It's been over a year since I've made one of these posts where I listen to and review the top songs in the USA according to Billboard. Honestly, the main reason I haven't is cause a lot of the pop music trends of the last year have been so stale, and it just feels like pop music has been stuck in a standstill for ages now. It so desperately needs new blood to come and give it a big push this year, especially in the middle of the summer, where we usually get big pop hits to celebrate the season. This year, the big summer song is... Ordinary by Alex Warren? I guess I'll get to my feelings on that in a second, but first, I just want to point out that a lot of the hits in the top 10 aren't even from this year but from last year or older. One song in particular is from 2023 and has been on the charts for what feels like two years straight. Let's just get into this.
1. Alex Warren - Ordinary
So this is the big hit we get for 2025? A song that sounds like something that would have been a hit 14 years ago. The big hit song of the summer is a slow and boring song that sounds like it would've been outdated six years ago. We go from Sarbina Carpenter's "Espresso" last year to this boring ass song. It's times like these that I feel like I just don't understand what people are looking for in music these days. Do people just want the most generic thing possible? Is this because it's just an overused song on TikTok or because people actually like this? I just don't understand. Nothing about this sounds special or unique; it's not even that catchy. Can we just bring back Imagine Dragons instead? I know they get a lot of hate now, but at least their singer, Dan Reynolds, has a unique and passionate voice. Please, god, let this be a one-hit wonder.
2. Morgan Wallen - What I Want w/ Tate McRae
I must admit I still haven't heard a single Tate McRae song in my life. Unfortunately, I HAVE heard plenty of Morgan Wallen songs in the last 5 years. Yeah, this song is somehow worse than a lot of his other recent hits. Again, Wallen returns to his lazy ass lyrics and boring production with the overused generic hip-hop beats over acoustic guitar to give it the slightest country sound. It's so damn boring and it just proves to me that Wallen couldn't care less about actually putting out anything that takes effort, knowing full well this trash is enough to get him hits now. Tate McRae is in this song too. That's about all I can say about her, as she provides nothing of note here.
3. Sabrina Carpenter - Manchild
Why does the intro to this song sound like Chapell Roans' "Good Luck, Babe"? Couldn't wait a full year before ripping that song off? Yeah, this song sounds a lot like it's trying to be a Chapell Roan song with a Sabrina Carpenter chorus. Honestly, though, there are worse things to do than rip off Chapell Roan, and this song isn't terrible by any means. I mean, it's nowhere near as good as her last two mega hits in "Espresso" and "Please Please Please", but those are hard songs to live up to. It's just missing something, like maybe a better pre-chorus. The chorus itself is just fine, catchy enough on its own, but not enough to push this song into more than just okay. Pretty disappointing considering what she did just last year. Still a solid bop.
4. Morgan Wallen - Just In Case
The second song on the list from Wallen. I didn't mention that these hits are from his new album "I'm the Problem" (how self-aware), which is yet another double album that clocks in just under two hours. This dude can't just release a 40-minute LP like a normal pop artist; every album has to be a 30+ song disaster. Well, "Just In Case" is at least a pretty short song, but that's really all the good things I have to say about it. It's certainly better than "What I Want" as the chorus is at least somewhat catchy. It still ends up being mostly boring as Morgan just can't seem to bring himself to ever sing with any kind of passion in these songs. GIVE ME SOMETHING! ANYTHING!
5. Morgan Wallen - I'm the Problem
One more Wallen song for the list, one more reason to hate the pop charts. Yeah, look, everything I said about the first two songs applies here for the most part. I will say this is the best song of the three I've had to listen to for this list. It's got some interesting guitar work at least, but it's held back by the typical boring Wallen lyrics. So, to sum up all my thoughts on the three Wallen songs on this list: He sucks and he brings nothing interesting to the music scene. A music scene that seems to really need a shot to the arm right now, but instead, half of the charts are full of old, tired songs and Wallen's tired schtick of bro country tunes. Go away. Makes me miss Jelly Roll.
6. Kendrick Lamar - Luther w/ SZA
First hit that's from last year, but at least it's from late last year. I actually like this song quite a bit, but the team of Kendrick and SZA never really disappoints. Actually, this one is just pretty good. I can't say I loved it, but maybe it's because I expected more from two of the most consistently good artists in the scene right now. That being said, it's still easily the best song on this list here.
7. Shaboozey - A Bar Song (Tipsy)
I wasn't very kind to this song last year when I first reviewed it. Yeah, it's been on the charts that long. My opinion of this song made a full 360 over the last year. At one point, I actually started to enjoy it a bit, and it kinda grew on me. But now, back here a year later, I'm back to not liking it. I don't know, it's just kind of a boring song with a dumb gimmick sample. It's fun for a while, but it's not enough to go back to more than a few listens. Let it go.
8. Lady Gaga - Die With a Smile w/ Bruno Mars
Lady Gaga released one of my favorite albums of the year a few months ago called "Mayhem". It's the best thing she's released since maybe her debut album. This song was the first single released almost a year ago, and it's been on the charts for pretty much that whole time. It's a good song, but honestly, it's one of my least favorite songs from the new album. Partly because it feels completely different than the rest of the album, which is full of energy and loud fun music that's perfect for Lady Gaga's style of singing. Having Bruno Mars as one of the few featured artists on the album also feels a bit out of place. I say that, but again, I do like this song. The vocals are beautifully done, and the melody is very memorable. But it really feels more like a Bruno Mars song than a Lady Gaga song, especially on this album. The song was also incredibly overplayed on social media, which got pretty tiring after a while. Anyway, go listen to "Mayhem" if you haven't.
9. Teddy Swims - Lose Control
Feels like this song has been on the charts for the entire decade so far. That's probably because it's been on the charts for about two years now. Two years, and most of that has been on or near the top 10 of that list. You'd think with that kind of success, this song would be the greatest pop song of all time and not just a mediocre one. Yeah, no, it's not that good, and I didn't even really like it when it first came out. The vocals and production are very in-your-face, and the song just doesn't feel as amazing as it thinks it is. Maybe I'm just speaking ill of the song because of how long it's lingered in the mainstream and how sick of it I am. Seriously, please just go away already, it's been TWO YEARS!bi
LATE AUGUST UPDATE:
I ended up not posting this after I finished writing it because I may have forgotten to do it. But something funny ended up happening towards the end of August here as the charts are now being dominated by the K-POP Demon Hunters animated movie from Netflix. Yeah, who would have thought that K-POP once again would rise and save the charts? I can't say I love all the songs from the movie, but at least it's fun and catchy versus a lot of the boring ass music I just wrote about in this post. Well, thank the K-POP gods for that.