Record of the Decade: 2013-2022 - The Final Results

 

Votes have been counted and verified now and we have a clear winner.

 

To recap the big hitters from last year – The Weeknd kept top position with 'Blinding Lights', with Dua Lipa and Miley Cyrus also keeping top three. The Weeknd himself also scored another top 5 addition with 'Save Your Tears' entering in at fourth, whilst Gotye completed a decade-long run with 'Somebody That I Used To Know' by holding his peak of fifth place.

 

The bottom ten will be revealed this evening so until then make any predictions...

I think Faded has done very well... but then I think that every year... must be a title my eyes automatically pick out when I'm scanning everyone's votes!

 

100 187 114 Ariana Grande - Breathin

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4th, 2018

 

Ariana jointly with Taylor has the most appearances in the RotD final this year, however she has to settle for last place with her first entry. 'Breathin' managed to auto-qualify for 2018 kicking out her own 'God is a Woman' (which we will see appear higher up now) - taken as the third single from the 'Sweetener' album, an Ariana era that has always been a fave of Buzzjack's but it is this track's first finalist appearance since the debut year. The song was written about her experience with PTSD following the tragic terrorist attack at her Manchester concert.

 

99 130 142 Weeknd - After Hours

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15th, 2020 | 20th, SF2

 

Having no competition to be the most represented male performer here, The Weeknd's title track from 'After Hours' now climbs in to join the three other singles of the era – including of course 'Blinding Lights' which has held the #1 spot here for the previous two years and could perhaps be in contention for a third. Despite a lengthy runtime of six minutes it found its way to the UK top 20 and has picked up a bit of a cult following on Buzzjack. The production delving more into electronic dance also helped it stand out.

 

98 101 145 Little Mix - Touch

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8th, 2017 | 22nd, SF2

 

With Little Mix having been on hiatus for two years now a surge of support for 'Touch' was seen in the semi-finals bringing them back although in actuality they only move up a handful of positions. 'Touch' was put out whilst they were at their commercial peak at the very tail end of 2016 and quickly became the Buzzjack favourite of the group albeit overtaken more recently by a song yet to appear. On trend at the time with the 'tropical pop' sound and assisted by a great vocal performance I'm glad this still is deemed one of the very best of theirs by the fanbase.

 

97 66 177 Dua Lipa - Hallucinate

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9th, 2020 | 5th, SF2

 

The third performer here that we have a ton of songs of to get through now, but for Dua Lipa she has a bit of a tumble with 'Hallucinate'. It is the first of 4 tracks from 'Future Nostalgia' here making it jointly the most represented album with 'After Hours' (both albums Buzzjack were loving in lockdown clearly).This track saw Dua sing over a funky house groove which was great to hear from her and slotted very nicely with her other singles of the era, although its UK chart performance was less than stellar it continues to get a fair bit of love.

 

96 139 180 HAIM - Falling

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15th, 2013 | 25th, SF1

 

Haim complete a decade-run with 'Falling' by doing the exact opposite and just about managing one more crack at the RotD final. Alas they cannot break out the bottom five but they do have their Calvin Harris collab still in the running. The track became their second UK top 40 hit and the second-biggest hit of their debut album. It's had quite a sporadic run in the contest but rounds out with half that period in the top 100 now.

 

95 92 184 Calvin Harris & Dua Lipa - One Kiss

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3rd, 2018

 

2018 continues to be a less than favourable year for Buzzjack as we lose a second AQ for the year in 'One Kiss'. This is a song I'd always thought would have been much better received on RotD as it was a huge hit by two much-loved performers, but alas it is bottom 10 a second time running and has never cracked the top half of the final. The song remains Calvin's biggest ever streaming hit anyhow. We'll of course still be seeing a lot more from Dua.

 

94 331 185 Rina Sawayama - XS

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16th, 2020 | 22nd, SF1

 

Well I suppose an appearance for Rina in the RotD final was only a matter of time, with her having amassed a reasonably sized base on Buzzjack by appealing to the indie-pop crowd and the Eurovision fans who wish we had her represent over Mae Muller. 'XS' is her biggest streaming hit to date as a lead performer so it makes sense this was the track of hers that got rallied behind. The song was inspired by 2000s pop and is intended as a criticism of capitalism.

 

93 ** 186 Weeknd - Less Than Zero

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5th, 2022

 

Another surprise entry here, although it is from Buzzjack fave The Weeknd, the song only had a partial single push and didn't make any chart impact. Regardless its 80s-inspired aesthetic got a fair few of you on board, assisted by Max Martin on production duties. With a similar lyrical theme to 'After Hours' about blaming himself for the end of a relationship, it was likewise the penultimate track of its album. However this is the only track from 'Dawn FM' that made it here.

 

92 59 187 Ella Henderson - Ghost

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4th, 2014

 

It's easy to forget that Ella Henderson wasn't always only able to get hits by way of collaborations (and with dance producers on all but one occasion) but it's now been over ten years since she was on X Factor. She almost managed to re-peak last year in RotD but slips a fair bit now meaning only one shot left to ever make the top half.

 

91 89 190 Weeknd (feat. Daft Punk) – I Feel It Coming

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8th, 2016 | 11th, SF1

 

You wanted some more of The Weeknd? A third bottom 10 appearance now but it could be a while before we get to his top appearance of course. 'I Feel It Coming'; holds steady from last year having re-appeared in the RotD final. It also acts as one of three appearances for Daft Punk who quietly have the accolade of 'second-most appearances for a male act' in the final. Watch out for 'Get Lucky's final appearance later on..

Oop four songs I gave points to out already, including the bottom two. :kink:

 

Less Than Zero did that without ever being a pushed single though… and this is the sign that it needs an official release!! :cheeseblock:

 

90 94 197 Lil Nas X & Jack Harlow - Industry Baby

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6th, 2021 | 10th, SF2

 

At 90 is the first of 2 appearances in the final by Lil Nas X who manages to climb 4 places this year with ‘Industry Baby’. ‘Industry Baby’ made it through to the final last year in its first time on ROTD, this year however it manages to reach a new peak. In total the song gained 14 votes, which is more than any other in this update however a lot of the votes (barring a couple) were fairly low end. ‘Industry Baby’ was released as the follow-up to ‘Montero (Call Me by Your Name) and made it to Number 3 in the charts. It couldn’t quite match the success of ‘Montero’ and likewise here, places below it for a second year running.

 

89 81 202 Sigala & Becky Hill - Wish You Well

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7th, 2019 | 16th, SF1

 

‘Wish You Well’ drops 8 places this year to hit its second lowest placement. The song failed to make the final in its debut year, however since 2021 has managed to make it through the semi-finals to qualify. In those final appearances it has always placed within the bottom 20, however did reach a peak position last year at 81. Released in 2019, ‘Wish You Well’ sees Sigala and Becky Hill team up to release a fantastic summer banger. It’s the first and only appearance by both artists in the final this year and the lowest ranked song from 2019 in the final round.

 

88 136 203 Charli XCX & Christine And The Queens – Gone

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11th, 2019 | 24th, SF1

 

At 88 ‘Gone’ manages to re-peak after a two year absence from the final round. Debuting at 88, ‘Gone’ then exited the top 100 and failed to make the final round in 2021 and 2022, hitting a low in 2021 at 145th place. This year however it managed to just make it out of Semi-Final 1 where it placed 24th and manages to replicate its performance from 2020. ‘Gone was released from Charli XCX’s 3rd Album ‘Charli’ featuring Christine and the Queens and has gone on to be a Buzzjack favourite. Despite quite a number of songs makes it through to the semi-finals, this is the only Charli XCX song to make it into the final.

 

87 64 203 Little Mix - Sweet Melody

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8th, 2020 | 3rd, SF1

 

Up next ‘Sweet Melody’ drops 23 places this year to hit is worst placement to date. ‘Sweet Melody’ debuted in 78th place and went on to climb last year to reach a peak position at 64, this year however it can’t quite manage that success. It has made the final each year its been eligible and is once again the highest ranked Little Mix song. Released from Little Mix’s 6th album ‘Confetti’, ‘Sweet Melody’ went on to become a number 1 song, since then however Jesy left the group and they’ve carried as a trio. Although they’re on a slight hiatus now with Leigh-Anne releasing solo music.

 

86 147 204 Disclosure (feat. AlunaGeorge) - White Noise

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6th, 2013 | 8th, SF2

 

A big climb next as ‘White Noise’ manages one last final appearance before its exit from ROTD next year. Initially the song debuted at 441 before managing a series of climbs to reach its first final. It has gone on to peak at 77th place, however last year it failed to make the final round at all and dropped to 147. This year however it seemed to gain quite a lot of support, finishing 6th in its 2013 heat and then 8th in the semi-final. A great song from 2013 and its good to see it return to the final round in its last year, despite some good performance in previous heats, in the final round it gained just 10 votes.

pleased to see Disclosure having made their way back to the final for one last time, as it looks very unlikely any of their post-2013 releases will ever have a shot.

Great debut for 'Less Than Zero'! I still live in hope that one day it'll get the proper push it deserves, even if it takes years like 'Die For You' :lol: happy to see a new peak for 'After Hours' too, I did love the general 80s synth direction of that era, but the title track is really interesting away from all of that too.

 

'XS' is still the best song I've heard by Rina, fabulous climb there <3 cool to see new peaks for 'INDUSTRY BABY' and 'Gone' too.

 

Farewell 'White Noise' and 'Falling' in future years D: the latter is my favourite HAIM song so I'm pleased it went the opposite way of its title and climbed in this final year.

 

85 74 204 Lady Gaga & Bradley Cooper – Shallow

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5th, 2018

 

‘Shallow’ slips 11 places and reverses its climb from last year to equal its lowest ranking to date. ‘Shallow’ has always managed to reach the final round and debuted at 34 before climbing to hit a peak in 2020 where it ranked 23rd. This year however it drops to its joint lowest ranking, gaining 10 votes in the final round. Released as part of the OST for ‘A Star is Born’, ‘Shallow’ saw Lady Gaga hit number 1 in 2018 for the first time since ‘Telephone’ back in 2010 and went on to become a firm Buzzjack fave. ‘Shallow’ is the first of two appearances by Lady Gaga in the final round, with ‘Rain on Me’ still to come.

 

84 264 206 Fifth Harmony (feat. Ty Dolla $ign) – Work from Home

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14th, 2016 | 19th, SF1

 

A big climb next as ‘Work from Home’ climbs back into the top 100 for the first time since 2019. The Fifth Harmony song was staple of the ROTD final for the first 3 years it was eligible and reached a peak of 33rd place, however since then it has failed to make it into the finals, hitting a low last year at 264. This year though it’s bounced back and made it through the semi-finals and back into the final. In the final vote, the song gained just 9 votes. ‘Work from Home’ was released as the lead single to Fifth Harmony’s second album ‘7/27’ and went on to become their highest charting song in the UK.

 

83 ** 218 Harry Styles - As It Was

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4th, 2022

 

A new entry next with ‘As it Was’ making its ROTD debut at 83. ‘As It Was’ made it automatically through to the final round, finishing in 4th place in the 2022 vote. In the final however it finishes in 6th place for that year – with other songs having made it through via the semi’s receiving more points. ‘As It Was’ was released as the first single from Harry’s 3rd Album ‘Harry’s Place’ and immediately went to number 1 for several weeks. It then got a reset earlier this year from his Brits performance and returned back into the top 10. For me fatigue has kind of set in with this song, however its still a strong song and good to see new blood in the final round.

 

82 124 218 Billie Eilish - When the Party's Over

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9th, 2018 | 18th, SF2

 

A big climb next as ‘When the Party’s Over’ continues to climb and hits the ROTD final for the first time. ‘When the Party’s Over’ initially debuted at 388 before tumbling out of the top 500, since then however it has taken some big climbs. This year it finished 18th in its semi-final heat to make it through to the final round. The song gained 12 votes in total during the final vote, however a quarter of those votes were 10pts or below. Released as part of Billie’s debut album; ‘When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go?’ it went on to peak at 21 in the UK Chart. This is the first of 4 appearances by Billie Eilish in the final round

 

81 76 221 Mabel - Don't Call Me Up

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3rd, 2019

 

After reaching new ground last year, ‘Don’t Call Me Up’ drops back 5 places and out of the top 80. ‘Don’t Call Me Up’ has always managed to make it to the final. Debuting at 91 back in 2020, it then took a series of climbs to reach its peak last year at 76, this year however it drops slightly back. The song made it directly through to the final finishing in 3rd in the 2019 heat, in the final it finishes 6th overall for that year. ‘Don’t Call Me Up’ is a great pop song; released in 2019 as the first single from her album ‘High Expectations’. The song became Mabel’s second top 10 single and overall her highest charting song.

Edited October 7, 20231 yr by ElectroBoy

Touch and Sweet Melody both deserve better imo!

 

But happy for XS doing so well this year, a very pleasant surprise :wub:

'when the party's over' is stunning, my favourite Billie song. Great gain for it this year :wub:

Touch, Sweet Melody and Don't Call Me Up deserve better - modern day pop classics imo

 

80 88 222 Ariana Grande - God Is A Woman

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7th, 2018 | 7th, SF2

 

A second Ariana song to appear now, having slipped behind 'Breathin' in the 2018 round to lose its autoqualifier spot, 'God Is A Woman' managed to get past the semi-final process with ease and now outdoes 'Breathin' again in the final, registering a small climb year-on-year. The song was originally intended for Camila Cabello who after recording the song decided on passing it up.

 

79 100 224 Janelle Monáe - Make Me Feel

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10th, 2018 | 14th, SF1

 

Having finished in last place last year 'Make Me Feel' reaches a new high for Janelle Monáe this time around. Perhaps helped by her having put out some new material this year, even if it wasn't so well-received as this which remains her biggest solo hit. The song was inspired by Prince who himself had made contributions to the album 'Dirty Computer' before his death in 2016 with the chorus inspired by Michael Jackson's 'The Way You Make Me Feel'.

 

78 221 225 Zhu – Faded

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16th, 2014 | 23rd, SF1

 

Making his way back to the RotD final after a 4 year gap, we have Zhu's breakthrough hit 'Faded'. The song gained attention whilst the singer-producer remained anonymous, later revealing his face, full name as Steven Zhu and nationality as American. 'Faded' was one of the biggest deep house hits of the era where that was a big trend in dance music, and has certainly held up well over time as it remains unique for its style.

 

77 115 226 Justin Bieber - Sorry

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14th, 2015 | 16th, SF2

 

Making a return to the final is the sole entry for Justin Bieber. Released back when he was at his commercial peak having got a team of songwriters to give him three massive #1 hits this being the second and biggest of them. Produced by BloodPop and Skrillex it leant on the tropical pop trend of the time and with lyrics said to be about former lover Selena Gomez.

 

76 140 226 Ariana Grande (feat. Zedd) - Break Free

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7th, 2014 | 13th, SF2

 

Another one for Ariana leaving now, this also re-entering the RotD final countdown and acting as one of two Zedd-produced hits. It was one of only a few occasions where Ariana had teamed with an EDM producer but it worked to give her a reasonably big hit and another Buzzjack fave, although support for this peaked in the mid-to-late 2010s here. It is the sole track from the album 'My Everything' that made it so far with Buzzjack voters generally preferring her later material as the two #1 hits from the era didn't get remotely close to making the cut.

Awesome to see 'After Hours' in the top 100, that song truly is a masterpiece. Nice debut for 'Less Than Zero too!!

 

75 78 227 Lil Nas X - Montero (Call Me By Your Name)

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5th, 2021

 

Likewise with 'Industry Baby' the other Lil Nas X fave of Buzzjack's holds steady into its second year. With new material from him likely to arrive next year perhaps this will give both these songs a further boost next time around. The two songs got as many votes as each other however with this having some more high-scoring ones keeps it ahead. The song managed to enter at UK #1 with help from months of pre-release hype and an much-talked about music video.

 

74 91 231 xx – On Hold

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6th, 2016 | 8th, SF1

 

Keeping a hold of the top 100 we have The xx with what still remains the lead single from their most recent album as their hiatus remains ongoing for the members to focus on solo projects. Having been in seemingly terminal decline the past couple of years the track gains a couple of fans now although it still has some way to go to reach its previous peak.

 

73 62 235 Clean Bandit (feat. Jess Glynne) - Rather Be

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15th, 2014 | 4th, SF2

 

Making its way back down the rankings again we have 'Rather Be'. A song that ought to be still as well-regarded as it was in the first half of its decade, but at least it looks as if it should complete its whole chart run within the top 100. The song served as the proper breakthrough smash for Clean Bandit and whilst recent material of theirs hasn't been that great it is still worth remembering they produced some top quality tunes before such as this and two other tracks yet to appear.

 

72 204 237 Bombay Bicycle Club - Luna

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8th, 2014 | 12th, SF1

 

Making their way into the RotD final for their first occasion we have Bombay Bicycle Club, and it only took them the best part of the decade to finally arrive here with 'Luna'. The song has been a big fave of the indie voter base for a while and was one of the band's biggest hits but this year managed to find the couple of extra fans needed to push it over the line and for more of a cult classic manages a very respectable final position. The song assisted its parent album to UK #1 and also features backing vocals from Rae Morris.

 

71 49 238 Sam Fender - Seventeen Going Under

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8th, 2021 | 17th, SF2

 

Having placed as the fifth-highest new entry of last year, Sam Fender takes a bit of a dive now with his major breakthrough hit 'Seventeen Going Under' with perhaps its very lengthy chart stay having hurt it a little (and sure to have another rebound once he returns with new material). The song's storytelling helped make it a big hit with both the public and the Buzzjack indie voterbase here anyhow and is likely one to keep coming back throughout the coming decade.

Not sure how the sudden climb for Luna happened nine years in but I'm not complaining, one of my favourite random R1 indie finds and still sounds wonderful :wub: None of their other stuff I've heard has really stuck with me in the same way sadly.

 

70 273 239 Taylor Swift - Cruel Summer

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4th, 2019

 

A big climb to kick off the top 70 as ‘Cruel Summer’ rises 203 places this year and reaches the final for the first time. Released back in 2019 as part of Taylor’s album ‘Lover’, however blew up this year and went on to become a top 2 single. In previous ROTD’s the song has failed to make it through to the final round, however this year it finished 4th in its 2019 heat and progressed through to the final automatically. I was expecting this to perform better in the final given its prominence this year, however in the final it gained just 10 votes and is the lowest ranked of the 8 Taylor Swift songs to make it into the final.

 

69 120 239 Kiesza - Hideaway

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5th, 2014

 

Another climb next as ‘Hideaway’ rises 51 places and returns to the top 100 after a 2-year absence. The song has yo-yo’d in and out of the final round since its debut, this is its 5th time in the top 100 however can’t quite match its peak position it gained in 2020 where it ranked at 56th place. Released in 2014, ‘Hideaway’ became a Number 1 for Kiesza who has never really managed to reach those heights ever again. In the final it gained a massive 17 votes, which is a similar amount of a few songs which have gone on to make the top 10, however nearly half of its votes came from bottom 10 votes.

 

68 116 250 Macklemore & Ryan Lewis (feat. Ray Dalton) - Can't Hold Us

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12th, 2013 | 23rd, SF2

 

The climbs continue as ‘Can’t Hold Us’ manages to reach the final round on its last time at Record of the Decade. The song has never reached the finals before with a previous peak last year of 116th place. This year however it managed to make it through its semi-final, placing 23rd in its heat. In the final it was backed by 13 voters and finishes 10th of all the 2013 songs. Released in 2013, the song went on to peak at Number 3 in the UK Charts and was the first success for Macklemore and Ryan Lewis. I’m not a massive fan of the song, but its good to see a song exit ROTD on a high.

 

67 39 251 Lady Gaga & Ariana Grande - Rain On Me

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6th, 2020 | 1st, SF1

 

Meanwhile after leaping into the top 40 last year, ‘Rain on Me’ drops back to its debut position of 67 this year. The song finished in 6th place for the 2020 round, however finished top of its semi-final group. ‘Rain on Me’ was the first song released from Gaga’s 6th album ‘Chromatica, she was riding high post the success of A Star is Born and managed to back another Number 1. I don’t think this quite reaches the heights of her earlier songs, but its still a good pop song. ‘Rain on Me’ is for a second year running Lady Gaga’s highest ranking song on ROTD and is the 5th highest ranked song to feature Ariana Grande.

 

66 ** 251 Taylor Swift - Anti-Hero

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2nd, 2022

 

Another Taylor Swift song I thought was going to have a stronger debut is ‘Anti-Hero’ which debuts at 66 this year. ‘Anti-Hero’ finished 2nd in its 2022 heat, however overall in the final round places 5th for the year. It gained 14 votes in the final and finishes 7th (or 2nd lowest) of all the Taylor Swift songs to make it into the final. Lifted as the first single from her ‘Midnights’ album last year, the song debuted at number 1 and has gone on to become one of Taylor’s biggest hits.

Cruel Summer :wub:

 

I thought it'd be higher actually!

I'm also surprised that Cruel Summer isn't higher... and am very surprised to see Rain On Me drop back down :o

A couple of surprises here for sure! Really would've expected, when it first came out, that Rain On Me would challenge for #1 every year but hey! Still pops off.

 

Glad to see Break Free climb back in in its final year too, 10/10 song.