Thanks for the comments, everyone!

 

Next section up in 5:

40) M0 – FINAL SONG

 

 

The only M0 track to make it in this year, despite the surprise success of the British girlband featuring ex-Mini Viva member Frankee, and this M0’s encore with Major Lazer and Bieber, Cold Water. Lean On was a huge success on my charts last year, but it wasn’t my introduction to the Danish damsel – I’ve been following her career since the early days of her first track Pilgrim, back in 2012. It’s been a long road to get here, and 2016 saw her ditching the try-hard MIA indiegirl look she was going for for a blonde makeover and a waif-like reinvention. Can’t knock her, it’s a page right out of Gaga’s playbook. Final Song’s not bad, although it’s pretty calculated to be successful, I reckon, and to make MO seem like a young, new, innocent breakout star, similar to how Call Me Maybe pushed hard to portray the then-27 Carly Rae Jepsen as a young teen. It does what it needs to to push on her career though, and it’s pretty catchy, and the video is bomb. Good on her.

 

39) FLUME & TOVE LO – SAY IT

 

 

The first of two helpings of Flume in this section, and the first charter for Flume since 2013, when I fist came across him. That year, and across to 2014 I enjoyed a lot of the tracks from his vocal remix album, with Stay Close ft. Alexander Spit and Boldy James and Warm Thoughts ft. Grande Marshall making it into my EOYs. Say It returns Tove Lo to the top 50 too, her first song in 10 entries. KREAM’s remix of her Talking Body landed up in my top 50 of 2015. She’ll outpeak that this year though, as she has a little more to come further ahead. This did best officially in Flume’s native Australia, although was close to being a top 40 shot in the UK as well, and still has time to take off in the US this year – it’s just re-charted there this week. On my charts it was a slow burner and never really made much of an impact, but was a consistent gainer through the year.

 

38) HEART/DANCER – OUTRO (ENTRY CODE, DIAL TONE)

 

 

Probably the strangest-titled entry this year, both band- and track-name-wise. The Scandinavian duo have been active since 2015 and released debut album My Heart is a Dancer as that year came to a close. This single preceded the album, but as it happened I didn’t end up coming across it until last year. It’s a little like iamamiwhoami’s more restrained work, and very classic Scandi pop in terms of its production and production values. A midtempo, but just a shade off being radio-friendly, which likely limited the impact it was able to make. Still, a very good track that hits indie-pop crossover pretty squarely on target, and with sweet female vocals. A good find.

 

37) FLUME & KAI – NEVER BE LIKE YOU

 

 

Flume’s second in a section and his highest peaker for this year. Never Be Like You features largely-unknown Canadian singer Kai, who nevertheless managed to land being featured on the Aussie producer’s lead single over more well-known faces like AlunaGeorge, Tove Lo, Little Dragon, and Beck, who appear on the album. Where Say It relies on it’s choppy production throughout and instrumental hook, Kai’s vocal is much more prominent here, the lyric “I’m only human can’t you see” providing the hook line and sinker to draw listeners in and get them vibing. It’s more poppy and less sassy than Say It, but still firmly a primarily electronica track. It’s been a good year for electronica-pop crossover, taking more interesting forms than the heavily pop-ified approach it’s held in recent years.

 

36) LEONA LEWIS, SIDELMANN – DIP DOWN

 

 

I can’t believe she’s done it again. Considering that I don’t actually like Leona Lewis – musically, I don’t have anything against her as a person – although she is striking as a popstar in one of the best possible positions early into her career who somehow managed to lose it all through a series of what seemed like shockingly consecutive bad decisions. Despite all that, I think this is Leona’s second – or possibly even third year running charting a track in the end of year. Spotify is almost solely responsible for this one though – a remix of an early (pre-XF) release track by Ms. Lewis that hits a sound that has since come right back round into vogue. Unexpectedly modern and house-influenced, this track would have done well for Leona had it been released as a single in 2015 or 2016. Even if she dropped it now it could gain traction – as James Arthur has recently proved, ex-XFers aren’t necessarily any more forever tainted by association.

Final Song & NBLY are both good! Flume needs some more recognition worldwide really.

 

I had no idea that Leona song existed :o

 

Final Song [9.0]

Say It [9.5]

Outro [9.0]

Never Be Like You [10.0]

Dip Down [8.0]

 

 

Nice to see Final Song here, a great piece of music from a great artist!

Final Song & NBLY are both good! Flume needs some more recognition worldwide really.

 

I had no idea that Leona song existed :o

 

I know right! Some random stuff on Spotify!

 

Aye Flume could do with a bit more - altho I think the last album will've gone some way to doing that :)

 

Nice to see Final Song here, a great piece of music from a great artist!

 

What kind of a long-running M0 fan would I be if it didn't make it in?! Yeah it's a good one despite my criticisms of it :P

 

And DT, I agree pretty much with your choices! Dip Down is such a rando.

 

New section incoming shortly:

35) G-EAZY, BEBE REXHA – ME, MYSELF AND I

 

 

Bebe’s only hit this year, officially and in my EOY – not for lack of trying. It’s G-Eazy’s second in the countdown, following the Britney feature on Make Me. To be fair to Bebe, she completely makes this song, classic-era inspired vocals on the hook bring up and elevate G-Eazy’s comparatively boring white-guy rap. The rapper could really be anyone, I wouldn’t call myself a particular G-Eazy fan. This was an early fast-burner through Jan and Feb of 2016, buffed up by some difficulties in my life that actually left me feeling a bit…self-reliant. It picked up a few trickles here and there too that altogether helped it into the top 40. G-Eazy’s fallen off the radar a bit since this hit, but Bebe seems to be finally picking up steam with the release of her new video

earlier this month.

 

34) TROYE SIVAN, ALLDAY – FOR HIM

 

 

Troye’s second round in the ring and his highest charter this year, although it would be second to Wild if I’d allowed that to be included. While I loved – and still like a lot – the original album version of Wild, I dislike with a passion the new version featuring Alessia Cara that, unfortunately, was released in 2016, pushing the original out of eligibility. I was surprised to see this one passing Fools in the end up, but I guess ultimately this one’s a little more upbeat – and less pessimistic. It’s also pretty unusual to hear a boy rapping about another guy. This one caught me by surprise with how catchy it ended up being, and was a decent soundtrack through the summer.

 

33) CHAINSMOKERS, DAYA – DON’T LET ME DOWN

 

 

Chainsmokers’ peak this year, and one I actually didn’t like at first, although it ended up peaking at #2 on my charts – and the official charts – stalled there, of course, by One Dance, which I’m pleased to announce will not be appearing on this chart. I thought the drop was too short when I first heard Don’t Let Me Down, not realising it was a slow burner that got more active towards the end of the song. It’s almost a ballad, really.

first got me into the track, and then I was hooked on the original, which peaked strongly and then continued to pick up plays throughout the year. I only came across Roses this year, too. Really pleasantly surprised by this one, and the Chainsmokers’ reinvention as a whole.

 

32) BRIGHT LIGHT BRIGHT LIGHT – HOW DOES IT FEEL

 

 

Now, anyone who follows my weekly charts will have seen this one bobbing in and out several times throughout the year. Bright Light Bright Light was a guy I was vaguely aware of from…actually, looking into it, a long time ago – Disco Moment, in 2012 was the first time I came across him. I knew I recognised the name, and was intrigued that the Welsh singer-songwriter had managed to land several Elton John features on his new album (Choreography, 2016). Lead single

wasn’t bad – very Mika – so I gave the rest of the album a spin and came across this gem, which would have made a great single, and could even have become a classic, I think, if it had been released 10 years ago. It’s even the kind of track I could have seen Will Young on in 2002. I’ve really come across some great music this year.

 

31) ANOHNI – DRONE BOMB ME

 

 

I liked this track a lot, despite its gritty and biting subject matter. Of course, I’m sure that’s entirely calculated on Anohni’s part; get the messages she wants to send out there by packaging them in exciting, melodic music that doesn’t offend the ears. I did see this described in a review at the time as ‘dancefloor-ready’- but I wouldn’t quite go that far. Most of Anohni’s previous work in Antony and the Johnsons was too morose for my taste though to listen to with any regularity, so I’m pleased by this new evolution and new direction she’s taken with this body of work.

 

30) TOVE LO – COOL GIRL

 

 

Tove Lo’s triumphant return solo single after a very successful 2014 and 2015, spurred by the success of the Hippie Sabotage remix of her song Habits. It feels like success may have been a long time coming. On new album Lady Wood, Ms. Lo changes up her image, style and attitude, also releasing a short musical film alongside the album. Personally, this pure electropop track was right up my street, although it received mixed reviews from the pop world as a whole. It’s always exciting, I think, when pure pop acts decide to diversify into releasing genre albums – as did Rihanna, and Beyonce recently – even Gaga with her country effort in 2016. This was a number one with a bullet on my personal charts and stuck around in the top 10 for 5 weeks, releasing just a little too late in the year to get any higher in my EOY. Five stars for this.

 

29) CALVIN HARRIS, RIHANNA – THIS IS WHAT YOU CAME FOR

 

 

Calvin’s most recent comeback and the track that paid the bills for Rihanna this year and helped her stay in her contract. Just kidding. Well, a little. Features are a great path to take though to let you have your cake and eat it; Rihanna the artist was able to go full urban this year while also releasing some more pop and radio-friendly songs without compromising her image and street cred. This makes it in on inoffensiveness. I’m not a huge fan of the song – it’s okay – and it’s not particularly well-written or well crafted, but I liked it enough for it to notch up enough plays through the year to make it this far. It’s the kind of track you wouldn’t feel the need to skip, and that’s the quality you want in a song in the streaming- and playlists-based new sales era. Good business decision. Looking forward to better from Calvin in 2017 – although, I might not be alone in wondering if Calvin’s last releases might have been leftovers and extras from a hastily-dropped originally intended Calvin x Taylor Swift music domination era in 2016.

 

28) DOMINIQUE – GOOD GIRL

 

 

Another mainly unknown now. I came across this track in May 2016 and immediately it won me over. Dominique’s snarky, world-weary lyrics over the sweet and simple beat are the kind of contrast that can work together really effectively to make a track memorable and get it stuck in your head. The pairing’s a style Marina and Lily Allen have employed in the past throughout their work, and this probably helped this track’s appeal too, coming at a time when both of the former ladies are on a break. Dominique’s from NYC – so definitely able to offer a critical perspective on “model Americans” and Americana without it sounding like sour grapes. Yeah, this was a good find.

 

27) HUGEL, JASMINE THOMPSON – WHERE WE BELONG

 

 

Back to EDM now, and a great track that never came upon the success I expected it to throughout the year. HUGEL is an unknown, but Jasmine Thompson was fresh off success with Robin Schulz and Felix Jaehn in 2014 and 15 and seemed to be a rising star new voice in the genre. Which is why I was surprised that this soundalike, inoffensive track didn’t see anywhere near the levels of success of Felix Jaehn’s Ain’t Nobody (a UK #2!), as far as I can see, not charting anywhere in the world. Maybe the release was pulled? This has been one of my top picks through the year and deserves its placing here within the top 30.

 

26) DRAKE, RIHANNA – TOO GOOD

 

 

Drake just skates the top 25 with his highest solo entry this year. I have mixed history with Drake; I’ve never been a huge fan of most of his solo material, with the exception of his sublime collaborations with The Weeknd and Jhené Aiko. That aside, some of his features rank as my favourite pop songs of the last 20 years, including alongside Rihanna on What’s My Name, and alongside Nicki Minaj on Moment 4 Life – which still sounds as good today as when it released 7 years ago. It’s another Rihanna collab and probably my standout track from 2016’s Views, One Dance never quite caught me and its continued success continued to baffle me throughout its 15 weeks at the official chart’s summit. This is probably, musically, the duo’s best collaboration this year, and given Take Care was a cover, probably their best original. Just struggling to find a video link for it online anywhere though!

Edited February 4, 20178 yr by 360Jupiter

Great to see Cool Girl here! Really catchy, by far the best thing she's done imo :D

Cool Girl is still racking up the plays for me this year too! A real smash.

 

Into the top 25 now; going down to one track per post!

25) DAVID GUETTA, ZARA LARSSON – THIS ONE’S FOR YOU

 

 

CHART EOY HISTORY

David Guetta

2013: Every Chance We Get We Run f/ Tegan and Sara

2015: Hey Mama f/ Afrojack + Nicki Minaj

2016: This One’s For You f/ Zara Larsson

Zara Larsson

2015: Lush Life

2016: Girls Like, This One’s For You

 

I heard talk online that this one came out to mixed reviews, and I haven’t seen much of it about in other folks’ EOYs – but I totally disagree, thought this was great. Sure, it’s a bit derivative of Lean On and recent Major Lazer, but it’s a move on from the last sound Guetta took, and it’s not the first time the guy’s jumped on a bandwagon – Lovers On the Sun, anyone? Just happening to cross country with EDM months after Avicii’s success doing so? Not fooled.

 

Zara does what she has to on the track and it’s just the latest of a gamut of styles and personas she’s taken on over this last year, but at least she’s convincing. I saw it claimed elsewhere online that this track was originally offered to Fleur East (!) as the feature… yeah, sure. This was probably a mutually successful deal for Guetta and Zara though, both artists trying to jump on something they felt was currently in with a good shot of being popular. Worked for me for sure. This is probably the best sports theme I’ve heard since either of Shakira’s.

 

Cool Girl and This Is What You Came For are great songs :heart:

This One's For You :music: Such a great track, Zara's vocals fit perfectly on it!

Thanks Pete and Harry! :) glad to see folk enjoying

24) BELLY, THE WEEKND – MIGHT NOT

 

 

CHART EOY HISTORY

Belly

2016: Might Not f/ The Weeknd

The Weeknd

2013: The Town, Crew Love w/ Drake

2014: Drunk In Love, Exodus w/ M.I.A.

2016: 6 Inch w/ Beyoncé, Might Not w/ Belly

 

One that hits its peak by virtue of being released early on in the year, and at a time when I was still in Weeknd-fever, following his last album release. I’ve been a fan of the guy since his first EPs so was really happy to see him hit on commercial success as a solo last year – although slightly put out that it had to come alongside the dirgey Fifty Shades of Grey. Film with no redeeming features, really…

 

Belly is pretty much an unknown and is just the backing to the Weeknd’s hook which, like on Me Myself and I a little further up, completely carries the song. This picked up the vast chunk of its plays in Jan and Feb of 2016, which ended up being enough to land it this high on the list. Honestly, I’m not a huge fan of the rest of Belly’s solo work that I came across following the success of this one – and somehow this track was left off the album! – but maybe the two artists will collab again in the future on something I’ll like a little more.

23) TOVE LO – NOT MADE FOR THIS WORLD

 

 

CHART EOY HISTORY

Tove Lo

2015: Scream My Name, Talking Body x KREAM

2016: Say It w/ Flume, Fun w/ Coldplay, Cool Girl, Not Made For This World

 

Tove Lo’s highest charter this year comes from album #1, second album Lady Wood being released too late in the year to have made much of an impact. Not Made For This World’s fairly unwieldly title is made up for by its hook “dream til you’re dead then set you on fire” which Ms Lo delivers with her customary edge. The track is for me, one of the pinnacles from her debut album Queen of the Clouds, and one of four solo charters for her throughout 2015 and 16 – alongside Scream My Name from The Hunger Games: Mockingjay, KREAM’s remix of Talking Body, and Moments, which just misses making it into the top 100 this time around.

 

Tove Lo’s an interesting character, starting her career comparatively late for a pop singer, already well into her 20s, and moving into pop and dance-influenced records already tattooed and with a background in harder, maybe more masc genres. Something you might not have thought from hearing her first single Habits (original mix), first released in 2013, with it's very innocent, dreamy pop sound! Following diverse collabs with Flume, Coldplay, and Wiz Khalifa over the last year, she’s built herself a career I continue to be excited about following. Super.

Edited February 16, 20178 yr by 360Jupiter

 

Me Myself & I [6.0]

For Him [8.0]

Don't Let Me Down [9.0]

How Does It Feel [8.0]

Drone Bomb Me [10.0]

Cool Girl [6.0]

This Is What You Came For [10.0] (I have an idea for a video:

 

This Is What You Came For but everytime she says "you" it gets faster.

This Is What You Came For but everytime she says "you", it is replaced with All Time Low by Jon Bellion but everytime he says "low", DalekTurret32 says the entire script of The Lord Of The Rings trilogy but everytime DT32 says "ring", it is replaced with The Wolf Of Wall Street but everytime they say "f**k", it switches back to This Is What You Came For, and the chain reaction happens again.

 

 

Good Girl [7.5]

Where We Belong [8.5]

Too Good [6.0]

This One's For You [8.5]

Might Not [8.5]

Not Made For This World [8.0]

 

 

Great countdown so far, Jupiter!

Thank you DT! I always enjoy reading your comments, you do a great breakdown :) and it's good to hear your thoughts on the picks so far!

 

This Is What You Came For memes 2017. Make it happen.

 

Another just now:

22) LANA DEL REY – THE BLACKEST DAY

 

 

CHART EOY HISTORY

Lana Del Rey

2013: Ride, Gods and Monsters, American

2014: West Coast, Ultraviolence, Brooklyn Baby

2015: Music to Watch Boys To, High By the Beach

2016: The Blackest Day

 

It’s Lana’s fourth consecutive year charting a track in the EOY, and what would be her fifth if I’d done EOYs before 2013. For an act who started out in 2012, that’s pretty impressive. I’m a pretty huge Lana fan. Incidentally, if I was counting songs released in any year, not just the year they were released or the years around the album release, this would be

’s third consecutive year in the top 100.

 

Lana’s last album was an interesting direction but was overall probably her weakest effort, despite the interesting new styling and high-budget-looking music videos. Overall, I’m still waiting for her to top Born To Die as a cohesive whole that most effectively balanced her natural tendency to create depressive and pessimistic ballads with snark and some midtempos – everything else she’s released since has been getting progressively slower throughout. Here’s hoping her 2017 effort reverses the trend. Then again, sticking to what you’re good at and what your fans want, hasn’t been doing too badly for her so far. The Blackest Day, despite the title, is one of the less morose tracks on her last album Honeymoon, which was a much slower and darker affair than the sunny cover would suggest. I’d also recommend

from the album – it’s probably the best effort she makes at pop crossover this time round.

Edited February 18, 20178 yr by 360Jupiter

Don't Let Me Down was a hue dance song I loved watching take off, it's not as amazing as Roses for me but still among their best as a group.

 

Too Good is excellent too, for them to recreate something even half as good as Take Care was pretty damn impressive!