there that won't feature - Anywhere and I Miss You were in last year's EOY, while Mariah's seasonal classic won't be appearing either (and it's actually improved on that #3 peak since the cut-off for this EOY, finally making it to #1!). As expected though, there's a Why Don't We domination, taking up four of my top 6, while the likes of Rita Ora and Lil Xan have multiple appearances too.

Albums: 2018

1 631 Lil Xan - TOTAL XANARCHY [01]
2 471 Camila Cabello - Camila [01]
3 436 Why Don't We - 8 Letters [01]
4 409 Anne-Marie - Speak Your Mind [01]
5 378 Ruel - Ready - EP [01]
6 339 Troye Sivan - Bloom [01]
7 333 Why Don't We - Invitation - EP [01]
7 333 Lil Xan - Heartbreak Soldiers [01]
8 300 Shawn Mendes - Shawn Mendes [01]
10 257 CNCO - CNCO [01]

We actually can compare this now because we've seen the album EOY, and interestingly, we see Lil Xan comfortably ahead of the rest. The fact it's been out longer than competitors like Why Don't We and Troye Sivan is helpful, and that works in Camila Cabello's favour too, especially as she had so many weeks at #1 in a quieter period of my chart.

Albums: Pre-2018

1 447 Paloma Faith - The Architect [01]
2 386 Taylor Swift - reputation [01]
3 353 Dua Lipa - Dua Lipa [01]
4 330 Declan McKenna - What Do You Think About the Car? [01]
5 194 Britney Spears - The Singles Collection [01]
6 164 Demi Lovato - Tell Me You Love Me [01]
7 131 Troye Sivan - Blue Neighbourhood [01]
8 102 Little Mix - Glory Days [01]
9 95 Shakira - El Dorado [02]
10 87 Zak Abel Only When We're Naked [01]

The albums that have stuck around! Paloma Faith's had a big year for The Architect, fuelled by her concert earlier this year, much like a lot of this list in fact. Perhaps most notable is Britney Spears, impacting after I saw her on two consecutive nights in August!

Posted by: Calum 16th December 2018, 01:37 PM

Yasss 8 Letters and Bloom At least Lil Xan didn't make it any higher than #5

Posted by: CodySleighBell-y 16th December 2018, 08:45 PM

I wonder if you’re gonna post a full points chart for the year just for funsies

Does this mean All I Want For Christmas Is You will be your first #1 to not make your year end in 2019?

Posted by: JosephCarey 16th December 2018, 10:00 PM

QUOTE(Calum @ Dec 16 2018, 01:37 PM)

Yasss 8 Letters and Bloom At least Lil Xan didn't make it any higher than #5

QUOTE(CodySleighBell-y @ Dec 16 2018, 08:45 PM)

Posted by: Liаm 17th December 2018, 01:56 PM

Only really a fan of Camila/Shawn out of your top 10 albums oops but both are fab, king and queen of Pop Vocal Grammy noms *.*

Posted by: Petivity 17th December 2018, 07:35 PM

I mean from what I've seen already I wouldn't be entirely surprised by a Why Don't We top 4!

Posted by: JosephCarey 18th December 2018, 07:39 PM

QUOTE(Liаm @ Dec 17 2018, 01:56 PM)

QUOTE(Petivity @ Dec 17 2018, 07:35 PM)

I mean from what I've seen already I wouldn't be entirely surprised by a Why Don't We top 4!

Posted by: JosephCarey 18th December 2018, 07:47 PM

Songs




291 Lauren Aquilina - Psycho | 18-30-x (2 weeks)
292 Liam Payne & J Balvin - Familiar | 22-26-29-x (3 weeks)
293 Hunter Hayes - Dear God | 16-22-38-x (3 weeks)
294 Zak Abel feat. Saweetie - You Come First | 20-x (1 week)
295 Reed Deming - Get 2 U | 16-35-x (2 weeks)
296 Tom Grennan - Found What I've Been Looking For | 35-23-28-39-x (4 weeks)
297 benny blanco, Halsey & Khalid - Eastside | 40-x (1 week)
298 Andra feat. Mara - Sweet Dreams (Radio Killer Remix) | 38-17-13-21-31-x (5 weeks)
299 Riverdale Cast feat. KJ Apa, Camila Mendes & Lili Reinhart - Mad World | 7-12-22-35-x (4 weeks)
300 Big Shaq - Man's Not Hot | 37-30-20-27-x (4 weeks)

The bottom 10 is always a mixed bunch and this year is no different. We kick start with a novelty hit from the tail end of last year, courtesy of Big Shaq. After initially hating it, Man's Not Hot grew on me partly thanks to hearing it every single day from the kids at school :') Only one spot ahead is the lowest top 10 hit of the year, courtesy of KJ Apa, Camila Mendes and Lili Reinhart from the Riverdale cast. Their cover of Mad World was used brilliantly in an episode of the show and the studio version was released to iTunes afterwards. It's not been one I've returned to at all, but it was cute for a little while.

A few breakout artists appear in this section - Tom Grennan's first hit Found What I've Been Looking For remains his highest charting for now, making #23 and being one of a select few non-top 20 hits to feature in this countdown. Andra and Mara's Sweet Dreams remains the only hit for them both, interestingly after the Radio Killer remix was recommended to me by a student at school. Also, producer Benny Blanco's debut smash Eastside only peaked at #40 but actually manages a respectable placing here in the end, thanks partly to trickle radio plays.

More familiar names feature in the form of BJSC artists of mine from the past - Lauren Aquilina and Reed Deming both feature with similarly sized hits. Zak Abel is at #294 with his first appearance of three; latest single You Come First, appropriately, comes first. Hunter Hayes also has three appearances, with Dear God kicking things off at #293, while former One Direction star Liam Payne is just above with Familiar.

Recommendation

Posted by: dobbo 18th December 2018, 07:53 PM

A big yes at Big Shaq appearing here (even if by the skin of his teeth!)

Quite liked the Tom Grennan track, I had heard that quite a while back on Sky Sports ads...

Familiar is extremely catchy, one of his best songs so far

Posted by: Calum 18th December 2018, 07:53 PM

Zak so low Nice to see the Riverdale cast sneak in though, their version of Mad World is great.

Posted by: Petivity 19th December 2018, 07:18 PM

Found What I've Been Looking For is my favourite from the list I think, I've heard it a lot recently as one of my flatmates is a massive Tom Grennan fan I've missed quite a bit of Hunter Hayes' new stuff after really loving him last year, the lyrics to this one are certainly interesting.

Posted by: dancember 19th December 2018, 07:22 PM

Big Shaq *.* iconic song forgot you charted it.

Quite liked the Tom Grennan song too. Was in bjsc but liked it more when it had a radio push, though it didn't manage to make my chart.

Eastside was alright but didn't like it enough to play it much of my own. Both guest artists follow ups were better.

Posted by: JosephCarey 19th December 2018, 08:08 PM

QUOTE(dobbo @ Dec 18 2018, 07:53 PM)

A big yes at Big Shaq appearing here (even if by the skin of his teeth!)

Quite liked the Tom Grennan track, I had heard that quite a while back on Sky Sports ads...

Familiar is extremely catchy, one of his best songs so far

QUOTE(Calum @ Dec 18 2018, 07:53 PM)

Zak so low Nice to see the Riverdale cast sneak in though, their version of Mad World is great.

QUOTE(Petivity @ Dec 19 2018, 07:18 PM)

Found What I've Been Looking For is my favourite from the list I think, I've heard it a lot recently as one of my flatmates is a massive Tom Grennan fan I've missed quite a bit of Hunter Hayes' new stuff after really loving him last year, the lyrics to this one are certainly interesting.

QUOTE(dancember @ Dec 19 2018, 07:22 PM)

Posted by: JosephCarey 19th December 2018, 08:18 PM

Songs




281 Au/Ra - Panic Room | 19-25-38-x (3 weeks)
282 Rita Ora - First Time High | N/A
283 Noah Cyrus feat. MØ - We Are… | 13-19-x (2 weeks)
284 Kesha - This Is Me | 13-23-28-36-x (4 weeks)
285 Mabel feat. Kojo Funds - Finders Keepers | 33-40-28-37-x-13-25-35-x (7 non-consecutive weeks)
286 The Chainsmokers feat. Emily Warren - Side Effects | 17-26-x (2 weeks)
287 Marshmello & Bastille - Happier | 22-36-x (2 weeks)
288 CD9 - Qué Le Importa a la Gente | 19-25-x (2 weeks)
289 Ashley Tisdale - Voices in My Head | 13-34-x (2 weeks)
290 Netta - Toy | 34-18-40-x (3 weeks)

Eurovision makes it first showing in this section, with winner Netta at #290. She had an interesting chart run - appearing at #34 off the back of the semis, rising to #18 after its win in the final, before crashing back down to #40 the following week. I got over the novelty of it quite quickly, although Eurovision songs rarely have much of a shelf life anyway. Ashley Tisdale's comeback single Voices in My Head surprised me and found itself gaining a top 15 debut last month, while CD9, Noah Cyrus and Au/Ra all feature here with their debut chart hits too. CD9 are a Latin boyband, yet to follow up Qué Le Importa a la Gente in my chart. Ultimately they tick a similar box to CNCO and I find CNCO do it better, but this is good nonetheless! Noah Cyrus has two songs in this year's countdown, and We Are..., a collaboration with MØ, drops out first. Meanwhile, Au/Ra's breakthrough hit Panic Room is at #281, but it's not the version that smashed in the official charts. I prefer the original version of Panic Room, but the remix is decent enough!

Global hit Happier by Marshmello did something I thought would be impossible - it made Bastille bearable. Happier became their first hit in my chart, it started well but dropped off quickly. I enjoy it on the radio but had little will to return to it of my own accord after a few days. The same went for The Chainsmokers' Side Effects, which made it to #17 after taking a few weeks to grow on me, but it dropped off quickly. Kesha's version of This Is Me held up slightly better, and certainly made more impact than the actual version of The Greatest Showman's signature song, originally by Keala Settle, that didn't chart. However, in a quiet period at the end of last year, it didn't quite manage to make the top 10. That said, it's still better than the original for me.

Finders Keepers by Mabel is next at #285, the first of five (!) appearances from her this year. It's another big grower, and finally made the top 15 at the tail end of last year. Finally, we arrive at the only song not to have made my weekly top 40. Rita Ora's new album makes an impact with First Time High, a non-single, appearing here off the back of it. It's not the only non-single to feature (far from it!) but it's the only song that didn't even sneak a single week in my singles top 40 this year to make my 2018 EOY.

Recommendation

Posted by: LewisGT 19th December 2018, 09:19 PM

Man's Not Hot is still pretty good for a one off listen. Crazy to think just how massive it was though.

I recently started watching Riverdale and I actually just saw that episode last night

Finders Keepers is really great but it gold old really quickly for me.

That 'Toy' track is horrendous though. Can't believe that won over Fuego.

Posted by: SantaDalek32 20th December 2018, 01:13 AM

Nice to see Found What I've Been Looking For and Panic Room make it to your Top 300.

Posted by: CodySleighBell-y 20th December 2018, 04:16 AM

Already getting those songs rolling! Didn’t realize you had a more relaxed rule with album tracks, would First Time High have charted in a less competitive week?

Eastside, Side Effects & Happier are the big faves so far! Eek at you burning on Mad World so quickly, have you tried any of the season 3 Riverdale covers? Ashleigh’s version of Anything Goes is DIVINE *.*

Posted by: dancember 20th December 2018, 08:39 AM

Panic Room is one of my absolute faves of the year, in remix form of course.
Finders Keepers just about made my EOY last year, and it's still her best song excluding the Jax Jones feature.
Side Effects was the best Chainsmokers release this year by some way, the rest of their releases were poor.
Happier is one of my faves from both artists too.

Posted by: JosephCarey 20th December 2018, 04:29 PM

QUOTE(LewisGT @ Dec 19 2018, 09:19 PM)

Man's Not Hot is still pretty good for a one off listen. Crazy to think just how massive it was though.

I recently started watching Riverdale and I actually just saw that episode last night

Finders Keepers is really great but it gold old really quickly for me.

That 'Toy' track is horrendous though. Can't believe that won over Fuego.

QUOTE(SantaDalek32 @ Dec 20 2018, 01:13 AM)

QUOTE(CodySleighBell-y @ Dec 20 2018, 04:16 AM)

QUOTE(dancember @ Dec 20 2018, 08:39 AM)

Posted by: JosephCarey 20th December 2018, 04:48 PM

Songs




271 Meghan Trainor - No Excuses | 16-28-38-x (3 weeks)
272 Troye Sivan & Jónsi - Revelation | 13-33-x (2 weeks)
273 Alice Merton - No Roots | 18-27-x (2 weeks)
274 Cheat Codes & DVBBS - I Love It | 23-34-x (2 weeks)
275 Benjamin Ingrosso - Behave | 30-32-28-36-x (4 weeks)
276 Jessica Andersson - Party Voice | 10-18-21-36-x (4 weeks)
277 Ciara - Dose | 19-30-x (2 weeks)
278 Enrique Iglesias feat. Pitbull - Move to Miami | 13-37-x (2 weeks)
279 Becky G & Natti Natasha - Sin Pijama | 22-37-x (2 weeks)
280 Marcus & Martinus - Invited | 18-38-x (2 weeks)

Marcus & Martinus have become one of my most played artists of 2018, simply off the back of two previous singles - Make You Believe in Love (#50 in last year's countdown) and Remind Me (TBA this year). Unfortunately, little of that is contributed by Invited, their most recent single and the first track from their upcoming fourth studio album. Although it's a catchy and good pop track, it lacks in terms of a big chorus and fell a little flat for me in the end. It's not the only slightly disappointing comeback in this section either - Meghan Trainor's No Excuses had quite a poor start compared to her previous tracks. All of Meghan's pre-album singles have hit my top 10 with ease, but No Excuses limped in at #16. While it's held up well, its main problem for me is that it retreads the ground of the debut album instead of building on the sound she created with album 2.

A huge hit in Latin America, Becky G and Natti Natasha's collaboration Sin Pijama spent only two weeks in my top 40, but it's been lodged in my head pretty much ever since so achieves a respectable position here. Enrique Iglesias meanwhile ditched his Spanish music and went back to Pitbull for an English language bop in Move to Miami. It didn't become his second top 10 hit, but it's fun nonetheless. Meanwhile, Ciara's at #277 with Dose, her best 2018 release although still not quite up to her usual standards, and Cheat Codes & DVBBS' team-up I Love It is at #274.

Another top 10 hit drops out now, this time from Melodifestivalen's Jessica Andersson. Party Voice was a highlight from this year's competition, but since it ended, I've barely revisited it and unfortunately ends up quite low down. Perhaps it's more of an achievement that it actually made my top 10 in the first place...! Meanwhile, this year's MFest winner Benjamin Ingrosso makes his first appearance with Behave, the third single from his debut album Indentification, just one spot above at #275.

Alice Merton's first chart hit pops up at #273 - I thought No Roots might have blown up in the UK charts but it never quite got going unfortunately. She still has her Tom Odell collaboration to come here, Finally, Troye Sivan's song for his Boy Erased film project, the sublime Revelation, is at #272 with some help from Jónsi. It's the first Troye appearance of eight in the whole top 300, more than any other artist!

Recommendation

Posted by: SantaDalek32 20th December 2018, 11:04 PM

I love No Roots.

Posted by: Calum 20th December 2018, 11:16 PM

Yasss at This Is Me making it, even if it's not the best version you've chosen.

Posted by: Petivity 21st December 2018, 10:45 AM

Nice to see Toy here, it did similar in my chart falling from #3 to #14 but then it did stick around a little longer! No Roots is great as well, I loved Lash Out also but the Tom collab really fell flat for me, I loved both artists and really wanted to like it but I just couldn't get into it

Posted by: CodySleighBell-y 21st December 2018, 05:16 PM

No Excuses isn’t my favorite Meghan song but it’s still a decent track. Lol @ her delaying her album bc “she loved the songs she was writing so much”, inb4 we get another Icarus Falls situation

Posted by: 🎄Cqmerqn🎄 21st December 2018, 06:22 PM

Close To Me to slay *.*

Posted by: dobbo 22nd December 2018, 03:28 PM

Happier is incred my fave from both of them now I'd say!

Toy was a great winning song, extremely catchy.

Sin Pijama is one of the better latin tracks I heard this year.

Posted by: LewisGT 22nd December 2018, 09:46 PM

Sin Pijama is such a great tune. Shame it couldn't cross over to the UK charts, it's easily my favourite of the big Spanish hits I've heard over the past few years.

Posted by: JosephCarey 22nd December 2018, 10:55 PM

Thanks to you all for the comments!!

Posted by: JosephCarey 22nd December 2018, 11:02 PM

Songs




261 Meghan Trainor - Let You Be Right | 15-24-30-36-x (4 weeks)
262 Sofia Reyes feat. Jason Derulo & De La Ghetto - 1, 2, 3 | 16-26-32-x (3 weeks)
263 Khalid & Normani - Love Lies | 22-27-35-x (3 weeks)
264 YUNGBLUD - Machine Gun (F**k the NRA) | 12-26-x (2 weeks)
265 Cheat Codes - Home | 14-37-x (2 weeks)
266 Jason Derulo - Colors | 15-28-x (2 weeks)
267 Ne-Yo, Bebe Rexha & Stefflon Don - Push Back | 12-32-x (2 weeks)
268 SC3 (S Club 3) - Family | 9-12-23-36-x (4 weeks)
269 Lauv - I Like Me Better | 23-21-28-x (3 weeks)
270 DJ Khaled feat. Demi Lovato - I Believe | 14-20-30-x (3 weeks)

Another one. DJ Khaled kicks off this section at #270 with I Believe, his Demi Lovato collaboration from "A WRINKLE IN TIME!" (yes, he yells this during the song *_*). It's a cute little track, Demi serves some brilliant vocals, although perhaps not much to write home about. Another soundtrack song pops up here, courtesy of Khalid & Normani. Their song Love Lies actually only features briefly in Love, Simon (or just Love if you're MistaJam), but it became a big hit on both sides of the Atlantic and although its chart run isn't particularly impressive, it had some good trickle impact.

Lauv makes appearance one of three with I Like Me Better, a song that made quite a belated impact in my chart, eventually making it to #21 over a year after I first heard it. Cheat Codes are up again at #265 with Home, leaving only one song of theirs in the running this year, while Jason Derulo appears twice in this section. He's at #266 on his own with Colors, and at #262 with my former BJSC artist Sofia Reyes, as well as De La Ghetto, on the very catchy Spanglish hit 1, 2, 3. Ne-Yo made a quiet, under the radar comeback with Bebe Rexha and Stefflon Don helping out, leading Push Back to a #12 peak, but it dropped off quickly and made no chart impact.

Having performed as a trio for many years now, Jo, Bradley and Tina from S Club 7 headed back into the studio for charity track Family. It's a cute song, perhaps wouldn't sound out of place on one of the S Club albums if the production was improved. Jo certainly serves on vocals Meghan Trainor features at the top end of the section again with Let You Be Right, while the final song in this section comes from a new artist, one I still haven't heard much by actually. I discovered YUNGBLUD through Instagram stories, and I found Machine Gun the most interesting of the selection I checked out. It's an anti-guns song (if you can't tell by the subtitle), performed from the point of view of somebody who'd actually use a gun. It's quite a hard-hitting song when you hear the lyrics but is also incredibly catchy!

Recommendation

Posted by: Riser 23rd December 2018, 02:13 PM

Hi Joseph So behind on this argh:, will try to keep up with the rest. I really like 'No Excuses', 'No Roots' and 'Push Back' from the last few sections! I loved everything Meghan released this year except for 'Let You Be Right' oops, that was okay too but just not as a single.

Posted by: JosephCarey 24th December 2018, 12:38 AM

QUOTE(Riser @ Dec 23 2018, 02:13 PM)

Hi Joseph So behind on this argh:, will try to keep up with the rest. I really like 'No Excuses', 'No Roots' and 'Push Back' from the last few sections! I loved everything Meghan released this year except for 'Let You Be Right' oops, that was okay too but just not as a single.

Posted by: CodySleighBell-y 24th December 2018, 12:42 AM

1, 2, 3 was a firm summer face for quite a while!

I Like Me Better and Love Lies have three things in common for me:
1. I liked them the first time I heard the songs
2. They burned on me rather quickly
3. Both spent waaaay too long on Billboard

Posted by: JosephCarey 24th December 2018, 12:48 AM

QUOTE(CodySleighBell-y @ Dec 24 2018, 12:42 AM)

Posted by: JosephCarey 24th December 2018, 12:48 AM

Songs




251 Frans - Liar | 26-33-x-21-29-32-x (5 non-consecutive weeks)
252 Christopher - Irony | 18-33-x (2 weeks)
253 Kesha - Learn To Let Go | 25-34-x-24-30-26-24-22-25-33-x (9 non-consecutive weeks)
254 Lady Gaga & Bradley Cooper - Shallow | 39-30-21-18-29-x (5 weeks)
255 Camila Cabello - Real Friends | 31-x-27-28-35-36-34-x (6 non-consecutive weeks)
256 Future Jr. - Forget About Me | 16-29-x (2 weeks)
257 In Real Life - How Badly | 16-34-x (2 weeks)
258 Steel Banglez feat. Yungen, MoStack, Mr Eazi & Not3s - Bad | 18-21-31-x (3 weeks)
259 Dean Lewis - Be Alright | 33-x-20-25-27-x (4 non-consecutive weeks)
260 Johnny Orlando - Last Summer | 13-18-36-x (3 weeks)

Now we meet the rest of the songs that got a little bit lucky thanks to me expanding my countdown to a top 300, although I think it's fair to say that these would've easily made it in other years. We see tracks from newcomers Johnny Orlando and Future Jr. here with their first hits. Last Summer was a song that took a couple of plays to click, but I love the vibe and it's setting Johnny up well for some future bops. Future Jr.'s Forget About Me is a lush track, one I considered sending to BJSC in my second comeback contest earlier this year (instead opting for Ruel's Younger). It's his only hit to date but I'm intrigued to hear what he does next!

Aussie Dean Lewis scored a second hit with his global breakthrough Be Alright, following on from #25 debut hit Waves, while In Real Life followed up two #3 peaking singles with a #16. How Badly seems quite appropriately named but it's not a bad track. Its problem is that it's a Latin track, which arrived in a period of my chart where Latin tracks were here, there and everywhere, and it simply wasn't enough. Nevertheless, it's one of three In Real Life tracks in this year's countdown. Camila Cabllo's at #255 with Real Friends (the solo version), and Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper's global smash Shallow is one spot above - the track has since become a #1 hit in my chart, but with Matteo Markus Bok's cover version instead. Expect big recognition for that next year.

I think we all know by now that urban music and I don't get along most of the time, and for that reason I was very surprised by how much I enjoyed Steel Banglez's breakthrough hit Bad. I heard it on Radio 1 one evening purely by chance and found it very catchy and irresistible, and I was pleased it became a hit of sorts in the charts although I was hoping that in an era where urban music dominates, it would do better.

The top end of this section features three artists who have all had #1s in the past. Kesha's comeback era got off to a flying start with Praying, a #1 hit upon arrival and also a #1 album. Learn To Let Go was the second single, and although it only peaked at #22, it managed a very decent chart run! Norwegian popstar Christopher made #1 with Free Fall in the very first week of 2017, and has two other top 10 hits. In his current album era, all three singles have made the top 40, two of them have made the top 20, but none have yet touched the top 10. Bad doesn't feature in the top 300, Monogamy is still to come, and Irony is here at #252. Finally, a song that was released in 2017 initially, Swedish Eurovision 2017 artist Frans made a comeback with Liar, improving its peak by five spots although not quite reaching the top 20. It followed #1 hits If I Were Sorry (EOY #1 2016) and Young Like Us. Frans is making a comeback in January after focusing on his school work for a year, so hopefully he brings the quality.

Recommendation

Posted by: dancember 24th December 2018, 12:22 PM

Shallow was surprisingly good for me considering it's a country pop song, I haven't seen the film however.
Bad was okay but there were a lot of better urban hits for me (most of which I imagine won't be appearing here!) so surprised you enjoyed it enough for top 20.

Posted by: SantaDalek32 24th December 2018, 02:05 PM

Learn To Let Go is a powerful song

Posted by: JosephCarey 24th December 2018, 10:13 PM

QUOTE(dancember @ Dec 24 2018, 12:22 PM)

QUOTE(SantaDalek32 @ Dec 24 2018, 02:05 PM)

Posted by: JosephCarey 24th December 2018, 10:23 PM

Songs




241 Kate Nash - Life in Pink | 20-20-40-x (3 weeks)
242 Lauv feat. Julia Michaels - There's No Way | 20-27-x (2 weeks)
243 Olivia Eliasson - Never Learn | 19-19-27-x (3 weeks)
244 Mabel - One Shot | 15-27-x (2 weeks)
245 The Shades - Back to Your Place | 22-25-25-9-18-28-39-x (7 weeks)
246 RAYE - Friends | 15-25-35-x (3 weeks)
247 CNCO - Mamita | 26-19-31-x (3 weeks)
248 Kate Nash - Drink About You | 20-x (1 week)
249 Carly Rae Jepsen - Cut to the Feeling | 31-25-24-30-x-15-27-38-x (7 non-consecutive weeks)
250 Demi Lovato - Tell Me You Love Me | 36-x-32-35-32-27-24-27-37-39-x (9 non-consecutive weeks)

Similarly to Kesha's Learn to Let Go in the last section, Demi Lovato's Tell Me You Love Me was a substantial hit, hanging around outside the top 20 for 2 months. Although it never got a higher peak, it's fair to say it was a sizeable enough hit to follow up Sorry Not Sorry! It's the first Demi appearance of four this year. We also see the first two of four Kate Nash songs here. Drink About You had a very abrupt chart run, scraping the top 20 before dropping out, and features only a few spots below Life In Pink which had a better chart run, considering they share the same peak. Both were bolstered by the release of the Yesterday Was Forever album, which sees Kate enjoying her best chart year to date (although as said before, her first two eras would have slayed if my chart existed then). CNCO's Mamita was also boosted by its parent album, achieving its top 20 peak after the album's release.

I went to my yearly panto on the Saturday just gone (22nd), and now we hark back to last year. Carly Rae Jepsen's Cut to the Feeling was covered by the cast during the show, and it actually sent the song flying up to a new peak in my chart, following an underwhelming initial stint. Above it at #245, we lose another top 10 hit, as The Shades' third and final single Back to Your Place drops out. It took advantage of a quiet period at the start of the year to achieve that placing, unlike comfortable top 5 hits 24 Hours a Day and Trouble from last year. The Shades have now split up, therefore maintaining a 100% top 10 hit rate.

RAYE and Mabel teamed up this year for Cigarette, which limped in at #35 in my chart. They both feature in this section with bigger hits though, both of which made #15. RAYE's Friends was a return to form after Cigarette, while Mabel's One Shot wasn't quite as good as Fine Line, but nevertheless another great track and one I enjoyed when I saw her live supporting Harry Styles. Lauv appears again, with Julia Michaels in tow, for There's No Way at #242. It's Julia's first appearance of four this year, while Lauv has one more. Finally, Olivia Eliasson's Melodifestivalen entry Never Learn is one spot below. It's a quirky pop track with current production, and I'd have liked to see it make the MFest final (it stalled at the second chance round)!

Recommendation

Posted by: Calum 25th December 2018, 06:25 PM

Last Summer should be a lot higher than #260 x

Glad to see Shallow and Tell Me You Love Me appearing here though

Posted by: LewisGT 25th December 2018, 09:28 PM

Surprised but happy to see you liked Bad. One of my absolute faves of 2017.

Real Friends is really cute. One of the better songs from 'Camilla'.

Shallow was great. I thought the film was good but the scenes where they're performing live are really stunning. Easily the best shooting of live performance I've ever seen in a film. The Shallow scene in particular is one of my favourite moments in 2018 cinema.

Posted by: Petivity 26th December 2018, 11:40 AM

Be Alright is a masterpiece That #11 peak is SO annoying though Drink About You was a nice song as well!

Posted by: Liаm 26th December 2018, 08:47 PM

Cut To The Feeling is pop perfection, so soaring Carly robbed of another hit. Never Learn is a bop too, she's one I'd love to see come back with something else in Melfest in a year or two! As for Friends, I had a real week or two of stanning but rarely go back to it now, good song but she rarely properly hits in a lasting way with me (Shhh aside ), similar to the real chart

Posted by: JosephCarey 27th December 2018, 05:35 PM

Thank you everyone!!!

Posted by: JosephCarey 27th December 2018, 05:42 PM

Songs




231 Martin Garrix feat. Khalid - Ocean | 22-x-23-34-33-33-40-39-x (7 non-consecutive weeks)
232 Jack Antonoff & MØ - Never Fall In Love | 8-19-33-x (3 weeks)
233 Nerina Pallot - Rousseau | 7-13-19-27-36-x (5 weeks)
234 Ariana Grande - breathin | 19-26-31-x (3 weeks)
235 Bleachers - Alfie's Song (Not So Typical Love Song) | 37-13-24-x (3 weeks)
236 Years & Years - All For You | 40-35-x-25-34-x (4 non-consecutive weeks)
237 Troye Sivan - The Good Side | 13-26-x (2 weeks)
238 Mariah Carey - GTFO | 14-21-33-x (3 weeks)
239 Kylie Minogue - Stop Me from Falling | 20-24-38-x (3 weeks)
240 Christopher - Monogamy | 12-16-27-31-x (4 weeks)

Plenty more top 10 hits drop out in this section, starting with Christopher's Monogamy. It made it as high as #12, although it was a notably quieter week compared to some of the lower peaking tracks that finish above. Nevertheless, it's quite a different track for him, moving away from the dance-pop singles he'd released in 2016-17 and towards something a little more funky. We also see Mariah Carey's remarkably current-sounding promotional single GTFO, her only appearance this year (festive classic AIWFCIY isn't eligible every year), and Troye Sivan is just above at #237 with his own promotional track, The Good Side. It's not the best song on Bloom, but it's lovely regardless!

Kylie Minogue makes appearance one of four this year with Stop Me From Falling (not with the world's 310th most streamed artist Gente De Zona, though), Ariana Grande is at #234 with breathin, her first appearance of six, and Nerina Pallot's top 10 hit Rousseau drops out at #233. The track impacted after I heard it in Wilko (!) and Shazam'd it, having not heard any new tracks by Nerina for about 6 years beforehand. A couple of non top-20 hits also manage to survive this far, with Years & Years' All For You at #236 and Martin Garrix's Ocean at #231; the latter had a very interesting run, as you can see above!

The final two songs in this section come from the same movie. Bleachers' Alfie's Song was released as the lead single from the Love, Simon soundtrack, and impacted when I went to see the film, almost becoming a top 10 hit. Jack Antonoff & MØ's collaboration Never Fall In Love is also on the soundtrack, but features notably less in the film (in the background at a party scene, compared to Alfie's Song being played over the credits). Jack Antonoff is Bleachers' frontman, so he nabbed two hits from the soundtrack in my chart, and both fall out here.

Recommendation

Posted by: Petivity 27th December 2018, 06:04 PM

All For You is really different to the other songs on the Y&Y album, a real shame it never made the Top 40!

Posted by: CodySleighBell-y 28th December 2018, 01:13 AM

Porter Robinson making an appearance here, YAS king *.*

Posted by: dancember 28th December 2018, 03:09 PM

'breathing' and 'Stop Me From Falling' were decent though both have done better.
'Ocean' really annoyed me for being not dance in the slightest (and being rather dull) but at least Martin Garrix did do quite a few dance tracks this year.

Posted by: dobbo 29th December 2018, 05:24 PM

Breathin is Ariana's best for me this year! Very strong pop song & vid.

I never made my mind up about Ocean, some times it sounded great others less so - then it disappeared from the Chart so I never heard it again to decide

Posted by: JosephCarey 29th December 2018, 11:15 PM

Thanks everyone!!

QUOTE(Petivity @ Dec 27 2018, 06:04 PM)

QUOTE(CodySleighBell-y @ Dec 28 2018, 01:13 AM)

QUOTE(dancember @ Dec 28 2018, 03:09 PM)

QUOTE(dobbo @ Dec 29 2018, 05:24 PM)

Breathin is Ariana's best for me this year! Very strong pop song & vid.

I never made my mind up about Ocean, some times it sounded great others less so - then it disappeared from the Chart so I never heard it again to decide

Posted by: JosephCarey 29th December 2018, 11:26 PM

Songs




221 Dylan Fraser - Body Over Mine | 15-21-29-28-x (4 weeks)
222 Years & Years - Sanctify | 6-12-16-26-x (4 weeks)
223 Cardi B feat. Kehlani - Ring | 12-16-27-34-28-37-x (6 weeks)
224 Saara Aalto - Monsters | 12-30-x-37-29-x (4 non-consecutive weeks)
225 Martin Jensen & Bjørnskov - Somebody I'm Not | 10-21-… (2+ weeks)
226 Julia Michaels feat. Trippie Redd - Jump | 9-19-28-x (3 weeks)
227 Why Don't We - Boomerang | 13-23-39-x (3 weeks)
228 Lily Allen - Lost My Mind | 10-16-31-x (3 weeks)
229 Demi Lovato - Sober | 10-20-29-x (3 weeks)
230 Cardi B feat. 21 Savage - Bartier Cardi | 13-19-34-x (3 weeks)

OKURRRRRRRRRRRR. Cardi B has become one of my favourite human beings over the past year, and she features twice in this section. Bartier Cardi is up first, her highest peaking hit at the time when it debuted at #13. Bodak Yellow made it no higher than #27, though it's fair to say I like it more than that now because of trickle impact. Bartier Cardi is very catchy, even if the hook lyrics seem to just be "Cardi pussy Cardi Offset pussy Cardi" Ring is seven spots higher at #223, which impacted after the release of its music video. Kehlani's hook is slick, making for what was instantly an album highlight when I first heard it!

Top 10 dropouts start to become more common from this section, with a huge five in total falling out here. Demi Lovato is first with her gut-wrenching track Sober. I heard her first live performance of it at the O2 Arena, and it broke my heart, but it's a brilliant song and so well-written, even if not one I'll relisten to much as it's quite a heavy listen. Lily Allen's at #228 with Lost My Mind, her first appearance of two this year. It's a bit of an underwhelming position for a Lily single but the song's quite subtle and it took a while to grow on me, to appreciate the intricacies of production gelling with her voice.

Why Don't We make appearance one of six at #227 with Boomerang, a song from their Invitation EP that charted when I first discovered them. Julia Michaels' Jump is one spot above - quite why this was ignored by radio is baffling to me, it sounded like a nailed on hit, especially after Issues was so big! Martin Jensen made a top 10 comeback 2 weeks before the cut-off point with Somebody I'm Not, which is in at #225.

We see a Eurovision song drop out from Saara Aalto at #224, her huge anthem Monsters debuting at #12 upon its premiere earlier in the year. It was the instant favourite of mine out of her three Eurovision potentials, so I was pleased to see it triumph in Finland's selection even if it didn't do as well as expected at the event itself! Years & Years lose another song in the form of Sanctify at #222, their only top 10 hit this year but they actually still have one more to come. Finally, Dylan Fraser's first hit Body On Me is at #221. I expect he's one to watch if he makes a return next year, really good voice with a catchy track!

Recommendation

Posted by: Calum 29th December 2018, 11:34 PM

229 Demi Lovato - Sober | 10-20-29-x (3 weeks)
234 Ariana Grande - breathin | 19-26-31-x (3 weeks)
236 Years & Years - All For You | 40-35-x-25-34-x (4 non-consecutive weeks)
239 Kylie Minogue - Stop Me from Falling | 20-24-38-x (3 weeks)

all these incredible songs being sidelined in favour of Lil Xan

Posted by: sergejdordij98 30th December 2018, 09:29 AM

Hello Joseph!
Here are the songs I like from your countdown so far:
222 Years & Years - Sanctify | 6-12-16-26-x (4 weeks)
231 Martin Garrix feat. Khalid - Ocean | 22-x-23-34-33-33-40-39-x (7 non-consecutive weeks)
234 Ariana Grande - breathin | 19-26-31-x (3 weeks)
236 Years & Years - All For You | 40-35-x-25-34-x (4 non-consecutive weeks)
239 Kylie Minogue - Stop Me from Falling | 20-24-38-x (3 weeks)
244 Mabel - One Shot | 15-27-x (2 weeks)
249 Carly Rae Jepsen - Cut to the Feeling | 31-25-24-30-x-15-27-38-x (7 non-consecutive weeks)
253 Kesha - Learn To Let Go | 25-34-x-24-30-26-24-22-25-33-x (9 non-consecutive weeks)
254 Lady Gaga & Bradley Cooper - Shallow | 39-30-21-18-29-x (5 weeks)
255 Camila Cabello - Real Friends | 31-x-27-28-35-36-34-x (6 non-consecutive weeks)
259 Dean Lewis - Be Alright | 33-x-20-25-27-x (4 non-consecutive weeks)
262 Sofia Reyes feat. Jason Derulo & De La Ghetto - 1, 2, 3 | 16-26-32-x (3 weeks)
263 Khalid & Normani - Love Lies | 22-27-35-x (3 weeks)
266 Jason Derulo - Colors | 15-28-x (2 weeks)
269 Lauv - I Like Me Better | 23-21-28-x (3 weeks)
273 Alice Merton - No Roots | 18-27-x (2 weeks)
278 Enrique Iglesias feat. Pitbull - Move to Miami | 13-37-x (2 weeks)
281 Au/Ra - Panic Room | 19-25-38-x (3 weeks)
284 Kesha - This Is Me | 13-23-28-36-x (4 weeks)
285 Mabel feat. Kojo Funds - Finders Keepers | 33-40-28-37-x-13-25-35-x (7 non-consecutive weeks)
286 The Chainsmokers feat. Emily Warren - Side Effects | 17-26-x (2 weeks)
287 Marshmello & Bastille - Happier | 22-36-x (2 weeks)
290 Netta - Toy | 34-18-40-x (3 weeks)
292 Liam Payne & J Balvin - Familiar | 22-26-29-x (3 weeks)
296 Tom Grennan - Found What I've Been Looking For | 35-23-28-39-x (4 weeks)
297 benny blanco, Halsey & Khalid - Eastside | 40-x (1 week)
300 Big Shaq - Man's Not Hot | 37-30-20-27-x (4 weeks)
Great chart so far!

Posted by: dancember 30th December 2018, 09:40 AM

That Cardi B song hasn't aged too well especially now she's no longer with Offset. I'd have chosen 'I Do' over 'Ring' as the other post album single though I doubt that would've splashed on to the UK chart either.
'Sanctify' was quite alright too but like the rest of the era not as good as their first era.

Posted by: JosephCarey 30th December 2018, 04:22 PM

QUOTE(Calum @ Dec 29 2018, 11:34 PM)

229 Demi Lovato - Sober | 10-20-29-x (3 weeks)
234 Ariana Grande - breathin | 19-26-31-x (3 weeks)
236 Years & Years - All For You | 40-35-x-25-34-x (4 non-consecutive weeks)
239 Kylie Minogue - Stop Me from Falling | 20-24-38-x (3 weeks)

all these incredible songs being sidelined in favour of Lil Xan

QUOTE(sergejdordij98 @ Dec 30 2018, 09:29 AM)

QUOTE(dancember @ Dec 30 2018, 09:40 AM)

That Cardi B song hasn't aged too well especially now she's no longer with Offset. I'd have chosen 'I Do' over 'Ring' as the other post album single though I doubt that would've splashed on to the UK chart either.
'Sanctify' was quite alright too but like the rest of the era not as good as their first era.

Posted by: JosephCarey 30th December 2018, 04:37 PM

Songs




211 Paloma Faith - Warrior | 32-25-20-22-34-x (5 weeks)
212 Cierra Ramirez feat. Baeza - Faded | 9-15-27-x (3 weeks)
213 Reed Deming - Lonely Kids | 9-11-14-24-34-x (5 weeks)
214 All Saints - Love Lasts Forever | 8-15-28-x (3 weeks)
215 Lil Xan - Betrayed | 39-35-x-28-x (3 non-consecutive weeks)
216 Kylie Minogue - Lost Without You | 17-33-x (2 weeks)
217 David Guetta, Bebe Rexha & J Balvin - Say My Name | 8-18-36-x (3 weeks)
218 DJ Khaled feat. Justin Bieber, Chance the Rapper & Quavo - No Brainer | 9-14-25-x (3 weeks)
219 Eleni Foureira - Fuego | 10-11-23-x (3 weeks)
220 Jacob Sartorius feat. blackbear - Hit Me Back | 10-16-30-x (3 weeks)

Kicking off with Jacob Sartorius might not be the best move but hey, bear with me on this one guys. I heard Hit Me Back for the first time when I saw Jacob supporting The Vamps earlier this year, and it was the song that stood out the most from a setlist largely consisting of songs I hadn't heard. It's very catchy and his voice sounds pretty good on it too. It gave him his first, and to date, only top 10 hit in my chart. From one controversial figure to another, Lil Xan makes his first appearance of seven in the countdown. His breakthrough hit Betrayed pops up at #215, which is a pretty decent impression considering it's effectively charted as an album track this year. Its #28 peak came after I saw him live. It's definitely one of the best productions on his debut album, and one of the most quotable too. That said, I think I might be off Skittles for life...

Cqm will be furious at me as Eleni Foureira's Eurovision smash Fuego doesn't quite make my top 200. A top 10 hit after the semi finals, it suffered the fate of most Eurovision songs and fell pretty quickly afterwards. DJ Khaled teamed up with all of his I'm the One gang, minus Lil Wayne (thanks for sparing us of that one, Khaled x), for "another one" in the form of No Brainer. Iconic catchphrases aside, it's a pretty catchy tune but didn't have much staying power and ended up dropping quite quick. Chance the Rapper doesn't have any further songs to come, and neither does Justin Bieber in what was a very quiet year for him, but Quavo and Khaled both have one more each. David Guetta's current single Say My Name is one spot above, with help from Bebe Rexha and J Balvin. All three have a selection of songs in the countdown this year, and perhaps the song will make a comeback if it manages to take off in the UK chart? We could be seeing it again next year.

Charting after her Golden tour, Kylie's deluxe album track Lost Without You was an album highlight from the very first listen, but its live performance simply elevated it even further for me. It's her third highest track, outcharting three of five singles (Golden and Music's Too Sad Without You aren't top 300). All Saints came back with a bang for Love Lasts Forever, a song which is very sweet and has some barnstorming production, and Paloma Faith's Warrior is one of the best power ballads of the year - I expect it would be higher had it come earlier in the campaign. Finally, at #212 is the debut (and currently only) hit from Cierra Ramirez. Cierra's primarily an actress who starred in The Fosters as Mariana Adams-Foster, and will go on to reprise that role as one of the leads in spin-off Good Trouble when it premieres in early January. Faded is a very catchy R&B/pop anthem and crept into my top 10 over the summer.

Recommendation

Posted by: Cqmerqn 30th December 2018, 05:07 PM

219!!!!! Is that it!!! Poor Eleni, robbed at Eurovision and robbed here too. Poor hag.

Posted by: JosephCarey 30th December 2018, 05:09 PM

QUOTE(Cqmerqn @ Dec 30 2018, 05:07 PM)

Posted by: Cqmerqn 30th December 2018, 05:14 PM

QUOTE(JosephCarey @ Dec 30 2018, 05:09 PM)

Posted by: CodySleighBell-y 30th December 2018, 05:17 PM

On the bright side at least she beat Jacob sartorius

Posted by: LewisGT 30th December 2018, 08:43 PM

Breathin - Just about the perfect pop song to me Huge contender for my EOY #1.

Bartier Cardi - Quite like this one to be fair but mainly for the 21 verse.

Fuego - I can't believe this didn't win Eurovision. It was the only good song this year in my opinion (although I have a soft spot for the DoReDoS song)

Posted by: Liаm 31st December 2018, 01:44 PM

Fuego ROBBED omg

Posted by: Petivity 1st January 2019, 11:44 AM

Monsters was an instant Eurovision hit for me but unfortunately wore off very quickly for me, nice tune though! Fuego stuck around for a bit longer for me though, the first 'drop' was a bit underwhelming but then of course it builds up to an even bigger one

Posted by: JosephAvery 1st January 2019, 06:26 PM

Thank you all!!!

Posted by: JosephAvery 1st January 2019, 06:36 PM

Songs




201 BTS feat. Nicki Minaj - IDOL | 9-16-26-x (3 weeks)
202 Billie Eilish - when the party's over | 14-19-21-13-… (4+ weeks)
203 Jax Jones & Mabel feat. Rich the Kid - Ring Ring | 21-15-19-30-38-x (5 weeks)
204 CNCO - Mala Actitud | 12-20-29-x (3 weeks)
205 Alec Benjamin - Water Fountain | 7-15-… (2+ weeks)
206 P!nk - Secrets | 31-24-19-28-x (4 weeks)
207 Nicki Minaj feat. Ariana Grande - Bed | 8-20-31-x (3 weeks)
208 Kris Kross Amsterdam, Ally Brooke & Messiah - Vámonos | 8-… (1+ weeks)
209 Roadtrip - Take This Home | 7-14-26-x (3 weeks)
210 HRVY - Personal | 32-x-18-x (2 non-consecutive weeks)

Although the song never took off in a big way for me, HRVY's Personal has shown some pretty remarkable staying power in my affections. It's spent two isolated weeks in my top 40, peaking only at #18, but thanks to his four subsequent top 10 hits plus the two gigs of his I've attended, Personal finds itself nearing the top 200. A pretty respectable position I'd say! I don't think it's his absolute best but that pre-chorus alone ("this the part where I'm gonna get hurt") is fire. In fact, HRVY's just one spot below his support act from his July tour. Bopyband Roadtrip released Take This Home not long after I saw the show in London, it was one of the highlights of their fun crowd-pleasing set.

P!nk scored a couple of post-album top 20 hits this year and the first is at #206 - Secrets is one of my favourites on Beautiful Trauma, and I think it would've been even higher if it wasn't left so long after the album's release! It's just above Kris Kross Amsterdam, who teamed up with Fifth Harmony's Ally Brooke for the infectious Vámonos. It's one of two Spanish-language songs in this section, too, with CNCO's album track Mala Actitud at #204. In other album track news, Alec Benjamin pops up for the first time with Water Fountain at #205, the first of seven Alec tracks to appear.

The very catchy Ring Ring, a team-up by Jax Jones and Mabel, is at #203, marking Mabel's third appearance in this countdown out of five. It didn't manage to keep Jax Jones' top 10 streak going, peaking at #15, but its chart run is nothing to be sniffed at, much like Billie Eilish's breakthrough hit when the party's over, which finishes just one spot above. Finally, BTS just miss out on the top 200 with IDOL, their first hit and only top 10 to date. The infectious track proved to be a massive grower, and a certain guest rap really helped improve the song for me. Shame we don't talk about her x (she's at #207 with Ari too x)

Recommendation

Posted by: JosephAvery 1st January 2019, 06:36 PM

NEXT: we take a look at my top artists, #10-6!

Posted by: Calum 1st January 2019, 06:37 PM

Personal I've been going back and listening to all of HRVY's material and that's a real standout!

Posted by: LewisGT 1st January 2019, 06:51 PM

Really like Bed & Ring Ring from your last section.

Jax Jones is very hit and miss for me but Ring Ring was certainly in the hit category for me.

Posted by: JosephAvery 2nd January 2019, 01:22 AM

Thanks both of you!!

Posted by: JosephAvery 2nd January 2019, 01:23 AM

Songs: #300-201

201 BTS feat. Nicki Minaj - IDOL
202 Billie Eilish - when the party's over
203 Jax Jones & Mabel feat. Rich the Kid - Ring Ring
204 CNCO - Mala Actitud
205 Alec Benjamin - Water Fountain
206 P!nk - Secrets
207 Nicki Minaj feat. Ariana Grande - Bed
208 Kris Kross Amsterdam, Ally Brooke & Messiah - Vámonos
209 Roadtrip - Take This Home
210 HRVY - Personal
211 Paloma Faith - Warrior
212 Cierra Ramirez feat. Baeza - Faded
213 Reed Deming - Lonely Kids
214 All Saints - Love Lasts Forever
215 Lil Xan - Betrayed
216 Kylie Minogue - Lost Without You
217 David Guetta, Bebe Rexha & J Balvin - Say My Name
218 DJ Khaled feat. Justin Bieber, Chance the Rapper & Quavo - No Brainer
219 Eleni Foureira - Fuego
220 Jacob Sartorius feat. blackbear - Hit Me Back
221 Dylan Fraser - Body Over Mine
222 Years & Years - Sanctify
223 Cardi B feat. Kehlani - Ring
224 Saara Aalto - Monsters
225 Martin Jensen & Bjørnskov - Somebody I'm Not
226 Julia Michaels feat. Trippie Redd - Jump
227 Why Don't We - Boomerang
228 Lily Allen - Lost My Mind
229 Demi Lovato - Sober
230 Cardi B feat. 21 Savage - Bartier Cardi
231 Martin Garrix feat. Khalid - Ocean
232 Jack Antonoff & MØ - Never Fall In Love
233 Nerina Pallot - Rousseau
234 Ariana Grande - breathin
235 Bleachers - Alfie's Song (Not So Typical Love Song)
236 Years & Years - All For You
237 Troye Sivan - The Good Side
238 Mariah Carey - GTFO
239 Kylie Minogue - Stop Me from Falling
240 Christopher - Monogamy
241 Kate Nash - Life in Pink
242 Lauv feat. Julia Michaels - There's No Way
243 Olivia Eliasson - Never Learn
244 Mabel - One Shot
245 The Shades - Back to Your Place
246 RAYE - Friends
247 CNCO - Mamita
248 Kate Nash - Drink About You
249 Carly Rae Jepsen - Cut to the Feeling
250 Demi Lovato - Tell Me You Love Me
251 Frans - Liar
252 Christopher - Irony
253 Kesha - Learn To Let Go
254 Lady Gaga & Bradley Cooper - Shallow
255 Camila Cabello - Real Friends
256 Future Jr. - Forget About Me
257 In Real Life - How Badly
258 Steel Banglez feat. Yungen, MoStack, Mr Eazi & Not3s - Bad
259 Dean Lewis - Be Alright
260 Johnny Orlando - Last Summer
261 Meghan Trainor - Let You Be Right
262 Sofia Reyes feat. Jason Derulo & De La Ghetto - 1, 2, 3
263 Khalid & Normani - Love Lies
264 YUNGBLUD - Machine Gun (F**k the NRA)
265 Cheat Codes - Home
266 Jason Derulo - Colors
267 Ne-Yo, Bebe Rexha & Stefflon Don - Push Back
268 SC3 (S Club 3) - Family
269 Lauv - I Like Me Better
270 DJ Khaled feat. Demi Lovato - I Believe
271 Meghan Trainor - No Excuses
272 Troye Sivan & Jónsi - Revelation
273 Alice Merton - No Roots
274 Cheat Codes & DVBBS - I Love It
275 Benjamin Ingrosso - Behave
276 Jessica Andersson - Party Voice
277 Ciara - Dose
278 Enrique Iglesias feat. Pitbull - Move to Miami
279 Becky G & Natti Natasha - Sin Pijama
280 Marcus & Martinus - Invited
281 Au/Ra - Panic Room
282 Rita Ora - First Time High
283 Noah Cyrus feat. MØ - We Are…
284 Kesha - This Is Me
285 Mabel feat. Kojo Funds - Finders Keepers
286 The Chainsmokers feat. Emily Warren - Side Effects
287 Marshmello & Bastille - Happier
288 CD9 - Qué Le Importa a la Gente
289 Ashley Tisdale - Voices in My Head
290 Netta - Toy
291 Lauren Aquilina - Psycho
292 Liam Payne & J Balvin - Familiar
293 Hunter Hayes - Dear God
294 Zak Abel feat. Saweetie - You Come First
295 Reed Deming - Get 2 U
296 Tom Grennan - Found What I've Been Looking For
297 benny blanco, Halsey & Khalid - Eastside
298 Andra feat. Mara - Sweet Dreams (Radio Killer Remix)
299 Riverdale Cast feat. KJ Apa, Camila Mendes & Lili Reinhart - Mad World
300 Big Shaq - Man's Not Hot

Posted by: Jay ☆ 2nd January 2019, 02:20 AM

Omg HI Joseph *.* Let's see what I like from your 201-300:

Songs: #300-201

201 BTS feat. Nicki Minaj - IDOL
202 Billie Eilish - when the party's over Only heard this today! Quite like it~
203 Jax Jones & Mabel feat. Rich the Kid - Ring Ring
206 P!nk - Secrets I completely overlooked this one while it was a single argh!
207 Nicki Minaj feat. Ariana Grande - Bed
211 Paloma Faith - Warrior
212 Cierra Ramirez feat. Baeza - Faded Icon alert
214 All Saints - Love Lasts Forever
216 Kylie Minogue - Lost Without You
218 DJ Khaled feat. Justin Bieber, Chance the Rapper & Quavo - No Brainer
219 Eleni Foureira - Fuego
222 Years & Years - Sanctify
223 Cardi B feat. Kehlani - Ring
224 Saara Aalto - Monsters
229 Demi Lovato - Sober
230 Cardi B feat. 21 Savage - Bartier Cardi
231 Martin Garrix feat. Khalid - Ocean
234 Ariana Grande - breathin Surprised to see it this low down
235 Bleachers - Alfie's Song (Not So Typical Love Song)
236 Years & Years - All For You
237 Troye Sivan - The Good Side
238 Mariah Carey - GTFO *_*
239 Kylie Minogue - Stop Me from Falling
242 Lauv feat. Julia Michaels - There's No Way
244 Mabel - One Shot
246 RAYE - Friends
249 Carly Rae Jepsen - Cut to the Feeling
250 Demi Lovato - Tell Me You Love Me
254 Lady Gaga & Bradley Cooper - Shallow Hoo
255 Camila Cabello - Real Friends
261 Meghan Trainor - Let You Be Right
263 Khalid & Normani - Love Lies from 'Love'
265 Cheat Codes - Home
266 Jason Derulo - Colors
267 Ne-Yo, Bebe Rexha & Stefflon Don - Push Back
268 SC3 (S Club 3) - Family !
269 Lauv - I Like Me Better
271 Meghan Trainor - No Excuses
272 Troye Sivan & Jónsi - Revelation
275 Benjamin Ingrosso - I can't make my arse Behave
277 Ciara - Dose
278 Enrique Iglesias feat. Pitbull - Move to Miami
281 Au/Ra - Panic Room
282 Rita Ora - First Time High
284 Kesha - This Is Me
285 Mabel feat. Kojo Funds - Finders Keepers
286 The Chainsmokers feat. Emily Warren - Side Effects
287 Marshmello & Bastille - Happier
290 Netta - Toy
292 Liam Payne & J Balvin - Familiar
297 benny blanco, Halsey & Khalid - Eastside
299 Riverdale Cast feat. KJ Apa, Camila Mendes & Lili Reinhart - Mad World argh: *strips*

Incredible!!

Posted by: sergejdordij98 2nd January 2019, 03:16 PM

Hey Joseph!
Here are the songs that I like from your first 100 songs:
201 BTS feat. Nicki Minaj - IDOL
202 Billie Eilish - when the party's over
203 Jax Jones & Mabel feat. Rich the Kid - Ring Ring
207 Nicki Minaj feat. Ariana Grande - Bed
218 DJ Khaled feat. Justin Bieber, Chance the Rapper & Quavo - No Brainer
219 Eleni Foureira - Fuego
222 Years & Years - Sanctify
228 Lily Allen - Lost My Mind
231 Martin Garrix feat. Khalid - Ocean
234 Ariana Grande - breathin
236 Years & Years - All For You
239 Kylie Minogue - Stop Me from Falling
242 Lauv feat. Julia Michaels - There's No Way
244 Mabel - One Shot
246 RAYE - Friends
249 Carly Rae Jepsen - Cut to the Feeling
253 Kesha - Learn To Let Go
254 Lady Gaga & Bradley Cooper - Shallow
255 Camila Cabello - Real Friends
258 Steel Banglez feat. Yungen, MoStack, Mr Eazi & Not3s - Bad
259 Dean Lewis - Be Alright
262 Sofia Reyes feat. Jason Derulo & De La Ghetto - 1, 2, 3
263 Khalid & Normani - Love Lies
266 Jason Derulo - Colors
269 Lauv - I Like Me Better
273 Alice Merton - No Roots
278 Enrique Iglesias feat. Pitbull - Move to Miami
281 Au/Ra - Panic Room
282 Rita Ora - First Time High
284 Kesha - This Is Me
285 Mabel feat. Kojo Funds - Finders Keepers
286 The Chainsmokers feat. Emily Warren - Side Effects
287 Marshmello & Bastille - Happier
290 Netta - Toy
292 Liam Payne & J Balvin - Familiar
296 Tom Grennan - Found What I've Been Looking For
297 benny blanco, Halsey & Khalid - Eastside
300 Big Shaq - Man's Not Hot
Sorry, if I couldn't comment in time, my sickness ruined everything for me.

Posted by: JosephAvery 3rd January 2019, 01:30 AM

Thank you both for the great comments!!! Hope you're feeling better now, Sergej!

Posted by: JosephAvery 3rd January 2019, 02:05 AM

Artists



10 Alec Benjamin

I've had Alec Benjamin on my radar since mid-2016, when I first heard his single End of the Summer. I really liked it, and it debuted at #16 in my chart just hours after I heard it. I thought it was going to be big for me, but it actually slipped the next week and vanished pretty quickly. A year later, Alec scored a top 10 with I Built a Friend, making #6, but there wasn't any sign of further fully-produced material despite a slew of demos. Finally, Alec found his footing in 2018, now as an independent artist. Somehow, he's given himself an even bigger platform than before. Let Me Down Slowly kicked things off in style, giving Alec a first #1 in my chart. I'll talk more about the song later in the countdown - it's no surprise to say it won't feature for a while yet - but it hyped me up for new Alec material more than I ever thought it would.

Five more singles came out throughout 2018, to varying chart success. Boy in the Bubble didn't chart, If We Have Each Other peaked at #8, Death of a Hero made #38, Outrunning Karma #5, and 1994 #3, until finally the album came. Well, I say album, Alec calls it a mixtape, but it's 12 songs together and I've classed it as an album for my chart here; to all intents and purposes, that's what it is. Following the release of the album, Alec saw 9 songs impacting my top 40 - every song on the album charted except for If We Have Each Other, Death of a Hero and Gotta Be a Reason, making the latter the only song not to chart at any point (Boy in the Bubble finally made it in). This was an impact I really didn't expect, but it's all down to Alec. He has total control over his career, which means his songwriting abilities are at the forefront of every track. He's honest, and somehow, despite the topic of love being such a common theme in songs, he makes it fresh again through his outlook, influenced by his childhood and growing up.

Looking forward to 2019, Alec's got a remix of Let Me Down Slowly coming with Alessia Cara next week, and the song seems to be getting a US radio push. Perhaps this is the year Alec breaks through? No qualms at all from me. In fact, it couldn't be more deserving. I'm now just excited to see him live in London next month!



9 CNCO

One of my favourite surprises of the year, CNCO were already on my radar when I listened to their self-titled sophomore album. Reggaetón Lento saw my first proper experience with them - the rumours of the Little Mix remix led to me checking out the original first, then of course I fell in love with the remix too. They scored a hit with Hey DJ in my chart just a couple of months later too, though follow-up Mamita didn't do much. I listened to the album more out of curiosity, my expectations telling me it was likely to be quite samey like a lot of Latin music can be. However, I had never been so pleased to be proved wrong.

I fell in love with the opening track straight away. Sólo Yo went on to be their first #1 in my chart, impacted by the video premiering the same week, and they went on to feature eight times in my top 40 when the album came out, including a record-tying four songs in my top 10. What makes it more impressive is that the songs are in a language that isn't my native. I know a little Spanish - I studied it at school (and my job means I'm having a free refresher course too lol, supporting a year 8 class' Spanish lessons) - but I'm far from fluent and most of the songs are gibberish to me. It's rare that a foreign language song will make THAT big an impact on me, but Spanish is certainly my favourite foreign language and CNCO manage to tie in catchy hooks and irresistible beats to make their songs appealing to people who don't necessarily speak Spanish.

CNCO cemented themselves as strong players in the boyband game this year, rivalling the likes of Why Don't We, The Vamps, 5SOS and PRETTYMUCH, and they did it with such ease too. I'm seeing them live in March, and sure, I won't be singing along like I usually do at concerts, but that doesn't mean I'm not excited for what will undoubtedly be a brilliant show.



8 Ariana Grande

2018 really was Ariana's year for the taking. The tragedy of Manchester in 2017 meant that all eyes were on what Ari would do next. Would she pay tribute to the victims in her comeback single? Would she achieve her first #1 in four years as a result of the increased profile she got (although we all wish it was under better circumstances)? Would it live up to the hype? The campaign for Ari's fourth studio album was teased superbly, with upside-down tweets and eventually the stunning single cover for no tears left to cry. When the song premiered, I was instantly blown away. It was everything that I personally wanted her comeback to be. It doesn't dwell on the disaster, but equally it doesn't forget it. It's about paying tribute, but also moving on with her life and "picking it up", and that's exactly the sort of message Ari needed to put out there.

The song shot to #1 in my own chart, becoming Ari's sixth chart-topper, and unfortunately just missed out in the UK, but nevertheless cemented itself as her biggest solo hit to date. Ari continued to bring great, classy tracks too - collaborations with Nicki and Troye were great pop tracks, while God is a woman was a real earworm. Then followed Sweetener, the long-awaited album. I won't lie, I had higher expectations for the album and I think there was way too much influence from Pharrell. That said, I still enjoy it, and it was always going to be very tough to follow an album as Dangerous Woman. However, we'd barely had the chance to digest Sweetener when Ari launched thank u, next - the title track and lead single of her FIFTH album, slated for an early 2019 release. She's not slowed down at all, and I can't wait for more new music!

I'm finally seeing Ari live in 2019, after my Dangerous Woman tour date was (understandably) cancelled, scheduled for just days after Manchester. She was at the very top of my list of people I wanted to see, and I was so relieved to have secured tickets recently. Now watch me be a total emotional wreck the whole night.



7 Ruel

One of the breakout stars of the year, British-born Australian Ruel van Dijk is a shining talent. I first discovered him through YouTube suggestions, hearing a few songs but none really leaving an impression on me. He came up again on my recommendations not long after though, and I listened to Dazed & Confused. I was very impressed. The song is still to come in my countdown so I'll talk more about it then but his voice sounded remarkable on a unique yet commercially viable-sounding backing track, and it stood out in such a positive way. For a song released when Ruel was 15, Dazed & Confused was remarkably mature. It peaked at #4 in my chart, and cemented Ruel as one to watch.

His debut EP followed, as did the music video for the next single, Younger. The music video really made the song click in a big way for me. It portrays the song quite literally - it's about losing touch with a friend, one who's perhaps ventured down the wrong path, and reminiscing about how things used to be. Once again, it was incredibly mature and I just fell in love with the track. It peaked at #2 in my singles chart, his highest to date, and is undoubtedly the winner of my music video of 2018. I saw Ruel live in October, on his 16th birthday, and met him after the show too - he was so friendly (and very tall)! He sang the entire Ready EP, plus some covers and a couple of unreleased tracks, and it was a brilliant setlist.

Looking ahead, I'm hoping we get either a new EP or the start of an album campaign before long. Ruel's been building some great momentum in Australia and after winning an ARIA award, it'd be silly for him to not capitalise on it! Then he can focus on worldwide, because he is undeniably commercial and I think we could be looking at a future star if he and his label play their cards right.



6 froy

It's weird to think that it's been almost 2 years since I first heard of American actor Froy Gutierrez. I watched Teen Wolf just under 2 years ago for the very first time, falling in love with the show, and learnt that Froy was one of the new cast members for the show's final 10 episode run, which aired later in 2017. I followed him mainly based on looks (I mean, he IS a total cutie), but I quickly fell in love with his character, Nolan Holloway. Nolan was far from perfect - he was quite clearly unstable, and very easily manipulated, but I sympathised with him and was delighted when he finally saw the light in the end.

As for music, Froy had been promising his Midnight Minute EP for quite a while - almost a year, actually, until we finally got something. sideswipe was the lead single from a new project. The old EP had been scrapped, and Froy was moving forward. I instantly loved sideswipe when I first heard it, finding it really catchy and loving the slightly eerie production. The music/lyric video just adds to that slightly unsettling feel amongst what's a carefree, easy bop. It's actually Froy's only song so far still, which would not normally qualify him for a placing in my top 10 artists, but there's much more to Froy than this one song.

Froy was announced in September as one of the guests for WereWolfCon IV in Brussels, Belgium. It's a yearly Teen Wolf convention that I had booked to attend for the first time, and was ecstatic when Froy was announced. As a result, sideswipe returned to #1 in my chart, spending a third non-consecutive week at the top. Froy played a gig at The Egg, the convention venue, the night before it started (Friday 5th October). He sang sideswipe, as well as a number of other really great-sounding new tracks which we'll hopefully be hearing over 2019. The convention then began on Saturday, where I met Froy and got his autograph. We talked about London and his music, and he was so nice. He took the time to have a good conversation with absolutely everyone, and made sure everyone left his desk with a smile. I then met him again at his meeting room the next day - a group of less than 10, talking with Froy for half an hour. We spoke about Big Brother US after he mentioned it in an earlier Q&A, lol. Finally, the photo ops. I had two photos taken with Froy, and he was still just as bubbly and friendly as ever. As I left, he shouted "team Tyler" at me (Tyler Crispen, my favourite from the most recent BBUS season). He really made a special weekend even better, and my WereWolfCon experience would not have been the same without somebody as brilliant as Froy. Everyone could do with a little bit of his magical optimism, I think. The world would be a better place.

Posted by: sergejdordij98 3rd January 2019, 12:58 PM

Really like Ariana being in your best artist!
She had great songs like "No Tears Left To Cry" and "God Is A Woman", both songs are going to make my Top 300 Year-End list!
And "Thank U, Next" might have a shot at my next year's top 300 list!

Posted by: danuary 3rd January 2019, 02:18 PM

From your most recent section When the Party's Over and Ring Ring are great! Ring Ring is still to come in my EOY unsurprisingly and WTPO was surprisingly great.

Posted by: JosephAvery 3rd January 2019, 10:15 PM

QUOTE(sergejdordij98 @ Jan 3 2019, 12:58 PM)

QUOTE(danuary @ Jan 3 2019, 02:18 PM)

Posted by: JosephAvery 3rd January 2019, 10:25 PM

Songs




191 Hunter Hayes - One Shot | 9-17-25-33-x (4 weeks)
192 Lewis Capaldi - Lost On You | 26-10-16-20-24-31-x (6 weeks)
193 Years & Years - If You're Over Me | 13-15-22-29-31-39-x (6 weeks)
194 Alec Benjamin - Annabelle's Homework | 6-11-… (2+ weeks)
195 Niall Horan - On the Loose | 27-25-19-18-28-32-x (6 weeks)
196 P!nk - Beautiful Trauma | 40-25-15-14-18-21-26-32-x (8 weeks)
197 Not3s & Mabel - My Lover | 17-15-12-16-21-24-31-x (7 weeks)
198 Jorja Smith feat. Stormzy - Let Me Down | 32-26-14-17-28-38-x (6 weeks)
199 Zara Larsson - Ruin My Life | 10-15-27-36-x (4 weeks)
200 David Guetta, Martin Garrix & Brooks - Like I Do | 13-16-21-31-x (4 weeks)

Inching its way into the top 200, I never expected to enjoy David Guetta, Martin Garrix and Brooks' floor-filling collaboration Like I Do quite as much as I did. It's less commercial than most of Guetta's other tracks this year but I enjoyed seeing it go top 40, the breakdown is absolutely irresistible and I really like the use of the pitched vocals too. It didn't quite manage to make my top 10, but I revisit it a fair amount still! Another pleasant surprise was Not3s' My Lover, which I quite liked on first listen, but it truly came alive for me with the Mabel remix. She adds a whole new layer to the song and the chemistry they have is fantastic.

Top 10 hits start to appear more frequently, and we see Zara Larsson as the next to drop. Ruin My Life wasn't quite the huge comeback I wanted from Zara, only peaking at #10, but that doesn't mean to say it's bad. I think it's got a great, chilled vibe to it and Zara sounds as great as always, especially during the final chorus. We also see Alec Benjamin's Annabelle's Homework drop out, an album track that made #6 when Narrated for You came out. Lewis Capaldi's first hit in my chart is at #192, with Lost On You having achieved a #10 peak at the start of the year, and Hunter Hayes makes appearance two of three with the infectiously fun One Shot at the top of this batch.

One of the most baffling decisions of the year, Jorja Smith opted to leave her breakout hit Let Me Down off her studio album. Quite WHY I'll never understand, it's a gorgeous track and provided Jorja with her first hit since Blue Lights made my top 10 in 2016. Stormzy shows off his versatility by providing an excellent accompanying rap too. An underrated track! Much like Niall Horan's On the Loose actually, the fourth single from his debut album and one that will probably hold up better than the three actual hits. On the Loose scraped into the UK top 100 when the album came out, and never managed to re-enter as a single. Deserved way better, it's effortlessly catchy!

P!nk's Beautiful Trauma managed an impressive run despite only peaking at #14, breaking her run of top 10 singles since Blow Me (One Last Kiss) in 2012, but it finishes respectably inside my top 200 of the year. Finally, Years & Years' biggest hit this year, both in the charts and in my EOY, finishes at #193. If You're Over Me was unlucky to miss my top 30, entering during a very competitive week, but it held up well and I still enjoy it when I hear it now.

Recommendation

Posted by: LewisGT 4th January 2019, 01:47 PM

Ruin My Life was a decent comeback from Zara but nowhere near the quality of her best songs.

Let Me Down is such a brilliant track. I was delighted that it made the top 40 as Jorja sounds great and it sounds different to most of the music that makes the chart.

My Lover is fun but I preferred Fine Line.

Posted by: PeteFromLeeds 4th January 2019, 06:21 PM

My Lover is pretty nice, I did prefer Fine Line but this made my weekly Personal Chart as well! I still think of Beautiful Trauma as more of a song from last year but another stunning song from her.

Posted by: Cody Slaykali 4th January 2019, 07:44 PM

On The Loose is the huge fave for me in this batch. It sounds like an old John Mayer/R.E.M styled song that would be great to listen to while cruising in the car.

Posted by: Riser 5th January 2019, 05:06 AM

QUOTE(Cody Slaykali @ Jan 4 2019, 02:44 PM)

Posted by: JosephAvery 5th January 2019, 10:46 PM

Thanks everyone!! Don't worry, Fine Line is still to come

Posted by: JosephAvery 5th January 2019, 10:55 PM

Songs




181 Jack & Jack - No One Compares To You | 15-17-27-32-35-38-29-10-… (8+ weeks)
182 Taylor Swift feat. Ed Sheeran & Future - End Game | 24-24-36-x-10-11-18-22-31-x (8 non-consecutive weeks)
183 FELIX SANDMAN - PART OF ME | 31-20-23-29-35-x (5 weeks)
184 Au/Ra - Emoji | 7-14-27-x (3 weeks)
185 O.D.L - Next to Me | 8-13-24-35-x (4 weeks)
186 O.D.L - Won't Forget | 10-19-33-x (3 weeks)
187 Fake Pictures feat. Michael Schulte - Two Princes | 15-14-27-33-x (4 weeks)
188 Four of Diamonds feat. Saweetie - Stupid Things | 8-19-36-x (3 weeks)
189 Lil Xan - Emotions | 18-27-x (2 weeks)
190 Kris Kross Amsterdam & The Boy Next Door feat. Conor Maynard - Whenever | 5-13-28-x (3 weeks)

Kris Kross Amsterdam scored two top 10 hits last year but still haven't quite managed to find a long-running hit. They have the shortest-lived #1 in my chart's history, teaming up with Conor Maynard and Ty Dolla $ign for Are You Sure?, a chart-topper at the very start of 2017 which managed only 5 weeks in my top 40. Wherever sees a team-up with Conor again, taking on Shakira's classic Whenever, Wherever, and while it doesn't reach the highs of that (could it ever?), it became a short-lived top 5 hit still. That said, it is the lowest top 5 hit in the countdown. Speaking of short-lived hits, X Factor's Four of Diamonds released the surprisingly good Stupid Things last year and while it didn't stick around, the fact they're actually releasing anything of note is impressive on its own. Furthermore, Au/Ra appears with #7 hit Emoji, a very infectious, fun track which I actually prefer to Panic Room!

We also see two top 10 hits from O.D.L appear next to each other. O.D.L is the latest project by Drew Dirksen and Levi Jones, formerly members of The Tide. I saw them live in March before they'd released any music as a duo, but I really enjoyed the new songs and both of these singles followed. They're deliberately next to each other - I have quite similar feelings on both, they're great chilled dance-pop songs and I'm intrigued to see what they put out next! Just below is Michael Schulte's first appearance of two this year. The former BJSC artist of mine, who previously notched up two #1 hits, collaborated with Fake Pictures for a cover of Two princes and it's surprisingly good, and very infectious.

Lil Xan's mixtape track Emotions revealed a surprisingly vulnerable side to him, opening up more than he has on any other track on an unusually stripped back instrumental. As a result, it made the top 20 of my chart and gains a very respectable EOY placing. Felix Sandman pops up for the first time out of four with his third single PART OF ME at #183. Taylor Swift's big-name collaboration End Game, with Ed Sheeran and Future, wasn't quite the monster smash I'd hoped but it still gave her a top 10 hit in my chart - something she only has three of from reputation - a surprisingly low amount by her standards! Finally, Jack & Jack's No One Compares to You rounds out the section. It went top 10 in the final chart of the eligibility period, after a lengthy 8 week wait, following their #1 Jonas Blue collaboration Rise into the top tier. It's the lead single from their forthcoming debut album A Good Friend Is Nice, due out 11th January.

Recommendation

Posted by: Liаm 6th January 2019, 01:12 AM

Ruin My Life snatching top 200 *.* A real grower, I remember hearing it and being like "oh..."

One Shot is a bit of a bop, completely missed it until it was used on Dancing With The Stars somehow!!

Posted by: JosephAvery 6th January 2019, 04:59 PM

QUOTE(Liаm @ Jan 6 2019, 01:12 AM)

Ruin My Life snatching top 200 *.* A real grower, I remember hearing it and being like "oh..."

One Shot is a bit of a bop, completely missed it until it was used on Dancing With The Stars somehow!!

Posted by: JosephAvery 6th January 2019, 05:15 PM

Songs




171 Alesso - REMEDY | 18-6-7-13-24-40-x (6 weeks)
172 Conrad Sewell - Changing | 7-15-25-x (3 weeks)
173 AZTX feat. Luke Friend - Karma | 40-6-11-21-31-x (5 weeks)
174 Silk City & Dua Lipa feat. Diplo & Mark Ronson - Electricity | 9-13-17-27-34-x (5 weeks)
175 Jess Glynne - Thursday | 19-17-22-37-40-x (5 weeks)
176 Julia Michaels - Heaven | 10-18-30-x (3 weeks)
177 PRETTYMUCH - Healthy | 37-33-13-10-15-18-28-39-x (8 weeks)
178 Rhys feat. FELIX SANDMAN - Starfish | 6-13-21-37-x (4 weeks)
179 Ryan Sinclair & Grace O'Brien feat. Graham - Keep on Trying, You'll Do It! | 5-11-32-x (3 weeks)
180 Danny Avila & The Vamps feat. Machine Gun Kelly - Too Good to Be True | 3-10-18-24-x (4 weeks)

It's not very often that I'll chart a novelty song. I mostly find them cringe and/or annoying, but very rarely, one will break through for me. #179 sees a Doctor Who spoof song charting - something I never thought would happen but it's ended up as one of the most hilarious things I've seen in the past year. A YouTube channel called "Doctor Who Poop", who have been making these spoofs for years, took on new companion Ryan Sinclair's bike-riding scene from series 11's first episode (Ryan is dyspraxic), which sees his nan Grace O'Brien encouraging him to cycle towards her new husband Graham (Bradley Walsh). A touching scene, but equally this song is an absolute hoot, yet somehow still manages to be catchy as anything and quite the inspirational anthem. Of course, the highlight comes from the unintentional rhyme "Ryan Sinclair, don't you dare" *.* The song became a #5 hit in my chart, believe it or not :')

Just below is a notable song from The Vamps' discography, and not in the best way either. Too Good to Be True was exactly that, ruining their hit-streak of 13 #1 singles in a row. Interestingly, their two follow-up singles didn't make the top spot either, but they're still to appear in the countdown. Too Good to Be True saw the boyband team up with upcoming DJ Danny Avila, who provides some great production, but also features Machine Gun Kelly who ruins the song with quite an irritating rap verse. Cut that off and maybe it would have had the legs to go all the way to the top? Either way, it's the lowest top 3 hit and the lowest song to have spent more than one week in my top 10. Another boyband is at #177 - PRETTYMUCH make their first appearance of five with Healthy, the worst artwork of the year but a surprisingly smooth R&B-influenced pop track. Former boybander Felix Sandman pops up again, this time on the sublimely produced Starfish with fellow Swedish singer Rhys, her highest peaking track to date in my chart (outdoing the #7 high of Last Dance).

From the Fifty Shades Freed soundtrack, Julia Michaels' sassy track Heaven crept into my top 10, becoming the second-highest peaking track from the film (#1 hit For You by Liam Payne and Rita Ora is still to come). It's at #176 here, leaving no more of Julia's three tracks in the running. Jess Glynne makes her one and only appearance just above. Credit where it's due, and I'm normally one to criticise Jess, but Thursday is a really great track and I still really enjoy it a few months on. It didn't make my top 10 but achieves a very respectable EOY placing! Dua Lipa teamed up with Silk City (Mark Ronson and Diplo) for the feel-good anthem Electricity, a #9 hit in the autumn, and Alesso achieved his very first top 10 hit with REMEDY, featuring uncredited vocals from Conor Maynard.

He achieved my EOY #1 in 2015 with Hold Me Up, and 2018 was the year that Conrad Sewell finally made a comeback to music, preparing for his debut album release. Changing is at #172, the highest peaking of the two new singles but Healing Hands has ended up above here. Finally, X Factor's Luke Friend made a top 10 return with collaboration Karma, with AZTX. It became Luke's third top 10, but first since #1 hit Hole in My Heart in 2015.

Recommendation

Posted by: Cody Slaykali 6th January 2019, 05:52 PM

flop Vamps stan

Posted by: JosephAvery 6th January 2019, 05:56 PM

blame Machine Gun Shitty

Posted by: Cody Slaykali 6th January 2019, 06:58 PM

QUOTE(JosephAvery @ Jan 6 2019, 09:56 AM)

QUOTE(JosephAvery @ Jan 6 2019, 09:15 AM)

Posted by: PeteFromLeeds 7th January 2019, 10:04 PM

Just given the Doctor Who thing a listen after your commentary, it's actually quite a decent song *.* Nice to see Starfish and Electricity here as well!

Posted by: Liаm 8th January 2019, 01:39 AM

Me walking out of this thread as soon as I see Thursday x

Posted by: sergejdordij98 8th January 2019, 05:38 AM

Hey Joseph!
Really like "Remedy", "Electricity", "Thursday" (don't understand the hate though), "Two Princes" (never knew that Michael Schulte was the singer for this song) and "Whenever"!

Posted by: danuary 8th January 2019, 10:36 AM

QUOTE(JosephAvery @ Jan 6 2019, 05:15 PM)

Posted by: JosephAvery 8th January 2019, 09:19 PM

Thanks so much guys *.*

Let's all stan the Doctor Who song together x

Posted by: JosephAvery 8th January 2019, 09:44 PM

Songs




161 In Real Life - Tattoo (How 'Bout You) | 3-11-17-28-37-x (5 weeks)
162 Little Mix feat. Nicki Minaj - Woman Like Me | 8-18-17-26-30-32-x (6 weeks)
163 Catherine McGrath feat. Hunter Hayes - Don't Let Me Forget | 5-11-24-37-x (4 weeks)
164 Charli XCX feat. Tove Lo and ALMA - Out of My Head | 4-8-16-31-x (4 weeks)
165 Charlie Puth - The Way I Am | 30-22-17-27-33-x (5 weeks)
166 Cassadee Pope - Take You Home | 10-8-17-27-x (4 weeks)
167 Daniel Skye - I Want You | 5-12-21-36-x (4 weeks)
168 Iggy Azalea feat. Quavo - Savior | 4-13-18-30-38-x (5 weeks)
169 Kylie Minogue - A Lifetime to Repair | 10-17-25-x (3 weeks)
170 Greyson Chance - Good as Gold | 34-37-30-24-19-27-37-x (7 weeks)

This section sees the quality ramp up quite significantly as some top 5 hits start to drop out in quick succession. Iggy Azalea tried another comeback attempt this year with Savior, her best release since Trouble for sure, and easily the best guest outing Quavo's offered. Unfortunately it still didn't manage to take off as people hate Iggy these days for reasons I still don't really know. At the top end of the section, boyband In Real Life drop out with their #3 hit Tattoo (How 'Bout You), released the same week as Savior. It started off well but dropped off much quicker than their debut hit Eyes Closed (also #3). They still have Tonight Belongs to You in this countdown.

Charli XCX's Out of My Head became her only mixtape track to chart (I'm not really huge on the mixtapes as a whole), with some help from Tove Lo and ALMA who both scored their highest peaking tracks to date. This is Charli's first appearance this year, with three huge tracks still to come. Daniel Skye makes his first appearance of two with I Want You at #167. His hit rate slowed down considerably this year, releasing only two singles after three in 2017 and five in 2016. Hunter Hayes makes his final appearance in this year's countdown, scoring a top 5 hit alongside first-time chart artist Catherine McGrath on promotional single Don't Let Me Forget at #163.

Among the top 5 hits, we still see a couple more top 20 hits drop out although they're becoming scarcer and scarcer. Greyson Chance scored his biggest hit since 2016's Hit & Run (#4) with #19 hit Good As Gold. It's a stunning track and a definite grower over the summer for me. Charlie Puth's The Way I Am achieved a surprisingly low peak considering how much I like, and always did like The Way I Am. A catchy track with a brilliant guitar hook.

The in-between section is made up from a few established artists. Kylie Minogue has had a hit and miss campaign throughout the Golden era, but A Lifetime to Repair became the second highest charting track from the album after I saw her life. She still has Dancing to come! Cassadee Pope returned to my chart for the first time since 2015, matching the #8 peak of I Am Invincible with Take Me Home, an infinitely better song that I really enjoyed from the moment I heard it. Lastly, Little Mix's Woman Like Me finishes surprisingly low at #162, although its #8 peak is considerably below what a Little Mix lead single is expected to achieve in my chart these days. The song isn't bad by any means but the hook isn't strong enough and Nicki's rap goes on waaay too long.

Recommendation

Posted by: LewisGT 9th January 2019, 10:02 PM

I was initially really underwhelmed by 'Woman Like Me' as a LM comeback but it grew on me so much after the video was released and ended up becoming one of my favourites of the year. Although I can take it or leave it with the Nicki verse; it's certainly not her best.

Posted by: JosephAvery 12th January 2019, 12:39 PM

QUOTE(LewisGT @ Jan 9 2019, 10:02 PM)

Posted by: UltraReputation 12th January 2019, 12:41 PM

Omg I was gonna comment properly and then this happened...

QUOTE(Liаm @ Jan 8 2019, 01:39 AM)

Me walking out of this thread as soon as I see Thursday x

Posted by: JosephAvery 12th January 2019, 12:50 PM

Songs




151 Bebe Rexha & Florida Georgia Line - Meant to Be | 10-13-22-26-30-33-26-37-x (8 weeks)
152 The Vamps - Just My Type | 6-15-27-32-29-32-x (6 weeks)
153 Alexander Stewart - Enamorado | 4-11-23-34-x (4 weeks)
154 Zak Abel - Love Song | 6-12-22-37-x (4 weeks)
155 The Chainsmokers - Sick Boy | 37-7-11-16-27-35-x (6 weeks)
156 Carrie Underwood - Cry Pretty | 7-12-22-31-x (4 weeks)
157 Isaiah - Close to Me | 8-21-31-x (3 weeks)
158 Rak-Su feat. Wyclef Jean & Naughty Boy - Dimelo | 7-13-20-22-21-23-29-40-x (8 weeks)
159 Conrad Sewell - Healing Hands | 25-34-x-20-10-13-25-35-x (7 non-consecutive weeks)
160 David Guetta feat. Anne-Marie - Don't Leave Me Alone | 12-10-9-15-24-33-x (6 weeks)

A top 10 hit over the summer, David Guetta and Anne-Marie's collaboration initially underwhelmed me, missing my top 10. However, it proved to have reasonable stability and became a solid hit. The production is reminiscent of 2U which had a similar level of success in my chart, and Anne-Marie sounds great of course. However, it's the lowest of her five entries. Guetta still has two more to come! Making his final appearance in this group is Conrad Sewell, with his comeback track Healing Hands. Initially released as a two-track EP called Ghosts & Heartaches alongside another track Come Clean, it made a reasonable impression but didn't hit me until over the summer, helped by seeing it take off so well in Australia. It's a really well-written song, and hopefully a sign of good things to come from Conrad's long-awaited debut album! Conrad's fellow Aussie, Isaiah [Firebrace] returned with his third top 10 hit Close to Me in October, finishing at #8. It's at #157 here, a reasonable position when its chart run feels so oddly short.

Owing to my EOY chart running from December to November, there always ends up being a few tracks that look weirdly out of place, and it's normally the X Factor winning single among that bunch. Rak-Su's Dimelo actually holds its own though, peaking at #7 but notching up a fairly impressive 8 weeks top 40. The song is effortlessly catchy, the chorus was lodged in my head for weeks. I just wish the single version had better production The Chainsmokers returned with Sick Boy at the start of the year, disappointing many but actually really impressing me! I wasn't expecting to be such a fan of it particularly when Drew's vocals are so limited but they work really well on this one.

Carrie Underwood's first appearance of two is at #156 with Cry Pretty, a song with a really nice sentiment although its follow-up Love Wins is her true triumph this year. Zak Abel's middle appearance (2 of 3) is two spots above at #154, the very catchy Love Song dropping out. It's a shame it never caught on and became a bigger hit because I think he has all the makings of a star, but nobody seems to be here to support him. The same could have been said for Bebe Rexha until Meant to Be broke her through in her own right of course. It peaked at #10 in my chart, having taken quite a while to grow and interestingly debuting as soon as I got hold of a version of the song where Bebe opens the track (the version Radio 1 etc play), ultimately just missing out on my EOY top half.

His first hit, Alexander Stewart's Enamorado brought about his first original track after a long stream of covers. Enamorado is a light, breezy pop track which peaked at #4 on one of the busiest chart weeks of the year. Alexander recently scored a #1 on my personal chart with Best Damn Thing, his second release, so expect an even bigger showing from him next year! Finally, The Vamps pop up for appearance two of three. Just My Type is their lowest-peaking single, though it managed a decent run for its peak in the end. It finishes at #152 here, with just Hair Too Long left in the running for them.

Recommendation

Posted by: JosephAvery 12th January 2019, 12:51 PM

QUOTE(UltraReputation @ Jan 12 2019, 12:41 PM)

Posted by: sergejdordij98 13th January 2019, 12:51 AM

Hello Joseph!
Really like seeing "Sick Boy", "Dimelo" and "Don't Leave Me Alone" on your Year-End list, all 3 of them are going to make my Year-End list of 2018.
I also like seeing "Woman Like Me", "The Way I Am" and "Take You Home" in there! All 3 songs are great, with the latter one I've recently heard it since I've saw it on your Year-End list!

Posted by: JosephAvery 13th January 2019, 04:29 PM

Thank you Sergej!! I will be replying to all of your EOY charts soon guys, had a busy few days but I need to return the favours.

Posted by: JosephAvery 13th January 2019, 04:39 PM

Songs




141 Clean Bandit feat. Marina & Luis Fonsi - Baby | 9-14-17-24-… (4+ weeks)
142 Malu Trevejo - Luna Llena | 9-14-26-35-x (4 weeks)
143 Hayley Kiyoko - Curious | 4-10-17-26-37-x (5 weeks)
144 MAX, TINI & Daneon - Lights Down Low | 7-11-19-34-x (4 weeks)
145 The Vamps - Hair Too Long | 3-6-11-21-29-38-x (6 weeks)
146 Lauv - Superhero | 6-15-24-34-x (4 weeks)
147 Harry Gardner - Strawberry Vodka | 7-12-18-29-x (4 weeks)
148 Anne-Marie - Perfect to Me | 24-20-24-29-19-6-… (6+ weeks)
149 FELIX SANDMAN - IMPRINT | 7-16-29-x (3 weeks)
150 George Ezra - Shotgun | 21-17-9-15-26-36-x (6 weeks)

The top half kick-starts with a batch of ten top 10 hits, spanning the full 12 months quite easily. The earliest song in the section is Hayley Kiyoko's Curious, a #4 hit in January 2018. The song remains my clear Hayley favourite, although I'm seeing her live next month so I'm interested to see what from the album ends up growing on me! At the other end of the spectrum, Anne-Marie's Perfect to Me only hit the top 10 in the final week of the eligibility period in November last year. It kept up her 100% top 10 hit streak with her Speak Your Mind singles, and leaves two further songs in the running. The actual newest song in the countdown comes from Clean Bandit though. Baby, a collab with Marina and Luis Fonsi, was their lowest charting single since Come Over missed my top 40, but a #9 peak is still respectable and it managed a decent enough run in the end. It's certainly held up in my affections anyway!

George Ezra's monster hit Shotgun became his second top 10 hit last year, and his only appearance in my EOY this year, scraping into the top half at #150. It's quite comfortably the biggest UK hit in the section (with a #1 peak), with the aforementioned Baby being the only other top 40 hit (#15). One spot above is Felix Sandman again with his second single IMPRINT, leaving just his debut release EVERY SINGLE DAY in the running for the EOY #1. Britain's Got Talent semi-finalist Harry Gardner released a surprise bop in the form of Strawberry Vodka, a very addictive track which hit the top 10 during the May half term period.

His first and only top 10 to date, Lauv's Superhero made an instant positive impression when I first heard it and saw the very sweet and endearing music video. It's his final song to appear out of three in the coundown. This section also sees the final Vamps song, with Hair Too Long out at #145. It's the first year since they arrived in 2013 that they've not featured in my EOY top 100 (and for that matter, top 20).

Scoring her first hit with Spanglish anthem Luna Llena, Malu Trevejo rode the wave of Latin hits in the middle of the year, spearheaded by her feature on the similarly bilingual Hasta Luego with HRVY, which hit #1 in my chart and is still to come. Also riding that wave was the Latin Urban mix of MAX's breakthrough hit Lights Down Low. The original of the track is too slow-paced and uninteresting for me, so the Latin Urban mix featuring a Spanish verse from TINI and improved production from Daneon was much appreciated, turning the song into a #7 hit in my chart.

Recommendation

Posted by: Jason 14th January 2019, 01:02 AM

Shotgun only at #150.

Posted by: JosephAvery 14th January 2019, 08:26 PM

QUOTE(Jason @ Jan 14 2019, 01:02 AM)

Shotgun only at #150.

Posted by: JosephAvery 14th January 2019, 08:49 PM

Songs




131 Camila Cabello - She Loves Control | 17-17-23-19-18-25-36-x-36-33-x (9 non-consecutive weeks)
132 PRETTYMUCH - 10,000 Hours | 21-20-14-7-15-19-33-x (7 weeks)
133 Ina Wroldsen - Strongest | 29-3-8-14-27-40-x (6 weeks)
134 Lil Xan - Saved by the Bell | 19-12-10-19-13-16-21-30-33-37-34-x (11 weeks)
135 5 Seconds of Summer - Youngblood | 27-18-8-14-23-28-35-x (7 weeks)
136 Carly Rae Jepsen - Party For One | 5-9-16-32-… (4+ weeks)
137 Gregor Coleman - Too Good To Me | 3-9-15-24-36-x (5 weeks)
138 Bebe Rexha - Self Control | 2-10-14-24-36-x (5 weeks)
139 Jax Jones feat. Ina Wroldsen - Breathe | 5-12-19-24-17-22-25-37-x (8 weeks)
140 Troye Sivan - Strawberries & Cigarettes | 9-15-24-17-16-29-x (6 weeks)

The highest track from the Love, Simon soundtrack out of four that have appeared in the countdown, Troye Sivan's Strawberries & Cigarettes is his third appearance out of an impressive eight. It's a lush track, which plays at one of the most significant moments of the entire movie (no spoilers please x) even if its use is only brief. Besides, Troye is one of the most fitting artists to record a song for a film like that! Also making another of multiple appearances is Bebe Rexha at #138 with album track Self Control, interestingly outpeaking and outperforming all of her actual singles in 2018 and finishing as her highest track. Lil Xan makes another appearance too, also with an album track in the form of Saved By the Bell, which notched up an impressive run of 11 weeks in my top 40.

There's double Ina Wroldsen in this section, with her Jax Jones collaboration Breathe making waves firstly at #139. It's the final appearance of Jax's two from 2018, but the first of Ina's. She also makes her last appearance at #133, with her own track Strongest, a brilliant ode to being a single mum. We also say goodbye to Carly Rae Jepsen, who makes her highest appearance with the addictive Party For One, which outcharted every song from the EMOTION era except #3 lead I Really Like You. Gregor Coleman, an X Factor auditionee in 2017, makes his only appearance at #137 with his top 3 debut hit Too Good To Me, a really breezy pop track which shows his wasted potential on the show.

5SOS scored their biggest hit in years with Youngblood around the world, and while it continues an impressive hit streak in my chart with only two of their singles missing my top 10, it didn't do *quite* as well. An #8 peak is nothing to be sniffed at, although lead single Want You Back (their first #1 in my chart) is still to come. Their fellow boyband PRETTYMUCH pop up for their second appearance of five with 10,000 Hours, one of their numerous slow-burners in my chart, taking a month to reach its #7 peak. Finally, closing out the section is the third highest non-top 10 hit, from Camila Cabello's She Loves Control, the single that never was. It notched up a very solid run in my chart for a track that was never truly pushed, and leaves only Never Be the Same in the running for Camila now.

Recommendation

Posted by: Liаm 14th January 2019, 08:54 PM

Shotgun Easily one of the best songs of the year, he's been on fire this year.

Posted by: danuary 14th January 2019, 09:29 PM

I quite liked Strongest, though it's of course Breathe which was my fave of hers in 2018, it'll be very very high in my EOY.

Posted by: Jack 14th January 2019, 11:42 PM

Omg I forgot 'Strongest' existed!! What a song

Posted by: jakewild 15th January 2019, 04:19 PM

ina wroldsen stan

Posted by: JosephAvery 16th January 2019, 07:23 PM

omg ikr xx

Thanks for the comments all of you!!!

Posted by: JosephAvery 16th January 2019, 07:35 PM

Songs




121 Cheryl - Love Made Me Do It | 3-8-17-… (3+ weeks)
122 SJUR & Isac Elliot - Rich & Famous | 5-11-15-26-x (4 weeks)
123 Christina Aguilera feat. Demi Lovato - Fall in Line | 7-9-16-23-33-x (5 weeks)
124 Jason Derulo & David Guetta feat. Nicki Minaj & Willy William - Goodbye | 3-9-17-23-22-31-x (6 weeks)
125 Madison Beer feat. Offset - Hurts Like Hell | 7-9-12-… (3+ weeks)
126 Taylor Swift - Delicate | 36-x-28-26-17-20-23-34-x (7 non-consecutive weeks)
127 Cheat Codes & Little Mix - Only You | 4-9-11-16-26-38-x (6 weeks)
128 Carrie Underwood - Love Wins | 5-13-18-24-32-x (5 weeks)
129 Sabrina Carpenter - Almost Love | 5-13-24-37-x (4 weeks)
130 Ariana Grande - God is a woman | 5-8-18-22-26-21-31-38-x (8 weeks)

Yet another sublime song from her comeback, Ariana Grande kicks this section off with God is a woman, the second single from the Sweetener album. It's Ari's fourth highest track in the countdown, so she's got plenty of representation left. Although it made less of an impression than its predecessor, God is a woman is one of Ari's slickest tracks, her vocals absolutely slaying the chorus. An equally sublime song in this section comes from Taylor Swift with Delicate, the second highest non-top 10. Delicate properly clicked with me after seeing Taylor on the reputation Stadium Tour. It was an incredible event and the song, while it didn't make my top 10, scored a much higher peak than it originally did and it's bound to go down as one of my Taylor favourites. Additionally, Christina Aguilera released her best song in a *long* time (perhaps since the Back to Basics era) with Demi Lovato on the incredibly sung Fall In Line. It's a powerful track from two unbelievable vocalists who complement each other very well!

The first single from her Singular project, Sabrina Carpenter's Almost Love is an addictive pop bop, which gave her her highest charting solo single to date (although it doesn't outdo her #1 collaboration with Mike Perry and The Vamps on Hands). Carrie Underwood's LGBTQ+ anthem Love Wins also gave her a top 5 hit last year, the highest charting track from her Cry Pretty album to date. It's a beautiful song, and possibly my favourite Carrie song since 2012's Blown Away album. Little Mix make their highest appearance of the countdown with Cheat Codes collaboration Only You, a #4 hit in the middle of the year.

Madison Beer's Hurts Like Hell is an interesting case. It had spent two weeks in my top 10 when I compiled this EOY, with a total of three weeks on the chart by the time the eligibility period came to an end. It's now on its ninth week in my top 40, up 8 places to #14 and completing a third week of climbing after dropping every week before that. In fact, it's poised to re-enter my top 10 this week. Perhaps this will make it eligible for an appearance in next year's countdown, too, but for now it's at #125. It's already her highest peaking song to date, outdoing #9 hit Melodies, and the only solo appearance in one of my EOYs for Migos member Offset (Migos themselves appeared with Katy Perry last year on Bon Appétit). Also on three weeks was Cheryl's Love Made Me Do It, but despite the higher peak of #3, Cheryl's track is already out of my top 40. An underwhelming comeback for an artist who scored two EOY top 5 hits in 2014!

One of my guilty pleasures of the year, I seemed to be alone in enjoying Jason Derulo's Goodbye. It's an odd sample to use, but I find it rather inspired and extremely fun. Music doesn't have to be so serious, after all *_* All artists involved have no further appearances left on the countdown, except Guetta who has Mad Love with Sean Paul still left in. Finally, Isac Elliot teamed up with SJUR for the catchy Rich & Famous, being his sole new top 10 hit over 2018 (continuing his run of achieving a top 10 hit every year since his debut in 2013). That said, he still has Mouth to Mouth to chart - a song that first charted in 2017 but climbed to #1 in the very first week of 2018.

Recommendation

Posted by: PeteFromLeeds 16th January 2019, 09:27 PM

Oh did Isaiah release a new song? That must've flown under my radar oops, another long-haired Australian's took the limelight recently This is sounding alright, will probably add it to my playlist!

Dimelo is probably my favourite X Factor Winners' single, shame their potential was thrown out of the window

Posted by: SevenSeize 17th January 2019, 04:12 AM

Carly Slay *.* Party For One is a good start to what should hopefully be a good album next year

The Way I Am is probably my favourite from Charlie's album, gotta love that opening riff, would've been nice if it got the proper single treatment here

Posted by: JosephAvery 17th January 2019, 08:17 PM

QUOTE(PeteFromLeeds @ Jan 16 2019, 09:27 PM)

Oh did Isaiah release a new song? That must've flown under my radar oops, another long-haired Australian's took the limelight recently This is sounding alright, will probably add it to my playlist!

Dimelo is probably my favourite X Factor Winners' single, shame their potential was thrown out of the window

QUOTE(SevenSeize @ Jan 17 2019, 04:12 AM)

Posted by: UltraReputation 17th January 2019, 08:27 PM

Delicate is 125 places too low x Yassss at it finally clicking with you tho after the Rep tour slayage and it being the second highest non top 10 here

Posted by: JosephAvery 17th January 2019, 08:32 PM

Thanks Sam!!

Posted by: JosephAvery 17th January 2019, 08:32 PM

Songs




111 Sam Feldt feat. George Shelley - Leave Me Alone | 2-8-20-39-x (4 weeks)
112 Michael Schulte - You Let Me Walk Alone | 7-11-17-25-31-x-23-x (6 non-consecutive weeks)
113 Kate Nash - Hate You | 4-9-15-25-x (4 weeks)
114 Nadine Coyle - Girls On Fire | 21-3-6-13-24-31-x (6 weeks)
115 Bruno Mars feat. Cardi B - Finesse | 5-9-16-29-34-x (5 weeks)
116 Bebe Rexha - I'm a Mess | 3-6-11-21-33-x (5 weeks)
117 Alec Benjamin - Steve | 3-7-… (2+ weeks)
118 Nina Nesbitt - Loyal to Me | 6-11-23-30-x (4 weeks)
119 CNCO with Yandel, or Meghan Trainor & Sean Paul - Hey DJ | 13-20-19-22-34-x-21-4-9-21-35-x-23-x (11 non-consecutive weeks)
120 Topic & Ally Brooke - Perfect | 4-10-21-33-x (4 weeks)

Impressively being one of only two former Fifth Harmony members to have achieved a top 10 hit so far, Ally Brooke featured on Topic's heartfelt track Perfect at the top of the year. It became a #4 hit in its first week, and instantly I fell in love with it. The production is mostly quite generic, but it's the lyrics that really make it worthwhile for me. It's real, honest and exactly the sort of song I'd like to relate to one day. From that, to a song that I can probably relate to now - Bebe Rexha's I'm a Mess the follow-up to Meant To Be was a #3 hit on its debut just a week before the album came out. It's Bebe's second to last appearance in this year's countdown, with only Girls remaining.

The single most confusing credit of the year, CNCO's Hey DJ has had three stints in my top 40, each stint representing a different version of the song. The first stint saw Hey DJ becoming a #13 hit not long after Reggaetón Lento made it to #2, thanks to a "pop version" by CNCO themselves and nobody else. This saw the song make #204 in last year's EOY. It returned to my chart off the back of their album release, thanks to the original version with Yandel, achieving its final peak of #4. Finally, it made a brief comeback due to the Spanglish edition with Meghan Trainor and Sean Paul, although it got no higher than #23. It's CNCO's fourth highest track - all three remaining songs are in the top 100!

Nina Nesbitt stormed back to my chart after a two-year absence with Loyal to Me, her first top 10 hit since Way of the World even further back in 2013. It's a great track, harking back to early noughties pop, but remaining very current with a brilliantly choreographed music video. Kate Nash also made an impressive comeback in 2018 with her Yesterday Was Forever album, scoring two top 10 hits over the year. The first to appear is Hate You, which made #4 after its video release, a fantastically quirky pop track! Nadine Coyle also appears with sassy anthem Girls On Fire, a #3 hit in undoubtedly the most competitive week of the year in my chart (with an entirely new top 5).

Achieving an impressive #3 peak with an album track, Alec Benjamin's Steve tells a brilliant story about not taking what you've already got for granted. It was my instant highlight of the Narrated For You mixtape, made even better through Alec's superb lyricism. It's his fifth (!) highest track, with four more to appear in the top 100. Bruno Mars scored his first top 10 hit with some help from Cardi B on the remixed version of Finesse, also her first top 10 hit. It appears at #115 here, the lowest of Cardi's five top 5 hits to appear. From Eurovision, Michael Schulte is at #112 with You Let Me Walk Alone. Michael's an artist I've been a fan of since 2013, so to see him take the Eurovision stage was amazing, especially with such a beauty of a track. Finally, the lowest #2 hit appears - Sam Feldt's album track Leave Me Alone only caught my eye due to George Shelley's feature, and it made #2 in a fairly quiet period at the tail end of 2017, the highest peak for either artist.

Recommendation

Posted by: JosephAvery 19th January 2019, 07:11 PM

Songs




101 Maty Noyes - Spiraling Down | 3-6-13-21-29-x (5 weeks)
102 Halsey - Without Me | 10-5-4-… (3+ weeks)
103 New Hope Club - Medicine | 5-9-14-22-33-x (5 weeks)
104 Paloma Faith - Loyal | 4-11-23-39-x (4 weeks)
105 Cher Lloyd - None of My Business | 4-7-15-26-39-x (5 weeks)
106 Ariana Grande - thank u, next | 4-5-13-22-… (4+ weeks)
107 Benjamin Rihan - Fantasi | 36-22-16-14-25-20-17-19-25-31-x (10 weeks)
108 Louis Tomlinson - Miss You | 1-4-10-14-19-25-35-x (7 weeks)
109 Jagwar Twin - Loser | 26-36-4-8-19-32-x (6 weeks)
110 M.O, Lotto Boyzz & Mr Eazi - Bad Vibe | 9-9-17-24-29-35-x (6 weeks)

I honestly thought M.O were finished after the criminally underrated Not In Love failed to take off, but Bad Vibe turned into one of my favourite and most pleasant surprises of the year. On trend and very catchy, it wormed its way into my affections quickly and became their third straight top 10 hit in a row. Talking of surprises, I wasn't expecting a Cher Lloyd comeback to turn out so well, but None of My Business was a brilliantly sassy yet classy bop which saw Cher grab her very first top 10 in my chart (although Want U Back would have slayed if my chart arrived sooner!). I also didn't expect to love Halsey's Without Me so much, as she's made little impact on me since New Americana, but it's turned out to be her best song to date and I expect it would've finished higher in my EOY had it not come so late in the year.

In more obsucre songs, Jagwar Twin's Loser became a top 5 hit when his album, Subject to Flooding, came out. Also known as Roy English (of Alesso's Cool fame), Loser feels both retro and current in its vibe, the lyrics talking about being an outcast. It's a great debut, and my favourite song on his album! A few spots higher at #103, New Hope Club finally scored a top 10 hit in 2018 with Medicine, a song that could easily have been a huge smash hit by a bigger artist. It's a shame it wasn't given any support as it's undoubtedly the boyband's best song to date.

We lose the first #1 of the countdown here, with Louis Tomlinson's Miss You being the only one outside my top 100. Boosted by a performance on The X Factor's final, Louis ended Rita Ora's 6-week run with Anywhere. The song didn't hold up as well as his previous two #1s though and fell away quite quickly, and I've barely revisited it since. There's also a UK #1 from Ariana Grande, which managed a #4 debut, her second highest peak of 2018 (although she has two songs remaining). At the other end of the spectrum, we see the highest non-top 10 single to feature, courtesy of Benjamin Rihan! His track Fantasi was intriguingly catchy despite being in Danish, his native language. It remains his only hit to date as he's not followed it up!

Paloma Faith scored her highest peak from The Architect's era with re-issue single Loyal, peaking at #4 as soon as it came out. It outdoes Crybaby, which got to #7 (#138 EOY 2017), and #10 hit Lullaby with Sigala, but that's still to feature this year! Finally, Maty Noyes just misses out on the top 100 with Spiraling Down, the lead single from her Love Songs from a Lolita EP. It's her highest position since #1 hit In My Mind in 2016, which I sent to BJSC and finished 12th in that year's EOY.

Recommendation

Posted by: JosephAvery 19th January 2019, 07:13 PM

Songs: 300-101 Recap

101 Maty Noyes - Spiraling Down
102 Halsey - Without Me
103 New Hope Club - Medicine
104 Paloma Faith - Loyal
105 Cher Lloyd - None of My Business
106 Ariana Grande - thank u, next
107 Benjamin Rihan - Fantasi
108 Louis Tomlinson - Miss You
109 Jagwar Twin - Loser
110 M.O, Lotto Boyzz & Mr Eazi - Bad Vibe
111 Sam Feldt feat. George Shelley - Leave Me Alone
112 Michael Schulte - You Let Me Walk Alone
113 Kate Nash - Hate You
114 Nadine Coyle - Girls On Fire
115 Bruno Mars feat. Cardi B - Finesse
116 Bebe Rexha - I'm a Mess
117 Alec Benjamin - Steve
118 Nina Nesbitt - Loyal to Me
119 CNCO with Yandel, or Meghan Trainor & Sean Paul - Hey DJ
120 Topic & Ally Brooke - Perfect
121 Cheryl - Love Made Me Do It
122 SJUR & Isac Elliot - Rich & Famous
123 Christina Aguilera feat. Demi Lovato - Fall in Line
124 Jason Derulo & David Guetta feat. Nicki Minaj & Willy William - Goodbye
125 Madison Beer feat. Offset - Hurts Like Hell
126 Taylor Swift - Delicate
127 Cheat Codes & Little Mix - Only You
128 Carrie Underwood - Love Wins
129 Sabrina Carpenter - Almost Love
130 Ariana Grande - God is a woman
131 Camila Cabello - She Loves Control
132 PRETTYMUCH - 10,000 Hours
133 Ina Wroldsen - Strongest
134 Lil Xan - Saved by the Bell
135 5 Seconds of Summer - Youngblood
136 Carly Rae Jepsen - Party For One
137 Gregor Coleman - Too Good To Me
138 Bebe Rexha - Self Control
139 Jax Jones feat. Ina Wroldsen - Breathe
140 Troye Sivan - Strawberries & Cigarettes
141 Clean Bandit feat. Marina & Luis Fonsi - Baby
142 Malu Trevejo - Luna Llena
143 Hayley Kiyoko - Curious
144 MAX, TINI & Daneon - Lights Down Low
145 The Vamps - Hair Too Long
146 Lauv - Superhero
147 Harry Gardner - Strawberry Vodka
148 Anne-Marie - Perfect to Me
149 FELIX SANDMAN - IMPRINT
150 George Ezra - Shotgun
151 Bebe Rexha & Florida Georgia Line - Meant to Be
152 The Vamps - Just My Type
153 Alexander Stewart - Enamorado
154 Zak Abel - Love Song
155 The Chainsmokers - Sick Boy
156 Carrie Underwood - Cry Pretty
157 Isaiah - Close to Me
158 Rak-Su feat. Wyclef Jean & Naughty Boy - Dimelo
159 Conrad Sewell - Healing Hands
160 David Guetta feat. Anne-Marie - Don't Leave Me Alone
161 In Real Life - Tattoo (How 'Bout You)
162 Little Mix feat. Nicki Minaj - Woman Like Me
163 Catherine McGrath feat. Hunter Hayes - Don't Let Me Forget
164 Charli XCX feat. Tove Lo and ALMA - Out of My Head
165 Charlie Puth - The Way I Am
166 Cassadee Pope - Take You Home
167 Daniel Skye - I Want You
168 Iggy Azalea feat. Quavo - Savior
169 Kylie Minogue - A Lifetime to Repair
170 Greyson Chance - Good as Gold
171 Alesso - REMEDY
172 Conrad Sewell - Changing
173 AZTX feat. Luke Friend - Karma
174 Silk City & Dua Lipa feat. Diplo & Mark Ronson - Electricity
175 Jess Glynne - Thursday
176 Julia Michaels - Heaven
177 PRETTYMUCH - Healthy
178 Rhys feat. FELIX SANDMAN - Starfish
179 Ryan Sinclair & Grace O'Brien feat. Graham - Keep on Trying, You'll Do It!
180 Danny Avila & The Vamps feat. Machine Gun Kelly - Too Good to Be True
181 Jack & Jack - No One Compares To You
182 Taylor Swift feat. Ed Sheeran & Future - End Game
183 FELIX SANDMAN - PART OF ME
184 Au/Ra - Emoji
185 O.D.L - Next to Me
186 O.D.L - Won't Forget
187 Fake Pictures feat. Michael Schulte - Two Princes
188 Four of Diamonds feat. Saweetie - Stupid Things
189 Lil Xan - Emotions
190 Kris Kross Amsterdam & The Boy Next Door feat. Conor Maynard - Whenever
191 Hunter Hayes - One Shot
192 Lewis Capaldi - Lost On You
193 Years & Years - If You're Over Me
194 Alec Benjamin - Annabelle's Homework
195 Niall Horan - On the Loose
196 P!nk - Beautiful Trauma
197 Not3s & Mabel - My Lover
198 Jorja Smith feat. Stormzy - Let Me Down
199 Zara Larsson - Ruin My Life
200 David Guetta, Martin Garrix & Brooks - Like I Do

201 BTS feat. Nicki Minaj - IDOL
202 Billie Eilish - when the party's over
203 Jax Jones & Mabel feat. Rich the Kid - Ring Ring
204 CNCO - Mala Actitud
205 Alec Benjamin - Water Fountain
206 P!nk - Secrets
207 Nicki Minaj feat. Ariana Grande - Bed
208 Kris Kross Amsterdam, Ally Brooke & Messiah - Vámonos
209 Roadtrip - Take This Home
210 HRVY - Personal
211 Paloma Faith - Warrior
212 Cierra Ramirez feat. Baeza - Faded
213 Reed Deming - Lonely Kids
214 All Saints - Love Lasts Forever
215 Lil Xan - Betrayed
216 Kylie Minogue - Lost Without You
217 David Guetta, Bebe Rexha & J Balvin - Say My Name
218 DJ Khaled feat. Justin Bieber, Chance the Rapper & Quavo - No Brainer
219 Eleni Foureira - Fuego
220 Jacob Sartorius feat. blackbear - Hit Me Back
221 Dylan Fraser - Body Over Mine
222 Years & Years - Sanctify
223 Cardi B feat. Kehlani - Ring
224 Saara Aalto - Monsters
225 Martin Jensen & Bjørnskov - Somebody I'm Not
226 Julia Michaels feat. Trippie Redd - Jump
227 Why Don't We - Boomerang
228 Lily Allen - Lost My Mind
229 Demi Lovato - Sober
230 Cardi B feat. 21 Savage - Bartier Cardi
231 Martin Garrix feat. Khalid - Ocean
232 Jack Antonoff & MØ - Never Fall In Love
233 Nerina Pallot - Rousseau
234 Ariana Grande - breathin
235 Bleachers - Alfie's Song (Not So Typical Love Song)
236 Years & Years - All For You
237 Troye Sivan - The Good Side
238 Mariah Carey - GTFO
239 Kylie Minogue - Stop Me from Falling
240 Christopher - Monogamy
241 Kate Nash - Life in Pink
242 Lauv feat. Julia Michaels - There's No Way
243 Olivia Eliasson - Never Learn
244 Mabel - One Shot
245 The Shades - Back to Your Place
246 RAYE - Friends
247 CNCO - Mamita
248 Kate Nash - Drink About You
249 Carly Rae Jepsen - Cut to the Feeling
250 Demi Lovato - Tell Me You Love Me
251 Frans - Liar
252 Christopher - Irony
253 Kesha - Learn To Let Go
254 Lady Gaga & Bradley Cooper - Shallow
255 Camila Cabello - Real Friends
256 Future Jr. - Forget About Me
257 In Real Life - How Badly
258 Steel Banglez feat. Yungen, MoStack, Mr Eazi & Not3s - Bad
259 Dean Lewis - Be Alright
260 Johnny Orlando - Last Summer
261 Meghan Trainor - Let You Be Right
262 Sofia Reyes feat. Jason Derulo & De La Ghetto - 1, 2, 3
263 Khalid & Normani - Love Lies
264 YUNGBLUD - Machine Gun (F**k the NRA)
265 Cheat Codes - Home
266 Jason Derulo - Colors
267 Ne-Yo, Bebe Rexha & Stefflon Don - Push Back
268 SC3 (S Club 3) - Family
269 Lauv - I Like Me Better
270 DJ Khaled feat. Demi Lovato - I Believe
271 Meghan Trainor - No Excuses
272 Troye Sivan & Jónsi - Revelation
273 Alice Merton - No Roots
274 Cheat Codes & DVBBS - I Love It
275 Benjamin Ingrosso - Behave
276 Jessica Andersson - Party Voice
277 Ciara - Dose
278 Enrique Iglesias feat. Pitbull - Move to Miami
279 Becky G & Natti Natasha - Sin Pijama
280 Marcus & Martinus - Invited
281 Au/Ra - Panic Room
282 Rita Ora - First Time High
283 Noah Cyrus feat. MØ - We Are…
284 Kesha - This Is Me
285 Mabel feat. Kojo Funds - Finders Keepers
286 The Chainsmokers feat. Emily Warren - Side Effects
287 Marshmello & Bastille - Happier
288 CD9 - Qué Le Importa a la Gente
289 Ashley Tisdale - Voices in My Head
290 Netta - Toy
291 Lauren Aquilina - Psycho
292 Liam Payne & J Balvin - Familiar
293 Hunter Hayes - Dear God
294 Zak Abel feat. Saweetie - You Come First
295 Reed Deming - Get 2 U
296 Tom Grennan - Found What I've Been Looking For
297 benny blanco, Halsey & Khalid - Eastside
298 Andra feat. Mara - Sweet Dreams (Radio Killer Remix)
299 Riverdale Cast feat. KJ Apa, Camila Mendes & Lili Reinhart - Mad World
300 Big Shaq - Man's Not Hot

Posted by: PeteFromLeeds 19th January 2019, 08:07 PM

I quite liked Miss You from Louis, the sound was pretty reminiscent of the 00s and not something you see much in the charts so glad it scraped the Top 40. I will admit I completely forgot it existed a few months later though so not surprised to see it so low for you!

Posted by: LewisGT 19th January 2019, 09:32 PM

Meant To Be - I quite liked Florida Georgia Line's parts on this song.

God Is A Woman - This was my least fave of her singles but that just shows how good she was last year as it's still a 11/10.

Only You - This grew on my when LM5 was released.

I'm A Mess - Her best solo song for me. Shame it couldn't be a hit.

Finesse - I usually dislike Bruno but I love this. One of the best surprises of the year for me.

Bad Vibe - Great tune. Glad it became a hit.

Thank U, Next - Love this so much

Posted by: Jason 19th January 2019, 10:50 PM

What a non-number one for Louis Tomlinson here.

Posted by: JosephAvery 19th January 2019, 11:37 PM

Thank you all for the comments

Posted by: JosephAvery 20th January 2019, 12:47 AM

Artists



5 Anne-Marie

Buzzjack's very torn on Anne-Marie but it's always been pure love for me. I've been following her mostly since Alarm came out in mid 2016 although I was aware before, and that song quickly became love. Rockabye ensued, followed by what remains as her best track: Ciao Adios. Even the end of 2017, where things suddenly felt uncertain, didn't dampen my excitement for Anne-Marie's debut album, although I do wish it hadn't taken so long to arrive. She sang a solid 7-8 songs when supporting Ed Sheeran live, so the material was there. Waiting over a year from Ciao Adios felt strange!

2018 really did get off to a great start though. FRIENDS arrived, a collaboration with Marshmello. I'll discuss this later in the songs countdown but it became a #1 on my singles chart, her fourth to date, and really ramped up my excitement once again. It was great to see it smashing, and then 2002 somehow doing even better was just great to see. Everything suddenly felt positive again. The relative flop of Heavy had been counteracted with two huge hits, her two biggest as a lead artist to date. The album didn't disappoint either. The large helping of pre-released singles assisted when listening to the album - knowing a lot of the songs helped me get to know the new tracks that bit easier. Songs like Trigger, Perfect [to Me] and Cry were played on her tour in March that I went to see, and they all sounded brilliant in studio form. In fact, I'd say the full 17 track album only has two duds - Machine and Some People. Not bad going at all!

I saw Anne-Marie live twice over 2018 too. Firstly in March, before 2002 actually came out, where I heard a large helping of the album for the first time. A lot of people seemed to be there on a casual night out rather than being proper Anne-Marie fans, so the crowd was one that I stood out like a sore thumb in. She was great though and put on such a fun show, so much so that I bought a ticket to see her in November. The album was long since out by this point, and it was just as fun to hear the songs again now I was familiar with them. The crowd felt much more invested in her set this time, which was great, and her crowd interaction was as brilliant as ever. I'm seeing her once again at Hammersmith this June and I couldn't be more excited!



4 Lil Xan

I think many people on here are aware of my dislike of the hip-hop genre in general. It's just... not for me, and I'm much more likely to enjoy a female rapper than a male rapper (see: Cardi B, Iggy Azalea and the cancelled one). However, I like to judge on a song-by-song basis, and this is one guy that keeps putting out some pretty solid tracks. Lil Xan (real name Diego Leanos) came to my attention around April last year when I saw Color Blind, his Diplo collaboration, on a playlist and listened out of curiosity. It took a few plays before it totally clicked with me, and curiosity led me to more Lil Xan tracks. The rest, as they say, is history.

It's funny, because I can say a lot of negative stuff about Lil Xan, just as much as I can about positive stuff really. His lyrics are not particularly great for the most part, and he certainly doesn't think before he speaks on social media. That said, there's a certain charm he has that other rappers don't. He's relatively unproblematic (other than running his mouth) and I think his heart's in the right place. He's also surprisingly good with melodies - my favourite Lil Xan tracks all have a catchy and memorable chorus, as well as great production. He's also showing some brilliant signs of improvement through the Heartbreak Soldiers mixtape and new single Watch Me Fall (see 2019's EOY for its placing x) - he's an artist thrust into the limelight and we're watching him grow into the artist he wants to become.

I actually saw him live in July, and honestly, it was my first experience of a rap concert. It was much more full-on than any other gig I went to. Music was blaring from the start (DJ Semtex was hosting and DJing before the supports and eventually Diego came on), and there was no real down time. Additionally, there was a mosh pit in the middle... made me glad I stood near the back! I'm considering seeing him again this March in London, and potentially nabbing the VIP meet and greet (it's relatively cheap, OK!!!). With new album Be Safe out in February, I'm quite excited to see Diego's continued path through improvement. He might never be the perfect artist, but he's certainly getting better.



3 Troye Sivan

Put quite simply. Troye Sivan's sophomore release was THE most anticipated release of the year for me. Blue Neighbourhood was my favourite album of 2015, and it has quite the list of accolades from my album chart. Most notably, it has the most weeks at #1 (16), and the most weeks in the chart full stop (102). I consider it my second favourite album of all-time, behind only Kate Nash's Made of Bricks. The way Troye talks about love and sexuality is quite unlike any artist, making a huge impact on me which you can read about in greater detail across my 2015 and 2016 EOYs if you'd like to. It's fair to say, Bloom had a lot to live up to.

We started the year with new Troye quite quickly, and he got off to a superb start. My My My! was a three week #1 in my singles chart, his longest run at the top to date, and it charting in the UK top 40 was a brilliant moment for me. The Good Side followed not long after as a promotional single - a pleasant album track with interesting flickers of production. Then things seemed to go quiet. Bloom came out as the second single in April, but the album wasn't out until the very last day of August. It felt like a silly wait for a 10 track album, which we had already heard half of by the time it arrived!! Dance To This with Ariana Grande came too, and whilst I really liked it, it felt like a slightly underwhelming track considering the names. Somehow, I felt a bit worried that Bloom wasn't going to match my expectations.

It's worth saying that I never expected Troye to top Blue Neighbourhood. That's a once in a lifetime type album. Bloom was NEVER going to be as good, and that's okay, but I still had high hopes. My copy of Bloom eventually arrived, actually one day before the official release. Honestly, the fact I worried at all was forgotten within track one. From the honest tales of young love in Seventeen, to the bop Plum and the carefree breezy Lucky Strike, the album as a whole had me floored. Troye proved he's an exceptional artist capable of keeping his sound unique and relevant, while changing up the vibe from Blue Neighbourhood. Moving on from a more darker sound in Blue Neighbourhood, Bloom is about falling in love for the most part. Its vibe is generally happier and bouncier, and proves Troye's versatility. I should never have doubted him.

I'm seeing Troye live in February and I really couldn't be more excited. I've seen him twice before, the last time almost three years ago, and each time was exceptional but somehow this feels even more special. With two incredible albums under his belt, Troye's show is bound to be flawless and I cannot wait to cry, dance and experience every emotion under the sun throughout his set.



2 Rita Ora

We never though it would come. It felt like one of those mythological beasts that was spoken of but actually didn't exist. Believe it or not, though, Rita Ora's second album finally came in 2018. It really did feel like we'd never get it for quite a while. Six years had passed since ORA, and a bunch of hit singles still didn't persuade Rita to release it. Anywhere's release came and went, and there was no album announcement. What was she waiting for? It seemed the answer was Girls, and while I totally love it (more on that later), the public didn't. #22. RIP.

Phoenix finally came after the smash hit Let You Love Me though, and Rita proved just why she's one of the best names in pop right now. Of course, all six singles were brilliant and I loved hearing them slot in amongst new material. Only Want You and First Time High were my clear highlights, the former seemed like the clear pick for the next single. Sure enough, it became the sixth #1 of this campaign along in my album chart (only Your Song missed out), and Rita's tenth #1 in total, pushing her to third place for artists with the most #1s in my chart. Additionally, Rita also tied the record for most #1s in a calendar year; only three previous artists managed four #1s in a year (The Vamps in 2017, Hunter Hayes in 2014 and One Direction in 2012), yet Rita joined Why Don't We and Matteo Markus Bok in achieving four each throughout 2018.

Alongside the release of the album came her exceptional promotion. Every live performance Rita delivered this year was flawless (except that miming one lol x). Her vocals were on point and she's brilliant at delivering choreography. Her Let You Love Me performances have been notably excellent, each one offering something new to the last. Rita's Girls tour was a huge highlight of 2018 too. I sang along to every song, partying harder than I would at any usual concert because it was hit after hit. I had the time of my life, and I am SO excited for the Phoenix tour next year! I also met Rita at her HMV signing in November, and got a photo with her. She was so kind meeting her again at VIP for her tour, getting a professional photo this time!! Cannot wait.



1 Why Don't We

There was never going to be another outcome for #1 really, and it's funny because if you told me Why Don't We were going to be my #1 artist of 2018 this time last year, I'd have been pretty surprised. I'd only heard These Girls and a couple of their older songs by this point in 2018 and I wasn't too fussed. These Girls had gone 40-x in my chart and the others had one listen on YouTube and nothing more. I just assumed they were the latest in a long line of boybands trying to replicate One Direction, and the material just wasn't there, even for this One Direction (and just about ANY boyband) stan.

It was Trust Fund Baby that changed things, and it's funny cause I wasn't even THAT fussed with it at first. I listened and wasn't too bothered, but it grew quickly the more I listened and it became an #8 hit in my chart. It became a #1 hit a month later interestingly, holding the top spot for two weeks. Its climb was unprecedented, especially as it had dipped out of the top 10 for two weeks first. What clicked? I'm not really sure, but it's such an earworm and I really like the music video too. Finally, Why Don't We had made their mark on me. I revisited older songs. These Girls hit me properly (weirdly it was replaced by a slightly revamped mix on Spotify with nothing more said, but it improves the song) and re-entered my chart at a new peak of #10, and I was all over their recent Invitation EP - a #1 in my album chart.

It was around that time that I saw they had a gig at London's O2 Shepherd's Bush Empire. The issue was, it had sold out. There was no way I couldn't go, though. I was becoming quite obsessed with them, and I really wanted to see them live. I ended up buying a ticket from Viagogo (I'd never bought a resale ticket before!!) for a silly price, but god it was worth EVERY SECOND. Such a fun night and it made me adore so much of their earlier material. I spent the day of the gig trying to track them down too - albeit at the wrong hotel at first - but ultimately I met Jack, Zach and Jonah briefly as they arrived at the venue, and Jack gave me a fistbump. I was more than a little excited, considering he's my favourite (and the inspiration behind JosephAvery).

About a week or two after that gig, they released Hooked, and I don't think a song title has been more apt. The song had me obsessed with one listen alone. Why Don't We proved they'd mastered their sound, classy boyband pop with plenty of hooks. Jack took the lead on the chorus, giving his best vocal performance to date, and I love the music video too. It spent four weeks at #1 in my chart - the most consecutive weeks of any song in 2018. A month later, they released Talk, yet another brilliant pop song. I noticed that both Hooked and Talk featured some of the best production they'd received yet, thanks to a record label now backing them. 8 Letters followed in August, two weeks before the album of the same name. At only eight tracks, three of which being the last three singles, it's a little short but that doesn't stop it being amazing (and already announced as my album of 2018 earlier in the thread).

I saw them live again in October, this time buying a ticket through Ticketmaster (lol x), and I also nabbed a Limelight VIP package. Not only did I get a professional photo with the boys, but I also got to attend a 25 minute "mingle" with them for chat and selfies. I got a selfie with each member, and I have so many great memories of that half hour. Jack was my priority, and we exchanged hair compliments Daniel made the effort to learn my name like none of the others did, Zach stole my phone and took eight (!) of his own selfies on it, Jonah gave some great advice to a friend I made at the meet & greet, and Corbyn took the time to have a proper conversation with everybody that came to him. The gig was brilliant once again too. A night I'll never forget.

2019 seems like things will be going up and up for Why Don't We. This is only the beginning, and I'm strapped in for the ride. Thanks for one hell of a year, boys

Posted by: SweetButJonjo👻 20th January 2019, 12:56 AM

Rita and Troye yay. X

Lil Xan and Anne-Marie nay. X

Posted by: JosephAvery 20th January 2019, 12:58 AM

QUOTE(SweetButJonjo👻 @ Jan 20 2019, 12:56 AM)

Posted by: Riser 20th January 2019, 06:24 AM

Bad Vibe gives me real good vibes (good vibe good vibe good vibe). I listen to a radio station in Zambia and it was #1 on their chart. Zambian legends only *.

Thank u, next flopping at #106 with no support and no cultural impact </3

Posted by: JosephAvery 21st January 2019, 05:59 PM

Thanks Jord!! Zambian legends *.*!

Posted by: JosephAvery 21st January 2019, 06:23 PM

Songs




91 Lasse Meling - Unfound | 8-10-17-29-35-x (5 weeks)
92 PRETTYMUCH feat. Rich the Kid - Solita | 3-10-18-32-x (4 weeks)
93 Lily Allen feat. Giggs - Trigger Bang | 1-2-5-7-12-20-32-x (7 weeks)
94 Nemo Schiffman - Will | 29-10-17-29-x (4 weeks)
95 Dua Lipa - IDGAF | 15-14-6-6-12-15-23-29-38-x (9 weeks)
96 Aitana & Ana Guerra - Lo Malo | 4-6-11-19-27-x (5 weeks)
97 Electric Pineapple feat. Ryan Lawrie - Stay | 12-37-x-40-21-18-6-8-14-23-32-x (10 non-consecutive weeks)
98 Joel Adams - Fake Friends | 16-10-6-10-17-25-37-x (7 weeks)
99 Sigala & The Vamps - We Don't Care | 4-8-15-20-29-x (5 weeks)
100 Alec Benjamin - If We Have Each Other | 17-13-11-8-13-25-32-x (7 weeks)

Into the top 100 we go!! First up is appearance one of four in the top 100 for Alec Benjamin. If We Have Each Other was released as the third single from his Narrated for You project, and became his third top 10 over the summer. It's one of the cutest songs of the year - "the world's not perfect, but it's not that bad", ultimately talking about Alec's relationship with his sister. One spot above is a team-up between two British acts - DJ Sigala and boyband The Vamps. To this day, We Don't Care remains Sigala's only top 5 hit in my chart despite not actually being a single. That said, he still has one more song to feature. I feel like I said Hair Too Long was The Vamps' highest song, forgetting this was still to come, but actually they *do* feature in my top 100 this year... just!

Making a return to music after a couple of years away, Joel Adams' Fake Friends became his third top 10 single towards the end of last year. His introductory track, Please Don't Go, was a global Spotify smash hit but thanks to a label that, from my POV, only seemed to use the success of that track to promote their own services, he didn't properly follow it up (releasing promotional single Die For You on YouTube with a video but it never got a proper release). It was a brilliant return to form anyway, and is hopefully setting Joel up for an exciting 2019. From one former BJSC artist of mine to another, Ryan Lawrie teamed up with Electric Pineapple to release Stay last year. The track was a definite slow-burner, taking its time to click, but ultimately it became Ryan's third top 10 hit, keeping up his 100% top 10 streak (and interestingly, he has an identical chart history to Joel - one #1 that I sent to BJSC, one #2 and one #6!). Completing a trio of former BJSC artists of mine, Nemo Schiffman's at #94 with Will, his only appearance this year after finishing second with I Don't Mind in last year's countdown. Interestingly, Will actually came out before I Don't Mind, but only clicked with me roughly a year after I heard it! Its chart run looks weak in comparison to those surrounding it, but it's notched up some impressive trickle plays over the year!

From BJSC to its parent contest: Eurovision. Two rejected Eurovision hopefuls appear here, and first up is one from Spain. Aitana and Ana Guerra teamed up for Lo Malo, a #1 hit in Spain but it wasn't enough for it to become their Eurovision entry. A shame, because it's a total bop, incredibly catchy and was so very instant for me too. At the top of the section there's a reject from Denmark. Lasse Meling's Unfound could easily be a Shawn Mendes song, which is no bad thing in my books, and made it to #8 in one of the busiest weeks of the year. Irritatingly, it's still not on UK iTunes or Spotify. Mess.

Dua Lipa's huge smash hit IDGAF made it to #6 in my chart, riding off the coattails of previous hit New Rules. It's not Dua's last appearance either - her Calvin collaboration didn't do enough for the top 300 and the Silk City collab has appeared already, but her team-up with BLACKPINK is still to come...! PRETTYMUCH added further to their run of hits with Solita, a #3 hit in September, which remains their most recent top 10 as follow-ups Real Friends and Jello couldn't crack the top tier. Finally, Lily Allen's #1 hit Trigger Bang drops out. The opening from Giggs remains quite offputting to me, but after that the song's quality jumps up and is a brilliantly inspired track from Lily. It's her highest track in this year's countdown, though.

Recommendation

Posted by: sergejdordij98 21st January 2019, 06:34 PM

Here are the songs that I like from your top 150:
93 Lily Allen feat. Giggs - Trigger Bang
95 Dua Lipa - IDGAF (Did I mention that I love Dua Lipa?)
99 Sigala & The Vamps - We Don't Care
102 Halsey - Without Me
106 Ariana Grande - thank u, next
110 M.O, Lotto Boyzz & Mr Eazi - Bad Vibe
112 Michael Schulte - You Let Me Walk Alone (Very great entry from our country in Eurovision!)
115 Bruno Mars feat. Cardi B - Finesse
118 Nina Nesbitt - Loyal to Me
120 Topic & Ally Brooke - Perfect
124 Jason Derulo & David Guetta feat. Nicki Minaj & Willy William - Goodbye
125 Madison Beer feat. Offset - Hurts Like Hell
126 Taylor Swift - Delicate
127 Cheat Codes & Little Mix - Only You
130 Ariana Grande - God is a woman
131 Camila Cabello - She Loves Control (Should have been a single)
135 5 Seconds of Summer - Youngblood
136 Carly Rae Jepsen - Party For One
138 Bebe Rexha - Self Control (Pretty underrated in my opinion)
139 Jax Jones feat. Ina Wroldsen - Breathe
141 Clean Bandit feat. Marina & Luis Fonsi - Baby
144 MAX, TINI & Daneon - Lights Down Low (Only heard the MAX & Gnash Version and I liked it)
148 Anne-Marie - Perfect to Me
150 George Ezra - Shotgun (Perfect way to start the top 150!)
Great chart!

Posted by: Liаm 22nd January 2019, 11:28 AM

Lo Malo *.* *.* What an absolute bop, Spain are always mess choosing their entries

Posted by: JosephAvery 22nd January 2019, 09:35 PM

Thank you both!! Be careful Liam, remember you're in a Manel stan zone

Posted by: Cody Underwood 22nd January 2019, 09:40 PM

QUOTE(JosephAvery @ Jan 21 2019, 10:23 AM)

Posted by: PeteFromLeeds 22nd January 2019, 09:47 PM

Nice to see Unfound appear here - it caught my attention the first time I heard it and peaked inside the Top 50 in my personal chart (I swear it was on my Spotify playlist though - maybe they took it off later?), although Rasmussen made #1 so the right choice ultimately from Denmark!

Posted by: JosephAvery 22nd January 2019, 09:52 PM

QUOTE(Cody Underwood @ Jan 22 2019, 09:40 PM)

QUOTE(PeteFromLeeds @ Jan 22 2019, 09:47 PM)

Posted by: JosephAvery 22nd January 2019, 09:52 PM

Songs




81 Ryan O'Shaughnessy - Together | 38-x-7-3-5-12-26-33-x (7 non-consecutive weeks)
82 CNCO - Mi Medicina | 36-36-16-18-27-6-2-7-12-25-x (10 weeks)
83 Tyron Hapi & Liam Ferrari - I Like the Way | 4-10-17-29-36-x (5 weeks)
84 Tom Odell - If You Wanna Love Somebody | 2-7-16-23-31-x (5 weeks)
85 Sigala & Paloma Faith - Lullaby | 39-33-13-10-11-18-24-35-x (8 weeks)
86 Mabel & Not3s - Fine Line | 5-8-12-20-26-34-39-x (7 weeks)
87 Shawn Mendes - Nervous | 40-35-17-10-9-15-26-39-x (8 weeks)
88 Dylan Schneider - No Problem | 11-1-2-6-12-21-34-x (7 weeks)
89 Anne-Marie - Then | 1-4-5-9-13-22-36-x (7 weeks)
90 Zak Abel - Still Want UUU | 28-13-6-4-7-6-11-18-23-30-x (10 weeks)

Zak Abel scored a couple of top 10s from his debut album Only When We're Naked over 2017, and finished the year with the album's third single Still Want UUU entering the top tier. It gave him his joint highest peak, alongside Unstable, and overall his biggest hit yet. It's a very catchy track and it's a shame that Zak's career overall hasn't managed to catch on. It's his hgihest track of three this year. Also making their last appearances, together, are Mabel and Not3s. They teamed up for Mabel's track Fine Line, an instant top 5 hit in my chart when it came out. It's the only top 10 hit so far for both artists, although each of them has an array of top 20 hits. It finishes at #86 in my EOY!

Two #1s fall out next to each other here, meaning that all four #1s from last December have already dropped out and make up the bottom four #1s from the eligibility period. December's often quite a dead period of my chart so this is not really much of a surprise! First up is Anne-Marie's promotional track Then, which perhaps stands out in her chart history as #1 when her actual biggest hit, Ciao Adios only actually made #2 in 2017. However, it made my 2017 Christmas #1 spot and I do really enjoy it, although it's not one I go back to much. Meanwhile, Dylan Schneider's No Problem was the last hit of the year. A rare country hit in my chart, Dylan actually remains a one-hit wonder, having not followed up No Problem still. It's a good track, although is actually beaten by the tracks it kept at #2 and #3 (Isac Elliot's Mouth to Mouth, which overtook to #1 the week after, and Matteo Markus Bok's Just One Lie, which never made it higher than #3).

Was it a single? Wasn't it? God knows with this exceptionally messy campaign, but Shawn Mendes still notched up a top 10 hit with Nervous in my chart this year. It's a great change of vibe and pace for him, and I wish they'd actually committed to making it a single. CNCO's Mi Medicina was also a promotional single, although it did get a music video. Initially a low top 40 hit, Mi Medicina eventually peaked at #2 when their self-titled sophomore album was released in April, being blocked from #1 only by their own track Sólo Yo!

Achieving his first top 10 hit in two years, Sigala enlisted Paloma "Palome my love!" Faith for Lullaby, a track which I definitely appreciate more than its peak would suggest. Lullaby scraped a top 10 placing after I saw Paloma live in March, and she performed what she described as her "potential summer anthem". I think it definitely achieved that! Tom Odell's If You Wanna Love Somebody, on the other hand, was snubbed from my date of the Jubilee Road Tour, despite being the album's lead single. It became his third #2 hit, not following Real Love and Magnetised to the #1 spot, but at least it was justified - the #1 that week, Hooked by Why Don't We, is still in the competition. Tyron Hapi called upon Liam Ferrari for I Like the Way, a very catchy dance-pop song perfect for summer. It gave both artists their first top 40 hit, peaking at #4. Finally, Ryan O'Shaughnessy's touching guitar ballad Together, which represented Ireland at Eurovision last year, places at #81. The song grew on me hugely after seeing the staging and performance, a delightful surprise and incredibly touching.

Recommendation

Posted by: JosephAvery 23rd January 2019, 09:53 PM

Songs




71 In Real Life - Tonight Belongs to You | 2-3-13-18-23-29-x (6 weeks)
72 Camila Cabello - Never Be the Same | 19-30-31-18-15-5-8-13-14-22-27-37-x (12 weeks)
73 Alec Benjamin - 1994 | 3-4-4-9-… (4+ weeks)
74 Shawn Mendes & Zedd - Lost in Japan | 6-15-27-x-37-35-38-8-7-11-20-33-… (11+ non-consecutive weeks)
75 Lost Frequencies feat. Janieck Devy - Reality | 4-7-7-14-20-31-x (6 weeks)
76 James Bay - Wild Love | 5-5-9-12-17-26-36-x (7 weeks)
77 Alec Benjamin - Outrunning Karma | 12-11-7-5-9-12-17-14-27-… (9+ weeks)
78 Jesper Jenset - FOR LOVE. | 5-8-18-30-34-x (5 weeks)
79 Alan Walker, Au/Ra & Tomine Harket - Darkside | 8-4-6-10-17-29-38-x (7 weeks)
80 Manel Navarro - Voulez-vous Danser? | 5-8-16-22-29-33-38-x (7 weeks)

Scoring one of my top 20 songs of 2017, Manel Navarro's sole solo release of 2018 saw him notch up a further top 5 hit. Voulez-vous Danser?, despite the French title, is the first track he's released in his native Spanish language (the Eurovision version of Do It For Your Lover was partly in Spanish, with the original English chorus remaining). It's a catchy, breezy track and exactly the type of music I was hoping for from him. I'm hoping it won't be too long until he follows it up, it's been a while and all we've had is a feature on JOWST's Roller Coaster! Two spots above is a former BJSC artist of mine, Jesper Jenset. The Norwegian popstar has a hit and miss record in my chart, notably scoring three top 10 hits in 2015 and 2016, including High, a #2 hit (and #20 EOY) that gave me one of my three BJSC top 10 hits. FOR LOVE. returned him to the top 5 earlier this year, and finishes in a very respectable 78th after strong trickle plays.

Alan Walker's effectively a one-hit wonder as far as the UK charts go, but interestingly, Faded is actually not one of his two top 10s in my chart. All Falls Down made the top 5 at the very start of the year (it featured last year though and I decided it didn't do quite enough for a reprise feature this year), but he managed to achieve his highest position so far with Darkside, a surprise hit over the summer. Accompanied by Au/Ra and Tomine Harket on vocals, all artists involved achieved their highest position ever when the track climbed to #4. In Real Life also scored their highest position to date with Tonight Belongs to You, a catchy Latin-tinged pop track with a belter of a chorus. It managed to outdo Eyes Closed and Tattoo (How 'Bout You), both of which made it to #3, by making the top 2, though it lost out on #1 to Lil Xan and Charli XCX's Moonlight (still to come).

There's double Alec Benjamin in this section. Outrunning Karma is out first at #77, a slow-burning hit that climbed into the top 5 during October. It was the fifth release from Narrated for You, continuing this era's yo-yo peaks of 1-33*-8-38-5 (* Boy in the Bubble made it to #33 months after its release). He's also at #73 with the track that broke the yo-yo run. 1994 followed Outrunning Karma, and was an ode to growing up, reminiscing about sick days and injuries he got as a kid. It debuted and peaked at #3, his second highest peaking track. It's also his second highest track in this year's countdown, leaving his sole #1 hit Let Me Down Slowly in the running!

Other big names feature in this section. Although I found his sophomore album an all-round disappointment, James Bay's Wild Love achieves a very respectable #76 in my EOY. Though #5 seems like a weak comeback for somebody who had one of the biggest albums of 2015 in my chart, it did so on the busiest week of the year (behind new singles from Anne-Marie, Ulrik Munther, Nadine Coyle and Margaret). I remember hearing Wild Love and pretty much hating it on one listen oops, but it grew on me a lot as the intricacies of the production and the gradual build-up of the song really went up in my estimations. Camila Cabello's Never Be the Same was a big grower too, initially looking to have a fleeting run after it went 19-30 in week 2, but it eventually climbed up to achieve a #5 peak. It's Camila's highest track in this year's countdown. Both Shawn Mendes and Zedd have more songs to come though (Shawn has one, Zedd has two). Their team-up, Lost in Japan, is at #74. Interestingly, its #6 peak should really be attributed to Shawn only, as it was achieved by the album version as a promotional single, but the Zedd remix ultimately peaked at #7 so there's little difference. I like both versions very much anyway!

Every now and then, something random will impact my chart. Generally it's an older song that I hadn't heard before. Lost Frequencies has that honour this year, with his 2015 track Reality, a UK top 40 hit back then, only actually entering my chart in 2018. Reality made the top 40 in the period where they didn't play #40-26 in full, so I never actually heard Reality, and I didn't check it out of my own accord as Are You With Me didn't do a lot for me. However, I was really missing out, and somehow I stumbled upon it last year. It's a great track and one I still revisit a lot!

Recommendation

Posted by: Jason 24th January 2019, 06:01 PM

Regarding the last 10, Never Be the Same is definitely my fave. Camila's at her very best.
Lost in Japan is good, but 'In My Blood' is by far superior imo.

Posted by: JosephAvery 24th January 2019, 08:15 PM

Thanks Jason!!

Posted by: JosephAvery 24th January 2019, 08:30 PM

Songs




61 Why Don't We - These Girls | 40-x-10-11-19-21-35-x-24-32-x (8 non-consecutive weeks)
62 CNCO - Se Vuelve Loca | 13-6-10-13-23-39-x-40-23-5-14-19-27-34-x (13 non-consecutive weeks)
63 Gryffin & Elley Duhé - Tie Me Down | 3-3-4-8-14-21-29-x (7 weeks)
64 Charlie Puth feat. Kehlani - Done For Me | 2-5-8-14-21-28-39-x (7 weeks)
65 Troye Sivan feat. Ariana Grande - Dance to This | 26-5-12-18-24-32-40-x (7 weeks)
66 Sean Paul & David Guetta feat. Becky G - Mad Love | 12-21-20-19-14-8-16-22-26-33-x (10 weeks)
67 Loïc Nottet - Go To Sleep | 9-11-20-33-x-20-31-38-x (7 non-consecutive weeks)
68 Benjamin Ingrosso - I Wouldn't Know | 2-9-16-27-37-x (5 weeks)
69 Ava Max - Sweet But Psycho | 19-26-40-x-2-… (4+ non-consecutive weeks)
70 PRETTYMUCH - Summer on You | 16-24-22-19-14-11-5-7-9-12-22-31-34-x (13 weeks)

Achieving yet another slow-burning smash, PRETTYMUCH's Summer On You took seven weeks to reach the top 10, zooming up 11-5 over the summer. The Ed Sheeran-penned guitar-led track is a breezy summer lowkey bop, and possibly the song of theirs that will hold up the best for me in years to come. It's their second highest appearance this year, with No More still to come in the top 60. PRETTYMUCH are one of three boybands to appear in this section, the other two at the top end. CNCO's Se Vuelve Loca became a top 10 hit when their sophomore self-titled album came out, reaching #6, before re-peaking at #5 when it became a single, complete with music video and Spanglish version. Additionally, Why Don't We make appearance two of six with These Girls, a 2017 single that finally became a top 10 hit in 2018 thanks to the impact of Trust Fund Baby. It saw good trickle sales over the year thanks to their continued presence with further hits in my chart!

The newest #2 hit in the countdown, Ava Max's Sweet But Psycho began its resurgence in the final chart of the eligibility period. It's not made it higher than #2 since then, but it's still in my top 20, helped a lot by its current UK #1 status. A brilliant pop track, and hopefully a trendsetter for 2019! Benjamin Ingrosso's I Wouldn't Know was the second of two #2 hits for him this year. Dance You Off is still to come but I Wouldn't Know is a very catchy pop track, with Benjy's voice shining through in the chorus. Charlie Puth's Done For Me was also a #2 hit, losing out to Louisa's YES (still to come), giving him a third top 3 hit from the Voicenotes campaign (after #3 hit Attention and #1 hit How Long in 2017). Kehlani seemed to curse the track as far as official chart performance went but I liked the track from the get-go, the production is fantastic and they sound so good together!

Best known for Eurovision track Rhythm Inside, Loïc Nottet actually hadn't achieved a top 10 hit in my chart before Go to Sleep. However, the stripped-back piano ballad struck a chord with me. Loïc's angelic voice amongst the emotional lyrics made for one of the most relevant songs of the year for me, and although its chart run isn't the most exceptional of the year, I've given it regular plays (and once again, shows the importance of trickle plays even after the chart run is concluded). At the other end of the spectrum, Sean Paul's Mad Love, with help from David Guetta and Becky G, is one of the biggest bops of the year. No emotional collection at all, but Mad Love is exceptionally catchy and Becky G's chorus and hook are among the best of the year for sure. Gryffin and Elley Duhé's Tie Me Down is similarly great, although perhaps a little more sophisticated. Elley's voice shines through on some magical production from Gryffin, who scored his first chart hit with this track. The final song comes from a team-up between Troye Sivan and Ariana Grande. Though its #5 peak seems disappointing, it's actually higher than every track above it that week except the #1 (Why Don't We - Hooked). Their voices sound excellent together, Ariana reigning her voice in to complement Troye beautifully. The production is sublime, too. It's Troye's fourth highest track, and Ariana's second!

Recommendation

Posted by: Jay ☆ 24th January 2019, 09:05 PM

65th position confirming yet again who the biggest Troye fan is out of me and you xo

Ava Max did THAT

My other faves from that section include Charlie Puth, Sean Paul & Benjamin Ingrosso <3

Posted by: sergejdordij98 24th January 2019, 09:29 PM

Really nice to see "Lullaby", "Fine Line", "Nervous", "Then", "Never Be The Same", "Lost In Japan", "Reality", "Wild Love", "Darkside", "Done For Me", "Mad Love" and especially "Sweet But Psycho" in there! Some of these songs are getting a high position in my Year-End List!

Posted by: danuary 24th January 2019, 09:50 PM

Lullaby and Darkside were big faves for me in 2018!
Tie Me Down took until Remember smashed for me to really get going in my chart but it eventually made my top 40, good song!
Never Be The Same, Reality, Fine Line, IDGAF Mad Love and Sweet but Psycho I also enjoy from your top 100 so far.

Posted by: JosephAvery 24th January 2019, 10:52 PM

Thank you all for the comments, it's much appreciated

Posted by: JosephAvery 24th January 2019, 11:06 PM

Songs




51 Rita Ora - Only Want You | 1-… (1+ weeks)
52 Alvaro Soler feat. Flo Rida & TINI - La Cintura | 7-3-5-7-11-21-29-38-x (8 weeks)
53 Matteo Markus Bok - Just One Lie | 3-3-7-15-30-40-x (6 weeks)
54 DJ Snake feat. Selena Gomez, Ozuna & Cardi B - Taki Taki | 4-9-13-15-16-21-24-28-36-… (9+ weeks)
55 Casey Lowry - Me & You | 1-3-6-12-24-38-x (6 weeks)
56 Katie Garfield - Gallows | 32-29-38-x-32-39-27-7-12-17-20-29-x (11 non-consecutive weeks)
57 Margaret - In My Cabana | 4-4-8-11-16-25-34-x (7 weeks)
58 HRVY - I Wish You Were Here | 20-3-6-12-15-26-31-x (7 weeks)
59 Lil Xan feat. Lil Skies - Lies | 4-4-10-19-23-29-37-x (7 weeks)
60 Daniel Skye & Baby Ariel - Say It | 4-3-11-21-30-x (5 weeks)

We're at the point now where most of what's to come is a top 5 hit. In fact, everything left is a top 5 hit, bar one song that features in this section. Katie Garfield earns the title of highest non-top 5 hit with Gallows, her only charting track in my chart so far. It's a beautifully haunting track that I discovered on Teen Wolf, and one that had a resurgence when I rewatched that same episode! It's not the first Teen Wolf-fuelled hit - Cheat Codes & Evan Gartner's Adventure was a top 5 hit in 2017 thanks to the show, but most significantly, we've not heard from Teen Wolf actor Froy Gutierrez with his debut single sideswipe yet!

At the bottom of this section we see Daniel Skye's highest 2018 appearance. Say It, a collaboration with YouTuber (and potential girlfriend?? I lose track) Baby Ariel, saw Daniel achieve his highest position since his #1 hit ON at the start of 2017, and his second highest position ever. It had a quick tumble downwards but it's a really good pop song, catchy and memorable. HRVY's I Wish You Were Here also peaked at #3 and ticks most of the same boxes, a catchy bop. Falsetto can be a turn-off for me in music and I don't always find it very easy on the ear but it somehow works in I Wish You Were Here alongside the funky production.

Rapper Lil Xan's Lies falls somewhere in the middle of emotional and bop. It's exceptionally catchy and has a very good beat behind it, but when you look at the lyrics ("pray to god like Allah, please slit my throat"), it somehow becomes an awkward bop. Nevertheless, I was impressed by how much Diego opened up on this track and Lil Skies' guest rap is really quite good too. A notable step forward for him! Also on the topic of rap, Cardi B pops up on Taki Taki, the first of her four top 100 entries to fall out. Taki Taki was a #4 hit in October, and although I was initially underwhelmed by the track, I quickly became obsessed thanks to her incredible guest rap and Selena's brilliant part too (heck, I came round to Ozuna's parts too).

Melodifestivalen hit In My Cabana by Polish singer Margaret gave her her best position to date, peaking at #4 for two weeks. It's everything I love in a pop song, with a vibe that reminds me of Shakira's Can't Remember to Forget You (a #1 in my chart in 2014!). Casey Lowry's Me & You became his first hit and his first #1, the tropical pop bop making a big impression on me (perhaps helped by the #longhairdontcare lyrics?). It's the shortest-lived #1 of the year in terms of chart runs (excluding anything still charting at the cut-off point), and the lowest #1 that actually occurred within the 2018 calendar year, but it's a great song and one I'll be returning to for a while expect. At the top of the section, we have the most recent #1, courtesy of Rita Ora with her next single Only Want You. Providing it makes more of an impact soon, it could be in for a repeat showing next year - we'll see! It's Rita's first appearance of four in the top 100.

His first track of four in this year's countdown, Matteo Markus Bok kickstarted his chart career quite modestly. Just One Lie made #3 for two weeks, but it did so in the most dead period of the year - the final week of 2017 and the first week of 2018. It fell quite quickly after that, but has recently re-entered my top 40 thanks to the impact of his newer singles. As a result, Just One Lie finishes much higher than it would've done without its follow-ups occurring! Finally, Alvaro Soler scored a breakthrough hit with the remix of La Cintura, alongside guest verses from Flo Rida and TINI. All artists involved got their biggest hit in my chart with this, hitting #3 and becoming one of the defining songs of my holiday.

Recommendation

Posted by: JosephAvery 25th January 2019, 07:58 PM

Songs




41 PRETTYMUCH feat. French Montana - No More | 2-2-5-8-10-17-23-35-x (8 weeks)
42 Freya Ridings - Lost Without You | 25-20-16-5-9-10-11-14-20-28-37-x (11 weeks)
43 5 Seconds of Summer - Want You Back | 1-2-4-8-13-19-23-31-x-39-x (9 non-consecutive weeks)
44 FELIX SANDMAN - EVERY SINGLE DAY | 3-5-3-7-12-14-16-24-36-x (9 weeks)
45 Matteo Markus Bok - This Christmas | 35-x-18-8-15-14-… (5+ non-consecutive weeks)
46 Louisa feat. 2 Chainz - YES | 1-2-3-5-10-17-24-32-x (8 weeks)
47 Clean Bandit feat. Demi Lovato - Solo | 3-5-10-13-19-17-14-18-26-30-x (10 weeks)
48 Troye Sivan - Bloom | 20-1-6-9-13-15-19-27-33-39-x (10 weeks)
49 Ellie Goulding, Diplo & Swae Lee - Close to Me | 3-6-6-11-16-… (5+ weeks)
50 Delta Goodrem - Think About You | 1-4-9-9-13-17-25-33-x (8 weeks)

This is the final section of 10 I'll be posting this year! Scraping into the top 10 is Delta Goodrem's Think About Us, her ninth #1 in all and her only appearance in this year's countdown. Think About Us saw Delta go in a very different direction to her usual piano-led style, favouring a sexier look and sound which actually suited her really well in my opinion. The result is an earworm that shows off Delta's versatility, and although I'm not sure I'd want a full Delta album like this, I definitely enjoyed this bit of experimentation. In other "Rich fave" news, Freya Ridings is at #42 with her sleeper hit Lost Without You. The track proved to be a massive grower for me, and ended up becoming her very first top 5 hit in its fourth week in my top 40. It's an absolutely stunning track, one of the most beautiful of the year, and whilst it didn't come especially close to #1, it's had great longevity in my affections.

Cqm will probably find this a disappointing placement for Ellie Goulding's comeback track Close to Me, but 49th is pretty respectable, and it's given Ellie her highest EOY placement ever for me (2012 onwards). It became quite an unlucky #3 hit, behind Matteo Markus Bok's In the Middle and Dua Lipa's Kiss and Make Up (both still to come), but it's held up well and ultimately spent an impressive 11 weeks in my top 40. Another unlucky #3 hit was Clean Bandit's Solo, blocked from becoming their third #1 hit and Demi's second by Rita Ora's Girls and Jennifer Lopez's Dinero (both also still to come). It's a brilliant song though and unlike Ellie, managed to make up for it by becoming an official UK #1. The track kept Clean Bandit's hit rate up, becoming their sixth consecutive top 5 single.

Completing a trio of #3 hits, former FO&O member Felix Sandman's debut single EVERY SINGLE DAY is the highest of his four tracks this year. The Melodifestivalen runner-up peaked at #3 on two separate occasions, two of which behind Benjamin Ingrosso's Dance You Off, which was at #2 on both occasions. One of the #1s that blocked it was 5 Seconds of Summer's Want You Back, their very first chart-topper. Their four-year run of hits saw two #2-peaking singles and only one single of theirs missing my top 10, so Want You Back finally making #1 felt fitting and deserved. In other boyband news, PRETTYMUCH's highest entry this year sees No More just miss out on the top 40. No More saw the boys bag an X Factor performance and a French Montana feature, and although it looked promising to become their breakthrough hit, it still didn't manage it. A shame, and a waste of potential! It missed out on #1 thanks to Louis Tomlinson's Miss You, which has long since been and gone, so is perhaps my only real regretful #2 of the year.

A #1 hit in the middle of the year, Troye Sivan's Bloom became his fourth chart-topper, and the second from the album of the same name. Though it wasn't quite as big as predecessor My My My!, the sublime pop track still had an impressive run. Louisa's YES was also a #1 earlier this year, becoming Louisa's fifth (!) #1. The Christina Aguilera-themed throwback track seemed to split Buzzjack but I instantly loved it, the high energy taking me back to the golden era of pop music. Deserved much better officially! Finally, Matteo Markus Bok's This Christmas pops up at #45. Its peak at the cut-off point for eligibility was #8, but I've bumped it up since as the track went on to spend two weeks at #2 in the festive period. It's Matteo's third highest track this year, with two #1s to come.

Recommendation

Posted by: JosephAvery 25th January 2019, 08:00 PM

Songs: #300-41

41 PRETTYMUCH feat. French Montana - No More
42 Freya Ridings - Lost Without You
43 5 Seconds of Summer - Want You Back
44 FELIX SANDMAN - EVERY SINGLE DAY
45 Matteo Markus Bok - This Christmas
46 Louisa feat. 2 Chainz - YES
47 Clean Bandit feat. Demi Lovato - Solo
48 Troye Sivan - Bloom
49 Ellie Goulding, Diplo & Swae Lee - Close to Me
50 Delta Goodrem - Think About You
51 Rita Ora - Only Want You
52 Alvaro Soler feat. Flo Rida & TINI - La Cintura
53 Matteo Markus Bok - Just One Lie
54 DJ Snake feat. Selena Gomez, Ozuna & Cardi B - Taki Taki
55 Casey Lowry - Me & You
56 Katie Garfield - Gallows
57 Margaret - In My Cabana
58 HRVY - I Wish You Were Here
59 Lil Xan feat. Lil Skies - Lies
60 Daniel Skye & Baby Ariel - Say It
61 Why Don't We - These Girls
62 CNCO - Se Vuelve Loca
63 Gryffin & Elley Duhé - Tie Me Down
64 Charlie Puth feat. Kehlani - Done For Me
65 Troye Sivan feat. Ariana Grande - Dance to This
66 Sean Paul & David Guetta feat. Becky G - Mad Love
67 Loïc Nottet - Go To Sleep
68 Benjamin Ingrosso - I Wouldn't Know
69 Ava Max - Sweet But Psycho
70 PRETTYMUCH - Summer on You
71 In Real Life - Tonight Belongs to You
72 Camila Cabello - Never Be the Same
73 Alec Benjamin - 1994
74 Shawn Mendes & Zedd - Lost in Japan
75 Lost Frequencies feat. Janieck Devy - Reality
76 James Bay - Wild Love
77 Alec Benjamin - Outrunning Karma
78 Jesper Jenset - FOR LOVE.
79 Alan Walker, Au/Ra & Tomine Harket - Darkside
80 Manel Navarro - Voulez-vous Danser?
81 Ryan O'Shaughnessy - Together
82 CNCO - Mi Medicina
83 Tyron Hapi & Liam Ferrari - I Like the Way
84 Tom Odell - If You Wanna Love Somebody
85 Sigala & Paloma Faith - Lullaby
86 Mabel & Not3s - Fine Line
87 Shawn Mendes - Nervous
88 Dylan Schneider - No Problem
89 Anne-Marie - Then
90 Zak Abel - Still Want UUU
91 Lasse Meling - Unfound
92 PRETTYMUCH feat. Rich the Kid - Solita
93 Lily Allen feat. Giggs - Trigger Bang
94 Nemo Schiffman - Will
95 Dua Lipa - IDGAF
96 Aitana & Ana Guerra - Lo Malo
97 Electric Pineapple feat. Ryan Lawrie - Stay
98 Joel Adams - Fake Friends
99 Sigala & The Vamps - We Don't Care
100 Alec Benjamin - If We Have Each Other

101 Maty Noyes - Spiraling Down
102 Halsey - Without Me
103 New Hope Club - Medicine
104 Paloma Faith - Loyal
105 Cher Lloyd - None of My Business
106 Ariana Grande - thank u, next
107 Benjamin Rihan - Fantasi
108 Louis Tomlinson - Miss You
109 Jagwar Twin - Loser
110 M.O, Lotto Boyzz & Mr Eazi - Bad Vibe
111 Sam Feldt feat. George Shelley - Leave Me Alone
112 Michael Schulte - You Let Me Walk Alone
113 Kate Nash - Hate You
114 Nadine Coyle - Girls On Fire
115 Bruno Mars feat. Cardi B - Finesse
116 Bebe Rexha - I'm a Mess
117 Alec Benjamin - Steve
118 Nina Nesbitt - Loyal to Me
119 CNCO with Yandel, or Meghan Trainor & Sean Paul - Hey DJ
120 Topic & Ally Brooke - Perfect
121 Cheryl - Love Made Me Do It
122 SJUR & Isac Elliot - Rich & Famous
123 Christina Aguilera feat. Demi Lovato - Fall in Line
124 Jason Derulo & David Guetta feat. Nicki Minaj & Willy William - Goodbye
125 Madison Beer feat. Offset - Hurts Like Hell
126 Taylor Swift - Delicate
127 Cheat Codes & Little Mix - Only You
128 Carrie Underwood - Love Wins
129 Sabrina Carpenter - Almost Love
130 Ariana Grande - God is a woman
131 Camila Cabello - She Loves Control
132 PRETTYMUCH - 10,000 Hours
133 Ina Wroldsen - Strongest
134 Lil Xan - Saved by the Bell
135 5 Seconds of Summer - Youngblood
136 Carly Rae Jepsen - Party For One
137 Gregor Coleman - Too Good To Me
138 Bebe Rexha - Self Control
139 Jax Jones feat. Ina Wroldsen - Breathe
140 Troye Sivan - Strawberries & Cigarettes
141 Clean Bandit feat. Marina & Luis Fonsi - Baby
142 Malu Trevejo - Luna Llena
143 Hayley Kiyoko - Curious
144 MAX, TINI & Daneon - Lights Down Low
145 The Vamps - Hair Too Long
146 Lauv - Superhero
147 Harry Gardner - Strawberry Vodka
148 Anne-Marie - Perfect to Me
149 FELIX SANDMAN - IMPRINT
150 George Ezra - Shotgun
151 Bebe Rexha & Florida Georgia Line - Meant to Be
152 The Vamps - Just My Type
153 Alexander Stewart - Enamorado
154 Zak Abel - Love Song
155 The Chainsmokers - Sick Boy
156 Carrie Underwood - Cry Pretty
157 Isaiah - Close to Me
158 Rak-Su feat. Wyclef Jean & Naughty Boy - Dimelo
159 Conrad Sewell - Healing Hands
160 David Guetta feat. Anne-Marie - Don't Leave Me Alone
161 In Real Life - Tattoo (How 'Bout You)
162 Little Mix feat. Nicki Minaj - Woman Like Me
163 Catherine McGrath feat. Hunter Hayes - Don't Let Me Forget
164 Charli XCX feat. Tove Lo and ALMA - Out of My Head
165 Charlie Puth - The Way I Am
166 Cassadee Pope - Take You Home
167 Daniel Skye - I Want You
168 Iggy Azalea feat. Quavo - Savior
169 Kylie Minogue - A Lifetime to Repair
170 Greyson Chance - Good as Gold
171 Alesso - REMEDY
172 Conrad Sewell - Changing
173 AZTX feat. Luke Friend - Karma
174 Silk City & Dua Lipa feat. Diplo & Mark Ronson - Electricity
175 Jess Glynne - Thursday
176 Julia Michaels - Heaven
177 PRETTYMUCH - Healthy
178 Rhys feat. FELIX SANDMAN - Starfish
179 Ryan Sinclair & Grace O'Brien feat. Graham - Keep on Trying, You'll Do It!
180 Danny Avila & The Vamps feat. Machine Gun Kelly - Too Good to Be True
181 Jack & Jack - No One Compares To You
182 Taylor Swift feat. Ed Sheeran & Future - End Game
183 FELIX SANDMAN - PART OF ME
184 Au/Ra - Emoji
185 O.D.L - Next to Me
186 O.D.L - Won't Forget
187 Fake Pictures feat. Michael Schulte - Two Princes
188 Four of Diamonds feat. Saweetie - Stupid Things
189 Lil Xan - Emotions
190 Kris Kross Amsterdam & The Boy Next Door feat. Conor Maynard - Whenever
191 Hunter Hayes - One Shot
192 Lewis Capaldi - Lost On You
193 Years & Years - If You're Over Me
194 Alec Benjamin - Annabelle's Homework
195 Niall Horan - On the Loose
196 P!nk - Beautiful Trauma
197 Not3s & Mabel - My Lover
198 Jorja Smith feat. Stormzy - Let Me Down
199 Zara Larsson - Ruin My Life
200 David Guetta, Martin Garrix & Brooks - Like I Do

201 BTS feat. Nicki Minaj - IDOL
202 Billie Eilish - when the party's over
203 Jax Jones & Mabel feat. Rich the Kid - Ring Ring
204 CNCO - Mala Actitud
205 Alec Benjamin - Water Fountain
206 P!nk - Secrets
207 Nicki Minaj feat. Ariana Grande - Bed
208 Kris Kross Amsterdam, Ally Brooke & Messiah - Vámonos
209 Roadtrip - Take This Home
210 HRVY - Personal
211 Paloma Faith - Warrior
212 Cierra Ramirez feat. Baeza - Faded
213 Reed Deming - Lonely Kids
214 All Saints - Love Lasts Forever
215 Lil Xan - Betrayed
216 Kylie Minogue - Lost Without You
217 David Guetta, Bebe Rexha & J Balvin - Say My Name
218 DJ Khaled feat. Justin Bieber, Chance the Rapper & Quavo - No Brainer
219 Eleni Foureira - Fuego
220 Jacob Sartorius feat. blackbear - Hit Me Back
221 Dylan Fraser - Body Over Mine
222 Years & Years - Sanctify
223 Cardi B feat. Kehlani - Ring
224 Saara Aalto - Monsters
225 Martin Jensen & Bjørnskov - Somebody I'm Not
226 Julia Michaels feat. Trippie Redd - Jump
227 Why Don't We - Boomerang
228 Lily Allen - Lost My Mind
229 Demi Lovato - Sober
230 Cardi B feat. 21 Savage - Bartier Cardi
231 Martin Garrix feat. Khalid - Ocean
232 Jack Antonoff & MØ - Never Fall In Love
233 Nerina Pallot - Rousseau
234 Ariana Grande - breathin
235 Bleachers - Alfie's Song (Not So Typical Love Song)
236 Years & Years - All For You
237 Troye Sivan - The Good Side
238 Mariah Carey - GTFO
239 Kylie Minogue - Stop Me from Falling
240 Christopher - Monogamy
241 Kate Nash - Life in Pink
242 Lauv feat. Julia Michaels - There's No Way
243 Olivia Eliasson - Never Learn
244 Mabel - One Shot
245 The Shades - Back to Your Place
246 RAYE - Friends
247 CNCO - Mamita
248 Kate Nash - Drink About You
249 Carly Rae Jepsen - Cut to the Feeling
250 Demi Lovato - Tell Me You Love Me
251 Frans - Liar
252 Christopher - Irony
253 Kesha - Learn To Let Go
254 Lady Gaga & Bradley Cooper - Shallow
255 Camila Cabello - Real Friends
256 Future Jr. - Forget About Me
257 In Real Life - How Badly
258 Steel Banglez feat. Yungen, MoStack, Mr Eazi & Not3s - Bad
259 Dean Lewis - Be Alright
260 Johnny Orlando - Last Summer
261 Meghan Trainor - Let You Be Right
262 Sofia Reyes feat. Jason Derulo & De La Ghetto - 1, 2, 3
263 Khalid & Normani - Love Lies
264 YUNGBLUD - Machine Gun (F**k the NRA)
265 Cheat Codes - Home
266 Jason Derulo - Colors
267 Ne-Yo, Bebe Rexha & Stefflon Don - Push Back
268 SC3 (S Club 3) - Family
269 Lauv - I Like Me Better
270 DJ Khaled feat. Demi Lovato - I Believe
271 Meghan Trainor - No Excuses
272 Troye Sivan & Jónsi - Revelation
273 Alice Merton - No Roots
274 Cheat Codes & DVBBS - I Love It
275 Benjamin Ingrosso - Behave
276 Jessica Andersson - Party Voice
277 Ciara - Dose
278 Enrique Iglesias feat. Pitbull - Move to Miami
279 Becky G & Natti Natasha - Sin Pijama
280 Marcus & Martinus - Invited
281 Au/Ra - Panic Room
282 Rita Ora - First Time High
283 Noah Cyrus feat. MØ - We Are…
284 Kesha - This Is Me
285 Mabel feat. Kojo Funds - Finders Keepers
286 The Chainsmokers feat. Emily Warren - Side Effects
287 Marshmello & Bastille - Happier
288 CD9 - Qué Le Importa a la Gente
289 Ashley Tisdale - Voices in My Head
290 Netta - Toy
291 Lauren Aquilina - Psycho
292 Liam Payne & J Balvin - Familiar
293 Hunter Hayes - Dear God
294 Zak Abel feat. Saweetie - You Come First
295 Reed Deming - Get 2 U
296 Tom Grennan - Found What I've Been Looking For
297 benny blanco, Halsey & Khalid - Eastside
298 Andra feat. Mara - Sweet Dreams (Radio Killer Remix)
299 Riverdale Cast feat. KJ Apa, Camila Mendes & Lili Reinhart - Mad World
300 Big Shaq - Man's Not Hot

Posted by: JosephAvery 25th January 2019, 08:01 PM

Songs: The Top 40

Alec Benjamin - Let Me Down Slowly
Anne-Marie - 2002
Ariana Grande - no tears left to cry
Avril Lavigne - Head Above Water
Benjamin Ingrosso - Dance You Off
Cardi B, Bad Bunny & J Balvin - I Like It
Charli XCX & Troye Sivan - 1999
CNCO - Sólo Yo
Diplo & Lil Xan - Color Blind
Dua Lipa & BLACKPINK - Kiss and Make Up
froy - sideswipe
HRVY & Malu Trevejo - Hasta Luego
Isac Elliot - Mouth to Mouth
Jennifer Lopez feat. DJ Khaled & Cardi B - Dinero
Jonas Blue feat. Jack & Jack - Rise
Kate Nash - Karaoke Kiss
Kylie Minogue - Dancing
Liam Payne & Rita Ora - For You
Lil Xan & Charli XCX - Moonlight
Marcus & Martinus - Remind Me
Marshmello & Anne-Marie - FRIENDS
Matteo Markus Bok - El Ritmo (AHI AHI AHI)
Matteo Markus Bok - In the Middle
Noah Cyrus & Lil Xan - Live or Die
Rita Ora - Let You Love Me
Rita Ora feat. Cardi B, Bebe Rexha & Charli XCX - Girls
Ruel - Dazed & Confused
Ruel - Younger
Selena Gomez - Back to You
Shawn Mendes - In My Blood
Tom Odell feat. Alice Merton - Half As Good As You
Troye Sivan - Lucky Strike
Troye Sivan - My My My!
Ulrik Munther - Before
Why Don't We - 8 Letters
Why Don't We - Hooked
Why Don't We - Talk
Why Don't We - Trust Fund Baby
Zedd & Elley Duhé - Happy Now
Zedd, Maren Morris & Grey - The Middle

Posted by: Jay ☆ 25th January 2019, 08:12 PM

Me scrolling up and down your list trying to find where 'One Kiss' is:



Discovering it's not even Top 300:

Posted by: JosephAvery 25th January 2019, 08:13 PM

omg cow x