So I listened to all the number one songs of the year so far. There are eleven songs so far this year to reach the number one spot on the charts and there's a lot of similarities in some of them. This is me trying to better understand popular music and see how I really feel about it. What I like and what I don't like and how I think it fits into the bigger picture.
January 1-11: Ariane Grande "thank u, next"
Ariana dropped two back-to-back albums in 2018 and 2019 and this one was the first single of that second album. It was only officially a number one song for the first week of 2019 before moving down. It's actually a pretty decent song from Ariana. It's got some interesting music behind Ariana's great vocals and the lyrics are good too. The song is all about Ariana's past relationships and how she's learned a little something from all of them and thanks them as she moves on to her new relationship. It works well since it doesn't come across as bitter in any way, but genuinely thankful to her past relationships and hopeful for her future ones. I'd give this one a solid 3.5 Mean Girls out of 5, it's catchy and upbeat in a chill way and the lyrics are actually meaningful and personal. (3.5/5)
January 12-18 / January 26 - Feb 1: Halsey "Without Me"
Halsey's first number one hit was also the first new hit of 2019. Much like the last song, this one focuses on Halsey's personal life and her real-life relationship. The song is directly aimed at artist G-Eazy, who Halsey had a relationship with for a long period of time. Unlike the last song by Ariana though, this one is a much more negative view of her past relationship. It's clear Halsey was hurt and she's putting it out there in this song, while also dissing her ex. I'm not really sure how to feel about this song honestly. On one hand, I appreciate the honest lyrics and how open she seems to be. On the other hand, it feels like it's lacking something musically and maybe even in the vocals. There's also a Justin Timberlake's "Cry Me a River" reference which feels a little out of place with the rest of the song and a bit distracting (maybe a little TOO on the nose). While there was some potential here, overall I'd give this 3/5 stars. Bringing up "Cry Me a River" just reminds me of how a good break-up song like this could be. (3/5)
January 19-25: Post Malone / Swae Lee "Sunflower"
Originally from the Into the Spider-Verse soundtrack released in 2018, this song finally reached the number one spot for one week in January. This song replaced Halsey for a week and then was replaced by Halsey again the next week. Besides that, it managed to stay in the top 10 for 45 whole weeks. I really like the flow of this song, continuing with the chill vibe of the first song but this one feels happier. Swae Lee really kills it in this song with the catchy verses and great hook. Post Malone has always been hit-or-miss with me, but this is definitely one of his better showings. The song focuses on their relationships and how they have girls who stick by their side even when they're not always there. This song easily gets 4 Uncle Bens out of 5, always a good listen. (4/5)
Feb 2-Mar 2, Mar 23-April 6: Ariana Grande "7 Rings"
The first song of the year to stay number one consistently for longer than one week. Also, probably the second biggest song of the year so far. This was the second big single from her 2019 album "thank u, next". This one far less interesting than her last single, actually a pretty boring song that feels like it's missing something. The most interesting thing about this song is its verses, which are taken from the musical "The Sound of Music", specifically the famous song "My Favorite Things". It's not a terrible idea since both songs are naming off things that the singer loves, but the execution of it feels lacking. This song is just a brag song that comes across more fake than genuine since Ariana just can't quite pull it off. This is something that you see often from artists like Cardi B or Beyonce who can actually do it while being believable. When artists like Ariana, Taylor Swift or Katy Perry do it, it often feels fake or forced. This one gets 2 wigs out of 5, a boring song with boring music and lyrics that Ariana can't really pull off at the moment, maybe cause she doesn't sound too excited about all the things she has in this song. (2/5)
March 9-15: Lady Gaga / Bradley Cooper "Shallow"
Another number one song from a movie soundtrack? I like this trend. This one was only number one for a week, getting a big boost from its Oscar win the previous week no doubt. The song has the two main characters in the movie singing to each other. It's about diving into the deep end of the pool and staying away from the shallows. I think it's about going all-in in whatever you're doing in life or your passions, not half-assing it or being afraid to give your all to it. A message we hear a lot of these days, but still a good one that's always worth hearing. Bradley Cooper does a good job of blending his vocals with Gaga's. Of course, once Gaga gets going the song really picks up around her. In the movie, it's a great moment that the audience has been waiting for and I think the song still works really well on its own. This will probably be my favorite out of all of these songs with a score of 4 drunk Bradley Coopers out of 5. (4/5)
March 16-22: Jonas Brothers "Sucker"
The big comeback single for the Jonas Brothers was also their first number-one single as a band. They took the world by surprise by announcing their reunion and dropping this first single from their new album "Happiness Begins". The song is all about how the Jonas Brothers are a sucker for you. The song goes into small details about the lengths they go for the person that they are smitten with. The song is a bit of fresh air on the higher end of the charts with its poppy upbeat sound at a time where a lot of music is more chill/sad. The lyrics aren't much to talk about, pretty generic pop song lyrics that aren't really talking about anything specific enough to further dissect. The vocals are smooth along with the nice bass line that holds the song together. Besides that, there isn't too much special about this song, it's not really too memorable. "Sucker" from me gets 3 lovebugs out of 5, a decent song that I don't think I'll be returning to very often. (3/5)
April 13-August 23: Lil Nas X "Old Town Road" w/ Billy Ray Cyrus
This is it, the BIG one. No doubt the best selling song of the entire year, an artist that came out of nowhere to dominate the year with his rap/country mix. The song that made Lil Nas a household name is all about ridin' down the old town road. To me, the road signifies being yourself and not letting others stop you from doing what you like to do. It's a chill song (as most songs are these days on the charts) but this one has a lot more charm than a lot of the other ones out there. It mixes two genres really well and the music and vocals really match the theme of the song. Even better adding Billy Ray Cyrus who does a great job at changing things up a bit for his part. It's nice, short, and a good time all the way through. This song gets 4 whiskey bottles out of 5. (4/5)
August 24-30: Billie Eilish "Bad Guy"
It was only a matter of time before Billie Eilish would get a number one hit, she's really been the breakout star of 2019 with multiple hits on the charts throughout the entire year. The song starts right away with the heavy bass and Billie's signature soft vocals, and it is so G O O D. it's got a slightly creepy vibe to it which is cool and different. In the song, Billie is talking to a guy and kind of poking fun at him while also showing off own her "dark" side. This song just works on pretty much every level and it's so much fun to listen to. My only knock against it is the last 40 seconds where the song goes into this strange breakdown that felt unnecessary to me. This song clearly deserves 4.5 Lordes out of five. (4.5/5)August 31-September 6: Shawn Mendes / Camila Cabello "Señorita"
Stealing a number one spot for one week before quickly being dethroned comes "Señorita". This song is a big collab between real life "couple" Shawn Mendes and Camila Cabello. I don't think I need to explain what this song is about and I also just don't want to. This song is just kinda... boring. For a song that features two people who are attracted to each other, it certainly feels pretty tame and passionless. It's got a sort of Latin vibe that a lot of Camila Cabello songs seem to have because she's like a Latina or something... I don't know. Camila still doesn't impress me with her vocals. She doesn't have a unique enough voice to really stand out and it still sounds like it's got a lot of effects on top of it to try to give it some flavor. I will say Sean Mendes has improved over the years from being a boring white guy with a guitar to being a very attractive boring white guy with a guitar. Also, he's made a few decent songs now, but this is not one of them. This song gets 2 fake relationships created to promote a new single out of 5. (2/5)
September 7-October 18, October 26-TBD: Lizzo "Truth Hurts"
Lizzo's first number one hit is also the current number one song in the country. Lizzo's rise to popularity this year has been really impressive. She released her third full album "Cuz I Love You" earlier this year and it's been a great success. It's actually a really fun album I recommend listening to. Actually "Truth Hurts" is probably one of my least favorite songs on the album, so of course, it was destined to become her most popular song to date. Actually, this song wasn't featured on the original release but was added to the album as a new single recently. The original recording of the song was released back in 2017 so that probably explains why it feels different than the rest of the album. Anyway, it's still a decent song. The beat is fine and of course, Lizzo's personality really comes through her vocals and makes what is an average song slightly above average. This one gets 3.5 DNA tests out of 5. (3.5/5)
October 19-25: Travis Scott "Highest in the Room"
Just as a was finishing this up, this song decided to reach number one for a week. Not sure how it managed to do it, but it's already dropped 5 spots since it's number one week. Probably cause it's not a good song and it lost all its momentum after its debut. Just another boring song that doesn't really have anything worth talking about. It's songs like this that make me feel old and out of touch, cause I just don't really get it. But maybe I'm not alone here because the fact that this song is dropping in chart position so fast maybe shows that even fans of this style of music didn't like this track. This song gets a 2 terrible Superbowl half-time shows out of 5. The fact that this song was number one for a week shows that this style of music is still very popular and probably won't be going away soon. It's not the kind of hip-hop/rap I'm really into, but I know it's what's most popular at the moment. (2/5)
Final Thoughts
The average score for this year would be 3.2 out of 5. Which means this year is just very slightly above average and I think that's about right.
I think I'd say I liked most of these songs and the rest I didn't hate, which I think is an improvement from the last few years. I will say that I also don't love any of these songs. None of them really blew me away with their quality, probably the closest was Billie Eilish, but it definitely lost some of its charm with multiple listens. I'm still not really picking up on any new trends here with these massive singles, nothing to point the way to something new in the musical landscape. I think this decade might have seen the least amount of change in musical trends in recent memory. I'm still very interested to see where things go in the next few years and what artists are gonna come in and create a change in the landscape.
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