It's been a while since I've posted about modern music on here... mostly cause it's been pretty uninteresting this year and has felt pretty stale overall. There have been enough changes recently that I decided to check out the biggest songs in the USA right now and see what's been popular this year and if anything has really changed in 2023 pop music. Well, the short answer to that is yes, things have changed... but not in the way I would have thought. The top four songs in the USA right now are a K-Pop song and three Country songs, which is definitely different. There's also a song from like 4-5 years ago on the charts, one from an artist who recently released two albums and the song that's in the top 10 is from neither of those albums. There's also not a lot of Hip-Hop in the top 10 right now, which also feels strange considering how dominant the genre has been for so long. So I'm going to listen to and review every song in the top 10 right now and see how good they are and how they feel any different than the last few years.
1. Jung Kook (Ft. Latto) - "Seven"
Jung Kook is one of the hundred BTS members, one that seems to really be breaking out on his own. Nothing makes that more clear than him landing his own number-one hit in the USA in its first week. I thought maybe the K-Pop craze was starting to slow down a bit with BTS going on a break last year. It looks like Jung Kook is keeping all the momentum the band has gotten and has used it to really push his own career until BTS eventually returns. Teaming up with another new star in Latto to make the song "Seven", keeping in the style of BTS. I guess this song is a little more "risque" compared to what BTS was doing in that it's a little more straightforward in its message. Jung Kook will be having lots of sex with you is the message and it's pretty subtle, you might just miss it. The song is mildly catchy, though it's clearly missing the energy that a lot of the other members of BTS usually bring alongside Kook. Still got the fun bass lines and beats, and Kook of course can sing great. I'm not sure if I should appreciate a song like this just tossing subtly out the window and not just finding "clean" ways to say how good they are at sex. A catchy song, but not one I can see myself ever really wanting to listen to again.
SCORE: 2/5
2. Jason Aldean - "Try That In A Small Town"
This one was rough. I didn't have much knowledge of Jason Aldean before I heard this song and I kind of liked it better when I didn't even know who he was. This song is just a mess in so many ways it would take a short novel to explain it all. It's a boring song musically and Jason Aldean doesn't sing like he actually has any conviction or understanding of what he's saying. That's probably because he didn't even write the song, but also because the song is just lazy pandering to his main audience. Even the guitar solo, if you can call it that, fails to be interesting.
Really where the main interest lies in the song is the lyrics. The song is clearly trying to gain popularity by feeding into outrage with its not-so-subtle political leanings and trying to upset anyone outside of that lean. Well, it seems to have worked so far because the song did make it all the way to number 2 on the USA charts and would have been 1 if it wasn't for Jung Kook's new single being released at the same time. The obvious joke here is that Aldean isn't even from a small town nor does he live in one currently. But none of that matters, at the end of the day this is just a shit country song from a mediocre artist that really doesn't deserve any outrage or attention, but rather to just be forgotten about by next week like it probably will because everyone will move on to things that actually matter. There is great Country music out there, just listen to that and ignore this waste of space. I already gave it more attention than it deserved.
SCORE: 0/5
3. Morgan Wallen - "Last Night"
Well, this Country song isn't nearly as bad as the last one, but it's still not good. Morgan Wallen with his generic pop country production that features the same boring finger snaps you'd hear in a trap song. I thought we were past the whole country trying to sound like trap music phase, but I guess it's still going strong. This song spent months at the number one spot and only just this week finally go down to three. The sad part is this is one of Wallen's worst songs he's maybe ever made? Besides the boring trap/country music, Wallen himself is just half-heartedly going through the motions here as he mumbles the lyrics. The song seems to be about some kind of toxic relationship that's on and off with drinking and fighting. Morgan sounds so uninterested in it that it's hard to really care about anything he says. Just another song that brings nothing new to the table and uses lazy pop tropes without being inventive or fun or thoughtful or... anything. Maybe actually try next time.
SCORE: 1/5
4. Luke Combs - "Fast Car"
The third country song in a row, but this one is actually... good? The song is a cover of one of the most iconic songs of the 80s by Tracy Chapman. This cover pretty much does everything exactly like the original, but I think in this case it's not a bad thing. Luke's voice works really well in the song and I think his vocals bring a new enough element to make this cover worth checking out. I like that he clearly respects and loves the original and put his heart into singing it. If you've never heard the original, it's for sure worth checking out as it's even better than this one. Overall though, I enjoyed this cover.
SCORE: 4/5
5. Gunna - "fukumean"
The first hip-hop song of the list comes from Gunna and it's certainly a... song? I don't know about this one, it sounds like the kind of song that should have been left behind in the last decade. It's not terrible, it's not good, it just exists. I have no strong feelings towards this song, but I know I'll forget it exists in a few hours and I kind of look forward to that moment.
SCORE: 1.5/5
6. Rema &Selena Gomez - "Calm Down"
I saw the name Selena Gomez and immediately panicked. Anyone who's read my previous music blogs knows how much I can't stand Selena Gomez's music as I find her to be extremely bland. To my surprise though, this song was actually... good? The chilled-out tropical groove really fits in with Rema and Selena's voices along with some great melodies. Both artists just work well together and make it really easy to listen to this song and just relax.
SCORE: 3/5
7. Olivia Rodrigo - "vampire"
Olivia returns to the pop charts with her new big single "VAMPIRE". It's strange to see this big song already dropping out of the top 10 so soon, or at least that's what it looks like now. Started at number one and two weeks later already down to 7. Not sure if that's because the song just doesn't have much interest or the other songs above it just have more. Probably a bit of both.
The song is about Olivia's crappy ex-boyfriend who she realized was a bad person and she dwells about what a mistake it was dating him. The song uses the not-so-subtle metaphor of him being a blood-sucking vampire that was just using her and her status and was not really in love with her. I guess that's a theme this week, lots of not-so-subtle songs. The lyrics are the weakest part of the song, but I still ended up really liking this one. The melodies are really good and Olivia still brings good energy and enough anger to make the song feel true. It ends up being a solid song, held back by the lyrics.
SCORE: 3.5/5
8. Taylor Swift - "Cruel Summer"
From her 2019 album "Lover" comes a really late hit "Cruel Summer". I'm not entirely sure why this song just randomly came back into the spotlight, but I am happy to see it as I always thought it deserved more love than it got originally. To me, it's clearly the standout track from her 2019 album. It's just such a well-done and fun song that really has everything you would want in a Taylor song. The good lyrics, catchy melodies, and great production. This also means Taylor currently has songs from three different albums on the Billboard Hot 100 charts, which is pretty crazy when you think about it.
SCORE: 4.5/5
9. Miley Cyrus - "Flowers"
A song that has a good chance of being the biggest song of the year since it's been on the charts since the start of the year. It does have some competition with Morgan Wallen's "Last Night" and SZA's "Kill Bill" which have also dominated the charts this year. Miley's big single from her new album dropped in January on her ex-husband's birthday to tell him how she's going to be perfectly fine without him. The song has a throwback 70's vibe to it with the funky bass and synth. It works really well overall and Miley's vocals are great as usual. Personally, I was a little disappointed to see her following the current trend of pop music, especially after her last album was so different than anything else in the pop music scene. Overall the album was just fine, but this song is still a standout from it along with some other great songs. Even after 7 months, this song still hasn't gotten old and that's really impressive.
SCORE: 4/5
10. Lil Durk (ft. J. Cole) - "All My Life"
I was disappointed to find out that this was not in fact a cover of the famous K-Ci & JoJo song. Dated references aside, this song was a nice surprise. An uplifting song with the stereotypical chorus of children singing the hook is just what the charts needed. Actually, the only part of the song I don't like is the chorus of children, because it sounds a little to Kidz Bop for me. Besides that, you get some good lyrics from both artists backed by a solid beat. It helps that the song feels like it has good energy unlike a lot of these songs seem to have on the charts. Okay, but if we could somehow bring K-Ci & Jojo back onto the charts that would be great too.
SCORE: 4/5
Things started out a little bleak on this list, but it ended up being pretty strong overall. Some pleasant surprises and some long-running hits I really like on this list made this a pretty easy listen. I still have no idea where music is headed in the next few years and this list doesn't really help me in that regard. It's strange to think that maybe there's a future where Country music in the USA starts to get bigger than Hip-Hop. I'm not sure that's a future that's actually possible with how strong Hip-Hop has been in the last 20 years. The reality is that K-Pop is the real future and we all need to learn Korean.
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