Oh my goodness, just gave 'Make It Work' a first listen and I'm already hooked. Was already a big fan of 'Something About You' and this is just as good. What a voice!!

 

'Oui' is also amazing, 'Planes' is still probably my favorite from Jeremih but this still took me by surprise. Great beat behind it. And 'For Free' is my fave here so far, wish it was higher! Both of these are definitely appearing somewhere in my EOY :D Very nice start!!

42. Riton ft. Kah-Lo - Rinse & Repeat

Peak Month: February

 

 

 

One of those industrial-sized dance bangers which dominated the early parts of the year in clubland and did respectably in the charts too. I think this would have charted better in either 2015 or 2014 but the nature of the chart these days it's difficult for songs like this to really chart highly. The vocals are such an earworm and this is the type of dance I can jam too. Heard comparisons with the Benny Benassi classic 'Satisfaction' and the monotone vocals and repetitive but catchy beat are definitely similar! Hoping for more dance like this to hit the charts next year.

 

Rinse and Repeat is massive, good to see you loved that. Also good to see 'Wanna Know', 'oui', 'Girls Like', 'For Free' and 'What If I Go?' get mentions, all big :wub:

Loved Rinse & Repeat from the first time I heard it back in late 2015. Expect it to make an appearance in my EOY as well!

Girls Like is actually my least favourite song of the year :lol: hated it from the first listen which is a shame as I've always been a huge fan of his!

 

For Free was a good track, though not among Drake's best this year (which is REALLY great of course)..

 

Rinse & Repeat is fantastic :music: glad that type of music can still be a hit!

41. WSTRN - A-List

Peak Month: September

 

 

Ah WSTRN. The guys responsible for one of my favourite songs of the last few years for sure (In2) and then followed it up with the ultimately disappointing 'Come Down'. It would always have been hard to follow up a song as strong and big as In2 but A-List is a reasonable attempt I think and probably should have been released earlier in the year when their profile was at its highest. Such beach vibes on this and another sing-a-long hook from Haile and decent guest verse from Louis Rei. All their singles thus far have followed the same formula and they've reportedly been in the studio with Craig David so hopefully the next single will be a change-up. A-List is a good end of summer song though, very relaxing listen.

40. Jay Sean ft. Sean Paul - Make My Love Go

Peak Month: March

 

 

To start the Top 40 is a song I literally had on repeat for weeks at the start of the year but haven't listened to for a while now! When I first heard this I thought it screamed UK chart hit and as winter turned to spring, I thought I was being proved right; the song was always on in the gym and was added to R1 & Capital's playlist while breaking the top 50 on Spotify. Alas, it eventually did not reach the Top 40 in the UK but this is still a tune! The bouncy verses and a catchy drop coupled with the almost inevitable appearance of Sean Paul. Haven't returned much to it since, but when I do I'm reminded of all that I loved about it so much earlier this year.

39. Lady Leshurr ft. Wiley - Where Are You Now

Peak Month: August

 

 

I'm very surprised this did nothing chart wise... sounds the perfect pop-grime crossover record to me. Brummie MC Lady Leshurr has been tipped for a breakthrough for a while now and this was the first single aimed at the mainstream. And what a bonkers record this is! Furious tempo, Tinie-esque rhymes from Lady Leshurr and a typically subtly absurd guest feature from the legend that is Wiley. Very accessible, just like the big grime hits we've seen over the past few years and reliably goes off at festivals especially. Can't wait to hear what she offers up next.

38. Usher - Crash

Peak Month: June

 

 

Every two years Usher treats us to a smooth R&B track that just works... in 2012 he dropped the classic 'Climax', two years later was the subtle grower 'Good Kisser' and in 2016 he released 'Crash', a song that defines effortless bliss. As the master of these type of sexy songs, Usher is almost the only American R&B artist who can get these type of songs on the radio so consistently. The falsetto in the chorus gets slightly longer to get used to, but once it hits is an ode to the ears. Song for feels.

Rinse And Repeat is a good tune. One of my favourite dance song of the year.

 

Where Are You Now is amazing too, great to see she can do more than just Queen Speeches.

Some good tracks in that last lot!

 

A-List is catchy, nowhere near the level of In2 though

 

Make My Love go :music: so catchy, has some great world music vibes as well!

 

Where Are You Now is nice as well! Good grime music with a catchy chorus

Make My Love Go :music: Massive track, didn't that miss out on top 40 by like 200 sales?

 

Where Are You Now is such a tune, shame it wasn't as big as it should've been. Leshurr will get her breakout hit soon.

I loved Crash and was really willing for it to be a hit at the time, sounded like an incredible return to form but I've grown completely indifferent to it now :mellow:

I'm not big into the urban scene so I don't know many of the songs you charted but I did see Lady Leshurr play at Secret Solstice festival this summer and I gotta admit she was really really good! Anyway, the three songs I do know:

 

043 | Tinie Tempah f/ Zara Larsson - "Girls Like"

I freakin' love Zara Larsson and Tinie is one of my all-time favorite urban artists (I genuinely don't know if I'm even categorizing him correctly lmao - maybe he's not urban at all idk) and this was an legit smash for me this year! Amazing tune.

 

042 | Riton f/ Kah-Lo - "Rinse & Repeat"

I found this one through a friend of mine and I fell for it immediately. Kind of minimalistic, yet so huge. Deserved to be much bigger.

 

040 | Jay Sean f/ Sean Paul - "Make My Love Go"

I've had kind of a hate/love relationship with Jay Sean for a while now but this definitely falls into my love list. 'Make My Love Go' is one of those songs you can just imagine dancing your ass off to at a club in Spain.

Hi there!

 

A-list has probably been my favourite WSTRN track yet, I did quite enjoy In2 but this is definitely far stronger for me. The beach vibes as you mentioned are really nice and it never got annoying for me unlike In2. Would be nice if they got another hit though instead of just fading into obscurity.

 

Where Are You Now? is really good though. I had been enjoying all the Queen's Speech tracks because her flow is incredible but this is what it was all building up to and it really, really delivered. It's an absolutely bonkers three minutes but SO catchy and delivered with so much swagger, would love if she got a breakthrough hit. Incredibly hyped for whatever is on the horizon for her <3

 

 

Rinse and Repeat should have been bigger than it was such a jam and not only does it appeal to dance and urban fans it also does have a slight indie edge to it too :o

 

Make My Love Go is a another underrated song of the year again should have been bigger :(

 

Crash I did just like it at first but then it re-grew on me :wub:

 

Lady Leshurr feat Wiley also very good :o

 

 

37. Konshens - Bruk Off Yuh Back

Peak Month: June

 

 

In a year dominated by dancehall influence, its notable that no actual dancehall artists had a solo hit. Maybe if Sean Paul's re-signing to a major label is a success then it'll spark interest in other Jamican artists. Popcaan for one could be huge given the right backing. He released anthem 'Ova Dweet' in May but it was two others which became the biggest out of the Caribbean this year. Charly Black's 'Gyal You A Party Animal' and this song by Konshens dominated carnival and upon listen it's not hard to see why. Especially popular with females, I've even heard this in UK clubs this autumn which goes to show the wide appeal. Special mention to the Casio keyboard sounds at the start, a throwback to the classic 'Hold Yuh'. Favourite song to come out of Jamaica this year.

36. Kideko & George Kwali ft. Nadia Rose and Sweetie Irie - Crank It (Woah!)

Peak Month: October

 

 

This year's 'Turn The Music Louder' in my eyes, a dance song to soundtrack the early autumn months. That drop is so much fun and the instrumental works perfectly well on its own. However add upcoming MC Nadia Rose to the mix and you have an urban/dance crossover smash. Sweetie Irie plays the veteran hypeman role well too. Somewhat surprising chart hit in the end, although under the old held-back release system this would have been a Top 10 easily.

 

35. Ray BLK ft. Stormzy - My Hood

Peak Month: May

 

 

Ray BLK is widely tipped for big things in 2017 but back in May she dropped this anthemic ode to South London which captivated my ears. Such heartfelt lyrics and a sing-a-long chorus in a song that was only improved by the guest verse from Stormzy. If New York has Jay Z and Alicia Keys then London has Ray BLK and Stormzy.

34. Sneakbo ft. Nyla - Too Cool (Right Here)

Peak Month: July

 

 

Sneakbo's first attempt at a chart hit since about 2013 and he ended up with this banger! While obviously aimed at the mainstream this ended up an almost undetected club anthem and held a place on the 1Xtra playlist for three months. I think the aspect that stopped this crossing over fully is Sneakbo's lyrics.. otherwise the beat and chorus are perfect for radio crossover. Credit to those who recognise Nyla as the female vocalist on Major Lazer's huge 'Light It Up'.