40. SELENA GOMEZ - Bad Liar [uK Peak - 21] [My Peak - 5]

 

 

39. CAMILA CABELLO feat. YOUNG THUG - Havana [uK Peak - 1] [My Peak - 5]

 

 

38. NIALL HORAN - Slow Hands [uK Peak - 7] [My Peak - 3]

 

 

37. MARSHMELLO feat. KHALID - Silence [uK Peak - 3] [My Peak - 3]

 

 

36. CNCO & LITTLE MIX - Reggaeton Lento [uK Peak - 5] [My Peak - 2]

 

 

 

'Bad Liar' is an odd little song, playing to Selena's (ahem) strengths as a singer and creating something sexy and usual, thanks in part to the 'Psycho Killer' sample. Camila's solo career got off to a great start with the massive 'Havana' playing on the Latin trend of the summer - it didn't chart as well on my chart as it's just a little too repetitive for my liking. What a revelation 'Slow Hands' was - I had completely written Niall off, but it's by far the sexiest song from a 1D member yet. In fact the album is really solid. 'Silence' is a combination of two up-and-coming acts - one from the world of R&B and the other from EDM. Yes, the drop may be reductive but it's still a pretty great track. Finally, Little Mix jumped on an already big song and served up their take on the Latin craze - my favourite of the genre so far!

35. LOUISA JOHNSON - Best Behaviour [uK Peak - 48] [My Peak - 3]

 

 

34. LITTLE MIX feat. MACHINE GUN KELLY - No More Sad Songs [uK Peak - 15] [My Peak - 4]

 

 

33. HARRY STYLES - Sign Of The Times [uK Peak - 1] [My Peak - 2]

 

 

32. DISCIPLES - On My Mind [uK Peak - 15] [My Peak - 2]

 

 

31. ARIANA GRANDE feat. FUTURE - Everyday [uK Peak - n/a] [My Peak - 3]

 

 

 

We start with a trio of X-Factor related acts. I'm not sure what they're actually doing with Louisa's career - she has a fantastic voice, 'Best Behaviour' is a massive bop that died due to the lack of promotion. Unfortunately it looks like she's going the way of Fleur East. However, they're doing everything right with Little Mix - glossy pop videos, interesting-yet-current production and that's why they're the biggest girl group in the world. Just give them a little break Simon! The most-anticipated 1D solo career was launched this year as well - it started off decent - 'Sign Of The Times' is a great song, but my god was that album dull. Harry may be all about being 'authentic' but that crowd won't take him seriously and the sound is being rejected by his actual fans. He's in a bit of a difficult situation. Disciples gave us the classic summer banger and it was a nice alternative to all the tropical house songs and uninspired covers. I'm not really sure why Ariana is so high but it's a little difficult to listen to her still as I attended the Manchester gig. I hope for a triumphant return in 2018.

Really glad On My Mind did as well as it did! Not as good as They Don't Know but still good enough to be a #1 on my Personal Chart :music:

30. ED SHEERAN - Shape Of You [uK Peak - 1] [My Peak - 2]

 

 

29. PARAMORE - Hard Times [uK Peak - 34] [My Peak - 2]

 

 

28. JESSIE WARE - Alone [uK Peak - 60] [My Peak - 2]

 

 

27. ANNE-MARIE - Ciao Adios [uK Peak - 9] [My Peak - 3]

 

 

26. P!NK - Beautiful Trauma [uK Peak - 25] [My Peak - 1]

 

 

 

Obviously Ed had to feature somewhere on this chart - there's no doubting he was the dominant musician of 2017. Repeated overexposure has since made me hate the song but when 'Shape Of You' debuted I did like it as something different from Ed. Shame the rest of the album was a disaster. 'After Laughter' was one of my favourite albums of 2017 - Paramore took the poppiness of 'Ain't It Fun' and instilled a bit of melancholy and gave us the absolute anthem of 'Hard Times'. Jessie's 3rd album was sadly a bit too MOR for my tastes but 'Alone' is a lovely little song. Anne-Marie struck gold with an all-out banger of 'Ciao Adios' - shame she hasn't been able to follow up with anything remotely of that standard since. The video for 'Beautiful Trauma' did a lot to ingrain itself with me and it ends up with one of P!nk's best releases for years.

Edited February 11, 20187 yr by Rogue

25. KESHA - Praying [uK Peak - 26] [My Peak - 1]

 

 

24. STEPS - Scared Of The Dark [uK Peak - 37] [My Peak - 2]

 

 

23. P!NK - What About Us [uK Peak - 3] [My Peak - 1]

 

 

22. JAX JONES feat. RAYE - You Don't Know Me [uK Peak - 3] [My Peak - 1]

 

 

21. CALVIN HARRIS feat. PHARRELL, KATY PERRY & BIG SEAN - Feels [uK Peak - 1] [My Peak - 2]

 

 

 

There was a point where I didn't expect Kesha to release again so I was very glad to see her return this year with such a powerful song. The change in sound completely was a good turn and she proved that she could actually sing. Talking of comebacks, I don't think anybody expected Steps' to be so successful and so good! 'Scared Of The Dark' didn't pander to the trends of 2017 but didn't sound old-fashioned either - and what a chorus! P!nk's 'What About Us' defied the expectations of a female of her age and actually scored a place in the top 3 and on Radio 1's playlist. Jax Jones turned out to be the in-demand producer of 2017 with his garage-like take on house music. And Calvin scored yet another number one, kindly giving Katy one on the way as she isn't going to get one on her own.

Edited February 14, 20187 yr by Rogue

Into the top 20!

 

20. JULIA MICHAELS - Issues [uK Peak - 10] [My Peak - 1]

 

 

19. LADY GAGA - The Cure [uK Peak - 19] [My Peak - 1]

 

 

18. JAX JONES feat. DEMI LOVATO & STEFFLON DON - Instruction [uK Peak - 13] [My Peak - 2]

 

 

17. LANA DEL REY - Love [uK Peak - 41] [My Peak - 1]

 

 

16. PALOMA FAITH - Crybaby [uK Peak - 36] [My Peak - 2]

 

 

 

Julia Michaels finally made the transition from songwriter to pop star with the minimalist and emotional 'Issues' - only downside is that she challenges Selena Gomez for most limited vocal range. I can't talk too much about Lady Gaga at the moment - being cancelled on twice is still hurting too much. 'Instruction' should have been number one for weeks - who knew Demi was capable of such a bop. Lana doesn't stray too far from her sound with 'Love', but it's too beautiful to be disappointed with. And Paloma made a return with 'Crybaby' which definitely took some inspiration from 'The Boy Is Mine'. Her album was less of a ballad-fest as usual and was much better for it!

15. KATY PERRY feat. MIGOS - Bon Appetit [uK Peak - 37] [My Peak - 1]

 

 

14. LORDE - Green Light [uK Peak - 20] [My Peak - 2]

 

 

13. CLEAN BANDIT feat. JULIA MICHAELS - I Miss You [uK Peak - 4] [My Peak - 1]

 

 

12. MILEY CYRUS - Malibu [uK Peak - 11] [My Peak - 1]

 

 

11. ZAYN feat. SIA - Dusk Till Dawn [uK Peak - 5] [My Peak - 1]

 

 

 

Witness might have been a huge flop but the three singles are all big pop bangers - I quite liked Katy going a bit urban although the lyrics are eyeroll-inducing. Her last good video too. I'm actually amazed that 'Green Light' never made it to the number one spot - it's pure euphoria distilled in a pop song, filled with Lorde's typical off-kilter lyrics. I also didn't realise I liked 'I Miss You' that much. Hmmm. 'Malibu' was nice for a while, a perfect summer song but I still prefer Bangerz Miley. I love the dramatic feel of Dusk Till Dawn but I don't think Zayn really needs Sia on this song.

Top 10!!

 

10. CHARLI XCX - Boys [uK Peak - 31] [My Peak - 1]

 

 

09. RITA ORA - Your Song [uK Peak - 7] [My Peak - 2]

 

 

08. DJ KHALED feat. RIHANNA & BRYSON TILLER - Wild Thoughts [uK Peak - 1] [My Peak - 1]

 

 

07. LITTLE MIX feat. STORMZY - Power [uK Peak - 6] [My Peak - 1]

 

 

06. TOVE LO - Disco Tits [uK Peak - n/a] [My Peak - 1]

 

 

 

It's a testament to Charli's brilliance that even a song that I don't consider one of her best ends up so high on this countdown. The meme-friendly video helps. 'Your Song' really is a basic song in comparison to what came after but I must have liked it quite a lot as it spent 5 weeks in my Top 5. 'Wild Thoughts' was my go-to stripper song this summer so make of that what you will - The Santana "sample" is a masterpiece though. I love the sexy and darker side Little Mix sometimes show - a mixture that never alienates their younger audience, rather empowers them. 'Disco Tits' should have been a massive hit but maybe it's a little R-Rated for mass public consumption.

FINAL FIVE!

 

5. CLEAN BANDIT feat. ZARA LARSSON - Symphony [uK Peak - 1] [My Peak - 1]

 

 

4. TAYLOR SWIFT - Look What You Made Me Do [uK Peak - 1] [My Peak - 1]

 

 

3. KATY PERRY feat. SKIP MARLEY - Chained To The Rhythm [uK Peak - 5] [My Peak - 4]

 

 

2. DUA LIPA - New Rules [uK Peak - 1] [My Peak - 1]

 

 

 

Clean Bandit kick off my top 5 with yet another beautiful emoti-bop! Zara has never sounded so good and this is the band's winning formula at their best. 'Look What You Made Me Do' shouldn't really be so high but it succeeded in making an artistic statement and capturing headlines. I like the sound but it got very stale very fast. 'Chained To The Rhythm' is by far the best thing on 'Witness' - if only Katy had used that sound as her inspiration, she might be in a different situation. And just missing out on the top spot is the all-conquering 'New Rules'. Dua struck gold with this zeitgeist-capturing banger and she fully deserves it. The simple but iconic video also worked wonders. So who is number one?

1. RITA ORA - ANYWHERE [uK Peak - 2] [My Peak - 1]

 

 

Who else really? WHAT A BOP. She had no right releasing this absolute monster. Fingers crossed the momentum continues and we FINALLY get that second album.