The Super Short Top Ten Best Hit Songs of 2023

Let's be honest, 2023 was a wasteland for popular music but oddly enough I found plenty of stuff I like that made the year end of 2024 including a couple of songs that I was surprised but delighted to see made the year end list. It was an off year for pop in so many ways with plenty of the pop starlets opting to sit this year out or if they did release, they didn't impress me at all.

Anyway seeing as I am going to keep this super short, lets quickly go through the rules in case you don't know, a song can make this list if it debuted on ARIA's year end list for 2023 or appear higher on the 2023 year end list than it did on the 2022 list, Also this list is just my opinion so please don't get upset if your fave's song doesn't wind up here.

Now let's get stuck into this list'

10. "Escapism" by RAYE (Yeah, this faded on me a bit thanks mostly due to hearing it on the radio a lot but this is still an excellent song about somehow finding an escape from a terrible situation. By the way, check out RAYE's new single "Genesis")

9. "Miracle" by Calvin Harris and Ellie Goulding (Oh goodness, I didn't expect to love a god damn Calvin Harris trance song with Ellie Goulding just climbing straight to her lane, she sounds ethereal here. Love this!)

8. "Strangers" by Kenya Grace (Somehow I feel like this is going to be a one hit wonder which is unfortunate given her album "The Aftertaste" is really damn good and "Strangers" is apart of why, a drum 'n' bass song that delves into why they turn into strangers after kissing or talking for hours on end. It just became one of those songs I needed in 2023)

7. 'Lavender Haze"  by Taylor Swift (Of course a song from "Midnights" would make this list and it's the one that grew on me a lot since originally listening to the album, helps that the hook is damn sticky and the song is overall just a really tight slick pop song)

6. "Cruel Summer" by Taylor Swift (A song that became a hit and thus corrected history where because of COVID in 2020, this was not released as a single back then, that said "Cruel Summer" was always built to be a hit given that chorus and lines that actually make the song defiantly memorable)

5. "People" by Libianca (I was absolutely delighted that this song made the year end for 2023. Mostly because it's a song that nails what it's aiming for, a gentle afrobeats song where Libianca just wants people to stop for a moment and make sure that she is okay. I felt this one)

4. "I Remember Everything" by Zach Bryan and Kacey Musgraves (This song is the 2023 "Somebody That I Used to Know" with Kacey Musgraves the perfect choice to break through all of Zach Bryan's ego with some much needed context and spiked some of the ego aired by Bryan. This was also a much needed song given the rise of the utter garbage that was "Last Night" by Morgan Wallen and was all the antidote I needed)

3. "Fast Car" by Luke Combs (Yeah, this feels a little like cheating putting a cover of Tracy Chapman's 1988 classic "Fast Car" in this slot but honestly, I don't care, Luke Combs singing about this girl dreaming moving out of home to escape poverty and make something better of her life despite her mother up and leaving not coping with her husband's alcoholism, its a song that reminds everyione that if you want change in your life, sometimes you have to effect that change for yourself. What I also love is that Combs loved the song enough not make any weird changes to it and honestly...I think that was for the best).

2. "What Was I Made For" by Billie Eilish (For the longest time, this was going to be my number one, this piano ballad just hit a way too personal note that is really not one that I want to have to explain. Look, go listen to this song, its pretty self explanatory why it's so high on this list)

1. "Chemical" by Post Malone

2016 me would be horrified to see Post Malone at the top of a BEST hit songs list but in 2023, Post Malone's "Chemical" was the soing that I kept coming back to a little more so than "What Was I Mde For", it became the pop rock jam I needed even if it does feel like Post Malone cribbed a lot from his 2019 hit "Circles" but if that's the case, I can argue tbat "Chemical" is just a better version of "Circles" especially as "Chemical" is a song where Posty is admitting that he and this girl go round doing the same shit because yeah, its chemical and addictive, there's a high to be had in it, I honestly get it. 

It's also why it's the best hit song of 2023

ARIA New Entry Review: April 2024

So because this month is overloaded with new entries and this thing is beyond long, I decided to move like "Like That" by Future and Metro Boomin feat. Kendrick Lamar and the last week of April in with May ARIA singles new entry review so look out for that one...in the mean time enjoy the rest of the April reviews starting with...

"Too Sweet" by Hozier

Okay, Hozier back on tbe charts is a sjght to behold and even better "Too Sweet" is a damn great song! It has an incredible groove and swagger to it and Hozier is absolutely playing it up by saying this girl he is with is just too sweet for him. It reminds me a lot of INXS in some ways except Michael Hutchence would absolutely amp up the sex appeal a little more than Hozier does here but damn this song is too damn catcby and it's right there as one of the best songs on the charts right now. Check this out

"Obsessed" by Olivia Rodrigo

So this was the only song from the deluxe edition of "GUTS" to hit the ARIA singles chart which is a shame because all five new songs from that deluxe edition are really good to great and I consider "Obsessed" to fall into that great category! Olivia again shows a particular lack of dignity here where she's obsessed with everything to do with this guy's ex and how perfect this guy's ex is possibly from this guy still being in love with this girl because Olivia knows he is still in love with her. Combine the rather obsessive lyrics, the monster hook and instrumentation that knows how to kick it up a gear when necessary and you have one hell of a song! Check this out.

"I Like The Way You Kiss Me" by Artemas

So British singer songwriter and producer Artemas has hit the ARIA singles chart with this particular song and well...given the quality of the songs above it...I am not a fan, I don't know...it just feels oddly soulless which comes from the very 80s production which reminds me of A Flock of Seagulls in a way with the synths but yeah, I don't get much out of listening to this song. Next!    

"II Most Wanted by Beyonce and Miley Cyrus

So "Cowboy Carter" got a rather muted chart presence with this unsurprisngly being the biggest song to hit the chart from the release of the album and yeah, this song is absolutely beautiful. Beyonce calling in Miley for a role on this song makes so much sense given Miley's links to country and wow, they sound phenomenal together on a gentle guitar and piano ballad about friendship and being each other's shotgun rider til the day they die. It's in a battle for best of the month but it's right up there.

"Slow It Down" by Benson Boone

What is not right up there is this garbage, my god this sounds terrible, This is Benson Boone chasing a second hit in the wake of the shrieking disaster that is "Beautiful Things" and...ughhh...can we just stop making this guy a thing and give Ed Sheeran some more hits from "Equals"? "Tides" would be a better hit than this garbage.

"Magnetic" by Illit

Am I the only one surprised at the lack of K-pop cross overs this year? Well, Illit are a South Korean all girl group that emerge through a sub branch of HYBE and now they have their first ever charting song in Australia, just wish I didn't find the vocals kind of annoying, you've got this incredibly energetic production mixed with whiny vocals and it grated on my nerves especially as it feels like with lyrics about being attracted to someone, the vocals could have been less annoying...next!

"Belong Together" by Mark Ambor

So another American singer songwriter breaking through, this time Mark Ambor and well, this is better than Benson Boone...thank goodness but mostly because rather than being bad, its just forgettable...it's likely a cut that Ed Sheeran, Hozier or even Shaboozey could do better with

"If U Think I'm Pretty" by Artemas

Second go round with Artemas so lets see how we go with this song...and nope, this isn't good either with this just being this collection of grating noises that at least somebody like Finneas could make sound less annoying for Billie Eilish but nope this is just grating noise that Artemas is trying to sing over with all the personality of wallpaper. Next!

"Where the Wild Things Are" by Luke Combs

I am glad this at least got a week on the ARIA singles top 50 because this a damn great song and one of the best from Luke's album last year. Yeah, it's got the neo traditional country production of all the best Luke Combs songs but what strikes all the more power is the story Combs is telling the story of his brother who invited him along on these adventures motorbiking in California and partying while Luke admits that he is loving it but this, sadly the song reveals that Combs brother died in a motorbike accident however it is refreshing that the song doesn't wallow in the death but reflects and celebrates that motorbiking is what the brother loved doing and if that was the way he went out so be it. Great song.

"Back on 74" by Jungle

Well this was something of a surprise! Jungle are a British dance music project who have gotten a lot of critical attention in the past with this song being released last year getting some viral attention and yeah, this is pretty damn good! I love the melody and for once a dance song has an actual fucking groove. Just it's got a lot of competition for best of the month.

"Espresso" by Sabrina Carpenter

So this is the big Sabrina Carpenter single that seems to have gained a massive groundswell of traction with the publicand yeah, it's easy to hear why, the song has this retro and somewhat glossy sound that reminds me of "Say So" by Doja Cat and when the lyrics are basically her bragging about her being akin to an espresso for her new boyfriend. Its fine but like most coffees you'll eventually want something that quenches your thirst.

"Illusion" by Dua Lipa.

So I have liked the first two singles from Radical Optimism and I was hoping this would be another Dua Lipa home run and....it's not? I don't know I just don't feel anything from this song other than this queasiness that comes with the odd way Dua Lipa sings the word 'illusion'. Definitely not the song that I go back to from "Radical Optimism"

"Tell Ur Girlfriend" by Lay Bankz

Oh good lord, so Lay Bankz is an American rapper and singer hailing from Pbiladelphia, Pennsylvania with this song being her first to hit the ARIA singles chart and I hate saying this but I hated this song right from the outset...why? Because of that goddamn sample of "Pony" by Ginuwine where it sounds like a guy burping and it just distracts from the song entirely. This is pretty bloody awful.

"Hell 'n' Back" by Bakar

It's about damn time this turned up on the Australian singles chart! It was a hit in New Zealand in 2019 but never crossed over to Australia until 2024. Bakar is an English singer that has been quietly gaining traction in the UK and elsewhere, now it's charting in the top 50 in Australia thanks to a Summer Walker remix and no surprise given I was listening to this song pre the remix, it's a pretty great little R'n'B number where Bakar describes finding love and is now healing from a past where he was hitting rock bottom. Great song. Check this out1

Worst of the Month: "Slow It Down" by Benson Boone

Dishonourable Mention: "Tell Ur Girlfriend" by Lay Bankz

Honourable Mentions: "Hell 'N' Back" by Bakar feat. Summer Walker, "Obsessed" by Olivia Rodrigo

Best of the Week: "Too Sweet" by Hozier, "Where the Wild Things" are by Luke Combs.