It's been a few months since I checked in on what's going on in the mainstream music charts. Usually, for the first month or so of the year, it's a lot of carryover from the last year as the new big singles start to drop from big artists throughout the early months. I also just happened to check the list out when the Grammy-boosted songs came back to the top 10 (Flowers and Fast Car shooting back up to the top 10 after winning awards last week). This week, only 2 songs on the top 10 are from 2024 and the rest are from last year or older. We still got Cruel Summer by Taylor from 2019 hanging out in the charts right now. Actually, most of the songs in the top 10 have been on the Hot 100 charts for over 4 months now. Things don't seem to want to change in the music scene these days. At least not until the big names start dropping new singles. Taylor Swift, Dua Lipa, Ariana Grande, and Billie Eilish are all dropping new albums this year, and most likely other big artists who haven't announced it yet. There are also a lot of newer names in the charts I am not really familiar with so I'll be interested to see what they have to offer too.
I'll be looking at the biggest songs in the USA here, but I will be skipping a few that I've talked about multiple times already because of how long they've been on the charts now. But here's my feelings on each of those anyway:
#4 Taylor Swift - "Cruel Summer"
Well, this song is close to lasting the entire winter season on the charts. Do people miss Summer that much? With how bad the weather has been I can't say I blame them. The song is still great, easily the best from her "Lover" album. With new music coming out soon this one should be replaced by a new song of hers soon anyway.
#5 SZA - "Snooze"
This one has been on the charts for almost 14 months, which is A LOT. Even though I enjoy this song I don't think many songs can stay in the mainstream that long without me eventually getting tired of them. This song is okay overall, but I'd be happy to see it finally drop out of the charts. SZA is dropping some new music sometime this year so there will be something to look forward to there.
#8 Luke Combs - "Fast Car"
Another song that's been here for far too long. Much like "Snooze", I don't mind this song overall but also would be happy to see it go. To be fair it was on its way down until it got a new boost after the Grammy Awards. It's also brought more attention to Tracy Chapman, which is never a bad thing.
#10 Miley Cyrus - "Flowers"
Just a few weeks away from being on the charts for a whole year. "Flowers" ended up winning Record of the Year at the Grammy Awards, which probably explains this boost back into the top 10. I think I've had enough of this song for a long time, I can probably go a year or two without listening to this one again. It was fun while it lasted, but you need to go away now, please.
Now, let's look at some of the newer songs...
1. Jack Harlow - "Lovin On Me"
Harlow's latest single climbed up the charts and after spending a week at number 2, this week it took over the 1 spot from Megan's "HISS" (we'll talk about that one later). When it comes to Harlow, it's been hit or miss throughout a lot of his career for me. His most anticipated album came out while he was white-hot in popularity back in 2022. That album (Come Home the Kids Miss You) ended up being a big letdown considering the hype around it. He quickly came back with a new album "Jackman." the following year that was a big improvement. Late last year we got a new single "Lovin On Me" that climbed up the charts until getting to number 1. The new song samples Cadillac Dale's 1995 song "Whatever" of course with a modern twist. It actually ends up working really well with Harlow's verses connecting the sample that's the song's hook. At least this one feels finished, unlike the time he tried to sample Fergie's "Glamorous" to mediocre results. I don't know where this really leaves Harlow as a big name for me... I see the potential here for a truly big star, but I still want to see more consistency in his quality of music.
Overall Grade: B+
2. Teddy Swims - "Lose Control"
Yeah, this is where I find myself at a place where I don't really know a lot about what's going on in modern music anymore. Who is Teddy Swims? Why is Teddy Swims? How? Well from what I've heard so far it seems like his music had some classic soul vibes like maybe Leon Bridges or maybe Black Pumas. It's a style that has seems to have a big audience right now, maybe with a mix of people wanting some throwbacks to a time they were younger or people who just appreciate that style of music. You can't really do this style of music if you can't sing your ass off, and Teddy Swims can certainly do that. While I am a fan of artists in this genre, I don't think this particular artist is going to be for me. I'll give his music more listens for sure, but just from what I've heard so far it doesn't really click with me, unfortunately, because I do see the appeal.
Overall Grade: C+
3. Benson Boone - "Beautiful Things"
To my surprise, Benson Boone is actually an artist I have some knowledge of. I remember listening to his singles "In the Stars" and "Ghost Town" a few years ago and enjoying them enough. After listening to this newer single "Beautiful Things" I think I understand the appeal a lot more. It's funny because the first minute of the song I was afraid this was going to be just another generic pop-rock song from an artist I thought could do more. Thankfully the chorus really pulls a 180 and drops some passionate loud vocals with some actual energy behind them and really brings the song to life. If not for that, this could have just been any other song I've heard by this kind of artist. It's enough to keep my interest in Boone, but not enough to really become a fan of his just yet.
Overall Grade: C+
6. Zach Bryan & Kacey Musgraves - "I Remember Everything"
Two of modern country music's biggest names team up in this new single. A very slow and melancholy song where Bryan remembers an old relationship that didn't last. Nothing but regret and feeling bad about how things went as he struggles with the memories of the person he was with. Kacey plays his ex as she sings about how he just can't get his life together enough for her to feel like she's getting enough attention from him. It's an interesting topic and it's done pretty well. This is also the kind of song I just can't see myself listening to very often unless I'm just looking for a certain type of sadness or melancholy.
Overall Grade: C
7. Tate McRae - "Greedy"
Ah yes, Tate McRae, one of the biggest pop artists in the world apparently. The first time I heard about this artist was on Twitter when everyone was shocked to find out she had over 50 million monthly listeners on Spotify. Since then I've checked out a few of her songs and I unfortunately just can't get into it at all. Her music just doesn't make me feel anything other than bored most of the time because I feel she lacks an identity. I will say "Greedy" is probably the best song I've heard from her at this point. It's at least decent, with a catchier chorus than a lot of her other songs and a decent beat. I would say this is a step in the right direction, but this song came out like 6 months ago. Not an artist I'm interested in hearing more from at all, but it looks like she's going to be around for a while.
Overall Grade: C-
9. Doja Cat - "Agora Hills"
The second biggest single from Doja Cat's latest album climbed into the top 10 after the first single "Paint the Town Red" slipped down the charts. Doja's latest album dropped early in the fall last year to mixed reception. Clocking at nearly an hour long because pop artists don't know how to keep an album at a decent length when it doesn't even have enough good material in it to last 30 minutes. I will say "Agora Hills" is one of the best songs on the album. It's a slower moodier song, which feels different than a lot of their other hits. I really like the beat and atmosphere the song has going for it and Doja also does a good job with her flow to make it really interesting. The song is all about how Doja wants to show off her man to the world while also doing it in public places and hoping to get caught? I guess it's a mixture of both things. But for whatever reason it's not something she can do so it feels like maybe she's singing about a fantasy she wants, but can't have with her current man. It's interesting and that paired with the music makes for a pretty great track.
Overall Grade: B
11. Noah Kahan - "Stick Season"
Noah's stick season has been slowly rising through the charts since late last year. The album this song is from was released in late 2022, but only recently started gaining a big surge in popularity. Last year he even released an extended version of his "Stick Season" album from 2022. In that album, he released collabs with some pretty big names in music like Post Malone, Sam Fender, Hozier, and Kacey Musgrave. Clearly, he's got the potential to be a big name in music going forward. So is his big mainstream hit any good? Well... yeah it's really good actually. It reminds me of the kind of folk and singer-songwriter music that was getting popular around the late 2000s and early 2010s like Passenger, Vance Joy, and The Lumineers. A style of music that felt like it came and went pretty quickly from mainstream popularity. Is this the time for a full comeback? Probably not, but it's nice to see more songs in this style getting attention. "Stick Season" has one of the catchiest choruses I've heard in a while from this style of music, maybe since The Lumineers' "Ho Hey". I think Noah will have a good career now on his own, but time will tell if he will be a big mainstream success going forward. The way things usually play out for these types of artists tells me no he won't have that kind of success, but I can at least hope.
Overall Grade: B+
12. Megan Thee Stallion - "HISS"
Megan's second big single of the past few months, this is the follow-up to "Cobra". The song has gotten a lot of attention for the lyrics Megan uses. It even led to Nicki Minaj writing a follow-up diss track to try to respond to what Megan said in this song "Hiss". Nicki's song was one of the worst things I've heard all year, so that's how that went. Megan's "Hiss" is a very solid song that goes into a lot of her personal life while calling out all the people who gave her shit or tried to go against her. I think it does a good job of doing what it's intended to do, which I guess is to make Megan look like a badass rapper. Yeah, Megan is good and after hearing what Nicki had to offer as a response in her diss track "Big Foot" I think it's safe to say Megan won this one by a landslide. To be fair, I don't really care about this beef, but I just judge it by the quality of the songs and it was clear that Nicki was out of ideas as soon as the song began.
Overall Grade: B-
-BONUS ROUND-
I started writing this a few days before the Billboard Hot 100 was updated and since I didn't finish it right away the new list has been released. So I will now cover the two new big songs that debuted in the top 10! Starting with the new hit song from... BEYONCE?!
Beyonce - "TEXAS HOLD 'EM"
Is writing song titles in all caps the cool thing to do these days? Beyonce returned to the charts this week with her new single which she dropped along with her big Super Bowl commercial. Well... it's certainly not what I was expecting from her. A big pop-country-style song from Beyonce was not on my 2024 bingo card, but honestly, I should have really known with how big country music was last year that this was possible. I don't know about this one though, it's honestly not bad but it's also pretty dull considering the artist making it. I think this has a chance to grow on me with time, but for now, I'll say it's a letdown compared to her last few singles. So Beyonce is doing country, does that mean Taylor Swift's new album is going to be a House album?
Overall Grade: C
Kanye West - "CARNIVAL"
Man, I was really hoping I didn't have to talk about this one... So I won't.
Overall Grade: Who gives a shit
Conclusion?
It actually ended up being mostly enjoyable listening to these new songs. There weren't really any terrible songs (that I actually covered), but also nothing really stood out as amazing. "Stick Season" and "Lovin On Me" are songs I will be listening to more for sure, and probably "Agora Hills" too. Maybe 2024 isn't going to be so bad after all. Well, it's still early in the year so there's time for anything to happen. Stay positive. Listen to good music.
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