Well now we get to the list that's always the hardest for me that being the top ten best hit songs of any given year...yeah I work from what makes the ARIA singles year end for the year but there's also combing through the list, finding the songs that ruled my year and than figuring out where each song fits on some subjective list for the sake of this blog and truth be told, I was sorely tempted to drop the whole idea of a top ten because really in 2021, there was A LOT of good music that made the ARIA year end for 2021..when I can pull a seolid 21 good to great songs out as contenders for this list and have headaches ordering then I guess even with how transitional popular music felt in terms of trends last year.
Anyway let's get to the rules for this list.
1. A song can only make this list if it debuted on the year end for 2021 or is a 2020 year end song that's higher on the 2021 list
2. A new rule here due to the ARIA year end being constantly full of old songs so if a song is older than 2020 and debuting on the year end list for 2021 then it's eligible for honourable mention only as i don't think it's fair for older songs to make the top ten and I think the top ten should reflect the music released in 2021.
3. This my list, my opinion so please don't abuse me in the comments.
So moving on to our six honourable mentions and right off the bat, it's time for controversy because...
"My Ex's Best Friend" by Machine Gun Kelly feat. Blackbear
Somewhere along the line it became cool to hate on Machine Gun Kelly and honestly...I've never ever felt that way toward him...yeah even for that awful collab with Camila Cabello back in 2017 and all the other douchebag things he has done, I've mostly been ambivalent toward him however this infectious slice of pop/rock wormed its way into my heart in 2020 thanks to MGK's album "Tickets to My Downfall" and I'm absolutely thrilled that this became a hit because this is a bewildered MGK trying to figure out his complicated feelings on relationships and rebound relationships...even Blackbear does better than usual here (he is the worst part of that new Avril Lavigne song) and the song is short enough so that the listener doesn't get sick of it. Love it!
"Leave Before You Love Me" by Marshmello feat. Jonas Brothers
Ohh, I know this one is also going to be controversial but this song kind of hits akin to "It Ain't Me" by Kygo and Selena Gomez in terms of artists I don't care for coming together to make a really good song and that's the case here with Marshmello finally producing a song where he gets out of his own way in the production booth and the Jonas Brothers do a really damn solid job of selling a song where they are warning this girl that she's going to fall in love and end up getting hurt if she doesn't leave the club now. Nice job by both acts.
"Montero (Call Me by Your Name)" by Lil Nas X
I think the controversy that surrounded this one with the music video and the shoes kind of made people forget that this song is actually pretty damn good, it's the moment that Lil Nas X completely shed his image as the guy who made that ubquitous 2019 meme song and told the public in no certain terms that he is more than taking that horse down Old Town Road injecting many LGBTIQIA+ themes into his debut full length album and this song is almost the centrepiece of that where Lil Nas X tells his lover that he doesn't want to be on the downlow with regard to his sexuality and also addresses the pressure he feels to represent the LGBTIQIA+ community in the music industry and that really takes a heck of a lot of guts to do and it's damn great song to boot. More Lil Nas X later on this list.
"Drivers License' by Olivia Rodrigo
Word of warning, you are going to be seeing plenty of Olivia Rodrigo on this list and that's mostly because I do think Sour is a really damn good album, yeah, its centred around her teenage heartbreak but it's not like its coming from a 25 year old woman who is five or six years past teenagerdom, Olivia is actually a teenagerr and this year put her emotions and energy into a song all about her excitement about finally getting her drivers license and being able to drive to see her boyfriend only he isn't there and is likely cheating on her which is something that angers and devastates Olivia because she's very clearly still in love with the asshole in question as evidenced by the line "I still fucking love you, babe", the only reason that it's not on the list proper is because there were a heap of really damn good songs that pushed above it.
"Deja Vu" by Olivia Rodrigo
The suspicion I have about this song is that people backed away from it because it sounded a little weird and s little too experimental coming from a teenager who had just released the massive break up ballad yet here's "Deja Vu" a slice of pop rock that had all these little quirks in the instrumentation as Olivia asks if her ex is having moments of deja vu when he takes his new girl out to do all things he used to do with Olivia, it's not quite angry but more wistful as Olivia remembers all that stuff she and the guy did together and hopes he does too...either way this song grew on me A LOT in 2021. Good stuff.
"Dreams" by Fleetwood Mac
The fact that this made the year end for the first time in 2021 is mindblowing to me however even if I didn't have my rule with regard to older songs on the year end in place, this still would have been only an honourable mention...yeah it's a damn great song and Stevie Nicks is an amazing performer however combine this song being on the singles chart all year along with the cover by Jolyon Petch and I got tired of the song pretty damn quick combine that with the fact that Fleetwood Mac have better songs than this in their cannon. I still love "Dreams" but boy, am I ready for a break from it.
Now to the list proper....
Number Ten
So before I saw the ARIA singles year end for 2021, I was all set to put this guy's Billboard Hot 100 number one on this list, that was until the year end was released and I saw that this other song of his had made the year end and what a delight it is...
"Martin & Gina" by Polo G
I was shocked this made the ARIA year end so much so I screamed with shocked delight when I saw it as it didn't feel like that much of a hit but my god I am happy it's here. Polo G is one of the newer acts in hip hop along with Rod Wave that I really keep an eye on and let me tell you "Martin & Gina" is excellent mostly because it subverts the expectation that it's going to be another luxury brag rap where Polo G goes on about he can afford to spend thousands on buying his girlfriend jewellery and whatever the hell she wants but rather to rap about the ups and downs and give and take of their relationship over this really nicely textured guitar and while "Rapstar' was close to the list, I like to think "Martin & Gina" is the song that made Polo G one of the best up and coming rappers in hip hop.
Number Nine
2021 was the year I spent saying that SZA deserved so much better from her label and basically from everyone around her, when she releases songs like this one, can you blame me?
"Good Days" by SZA
2021 was the year that I got what makes SZA a compelling R'n'B artist, she's got such a wonderful command of her atmosphere to create a song that brings its own sonic world to life with it, it's a song that's just so gentle and relaxing that it makes you forget that world is in a pretty terrible state right now and then there's SZA who is seeking to have more good days and moving on from the bad things that happened in her past eg: bad relationship and letting go of the awful things that have happened to her in the past. It's just really vibey, inspiring song which is rare to find these days especially in the mainstream but I think this song got there for me. Can we get that new SZA album this year? It's about god damn freaking time and....SZA DESERVES BETTER!
Number Eight
So remember my worst list when I criticised Keith Urban's "One Too Many". Turns out he is appearing on the best list too...
"Love Songs Ain't for Us" by Amy Shark feat. Keith Urban
Okay, so this isn't fully on Keith Urban here, "Love Ain't For Us" is actually Amy Shark providing a really damn good vocal performance where the production on the vocals for once also works wonders plus it makes sense that this song is an Ed Sheeran co write given the lyrics of the song but the song does deserve it as the song is a bare bones ballad about how sometimes no love song describes feelings between two people even if the relationship sits at a crosspoint where they not friends or lovers but somewhere between. It's definitely one of those songs to be played toward the end of a school dance or party. Check this song out.
Number Seven
So I was all set to put Lil Nas X's most recent hit on this list but as that one missed the ARIA year end, I took a moment, relistened to this one and well...
"Industry Baby" by Lil Nas X feat. Jack Harlow
Let me say this, if Lil Nas X didn't have the bucket loads of charisma, a song like this doesn't work at all and that instrumentation is grand and actually fits in quite well with Lil Nas X clapping back at those who dare hate him especially after the controversy around the "Montero (Call Me By Your Name)" video and the shoes.and he does so brilliantly using his charisma to chop his haters down to appropriate sizes...you'd kind of hope the haters now realize that Lil Nas X will leverage their hate and turn it into hilarious promo for his music but then Jack Harlow shows up to deliver one his best verses of his career...his whole verse is just absolute gold
" don't clear up rumors (ayy), where's y'all sense of humor? (Ayy)I'm done makin' jokes 'cause they got old like baby boomers
Turned my haters to consumers, I make vets feel like they juniors (juniors)
Say your time is comin' soon, but just like Oklahoma (mmm)
Mine is comin' sooner (mmm), I'm just a late bloomer (mmm)
I didn't peak in high school, I'm still out here gettin' cuter (woo)
All these social networks and computers
Got these pussies walkin' 'round like they ain't losers"
Number Six
So this next song is a 2020 song that thanks to Triple J's Hottest 100 and it's second place ranking behind "Heat Waves" by Glass Animals, it charted on the singles chart high enough and long enough to make the year end and that song is on this list...
"Booster Seat" by Spacey Jane
This was a song that put a smile on my face every time I heard it during 2021, it's the sort of song that you play while on a long drive on a freeway during summer with the windows down and that guitar that starts the song bringing this chill vibe even during the heat of summer with Spacey Jane singing about being in the booster seat of a car.
It also helps that that chorus is one of the best of the year with a song that actually builds up into the chorus rather than dropping down which is something I don't hear enough of in modern music these days...the chorus is supposed to be the central part of a song...build up to it rather than build down. This is just as anthemic as 'Booster Seat" was last year. Definitely check this out.
Number Five
The best way to describe Ed Sheeran's year last year was mixed, sure, he has two hit songs with both making ARIA"s year end but specifically to find the Ed Sheeran song making this list, you need to go back to the end of 2020 to find it and thus...
"Afterglow" by Ed Sheeran
I never cared for "Bad Habits" and while "Shivers" did grow on me, it just didn't do enough to make this list (tough competition this year and being merely decent was not enough) but it was the paired back and folky "Afterglow" that hit the Ed Sheeran sweet spot for me this year, its the sort of quietly great song that was needed coming out of an awful year that made me feel better about a lot of things and gave me hope for the next year (that really only kind of turned into an almost carbon copy of 2020 with lockdowns etc) and while Ed Sheeran hasn't definitively explained what the song is about, some have determined that the song maybe a love song to his wife but for me, "Afterglow' became the song for letting go of the bad shit and moving forward with the good. Great song, Ed.
Number Four
Well what's a 2021 year end best list without this song on it?...
"Leave the Door Open" by Silk Sonic
Some of you will be surprised at how low this is on my list but the truth is that I love other songs on "An Evening With Silk Sonic" just that little bit more however even with that this is still a damn fantastic song with Anderson Paak and Bruno Mars knowing what makes this sort of retro 70s soul go down smooth and easy with the audience and knowing the bounds of good taste with lyrics enticing this young woman into their home by leaving the door open for her should she decide to come over for a romantic evening...and yeah, given how good this song went down in 2021, I was up for it.
Number Three
So with the previous song and the next three songs, they were all automatic picks for this list for me and given I think this song will make the best hit songs lists for 2022 in the US, I'm glad I can add it to this list for 2021...
"Easy On Me" by Adele
So many people said upon hearing "Easy On Me" that it wasn't a lead single song and yet I'd argue that it's the perfect lead single especially given everything that has happened, this is Adele taking the decision to end her marriage and begging her ex and her son to go easy, she did what she had to do to find herself again as the love in her marriage had gone and she realized she and her ex were staying together for the sake of their son which didn't make Adele happy. What I love about this song is that it's just Adele's vocals, a piano and some strings...that's it...all ttat's left is Adele's incredible ability to knock a song like this out of the god damn park with her charisma. Fantastic song.
Number Two
So when I was formulating my plans for my 2020 year end best hit songs list this particular song was going to be my number one best hit for 2020 so colour me sad and disappointed when it didn't make the year end for that year but thankfully due to it's ridiculous longevity, it made the ARIA year end for 2021 and so...
"Levitating' by Dua Lipa
Yeah, the asshole that is Father Time kinf of did a bit of a number and the DaBaby feature and subsequent controversy over his big mouth kept this from the top spot with regard to me placing this but if you strip away all that outside noise and focus on the original version of "Levitating" (which made the year end rather than the remix), it's still a damn GREAT pop song, it's got just enough of those 70s grooves but doesn't go the whole way to feel like a pastiche to the past and Dua Lipa has got that effortless charisma to make the song just sound like an absolute party. It's great fun and in a year like this one, this song was the relief I needed but there was one song that connected for me like nothing else in a year where things in the world stopped making sense so what could it be.
Number One
So let's talk about music made by teenage girls...more specifically pop/rock that dives more toward teenage angst something that Avril Lavigne and others cornered in the early part of this new mess of a millennium so bring on a year like 2021 where pop/rock and pop punk is making a return to the spotlight combine that with a teenage girl's messy relationship break up and you get this...
"Good 4 U" by Olivia Rodrigo
I never could understand the criticism of Olivia Rodrigo's writing her debut album about her relationship break up, after all she is writing about something she has lived through, worked through feelings on and is now pulling from the break up for her music which is absolutely what Taylor Swift and so many other artists before Olivia Rodrigo have done and 'Good 4 U" is a highlight on "SOUR" where Olviia manages to sound righteously sarcastic and angry even though she's losing her dignity over this douche moving on with another girl without caring about Olivia and making sure that she is okay.
And it's that lack of care from her ex that sparks the undignified rage from Olivia that works so well against the guitars that I have missed in popular music for years and the drums do a lot here to help keep the song in balance.
Oh yeah, this song features the best two seconds in pop music where Olivia yells "LIKE A DAMN SOCIOPATH" and for all of that...it's the best hit song of 2021,
No comments:
Post a Comment