Year-End Special: 2017 – A Year In Review

And just like that, another year has gone by. It seems like time keeps going by faster and faster. Although we didn't lose as many musical stars as last year, we did lose Chester Bennington from Linkin Park, one of the biggest rock bands that certainly made a difference in peoples' lives. May he rest in peace. He will certainly be missed. In terms of the music, things were not that different in 2017 than they were in 2016. The quality of the music that, say, hits #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 has gone down substantially. We're at the point where songs like Bodak Yellow can hit #1 in the country. This is basically saying that anyone can have a #1 hit, despite your talent level. Seriously? The U.S. is the only country that had Bodak Yellow as a #1 song. And aside from Canada, in no other country did it even reach the Top 10.


I guess what I'm getting at is that music has been going downhill, especially since rap music is now bigger than ever. Don't get me wrong, we've had a bunch of really good songs this past year. But with those good songs, we've also had some shitty ones that have outperformed the good ones on charts like the Billboard Hot 100. In a little bit, I'm going to be counting down the 10 worst songs of 2017. But I'm restricting that list to songs that made it on to the Weekend Countdown. However, I do still want to recognize several songs that did not make it on to the countdown that were, what I would consider, atrocious. So before we get to the Bottom 10, here are some of the worst songs of the year that did not make it on to the Weekend Countdown.

• 21 Savage – Bank Account
• 21 Savage/Offset/Metro Boomin – Rap Saved Me
• Cardi B – Bodak Yellow
• Drake – Fake Love
• Fall Out Boy – Young and Menace
• Kyle/Lil Yachty – iSpy
• Lil Pump – Gucci Gang
• Lil Uzi Vert – XO Tour Llif3
• Lil Yachty/Migos – Peek A Boo
• Maroon 5/Julia Michaels – Help Me Out
• Migos/Lil Uzi Vert – Bad and Boujee
• Migos/Nicki Minaj/Cardi B – MotorSport

Keep in mind that these songs are only the ones I actually cared to listen to this past year. I'm sure there are several more that I didn't even bother with. But anyway, now that we got that out of the way, it's time to count down the 10 worst songs of the year. Like I said, this list is restricted to Hits 1 (since this is a Hits 1 blog). First, let's go through the dishonorable mentions!

• Ariana Grande/Future – Everyday
• Bruno Mars – That's What I Like
• Charli XCX – After The Afterparty
• Demi Lovato – Sorry Not Sorry
• Hailee Steinfeld & Grey/Zedd – Starving
• Halsey – Now Or Never
• Hey Violet – Break My Heart
• Kelly Clarkson – Love So Soft
• Maroon 5 – Don't Wanna Know
• Noah Cyrus – Stay Together
• Post Malone/21 Savage – Rockstar
• Rihanna – Love On The Brain
• Sabrina Carpenter – Why
• Sam Hunt – Body Like A Back Road
• Selena Gomez – Fetish
• Snakehips/MØ – Don't Leave
• Zedd/Liam Payne – Get Low

Bottom 10 Songs of 2017

10. Flo Rida/99 Percent – Cake
I typically enjoy Flo Rida's music for the most part. He's never been a stand-out artist by any means. But he has had some pretty good stuff in the past. This song is probably the worst of the bunch. It's beyond annoying. The lyrical content is really not that great. The vocals are pretty bad. Thankfully this didn't actually become a hit.

9. Zayn/PartyNextDoor – Still Got Time
I don't see the appeal whatsoever. As much as songs like I Don't Wanna Live Forever were overplayed, it's still a lot better than this. The production here is pretty lazy and there's really nothing interesting about it. Zayn doesn't show what he's capable of vocally. It's a messy song all in all. He certainly has some good songs, but this is not one of them. Thankfully this only lasted two weeks on the countdown. But frankly, it shouldn't have even been there at all.

8. Noah Cyrus/Labrinth – Make Me (Cry)
Noah Cyrus does not have a good voice. Like at all. Just because you're related to Miley Cyrus doesn't automatically make you as talented as her. This girl is nowhere near as talented as Miley. Not by a long shot. This song is boring and forgettable. I don't feel any emotion from the song or her voice. Not even Labrinth, who had one of the best songs of 2013, could save the song. Fortunately, this wasn't a massive hit and it didn't last very long on Hits 1.

7. Julia Michaels – Uh Huh
I think Julia Michaels wins the award this year for worst voice. She shows no vocal talent whatsoever on this track. I guess she sounds okay in the verses. But I absolutely cannot stand the chorus when her voice starts cracking so much. No, this is not cool nor is it "trendy." I listen for talent. That is not talent. I don't know who thought this was okay. The lyrics aren't that good either. But the guitars are somewhat tolerable. I'm glad this ended up flopping. Here's to hoping her next single will be better.

6. AJR – Weak
There's something about AJR that I just can't stand. I'm sure they're nice guys and all. But their songwriting just makes me cringe every time. I feel like this was supposed to be some kind of self-empowerment song saying that it's okay to be weak. But it was executed so poorly that it just sounds like some little childish song that's hard to take seriously. The chorus is obnoxious, especially when you hit the final chorus. I've never liked these guys and after listening to what their album, The Click, has to offer, I now have a good reason as to why.

5. Hey Violet – Guys My Age
This song's production is beyond cringe-worthy and it's furthest thing from sexy I've ever heard. But that's not even the biggest problem I have with this song. I can't stand the lyrics. The lead vocalist is 19 years old and she has a problem with guys her age. What I'm getting is that she assumes all guys her age are assholes that don't "treat her." But as someone that is around her age, I want to point out that this is not true. And she thinks the solution is to date older men. There are a lot of guys her age that are mature, so it seems kind of rude to say that all guys her age don't know how to treat women. Maybe I over-analyzed the song or took the lyrics too literally. But either way, the song is shit. I don't know how this made it on to Hits 1. I legitimately don't.

4. Childish Gambino – Redbone
I don't even know what this song is. It's probably the strangest "song" I've heard all year. I've listened to the song the whole way through a few times and I was weirded out throughout the whole song every time. The production and lyrical content are very strange. The vocals are even stranger and they're actually kind of annoying. There honestly isn't even much more to say about this. It's one of those songs that you have to listen to, and then you'll understand what I'm getting at (hopefully).

3. Liam Payne – Strip That Down
Liam was the last One Direction member to go solo and sure enough, he ended up being the worst. I like Niall's acoustic-pop, Louis' electro-pop, and Harry's classic rock. I have mixed feelings about Zayn, but he does have some good songs. But Liam just had to take on this hip-hop sound that sounds no different than a good chunk of the other mainstream hip-hop/rap songs. The lyrics are no good, which I find interesting considering that this song had like a million songwriters (including Ed Sheeran). The vocals are okay, but Liam doesn't show any vocal talent necessarily. There was no point in this song that I thought Liam stood out from the other One Direction members vocally. And like I said, it sounds like the same kind of hip hop/trap song that we now hear on a regular basis. So does his music really stand out? Not at all. He's trying to be like everyone else. And Liam, did you really have to have a diss at One Direction, the band that got you where you are now? It's sad that this song actually hit #1 on Hits 1. It's as if people don't know what good music is anymore. Oh well. People somehow like this. I hate it.

2. Julia Michaels – Issues
I never liked this song. Even when it first debuted on Hit-Bound, I was already questioning its existence. But it's because of this song that Julia Michaels got nominated for all these "Best New Artist" awards. I can appreciate her as a songwriter, but I don't like her as an artist. This is another song that has very strange production and pacing. The vocals are not good whatsoever. But I think one of the reasons why I hate this song is because people have been praising it so much. I have friends that sing along to this nonstop and it just makes the song that much more unbearable. And I don't get it. I don't get what all the hype is about. I don't get why people love this song so much. I guess the songwriting doesn't suck. But everything else just makes this song unlistenable in my opinion. Her voice isn't even that bad. It's just songs like these where she sounds really weird and not very appealing. But if you listen to songs like Carry Me by Kygo, you'd know that she has a decent voice. She just doesn't seem to know how to use it. Hopefully if she releases something in 2018, it'll be MUCH better than this.

1. Selena Gomez – Bad Liar
Selena Gomez had three songs in last year's dishonorable mentions. My guess is that she actually wanted to be in the Bottom 10 songs of that year. So she decided to try again this year with a song that couldn't have possibly missed this list: Bad Liar. I don't understand all the critical acclaim nor do I understand how people could possibly consider this her best song. She has had so many better songs. This is shit. She is mumbling and whispering throughout the whole song. Nowhere in the song do I think, "Wow. She has a great voice." She does have a good voice, but she doesn't use it in this song. She does in her DJ collabs. But in this and Fetish, it seems like the mumbling Selena is the way to go. It's not. It sounds really bad. Like REALLY bad. The production is extremely underwhelming. It's almost not even there. The song is basically nothing. But I guess the main problem with this song is that Selena Gomez actually thinks this is okay. This song sounds a lot like Hands To Myself and some other songs from Revival. And like those songs, this sounds really bad. Yet she continues with this sound. I much preferred her older upbeat music. But at some point she decided to try a sultry-type sound that I really don't think works for her. Now, single after single, she continues to prove that she is not that good as a solo artist. I'm sure we'll be getting more from her soon. Hopefully she can find a sound that actually suits her. I would hate it to have to include her again in my Bottom 10 songs of 2018.



Our list of #1 songs this year isn't that much different than any other year. But we really didn't have very many songs dominating the countdown in 2017, which makes the #1 song of the year reasonably obvious. So it seems like there are more songs that hit #1 this year than any other year recently as we did have a lot of one-weekers. This list is okay for the most part. A couple of these songs got too overplayed and a couple were bad from the start. But other than that, the remaining songs were pretty good and somewhat deserving. So here is our parade of 2017's #1 hits.

• Ed Sheeran – Shape Of You (9)
• Shawn Mendes – There's Nothing Holdin' Me Back (5)
• Ed Sheeran – Galway Girl (4)
• Zedd/Alessia Cara – Stay (4)
• The Chainsmokers/Coldplay – Something Just Like This (3)
• Ed Sheeran – Castle On The Hill (3)
• Imagine Dragons – Believer (3)
• Maroon 5 – Don't Wanna Know (3)
• Niall Horan – Slow Hands (3)
• Hailee Steinfeld & Grey/Zedd – Starving (2) (4 total)
• Halsey – Bad At Love (2)
• Imagine Dragons – Thunder (2)
• Liam Payne – Strip That Down (2)
• Bruno Mars – That's What I Like (1)
• Camila Cabello – Havana (1)
• The Chainsmokers – Paris (1)
• Charlie Puth – Attention (1)
• Demi Lovato – Sorry Not Sorry (1)
• Ed Sheeran – Perfect (1)
• P!nk – What About Us (1)
• Twenty One Pilots – Heathens (1) (2 total)

When it comes to Hit-Bound, as usual, we had a load of good songs that were on Hit-Bound, but failed to make their debut on the Weekend Countdown. But instead of just being forgotten, I've decided to recognize them all for their time and service on Hit-Bound. So here are all the Hit-Bound songs that unfortunately never got the privilege to be announced by Spyder Harrison on the Weekend Countdown.

• Bebe Rexha – The Way I Are (Dance With Somebody)
• Bruno Mars – Chunky
• Calum Scott – Dancing On My Own
• Captain Cuts – Love Like We Used To
• Carly Rae Jepsen – Cut To The Feeling
• Coin – Talk Too Much
• Dua Lipa – Blow Your Mind (Mwah)
• Fall Out Boy – Young and Menace
• Gavin DeGraw – She Sets The City On Fire
• Katy Perry – Bon Appetit
• Katy Perry/Nicki Minaj – Swish Swish
• Kungs/Ephemerals – I Feel So Bad
• Little Mix – Shout Out To My Ex
• Little Mix – Touch
• Lorde – Green Light
• Mansionz/G-Eazy – Wicked
• Maty Noyes – In My Mind
• P!nk/Eminem – Revenge
• Paramore – Hard Times
• Pentatonix – Hallelujah
• PRETTYMUCH – Would You Mind
• Rita Ora – Your Song
• Shawn Hook/Vanessa Hudgens – Reminding Me
• Taylor Swift – Gorgeous
• Why Don't We – Something Different

From this list, I will announce my 2017 Lights Over Paris Hit-Bound Hero Award. This award is given to the best song to make it on to Hit-Bound, but fail to debut the countdown. So it's essentially the best song on this list. There were a lot of good songs this time around. But this song I'm about to announce is one I've loved since the very first time I heard it and I was very disappointed when it didn't make it on to the Weekend Countdown.


2017 Lights Over Paris Hit-Bound Hero Award Winner: Carly Rae Jepsen – Cut To The Feeling


This song is honestly a pop masterpiece. It had me hooked from start to end. I'm not sure why Carly Rae Jepsen is as underrated as she is because she is a very talented artist. Some people probably still think of her as the annoying Call Me Maybe girl. But Cut To The Feeling shows that she is capable of so much more. It's sad that this didn't really become a hit.

Runner-Ups:

• Shawn Hook/Vanessa Hudgens – Reminding Me
• Little Mix – Touch
• Kungs/Ephemerals – I Feel So Bad

Hits 1 is pretty good about picking up as many hit songs as they can. But they also tend to pick up some underground songs that aren't exactly hits. This isn't bad by any means, but it does result in some hit songs not being able to make it on to the station. Hits 1 tends to leave out rap music for the most part, which is understandable as it is a family station. But there are some pop songs they miss every now and then. It seemed as though they almost didn't pick up Luis Fonsi & Daddy Yankee/Justin Bieber – Despacito. They ended up getting it, but a little late. But then there are songs like J Balvin & Willy William – Mi Gente that just didn't make the cut apparently. So now I will present the Biggest Whiff of the Year award, the award that goes to the biggest song that failed to make it on to Hits 1. This song in particular was the highest ranked song on the Billboard Year-End chart for 2017 that did not make it on to Hits 1. So I think it deserves this honor.

2017 Biggest Whiff Of The Year Award Winner: Kendrick Lamar – Humble

Tenure Trophies

This year, we had a few songs that had a short countdown life. But there was one song in particular that lasted only one week on the countdown.

Shortest Tenured Song of 2017 (at one week): G-Eazy/Kehlani – Good Life

For the longest tenure, it's pretty clear that this song is on its way to lasting a year on the countdown. I'm guessing it'll end up being Hits 1's #1 song of 2017 as well. By spending the most weeks on the countdown within the calendar year, here is the longest tenured song of the year.

Longest Tenured Song of 2017: Ed Sheeran – Shape Of You (debuted 1/14/17; still on the countdown)



Well I hope you guys enjoyed! This was my attempt at summing up 2017 in one post. Next up, I plan to release my Top 45 songs of the year next week. I'm currently in the midst of finalizing the list. As soon as that's done, I'll be able to transfer it over to Blogger and I'll hopefully have it for you guys as soon as possible. Before that though, I do plan to have the Weekend Countdown for this weekend out hopefully on Monday since I will most likely not be able to post tomorrow since it's Christmas Eve. But once again, I hope you enjoyed this post and I hope you all have a very Merry Christmas! :)